Structure and the Spirit

We had heard that one of the streams of the Anglican Church is charismatic. I was like, “No way!”

by Courtney Lynch

My husband Troy and I were approached several months ago about leading the worship music for Rehydrate. We did not know what to expect. We had heard that one of the streams of the Anglican Church is charismatic. I was like, “No way!”

We came from a charismatic background in another denomination and, due to bad leadership, experienced a lot of
hurt and burnout. Our previous church seemed to be chasing the experience of God, going from one to another, but not God Himself. So we ran to the Anglican church, wanting something steeped in history with more structure. Over the weekend I was working through the hurt of my previous church. It was like loosening and shedding my self-preservation mindset. It was emotionally painful, but God was healing my wounds.

During the Rehydrate weekend we were blessed by everyone. We observed people entering into worship with raised hands, an expression that many would think is atypical of Anglicans. Having the freedom to use my gift of worship in a safe environment, while watching many people come up to receive spiritual gifts was amazing. I'm a much younger person, so seeing “seasoned” people who still want to receive gifts and pass them to others, especially younger people, is super refreshing. I am thankful for the warm reception to our ministry. We'll take what we received and plant seeds in our home church, praying that God will flourish everything He did during Rehydrate.