Summary
While promoters
of the Pensacola Outpouring allege nearly two million participants to
date, an examination of the revival reveals its serious distortions of
biblical Christianity, concluding the movement is simply the latest
outbreak in a long history of Counterfeit Revival. Characterized by an
overemphasis on subjective experience in opposition to objective tests
for truth, nonbiblical spiritual practices, Scripture twisting, and
false and exaggerated claims, the Pensacola Outpouring threatens
countless believers and depicts to the world a tainted stripe of
Christianity. In post-Christian times as these, evangelicals more than
ever need to return to the basic teachings and practices of the
historic, biblical Christian faith.
What is today touted as the Pensacola Outpouring had its
genesis on Father’s Day in 1995. In recalling the events of that day,
John Kilpatrick, pastor of the Brownsville Assembly of God in
Pensacola, Florida, said he suddenly heard what he first thought was a
mighty wind but later discovered was a river of the Holy Ghost. The
force of the river was so pronounced that Kilpatrick claimed, "My
ankles flipped over." After being pulled up to the platform by his
pantlegs, Kilpatrick shouted, "Folks, this is it! Get in! Revival’s
come!" He goes on to exclaim:
And man, when
I said that it was like dynamite exploding [explosion sound]. And it
looked like somebody had taken a machine gun and mowed people down.
Even out in their pews. Even out in their pews [sic]. I mean,
they were falling out of the pews, they were falling down between the
seats, they were falling out up here without anybody even touching
them. A little like [machine gun fire sound], you know, somebody just
cut ‘em down.
Man, I hit
this floor up here. And evangelist [Steve Hill] saw me up here by the
pulpit, and I was looking about half drunk, you know. And he just waved
his hand like that and said, "More, Lord." And I said, "Whap!" And I
hit the floor and I stayed there from 12:30 to 4 o’clock....I was
laying there thinking, you know. It felt like I weighed 10,000 pounds.
It didn’t feel like you was pinned to the floor or nothing like that,
but you’re just so heavy. Just felt so heavy. It felt wonderful.
I thought,
"Dear God, whatever this is, don’t take it off of me."
But one of
our worship team ladies that fell in my arms—long after revival broke
out a lady came up to me during the revival and she said, "Brother
Kilpatrick, your wife is so sweet. She sings so good in that worship
team."
And I
thought, "Worship team?"
She said,
"You know, the blackheaded one that was laying in your arms up there on
the platform."
I said,
"That’s not my wife."
She said,
"It’s not?"
She just fell
out under the fire too and just happened to land in my arms. And so I
said, "Lord, this don’t smell like Brenda here."1
The trance state John Kilpatrick experienced on that Father’s
Day in 1995 was merely a harbinger of things to come. As the next two
years rolled on, his followers would experience manifestations ranging
from sardonic laughter to spasmodic jerks.
One man in particular experienced such unusual convulsions on
the platform in Pensacola that he became the center of attention. When
Steve Hill (the evangelist credited by Kilpatrick as a primary catalyst
for the Pensacola Outpouring) realized that he was losing his audience,
he turned to the man and said:
Now some of
you are watching this young man up here. I want to tell you exactly
what he is doing, and then I want you to turn your eyes from him. He’s
interceding for your soul. Some of you are on the verge — it’s like
we’ve got you with a thread and you’re hanging over hell. It’s
intercession in the deepest form right here. It’s moanings and
groanings, words that can’t be uttered. God’s put it on him. You can’t
tell me God doesn’t love you, friend. You can’t tell me God doesn’t
love you when He will stricken[sic] another young man who loves
God with all his heart, cause him to fall to the ground and experience
the moanings and groanings and the birth pains. He’s giving birth to
you, friend. He’s giving spiritual birth to you. He’s dying for you
right now. He’s dying that you might have life.2
Pensacola promoters claim that "in less than two years
Evangelist Steve Hill has won hundreds of thousands to Christ."3
Hill identifies two out of the "hundreds of thousands" as alleged drug
dealers. As reported on the Brownsville web site, "Police officers had
arrested three men in the Brownsville area for suspected drug dealing.
For some reason, the police officers brought these men to one of our
revival services instead of jail. Two of the three men responded to the
altar call and were saved."4
Not only does Hill assert that police officers have brought
suspected drug dealers to the revival instead of to jail, but also he
claims that congressmen are weeping under the power of God in
Pensacola. Hill states,
We’re having
politicians come in here now. Congressmen. I’m talking about Washington
DCers are coming into this place now. It’s getting serious. Would you
say that with me? It’s getting serious. When it gets to Washington,
it’s getting serious. One of the congressmen that was with us from up
north, his statement was this — I believe he made it to Charlie, or
somebody — He said, "I’m bringing back 12." So we proclaim that in a
very short while our congress, our senate is ablaze with the power of
the gospel, that they’re on fire! That they’re on fire with the power
of the gospel, that their lives are changed and transformed. Those of
you that have that kind of doubt, would you open your eyes and watch
what’s happening? You still can’t see it. We’re telling you, we’ve
already had them here. The Congressmen are here. They’re weeping under
the power of God. They’re already here. We’re not dreaming. They’ve
already been here.5
In addition, Pensacola promoters proclaim that they are having
an impact on crime in Pensacola. They point out that "crime in the city
of Pensacola had dropped off significantly," and that "the driving
force behind the declining crime rate" is "the revival."6
Pensacola spin doctors use salvation statistics, converted
congressmen, and crime conditions to draw a distinction between the
"Toronto Blessing" and the "Pensacola Outpouring." Michael Brown, an
apologist for Pensacola, has gone so far as to deny any relationship
between the two: "The bottom line is that there is no formal or
informal relationship between Toronto and Pensacola, and the spirit and
thrust of the meetings are very different."7
One of the most disturbing
deceptions of all is that Counterfeit Revival leaders like Brown have
co-opted Jonathan Edwards and dishonestly claimed him for their own.
