Terrestrially Challenged

Apostosy in the Church

2007-12-31T12:41:00.000-05:00

In response to a post on the other blog, Father Charles wrote the following:
Thanks for pointing out the pithy paragraph in the newsletter. I had skimmed the article and missed that point. The Episcopal Church leadership is oblivious to the problems they have created. They are convinced of their rightness - believing the rest of us are unenlightened. So convinced of their rightness, they believe the world will be a kinder and gentler place when everyone accepts the sexual orientation and practices of gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgendered persons as God-given and blessed gifts from heaven.

These people are so crazy, they think our brothers and sisters in the Global South are really the problem - and not the Muslims who are persecuting the Church in locales like Nigeria. Since the revisionists are universalists, they couldn't care less about hindering the gospel witness in Africa. They will just keep loving and accepting everyone - except those who disagree with them - until we all just learn to get along. They actually believe radical Muslims who are working to impose Sharia law on the entire world will eventually be won over by their love and open-mindedness. Love will win out in the end.

It just boggles my mind. When I try to intellectually understand how they think, it still comes down to a strong delusion. No amount of evidence reaches them. A friend from seminary - and lesbian priest - told me with resignation, "We gays are going to the Cross for the rest of you. We have to bear the suffering of Christ to open up the Church - to make it safe for everyone. The Church will never be a safe place for anyone until it is a safe place for us." There you have it in a nutshell.

While I was attending GTS in NYC, Archbishop George Carey visited the campus. He briefly greeted our student body in the Refectory. We were thrilled to lay eyes on the Archbishop of Canterbury - all except for the gay students who hated him for his public statements supporting the historic Christian position on sexuality. One gay student - who was living in student housing with his life partner - whispered to a few of us close to him, "That vitriolic old man!!! I'd like to spit on him!!!" Well, so much for light, love, and tolerance. This gay couple "divorced" about graduation time. I never heard the details - but at least no one spit on the ABC that day.
Even when I want to get angry with the revisionists, I step back and realize they are not actually the problem. They are at least true to their confused convictions. The real culprits are the many people on the pews who are content with a watered-down substitute gospel that has no life-transforming power. The abandonment of apostolic faith is masked by beautiful liturgies and prayers - mostly reinterpreted to mean something other than what they say. This slide into apostasy didn't happen suddenly with the election of a gay bishop. In humility, I have to remember how much truth I was willing to compromise in order to "fit in.” I repeatedly hear priests who have left The Episcopal Church talk about the sudden sense of freedom - as though their minds were out from under a cloud. What they are describing is more than resolved emotional tension. We have stepped out of a demonically inspired system that exerted a constant spiritual pressure against the truth of God's word. You can't tell how oppressed and compromised you have been until you step out from under that spiritual force. Then you realize how much you were impacted by it.
Some traditional strands of Anglicanism fool themselves into blaming prayerbook revisions for the slide away from the truth. In their minds, if we would just get back to the Elizabethan BCP, there wouldn't be any room for these heresies. I have to wonder, what planet do these people live on? As beautiful as these liturgies are, they contain a fatal flaw–high liturgies developed out of a Church that had abandoned apostolic power. The ancient fourfold order of the liturgy comes from the glory days of the Church in the book of Acts. But the complex liturgies - built around a model of priests offering Mass as a sacrifice on behalf of the Church - substituted for the manifested power and presence of the Holy Spirit in and through the gathered people of God.

It is difficult to lead a fully charismatic Mass because the set forms of liturgies were designed in a vacuum of spiritual power. These forms become the norm of Christian worship when no one expected the manifested power of God to show up. Think about the great church in Byzantium - now a mosque - with the huge image of Christ Pantocrator enthroned in glory - dispassionate like a lofty Roman emperor - seated above mundane things - looking out in dispassionate judgment over the affairs of the empire. It is all about images of transcendence and other-worldliness - while wrapping up Christ in imperial garb to undergird the divine right of the Roman emperor to rule over the affairs of Church and State. In these images, God is beyond human feelings. Lip-service is given to the Incarnation. Where is the Christ touched by the feelings of our infirmities - the merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God? Church councils and theologians had replaced miracle-workers and prophets.

Back when the power of God was actively manifest in the Church, the bishop simply stood at the holy table and prayed from his heart - as he was moved by the Spirit. The fourfold order of gathering, hearing and responding to the word of God, breaking bread, and being sent out into the world - that was there - but not the elaborate prayers and forms that make us think God is dynamically at work while nothing much ever happens - except for an occasional mystical experience. It appears to me that God likes the messiness of charismatic expression. God has hidden stuff from the wise and prudent - and revealed it to babe. I can't think of a high-impact revival that didn't offend someone's sensibilities. The Episcopal Church - like most mainline denominations - has lost its way because they have never had their world-view impacted by biblical truth. They have interpreted the bible in light of their own experience of divine absence instead of Real Presence. If we don't press through into the grace of God - and begin to manifest the kingdom of God in power - then there will be no revival in the land - just occasional mystical experiences. But the culture will remain untouched.

Vapid Archbishop

2007-12-31T12:18:00.000-05:00

Father Don wrote a comment on the other blog to which Father Charles responded as follows:

Father Don wrote: When I first read our Archbishop's Christmas sermon the day it came out, I could not believe my eyes. I said to my wife, "What is the man thinking! Here we are in the midst of this great Anglican crisis and he comes out with a message which sounded like some college sophomore who has lost his faith."

That message was the last thing he needed to do at this moment when our church is coming all apart precisely because of bishops who have lost their way. I sure hope he will have the good sense to resign and do it quickly. He is the wrong person at the wrong time The Archbishop of Canterbury was so far from my thoughts that I didn't even notice his Christmas sermon. Do you get any sense of what might be happening in his psyche? He must live in some academic fantasy world.

Father Charles responded:
The Archbishop of Canterbury was so far from my thoughts that I didn't even notice his Christmas sermon. Do you get any sense of what might be happening in his psyche? He must live in some academic fantasy world.
As I have watched these revisionist bishops, their escalation of insanity reminds me of biblical passages of God's judgment - when people are given over to reprobate minds that have lost any ability for discernment. They can no longer distinguish truth from error. God said He would give them over to strong delusion. And there is the interesting OT story where a spirit comes forward in the heavenly courts and offers to go be a lying spirit in the mouth of the false prophets - to lead the king of Israel to his destruction.
I think we are witnessing something like this in Rowan and others like him. Because of the spiritual positions entrusted to these bishops, there is a higher level of warfare - of which they are totally unaware. These guys and gals get caught up in delusions that must be the work of deceiving spirits. My hope is that this is God's way of manifesting their true natures - false shepherds - wolves in sheep's clothing. High level spiritual warfare is advancing through false religions - and this substitute Christianity is powerless before it. When bishops ought to be defending the faith and calling hearts to the Cross and transforming in Christ, we get handed a replay of Rodney King's "Why can't we all get along?"
In the face of this kind of idiocy, I am hard-pressed not to interpret this as end-time apostasy - the great falling away that precedes the coming of Christ. All this must signal something really wonderful on the spiritual scene.

Will Someone Please Sort Modern Prophecy For Us!

2007-08-13T17:14:00.000-05:00

Fr. Don e-mailed Fr. Charles,
I don’t know about you, but it seems there is a tsunami of prophecies being issued forth–so many in fact that I have stopped reading them. You know what I would like to see? I would like to see some people in Christian universities, who need to publish, do what academics do when there is a flood of research on some subject.

First, professors who like to collate material will go through all the research and synthesize it for the rest of us. Other types of professors will survey their colleagues and have them vote for the research they think has the best quality. Other professors look through all the literature and count the number of times a piece of research is cited by other researchers. Finally, there are some who follow up on research, replicating it to see if it holds up under scrutiny. These type of publications really make a contribution.

Wouldn’t it be great if some Christian professors would collate and synthesize what the prophets are saying, picking up themes? Then others could survey the field to ask various prophets who are publishing or giving conferences, to rank order their colleagues. Someone else could survey the prophets and ask them which ones of their colleagues are they reading. Finally, someone needs to follow-up the prophecies and see who was accurate, for example, those who prophesied in 2005 with titles such as “What will God do in 2006?”

If I were a university professor right now and needed a publication for my advancement, I would be tempted to do the type of research I would like to see. If someone doesn’t do something soon, the whole enterprise is going to become one big blur.

Seriously Seeing the Seers

2007-08-13T16:53:00.000-05:00

Father Charles replies: I share your feelings. We have a great need for Pentecostal/Charismatic scholarship of the kind you suggest. I have several thoughts about this need.

First, there is wide divergence of opinion within the Pentecostal/Charismatic world regarding the role of spiritual gifts and special manifestations. I was shocked to read recent studies that nearly half of people who consider themselves Pentecostal/Charismatic have no interest in speaking in tongues. Many renewal churches are adopting a seeker-friendly approach that pushes spiritual manifestations to the back corner.

