cold barley

when i first moved to the states from korea when i was 6, i saw americans drinking clear water and thought, "ew, gross.  americans are dirty.  they drink washing water."  i had never drunk regular water in korea.  barley tea was for drinking.  clear water was for washing.

so today is christmas eve.  one of my favourite days of the year.

a friend and i went to christmas service at our church's new campus (kind of like a "branch").  i've been excited about this new church plant and excited to get to know our new pastor.  he's different from many of the other pastors at my church.  he shares openly and often about how God speaks to him and he seems to feel free to express his worship and the using of his spiritual gifts in more open ways than most of the other pastors at my church.  ok... i'll be flat about it--he's a lot more charismatic than the rest.  that's more clear, yes?

i was excited about that because his seemed to be closer to my style of worship.

here's a question... has anyone else noticed that, often, the more charismatic groups of believers seem to experience God's presence and power a great deal, but express and live out His love less than other groups?


i was part of a very very young church who went through a growth spurt, in which they experienced God's presence very powerfully.  it was a great season of free worship, passionate prayer, and new ministries popping up like sean combs' stage names.  but it also became the group by which many people felt rejected, detached, and unseen.

i went to a conference last year where world-renown ministers came to speak.  it was a metallica concert of healings and miracles.  but in between seminars, the people were very distant from each other and lacked the kind of warmth and kindness that i was used to in my community.

on one of the nights of the conference, i had left my sketchbook in the main meeting room and so went back after the doors were closed to get it.  the woman at the door opened it coldly and sternly told me that i should quickly retrieve it because i don't belong there.  talk about your freezing buckets of water in the face.

it ain't no joke about 2 corinthians 13, huh?