Brown demeans my book Counterfeit Revival for a lack of serious
scholarship regarding Edwards and cites unnamed "Edwards scholars"
assisting on Yale University’s project, The Works of Jonathan Edwards,
to lend academic credibility to his criticisms.
SEPARATING FACT
FROM FICTION
Let’s take a closer look at a small sampling of Pensacola
fabrications masquerading as facts.
Fabrication: "Police officers had arrested three
men in the Brownsville area for suspected drug dealing. For some
reason, the police officers brought these men to one of our revival
services instead of jail. Two of the three men responded to the altar
call and were saved."
Fact: While salvation statistics vary
wildly from source to source,8 the men referred to above are
two of the "hundreds of thousands" who were supposedly saved as a
result of the "Pensacola Outpouring."9 However, the
Pensacola Sheriff’s Department has stated unequivocally that this did
not happen and, moreover, that it could not happen.10 When
Pensacola promoters were confronted with this fabrication, they
promised to remove it from their web site.11 Sadly, however,
they continue to circulate this fabrication as a testimony to the
authenticity of the "Pensacola Outpouring."12
Fabrication: "We’re having politicians come in
here now. Congressmen....So we proclaim that in a very short while our
congress, our senate is ablaze with the power of the gospel...that
their lives are changed and transformed....We’ve already had them
here....They’re weeping under the power of God."
Fact: Despite Steve Hill’s dogmatic declaration
that congressmen are in Pensacola "weeping under the power of God," he
has not provided a shred of evidence to support his claim. His
proclamation that congressmen will be changed and the Senate ablaze
with the power of the gospel is at best an unrealized fantasy.13
Fabrication: "Crime in the city of Pensacola had
dropped off significantly....The driving force behind the declining
crime rate [is] the revival."
Fact: According to the Pensacola Police
Department, this widely circulated story has no basis in reality. As
the police pointed out, total crimes have, in fact, risen from 83,849
in 1995 to 85,581 in 1996 (a total increase of 1,732 crimes). "Forcible
sex" was up from 52 to 69; "assault" was up from 623 to 656; "drug
possession" was up from 647 to 660.14 As Assistant Chief
Jerry Potts reported, "Contrary to a widely circulating rumor, crime
rates in Pensacola have not decreased dramatically."15 By
way of contrast, as reported in the Orange County Register, 13
March 1997, the crime rate in Orange County, California (home of the
Christian Research Institute) has dropped at least 23 percent.16
Fabrication: "There is no formal or informal
relationship between Toronto and Pensacola, and the spirit and thrust
of the meetings are very different."
Fact: First, in sharp contrast to this denial by
Pensacola’s Michael Brown, evangelist Steve Hill confessed, "We’ve
received a lot from the Toronto church on how to pray with people and
care for folks...we model a lot of what is going on here from them."17
Furthermore, Pastor Maul Ely, speaking from the pulpit of the
Brownsville Assembly of God, declared to raucous applause that no less
an authority than God Himself had specifically revealed to him a direct
connection between the "Toronto Blessing" and the "Pensacola
Outpouring":
The Lord
said, "Son, draw the tabernacle on a piece of paper." So I just opened
up my notebook and I drew the tabernacle. Nice rectangular lines.
And the Lord
said, "Now, put there at the western side of the tabernacle," He said,
"write down Azusa."
I said,
"Okay." How many know you need to do what He tells you to do, whether
you understand it or not?
He said,
"Now, go all the way across to the eastern part of the tabernacle, the
entrance," and He said, "write Cleveland, Tennessee." So I wrote
Cleveland, Tennessee.
He said,
"Now, go to the northern side and write Toronto." Oh, oh! I feel it.
He said,
"Now, go to the southern side of the tabernacle and write down
Brownsville." You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!
He said,
"Now, draw a line from Azusa to Cleveland, Tennessee"—how many know
that the first wave of the Holy Spirit came to America started on the
western coast and went across to the eastern coast? — He said, "Now
draw a line from the northern side at Toronto to Brownsville"....He
said, "The lines that you have drawn have made a cross across the
tabernacle." And He said, "Now look at America. I have made a spiritual
cross across America." And He said, "I want My people to realize that
it’s in your weakness of burying your cross that the church becomes
powerful." 18
Finally, it is significant to note that prior to Father’s Day
1995, Brenda Kilpatrick and staff members of the Brownsville Assembly
of God had made pilgrimages to Toronto and received "an impartation."
In addition, Pensacola revivalists, such as Steve Hill, have candidly
acknowledged that they have been prayed for by John Arnott in Toronto
and that Arnott and members of the Toronto staff have been to Pensacola.19
Fabrication: Hanegraaff misused Edwards’s
material to suit his own purposes. Brown, conversely, has consulted
scholars working on the Yale University project, The Works of
Jonathan Edwards, who have lent their academic credibility to his
critique of Counterfeit Revival.
Fact: On the one hand, since Brown does not name
these Yale scholars it is impossible to evaluate this claim. On the
other hand, Dr. Michael Bowman, the coordinator of another program
concerning Edwards’s works, STEP: The Edwards Project (which is
releasing the complete works of Edwards on CD-ROM), was concerned
enough about Michael Brown’s lack of scholarship and fabrications to
release the following statement:
Having just
finished Hanegraaff’s Counterfeit Revival, I do not see any
inaccuracy in his review of Edwards’ Distinguishing Marks20
treatise. Overall, I felt that Hanegraaff’s analysis was right on.