Second, I am noting significant differences of opinion among the teachers and prophets that I personally admire. Note Fr Don's post about the recent controversy against Patricia King. Instead of serious study of special phenomena, they are dismissed as New Age syncretism.

Third, Pentecostal scholarship is on the increase - with Pentecostalism still being the new kid on the theological block - but I am noticing that some Pentecostal scholars are embarrassed by the wilder side and are uncomfortable with Pentecostal manifestations. They fear that this wilder side of the movement reinforces the religious stereotypes that have characterized historic Pentecostalism. Such scholars bring a bias against such manifestations when they should be the very people leading the forefront of study.

Fourth, this field of study is a slippery slope. I recall a seminary lecture by an ascetical theologian. She stated that theologians have been reluctant to accept ascetical theology as a valid academic study because it is impossible to study as a dispassionate observer. How do you study mystical states of consciousness without experiencing them for yourself? I recall a book on glossolalia research - wish I could cite the author and title, but it was in a college library back in the early 1980's. The researcher visited Pentecostal churches around the globe - making video and audio recordings of people practicing tongues in public services. The researcher was suddenly caught over "into the Spirit" and saw a vision of something akin to a great waterfall pouring down. This unexpected shift from normal consciousness frightened the researcher - who didn't want that to happen again. Real spiritual manifestations ought to be catching. Scholars, like Jack Deere, have started to investigate prophecy and fallen into the creek. Deere, a former dispensational Southern Baptist, is now in the main stream of prophetic ministry and apostolic restoration. Collecting the data seems to do something to people that makes them lose their objectivity.

I do see a real concern for authenticity and accuracy being expressed among the prophetic people that I read. People like Mike Bickle have worked hard to get prophetic people to move away from danger areas of time prediction, prophesying important moves, etc - the high-risk areas of prophetic ministry. When I minister to charismatic groups outside my Sunday morning congregation, I do a great deal of personal prophetic ministry. If I didn't receive regular feedback about accuracy from those receiving the ministry, I don't think I could get up and even try. I have heard so much cheap, fake prophecy that I have been tempted to "despise prophesying". Why do I keep going with it? The truth is I agree with something Jack Deere often says. There are lots of cheap imitations out there. But there is gold in the hills that is worth the effort to mine it out. When the real gift is experienced, it takes your breath away. Nothing edifies the Church like the real gift of prophecy.

Maybe someone at the Renewal Studies doctoral program at Regent University could put together a dissertation. If I were enrolled in the program, I would consider doing it myself. I would like to hear prophets reviewed by other prophets with proven histories of blessings. Paul says the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets - let onc prophesy and the others judge.

Is it God or the Enemy

2007-08-13T13:39:00.000-05:00

Father Don E-mailed Father Charles,
In last night’s message at church, the teacher pointed out instances in which the cause of the people’s hardships actually came from the Lord. His main Scripture was: Jeremiah 24:5

Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good,....

God’s purpose was to stretch the people and make them grow. After which their reward for faithfulness came.

The image I saw was my treadmill. I can slowly crank up the incline higher and higher. As it rises, the resistance causes stronger and stronger leg muscles. The idea that God might be doing the same action was not hard to believe.

The teacher added that sometimes then, tough times are initiated by God and some times by the Devil. Unfortunately, the teacher stopped there, leaving the big question as to how we can discern which is God and which is the enemy. Do you or any readers out there have some ideas?
Father Don

Exorcism and Deliverance Prayer Continued

2007-08-12T22:50:00.000-05:00

As Fr. Don and I posted below, we were both shocked by the poor treatment of exorcism by Hannity. I have gone through different phases of thought about exorcism and deliverance. Here are some of the things I believe I have learned.

When I became a Christian, I was heavily oppressed by interaction with demonic spirits in seances. While I thought this spiritual practice was benign - even helpful - it was a counterfeit. Trying to find God through direct experience, I became intangled with bondages of fear that could only be released through deliverance prayer.

I emphasized the need for deliverance prayer in much of my early ministry. At a certain point, I realized that deliverance prayer alone cannot produce long-lasting change. In addition to evicting troubling spirits, my mind needed renewing through biblical, redemptive truth. So, I explored psychology as a means to understand why I was the way I was. Some of the most life-transforming truths came to me through that exploration. Every psychological insight became a place of meeting with God as I invited Him to work in the depths of my being. I swung too far in that direction and began to de-emphasize the role of the demonic and spiritual warfare.

The last few years have been a time of digging ancient wells in my spirit. Many truths that had informed my earlier years of ministry have sprouted again and are releasing spiritual life in me. One of those ancient wells is deliverance prayer. Over the last several years, I walked through some difficult times in ministry that I honestly thought were going to kill me. It was only my personal experiences of the presence of Christ Holy Spirit that kept me alive. I felt layers of emotional and spiritual toxicity building up on my - like layers on my skin. It was like have layers of spiritual sewage wrapped around me without any way to get it off. I hoped the changes I made in ministry would bring the inner release I knew I needed - but they didn't. Some days I thought I would just have to live with it.

That changed when I turned back to deliverance prayer. I attended a Kathie Walters/Bob Jones conference - and didn't even want to be there. Sitting there in the building that night, I was secretly wishing I hadn't come. My mood was dark and heavy - and I felt that I didn't have a friend in the world. I sat as far away from others as I could. To my dismay, a lady who had heard about my ministry in the Spirit came running over to me. She is one of those rare individuals who only have an "on" switch. This sister in Christ archs constantly with spiritual power when she is in the Spirit. I thought, "She is going to mess with me - and I don't want to hug and be nice. I want to be left alone." There is not much you can do with a Christian like her other than let them do what they are going to do and hope they stop soon and leave you alone.

Anyway, she came over to me in a state of spiritual intoxication. She grabbed me around the neck and began to stagger. Just when I was wishing seriously that she would just fall over in the floor and leave me alone - or go off and arch with spiritual power around someone who would actually appreciate it - I felt the power of God shoot through me. As the power of the Spirit passed through me from this lady, I felt a band break off my mind. For the first time in weeks, I felt the peace and love of God. I realized in that moment that my psychological mood had a spiritual root - an attack from an evil spirit that I mistook for a bad mood. The power of God broke that off me and I was able to receive. This opened up a spiritual door in me to which I could not find the key alone. In the course of that weekend, I was touched a second time. Layers of spiritual oppression were literally knocked off me as my body convulsed under the impact. When the power of God finally lifted off me, I felt those layers of accumulated spiritual oppression and bondage break off me - down to my very skin. I was astonished at how much spiritual oppression I had contracted - and understood why my little faith pep talks had not lifted the cloud that had accumulated over my life.

Deliverance prayer - casting out demons and breaking demonic bondage - brings the kingdom of God into our lives. It lays the foundation for renewing the mind - and sometimes renewing the mind breaks the bondage be removing the house that the enemy inhabited.

I have seen many mistakes in deliverance prayer over the years - and am sure I have made plenty. Yet without deliverance prayer, I would still be bound. I know there are still unrenewed parts of my mind. Daily I deal with the issue of sin through the power of the Cross. But I know that evil targets us - evil that comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus gave authority to his disciples to cast out demons. Without that ministry, some strongholds of the devil will not be removed - including some sickness and disease. In spite of the mistakes and misunderstanding, it is imperative that the Church claim and exercise this important ministry of Jesus. It is not the domain of specially trained and licensed exorcists - but the commission of all believers.

Fox TV's Hannity Blows Exorcism Story

2007-08-12T12:53:00.000-05:00

Father Don e-mailed Father Charles August 10.

Just saw Hannity on Fox showing some exorcisms that were blundered. The Roman priest told Hannity that all those examples were illegitimate. They were pretty sloppy. I think Hannity concluded that the Roman knew what he was talking about.

Father Charles Responded to Father Don

I saw Hannity's show and thought he did exorcism a great injustice. Francis MacNutt wrote a compelling article some time back that demonstrated what the wrong approach the Roman Church has taken regarding exorcism. Their approach is preventing lots of people from receiving much needed help through simple deliverance prayer. One major problem is the belief that the exorcist loses a bit of his soul each time he comes into direct confrontation with the demonic. Jesus said nothing about that kind of crazy thinking.

Instead, He said deliverance was children's bread - and that casting out demons by the Spirit, or finger, of God brings the kingdom of God into manifestation. Far from depleting us or causing us to lose pieces of our soul when we minister deliverance, the kingdom of God comes in such abundance that we are all advanced deeper into the life of the Spirit and God's manifest presence. The Roman notion is in error and Hannity showed the worst junk out there. The insinuation was that those who make mistakes in deliverance prayer are actually false prophets - and the Roman exorcists are the real thing. I was so offended by his ignorance, I considered writing him - but decided to not waste my time. Perhaps that would be something worth writing about on the blog.
1. Blessings,
Charles+

Father Don replied to Father Charles,
Thanks. By the way, this past week, Hannity’s blog was asking for information from those who had actually spoken in tongues. I decided to send him my experiences documented on my other blog. After filling out all his forms to be allowed to make comments on Hannity’s blog, and even being accepted, the thing would not let me in. I kept praying that God would help me. Finally, I received the distinct sense that God did not want me to.

