Young people at Bethel church still seek the spirit, despite scandals

RNS — “Cast out the spirit of suicide, Lord!”

A congregant’s voice sailed over the loud, ambient keyboard and clear, emotion-laden vocals leading worship at a full Sunday evening service in early August.

Seated near the back, his words could be heard alternating between prayer and speaking in tongues.

Sha-ta-ta-ta-teh .

His hands, along with those of his neighbors, were pressed squarely on the shoulders of a writhing, tearful woman. Her sobs, almost indiscernible from brief outbursts of laughter erupting around the room, grew longer as his voice lost steam.

“Out, out!”

In the aisle, a graying middle-aged man lay face down on the carpeted floor. He was “soaking” — resting in God’s presence. Young men, in comfortable closeness, gripped each other’s necks, whispered words of prophecy and cried, uninhibited by the packed room.

Despite a recent scandal that made national headlines, the spirit still moves at Bethel Church, the flag bearer for cool, young California Pentecostalism. Bethel, a non-denominational megachurch with approximately 10,000 regular attendees, is located in one of the state’s most conservative counties. The church is considered one of the “Big 4” — a…