I think I was brought up attending Pentecostal churches (I didn't learn this until very recently after asking my mum), but when I first got saved over two years ago, I began attending a Baptist church, while regularly listening to Evangelical online sermons. Then I attended a Pentecostal church and listening to Pentecostal online sermons, but have recently gone back to my Evangelical roots. I was just beginning to think, "Yep, I'm pretty sure I'm definitely Pentecostal", but then again, I currently attend a very tame and laid back Pentecostal church and there's some things about Pentecostalism I don't entirely agree with.
I'm reading this fascinating book at the moment about ground breaking revivals through out history, and it's so interesting finding out where a lot of the denominations came from. When ever I hear of 'Methodists', I kind of would cringe because the name 'Methodist' sounds scary to me. But then again, some country shaking revivals and moves of the Holy Spirit came from Methodists hungry for God to move. A lot of denominations we have now are stemmed from groups who went and sought the Holy Spirit and God's presence without a second thought and were led on a path that rocked the Christian world, which often received negative reactions from other Christians.
So in an attempt to reign in on the movement that saw thousands to millions saved, people labelled such movements and created a new denomination in an attempt to institutionalise it and more often than not, the fire of the Holy Spirit was quenched. But it's so sad, we are more in love with the label than we are of each other and of God's desire to see His children grow together.
How much stronger can we as God's people be, how much more of His Kingdom can we bring here if we stood united rather than apart? We are of one body, and people keep trying to be a separate limb, disconnected from the hearts that pumps blood, and the lungs that distribute oxygen, away from the other limbs and parts that need it. We are one family, with the crazy uncles, the socially awkward aunties and the hyperactive second cousins.
We are basically the laughing stock of the world, not many people want what we have nor are enticed to understand the who our Saviour is, if as representatives we give them a disconnected and divided family, squabbling and arguing over secondary issues. We are a bride, we should start acting like one. Loving one another was the second most important commandment Jesus gave us. So much of the bible is dedicated to practical instructions on how to all get along.
Not only that, but if we truly want to bring the good news to the world, to walk with the Word made flesh in us, to be a light, a city on a hilltop, then we can do it so much better, together, fighting with the sword of the Spirit and with prayerful battle cries to bring heaven here.
(Sorry, ranting again and going completely off topic. Usually when I'm reading a book, it's constantly revolving around my mind and eventually I just word vomit in odd places, usually random CC threads)