Edwards did not condone excesses, but felt that they could be present
in true revival. Edwards realized that the remorse that the repentant
individuals feel, when they realize what they have been saved from, can
occasionally lead to emotional outbursts. The bizarre and "drunken"
behavior in the "counterfeit revival" movement has nothing to do with
repentance. What concerns me the most about this issue is that
mainstream Christianity does not seem to seriously and forcefully
condemn this movement!21
Under the guise of academic credibility Brown not only grossly
misrepresents Jonathan Edwards but he also grossly misrepresents me.
While space and time do not permit a complete accounting of his
deceptions, let’s take a moment to look at how he misleads unsuspecting
readers in a new book22 in which he confronts the critics of
the Pensacola Outpouring and impugns the research and reasoning of my
book, Counterfeit Revival.
Brown accuses me of committing the logical fallacy of guilt by
association, suggesting that I implicate John Arnott as being a
prosperity teacher by virtue of his association with Benny Hinn.23
The reality is in Counterfeit Revival I never indict Arnott on
those grounds at all, let alone through guilt by association with Hinn.
What I actually write is that Hinn "has had a profound impact on such
Counterfeit Revival leaders as John Arnott,"24 which is
true since Hinn had been increasingly asked to pray over the Arnotts
after John was allegedly told by God to "hang around people that have
an anointing."25 I do, however, expose Hinn’s health and
wealth teaching proclivities, offering substantive quotes by Hinn as
evidence.26 Curiously, Brown then accuses me of indicting
Hinn based on an out-of-date quote reflecting a view that Hinn
allegedly repented of long ago. Brown fails to acknowledge that I
provided a 1996 quote of Hinn in addition to an older quote to
substantiate that Hinn has taught and continues to teach a health and
wealth message.27 Moreover, Brown ignores the fact that Hinn
continues to market books that promote a prosperity gospel.
Brown also accuses me of exhibiting a "lack of serious
scholarship." The following is what he refers to as a "representative"
example. Brown states, "On page 269, n. 66, Hanegraaff writes that:
‘The ruling sect of Jews in Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were empty,
unprincipled religionists,’ a sweeping statement that is almost
unthinkable in Christian scholarship at the end of the twentieth
century."28 Brown fails to acknowledge Jesus’ own sweeping
statements about Pharisees (e.g., Matt. 23:1-7, 13-36; cf. Luke 7:30).
Moreover, Brown quotes only the portion of my footnote that would
support his contention, cutting off my statement mid-sentence and thus
mid-thought. The remainder of the sentence reads, "who, for the
most part, rejected Christ and attributed Christ’s works to
Beelzebub, or Satan" (emphasis added). Brown therefore accuses me of
making a sweeping statement only by omitting the qualification for the
statement.29
While much more could be said,
unmasking all of the fabrications of Pensacola spin doctors would be an
endless project. As they continue to seduce unsuspecting subjects
through fabrications, fantasies and frauds, Blaise Pascal’s poignant
words (in Pensees) ring down through the ages: "Truth is so
obscure in these times and falsehood so established, that unless we
love the truth, we cannot know it."
MANIFESTATIONS
VERSUS MESSAGE
As Pensacola promoters endeavor to spread their movement
worldwide, they dogmatically declare that bizarre manifestations are
not the focus of this revival. The facts say otherwise.
One of the videos used by Pensacola promoters is entitled
"Honey, Where Are We From?" It features the testimony of a pastor and
his wife who become so spiritually inebriated that they can’t remember
where they are from. First, the wife becomes incoherent, and her
husband intervenes to explain what she is attempting to say. Then he,
too, becomes disoriented and is unable to think or speak rationally.30
The sensational physical manifestations of Alison and
Elizabeth Ward are also strategically utilized to arouse people’s
expectations for similar experiences. The sisters have been brought up
before the entire congregation to describe and display their mysterious
experiences, thus giving the people a sense that they are having a
close encounter with the divine. Peer pressure is brought to bear as
Elizabeth tells prospects, "After standing there so long watching those
people being touched by God, I guess my spirit got hungry." When she
finally threw caution to the wind, she said, "The shaking went on for
about three days....I couldn’t eat and I was shaking in my sleep. My
family had to feed me through a straw. My whole body was convulsing for
three days."31 Her sister, Alison, says she shakes in the
sanctuary because "it feels good."32
Baptisms at Brownsville are used as yet another promotional
gimmick. In a widely used promotional video some of the baptized jerk
so violently that baptizers can no longer control their behavior. In
one clip the subject shakes so severely that someone is actually kicked
in the face.33 Physical danger is part and parcel of the
process. Pensacola leaders point out that "the power of God falls
during the Friday night water baptisms, and sometimes even the workers
are overcome by the Spirit and have to be carried out of the water."34
Ironically, a word of caution has come from the Brownsville pulpit
about not sitting too close to other people during the time of ministry
out of concern that someone under the influence of a manifestation
might injure nearby worshipers.35
Thousands who have viewed the videos and subsequently
experienced the manifestations testify to radically changed lives.
Nevertheless, my 11-year-old son David and I recently attended a
Christian convention during which the manifestations of Pensacola were
promoted. He rode on an elevator with a couple of ladies who were still
glowing from their spiritually intoxicating experience. They were
delirious over the life-transforming work that the manifestations had
produced in them. Suddenly, one of the ladies noticed my son’s name
tag. Instantly she began shrieking, "I know who you are. You’re the son
of the Bible Answer Man. You are a cursed child."
