Falling under the power of the Holy Spirit

I just watched this HILARIOUS video on YouTube documenting several incidences of Christians "falling under the power of the Holy Spirit" or what was traditionally called "Slain in the Spirit".

What made this video Laugh-Out-Loud funny to me is its Street Fighter 2 packaging...HAHA. The music, sound effects and all are an all too familiar part of my childhood. HAHA.

Yup, I grew up with these 2 elements in my childhood - Street Fighter and Church altar ministry. Today, I see them wittily and funnily fused together in this video.



Having been a devout Christian for nearly 20 years, I myself have been in several of such situations and witnessed them live.

I've been to Benny Hinn's healing crusades and many church retreats and services with such supernatural encounters and I daresay many of them are real, although some of them may be staged, exaggerated or induced.

For myself, I have NEVER been "slain" or "rested" or "fell under the power of" the Holy Spirit in this fashion. Partly because I was skeptical about it since young. What's my response then when I encounter the Holy Ghost?

My more physically expression-ate encounters with the Holy Spirit always gets me on my knees or prostrating before a holy, royal and powerful presence and I'm usually moved to tears because there's a sense of a deep assurance of love for my soul and a sense of a deep feeling of undeserved-ness and unworthiness on my part.

It's like, I will feel that there is a being so perfect, so pure and so powerful, that He can wipe me out anytime; a being that totally understands me and knows me - my past, present and future - and yet, STILL LOVES ME and ACCEPTS me for all the good and bad and in-betweens.

That overwhelming feeling of love and acceptance just leaves me amazed and disarmed and it fills me up with an enigmatic sense of gratefulness and undeserved-ness that expresses itself by bowing down and kneeling before this greater, transcendent presence...as tears of thankfulness and gratitude meander down my unworthy face.

Whenever God chooses to reveal Himself in a more tangible way, this will be my response. And I say "response", not "reaction", because I can control my physical feedback to such a situation.

I have never once lost consciousness or bodily control of myself and fell to the ground like in the videos or what you'll see in a charismatic church.

Well, God speaks and moves in people in different ways and we must be careful not to box God up by saying things like "Oh, if God moves, you'll fall under His presence" or "No, God will NEVER knock someone out like that", etc...God is God. He moves in His own way and in His own timing. Who are we to judge its authenticity?

But as much as we are not here to stand as judges, we must remember that we are created in the image of God and thus have the ability to judge too...And somehow, where there is a rat, we can smell a rat.

Let me share a few instances where I've smelt many rouge "rat-slayers" doing it "wrong" and many rats getting "slain" for the sake of it.

1) Pastor uses force to push you down

My "rouge rat-slayer" alarm goes crazy when I see pastors pushing or using physical force on a person to push him/her down.

I have many friends that hate that too...and the more the pastor pushes them, the more my friends will resist their force and stand up strong.

Why?

Because we believe that if it really is the work and power of the Holy Spirit, no physical assistance is needed.

If the pastor keeps pushing and people keep falling, people will attribute it to the pastor, saying "Ah, these guys are all frauds, they're cooperating with the pastor by falling on cue."

I mean, come on. If it's really God moving, do you need to push that hard? It's a crime you know that? To exert too much physical force on a person? Let God do it supernaturally and keep your insecurities to yourselves!

There are a few good examples of pastors who do it right. They really just pray for you, at a distance, and the most they do is gently lay their hands on your head and have totally no bodily contact at all...and as they pray, the person gently falls under the Holy Spirit's visitation.

To name a few who have made an impression, such pastors are Pastor Mike Connell from New Zealand, Pastor James Singh from Singapore, etc...

These guys have my respect. Because during their ministry sessions, they really rely on the Holy Spirit. Their prayers cut deep into who you are and what you are struggling with. Their words contain a fire that strikes your heart. The best part about them? THEY DO NOT HAVE BODILY CONTACT WITH YOU.

In my current church now, Heart of God church, during ministry time, you can see clearly on the live feed that our pastor is using force to push the person's head.

My response to that will be the same question I asked earlier in the paragraph in italics above. Learn from the ministers who do it without physical assistance which could lead to controversies - which I'll elaborate on in my 2nd point.

Yup, this is my personal stand - the pastor is but a vessel. Who is he or she to dictate your falling by physically pushing you? If it's really God, He will do the necessary.