After seeing how badly Hannity mangled exorcism, I can see that God was blocking me from casting out my pearls to a serious oink oink.

Don

A Brush With Principalities & Powers

2007-06-19T18:05:00.000-05:00

One of the prophetic tasks before the Church is the healing of the nations. The sins of the past often leave wounds on the earth. As we move deeper into the release of God's glory, we anticipate the day when the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as water covers the sea. A close friend, and fellow Anglican, shared two special experiences with me today. I have known her for a number of years and often experienced the validity of her seer gift. My hope is that her experiences will encourage you to open your eyes in the realm of the Spirit. The post is a bit long, but don't miss the God & the Mosquito story at the end.

On a recent Saturday, my family and I – and a couple of our friends, BW and MC - went day-camping near our Rocky Mountain home. We spent the day hiking, setting a new geo-cache (geo-caching is a game of going treasure hunting using a GPS unit), visiting, and eating really, really gourmet food prepared over a campfire. After supper, we all helped clean up, pack up, and reload the cars. BW and I both decided that she and I weren't supposed to go home yet, so I suggested that my family and MC go home in our car and BW and I would go home eventually in her car.

After they left, BW and I sat in the two camp chairs they'd left, sipping our drinks. While BW worked on some knitting, we talked about spiritual stuff. She suddenly looked up from her knitting and asked me to open my spiritual eyes and see if I noticed anything about the atmosphere of the camp. Trusting BW’s prophetic gift, I looked by faith through the eyes of my spirit. I was surprised to see that the spirit of our camp - happy, cheerful, "sunny" – now felt strangely unsettled, like it was in transition. I shared what I had seen and BW nodded her head and said that the change was because the sun was setting and the earth itself - in that place - was transitioning from day to night. We continued talking.

I was still in the Spirit and was startled to see a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye – something that looked like a large black dog over past where our campfire had been. I whipped my head around for in surprise. I was sure I had seen something moving – but now there was nothing. The experience left me jumpy. Moments later, the bag that had melting ice in it shifted and at the noise I nearly jumped out of my chair. The breeze had been blowing all day, with some substantial gusts, but at one gust, BW stood up and announced, "It's time to go." I was suddenly overwhelmed with mind-searing fear. I've felt this same "flavor" of fear before: once along the shore of a peaceful lake right before a sudden storm in which several trees did their best to fall on me. I had also experienced it on a few other occasions – in different geographical areas. Now there it was again – intense, mind-numbing fear and dread!

Why am I scared??" I asked BW.
"What do you see?" she responded.
"I don't know! I'm too scared to look."
"Lower your defenses."
"I can't. I'm too scared."
"Here, touch me. I’m here with you," BW said, giving me her hand.
"I can't. I'm too scared."
"Receive strength from me,” encouraged BW.
"I can't! I can't!" I'm nearly hysterical at this point.
"RECEIVE FROM ME!!!" BW cried out.

I take BW's hand, and feel the spiritual force of her prayers for me. With renewed strength, I begin to force myself past the fear enough to begin lowering my emotional walls. In the spirit, I see a single candle flame, unflickering, surrounded by pitch blackness. I tell her what I see.

"Now see what is in the campsite." BW said. I begin to see in the spirit again as I look outward from where I'm standing, there are two very tall, very masculine angels standing behind me, one at each of my shoulders. Around us there is a ring of angels, except for in front of me, in the direction of the hill where we had laid the geo-cache. To my horror, all I can see there at the top of the hill is a large black shadow dog, very menacing, bristling and standing at attention, watching us, poised for attack. I start to tell BW what I see, but she interrupts and tells me to look deeper. I look again, and this time I see someone standing in that "empty" space in front of me, where I could see no angels: Jesus himself was there, between me and what I knew to be a hell hound, like the ones I had once seen in another part of the mountains. I told BW what and who I saw, and what was up on the hill. "You're right. Now look deeper still." BW instructed.

I look even farther out, and this time I see that in addition to the inner circle of angels, there are multitudes of angels ringed around behind them, filling the valley over which the wind had come. I could still feel the malicious "voice" that traveled on the wind, and I could still see the hell hound up on the hill, but I knew we were protected. But then I began to worry because I could tell that more "things" were coming our way, and coming soon. "Protection's all well and good," I thought, "but what if we don't get into the car and get out of here soon enough? What if we take too long and our spiritual protection vanishes?"
Immediately I heard the very relaxed, very Jewish, very humorous voice of Jesus say, "Would you like to stay and roast some marshmallows first?" I burst out laughing. BW asks what I've seen, so I tell her Jesus' line about there being time for roasting marshmallows if I want to. We pack the camp chairs into her car, and I decide that if Jesus says there's time to roast marshmallows, there's certainly time to visit the outhouse before leaving camp. We then get into the car and head down the mountain road towards home. BW tells me to keep my spiritual eyes open over the land as we drive along.

At a certain point in the road, I hear the voices of many dead Indians, and tell BW. She is well-versed in local history and says, "Right here was the crossroads used by three tribes as they traveled on their seasonal migrations. That was their campsite. Keep looking in the spirit."

A few miles down the road, I suddenly hear and see family land dispute - bitter accusations of land theft. BW says, "That was the border of a ranch that was the cause of much violent and vicious land disputes between members of the family, about who owned what and who stole what. Keep looking in the Spirit."

We drive on. Now I feel slime. BW says, "There have been a lot of traffic deaths there, and a few murders. Keep looking."

Some miles farther, I feel stability and settledness. “That land has been homesteaded for many generations," BW told me.

We pull into a gravel parking lot off the side of the road. BW points to a man sitting up on the rocks. I tell her that he's OK; he's just trying to find himself. "You're right. Now look in the spirit and see if you receive anything about the place." It feels like a place of transition, of transfer, of comings and goings, of people making and changing alliances. I tell her this, and she says, "Yes. This is an area that’s been touched by a lot of transition, but look deeper." I reach out with the eyes of my spirit and immediately recoil in revulsion as I see a body dangling from the tree in front of us. "There was a lynching here!" I gasp. "Yes, at least one, during a labor dispute," BW confirms.

We drive further into town, driving wherever we feel led to drive. As we pass a woman getting into her car, I instantly know that she is profoundly sad. BW concurs, and we intercede for her as we drive on. We are approaching an intersection and I suddenly ask, "Why are we going to turn left when we get to the intersection?" MA, whose fingers were already on the turn signal, answers, "What do you see in the road straight ahead past the intersection?" I look and see a shadow creature barring the way. We drive past a grocery store, and I suddenly understand why I have never liked the place. I say, "That store is corrupt and has mob connections." "Oh, does it ever!" exclaimed BW.

We drive to my house and continue talking for awhile. I ask her what the evil "voice" on the wind at the campsite was, when the other breezes had not held any sense of menace. She explained that the other wind had been just wind, but that that wind had not been just wind. I asked what else it had been. "Just a faint brush of powers and principalities," she replied. I asked her if what I'd seen sniffing around beyond the campfire had been a hell hound. "Yes, that one was a lone one, though. The ones on the hill were a pack."

We start talking about animals, and what animal each of us most closely resembled in a spiritual sense. I talk about my connection to birds and horses. BW tells me that she loves hawks and eagles. She asks me how much of a "raptor" I think she is. I'm not sure, so she tells me to ask God for the answer. Feeling just a bit foolish, I ask. Suddenly I see Jesus laughing his head off. He says, "Tell her she's bird except for that part that's zebra." I know that there is no part of her that is zebra, so I protest. "No, go ahead and tell her she's part zebra. It's a joke. She'll get it." Feeling incredibly foolish now and way out on a limb, I deliver the message. She responds by putting on her most "vexed mother" face, shaking her finger up to heaven and mock-growling, "Lord!!! We’re going to have a talk about this later!!!" I still don't get the joke so I ask her what Jesus meant. She explains that it is an inside joke. Given her rather ample bosom, she said she sometimes joked in private that her bra size was "Z", since Z is the biggest letter, and that that makes her a "z-bra." With that, we pull into my driveway – both knowing our conversation is finished for now. How’s that for an interesting camping trip?

And finally, for a lighter, funnier spiritual tale for "dessert", here's one from today. My child and I went geo-caching with MC this afternoon. We had picked up burgers and fries at a drive-through for lunch and then headed out to the first geo-cache site. We found the parking area, parked, and then munched our lunches. I had the windows rolled down, and my child started to complain that I ought to shut the windows so no mosquitoes would get in. Not wanting to lose the fresh air, but also not wanting to get into a battle of wills, I lied and said that no mosquitoes would bother us because French fries act like citronella. My little one responded with a complaint that the fries were already eaten. I dug down into my pack and shared some of the last of mine. MC made a face at me for my obvious and shameless pulling of my child’s leg. At that precise moment, a single mosquito flew in my window, circled around my nearly empty box of fries, proceeded to land on the box and started trying to eat the grease from the fries. I looked at a stunned and amused MC. He looked at me, and I sighed and said, "OK, God. I get the point. You can send the mosquito away now." Instantly the mosquito took off and flew directly out my window. I then confessed that French fries do not in fact repel mosquitoes and that Mommy had been joking.go home eventually in her car.