My son David is not the only
child who has tasted the fruit of Pensacola. Several children from a
youth group traveled to Pensacola and experienced such severe twitching
that when they returned to their classrooms, they were unable to do
their schoolwork. After these children were dismissed from school,
their pastor encouraged them to view their expulsion as persecution for
the sake of Christ.36
BIBLICAL PRETEXTS
More bizarre than the manifestations themselves are the
biblical pretexts that are used to validate them. As a case in point, Charisma
magazine recently ran a series of articles designed to
undermine my credibility and integrity.37 One article was a
critical review of my book, Counterfeit Revival titled "They
Called Jesus a Counterfeit, Too." Even more telling than the overt
deceptions contained in the article were the texts author Jon Ruthven
used to legitimize the manifestations of counterfeit revival hotspots,
such as Pensacola. Ruthven, an Assemblies of God minister and associate
professor of systematic theology at Regent University, Virginia Beach,
Virginia, writes,
Hanegraaff
demands proof for the biblical grounds of charismatic revivalism. Yet
he seems to ignore that many times in Scripture people who were
influenced by the Holy Spirit acted in unusual ways.
When the
Spirit "rushed" upon Saul in 1 Sam. 19:20-24, he stripped off his
clothes, prophesied before Samuel and "lay down naked all that day and
all that night" (v. 24, NKJV). Ezekiel displayed even more bizarre
behavior after God told him to lie on his side, put "the iniquity of
the house of Israel" on himself for 390 days, burn his hair and cook
his food over human excrement! (Ezek. 4:4-5, 12; 5:1-2, 4). Isaiah was
told by God to walk naked through Jerusalem for three years proclaiming
judgment on the city (Is. 20:2-3)....We can only imagine how Hanegraaff
would react to these types of behavior if they were to appear today. He
seems to assume that Christian orthodoxy is a rationalistic, sterilized
Calvinism that functions entirely on an intellectual level — devoid of
the subjective spiritual dimension. 38
Before examining Ruthven’s abuse of Scripture, it should be
noted in passing that his stereotyping of me in this review as an
anticharismatic Calvinist and an antispiritual rationalist is
disingenuous at best and, at worst, dishonest. A closer look at my
background or a careful reading of my books would forever
dispel this myth.
As for his use of the Bible, while at first blush his
arguments from 1 Samuel, Ezekiel, and Isaiah may appear compelling, a
careful examination will expose their absurdity:
1 Samuel 19:20-24. The fact that Saul stripped
off his clothes, prophesied before Samuel, and laid down naked all day
and night (v. 24) provides no validation for the peculiar
manifestations in places like Pensacola.
First, as should be obvious, Ruthven’s interpretation of
Saul’s nakedness cannot be used as normative behavior for Christians
today. If it were, we would be compelled to endorse counterfeit
revivalists who decided to parade around naked as a sign of spiritual
enlightenment!
Furthermore, as a professor of systematic theology, one would
presume that Ruthven is aware of the basic hermeneutical principle that
narrative passages must always be interpreted in light of didactic or
teaching passages (e.g., Scripture records Judas hanging
himself, but it teaches that suicide is wrong).
Finally, this passage clearly reveals God’s judgment against
Saul, not his blessing. In context, Saul is seeking to destroy David
but instead is humiliated by the Holy Spirit. While the Holy Spirit had
once come upon Saul to minister through him, on this occasion the
Spirit came upon Saul to resist his evil intentions.
Ezekiel 4–5. Professor Ruthven claims that Ezekiel
displayed even more bizarre behavior than Saul. By this reasoning, the
precedent is in place for today’s revivalists to push the envelope
beyond even nakedness.
First, the very fact that Ezekiel was engaged in an unusual
process is precisely why it should not be considered normative
for us today. If, indeed, it were the norm, it would not be much of a
sign.
Furthermore, what Ruthven labels "bizarre behavior" is in
reality extraordinarily meaningful. One need only take the time to read
this passage in context to grasp God’s explanation for the symbolism of
Ezekiel’s behavior. While unusual, it is neither random nor bizarre.
Finally, as with Saul, Ezekiel’s actions represent God’s
judgment, not His blessing.
Isaiah 20. In yet another vain attempt to justify the
radical behavior of today’s counterfeit revivalists, Ruthven uses the
fact that God told Isaiah to walk naked through Jerusalem for three
years.
First, as should be obvious to Professor Ruthven, the wording
in Isaiah does not necessitate the notion that the prophet was stark
naked. Complete nakedness would have been considered religiously, as
well as socially, unacceptable — particularly in light of Middle
Eastern culture.
Furthermore, as Hebrew scholars Keil and Delitzsch point out,
"With the great importance attached to the clothing in the East, where
the feelings upon this point are peculiarly sensitive and modest, a
person was looked upon as stripped and naked if he had only taken off
his upper garment. What Isaiah was directed to do, therefore, was
simply opposed to common custom, and not to moral decency."39
Finally, as previously noted with regard to Saul, if God had
instructed Isaiah to walk around stark naked and if that is
justification for Pensacola proclivities today, then if they really do
start stripping, God can be blamed for setting the precedent for their
bizarre behavior.
Tragically, Ruthven’s reasoning
process is the norm rather than the exception for counterfeit
revivalists. One need only scan books by Pensacola leaders, such as
John Kilpatrick, Steve Hill, and Michael Brown, to find even more
outrageous examples of texts taken out of context and used as pretexts
for Pensacola extravagances.
Aping the
Practices of Pagan Spirituality
Out of all the bizarre manifestations I have witnessed in
today’s Counterfeit Revival, one scene has been indelibly etched into
my consciousness. One Sunday morning I sat in the sanctuary of the
Brownsville Assembly of God and watched in horror as a woman in the
choir began to jerk her head violently from side to side. An hour went
by, then another. All the while the violent shaking continued unabated
as intermittently she bent spasmodically at the waist.
