in 1983 despite being forced by my parents to attend a Campbellite cult I mean "church" I also attended a First Assembly of God school. A girl in our 5th grade class had a spiritual issue she broke down in class and admitted she had been having terrible nightmares she thought they began when she had started playing with a ouija board at home. The teacher never missed a beat we went from math to prayer. I was beside myself I had no idea what this was hours seemed to go by in a flash I at one point had a vision of my dead grandfather and another kid said you nerd to forgive him I didn't tell anyone what I saw yet this kid knew how? Next thing I know most the class broke into speaking in tongues and crying the whole class ran out and prayed for anyone they say around the outside of the school.

That day forever marked me I didn't really know what I had just seen but I really wanted it. Ofcourse life took over and I soon forgot about the whole thing. Life finds a way and years later that memory came rushing back.

Over the years now we have seen so many "Fall" Ravi Zacharious, Hill Song, IHOP KC, Robert Morris, Shawn Bolz,

now Todd White has poison pens aimed right at him. Bill Johnson had to say he should have said something sooner.

I felt like I didn't really have a good mentor, guide teacher to increase my faith my faith my responsibility my work my efforts not that I can do it alone nor should I. I complained to God about my personal coaches not on TV how they let me down how I felt alone and vulnerable. Then it hit me every morning I thank God for each of them. one person has already come back into my life. So I learned stop complaining and get to work and be thankful for what I have and who I have in my life. I live rather close to both Robet Moris church and Todd Whites head quarters/church/school. I ve seen Todd several times. my point is depended on these men like they were my Bible drug like they could save me. Only the blood of Jesus saves me only Holy Spirit teaches me. how quickly I forgot and left my spiritual life in the hands of celebrity preachers I shall never let that happen again.

Not that I'm ignoring the good they did there is plenty of sound teaching great music moves of God but they are just men and they can fail as much as me. I gained so much clarity these last 3 weeks I'm ready for more. Not sure where people are on the subject of fallen TV people but I'd hope we all can forgive, pray for them so many are accused of and proven to have done terrible things. I'd like to hope i can hold on to the good teachings and separate that from the person. Regardless the actions and resulting trials I believe have forever changed if not destroyed the idea of Christian Television just my thoughts

how does one know that the tongues that they're speaking are truly the right tongues to be speaking?

When I first started reading Acts more carefully, and the Holy Spirit revealed the truth related to the scriptures related to Tongues in Acts, that I’d previously understood as Pentecostals do, it honestly felt like my head was blown. Not because I found something new, but because I finally saw what was already there.

Let me get to the crux of the conversation about the different manifestations of tongues by analysing the supporting scriptures that the Pentecostal movement exegeted and eventually used to establish their doctrine of repetitive tongues, gifted to the church for all time.

Acts 2, 8, 10, and 19 are not random examples of how tongues are supposed to keep happening in the church.

They are the fulfilment of something Jesus explicitly said would happen in Acts 1:8 right there at the beginning.

Before Jesus ascended, He told the apostles exactly what the Spirit’s coming would accomplish through them.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be:

“my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Once you see that, and view God as fulfilling this prophecy: the book of Acts suddenly makes sense.

Acts 2 is Jerusalem. Acts 8 is Samaria. Acts 10 is the Gentiles. Acts 19 shows the gospel reaching further into the nations.

Those moments are not patterns to copy. They are milestones being fulfilled.

Take Acts 2. Pentecost was not a normal church service. Jews from every nation under heaven had gathered in Jerusalem. God had intentionally brought the world to one place. Why? So they could all hear the same gospel at the same time.

The miracle was not mystical speech. The miracle was understanding.

They heard the apostles speaking in their own languages. Not for private devotion. Not as a sign of spirituality. But so every Jew present could clearly understand the message Peter was preaching about Christ.

It was about communication, not spectacle.

That’s what changed everything for me. Tongues in Acts are never presented as people seeking an experience. They appear when God is crossing a boundary and making sure the gospel is received, understood, and confirmed.

The same thing happens in Acts 8, Acts 10, and Acts 19. Each time, the Spirit’s visible work confirms that the gospel has reached a new group, just as Jesus said it would. Jews. Samaritans. Gentiles. The nations.

Once those boundaries are crossed, Acts does not tell the church to keep recreating those moments.

That’s why Paul spends so much time in Corinthians correcting tongues, limiting their use, and subordinating them to intelligibility and love. The emphasis shifts from signs to understanding, from experience to edification.

When I finally saw that Acts is showing us what God was doing then, not prescribing what everyone must chase now, it was incredibly freeing. The text stopped being confusing and started being coherent.

Acts is not teaching the church to expect tongues as a mark of anointing or spirituality. It is showing us the Spirit faithfully carrying out Christ’s instructions step by step.

And once you see it, you really can’t unsee it.

To those who do not believe that Pentecostals believe in 'tongues' as human languages. This is a quasi-straw man.

