If the ratio of unorthodox to orthodox is significantly out of balance -- say unorthodox are 30% or 40% or more of the adherents -- what is the responsibility of those with the orthodox position?
About two years ago I had just moved to Hurst TX and was driving somewhere close to Haltom City when I passed by a building called "The Wisdom Center", home to the nauseating and oppressive televangelist Mike Murdock. I was taken back a little to have discovered that this man who I'd seen on TV was in my own backyard. I decided to go in for a little visit. I'm not sure what I thought I was going to do, but I think I had hope that I'd get to have a fight with Mr. Murdock himself. But, the secretary gave me some literature, invited me to a service, and sent me on my way. I never went back. I suppose I felt a little powerless. Really, what do I do? Letters? Arsenic? Hire a sniper?
Shortly after that on a drive going toward downtown Dallas from Hurst, I noticed the gigantic TBN building to the right just off the main highway. I don't know how long it had been since I'd watched late night TBN, but I do distinctly remember a Benny Hinn conference I attended with two of my best friends. This was some time back in 2000 (I think) in Little Rock. One of my friends was annoyed but attentive, the other was bored to tears and sleepy and since that night has made it an ongoing joke about wishing Benny Hinn could heal narcolepsy. I was skeptically and indifferently observant. All three of us left before the "show" really even got started. It was some years later when I first visited one of the care groups of the Bible Church of Little Rock, where I first met Lance Quinn. At some point in my first visit to that care group I found out that Lance had gone to that same Benny Hinn conference, except he stayed for the entire thing. I specifically remember him saying that he was coming close to the conclusion that Benny Hinn was possibly demonic. Lance was who I ran into this past October who told me about the Strange Fire conference.
Before I moved to Hurst TX (2011) to be a part of Wellspring Church where Jack Deere was lead pastor, I spent some time involved with the Village Church, where Matt Chandler is the lead pastor. I heard Matt speak out often against the prosperity gospel and his hatred for some late night TV evangelists. It was during my time at the Village that I came to know the Lord more intimately, met my wife, and where a pastor from the Village recommended Jack Deere's books to me. After reading one of his books I was delighted to find out Jack was pastoring Wellspring church in North Richland Hills TX, just 30 minutes away. On a side note, Tom Pennington's church is in that area as well. Eventually my wife and I had the opportunity of being a part of a small group that met in a home where Jack taught on hearing God and the spiritual gifts, and where we were able to practice what we had learned. It was this time that was the beginning of my actually experiencing the Holy Spirit using the spiritual gifts in building up the body as well as in some healing and evangelizing.
1. Your question helps raise awareness of where people are on the spectrum of this issue. One's current processing of this debate and any sense and direction of responsibility they feel is probably shaped primarily by their own spiritual journey. For example, a conservative reformed continuationist coming out of cessationism with an already strong & sound theological backbone is in a different place than someone coming out of an extreme prosperity gospel charismania situation. Every person has a unique story that influences how they think through these issues and what direction they feel a stronger sense of responsibility toward.
2. I have taken responsibility to engage with those who are in my opinion-- embracing error in an effort to expose error. Some might think that my decision to passionately engage/battle the cessationist side rather than the abuses and the false teachers of the charismatic movement is ridiculous or inconsistent,.... but if you knew more than what I've shared of my story, you'd realize that the reason I'm choosing to do so is because this is closer to my own background and circles and I know that in your attempts to address something gross and tragic (like the Mike Murdock's), you are also actually hurting something very precious. In other words, I believe there is a baby in the bathwater, so I can't stand by and let you undiscerningly draft others to help in aborting Him while simultaneously claiming to have the high moral ground on this whole issue and then using the pervasiveness of false teachers of the general charismatic movement as cover fire for extinguishing continuationist belief and practice.
The prosperity gospel and immature blasphemous charismaticism is not orthodox and neither is blasphemous hard cessationism, paralyzing neonomianism, or incorrigible phariseeism.
We both know that where we disagree is on what we are willing to consider "orthodox". Besides that, continuationists are put in a position to pick which unorthodox position is worse. As much as I hate the Mike Murdock's and that kind of filthy demonic trash, I also hate that the Macarthur camp has attributed to Satan some genuine works of the Spirit.
We both know that where we disagree is on what we are willing to consider "orthodox". Besides that, continuationists are put in a position to pick which unorthodox position is worse. As much as I hate the Mike Murdock's and that kind of filthy demonic trash, I also hate that the Macarthur camp has attributed to Satan some genuine works of the Spirit.
I don't know what other responsible position to take.