A church member noting the look of concern on my face quickly
attempted to assure me that this woman was merely under the influence
of the "Holy Ghost." When I asked if she was certain it was the Holy
Ghost, she seemed incredulous. "What else could it be?" she snapped.
"We’re in church, aren’t we?" She went on to report that this woman had
been shaking violently in the sanctuary for more than a year and a half.
Several months later on CNN’s Larry King Live, King
asked me if there was a substantial difference between the kingdom of
Christ and the kingdom of the cults. In response I pointed out that
Christianity was historic and evidential — not a blind leap into a dark
chasm, but faith founded on objective fact. I went on to say that in
sharp distinction, cult leaders attempt to subjugate their followers’
critical thinking faculties because the mind is seen to be the obstacle
to enlightenment.
A striking parallel from paganism can be found in the ashram
of Poona, India, where devotees of the late guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
engage in repetitive physical motions in order to work themselves into
an altered state of consciousness. Their frenzied behavior produces a
mind-altering form of hyperventilation, which empties the mind of
coherent thought. In the end, they personify Rajneesh’s rendition of
the mindless man.40
Sadly I had to acknowledge that what was once relegated to the
ashrams of cults is now being replicated at the altars of churches, as
Christians are beginning to ape the practices of pagan spirituality.
Dr. Elizabeth Hillstrom concurs: "Having largely set aside their
ability to think rationally and critically or to exercise their will,
they have become hypersuggestible, which means that they are likely to
accept any ‘spiritual truth’ that enters their minds. Even more
remarkably, they seem to be primed for mystical experiences and may
attach great spiritual significance to virtually any event or thought
no matter how mundane or outlandish."41
What heightens the danger of this kind of activity in churches
is that Christians do not expect a counterfeit. While virtually the
same methods employed in cultic communes can now be experienced in
Christian churches, there is a significant difference. In the ashrams
of Poona there is no pretense. Despite such dangers as spirit
possession or insanity, Hindu gurus openly encourage trance states
through which devotees tap into psychic realms and discover their
"higher selves." At the altars of Pensacola, however, these practices
are cloaked in Christian terminology and attributed to the Holy Ghost
rather than the pantheon of Hindu deities.
Whether in the ashrams of cults or at the altars of churches,
the result of achieving an altered state of consciousness is always the
same. It dulls the critical thinking process because the mind is seen
to be the obstacle to enlightenment. As the worship leader of the
Brownsville Assembly of God, Lindell Cooley, has prophesied, "The Lord
is saying, ‘I’m bypassing your mind and going straight to your heart.’
...The heart is what matters to the Lord."42 Though
counterfeit revival leaders repeatedly express this concept, it is in
reality a false dichotomy or a fictional antagonism. Not only are the
mind and intellect of tremendous importance to the Lord in living the
Christian life, but from the perspective of Scripture the heart is more
a matter of understanding than of sentiment.
John Wesley correctly stated, "It is a fundamental principle
that to renounce reason is to renounce religion, that religion and
reason go hand in hand; all irrational religion is false religion."43
While he recognized physical manifestations as a natural response to an
encounter with the gospel, he also attributed enthusiasms such as
falling, laughing, and jumping to the "simplicity" of people and to the
ploys of Satan. Wesley recounted the story of a meeting that took place
in 1773. A hymn was sung over and over some 30 or 40 times, resulting
in bodily agitations on the part of some of the people present. In
response to this phenomenon, he wrote, "Satan serves himself of their
simplicity, in order...to bring a discredit on the work of God."44
Years earlier, in 1740, an epidemic of laughter had broken out
during a gathering in Bristol. Wesley said, "I was surprised at some,
who were buffeted of Satan in an unusual manner, by such a spirit of
laughter as they could in no wise resist."45 A short time
later the "spirit of laughter" returned. One lady present was "so
violently and variously torn of the evil one" that "she laughed till
almost strangled; then broke out into cussing and blaspheming; then
stamped and struggled with incredible strength, so that four or five
could scarcely hold her."46
Pensacola practices, such as jerking spasmodically, laughing
uncontrollably, and falling backward into trance states, are
conspicuous by their absence in the ministry of Jesus Christ and the
apostles. Conversely, they are commonplace in the world of the occult.
Peter warned believers to be wary of just such pagan practices. He
admonished believers to "be clear-minded and self-controlled" (1 Pet.
4:7).
It should also be noted that these practices are harmful and
characteristic of neurological diseases such as palsy. Dr. Oliver
Wilder-Smith warns, "[For] somebody who’s shaking their head violently
for a long period of time, the potential for physical damage is massive
because your cervical spine, which is a very delicate organ, is just
not built for that sort of activity. I’m sure she’ll be having
degenerative changes of all of the joints in her cervical spine very
rapidly....The purely physical consequences of shaking your head for
hours on end are very, very damaging from a purely medical point of
view."47
The spiritual consequences can be even more damaging. My
concern for this woman and scores of others like her prompted me to
plead with Pensacola pastor John Kilpatrick to consider the physical
and spiritual consequences. While acknowledging that the woman I
identified in his church "shakes like she has palsy," he defiantly
paraded her across his platform as a trophy of the "Pensacola
Outpouring." Ominously he shouted, "If you don’t want your head to
start shaking — you make fun of someone in the choir shaking — come
here a minute, girl. Come down here a minute. Hurry up. Hurry up, if
you don’t want your head to do like this, you better lay your mouth off
of her."
The violent shaking that Kilpatrick deemed to be a mark of
revival would for me become the mark of God’s wrath. Kilpatrick went on
to prophesy judgment upon me: "I want to say something this morning to
Hank Hanegraaff....if you want to keep any kind of a semblance of a
ministry, you better back off from this revival and what God is doing.