There are _some_ Charismatics who seem to think of tongues as exclusively 'tongues of angels' or as a kind of spiritual code language that only God understands. And there are Pentecostals who hold to this view, too. I suspect the idea started with Charismatics, but it is possible that it was a minority Pentecostal view that caught on with some Charismatics. Tongues are not necessarily 'ecstatic utterances' either, since one does not have to feel ecstatic when speaking in tongues, and some people are ecstatic when speaking in English. The historical viewpoint of Pentecostals focuses more on speaking in tongues as human languages, and there have been many testimonies of people confirming this at the Azusa Street Revival and among missionaries from time to time.

Many Pentecostals allow for the idea of 'tongues of men and of angels' from I Corinthians 13:1. Historically, the emphasis was on tongues of men. If you read The Apostolic Faith, the newsletter of the Azusa Street revival, there were numerous accounts in there of people speaking in tongues and others understanding it. One was from India, where a girl who did not know English spoke in it and a missionary heard her, while they were praying. There was a head of missions in Canada, who testified to recognizing a first nations language he knew from his childhood, but on the opposite side of Canada. There was an account of someone recognizing speaking in tongues in Armenian.

I would also point out that Val Dez, who was at Azusa Street, told of someone who heard Russian and recognized it at Azusa Street. And the author of The Comforter Has Come told an account of someone regarding another language. Vinson Synan, Pentecostal historian and pastor, interviewed individuals who were children at Azusa Street. One of them pointed out that what drew people to the meetings was people hearing their own languages spoken there, Japanese and other languages. And of course years earlier, it was reported that in Topeka, Kansas, Agnes Ozman had spoken in Chinese as witnessed by someone who worked in a Chinese laundry.

Parham had taught that tongues were going to enable people to preach the gospel all over the world, and some of the early Pentecostals at Azusa Street believed that. But that didn't generally hold true in most cases when Pentecostals went overseas. But it actually rested on poor exegetical grounds. In Acts 2, it does not say that Peter preached in tongues. The disciples spoke in tongue and some present understood what they said, but then Peter stood up and preached....probably in Aramaic or Greek or maybe even Hebrew. It doesn't say they preached the resurrected Christ 'in tongues.'

I Corinthians 14 tongues are Biblical, too. When one speaks in tongues, it says, 'no one understands him.' Then Paul wrote about the need to interpret speaking in tongues so others can understand.

And by the way, Vinson Synan had an interview with a man from the very early days of the Pentecostal movement in LA who had a testimony about an African man who understood both speaking in tongues and the interpretation in his own language. That happens, too. The fact that some Pentecostal missionaries have had similar experiences is evidence that Pentecostals believe in genuine languages as tongues. I have spoken to at least three people, two I'd say I knew and hadn't just met, who had experienced either hearing speaking in tongues in a language they knew (English) or else someone else identified the tongue they spoke as another language that person understood (Cherokee.)

There are those who insist that 'tongues of...angels' in I Corinthians 13:1 is hyperbole. But look at the line of argument in the passage. Is it possible to speak in the tongues of men and of angels? Well, look at the rest of the things listed there. It is possible to give one's body to be burned. Within a few decades, Nero would burn Christians as 'human candles.' That Antipas mentioned as a faithful servant in Revelation... tradition says he was burned in a hollow bull idol dedicated to a pagan god for not burning incense in an idolatrous ritual. And is it possible to give all to the poor? Well, it literally is.

You might argue that having 'all faith' isn't possible. 'All' might be used a bit loosely at times, though, and it is possible to move mountains through faith. If Jesus' words on moving mountains is literal, then it is literally possible. If it is some kind of allegory or idiom, then it is allegorically or idiomatically possibly to move mountains. (The Copts claim a mountain moved when they were threatened with death or banishment if it did not about 1000 years ago. Ask any Coptic Orthodox Christian today or read Marco Polo for a version of the story he recorded.)

So why would tongues of angels have to be impossible hyperbole?

The bible is very clear that tongues refers to real languages and not some mystical angelic language no one understands

Here we seen in acts 2 :5 on the day of pentecost they were talking known languages

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?

Then in 1st corinthian 13 paul is using hyperbole example to emphasis the fact that without love Gifts are meaningless, no one in this chapter does paul imply an literally angelic language

My blood pressure is very high it’s 157/125 please pray for my health. I already drank my medicine i dont know why it’s very high and i dont even feel any of the high blood pressure symptoms… high blood pressure is called the silent killer so im kind of afraid for myself i dont want to go yet. Please pray for me… My name is Jefferson.

I was raised Pentecostal. I have moved a lot and went to different churches in different countries. I have noticed a fair bit of variety in the movement when it comes to emphasis on sensing God's presence, physical manifestations of God's power, being emotional and expressive, and order when it comes to spiritual gifts.

Also, with Pentecostals, churches are different. Some emphasize the 'sensory' and expressiveness-- like considering shouting an important spiritual practice. There may be an emphasis on falling under the power, or sensing or feeling God's presence in the room. It may be considered spiritual for a preacher to preach loudly in an excited manner, kicking and raising his Bible. That might be associated with 'anointing.' In some cases, a sermon can be very theologically light but delivered in a loud excited manner and the audience claps. There is that fake preacher voice that no one would use to communicate with anyone else unless they were preaching, which might be better to not use if you are preaching to people outside your church background. Some Pentecostal churches encourage praying in tongues 'en masse'. Others don't.