Interesting Post on When Tongues Appropriate

2007-06-17T17:34:00.000-05:00

Here is an interesting post by another blogger.

2007-04-29T07:15:00.000-05:00

This week I have to watch myself to keep out of PMS - prophetic mood swings. The stress of the death of our dear friend, Bonnie Kahn - founder and president of Agape International - coupled with the long week we spent with her ministry preparing for her funeral and the Sunday ministry following the funeral - drained all my reserve. This week I have been on automatic. A sore throat has been coming on all week. If I didn't have to go to church today to preside at the Eucharist and preach, I would stay home in bed.

When we are physically and emotionally tired, we have to be extremely careful. Our moods can affect our discernment and sense of God's presence. One important truth I have learned after many years of prophetic ministry is this: God is altogether good and faithful. As I keep my focus on the all-sufficiency of the Lord - his beauty, goodness and grace - I find strength to pick up my shield of faith and press on.

But if I turn my attention to the spiritual warfare, physcial exhaustion, or darker emotions - mistaking them for the vision of God's goodness - then my spiritual ministry picks up that tone or flavor. I know that I am going to need the grace of God today because I didn't get the mental and physical rest I actually needed this past week. But that grace will bear me through the day. Sometimes my very best preaching happens when I am this weak and tired. Maybe that is because I am too tired to care what someone else thinks about it and just speak from the heart. The Lord hasn't sent the sore throat and feeling of malaise, but my weakness always makes room for God's strength.

I wish today that I had heeded more of Jesus' admonition to his followers to come aside and rest. Parish life doesn't always allow for that - though I did keep a reduced schedule this week. But I know I am at a place where I have to heed it or really get sick with a severe sore throat and cold.

A Prophetic Dilemma

2007-04-26T10:42:00.000-05:00

This series of posts is based on a letter I wrote to a prophetic person who was struggling in a charismatic congregation. Over time, the once close relationship shared between the prophetic intercessors and pastor diminished – while other staff members had gained the pastor’s ear. There was concern among the intercessors that the pastor no longer listened to them and that a few of these key staff people were actually under the influence of demonic forces sent to sabotage the parish ministry.

The pastor is not prophetic – but does have evangelistic gifts and is bringing people to personal faith in Christ. Little time is given to public prophetic words –and the intercessors feel that important prophetic releases are being quenched during regular worship times. Over many years of ministry, I have seen this scenario repeated many times. It is always a source of pain and distress to the prophetic people involved. So I am sharing my response – with some private details omitted – to demonstrate some important prophetic principles.

Suffering and Misunderstood Prophetic People

2007-04-26T10:39:00.000-05:00

The situation in this congregation is difficult on a number of levels. First, prophetic people are often impatient with leadership because they prefer the freedom of soaring on Holy Spirit winds. But a key principle laid out by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 is that prophetic ministries must minister in an atmosphere of accountability and divine order. Every prophetic word is fragmentary - regardless of how clear we believe our revelation to be. Allowing prophets to speak in order - then publicly judging what they have spoken - is seldom seen. Many prophetic people through the CENTURIES have had to submit to leadership who didn't know anything about revelatory gifts and experiences.

Second, prophetic people, who feel quenched, undergo serious temptations. Those temptations include resenting the pastoral authority over them when the pastor holds another ministry gift - like the evangelist gift in your pastor - because he doesn't have revelatory gifts and experience. Nearly all prophetic people have deep insecurities - perhaps due to the ego-emptying experience of entering deeply into the glory realms. They long for pastoral affirmation to let them know they are OK. When they don't receive that affirmation, they sometimes clump together in an effort to encourage each other that they are not weird -demonstrating an inner insecurity that can distort the clear hearing of the word of the Lord.

Third, prophetic people may resent the loss of intimacy they once had with the pastor before others came in and took their place. Their discernment can become clouded by jealousy, anger and a desire to control. Ego defense mechanisms kick in to hide those negative emotions under a more acceptable guise – that of seeking the good of the pastor and congregation. Learning to know one’s heart is critical for prophetic people.

The test and the solution, is to learn to love and value the word the Lord is sending through the pastor - that of evangelism - remembering that evangelists are one of the ascension gifts of Christ that equips the saints for the work of ministry.

Prophetic people favor their own methods of evangelism - glory manifestations, sign gifts, words of knowledge, etc. But evangelists have differing functions of their gift and office just as prophetic people move in different realms and gifts.

The Pitfalls of a Modern Prophet

2007-04-26T10:37:00.000-05:00

When prophetic people become upset and disappointed with spiritual leadership, a more serious problem can arise. There is often an escalating of prophetic warning spoken by those who are distressed. Psychologists describe that as projection of your own hang-ups onto others. Rather than releasing the redemptive word of God, the prophecies become more severe with threats of judgment from the Lord. Much of this is a distortion of the true word God is speaking. There are consequences for sin. But prophetic messages of this kind - when the prophets are in possession of insider information about the problems in the parish - tend to become a release valve for prophetic people who don't feel they are being heard in any other manner. The prophetic people begin to use prophecy as a means of expressing their own upset and desire for divine judgment to fall upon the Spirit-quenchers. You know you are in trouble when you start enjoying the story of Ananias and Sapphira.

Releasing one’s own stress upon others is extremely serious because those prophecies become energized by the devil who is seeking any advantage of the congregation and leadership. If he can alienate prophetic people from the pastor and the pastor from the prophetic people - who often carry the prayer load - then he can successfully rob the congregation of spiritual sight. Everything becomes skewed. The pastor becomes reactive to the prophetic people because he gets tired of hearing words of judgment declared when he is trying to deal with the enormous pressures of leading a congregation that needs to be out winning souls for the Lord instead of decorating the pews with their behinds. True prophets go stand in the gap and make up the hedge of protection around the parish - showing mercy because they themselves make mistakes and need to Lord's mercy.

Every prophetic person I have ever met suffers from a malady Richard E. Carey calls P.M.S. - Prophetic Mood Swings. (I recommend Carey’s book, “Prophets Drive Me Crazy! A Humorous Look At Living With The Terrestrially Challenged” available at www.ministry.lionheart.net – whose title became the inspiration for our blog name.) Spiritual pressure mounting against them causes an amplification of their darker emotions - pushing them toward the Elijah Syndrome - "I alone have not bent my knees to Baal," "I wish I were dead - just kill me God, and put me out of my misery." Undefined threats to the church’s safety are discerned and the prophetic person is ready to push to launch button before the threat can be seen on the radar. The upset emotions amplify the actual warning beyond what it is. So you have to take most of those warning with a grain of salt to shrink it down to size. Prophetic people tend to take themselves way too seriously.

The Pitfalls of a Modern Prophet Continued

2007-04-26T10:34:00.000-05:00

The prophetic ministry has to be a solid gold candlestick constructed of beaten work - not brass or gold over-laid on a wood construction. You can readily see from this tabernacle image that prophetic formation is extremely stressful. The biggest area of work is to get past our own unconscious glitches and become radically open to the loving heart of God. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. When prophecy becomes anything other than speaking Jesus' testimony, then it ceases to be true prophecy. This gift speaks to the church to build it up, call it nearer to God, and to give comfort.

Everything I am sharing with you is something I have walked through personally. The yoke of Christ is easy and his burden is light. When the yoke is difficult and the burden is heavy, we have become yoked to something else other than Jesus. Don't forget one of the most important messages given to the Body of Christ through Kathie Walters - the need to get free from striving, religious spirits. It is extremely easy to go beyond simply speaking the word of the Lord and leaving the results to God. False burdens and striving push us to manipulate and force others to receive. The frustration one can feel against those who are in positions of leadership - and that we may consider unworthy of the same - is coming from something other than the Holy Spirit.

You can readily see that the process of discernment - pulling apart the various layers of what is going on - is not a simple task. Human beings are extremely adept at re-naming our inner stuff and giving it acceptable religious names. Our anger becomes the wrath of the Lord. And our feelings of disappointment and jealousy become "the heart of God is grieved." There is such a thing as the wrath of God and the grieving and quenching of the Holy Spirit. But those caught up in a striving spirit cannot discern the difference.

