Assemblies of God?

[SnakeMauler]

Ok, what is this guy talking about? He posted this in his Facebook status. He goes to some “one way” church, and I think its Assemblies of God.

Well, anyone ever been to Oneway?? Well Im just going to give you a little taste of what happened last night. Pastor Buddy preached an awesome service. Then, during alter call, Jesus entered the room. I believe he literally hit EVERYONE and people EVERYWHERE were falling to their knees, and literally crying out to him, come to the fact that their were a ton of people there! Keep moving Jesus

“Altar call”?

-Snakemauler

 

[Spencerian]

Ok, what is this guy talking about? He posted this in his Facebook status. He goes to some “one way” church, and I think its Assemblies of God.

“Altar call”?

-Snakemauler

Hi.

Based on the bit of information you gave, the practice described is certainly of an evangelical Christian tradition where altar calls, or public professions or re-commitments to Christ, are conducted.

“One Way” is commonly used by Assemblies of God to describe various ministries in their faith, but be mindful that the term could be used in other traditions.

 

[Soldier_X]

Ahh yes, the Altar Call. Spread across America by traveling Tent Revival Preachers in the 1800s. After an especially long and emotional sermon, all the people who need to “get saved” are invited forward to an “altar” of sorts. A song, usually “Just As I Am,” is played over and over and over, while people come forward and cry, fall down onto the floor, and “ask Jesus to come live in their hearts as their own personal Savior.”

Some places with the Altar Call also have an Anxious Bench, where those who are unworthy of salvation (or uncertain of their worthiness) can cry on a bench while the preacher or evangelist prays over them. Hopefully, the emotionalism of this moment will encourage them to “go forward” at the next meeting’s Altar Call to “get saved.”

Note that an understanding of the Son and the Spirit is greatly confused here. They seem, almost, to be two names for one “effect.” Perhaps that is not representative of their theology, but it is certainly what we see here. “Jesus” who is “hitting” everyone (in the quote you provided) seems to be working as a spiritual force, bringing people to repentance.

 

[VetA]

Well, anyone ever been to Oneway?? Well Im just going to give you a little taste of what happened last night. Pastor Buddy preached an awesome service. Then, during alter call, Jesus entered the room. I believe he literally hit EVERYONE and people EVERYWHERE were falling to their knees, and literally crying out to him, come to the fact that their were a ton of people there! Keep moving Jesus

sounds delusional. btw did you leave a comment that says Jesus goes to every catholic Mass, every time it is offered, anywhere in the world, every single day (except good Friday) of the year. even then they still have some consecrated hosts in the Tabernacle

if jesus walked into that room it was to lead them by the hands to the nearest Catholic Church .

that practice of altar call seems to be a way of showboating and ridicule (possibly) by saying if you dont go up your not as Christian as your neighbor.

 

[pinay]

sounds delusional. btw did you leave a comment that says Jesus goes to every catholic Mass, every time it is offered, anywhere in the world, every single day (except good Friday) of the year. even then they still have some consecrated hosts in the Tabernacle

if jesus walked into that room it was to lead them by the hands to the nearest Catholic Church .

that practice of altar call seems to be a way of showboating and ridicule (possibly) by saying if you dont go up your not as Christian as your neighbor.

Correction: INCLUDING good Friday.

 

[VetA]

Correction: INCLUDING good Friday.

there is no mass offered on Good Friday. it looks like a mass if you go, but it isnt, the bread and wine are not consecrated, so no Mass, i forget why.

 

[CaptainPicard]

there is no mass offered on Good Friday. it looks like a mass if you go, but it isnt, the bread and wine are not consecrated, so no Mass, i forget why.

There is no mass, but the bread and wine are consecrated on Holy Thursday and held over (if I recall correctly), so Jesus is present.

 

[twopekinguys]

Good Friday is considered a “service”, and not a “Mass”, because Jesus is in the tomb. We are in a period of darkness.

It is not a Mass because there is no consecration of the Eucharist. The Eucharist that is distributed is from what was consecrated and reserved on Holy Thursday.

Also, on Holy Thursday, there is no final blessing, or prayer. Good Friday is a continuation of what was begun on Holy Thursday.

Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil are all considered part of the Triduum.

