False Brags & Real Facts
By Joseph R. Chambers, D.D.
Paw Creek Ministries
5110 Tuckaseegee Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28208
704-391-0588
I personally drove to Pensacola, Florida, on January 28,1997, so I could be in one of
the Pensacola "revival" services. I'm delighted that I made this trip because of
this incredible experience. We had a very profitable meeting with a large group of persons
who had been faithful members at Brownsville Assembly. These persons represented a total
of 158 years of attending and serving that congregation. They represented the board of
elders, choir membership, etc. A number of these persons had been special friends to the
Kilpatricks. Several of them stayed at the church for weeks to try to assimilate
themselves and even experienced some of the manifestations. All of them came to believe it
was totally false and represented the destruction of evil. When they would not accept
those manifestations that were clearly non-Biblical, they felt like they were forced to
leave.
I've Been With Jesus
It's absolutely unbiblical to seek any experience, but the "Life Of Jesus." He is the beginning and ending of every Christian truth and reality. Various religions offer many different kinds of manifestations, impartations, apparitions, ect.,
But each of these kinds of encounters demand a constant return to more of the same.
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into and is
safe."
(Proverbs 18:10).
There is no safety in religions and their experiences. It is a personal encounter with
Jesus Christ that ends every search for lasting fulfillment!
The Brownsville Community
The Brownsville church is located in a very depressed neighborhood. The neighborhood desperately needs a Holy Ghost revival, but this meeting has not touched it. I spent hours in the rain making a complete circle around the church. I did not find one person that attended this church or had been positively affected by the events occurring. I knocked on every door where I could find someone home.
One lady said that her children had attended the Sunday School, but became fearful of the strange events and had changed to another church. Others told me that no one had invited them and that they had seen no one from the church in the community witnessing. Two businessmen willing to talk were both extremely critical and called it a "big show." A gambling enterprise operates directly beside the front parking lot and faces the church front. They informed me that business was great and had not been affected by this "revival." But, they did have to hire a guard to keep church attendees from parking cars in their parking lot.
I talked with the manager of a convenience store that is also directly across the corner from the front of the church. They sell alcoholic beverages and lottery tickets. The manager informed me that business had grown during the approximate two years of this "revival." It was absolutely clear, beyond a doubt, that this event has had no impact on the community of Brownsville.
I learned from a community businessman that claims were circulating around about how
crime had dropped drastically. He was almost angry about this kind of falsehood being told
all over the country. He had talked to people who had heard this in other cities. You can
imagine the distaste this would create in him when he lives right near the church and
knows the facts.
Steve Hill Speaking The Night I Was Present
Steve Hill stood in the pulpit the night I attended and told the audience that juvenile
crime had dropped by thirteen percent. The Pentecostal Evangel reported in their November
10, 1996, edition that "the crime rate has declined. " Different figures are
being reported by different people, but the facts do not support these testimonies. The
administrative assistant to the sheriff of Escambia County gave me this quote, "The
crime rate for 1996 increased by 2.9 percent over 1995." (Brownsville is in this
county, not the city of Pensacola.) The Pensacola city report was a mixed bag. Robbery
increased from 146 to 177; forcible sex offenses increased from 52 to 69; simple assault
and battery increased from 623 to 656; and drug possession arrests rose from 647 to 660
(These figures were based on 1996 over 1995 figures.) The police had more calls for help
in 1996 than in each of the previous five years. There were other areas where the
statistics show a decline: Homicide had reached a peak in 1993 (12/13) and almost declined
by fifty percent in 1994 (7/8). The year before the Pensacola event began, there were six
in 1995 and five in 1996. All of these statistics are in our files.
Steve Hill Claims Great Results In The Public Schools
Steve stated the same night that when the revival started there were only three
Christian groups of students in all the county schools. He stated that there are now
thirty-two groups, one in each public school. I have personally talked with the
Superintendent of Public Schools, the deputy superintendent, one high school principal, an
assistant high school principal, a teacher/sponsor, plus several secretaries, etc. Not one
word of that report is true. The superintendent, Jim May, spoke glowingly of the
Brownsville church, but had no facts or confirmed reports of student groups. Others
bluntly stated that there had been no change in Christian groups. Some spoke critically
and told me of teachers that have had to call parents to come and get their students
because they were disrupting class by jerking or falling on the floor.
Mr. Hill also told of police cars delivering teenagers they had arrested to the door of
the church to be saved. I have heard this story on other videotapes of their services, so
apparently this is one of his popular stories. The crowd goes wild when he tells it. I
have talked with the Chief of Police and the administrative assistant to the sheriff about
this report. It has absolutely no foundation. Both the county and the city departments
told me that any police officer or deputy sheriff would be fired immediately if such
action was taken. In fact, such action would be illegal and contrary to the gospel.
". . . Whosoever will, let Him take the water of life freely." (Revelation
22:17).
These kinds of reports have often been labeled, Evangelistically speaking
( . . ." I'm afraid the judgment will call this kind of trickery by a different name.
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