Yes, it’s true. Some days I wake up, look at the sunshine (or the clouds) and feel like having a Pentecostal day. Take Monday, for example. I woke up wanting Jesus to be more than just a thought in my head, an idea on my lips, a religion that I follow, the other end of a “personal relationship,” or the object of spiritual disciplines. I want to be in love with Him, to feel his heart beat inside of mine, to be swept away in His holy fire.

Don’t get me wrong–if you ask me I’d say that yes, I have a personal relationship with Jesus. I’d tell you that spiritual disciplines are good for you, that you ought to meditate on Him, and that He did tell us to share the Gospel. But some times, I want to be Pentecostal.

I was reading the acknowledgments in the Newsboys’ latest worship CD, “Devotion” on Monday night, and found them thanking Rice Broocks. Wait a second, I’ve heard that guy speak! He was some bigwig in the church I went to my freshman year of college! He’s pentecostal! (well, so was I. Correction–so am I, to a certain degree.)

I love the way Pentecostals experience Jesus. I love the way they let their emotions go when they worship God. I love the feeling of being inundated by the power of the Holy Spirit. They know how to really experience God. So why don’t I go to a charismatic church? Because I’m afraid that the tremendous joy of Spirit-filled worship is it’s own greatest enemy. All too often people begin to worship those feelings and live for miracles, and the end result is skewed theology. Often the world’s biggest tragedies begin with the best intentions.

So I seek balance: a solid base of faith and reason to my beliefs with sometimes abundantly overflowing worship. Though I love the extent of their faith, and the depth of their spiritual experience, I’m not a Pentecostal. Most of the time…