George O. Wood General Superintendent, The General
Council of the Assemblies of God - Statement Regarding Strange Fire Conference
Recently,
Dr. John MacArthur and Grace to You Ministries hosted the Strange Fire Conference
at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.
Dr.
MacArthur believes that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit ceased with the
close of the Apostolic Era and that the Pentecostal and charismatic movements
are therefore theologically aberrant at a foundational level.
By
contrast, Pentecostal and charismatic Christians believe that “the promise
[i.e., the gift of the Holy Spirit] is for you and your children and for all
who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39). With
this promise comes the evidential sign of speaking in other tongues and power
to be witnesses of Jesus Christ “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, 2:4, cf.
Luke 24:49). Consequently, following the Apostle Paul’s teaching, we “eagerly
desire gifts of the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
While
there have been isolated aberrations of behavior and doctrine over the past
century among those who self-identify as Pentecostal or charismatic, the
movement as a whole has proved a vital force in world evangelization —a
fulfillment of the promise Jesus made to His disciples in Acts 1:8. On behalf
of the 66 million adherents and 360,000+ churches in the World Assemblies of
God Fellowship, I thank God that the faith and life of the Acts 2 church are still
being believed and experienced today.
The
Assemblies of God celebrates 100 years in 2014 and remains committed to the
full authority of God’s Word. As a founding member of the National Association
of Evangelicals, the Assemblies of God has sought to cooperate in the Great
Commission with Christians of like-minded faith, even when they are not
Pentecostal and charismatic and we remain committed to that collaboration.
We
trust the time will come when Dr. John MacArthur and those who share his
perspective will acknowledge the great contribution that Pentecostals and
Charismatics are making in the evangelization of individuals without Christ. We
pray God’s blessings on their efforts to share His gospel with a lost and dying
world. Pentecostals and charismatics are their co-laborers in this effort so we
ask that they would similarly pray for God’s blessing on us as we seek to
fulfill the Great Commission that God has given us all.
George
O. Wood General Superintendent, The General Council of the Assemblies of God
Chairman,
World Assemblies of God Fellowship