You better back off, because I am going to prophesy to you that if you
don’t, and you continue to put your tongue in your mouth on this move
of God, within 90 days the Holy Ghost will bring you down. I said
within 90 days the Holy Ghost will bring you down."48
While the "prophet" Kilpatrick
said his words were a direct revelation from the Lord, the prophet
Moses said that we need not fear those who utter false revelations:
"You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not
been spoken by the Lord?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of
the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord
has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be
afraid of him" (Deut. 18:21-22).
BACK TO BASICS
A tragedy in modern-day
Christianity is that people are looking for experience of God in all
the wrong places. The real experience is found in getting back to
basics.
Prayer
The body of Christ must rediscover the joy of genuine worship
by developing a passion for authentic prayer. The Tuesday evening
prayer meetings at Brownsville involve a practice known as "sweeping
the sanctuary," in which groups of people in militaristic fashion join
hands and walk throughout the sanctuary and campus to bind hindering
spirits that would threaten the revival.49 But genuine
prayer is not about binding Satan or other sensationalistic ventures.
It is crucial that we become so focused on the real purpose,
power, and provision of prayer that once again genuine prayer becomes
our priority. While prayer involves supplication of our Lord, it is
much more than that. Ultimately, prayer is the submission of our wills
to God. That is precisely why R. A. Torrey said that "to pray the
prayer of faith we must, first of all, study the Word of God,
especially the promises of God, and find out what the will of God is."50
Through prayer we have the privilege of expressing adoration
and thanksgiving to the One who saved us, sanctifies us, and one day
will glorify us. Through prayer we also confess our sins with the sure
knowledge that "He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). And through
prayer we indeed petition the Lord to send forth His people to boldly
proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ (Matt. 9:38; Col. 4:3), asking that
He would open the hearts of the unbelieving so they might believe and
be saved (e.g., Rom. 10:1).
F. B. Meyer has well observed
that "the great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered
prayer."51
Scripture
The Scriptures not only form the foundation of an effective
prayer life, but they are also foundational to every other aspect of
Christian living. While prayer is our primary way of communication with
God, the Scriptures are God’s primary way of communicating with us.
Nothing should take precedence over getting into the Scriptures and
getting the Scriptures into us.
One of the most important means of getting the Scriptures into
us involves the faithful pulpit ministry of the local church. Unlike
Pensacola’s propensity for severe holiness preaching based on emotional
anecdotes, a genuine pulpit ministry must maintain substantive
Bible-centered instruction week in and week out. More than exposure to
intensely emotional sermons is needed in order to sustain a healthy
Christian life.
If we fail to eat well-balanced
meals on a regular basis, we will eventually suffer physical
consequences. What is true of the outer person is also true of the
inner person. If we do not regularly feed on the Word of God, we will
suffer spiritual consequences. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He
who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will
never be thirsty" (John 6:35).
Fellowship
As we rediscover the power of prayer and renew a passion for
Scripture, we also need to rededicate ourselves to experiencing
fellowship as a community of faith. We ought not think that we can find
quick-fix solutions to our often distant and troubled relationships.
Running off to Pensacola for an impartation to bring back to our home
church is not the biblical prescription for healthy fellowship.52
Neither is the real experience found in focusing in on
ourselves. Rather, the genuine biblical experience is found through
focusing out on others. The question we should be asking is
not, "What can an esoteric experience in church do for me?" but, "How
can I use my experiences for the edification of others?" A sad
commentary on modern Christianity is that when members of the body
hurt, too often we relegate them to finding resources outside the walls
of the church. That is precisely why the apostle Paul exhorts us, "Be
devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above
yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor,
serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in
prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality"
(Rom. 12:10-13).
While counterfeit revival leaders
clamor for unity without regard for truth, genuine fellowship can be
experienced only in concert with the enduring truths of our Christian
confession. In the words of J. I. Packer, "We are not entitled to infer
from the fact that a group of people are drawing nearer to each other
that any of them is drawing nearer to the truth."53 We must
never forget that it was for precisely these biblical truths that the
martyrs spilled their blood. Hugh Latimer, who was burned at the stake
for his confession of faith, cried out, "Unity must be ordered
according to God’s Holy Word, or else it were better war than peace."54
Witness
If more than 1.8 million55 people have experienced
the Pensacola Outpouring in some way, one would never know it from
examining the immediate vicinity of Brownsville. When I was in
Pensacola, I personally interviewed a number of people on the street
within a block from the Brownsville Assembly of God church.56
None of them had been positively impacted in the least by the so-called
revival. Others who say they have canvassed the Browns-ville
neighborhood report similarly.57
Do you want a real spiritual experience? Equip yourself to
"always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give
the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and
respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak
maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of
their slander" (1 Pet. 3:15-16).
If the early Christian church had
one distinguishing characteristic, it was a passion to communicate the
love, joy, and peace that only Christ can bring to the human heart. As
we find ourselves entrenched in an era of esotericism, it is essential
that Christians rediscover the ultimate experience of being used as a
tool in the hands of almighty God in the process of transforming lives.
Too many today believe that the task of apologetics is the exclusive
domain of scholars and theologians. Not so! The defense of the faith is
not optional. It should be part of basic training for every Christian.
AN ETERNAL
PERSPECTIVE
Nowhere is there a more clear-cut contrast between genuine and
counterfeit revival than when it comes to an eternal versus an earthly
perspective. While the preaching of the Great Awakening was focused on
eternal verities, the promises of counterfeit revivalists are often
focused on earthly vanities. The more we listen to their messages, the
more crystal clear their common refrain becomes. Leaders of the
counterfeit revival demand the kingdom now! — in this life, with all
its attendant material wealth, physical health, and public accolades.58
Jesus, however, said, "My kingdom is not of this world....My kingdom is
from another place" (John 18:36). As evidence of this, John’s gospel
relates how quickly the shout, "Hosanna!... Blessed is the King of
Israel!" (12:13) gave way to the cry, "Crucify him!...We have no king
but Caesar" (19:15).
