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Mary, what was your experience in a "liturgical church?" I don't intend this to come off sarcastic, so please don't take it that way, but I think "balanced charismatic church" is an oxymoron. You may have found one, I won't deny that possibility, but in my experience, charismatic churches lack balance, by definition. For one thing, they don't balance law and gospel, for another, they don't balance the demands of the world with the demands of God's Kingdom (tendency toward "super-spirituality") and they don't generally balance the physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions of life very well.

You're right, when it comes down to it, "different strokes for different folks." But I had hoped to dialogue with some people about what each approach has to offer so that, if some fundamentalist FReeper somewhere is searching for a different kind of faith walk I can convince them that organized religion is not all just a bunch of hypocrites who put their dollar in the plate on Sunday and live like the devil the rest of the week. Traditional Christianity has much to offer, and I would think conservatives would find much to their liking "over here."

I bet you'd like to convince some of us to come "over there," wouldn't you? So . . . make your case! :o) FRegards.

I was Episcopalian much of my younger life. I loved singing in the choir, etc. I've been a fundamental Baptist and enjoyed that, too. But when I was exposed to the charismatic movement, WOW. I know that movement wasn't balanced. It was more signs and wonders (which I needed at that time in my life). Now I believe it's more bible based, at least ours is. My pastor is a former Catholic, as is my husband, and he is cautious about being too "charismaniac." Our church was American Baptist before he came and we are now a spirit filled church, although still in the AB conference. It's not emotion or commotion. We have three pastors who hear what God is saying and they preach it and live it. Our worship team is dedicated and they walk the walk--something you have to do when you're in leadership.

We ARE different from a lot of, say, Assembly of God churches because our base is Baptist. But, our old Baptist ladies love the church and I've seen so much growth in them even at their age. One is 92, still drives and bowls, and cooks for her four farmer sons. Amazing lady. I tell her she's my hero. We have a good balance of young and old and many families with good men at the head of them.

It really is a spiritually balanced church (yes, we even sing hymns!). God demands purity and holiness and righteousness and we have sermons that try to move us in that direction. Many of us just finished the Cleansing Stream seminar from Jack Hayford. It has been a fantastic experience for me. We dealt with a lot of spiritual issues that kept us back from serving God the way we should.

We aren't an "emotional" church at all. It's a joyful church, lots of singing, clapping, dancing, banners, and people truly want to be the best they can be. They're very loving and giving. We're mostly just blue collar folks but we can raise money better than anyone I know, through tithing and the giving of gifts. We have a good missionary focus as well and support a number of them. Our christian school is truly a school of excellence in all areas. Our teachers are dedicated and some have been there since it began, around 16 years ago. They don't make much money either.

We're scriptural in our beliefs. My pastor continually seeks for us to read the Word and to obey it.

I don't know if I've answered your questions so if you need to ask more, fire away. Maryxxx