The Dark Underbelly of Fundamentalist, Charismatic Christianity | Sojourners

The Dark Underbelly of Fundamentalist, Charismatic Christianity

I was raised in a charismatic megachurch that prided itself in being "non-religious." Our pastor thought of himself as a grace preacher, and in many ways he was. Faith for me in my formative years was always about a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, not about trying to earn or achieve right standing before God. I think that's part of the reason why I never felt oppressed by my faith. Everyone that I knew who were sincerely living out their faith were good people -- and very happy. Our pastor taught us that if the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in us, then we should expect the Spirit to flow through us in miraculous ways as channels of healing and blessing to others. Testimonies of broken, messed-up lives healed and restored were commonplace at my church. It's exactly what we expected. Growing up, I experienced the best of fundamentalist Christianity.

I also experienced the worst of fundamentalist Christianity