Charismatic Churches

Any Christian congregation open to the practice of the New Testament charismata in its worship, especially tongues, interpretation, prophecy, the word of knowledge, and the word of wisdom, is often described as a "charismatic" church. These phenomena, however, are not the dominant element of charismatic worship, which is more accurately described as worship based on praise in the presence of the Lord. It is often said that informality in worship and a continual openness to the direction of the Holy Spirit are the hallmarks of a charismatic church, but the degree of informality and spontaneity varies greatly from fellowship to fellowship. The Charismatic Spectrum The spectrum of charismatic churches is a broad one and may even be expanded to incorporate congregations which are part of historic denominations, including those which follow a prescribed liturgy. Some churches belonging to the Pentecostal denominations are also more charismatic in flavor than traditionally pentecostal. Th…