I’ve been to events like these from the evangelical world and they are emotionally charged and you get consumed by the energy which often gets mistake for genuine conversion.
Not long after it’s a game of finding that same emotional surge. While I don’t doubt there are some who have genuine conversions of heart, many of them will go back to the status quo once the emotional energy wears off.
Some continue to try to capture it or refill which their evangelical places of worship often give them the fix. But generally speaking they shape much of their faith life around how emotional they feel.
There is nothing to do in that world except Bible study and hanging out with like minded people. Not much by way of fostering virtue or even things which aid in your repentance.
In many ways, as I saw in my days not only in others but in myself, you make very little spiritual progress. You might stop cussing as much, perhaps avoid some obvious vices like drinking…but without the sacrament of penance you don’t get underneath some of the harder stuff. It just becomes a game of convincing yourself “it’s forgiven” until you FEEL like it is.
Once you’ve forgotten your sin, then those feelings of being “back” take over and you sort of continue the gig until the sin creeps up again. Then the convincing game starts again.
All of this changed when I became Catholic. Not that I suddenly got better (I didn’t). I sucked for a long time and continue to be a work in progress like all of us. But boy has spiritual progress been made. All through the grace of Christ and the many helps He provides through His Holy Church.
So while I’m not discrediting anyone’s heart in events like these, I would just encourage them to approach these emotions with caution and see to it that you find ways to detach yourself from them to better understand and get closer to Jesus.
Thousands of invalid baptisms in 1 event