So what's the motivation behind the pastor's eager thrusts? Is it because when you fall, it seems like the pastor is "powerful" and "connected with God" and it therefore builds faith in the congregation when they witness it?

If it is, then I must say that the act of pushing your members is really an act of insecurity - pushing your members out of the fear that people will think you are less than capable of doing ministry if people don't fall.

Well, I know the church is here to do a real work in peoples' lives, not to do theatrical acts that induce the "building of faith". So the last thing I need from a church is for it to be not authentic and put on a show. I'd rather buy tickets from Sistic to watch a show.

2) People fall not because of the Holy Spirit

I have had many friends tell me before that they fall not because the Holy Spirit touched them, but because it is out of respect for the pastor that they do it...like to tell the pastor "Thanks for your prayer! It's awesome so I'm gonna fall now!"

Some tell me they fall because when you are fallen, it tells the pastor that you've been prayed for so the pastor wouldn't come and pray for you again.

So this whole "falling" thing becomes a system of management...to differentiate those that have been prayed for and those that haven't been prayed for! My gosh! The church is really into theatrical arts nowadays!

And oh, in most churches, they deploy a special group of people called "catchers". They are trained to catch a falling Christian whenever a minister prays for that individual.

Here's where this system of "falling" management fails: I had this friend who was at the altar in front who FELL AT THE WRONG TIME. i.e. She mistakenly fell, thinking that the pastor had laid hands on her, when it's not the pastor. LOL. Here's the scenario:

The altar was packed with people as they wanted to receive a touch from the pastor to "fall". So there were many catchers squeezing about as well. So, this particular friend of mine felt the brush of what she thought was the pastor's anointed hand...when it was just a stray catcher's hand squeezing pass in that crowded altar area.

Thinking it was the pastor's "holy" hands, she instinctively - in utmost cooperation - fell backwards...AND TO HER HORROR, THERE WAS NO CATCHER...BECAUSE THE CATCHERS ARE ALL SCURRYING AROUND THE PASTOR. The catchers only position themselves behind the members that the pastor is praying for...because, I think, they too know that people only fall when the pastor or their executive leaders pray for them. #fail #mediacorp

So, that poor friend of mine then got up to her feet and realized her mediacorp moment was not caught on camera or "live feed" because the pastor wasn't there...

So this whole falling thing isn't about the Holy Spirit touching you already. It suddenly becomes about you, your pastor and how you want to portray yourself to the camera.

WHERE'S THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ALL THESE? Hais...What has become of your Church, Lord?

From the more honest hearts, they'll tell me that if they don't fall, it'll seem like they're not receptive to the Holy Spirit and it reflects bad on them. So those that are still standing after prayer will be stigmatized.

Oh look what you've done pastors! By not clearly explaining the significance behind this occasionally supernatural act, you've caused so many to be stigmatized!

This is especially rampant in the church I attend now: Heart of God church.

I have heard many members say "Oh no! That guy no catcher! If he fall and injure himself how?!"

The ignorance in that statement really irks me. But hey, many of the Christians there really don't know what they believe in. Don't believe me? Just have a simple layman debate with them - LEADERS - on such issues of faith and they'll sideline you. Don't even need to have a theological debate, just a layman one will do and they'll be DUMBFOUNDED! Next thing? These "leaders" will label you "question-er" and slowly ostracize you. I'll justify my accusations regarding this in separate blog post.

Ok, so in this church, the members of the congregation are groomed to be VERY COOPERATIVE. Upon the final thrust of the senior pastor's hand, they'll fall down without a shadow of a doubt, into the hands of a catcher.

Back to my initial point I made about God moving in such meetings:

If God chooses to reveal Himself to you by knocking you out, DO YOU THINK HE'LL ALLOW YOU TO BE HURT BY HIS REVELATION?

When those heart of God church members go "Oh no! That guy no catcher! If he fall and injure himself how?!", they're actually saying 2 things:

A) God is a sadist, or an irresponsible flasher.

That is the first implication of their ignorant statement. They're saying that when God reveals Himself to you and injures you in the process, it's really just a price you gotta pay.

So according to them, God is really a sadist. He wants you to know Him, but if in the process He injures you, THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM.

Or to them, God is like some flasher...He comes and flashes His glory at you and you're taken down! And then he goes "Ooopss...Not my problem"

Their exclamation can also be re-phrased as:

"OH NO! GOD IS GOING TO INJURE HIM WHEN HE FALLS DOWN! Doesn't God know there's no catcher? CAN'T HE WAIT FOR THE CATCHER TO COME BEFORE HE SUPERNATURALLY TOUCHES THE GUY?"

