Strange fire conference speaker
The Strange Fire conference has set off fireworks around the globe, and there appears to be no letting up just Google Strange Fire. I began hearing about John MacArthur's book Strange Fire a few months ago, and last week a conference by the same name attracted several thousand attendees. Here is how the conference was promoted: link. For the last hundred years, the charismatic movement has been offering a strange fire of sorts to the third Person of the Godhead—the Holy Spirit.
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'Strange Fire' Conference: John MacArthur Calls Out Charismatic Movement as 'Unfaithful'
But once I began to see and hear the reaction, I determined there would be benefit to listening in, writing it down, and in opening it up for conversation. I attempted to make my summaries as objective as possible—simply sharing what each speaker had said without offering my own opinions. Today I want to circle back one more time to share a few final reflections on the event.
Here is what I am thinking several days later. This is a worldwide issue and I need to ensure I see it that way. We need to ensure we see it that way. Those who listened to the conference heard again and again just how many charismatics there are in the world—somewhere around million.
Conrad Mbewe made it clear that in many places in the world, and especially in the developing world, to be a Christian does not mean that you trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, but that you believe in and practice something akin to the miraculous gifts. Charismatic theology is a North American export that is making a massive impact elsewhere in the world.
There is a challenge here for myself as a Reformed, North American believer: I have a very narrow view of the Christian world—a too-narrow view. MacArthur made it clear that he did not host this conference in order to critique the Wayne Grudems and John Pipers of the world; if these men were representative charismatics, Strange Fire would have been a non-event or, at the least, a very different event.
He hosted the event because there are hundreds of millions of people around the world who make the fraudulent practice of fraudulent gifts the heart of their expression of the Christian faith. This is the time to address that issue. There is a call here for all of us to build on and even improve what MacArthur began and much of the onus here falls on charismatics to do this from the inside.
Conservative Continuationists need to start their own version of the conference to police the excesses as best they can, or they should muster a cheer while the Cessationists do it. Before Strange Fire I did not know just how polarizing it could be, though I suppose others did know, and this is why we have been loathe to address it. Based on the reaction to the event and the discussions back-and-forth, it seems clear that this is an issue many of us feel as much as it is an issue we believe by reasoning it out from Scripture.
It is one of those issues where we see our own position with utter clarity and look to the opposite position with shock that they can believe something so absurd. Those tend to be the most dangerous issues of all because they can turn sour so quickly and easily. In the face of such a polarizing issue, I need to consider how I can maintain unity in the faith while still holding fast to what I believe the Bible teaches.
I saw at Strange Fire that we can sometimes confuse confidence with arrogance. I am convinced one of the reasons so many people reacted badly to the event is that MacArthur and the other speakers are so sure of what they believe. They spoke with confidence about their understanding of what the Bible permits and what it forbids. Some of the reaction from those who were offended seems to imply that certainty is incompatible with humility. If this is what they truly believe, they have succumbed to dangerous and worldly thinking.
If you disagree with MacArthur, the best way to engage the conference is not by railing against the man, but by showing specifically the ways you think he caricatured your position and by providing a calm, sober affirmation of continualist claims, backed up by Scripture. As Christians, we may be continualists or cessationists, but we are not relativists.
I have long believed that many of the issues related to charismatic and cessationist theology owe to misunderstandings between the two sides. The reaction to this conference—the many discussions through social media and elsewhere—reveal that we need to do a better job of understanding one another, of affirming common ground, and of determining the importance of our differences.
As a convinced cessationist, I was troubled to hear caricatures from charismatics about quenching the Holy Spirit, about elevating Scripture above God, about excluding all possibility of miracles, and so on. All of these caricatures show an uncharitable and unhelpful misunderstanding of cessationism. I am sure many cessationists were equally unfair and that I, myself, do not understand the continuationist position as well as I should.
The simple fact is, until we rightly understand one another, we are in a weak position to bring critiques. But I know I am prone to do it anyway, to argue out of ignorance. I have to challenge myself here to be quick to listen and slow to speak, and when I do speak, to speak through the Scriptures.
This is a late addition to the article a half hour after posting it , but I wanted to express it. We always face the danger of making our theology about who we believe rather than what we believe. Strange Fire was an event that primarily targeted the worst of the charismatic movement.
While the Reformed charismatics may be a valued and significant part of the New Calvinism, they represent only the smallest fringe of the wider charismatic movement.
What still remains to be done is to interact with the best arguments of the best of the charismatics and to address this from within the Reformed resurgence. This would be a very different event with a very different purpose and I hope someone will sponsor it before long.
Only time will tell of the long-term impact of Strange Fire, but as I think back to the past few days, I find myself grateful for it. I suppose that may be easier to say as a cessationist than a charismatic, but I believe the event and its aftermath will prove beneficial.
I continue to pray that God would use it to to strengthen His church and to glorify His name. In lieu of a comments section, I accept and encourage letters to the editor. If you would like to write a letter to the editor, you can do so here.