Triduum is the period of three days from Holy Thursday (seen as beginning with the service of the preceding evening) to Easter Day. It begins with the Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper and ends with evening prayer on Sunday

Hope this clarifies.

 

[Metamorphoo]

sounds delusional. btw did you leave a comment that says Jesus goes to every catholic Mass, every time it is offered, anywhere in the world, every single day (except good Friday) of the year. even then they still have some consecrated hosts in the Tabernacle

if jesus walked into that room it was to lead them by the hands to the nearest Catholic Church .

that practice of altar call seems to be a way of showboating and ridicule (possibly) by saying if you dont go up your not as Christian as your neighbor.

I have been to may services with “altar calls,” some of which I think were good and appropriate, others not so much so (IMO).

The primary purpose of most altar calls is usually evangelical in nature–i.e., after a brief explanation/exhortation of the gospel, people are asked to commit their lives to Christ. If they want to make such a commitment, they can come forward to do so and someone will pray with them.

I like the idea of the altar call to accept Christ because it helps people understand that you have to make a DECISION to live for Christ. Some people, like myself, come to Christ by inches and degrees over an extended period of time; others, like the apostle Paul, have an encounter with Christ that radically changes their lives. The altar call is not the only means by which a person can choose to live for Jesus, but it is a way that is common in evangelical circles.

At my church, altar calls are low key. The pastor always has a group of lay leaders and pastoral staff members at the front of the aisle at the end of each service. Those people are available to pray for anyone who comes forward, for any reason–to receive Christ, to ask for pray for physical healing, to pray for a family member, etc. Everyone else is free to leave while those desiring prayer stay in the sanctuary.

 

[Metamorphoo]

Ok, what is this guy talking about? He posted this in his Facebook status. He goes to some “one way” church, and I think its Assemblies of God.

“Altar call”?

-Snakemauler

What do you mean by “one way” church? I’m not familiar with this terminology. I am not a member of the Assemblies of God, but as a charismatic evangelical, I have been around Assemblies of God people–and I’ve never heard this term used.

 

[4Squarebaby]

What do you mean by “one way” church? I’m not familiar with this terminology. I am not a member of the Assemblies of God, but as a charismatic evangelical, I have been around Assemblies of God people–and I’ve never heard this term used.

My thought was that it is the theme name for the church. The official name would be The Assembly of God (name of the community). “One Way” or other name would be the theme name but “one way” doesn’t fit without an explanation.

 

[Izdaari]

I am an Assemblies of God member, and the practices the OP describes don’t sound at all like my church. I’ve never seen anything like that in it, and I hope I never do.

 

[AmateurPianist]

I am an Assemblies of God member, and the practices the OP describes don’t sound at all like my church. I’ve never seen anything like that in it, and I hope I never do.

Same here

 

[4Squarebaby]

I am an Assemblies of God member, and the practices the OP describes don’t sound at all like my church. I’ve never seen anything like that in it, and I hope I never do.

I call it the Borat syndrome, from the church conference scene in the movie. You hear pentecostal and the expectation is that every service is people rolling (Holy Rollers) around the floor with a snake while screaming “gibberish”. I can accept that once in a while praise and worship hits a higher then normal emotional level and the pastor senses that so he/she steps up to issue an altar call

 

[Spencerian]

Thanks to our non-Catholic posters who’ve offered their observations about the OP’s question.

It’s key that we don’t mis-characterize the faith interpretations of others on the forum and help fellow Christians and truth-seekers correct any errors we might post. Otherwise, we Catholics here on CAF would be as guilty as those elsewhere who mis-characterize us.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

Seems like sort of a mob scene. I wonder how many get swept away with the crowd to acclaim Jesus is their savior, then rethink later. It sounds very emotional and not much rational, reflective. individual thought is involved.

 

[Periannath]

Ahh yes, the Altar Call. Spread across America by traveling Tent Revival Preachers in the 1800s. After an especially long and emotional sermon, all the people who need to “get saved” are invited forward to an “altar” of sorts. A song, usually “Just As I Am,” is played over and over and over, while people come forward and cry, fall down onto the floor, and “ask Jesus to come live in their hearts as their own personal Savior.”