Like modern-day counterfeit revivalists, the sights of many
would-be disciples of Jesus were focused on earth, not eternity. In
sharp contrast, the leader of the first Great Awakening, Jonathan
Edwards, was utterly convinced that in genuine revival the Spirit of
God is at work "to lessen men’s esteem of the pleasures, profits, and
honors of the world, and to take off their hearts from an eager pursuit
after these things; and to engage them in a deep concern about a future
state and eternal happiness which the gospel reveals—and puts them upon
earnestly seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness."59
Like Edwards, C. S. Lewis
understood the utter folly of aiming at earth. As he so concisely put
it, "Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you
get neither."60
NOTES
1John Kilpatrick, In Times Like These
(Pensacola, FL: Brownsville Assembly of God, 30 May 1996); videotape.
2Steve Hill, Brownsville Assembly of God, 30 May 1996;
videotape.
3Michael Brown, From Holy Laughter to Holy Fire (Shippensburg,
PA: Destiny Image, 1996), back page promotion.
4Brownsville Revival Testimonies web page at www.brownsville-revival.org/html/testimon.htm.
5Steve Hill, Brownsville Assembly of God, 6 April
1997; videotape.
6Dr. Carl Sightler, "Results
from the Revival," Brownsville Revival web site (see note 4).
7Dr. Michael L. Brown, "Pensacola: God or Not?" Destiny
Image Digest, Winter 1997, 39.
8The Brownsville Assembly of God reports as of 10
August 1997, over 115,000 have responded to the altar calls since the
revival began 18 June 1995 (http://www.brownsville-revival.org/).
Dale Schlafer, Becoming an Agent of Revival: Revival Primer
(Denver: Promise Keepers, 1997), 21, reports 102,000 converts. A
publisher’s blurb on the last page of Dr. Michael Brown’s book, From
Holy Laughter to Holy Fire: America on the Edge of Revival
(Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 1996), says, "In less than two years,
Evangelist Steve Hill has won hundreds of thousands to Christ...." A
widely distributed promotional flyer for Awake America at Anaheim CA
28-29 September 1997 with Pastor John Kilpatrick and Evangelist Steve
Hill states: "In Pensacola hundreds of thousands of people have come to
Jesus." In an Internet Reapernet Chat session, 6 May 1997
(chat.reapernet.com), Dr.
Michael Brown wrote: "As for the question of why we are now speaking
about numbers of people responding to the altar calls as opposed to
numbers of people being ‘saved,’ the reasoning is simple. In point of
fact, all of us HATE exaggeration and hype, and from the start,
conservative figures were being used. Actually, between 250,000-300,000
people have responded to the altar calls, not the 103,000 figure you
may see. But we know that not all of these people were actually being
saved or coming back to the Lord, therefore we used a very low number
for people ‘saved.’ However, since we cannot follow-up on every
individual, and since we don’t want to exaggerate anything in the
slightest, we speak now of those coming to the Lord or responding to
the altars calls, also avoiding unnecessary controversy. Of course —
and this is the good news! — we can point to multiplied thousands of
radical converts, and really, hundreds of thousands around the country
through the revival." In Good News (July-August 1996 np), Steve
Hill is quoted as saying: "We’re seeing a thousand people saved a week,
but we are very conservative with the figures.").
9To the extent that true conversions have taken place
as a result of the Pensacola Outpouring, I rejoice (Phil. 1:18). Of
course, what I am concerned about is the kind of Christianity
these converts are being led into and the kind of Christianity
this movement is depicting to the world. Conversions do not relieve
teachers of responsibility and accountability for their unbiblical
teachings and practices.
10My office contacted the Pensacola Sheriff’s
Department on March 20, 1997 (Sheriff Loman and Sergeant Spears —
Brownsville is in their district). Not only were we told that this did
not happen, but also that the only possible reason for suspected drug
dealers to be taken to a revival would be if it were part of a parole
stipulation ordered by a parole judge.
11See Bible Answer Man program interview with
Michael Brown, 20 March 1997.
12As of 25 July 1997 this fabrication remains on the
Brownsville AOG web site.
13As Christians we must not make public claims without
verifiable evidence to back up those claims (e.g., 1 Thess. 5:21; 2
Cor. 13:1; Heb. 10:28).
14Statistics available through the Pensacola Police
Department.
15Steve Rabey, "Pensacola Outpouring Keeps Gushing," Christianity
Today, 3 March 1997, 57.
16Orange County Register, 13 March 1997, Metro
1. Of course, CRI does not claim responsibility for the drop in Orange
County’s crime rate.
17Steve Hill, "Heart to Heart, with Evangelist Steve
Hill," Destiny Image Digest, Winter 1997, 14.
18Maul Ely, Brownsville Assembly of God, 16 March
1997; audiotape.
19Hill, "Heart to Heart," 14.
20Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival (Dallas:
Word Publishers, 1997), 83-101.
21Michael Bowman, e-mail message to Debra Bouey
(forwarded to CRI 29 July 1997, CRI files).
22Michael L. Brown, Let No One Deceive You:
Confronting the Critics of Revival (Shippensburg, PA: Revival
Press, 1997).
23Ibid., 242-43.
24Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival, 106.19
25As quoted in ibid., 47.
26Ibid., 106.
27Ibid.
28Brown, Let No One Deceive You, 244.
