The "Strange Fire" Conference and the Charismatic Response

If you're an evangelical Christian in the West, chances are you may have heard of the Strange Fire Conference which is wrapping up tonight in Southern California at Grace Community Church where Dr. John MacArthur has been senior pastor since 1969.  The lead up to this conference and the forthcoming book of the same name have generated no small controversy, which only the conference itself has been able to eclipse.  Evidently even Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll "crashed" the conference to hand out copies of his new book. 

Interestingly, and perhaps encouragingly, this conference has caught the attention of not only the evangelical reformed community, but also much of the charismatic wing of the church as well.  Before the conference even started, charismatic theologian Dr. Michael L. Brown appealed to MacArthur to reconsider his position.  I have also seen some responses from other charismatic sources including prophetic pastor R. Loren Sandford. 

While the reactions of Brown and Sandford have been vigorous, they have also been mostly charitable.  However, that has not been the case across the charismatic board.  Sadly many of the responses to MacArthur from the "rank and file" of charismatic Christians has been in a very familiar pattern.  A pattern that I often encountered when I moved in more explicitly charismatic circles.  Make no mistake, this conference and the rhetoric that has emanated from it deserve a very thoroughgoing rebuttal and response, but the nature and tone of the reactions I have been getting from many, but not all charismatics is troubling.

In a nutshell, one of the greatest critiques of the charismatic movement broadly and the prophetic streams particularly is that they are very much guilt manipulation based.  Despite waxing greatly about God's unconditional love and the Father's heart, they nevertheless have a real penchant for dismissing the legitimate concerns and critiques of those who disagree with certain manifestations or just aren't there yet.  Evidently, because someone isn't convinced of the phenomenon of being "drunk in the Spirit", for example, it is entirely because he/she either haven't experienced it, or possesses a "religious" or "pharisaical" spirit.  Nevermind whether or not the Bible supports this experience or not, it must be a critical, religious spirit.  All this serves to do is make others feel small and feeds the pride of those who make others small.

While this conference and the related book will no doubt continue to feed the debate over miraculous gifts and hopefully cause many cessationists to reconsider their position, it would do many charismatic Christians well to reconsider their own attitudes toward those for whom the moving of the Spirit in tangible, miraculous gifts is not yet a functional reality and who are concerned over unbiblical excesses.  Let us remember that Paul was not shy about correcting abuses, but neither did he command the Corinthians to declare a moratorium on spiritual gifts.  Rather, he corrected their attitudes and instructed them to seek the more excellent way of love.  I hope that all believers in this controversy would do the same.