Wondering about my Wanderings

Charismatic

I guess it has something to do with getting gifts. I think everyone wants to get gifts as long as they make them feel good about themselves. I decided to look up the word by googling it and there was even a five step way of getting to be that way. Over time it has taken on meaning in the secular and religious world. The bridge has something to do with feeling special and making someone else feel special.

A lot of my relatives are in charismatic churches. It is kind of funny now that I think about it. There can be a snobbery or arrogance associated with it. I went to one "charismatic" church and one of the leaders said to me,
"Oh you are a Baptist. I know all about them, I have a sister that is one. She would have nothing to do with us".

What made that particular funny was that I was a Baptist and had strong charismatic leanings.(In terms of liking the doctrine and seeking ways to practice it). I wonder even as I write can a person be charismatic without having a charismatic personality. That may even be a draw for some people. You can be charismatic without having to follow five steps to get there. Just join our church.

Most of my exposure to it's components was through family members who exuded confidence and lived with knowledge without a need to make others feel dumb. When I was working a chaplain at Research Medical I was handed a book by an activity director. Most chaplaincy I worked with looked at charasmatic people as fanatics that you stayed away from. I took the forbidden taboo kind of book and read about ecstatic utterance and healing. Hey it was not too bad. The author, Morton Kelsey even gave other churches a place to call charismatic practice their own.

In a couple days I will entertain a church that embraces the concept. Will I be charismatic or will they be charismatic? My guess is that God is the only one that is really charismatic. So with that in mind I get ready to enter the battle with God leading the way.