Bad Charismania

9 Bad Charismatic Habits That We Need to Break

Written by: J Lee Grady

(This article is pretty funny and I whole heartedly agree with all that he says. :)

"I love the Holy Spirit’s gifts. But some of our “Spirit-filled” practices are questionable."

There are gifts of the Holy Spirit as talked of in 1 Corinthians.  Of course these are good and are of God.  But their purpose is that we use them to build up other believers, not become arrogant from them, as some do.  Some want to say tongues and the supernatural gifts ceased once the Bible was completed.  I would disagree with that though. 

Watch this video in regards to tongues having not ceased: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMkpn0iZonA  by Tim Conway.  That is the best analysis of the gift of tongues I have ever heard and I fully agree with everything he says. 

Many mainstream evangelicals want to throw the baby out with the bath water.  Spiritual gifts are in no way bad.  The falling in the spirit thing might be.  I am still trying to figure that one out. 

Let's look at other issues in the Charismatic church:

"Anybody who has read this column before knows I’m unapologetically charismatic in my theology. I love the Holy Spirit, and I believe the New Testament calls us to make room for manifestations of the Spirit. The apostle Paul gave guidelines for the gift of prophecy; he saw dramatic healings; he experienced supernatural visions; and he told church leaders not to forbid speaking in tongues (see 1 Cor. 14:39). Paul was the epitome of charismatic spirituality.
But not everything we do today in the name of the Holy Spirit is a valid expression of His power. Over the past four decades, we charismatics have invented some lame practices that not only make us look silly but actually turn people off to our message. I figure we started these behaviors because of immaturity—and I can laugh about them because I’ve done some of them myself. But it’s 2013, and I think God expects more of us."

That is very good. He makes many good points. Paul was more charismatic than mainstream. The lame practices he refers to began with the "Ontario Blessing" in the mid 90's. Since then charismatics have been deceived into thinking the Kundalini spirit is the Holy Spirit, in regards to HOW people fall in the spirit. Perhaps there is a peaceful falling that is really of God, but the majority of the falling in church is done from an evil spirit I would say, this Kundalini spirit from Hinduism.

The Kundalini spirit is referred to as the Holy Spirit of Hinduism and is represented by fire, just like our Holy Spirit. So it is the counterfeit. Most charismatics do not recognize this fact, which is very sad. Benny Hinn for example most likely makes people fall in the spirit through the power of the Kundalini spirit. My theory about him is that he was actually raised in India and is Hindu. I don't think he is by any means actually Christian, though some of his teachings are good. He is just really good at playing the part. His mask is very good. But don't trust him.

"I realize this can be sensitive if you have one or more of these bad habits. But please pray over this list before you blast me for being critical.
1. The body slam. There are times when people feel woozy or weak-kneed when the Holy Spirit touches them. I leave room for that. But can we please stop pushing people to the floor? Any minister who hits, shoves or slaps people at a church altar is being extremely rude. He is also relying on his own swagger to demonstrate he has the power to “slay” people in the Spirit. If you pushed someone to the floor, God had nothing to do with it."

Amen.  This girl has a very good testimony about this.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXQEetU0DdE  She notes how she was forcibly pushed down by a pastor once in church.  Many Charismatic pastors do this, which is abuse.  It is religious abuse.  They want to come off as having the power to make people fall so they try to push people down.  They are out for their own glory, not God's.  This is NOT OF GOD, in no way.  As far the Holy Spirit making people woozy and weak kneed this is possible.  I have never experienced this but I have heard of it.  There are times people fell at God's feet in the Bible when they were overcome with his presence.  I think this was more of a making themselves fall at his feet, not that they were overcome by some spirit.  Also they fell forwards, NOT backwards.  I would say anytime someone seems to loose control of their bodies and falls against their will, that is the Kundalini spirit overpowering them, NOT the Holy Spirit.  "The Spirit of the prophets is subject to the will of the prophets" meaning, we always have control over our own bodies.  A fruit of the spirit is self-control.  No where in the Bible does it talk about the Holy Spirit taking control of your body.  The only time when a spirit took control of someone's body in the Bible was when someone was possessed by a demon or an evil spirit.  Something to think about. 