Actually, altar calls where often done to call people to join the abolitionist movement. Evangelicals where heavily involved in abolition and at rallies would call people down to sign up to join the cause. Its interesting now how many altar calls have have moved towards a individual, me, or self focus instead of a focus on God and his work in service to neighbor and the least of these. Nevertheless, I have personally had amazing encounters with God at altar calls and in general find them tremendously powerful and positive experiences of communion with God in the context of the corporate community and the Word of God as taught in the message/sermon. It allows for meditation, dialogged with God, and to deal with how we aught to respond if we take seriously the call that comes from the Gospel in the Word spoken and preached. In addition, it is a place where the Spirit of God often moving and working and is in response to his directives. The goal of the leader (be it pastor/evangelist what have you) us not to manipulate this or emotions but to be sensitive to the Spirit and submit to his leading as he fulfills his leadership function under Him.

 

[Dcngman]

I spent many years in the Assemblies of God and based upon the original post; I would have to conclude that the name of the church the person was attending was included the phrase Oneway in it. Assemblies of God churches do not have to have the name “Assemblies of God” any where in them. Many Assemblies churches simply refer to themselves as being a “member” of the Assemblies of God denomination. The origins of the Assemblies of God follows very closely to that of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Both came out of the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, CA during the early part of the 20th Century. They were based upon Fundamentalist, Evangelical traditions with the addition of the modern Protestant Charismatic movement. The Charismatic movement believes that the Charisms, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, were being revived by God in the modern Church. The most common of these gifts that would and are “manifested” today in such churches are the gifts of Speaking in Tongues (often referred to as one’s prayer language), of Prophecy, of Words of Knowledge, and of Healing. The two major parts of the Charismatic service are the Sermon (a minister who doesn’t preach for a least an hour doesn’t have the “anointing”) and Praise and Worship (congregational singing and a time when people shout out words of praise to God or speak in Tongues, or give Words of Knowledge or Words of Prophecy). For a person unfamiliar with Charismatic tradition; this can appear to be quite theatrical. Charismatic tradition has a very touchy-feely focus to it. If people don’t experience any type of “Divine Encounter”; then something is wrong.

Don’t be too worried about what the person said. The Assemblies are just one of many Charismatic Protestant denominations that have sprouted up since the Azusa Street Revival and coming from a former Assemblies member, who is now Orthodox, your not missing anything.

 

[Periannath]

I wanted to make some corrections to your disscussion of AG and classical Pentecostal history. Yes the AG came out of the Azusa street revival, however it only inherited fundementalist tendencies not fundementalism fish, hook and sinker. Historically fundamentalists have been cessasionalists (i.e. those who believe the gifts of the spirit and apostolic and prophetic leadership roles ceased with the early church). This obviously anthithetical to the beliefs of Pentecostals. Also, most Pentecostals do not hold to as static of a conception of what it meens to be a Biblical Christian and many do not share views with funfementalists on key issues such as inerrancy or what is meant by inerrancy. Both the modern Evangelical movement and the Charismatic movement among mainline protestants, Catholics and Orthodox both succeded the classical Pentecostal movements of the early 20th century and is evidence, I believe, that the Spirit is at work throughout the whole church and is not bound by denominations or institutions. Nevertheless, th AG decided to join with Evangelicals at the formation of the NAE. Also, the emphasis on tounges among classical Pentecostals has unique yet solid theological basis.

Lastly, I don’t think it is fare of you to say that you are not missing out on anything as if God was not at work among these churches but he is at Orthodox churches. More of God is good whereever you are and whether that is a sacrmental prescence ( Eucharist) or more of the Holy Spirit, more is more and more is good.
God’s peace,
Periannath

 

[ladybri77]

sounds delusional. btw did you leave a comment that says Jesus goes to every catholic Mass, every time it is offered, anywhere in the world, every single day (except good Friday) of the year. even then they still have some consecrated hosts in the Tabernacle

if jesus walked into that room it was to lead them by the hands to the nearest Catholic Church .

that practice of altar call seems to be a way of showboating and ridicule (possibly) by saying if you dont go up your not as Christian as your neighbor.

I think alter calls are great and I’m Catholic. It gives people a chance to accept the Lord into their hearts and receive eternal life! It has nothing to do with showing anyone else anything except professing your belief in Jesus! It’s ultimate humility in that you are giving your life to Christ.