Confessions of a Lapsed Charismatic

I reckon my charismatic credentials are pretty solid, i have hung out with all stripes of charismatics from crazy independent pentecostal revivalists to charismatic high church Anglicans, and I liked them all and learned form them all.  I am a firm believer in speaking in tongues, guidance and inspiration, and God's power to heal.  But when I came to NZ I subconsciously moved out of the charismatic stream i had been inhabiting and became much more middle of the road.   Now it is time to confess

1. I love 1 Cor 12 but the work of the Holy Spirit is about so much more than giving gifts to particular Christians - what about Rom 8, John 14 &16, Gal 5, etc, etc?
2. An emphasis on gifting is often at the expense of an emphasis on character, the gifts of the Spirit get prefered over the fruit.
3. The pressure in charismatic circles for something to happen means that people are tempted to manipulate God or others in order to validate their ministry.
4. Those who do not or cannot operate in the gifts are often made to feel like second class Christians
5. An over emphasis on healing can make it hard for people to deal with the reality that often the thorn in our flesh is not taken away but God's grace is sufficient for us
6. When experience and power become the key criteria, Christ and the right handling of scripture often get lost in the shuffle.
7. Many non charismatic Christians and churches are filled with the Spirit
8. I long to see the Spirit moving more and more in my own life and faith community - but I don't want to presuppose how it is going to happen or what it will look like.
9. I'm not going to mention "falling" over or gold dust.
10. When you get given a few to many meaningless "word of knowledge" you start to wonder if you can trust these people at all.
11. I love going to church where people put their hands in the air
12. Most of the charismatics i meet are the most sincere, loving and passionate Christians you could hope for.

Let me know what you think, what has your journey with charismatic Christianity been like? :-)

Perhaps related, Daniel Kirk has been wondering if god really speaks, and John Byron wonders if beinga Christian has anything to do with being bad at maths.