"2. The courtesy drop. We’ve all done it. Many people fall while receiving prayer because they figure it’s the spiritual thing to do. But there is nothing in Scripture that says you have to fall to receive healing or an anointing. You receive by faith. It’s perfectly fine to stay standing. And you may actually protect yourself from getting stepped on!"

I cannot imagine falling because I think people in a church want me to, but that is the majority of the falling that goes on in these Charismatic churches.  People don't want to look like an idiot for not falling when everyone else is so they do this "courtesy drop" as he calls it. lol  That is pretty funny.  The power of suggestion.  The desire to not stand out by not falling.  This is fake, just like some try to pray in tongues but they are faking it just to blend in.  If you don't actually feel the Holy Spirit, don't pretend that you do.  That is lying.  God knows the heart. 

I will say in regards to "feeling" the Holy Spirit.  I do when I am in worship, usually corporate worship.  I will sometimes cry due to a feeling of happiness and joy.  I will be overwhelmed at moments in worship with how much God loves me.  I will feel warm fuzzy feelings etc.  But I have never felt weak in the knees for whatever reason.  I do know what it is to "feel" God and to feel the Holy Spirit, but I have never once felt unable to stand.  And I have been saved really since I was 3 and been full on on fire for God since I was 14.  So that is mainly why I am skeptical of any kind of falling.  But just because of I have never been inclined to fall, does not mean it absolutely can't happen I suppose. 

3. "The song that never ends. I used to love the chorus “Let It Rain” until some churches drove this tune into the ground by playing it 159 times in a row. After the first 30 go-rounds, I want to scream, “Change the channel!” God doesn’t listen to us more intently if we are repetitive, as if we were doing a rain dance to make Him hear us. It’s OK to end the song and start a new one!"

I could not agree with this more!  I feel it is insulting to anyone's intelligence in the audience when the same lines are sung over and over again.  What did Jesus say about the Pharisees?  That they had vain repetition in their prayers and that this was NOT a good thing.  That is what these songs are.  God wants us to sing a NEW song to him, not the same old one on repeat.  He probably gets bored and frustrated too hearing the same line over and over again.  I'm sure he's thinking, "I'm the creator of the universe!  Can't you guys worship me better than that?"  It takes little effort on the worship leaders part to repeat the same line over and over again.  I know why they do this though, they try to hype up emotion by repeating the same line over and over.  They want you to go out of your mind and just into your emotions.  They try to build up the music and make it louder and louder etc.  It's all psychology, but I generally just end up feeling frustrated when this is done.  I feel that we are getting cheated out of what could be some good worship time.  I'm sure God does not like it as well. 

4. "The amateur flag corp. Banners and flags became a hot worship trend in the 1980s, and pageantry can still be effective when practiced and performed for an audience. But where did we get the idea that waving flags, sticks or other sharp objects within two feet of people’s faces was a smart idea?"

I have seen this, it does seem quite odd.  Where did it come from?  The Olympics?  No where in Scripture did people wave flags.  There is no logical reason to do this really.  It does not in any way bring glory to God.  It is only a distraction for those who are trying to worship and focus on God.  But it makes people focus on THEM, the flag wavers.  It is only a distraction and is not beneficial in any way. 

5. "The wannabe telethon offering. I have been in meetings where the preacher gave a 25-minute offering sermon (before the main message) and then asked everyone in the audience to parade to the front for the next 15 minutes. Yes, giving money to God is worship. But when the offering takes longer than any other part of the service, I start to wonder if we are being taken for a ride."

That is just ridiculous.  That's all I have to say about that. lol  No I have noticed a huge over emphasis on money, material wealth and giving in order to get blessed by God in Charismatic churches.  But we cannot serve both God and money.  We can't and the pastor can't either!  If the pastor of any church seem to focus on and talk about money a lot, get out.  Their god is money, NOT God.  And they are only using their congregation to get money from them.  This is ludicrous. 

