Lakeland Outpouring

It's been awhile since the last outpouring. Evangelist Todd Bentley and Pastor Stephen Strader of Ignited Church are in the limelight. It was spread by word of mouth (www included) and the media. It is been around for 50+ days.

How the Christians should respond to healings, the miraculous and the accompanying signs and wonders? Generally, regular manifestation of signs and wonders together with the miraculous over a period of time are associated with the term 'revival'. Usually people getting saved are also included as a criteria for revival. These are the deliverables.

I have heard much on outbreaks of revivals from North America since attending the 'Toronto Blessings' in the 90's. There is tremendous interest and expectations from the people at large (secular and Christian). In the face of such scrutiny from supporters and critics, the movement is under tremendous pressure. Every word and actions will be watched, studied and commented.

Twenty three years ago there was an outpouring in my local church for a season of a few weeks. This Malaysian congregation consist of 50 people. I was a college student then and was born again 2 years earlier. The church was 2 years old and planted in a 95% Muslim populated area. My pastor was 24 and he has just graduated from Bible School.

The church met for prayer every Wednesday evening and it seem in that season we have consistent and regular visitation from angels. It came to a stage that I mentioned to others that, "If you want to meet with angels, come and join the prayer meeting." It was also mentioned by other participants.

My wise pastor actually have to remind the people that we are in church to meet Jesus. From there I learned an invaluable lesson. We are to meet Jesus, love and serve Jesus, direct people to Jesus and be Jesus centric. Later on with some hindsight I would include transformation and fruits of repentance for folks who had gone through revival. After spending the 7 years in missons I would venture to add one more, i.e. the anointing and blessings should be taken into the streets of the world. Steve Strang, the founder of Charisma magazine, writing on Lakeland Outpouring has this to say about the focus of revival, "The focus of any revival or ministry must be on Jesus and on changed lives, not on revival itself or on the ministries involved .... A genuine revival must be more than lukewarm Christians flocking to meetings and getting excited once again about God touching their lives. It must change people's lives who then in turn change the culture around them. That is really the revival we need in America."

It is up to the wise leadership to chart and direct the course of the revival, stay humble and have the necessary checks and balances. With a steady hand the church I grown up in still has the miraculous, the sign and wonders regularly. The people has grown and the congregation size has steadily moved up to 1,600.

From the web publishers and blogs I have garnered the views of 3 different groups: the supporters, the critics and the Gamaliel-time-will-tell people.

The Supporters
1. John Arnott, senior pastor of Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, blessed the Lakeland meetings.

2. John Kilpatrick, who pastored Brownsville Assembly during the Pensacola Revival of the 1990s, visited Lakeland recently to lend Bentley his support. He has this to say, "It saddened me that many weren’t willing to at least come and check things out,” ... “I made a vow before God that if revival ever broke out again, no matter where it was, that I’d at least go.”

The Gamaliel-time-will-tell Approach
1. Jack Hayford, president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, said it’s important to “guard our souls from being either gullible, doubt-prone or resistant to whatever God may seek to do.” “With time,” he said, “whatever is taking place in Lakeland and through activities issuing from its happenings, will either verify or discredit the source of its manifestations.”

3. The AG also offered the cautious approach.

2. J. Lee Grady, from Charisma, listed 3 cautions and watch-outs before confirming it is genuine. a) Todd Bentley may be in danger of teaching on communing with angels and seeking revelation from angels. b) Uncontrolled, exotic and fanatical manifestations may be unchecked and sanctioned. c) Hype and sensationalism

3. Background checks were done on Strader and Bentley. Google their names and you will have pages to read. Some were balance while some were not. Wisdom and biblical ethics need to be applied here.

The Critics
You can check out what the critics says. Some are downright unethical. Again Google Lakeland Outpouring. From there one page will lead to another. You will find the supporters, critics and the Gamaliel types.