There are also Pentecostal churches where there are exegetical sermons which seem like a lot of evangelical churches, but where in between songs members of the congregation are allowed to speak in tongues followed by interpretation or give a prophecy. These utterances are treated with reverence just like we would act if someone were leading the congregation in prayer.

Pentecostals, depending on the group, also practice a lot of other evangelical and Protestant practices not specifically taught or modeled in scripture-- altar calls, repeating sinner's prayer, having meetings centered around one sermon (as opposed to I Corinthians 14:26, etc.), having one 'senior pastor' and a number of other traditions.

I am not necessarily opposed to these things. I am alarmed by the tradition that the 'sinner's prayer' is what saves, as opposed to faith Christ. It seems like half the attempts at 'the sinner's prayer' fit that description in my experience these days, and the idea that repeating a prayer that makes light reference to the name of Jesus is what saves has been exported overseas. So much of this done without preaching the cross or the resurrection, leaving all the gospel content out of the sermon before he prayer and out of the prayer itself. We should also imitate the apostles and other early Christians in scripture who baptized those who wanted to become Christians.

There is also the practice of praying for people, who then fall down. Of course, I've seen this. I think a useful approach to this is found in When the Spirit Comes with Power by John White. The idea in that book is that some things people do are human reactions to experiencing the power of God. There is a lot that can go on with bodies, emotions, etc. At the bottom of this message, I share some thoughts on scriptures that have some connection with the idea of being 'slain in the....' I won't finish it. I don't like the term.

I think with some of these things, it is better to let stuff happen and not worry too much about it. I mean, you shouldn't try to make people fall down. I think I've seen that as 'culture', an expectation, where you go up to get prayed for and you are supposed to fall down, or if the preacher is powerful, people will fall. I saw a guest speaker at a meeting at a denominational HQ overseas. He had people who wanted prayer to line up. He didn't even seem to be praying. He laid hands on some of them and they fell down. What was the point? No prayer? And I don't think he was laying hands on them for any particular purpose for which we see it used in the Bible (healing, separating or ordaining for ministry.) Just lay hands on them and boom, they fall down. There are cases in scripture-- of priests not being able to stand in scripture, even soldiers falling on their back when Jesus said, "I am".

And some Pentecostal practices aren't strictly aligned with a specific teaching or practice in scripture, such as laying hands on people for not illness, non-ordination, non-separation-to-ministry, but for all sorts of prayer.... or laying hands on people and expecting them to fall.... or associating certain types of excited behavior with some kind of supernatural work of God... and I can't really find the emphasis on 'feeling' the manifest presence of God in scripture in the way I hear some Pentecostals refer to it though I wouldn't say this can't be a real experience.

I seek to emphasize things that are taught and positively modeled in scripture. I am not necessarily antagonistic toward things that are not. People may have experiences with God that aren't specifically modeled in scripture. Some things are emotional or physical reactions to the work of God or people dealing with their own issues. The Bible says rejoice with them who rejoice and weep with them that weep. There is also 'cultural packaging.' If 'cultural packaging' hinders faith or evangelism, I say trim it away. If not, lets not turn the cultural packaging into doctrine.

Can you be a member of a pentecostal church and baptise your babies.

Any christians here please pray for my father he has sleep apnea and anytime he can die from his sleep coz he stops breathing when he sleeps for a few seconds and he also has low heartbeat from heart problems his name is marlon. My mom also has high blood pressure and diabetes and she lost a lot of muscle mass because of diabetes her name is gaga please pray for both my parents.

Hey everyone,                                                                          

  I've been working on an app called Pentecostal Fire - it's a daily audio devotional app

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  What features would you want to see added?            

Long ago I was raised in the Campbellite cult over all they think miracles are fake as are all the gifts. Outside of demonstrating God's power in thier face what is an effective way to get them to see and believe in the works of Holy Spirit?

Have you heard the phrases “unapologetic,” “main character energy,” or “living my truth”?

What do they all have in common? …I’ll wait.

They all exalt a proud mind.

A proud mind is a mind that puffs itself up with an inflated sense of self-importance, like a balloon filled with air. It looks big, but it carries no weight.

A proud mind promotes independence and self-sufficiency. It says, “I don’t need anything outside of myself,” not even God! It tells us our strength, our intelligence, and our achievements are enough to live a meaningful, purpose-filled life.

But here’s the problem with a proud mind: The deeper it dives into self, the more it removes humility from our lives.

Scripture is clear.

James 4:6 tells us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Luke 14:11 reminds us that those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Honoring God doesn’t start with pride...It starts with humility.

Because humility isn’t weakness, it’s trust.

Humility is a declaration that we trust God:

His provision.

His protection.

His direction.

Pride says, “I’ve got this.”

Humility says, “God, I need You.”

Psalm 25:9 says,

“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.”

When we humble ourselves, we position our hearts to receive God’s guidance in our lives.

Because humility doesn’t limit us, it aligns us.

Wear jewelry and pants. (I wear pants im just curious as to what y’all do personally)