When Prophets Need to Move

2007-04-26T10:32:00.000-05:00

False burdens and striving can keep you in an unhealthy ministry when you should actually be seeking a ministry context. In nearly every community there is somewhere you can find freedom in the Spirit. When the emotional life of a congregation becomes toxic, and judgment is at the door, I would consider whether I might want to be somewhere else. Sitting around waiting for God to purge out the wicked is not healthy. The toxic environment slowly poisons you. Spiritual transference happens through a process of osmosis as you interact in a toxic environment - raising your levels of spiritual toxicity far beyond what you can tolerate. Without realizing it, I become part of the sick emotional system. Instead of imparting health, my distorted emotions and responses reflect the disorder rather than the cure. In such instances, the only person I can really affect is me. I can make the choice to remove myself from the congregation and find another church where there is freedom in the Spirit and emotional health. Our unresolved emotions will bind us to an unhealthy pastor and congregation when we would be better served to relocate under a different pastoral ministry.

I am not sharing this as an accusation, but to show you how these kinds of situations distort prophetic gifts and the dangers inherent in those distortions. I am not an evangelist and I do have a different vision and calling. My gift and calling influences the way I see the ministry of Christ - and the priorities of my ministry - just as the gifts and callings of those evangelistic pastors become the lens through which they see the calling of congregations under their care. Both are authentic ways of seeing based on the gifts and calling of God. Unless you sit under the ministry of a prophet or apostle who is comfortable with the prophetic, you will not see great releases of the prophetic. But you could see many people won to Christ. Those converts may not be trained as prophets, but they will know how to lead others to person faith in Jesus Christ. To grow in the prophetic, you need to be working with a pastor who understands and welcomes prophetic gifts.
The test, and the solution, is to learn to love and value the word the Lord is sending through the pastor - that of evangelism - remembering that evangelists are one of the ascension gifts of Christ that equips the saints for the work of ministry. Prophetic people favor their own methods of evangelism - glory manifestations, sign gifts, words of knowledge, etc. But evangelists have differing functions of their gift and office just as prophetic people move in different realms and gifts. This solution only works in healthy congregations that are truly seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Problems Prophets Bring Upon Themselves

2007-04-26T10:28:00.000-05:00

The truth is that most public prophecies are incorrect and contribute nothing positive to the Church's life. Real power in prophecy manifests itself in intercession and discerning the times and seasons we are in. If public expressions of prophecy are to benefit the church, then they have to be shared in love with a high degree of accuracy so that secrets of hearts are revealed. Mike Bickle, founder of IHOP and renowned for his ministry in the prophetic realm, says that prophecy in general tends to be about eighty percent inaccurate. Imagine that. This guy has helped release some of the greatest prophetic ministries on our day and he is saying most prophecy isn't prophecy. I know exactly what he is talking about. I have received and given many accurate prophecies in my life. But most prophecy is just nothing other than the projection of someone's desires and unconscious motivations. And as such, it has no redemptive power. Nothing is released other than the unconscious stuff of the person who thinks he or she is prophesying. Some prophetic people get accustomed to speaking in prophetic jargon. They run around stringing together prophetic phrases that say nothing and release confusion rather than the word of the Lord. The only fruit is that the hearers often turn off to true prophecy. We are after the real thing – true, accurate prophecy. When it appears, the gold begins to sparkle and the atmosphere of heaven invades the earth. The light comes on. It swallows up the other like the rod of Moses swallowed up the rods of the Egyptian sorcerers.

Most pastors cannot weather the storm as they press through these layers of immature expressions in order to connect with the true spirit of prophecy and see it released. Pastors have to deal with congregational complaints about the immaturity of prophets. Prophetic people may jockey for power and position to be "the voice of God" in the congregation. They may break protocol and try to prophesy above their pay grade - giving directional prophesies when their own lives are wrecks. Gaps of time between words spoken and the fulfillment become difficult for people to handle. It all becomes a garbled mess that pastors with no experience in discerning prophetic manifestations can't deal with. The rejection of prophetic ministry is due - at least in part - to the vast number of inaccurate and immature prophetic manifestations. Many pastors have seldom or never heard a real prophecy. Thankfully this is changing as prophetic people mature. But getting there is hard work - and always a temptation to fall into striving. When the gift is powerful, it is like the warm breath of springtime chasing off the winter cold and releasing the voice of the turtledoves - calling us into intimacy with Jesus.

A mature prophetic person is willing to seek insight into the dynamics that are affecting prophetic ministry in a congregation. Reflect on what I have shared and ask God to illumine any aspects of particular relevance to you and the other prophetic people of your parish.

A Prophetic Experience Of Coming Glory

2007-04-24T14:25:00.000-05:00

Last week my wife, Myra, and I were traveling to preside at the funeral of one of our dearest friend and apostle, Bonnie Kahn. As we were driving along the interstate, we were startled when a large bird landed on the bank of the road to our right. We were shocked to discover that the bird was actually a golden eagle - with a wing-spread that looked close to five feet wide. This majestic bird immediately launched into back into the air. Myra and I looked at each other with wonder at the sight of such a marvelous creature. Then we glanced to our right. There beside a stream of water stood a deer with raised head looking directly at us. I knew immediately the Lord was speaking to us.

I head the Lord speak to my heart from Psalm 42:1 "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul longs for You, O God." The Lord said to me, "My golden glory is descending upon my Church. I want you to long for it - to hunger and thirst for me to reveal my presence - my golden glory. I am sending it upon my Church."

I shared that word with Bonnie's congregation this past Sunday. After the service, we noticed that gold and silver dust had fallen on many of us. I believe the glory dust was a sign of the presence of God's golden glory - His divine presence - that is being released to those who will receive it. It is for everyone - and not a special few.

A prophetic friend called me today. She had opened up the scriptures and a silver sequin was stuck to the page at Exodus 40:34-35, "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." As the presence of God's glory fills the Church, God will become the focus rather than our ministries. The greater glory that is descending upon is the key to creative miracles and the release of God's provision.

Striving will not produce the glory. God presence is poured out in grace and mercy. Long for the glory. Hunger and thirst for the presence of God.

Strange Manifestations In An Anglican Church: Part 2

2007-04-12T15:00:00.000-05:00

An Anglican congregation seems to be a strange place for unusual spiritual manifestations like glory dust and dove feathers. But in the history of spiritual renewal, Anglicanism has proven itself to be a mother to some important renewal ministries: specifically the ministry of John & Charles Wesley (the birth of the Methodist Movement) and Dennis Bennett (Charismatic Renewal). Given this spiritual legacy, perhaps an Anglican congregation is a very likely place for God to pour out unusual manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

Anglican spirituality - at its best - seeks to be a comprehensive faith that holds in dynamic tension the great redemptive truths that often exist separately within various denominations. Anglicans historically believe that these truths add balance and completion to one another that is missing when a single biblical truth becomes enshrined in denominational life. We also believe that the faith we profess is the faith that all Christians share in common. Anglicans never feel that they are the only true Christians.

Anglicans are also known for their ordered liturgies from the Book of Common Prayer. Perhaps it is this aspect of Anglican spirituality that makes an Anglican congregation seem such an unlikely place for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, revival and the glory of God. It must have seemed so in the days of John Wesley when he preached to thousands and people fell under the power of God and were saved and delivered. And who could have envisioned that God would choose Dennis Bennett, an Episcopal priest, to bring the message of the baptism of the Holy Spirit to historic denominations. Though many Anglicans prior to Bennett had already experienced charismatic dimensions of the Holy Spirit, it was his testimony that sparked the cross-over of Pentecostal spirituality to Anglicanism, the Roman Catholic Church, and many other denominations.

The sad history of Anglicanism is that it is often unable to contain renewal within itself. Though John Wesley remained an Anglican priest all his life, his followers were driven out and became the seeds of the Methodism. Many renewal congregations in the Episcopal Church are leaving the national church structure to realign themselves with other Anglican structures. This is a sad reminder that old wineskins can't hold new wine.

Now at Light of Christ Church here in Marietta, GA, we seem to be on the edge of a fresh revival of the presence and glory of God. Our renewed congregation is already part of the new Anglican realignment. But we are hoping to hold the fire in the fireplace of Anglicanism. Many renewal congregations have chosen to down-play special manifestations of the Holy Spirit in favor of ordered liturgies. I belive this has proven to be a mistake. Whatever does not become part of the primary worship experience of a congregation is automatically relegated to "optional" status. I believe it is essential that the Holy Spirit be given full liberty to manifest the ministry of Christ in our midst. Light of Christ has made the spiritual commitment that the Lord is invited to interrupt our plans at any moment that pleases God.

Without that freedom, we have nothing to give. Christ has called us to great works that can only be done through the power and ministry of the Holy Spirit. To that end, we are seeking God to release everything that is in the heart of God for us. I believe that commitment - coupled with our emphasis on the grace of God - has caused the heavens to open and the glory be poured out.

Manifestations

2007-04-11T18:23:00.000-05:00

Father Don asks:

Father Charles, Listening to your Easter sermon, it sounds like you had incredible manifestations over Easter. Will you be sharing what happened on Terrestrially Challenged?