29These points, in addition to numerous others,
concerning Brown’s indictment of Counterfeit Revival were
brought to my attention through a very thoughtful analysis written by
Shawn Paul Suave. Many who have undertaken the arduous effort of
analyzing Brown’s arguments have highlighted similar issues.
30"Honey, Where Are We From?" In Times Like These
(Pensacola, FL: Brownsville Assembly of God, 8 June 1996); videotape.
31Larry Walker, "Sisters in the Fire: Alison and
Elisabeth Ward," Destiny Image Digest, Winter 1997, 27.
32"Amy Elizabeth Ward, ‘Mercy Seat,’ Alison Ward," In
Times Like These (Pensacola, FL: Brownsville Assembly of God,
n.d.); videotape.
33"The Voice of Many Waters," In Times Like These
(Pensacola, FL: , Brownsville Assembly of God, n.d.) (testimonies from
baptismal services); videotape.
34Michael Brown, "Revival in Brownsville?" Destiny
Image Digest, Winter 1997, 36.
35E.g., Brownsville Assembly of God, Sunday evening
service, 16 March 1997, personal eyewitness testimony of Hank
Hanegraaff.
36CRI’s research included interviews with eyewitnesses
to this case.
37See Charisma, July 1997, 36-41, 60-62.
38Jon Ruthven, "They Called Jesus a Counterfeit, Too,"
Charisma, July 1997, 61.
39Franz Delitzsch, Isaiah, Volume VII in Commentary
on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch
(Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1976), 372.
40Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, quoted in Fear Is the
Master (Hemet, CA: Jeremiah Films, 1986); video.
41Elizabeth L. Hillstrom, Testing the Spirits
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 79.
42Lindell Cooley, "1997 Conference on the Ministry,"
Grand Rapids, 7 January 1997, as cited in G. Richard Fisher and M. Kurt
Goedelman, "The Murky River of Brownsville: The Strange Doctrine and
Practice of the Pensacola Revival," The Quarterly Journal,
April-June 1997, 17.
43Quoted in Os Guiness, Fit Bodies, Fat Minds
(Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994), 32
44John Wesley, as quoted in Ronald A. Knox, Enthusiasm:
A Chapter in the History of Religion (Notre Dame: University of
Notre Dame Press, 1994 edition), 533.
45Ibid.
46John Wesley, as quoted in Nick Needham’s appendix,
"Holy Laughter — The Experience of John Wesley," Was Jonathan
Edwards the Founding Father of the Toronto Blessing? (Welling,
Kent, England: self-published, 1995), 39.
47Dr. Oliver Wilder-Smith, Bible Answer Man
radio program, 15 May 1997.
48John Kilpatrick, "God’s Ears," Brownsville Assembly
of God Revival Service, 6 April 1997; videotape.
49For frank and unashamed accounts of these prayer
meetings, see the Brownsville Assembly of God official web site (http://www.brownsville-revival.org/).
50R.A. Torrey, The Power of Prayer (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 123-24.
51John Blanchard, Gathered Gold (Durham,
England: Evangelical Press, 1984), 231.
52Another significant problem with the Brownsville
revival is the lack of accountability offered for new converts. The
Brownsville AOG acknowledges that they do not know whether the vast
majority of the thousands upon thousands of recorded conversions have
been baptized, enrolled in a discipleship program, or regularly attend
church. (Fax response from Rose Compton of the Brownsville Assembly of
God, Pensacola, FL, 13 December 1996.)
53Blanchard, Gathered Gold , 37.
54Ibid., 39. Hugh Latimer (1485–16 October 1555) was
an English reformer who was burned at the stake under the authority of
Catholic Queen Mary Tudor.
55Figure as of 7 September 1997 (http://www.brownsville-revival.org/).
562-4 May 1997.
57E.g., Joseph R. Chambers, "False Brags and Real
Facts," The End Times and Victorious Living, March–April 1997,
7. See also the report offered during the 10 June 1997 Internet
Reapernet Chat session (chat.reapernet.com).
58While this particular criticism applies more to
counterfeit revivalists in general (see Counterfeit Revival,
67-162, especially 105-9) than specifically to the Pensacola
revivalists, the latter have exhibited such tendencies. For example,
John Kilpatrick says, "When God blesses somebody or God promotes
somebody, I want to warn you now, expect self-promoters to become
jealous. What did Jesus say? He knew what He was talking about. He said
I will bless you with houses and land and mothers and fathers. He said
no man has ever given up anything in my Kingdom. I will bless you with
houses and land. Mark 10:29-30....He said if you give it up and you
sacrifice, I will see it and I will bless you and I will promote you
but when I promote you, you won’t get rid of any of those things and
suffer and sacrifice any of those things but what I will bless you and
repay you. He said I will give you those things in this life but you
are going to have them with persecution....God has got His hand on
you...and [is] going to bless you even more as this thing continues to
go along...and He is going to bless you even more because it is a law
of God, a principle of God." (John Kilpatrick, "Moving on Up,"
Brownsville Assembly of God, 12 January 1997, tape no. 509, part 2.
Transcript provided from official Brownsville AOG web site, (http://www.brownsville-revival.org/.)
Stephen Hill is quoted as saying: "Yes, I love the anointing. But I
believe there is more. You see, my shadow isn’t healing the
sick yet. I want my shadow to heal the sick. I want the dead to be
raised. I want people to call me when their son or daughter dies,
asking me to come to the funeral parlor. I want to see the dead raised.
So there is more" (emphasis in original).
(Steve Hill, "Heart to Heart, with Evangelist Steve Hill," Destiny
Image Digest, Winter 1997, 18.)
59Jonathan Edwards, Works of Jonathan Edwards,
vol. 2, 267.
60Edythe Draper, Edythe Draper’s Book of
Quotations (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992),
305.
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