Friday Ruminations
Dog Days of a Texas Summer
I haven’t kept up with writing for a while because of work and also because of the lovely high pressure zone that has plopped itself over the Dallas-Fort Worth area all summer.
As a trial lawyer (or you might say “court lawyer” because nobody goes to trial anymore), my schedule is at the mercy of the judges and other lawyers. Consequently, I have long periods where there is not much to do and then other times where a 40-hour day wouldn’t be a bad idea. Luckily, things have sort of cleared out and I’ve refashioned my office yet again so I should be up and at’em in a few.
Today there has finally been a break in the weather. We’ve had over 30 days over the 100 degree mark and it gets oppressive after a while. While that shouldn’t be an excuse for not writing, it is.
Charismaniacs
This week I breezed through some stories about the Lakeland Revival and how it’s gone kablooey. I am not surprised. I had noted how some of the leaders used Kenneth Hagin’s name and ministry to make themselves look credible, but that kind of thing never works. Revivals are to be about the Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work and he doesn’t share his glory with anybody, even Kenneth Hagin or Kenneth Hagin wannabes.
Anti-Intellectualism
Many of the articles written about the Lakeland revival refer to anti-intellectualism. Apparently, many of the charismatic leaders involved said that any criticism of Todd Bentley was demonic or something to that effect. Frankly, even as a guy who has been to Pentecost-meetings, revival meetings, and even Bob Tilton’s old Word of Faith church, I don’t get that at all. Contrary to popular belief, at Rhema they taught us to check out everything by the Word and that didn’t mean to throw out your sensibilities. Whenever a revival hits a point that they disregard scripture, I hit the door running. Intellectualism and the move of God’s Spirit are not mutually exclusive.
Word of Faith Reformation
After the brouhaha over Lakeland, there is sure to be talk about “reformation” of Word of Faith doctrine. During the revival, Todd Bentley aligned himself with the Word of Faith movement by invoking Kenneth Hagin’s name, books, and what-have-you. I’m already aware of one site that has drawn a line in the sand about how Word of Faith doctrine is not biblical, not historic Christianity, and so on (everybody wants to be a hero). A few ignorant charismatic “leaders” and revival novices will not as much put a scratch on my view of the Word. Sometimes walking alone can be a good thing.
The 30-Second Prayer Seminar
Given that it’s summer and we’ve been traveling, my wife and I have had the chance to attend a number of different churches all across the country. One thread running through all of them has been the lack of coherency in prayer. We’ve heard prayers to Jesus, commands for rain, prayers for the price of oil to drop, and the list goes on. The Gospels and the Epistles set out the proper way to pray:
We pray to the Father through the work (the name) of the Lord Jesus Christ by unction of the Holy Spirit according to the Word.
If you read Paul’s prayers in his epistles, this is exactly the way that he encouraged us to pray. It is also consistent with Jesus’s instruction in John 16.23, 24:
And in that day you will ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. (KJV)