St Paul won´t like this one

"Catch the Fire" by Guy Chevreau is a somewhat confusing book about the charismatic revival known as the Toronto Blessing. The revival is named after the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church (today the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship). The author is a member of this particular church, and therefore defends the revival with both Biblical and historical arguments. As well he might, since the Toronto Blessing is extremely controversial!

Many of the participants experience some pretty weird phenomena: hysterical laughter, spasmodic jerks, falling to the floor without being able to stand up for hours, roaring like lions, etc. They become "drunk in the Spirit" for hours, even days. Others report strange visions, hear voices or experience miraculous healings. Critics of the Toronto Blessing believe that the experiences are self-induced or...of the Devil. Hank Hanegraaff's book "Counterfeit revival" is a well known criticism. Indeed, many of Hanegraaff's examples of bizarre manifestations are taken from "Catch the Fire".

For instance, there is the story of three children with learning disabilities, who had these cured by angels operating on their brains. Two other participants at a revival meeting laughed, danced and were out of control for hours. The next day, they came back for more - dressed in ski pants! Yet another participant explains how he got filled with the Holy Spirit and started roaring like a lion. The episode with Guy's wife Janice throwing greasy fish at her guests, apparently drunk in the Spirit, also comes from this slim volume.

Still, these sensationalist stories only make up a smaller part of this book. Most of "Catch the Fire" is an attempt to prove that the revival associated with Toronto is Biblical. Chevreau also claims that Jonathan Edwards, the great revivalist preacher of the 18th century, had ideas compatible with the Toronto Blessing. I don't think the author succeeds very well. The apostle Paul was rebuking extreme enthusiasts already in his first letter to the Corinthians. At one point, Chevreau admits that many people who attend the services of the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church are put off by the strange happenings, and simply leave, convinced that God has nothing to do with it. However, Chevreau doesn't seem to care. Paul, of course, did. The same thing happened in Corinth, which led Paul to demand order in the congregation! Chevreau never really wrestles with this. As for Jonathan Edwards, the quotations referenced by the author himself prove that Edwards, too, was opposed to the more extreme excesses at revivalist meetings. Both Paul and Edwards may have been "charismatic" in a sense, but it's highly unlikely that they would have accepted people roaring like lions, oinking like pigs, or dancing in ski pants...

Another chapter in "Catch the Fire" deals with Chevreau's own experiences, and those of other pastors touched by the revival. I get the impression that these people experienced a "mid life crisis" both in their ministry and their personal spirituality. They desperately wanted some kind of dramatic spiritual experience that would turn them around. Also, they wanted to find a way to make their stagnant congregations grow. They found both in the Toronto Blessing. The whole thing gives a very psychological impression. Chevreau and others admit that their theological views didn't fit with the charismatic revival they were experiencing. However, they decided to let go of the dry formulae and "catch the fire" anyway.

Well, I don't deny that the thing seems to be working. Indeed, the participants in this somewhat peculiar movement seem to have great fun, too! (For more on this, see my review of Hanegraaff's book.)

But as a disinterested outsider, I nevertheless suspect that St. Paul wouldn't be too awfully amused...