Suddenly, the onus of injury falls into the laps of the catcher. So if the person really gets injured, is it God's fault? The pastor's fault? Or the catcher's fault? When the lawyer letter comes in, who will be footing the medical bill?

This is where I must interject - IF THE PASTOR PUSHES THE PERSON, HE/SHE IS LIABLE FOR HIS INJURY!

So as a pastor, if you don't want to be tangled up in an injury lawsuit in church, DO NOT PUSH YOUR MEMBERS!

If you do not push the person, he has nothing to claim against you! If it is God and the person goes down without your physical intervention, to God be the glory!

YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE! So quit succumbing to that moment of insecurity and keep those thrusting hands to yourselves!

According to those HoGC members' statements, it seems like the catcher is going to pay. Hefty price he'll be paying if the person gets paralyzed!

All in all, they are picturing God as such an irresponsible creature. Someone that wants you to know Him and is not willing to take responsibility for the price of knowing Him - back injury.

That is not the God I know. I'll answer this point shortly after I cover implication B of their ignorant statements.

B) The guy falling is an actor

Their exclamation could also mean that the "faller" is an actor...Because, if it's really God who induces the falling, the person will not be hurt.

So if the person gets hurt, it means, the falling was not a supernatural act, but an act of the carnal nature of man.

So the second implication of their statement is, they're calling the falling guy an actor. This is the better option for those ignorant remark-ers. To say that you're judging the faller and not get caught in the web of projecting your own tainted image of God in implication A is a far better option.

So this is my stand:

God is not an irresponsible flasher. If that act of falling is indeed God's doing, He will definitely  protect you. He will not allow you to be hurt in that life-changing process of His revelation. He is a responsible God of justice.

The implication of my statement also means that - There is no need for catchers!

Indeed, there is no need for them. If every act of falling was genuine, the catchers will just be there to facilitate an otherwise natural motion of the Spirit lying them down. They are in fact, redundant.

But the catchers are still there for good reason - they're there to ensure that our dear church-going actors and actresses don't get hurt in their delicate process of performing their falling stunt.

I have been on several mission trips and watched several videos of ministry sessions like these in third world countries where there are no catchers!

I've seen people fly a few feet from their chairs during ministry sessions and they get up moments later, unhurt.

On a mission trip to Ilo Ilo, Philippines, I've seen the Spirit of God just sweep through a worshipping congregation and everyone began falling without the pastor laying hands and praying!

NO CATCHERS! And guess what? NO ONE WAS HURT! In fact, they all got up refreshed and encouraged, with a new revelation and experience of who God is!

I think those domesticated Heart of God peeps will be shocked when they actually see how God moves in the not-so-sanitized and not-so-organized church out there. In fact, those churches are more spirit-led than HoGC, which leaves little room for the Holy Spirit's free movement.

Yup, God is a God of love and justice. Can you imagine how unjustified these people would be if they were to fall and break their backs while in church?

This totally goes against the grain of God's nature of justice.

So yes, I've seen many people who "fall" under the overwhelming power of peer pressure and under the paralyzing power of ignorance.

When such people fall, I do not think they actually take away a new revelation of who God is. Their falling is simply an act of conditioning; it's a monkey-see-monkey-do situation on a mega scale in mega churches today.

It's really sad to see all these happening in church. It deeply saddens my heart to see how all these young people are stigmatized for not falling or for falling for all the wrong reasons.

This will cause many problems later in their journey of faith. When things start crashing down, and their faith comes into question, this will definitely be one of the salient experiences that Satan will use to undermine their shaky faith.

So yes, I've seen many rats and rogue rat-slayers who "fall" and get "slain" for all the wrong reasons. But I have never doubted this "falling" thing as a means by which God uses to speak to His people.

So yes, fall if you must...But fall for the right reasons. If you feel the Holy Spirit's gentle presence giving you a "falling" sensation, don't fight it, let the Holy Spirit do His work in His own way.

But if you fall not because of the Holy Spirit and injure yourself or render yourself immobile, your medical claim against your church's pushing-pastor, catcher or "catching ministry" will be a real controversial one!

Let's stay REAL people. The church is called to change lives; not do theatrical arts or stunt acts on a weekend. The last thing I want the church to be is: FAKE or INAUTHENTIC. Period.