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On The "Toronto Blessing"
By Dale C. Crow
Let me state at the start, my Toronto Blessing Discovery Page is not a
condemnation of the charismatic style of worship , "Brownsville Assembly
Of God" Or "The Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship". What these and other
Churches want to do in their own Churches is between God and them. The intent
of this page is to get people to look this movement over before they jump
in. This movement has a down side to it and people need to count the cost
of fully embracing this movement. I know people that go to Brownsville Assembly
Of God and God meets them in a real and powerful way but I have also seen
a lot of people that seem to be in the flesh.
This "blessing" and/or "revival" had been going on here in Pensacola for
over a year. I had heard about it but never felt the need to go and see for
myself, until the summer of 1996, after our youth camp. Before the summer
of 1996, I did not have a opinion about it, since it did not directly affect
me and my Church or youth group. I did not seek this movement out. It came
to me. At that point I had to research for myself. I now have been to
Brownsville, more that a few times.
I run a summer camp for twelve Methodist Churches. This camp has met for
six years and all of the Churches know the over all theology of the camp.
This is a Bible based, evangelical, non-charismatic Methodist youth camp.
Just a note: We have some Churches that have a hard time with clapping after
their choir sings much less, seeing someone go down on the floor in the fetal
position kicking and screaming.
The 1996 camp was one that I will never forget. We had two of the Churches
that brought the "Blessing" with them. The manifestations did take most of
the Churches by surprise but that was not the thing we had the most trouble
with. It was their attitudes. They had the attitude of: "I'm Blessed,
I'm Anointed and I'm in your Face." We were told that if we didn't
receive this "Blessing" we were not saved. After asking them to tone it down
and I even gave them a place for those that could not control their
manifestations to go. They still did as they wanted. They were "Worship
Selfish". They said they would worship like they felt God was calling
them to do. This does not sound like (Gal 5:22-26) to me.
This attitude was not a isolated incident. After we returned from camp I have found out about three Methodist Churches so far, that have had big problems with this movement. Again it is not the manifestations as much as the "I'm Blessed, I'm Anointed and I'm in your Face" attitude.
The people are going back in to their home Churches and pushing their new
worship style on the other people in their church. In looking at the church
and people I know that are deep into this movement the phrase "Worship
Selfish" keeps coming back again and again. I can think of one passage
of Scripture other than (Gal 5:22-26) that applies to this.
(1 Cor 8:4-13 NIV) So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know
that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but
one. (5) For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth
(as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), (6) yet for us there
is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live;
and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and
through whom we live. (7) But not everyone knows this. Some people are still
so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having
been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
(8) But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not
eat, and no better if we do. (9) Be careful, however, that the exercise
of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. (10)
For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating
in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed
to idols? (11) So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed
by your knowledge. (12) When you sin against your brothers
in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
(13) Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall
into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to
fall.
I think this text applies to worship styles also. If you are non-charismatic
and you go into a charismatic Church you would be wrong to try to make them
worship like you do. If you were charismatic and you go into a non-charismatic
Church you would be wrong to try to make them worship like you do.
If the charismatic style of worship offends you then you have no business
going to a charismatic Church. In my Church if some one would stand up and
yell Praise God, Praise God, during a hymn then they would be out of order,
But if that happened in a charismatic Church it would be no problem at all.
In other words "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom
of worship in the Holy Spirit, does not become a stumbling block to the people
that do not understand your manifestations".
This is not to say that we need all to tone down all of our worship as not
to offend anyone. This is one of the reasons why we have different denominations.
We like to worship God in different ways. And "different" is not to say it
is bad! If you are in a non-charismatic Church and you go to a charismatic
Church and you feel closer to God their and you like that style of worship
better that your non-charismatic Church. YOU SHOULD CHANGE CHURCHES NOT
try to get your Church to worship in a charismatic way. This is one of the
biggest problems I see with this movement.
I am, as you can tell, a non-charismatic, but I have many charismatic friends
that I love dearly. I have even gotten hotel information for a friend in
Scotland to come to Pensacola to go to Brownsville. But just because I am
non-charismatic does not mean I do not believe in the Holy Spirit.
To me the Holy Spirit's Purpose is to be a spot light, that shines on Both
God and Jesus. But if people focus on just the light (how bright it is or
how warm it makes them Feel) and not what the spot light is shining on (God
and Jesus) then I think you have a real problem.
The problem is not that, this movement is not or is not of God or that people are Jumping to high or even falling down under the power of Almighty God. It is that a lot of people are focusing on only one part of the Trinity. All satan needs to do is get our eyes off God and Jesus. If we focus only on the Holy Spirit then that is wrong. If we focus only on the manifestations of the Holy Spirit then that is wrong.
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