Strange Manifestations In An Anglican Church

2007-04-11T16:40:00.000-05:00

Unusual manifestations of glory continued during our Resurrection Sunday service. The previous manifestations of golden glory began to fall on several people. We were further surprised by the appearance of other colors of glory dust that are sprinkled throughout sections of our worship space - emerald green, sapphire blue, red, silver, as well as the golden color. As we prayed through the church today, we found additional particles of white feathers. These manifestations are becoming increasingly common. Here is what I believe they mean.

Many of us are just too complicated when it comes to our faith. We often substitute believing right doctrines for a personal faith in the person of Jesus Christ. I believe the real Christian life is one in which Jesus lives his life through us. As we move forward in the life of the Spirit, we experience a greater intimacy with Jesus through his Word and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When we move away from his amazing grace and substitute our own efforts - regardless of well intended - we move away from the joy of the Lord's presence. Our expectations of what God does and does not do become governed by our lack of experience - rather than by our fresh encounters with the Lord himself. These strange signs and wonders are really open doors in the heavens that invite us to pause of wonder afresh with childlike faith. They are not meant to capture our attention on the signs themselves - but to call our hearts to him who loved us enough to die for us on the Cross. When our focus in our his love and grace, his presence draws close to us. The Lord who is always with us discloses his presence and grace to us in these signs of the presence.

These signs have increased as our ministry has focused on the grace and love of God. They have become more pronounced as we have all turned our eyes more towards Jesus. And they have become more visible and varied and increasing numbers of people have been delivered, healed and filled with the Holy Spirit. There is an atmospheric shift that is preparing the way for something even more wonderful. If God's love can manifest such visible signs of his presence, we are beginning to realize that he can also manifest new eyes for the blind, new joints for those ravaged by disease or age, and new hearts and internal organs. All of these things flow out from him. As I looked at the amount of sparkling material that was still dusting our worship space today, I felt my heart pass beyond the visible signs and reach out in love and gratitude to the giver of all good gifts - our Heavenly Father.

Do We Need Prophets?

2007-04-05T15:25:00.000-05:00

I was asked a question recently, “Is it scripturally correct to inquire of prophets today?” This question deals with a key issue – the roll of New Testament prophets. This individual asking the question has seen many prophetic people make the same mistakes repeatedly. In an effort to be prophetic, they unwisely prophesied marriage connections, future births, job changes, ministry moves, etc. – many of which never came to pass. Last year I heard a great teaching by Mike Bickle who is renowned for his experience with prophetic ministry. His advice was to never make a move based on prophecy alone. I was a bit surprised when he asserted that no intelligent person would base a major life change of a method that typically proves 80% incorrect. If prophetic ministries have such a high failure rate, why bother? My answer is the same as Bickle and others. Though prophetic people make lots of mistakes, the real makes it worth the effort. There is nothing like a real prophetic gift. Paul tells us to especially desire the gift of prophecy because it builds up the Church and reveals the presence of God to unbelievers.

In the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the office of prophet undergoes a significant change. In the Old Testament, the prophet is one of the few individuals who bear a supernatural grace to receive the revelations of God and speak them to his people. These prophets spoke through the Spirit of Christ and spoke towards what God was going to accomplish in Jesus Christ. The prophets were really speaking about Jesus. In the ascension of Christ, the prophetic gift shifts to an equipping ministry that has been given by God to the Church to lead people into receiving and ministering the testimony of Jesus – the spirit of prophecy. Joel’s prophecy – cited by Peter in his famous Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 – says that God will pour out his Spirit upon all flesh and everyone will have access to revelatory realms of the Spirit. Prophetic ministry will be released in such a measure that signs and wonders will occur in the heavens and on the earth resulting in multitudes receiving Christ as Savior and Lord.

New Testament prophets are not sent primarily to predict the future – though that can be one aspect of the ministry. Neither are they sent because no one else can hear from the Holy Spirit – because every believer in Jesus has access to the Holy Spirit and revelatory realms. Prophets may be used by God to confirm something we are hearing, to release something into our lives that God has promised, to tell us something we are not hearing and would never hear without help, and to teach and model what the prophetic ministry of Christ looks like. Different prophetic giftings will function in differing ways – from prophets who write, to those who prophesy from an inner bubbling up of the Spirit or get caught away in trances and visions.

Now let’s look back to the question about inquiring of prophets. There is a tendency to place prophetic ministry in a special category and treat it differently from other ministry offices. If I need pastoral care and direction, then I may appropriately inquire of a pastor. If I have questions about a doctrinal issue, then I may appropriately inquire of a teacher. If I need directions of church planting and ministry development, then I may appropriately inquire of an apostle. If I need to learn how to reach the unchurched, then I may appropriately inquire of an evangelist. So if I need to access revelatory realms, why should I not also be able to inquire of a prophet? Each ascension ministry gift has its own unique roll in equipping the saints for ministry.

No ministry gift or office is a substitute for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in one’s heart. The Holy Spirit has been given as our guide into all truth. But God uses the prophet to help us hear and receive God’s revelation. Sometimes that comes through specific words and spiritual impartations. But there is also a kind of spiritual resonance that happens around prophets. I know it happens around me when I am prophetically activated. The resonance of the gifting in me begins to awaken similar gifts and callings in those around me. People see more visions and receive them more readily. They become bolder in expressing their ministry when I flow with them. And when I lead personal prophetic ministry – an important aspect of my own ministry – the Holy Spirit often allows me to speak the secrets of hearts that I could not have known except through the grace of God. I always begin personal prophetic ministry with an explanation that I am seeking to bless and not control or override the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. When I make a mistake, I want to make it trying to be a blessing and not in an effort to appear spiritually powerful or superior.

I am rejoicing that the prophetic office is returning to the Church. And while I grieve the excesses we see, they don’t seem any worse than the horrible neglect of the normal supernatural life that characterizes the life of many Pentecostal/Charismatic congregations – not to even mention the large numbers of Christians who hardly know there is a Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that we would do even greater works than his through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul says that the Church will grow up into Christ – the Head – in all things. Every part of the body of Christ will begin to function and the functioning of the various parts of the body will cause the body to increase – growing out of spiritual immaturity where it is tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. The prophetic ministry is part of that maturing and restoration of the normal supernatural life. Prophetic ministry is messy, but it is worth dealing with the messiness to uncover the spiritual gold.

Down the Rabbit Hole: A True Prophetic Story

2007-04-05T09:50:00.000-05:00

Talking animals were the domain of old bible stories and fairy tales until I heard one speak to me. At the time, I didn’t know the stories of the Desert Fathers and the great Celtic saints who often experienced miracles associated with animals. Until this experience, I thought the biblical images of creation crying out and praising God were just poetic metaphors not to be taken seriously. Hearing a rabbit speak can change you forever. This is a true story.

I was over at a friend's house visiting with him in his basement library/study. At the time, he had a pet rabbit that had the run of the basement. Though my friend is highly prophetic, we were not having a high-level prophetic conversation. His rabbit came up to him and he placed it on the table so I could see it. While he was looking for something on his bookshelf, I reached over and started stroking the rabbit's back. My friend kept on task while I petted the rabbit.

I was unprepared for what happened next. The telling takes more time than having the experience. My friend and I were chatting. The rabbit seemed to be enjoying my attention. What happened next blew me away. I was in mid-stroke down the rabbit’s back. The power of God suddenly fell on me and the rabbit. It felt like a living current of electricity coursing in a loop through my body and the rabbit. The current was so intense that I tried to break the loop by jerking back my hand. That was impossible because my hand was now stuck to the rabbit. The moment this power loop hit us, I briefly felt the rabbit crouch in a very odd manner and freeze in that position. About that time, I realized I was also frozen in place. The two of us must have been a strange sight – both of us frozen with unblinking eyes – with me bent over a crouching rabbit with my hand stuck to the rabbit’s back.

I am not sure what I was I thinking at that moment. Perhaps I was just filled with a feeling of stunned amazement. But as this prickling energy looped between me and the rabbit, I felt my consciousness expand like when I am flowing in the spirit of prophecy.
I heard a soft, childlike voice speak to me - not in my ears, but spoken through my spirit and heard in my mind – saying, "I like it here." The voice wasn't human! It was the rabbit! I knew that I knew that I was hearing the rabbit's thoughts - not that rabbits think in English, but that my spirit was interpreting the rabbit's feelings and thoughts in words my mind could process. I didn’t know how I knew it, but I knew that I knew that the rabbit really liked living in my friend's basement.

My friend wasn't paying any attention to us. For some reason, he turned around to speak to me. As he turned, I heard the tiny voice say again, "I like him." I knew that the rabbit really enjoyed the loving care and attention lavished on it by my friend.

Apparently my friend wasn’t feeling the power flowing between me and the rabbit. All he could see was me frozen and stuck to a crouching rabbit. "What are you doing to my rabbit?!!!” he asked in surprise. “I’ve never seen it do that before!!!”