6. "The sermon with seven endings. Speaking of money, I wish I had a dollar for every time a preacher has said, “I’m starting to close.” I don’t mind a long sermon, and I’ve been guilty of going over my time limit. But you are flat-out lying if you tell an audience you’re finishing when you actually still have half an hour to go."

lol That is pretty funny.  I have never seen this, as I have not attended too many Charismatic churches.  I generally try to stay away for the reasons already mentioned.  But that would be quite frustrating indeed.  :( 

7. "The praise-a-go-go dancers. I love to dance in church—and it’s normal in many of the ethnic congregations I visit. But I fear we unleashed a monster when we encouraged amateur dance teams to hop around on stage in unitards—in front of visitors! It’s not unspiritual to ask: “Will this look goofy?”

Oh dear. :(  That is not good lol.  I went to a Christian very, very conservative college, Biola, where they pretty much forbid dancing.  That is the other extreme and that is not good either.  David danced before the Lord.  But you don't read about too much dancing in the Bible.  For the most part we are to be sober minded and reasonable.  We need to not try to draw attention to ourselves, as all the focus should be on God in church.  It is all about Him; it is NOT about us at all, in any way. 

8. "The ear-shattering amp. When the early church prayed, the buildings shook. Today we shake our buildings by turning up the volume of our sound systems. You know they are too loud when church members pop in earplugs during worship. “Charismatic” does not mean “loud,” and our spirituality is not measured in decibels."

Yes I have seen this.  I went to IHOP, the International House of Prayer church, once when I was living in Kansas City.  They have 24 hour prayer where you can supposedly come any time of the day and get prayed for.  I was expecting a nice quiet, meditative atmosphere with candles lit, the lights off, and soft music playing in the background.  But no, walking in I thought I had walked into a club lol.  I was quite shocked.  It seemed very carnal.  The base was pumping and it was hard to worship God when yes, your ears almost hurt from how loud the music was.  Very strange I thought.  God calls us to be quiet before him, not loud.  How can we really hear God unless we are in a quiet place?  Overly loud music is just distracting for the most part. 

9. "The "jump-start" glossalalia. I will never apologize for the gift of tongues, and I believe it is a wonderful gift every Christian can have. But someone got the idea they could “prime the pump” by asking people to repeat certain phrases in order to uncork a prayer language. Asking someone to say, “I tie my bow tie, I tie my bow tie,” is not going to prompt a miracle. Quit manipulating the Holy Spirit."

Wow that is very sad.  Yes I have heard that if you try to imitate someone else praying in tongues you will be able to do it.  But I don't think that's how it's supposed to work.  Listen to what John Piper says about praying in tongues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzipsG3-S6A  I have never prayed in tongues, but I know it should not be forced.  If God wants you to have the gift He will give it to you.  Don't try to force yourself into the gift.  This can also get really dangerous because pagan religions pray in tongues too.  If it's not of God, trust me, you don't want it!  Hindus, Native Americans etc. all pray in tongues as well.  People in Greek times who worshipped Greek gods prayed in tongues.  Satan can cause tongues as well.  Just cause you pray in tongues, test the spirits, makes sure the gift is from God and it is not an ability given by Satan himself.  I'm not even kidding.  Be careful. 

"The apostle Paul, in laying down guidelines for charismatic gifts, told the Corinthians, “When I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Cor. 13:11). As we embrace the Spirit’s work, let’s allow Him to guide us into maturity so we don’t foolishly squander His power."

Amen!

When we come before God we need to reverent.  All should be done in a service in an orderly manner because "God is a God of order" and peace.  He does not like chaos.  Satan likes chaos though.  Beware of anything chaotic in a church.  That is NOT of God. 

God does not like when we go before him irreverently.  He demands our respect and awe.  He demands our attention.  He demands that we desire to decrease ourselves so that He may increase.  It is not about us, it us about Him.  God commands us to be humble and "God resists the proud."  He commands that we have no other gods above him, including spiritual gifts.  He commands that we love others and put others first, not try to flaunt ourselves in front of others.  God commands that we have a healthy fear of Him.  He commands that we not love money, for that is the root of all evil.
 
This is all God's truth.  And the truth "shall set you free."  Always seek the truth.  Test the spirits.  "Be as wise as serpents."  Don't be like children and be easily deceived.  Have faith like a child but not the brain of a child.  God bless! :)