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Strange Fire and Unholy Smoke
Home About us Join us Contact us Jobs. Richard Woodall meets writer, speaker and teacher RT Kendall — author of more than 50 books — about the holy spirit at work today…. The prominence and role given to the holy spirit have long been debated. But what does it really mean to be spirit-led? MacArthur, a cessationist, is a strong advocate for balancing aspects of the charismatic movement with what scripture says.
Podcasts about Strange Fire
Featuring, in addition to himself, messages by Joni Eareckson Tada and R. Sproul, along with a number of lesser known associates of MacArthur, this conference anticipates the November 12 release of a book by the same title pre-order the hardback here. Fair or not, MacArthur and his fellow conference speakers would all advocate worship derived solely from the clear teaching of Scripture, a distinctive of Reformed theology known as the Regulative Principle of Worship. Undoubtedly, MacArthur, et al desire to see them come into closer conformity to Scriptural modes of worship, in essence calling the movement as a whole to Reformation as the Calvinistic Reformed tradition understands it. Now it is possible for us not only to read, watch and hear what critics of the Strange Fire Conference have to say, we can all, friend or foe, see for ourselves how the messages of the conference were presented. Audio files of the have now been released, and are available for free download, with video and transcripts of each session forth-coming. My point is the difficulty of being specific is burdened by the scope and variety of the charismatic movement s. If he would have tried to parse the various movements, the conference would have been about a month long.
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In order to utilize all of the features of this web site, JavaScript must be enabled in your browser. In Strange Fire, bestselling author and pastor John MacArthur chronicles the unsavory history behind the modern Charismatic movement. What would God say about those who blatantly misrepresent His Holy Spirit; who exchange true worship for chaotic fits of mindless ecstasy; who replace the biblical gospel with vain illusions of health and wealth; who claim to prophesy in His name yet speak errors; and who sell false hope to desperate people for millions of dollars? The charismatic movement has always been a breeding-ground for scandal, greed, bad doctrine, and all kinds of spiritual chicanery. As a movement, it is clearly headed the wrong direction.
John MacArthur to take corrective stance against 'strange fire' charismatic movement
Cancel anytime. What does Jesus mean when he says, "Follow me"? Twenty years ago, pastor-teacher and best-selling author John MacArthur tackled that seemingly simple question and wrote a book that has since taken its place among Christianity's classics. This 20th anniversary edition of MacArthurs provocative book has been revised and contains one new chapter. By: John MacArthur. Embrace the Lord's pattern for prayer.
Strange Fire
But once I began to see and hear the reaction, I determined there would be benefit to listening in, writing it down, and in opening it up for conversation. I attempted to make my summaries as objective as possible—simply sharing what each speaker had said without offering my own opinions. Today I want to circle back one more time to share a few final reflections on the event. Here is what I am thinking several days later. This is a worldwide issue and I need to ensure I see it that way. We need to ensure we see it that way. Those who listened to the conference heard again and again just how many charismatics there are in the world—somewhere around million. Conrad Mbewe made it clear that in many places in the world, and especially in the developing world, to be a Christian does not mean that you trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, but that you believe in and practice something akin to the miraculous gifts.
America crossed a dangerous line years ago. Instead of repenting and turning back to God, we have walked further into the deep waters of ungodliness. The decadence and brutality in our streets are unparalleled in our history. But—believe it or not—there is HOPE.
Despite his stated intentions, the California preacher and prolific author has sparked the ire of some charismatic Christians with remarks he made Wednesday at the opening of the Strange Fire conference. I'm leaving the conference early to finalize the paperwork to fire her. But after listening to you, The Evansville Fire Department says electric and gas were shut off to both sides of the duplex as a precaution. Start preparing now. But the movement itself offers nothing to enrich true worship.
Many folks reacted positively to my perspective and felt that my prediction that this conference marked the beginning of the end of an era of Conservative Evangelicalism was right on target. Many others, however, were very offended by my post, which admittedly was a little edgy, and accused me of misrepresenting John MacArthur and some of the other teachers I wrote about in the piece. One thing that I have learned in my short time as a writer is that listening to the critique and criticism of others, though sometimes hurtful, is always helpful and refining to the one receiving it as much as they may hate hearing it. I have heard out my critics and after reflecting on the post a bit, I felt compelled to offer a follow-up response. When I became a Christian at the age of twelve, it was through the faithful ministry of an independent, fundamentalist Baptist Church that was part of the IFCA Independent Fundamental Churches of America , an organization that John MacArthur was once closely affiliated with. During my years as a fundamentalist, I learned a lot from the ministry of John MacArthur and his colleagues.
The conference is focused on reasserting a cessationist position and highlighting the dangers of the charismatic movement. The Christian Post is reporting that Mark Driscoll showed up to the conference today, engaged attendees, and handed out free copies of his new book, which has a chapter advocating the continuationist position. Driscoll himself posted pictures of his visit on Instagram. Driscoll also says that the books he was handing out were confiscated by security.
I understand this question. Let's discuss.
I find that it is the error.
This to you science.
Who has long sought such an answer