When I heard his voice, the power looped ceased instantly and the rabbit and I could move again. I was still a bit stunned, but able to move. Not knowing what else to say, I asked my friend what he meant by his question.

He said, "You were doing something to my rabbit! I've never seen him crouch in that strange position! What did you do?!!!" Knowing my friend was prophetic enough to handle strange experiences, I just told him the truth. I had been frozen and stuck to his rabbit while the rabbit spoke to me. Of course he immediately wanted to know what the rabbit said. He was excited that something supernatural had happened in his basement, but he was even more thrilled to receive prophetic proof that his rabbit liked him. My friend was walking through some difficult times with people close to him. He really loved his little rabbit and had taken a lot of comfort from the affection of the rabbit. Having prophetic confirmation that he had, at the very least, the love and appreciation of his pet rabbit meant a great deal to him. At least the rabbit appreciated him – even if those sentiments were not shared by many other people in his life.

This story was sent around the world by Kathie Walters, a prophetic ministry for whom I have high respect and affection. She likes to tell it because she enjoys upsetting religious people. Kathie has written extensively about the miracles of the Celtic saints. You can learn more about her ministry and teaching materials at: http://www.goodnews.netministries.org/goodnews.html"

A Different Kind of Christianity

2007-04-05T00:02:00.000-05:00

Why did I have to learn about the supernatural realm from occult practitioners instead of the Church? As a child, I seldom met a Christian who believed the supernatural world of the bible had any relevance today – other than dispensing fire-insurance and a ticket to heaven. My family believed in a God who was rarely experienced – other than an occasional dream that warned of some impending disaster. A couple of relatives knew how to use mountain magic and folk charms to remove warts and stop bleeding with a bible verse spoken like a charm. All my relatives believed the bible, but none of them knew how to experience the supernatural power of God. In my heart I was starved to experience something spiritual that was real. I should have found a spiritual feast in Church to fill this hunger in my heart. Instead, I found those experiences in spiritualism and other occult practices forbidden in the bible – forbidden not because God is holding out on us, but because they open doors to spiritual darkness that bind and cripple our ability to know the loving God of the bible. When I did come to know Jesus as my personal Savior and Lord, it took serious deliverance prayer to expel the demonic cords of bondage and fear that had entangled my life. I now know that church as I experienced it as a child is simply unknown in the bible. Normal Christianity is a life filled with the glory and power of God – filled with God’s self-revelation through the scriptures, through supernatural communication, spiritual gifts, and signs and wonders. I have tasted the goodness of God and just can’t live without it.

What I am describing is the beginning of a new reformation - nothing short of restoration. Increasing numbers of Christians are experiencing God. With child-like faith, they are accessing the reality of God’s Word - the Bible - angels, visions, healing, miracles, signs and wonders. They know they are part of a house God is building made up of living stones - re-born people filled with the Holy Spirit - built up to be inhabited by the Holy Spirit. Sharing in the royal priesthood of Jesus, they are unwilling to let the four walls of a church define their life experience. As kingly priests, they are going boldly into the holiest place where the blood of Jesus is speaking on their behalf. They are laying hold on the superabundant salvation that has already been purchased and given to those who believe in Jesus. Their energies are not consumed by religious strivings and efforts to be good. Their lives are consumed by the holy fire of spiritual passion that burns on the altar of their hearts. Their hearts are set on ravishing the heart of the Father by loving him back with the love he has lavished on us in Jesus Christ. They will not rest until God arises in strength and power and scatters his enemies. They will not be silent until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of God and of his Christ, and the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord like waters cover the sea.

This new breed is strange to those who love the old order. They bother those who think church is about rituals and ceremony that is sprinkled with a few hymns, a three-point sermon that includes a cute joke, and a concluding prayer that isn’t expected to do anything – and always predictable. This new breed will stay all day in the presence of the Lord. They expect angels to talk with them and glory dust to cover them. They know that those who have been born anew have a nature that is like wind – just like Jesus said – and they want everyone who has breath to know Jesus in the same glorious way. They are a people who are letting go of pride because they know all they have comes from the heart of Love.

Many of these folks have lived hard. Life hasn’t been kind. They aren’t the wise and prudent. They have taken some beatings and they have made mistakes. But they know they have been forgiven. And Jesus was talking about them when he said, “He who has been forgiven much, loves much.” I saw this new breed last Sunday at our morning Eucharist when a young boy showed me the golden glory dust that had just appeared on his hand while he prayed. I saw it in the tear-filled eyes and breathless wonder in a young father who ran blocks through the rain to show me the golden dust that had appeared on his hand and arm a few minutes earlier while he was praying in tongues and loving Jesus.

There is a child-like faith, a passion and fire, an abandonment of love that is burning in these hearts that makes me long for more of it myself. My mind has been too trained in theology. I know too many reasons “why not”. I have a pastoral theology file in my brain filled with sweet religious phrases to help folks not be disappointed when they don’t receive anything from God. I have decided to delete that file. Nothing in that file anticipated feathers dropping out of thin air, visions of angels, healings and deliverance. I almost let my theological training rob me of the wonder and child-like expectancy I used to have when I first fell in love with Jesus. Now the heavens are opening again in this day. A prophetic people are rising up just as Joel prophesied and Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost.

Here is a prayer I have been praying. I wish I had written it, but it was penned by another whose name is unknown to me. “Set me, Father, in the full radiance of your Son that I may behold His beauty; and by what I become, show all the world that Jesus still lives in His Church. AMEN.”

Research on Speaking in Tongues

2007-04-04T19:56:00.000-05:00

Check out the fascinating dialogue on other blog Spirit Filled Life

Strange Manifestations

2007-04-04T10:50:00.001-05:00

Father Don asks:
Father Charles, Do you have any ideas regarding these strange manifestations I am hearing about happening to people while they are worshiping. I hear about beautiful glitter appearing upon people, and feathers falling down, and bright lights shooting through the congregations like lightening flashes. What is happening and why?

Strange Manifestations Explanation

2007-04-03T17:14:00.000-05:00

Father Charles answers:
I believe the colorful glory dust and supernatural gemstone manifestations are signs and wonders. They are given to make us pause and ponder the wondrous beauty of the glory realms of heaven – our native land. As we learn to come with child-like faith and give God our attention, the Lord is pouring out signs that point to the release of God’s creative power in the earth. The feathers that are appearing are speaking to us about increased intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Some of the feathers are white like dove feathers. Other feathers are pointing us to the reality of angelic ministry – powerful allies as we engage in spiritual warfare and seek the release of the creative miracles of God. I believe the flashes of light that are sometimes seen are either angelic presences or visible manifestations of the power of God. Revelations 4 describes thunder and lightening proceeding out from the throne of God. The flashes of light signal the entrance of God’s revelation and sovereign power – both through special anointings and special angelic assignments.

In my opinion, the current wave of these manifestations is a restoration of the previous move several years ago that was aborted through persecution and rejection of those who bore that glory. There were probably some frauds being perpetrated. The releases of God’s glory are moving towards a season in the Church’s life when great creative miracles will be done through believers. The supernatural realms, glory and angels are all part of our birthright as children of God. I am already in the spiritual realm because the Spirit of God lives in me. I can have all of this because none of it is earned – it is all love and grace from the Father who loves us beyond our wildest imagination. The Lord has put these peculiar signs before us just to bring scandal to the natural mind of those who want to figure everything out. We are called to simple, child-like faith. God desires that we enjoy His fatherly love. I believe these signs are foretastes of a greater glory that is coming – in which the Church will begin to do the greater works Jesus foretold.

I am concerned about truth claims and don’t want to claim something is a miracle when there is a natural explanation for it. But I do believe there is a lot of real stuff happening that is truly a visitation of God. My faith gets too complicated. I am starting to enjoy this strange stuff that I can’t fully understand because I can just enjoy it with wonder and delight as I imagine what else God is capable of doing. I am tired of confining God to my narrow experience. There are wonders in the beauty realms of glory that none of us have touched. That is where we are going. And the signs and wonders are sign-posts pointing us in the right direction – to the Father from whom all good things come. My personal testimony is this. I am experiencing God’s personal love for me in a depth that I have never had before. And that unfolding didn’t start until these strange signs started showing up. If loving Jesus more and believing the bible more are signs of authenticity, then the golden dust, feathers, light and glory are from the Lord.

Here is what convinced me that these manifestations are real. When I first heard about these unusual manifestations, I assumed they must be the result of trickery. There were a few claims of fakery made against some of the ministries reporting these phenomena – and I have never seen any of those special signs before.

All that changed last September when I invited a guest prophet to minister at my local church. She was noted for golden colored dust manifesting on her as she ministered. I watched her carefully as she began to minister. Tiny points of light began to form on her face and neck. These quickly grew into particles of fine golden colored dust – something like glitter, but with a sparkling brightness. I saw the same manifestation happen as I had breakfast with this same lady prophet. As we talked about the grace of God, tiny points of light seemed to exude out of the pores on her face. In short order, they grew into the same golden dust. I asked her about the phenomenon. Her explanation was that the golden dust was a manifestation of God’s glory that only happens when grace is being ministered. It never comes when religious legalism is being ministered – only when grace is present.

Since then, several friends and parishioners have started experiencing the same golden dust phenomenon. All of them have been experiencing life changing encounters with the love and grace of God. They were all astounded when the golden glory first manifested on them. One friend had a sudden surge of the golden dust in the area of his heart. As he shook his shirt, golden dust rained down on everyone close by.

Sometimes the glory dust (for lack of a better term) can be emerald green, sapphire blue, clear like diamonds, or other colors. I have not personally seen this happened, but have heard about it from friends who were present when these colors manifested.

I was also suspicious of the reports of “feather glory”. That is until a couple of weeks ago. My wife found a strange white feather with a golden sheen on it. The feather was lying under our back row of chairs in the worship space. She showed it to an associate priest who laid it on the altar. He was shocked when the feather vanished.

The Lord sent several prophets to our church that day – all called there by the Holy Spirit. One of them was a person renowned for her intercessory prayer ministry. As she was prophesying over someone, I was startled to see a white downy feather suspended in the air in front of me. It appeared to be about two inches long. I knew I was seeing a vision when a current of power seemed to coarse through the room and the feather lifted slightly – like it was caught on a breeze – and simply blinked out of existence – there one second and gone the next. My surprise increased when the prophet began to speak over me declaring that the golden glory, the feather glory, and other glory manifestations would occur in our church and in my ministry. The following week my wife and I pushed back the altar table to make room for prayer ministry at the conclusion of the service. Beneath the center of the altar lay the very feather I had seen vanish in thin air the previous week.

The Sand Creek Massacre and the Eucharist

2007-03-03T14:02:00.001-05:00

One day, we discovered the book “A Guide to Healing the Family Tree” by Kenneth McAll, M.D. of England. Dr. McAll, describes many supernatural healings as a result of breaking ancestral curses by the use of the Eucharist. After having some successes healing family trees, we became interested in another observation Dr. McAll had made. He believes that even past atrocities by one group against another can be blotted out by the power of the Eucharist.

About that time, one of our wives had become haunted by the atrocities known as the Sand Creek Massacre She insisted that we two priests go apply the healing of ancestral curses to that blight on our nation’s history.

So, the four of us flew to Colorado, only to find that the people of that state had not even marked the site. We did not know whether they were ashamed, or unfeeling. Eventually, with some help, we did find the site. However, all that marked the place was a barren tree upon which people had hung sad scarves waving gently in the breezes.

The day was beautiful, and the land was mystical. All four of us had profound visions which are too personal to share, but were moving. We proceeded to do as Dr. McAll had taught. In the name of the White man we asked for the Indians’ forgiveness. Conversely, in the name of the White man, we forgave those Indians who had committed atrocities.

Then, on that haunted land, we performed the Eucharist as we had been taught.

Of course, we will never know until we get on the other side whether we accomplished anything that day. We do know that almost immediately, plans for a monument, which had been on the back burner, rapidly moved to fruition.

Public dedication of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site will be held April 28 of this year.

Our Lady of Walsingham

2007-03-02T19:49:00.000-05:00

Father Charles was priest at the American church that hosts the prototype of Our Ladyof Walsingham. It is a beautiful shrine.

The first pilgrimage we took together was to the original shrine in Walsingham England.
The prayer for that pilgrimage was as follows:

Eternal Father, in the name and by the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, send us the Holy Spirit.

O Mary, beloved Daughter of the celestial Father, Mother of Jesus, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, be in our midst as you were among the disciples on the day of Pentecost; and the Holy Spirit will descend upon us, because you are with us.

We unite our prayers to yours, and our desires to your desires. By your sighs and your sufferings, we call upon the spirit of consolation, that he may descend into our souls, and shower us with his gifts. Amen.

Needless to say, we shared a once in a lifetime experience

Protestant Looks in on Catholic Charismatics

2007-02-27T17:54:00.000-05:00

This a response to an interesting Roman Catholic blog "Dubious Criticisms of the Gift of Tongues".
THOUGHTS AFTER READING DUBIOUS CRITICISMS OF THE GIFT OF TONGUES By Father Charles:

The reality is that today many, many good, practicing, orthodox Catholics have experienced praying in tongues. Yet, understandably, many others recoil with fear and suspicion at such claims because it is something new that the Holy Spirit is doing after many centuries of its being relegated to the experience of mystics and canonized saints.

Some of those who understandably recoil, keep an open mind they know that the Popes and the bishops have embraced and continually encouraged the Catholic Charismatic Renewal as part of the universal call to holiness authentically and explicitly affirmed by the texts of Vatican II.

Some of those who initially recoiled have themselves gone on to experience the gift of praying, or even singing, in tongues, not as a mark of privilege or superior holiness, but as a gift of God given for the edification of the one praying. St. Paul so states the matter, "For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit" (1 Corinthians 14:2; all biblical citations are from the RSV translation) and so "edifies himself" (1 Cor. 14:4a, quoted in part; good advice.

Every Catholic, every Christian, should read one Corinthian 12-14 carefully and with an open mind. And if the one praying is edified and brought closer to God and thus becomes more holy, then others who come into contact with that person will likely also be edified. Of course, the mere fact alone of receiving the gift of praying in tongues, just as the mere fact of receiving the gift of teaching or administration or helping or preaching, does not automatically make the person holy.

What those gifts do, when properly exercised in decency and in order (see 1 Cor. 14:40), is to help others become holy--to build up, directly or indirectly, the Church, whose mission is the universal call to holiness. But all of these gifts, including the gift of tongues, can also make the recipient of the gift holier if the recipient continually asks God to give him more of the Holy Spirit in the course of exercising all his gifts for the good of the Church, just as we seek sanctification in our daily work.
Just because we might pray the Rosary daily (which I myself try to do and highly recommend to others) does not make us holier than anyone else without first and continually and sincerely opening our hearts to embrace God's will and to obey it. Without such an attitude of openness to God's messages and of obedience to God's will, the Rosary becomes mere babbling (as anti-Catholics like to say)--and so it can happen with those who exercise the gift of praying in tongues or any other form of praying without freely corresponding to the grace and favor of God.

Now, some Catholics who consider themselves orthodox do not keep such an open mind toward the gift of praying in tongues, even though it is explicitly mentioned in Section 2003 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (tolle lege!/pick up and read!) as an extraordinary charism or gift. They (I assume, in good faith) instead instill fear in people by raising the specter of evil spirits. My response is that it is a good idea for charismatics, and all other Catholics for that matter, to pray the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel to rebuke the evil spirits who are real and who indeed prowl throughout the world. But those evil spirits do not just aim at charismatic Catholics and their praying in tongues. Those evil spirits lurk everywhere and can pervert even the most hallowed and most common of Catholic practices.

The worst sin most consistently condemned by Our Savior in the Gospels is that of hypocrisy. In fact, he calls the Pharisees, the paragons of piety, children of the devil precisely because of their hypocrisy (John 8:44). So, even the most orthodox in their Catholic practices can be subject to the influence of the devil. Even a devotee of the Latin Mass or the Tridentine Mass may be acting under the influence of the devil. Does that mean we should avoid Latin or Tridentine Masses? Not at all. We should pray that God and his angels protect us from the devil, we should frequent the sacraments, we should do all those things that can build us up in Christ, with trust and without undue fear, for we are now children of God who no longer have the spirit of fear of the Pharisees so suspicious of Jesus (compare Romans 8:15-17).

In fact, from my experience, some Catholics treat charismatic Catholics in the same way the enemies of Jesus treated Jesus, who was even accused of being possessed by the devil himself (see Luke 11:14-23). It is quite interesting that Jesus was so accused right after he uttered these words: "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" (Luke 11:13). That verse just quoted is the heart of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal: ask the Father to give us more of the Holy Spirit and to give us all the good gifts the Father has for us.

Just like Jesus, today, charismatic Catholics are accused by some of being possessed by devils. The best reply to this accusation is Jesus' reply. Jesus pointed out that he was indeed casting out demons, that he was attacking the kingdom of Satan, and that it was illogical for Satan to attack his own kingdom because "every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste" (Luke 11:17, in part). In the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, many, many orthodox Catholics have found a greater hunger to read Scripture, have found a greater hunger for more prayer (including contemplative prayer and the Rosary), a greater hunger for the Sacraments, a greater desire for Eucharistic Adoration, a greater closeness to Mary who was so uniquely and so fully overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, and a greater love for the Pope and the magisterium, all the time yielding fruits of praise to God, evangelism, varieties of lay ministry, and many priestly vocations and vocations to the religious life, including the vocation of consecrated virgins. All of those things lay waste to the kingdom of Satan. Satan is not behind them. The logic pointing this out is not mine. It is the logic of Our Savior in the Gospels. Don't take my word. Pick up and read.