Celebrate Jesus 2000

Fundamental Evangelistic Association
selected articles from:
^{^{^©}}FOUNDATION
A MAGAZINE OF BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISM
Dennis W. Costella, Editor; Karel Beyer, Production Manager; Matt Costella, Copy Editor
M.H. Reynolds, Jr. (1919-1997), Founding Editor

Celebrate Jesus 2000

A Report of the Charismatic's Ecumenical Celebration in St. Louis, on the Banks of the Muddy Mississippi
by Dennis Costella

THOUSANDS CONVENED IN St. Louis, Missouri, from June 22-25,2000, for the Charismatic/Catholic "Celebrate Jesus 2000" Congress sponsored by the North American Renewal Service Committee (NARSC). As with previous Congresses (Kansas City in 1977, New Orleans in 1987 and Indianapolis in 1991), this year's meeting basically reiterated the same Charismatic-based agenda for unity on the basis of world evangelism and the "gifts of the Spirit." Although some speakers were different, the message remained unchanged.

While many believers will dismiss what occurred at Celebrate Jesus 2000 as inconsequential (it was smaller than former conferences, not as well organized and not as impressive in many ways), the St. Louis Congress provided a "snapshot," a capsulation, of a much larger picture that has a global impact quite staggering in its proportions. If the statistics given at the Congress concerning the impact that Charismatics are having upon the saved and unsaved today are even remotely accurate, then the coming together of Roman Catholic, Protestant, denominational and many other religious groups under the banner of evangelization "with signs and wonders following" is certainly a powerful force with which Bible-believers must reckon. It is necessary to be aware of what is happening within the Charismatic and Catholic renewal movements because most members of Fundamental, Bible-believing churches know a family member, a fellow-employee or a neighbor who has been taken in by this deception. Believers must understand what is leading multitudes away from Bible absolutes and how to warn the unsuspecting of the dangers of twisting the Scriptures "unto their own destruction" (2 Pet. 3:16).

Yes, Christians need to have an "understanding of the times," as mentioned in God's Word (I Chr. 12:32), so that they can apply Biblical principles to what is being proposed by the religious leaders of today who shape the thinking and the ministries of hundreds of millions of people. At this conference, in which over 10,000 individuals of Roman Catholic, denominational and nondenominational back-grounds came together, both speakers and participants repeatedly declared the meeting to be a visible unity authored by the Holy Spirit. However, the common unifying factor was not an agreement on what the Bible teaches (sound doctrine), but rather upon common beliefs distinct to Charismatics (tongues, healing,, etc.) and a call to world evangelization.

The conference director, as with previous Congresses, was Dr. Vinson Synan, dean of the School of Divinity at Regent University. Synan's opening remarks presented a parallel between the convergence of various rivers into the mighty Mississippi River located just a few blocks from the TWA Dome where the conference assembled, and the coming to-ether of the various churches and traditions represented at Celebrate Jesus 2000 that would form "the River of the Holy Spirit" that will flood the whole earth:

Tonight we have people from the whole body of Christ: Catholics, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Episcopalians, nondenominational and everybody else; we are one in the Spirit tonight. Hallelujah! We also have people from Africa, Europe, Latin America, India-from many nations; this is truly an international Congress. We are gathered here in St. Louis on the banks of the Mississippi River, which in the Indian language means the "Father of Waters." But when the first Spanish Christian explorers saw the river, so wide, so deep and so many tributaries, they called it the "River of the Holy Spirit" ... That brings us to a Scripture that tells what this Congress is all about tonight. In the Gospel of John 7:38, 39, Jesus said, "If any man is thirsty, let him come unto Me and drink. He who believes in Me as the Scripture said, from his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water." By this He spoke of the Spirit—the Holy Spirit. For those who believed on Him were to receive, for the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. So the river of the Holy Spirit, the Mississippi, tonight the great river, the Holy Spirit, is flowing in the TWA dome. The rain is falling, brothers and sisters. The power of God is being released throughout the world, for signs and wonders accompany the preaching of the Word. Through the Pentecostal and Charismatic renewals of the last century, the power of God has spread throughout the earth.

A Fundamentalist cannot help but notice another parallel: As one looks over the true grandeur of the "mighty Mississippi," one can clearly observe that this river is also known as the "Big Muddy"! The theme of the "mighty flowing river of God" that was supposed to be evidenced at the conference seemed to more correctly reflect the muddy waters of deliberate confusion and ungodly murkiness rather than power through unity in spite of diversity.

Synan went on to paint a glowing picture of what the Charismatic renewal movement has accomplished since the 1987 New Orleans Congress, which was suggested to be the most influential of the previous four meetings:

In New Orleans in1987, Father Tom Forrest gave us a vision to evangelize the world in the last decade of the century. He called the church to a decade of world evangelization, and we accepted that challenge. And now we've gathered 13 years later to evangelize and tell the whole world about Jesus ... Four hundred million new souls have been brought into the kingdom since 1987. Let's give the Lord a hand.

In the beginning of the last century, there were just a handful of Spirit-filled people. Throughout this century, this movement of the Holy Spirit has grown throughout the earth. Now in the year 2000, there are 532 million Spirit-filled Pentecostal and Charismatics in the world. Hallelujah! Eighty percent of all conversions from paganism have come through Spirit-filled ministries that are represented here tonight....

We face a new millennium, and in thinking of this congress, I began to think, what is a good name for the next millennium? I've never heard anybody name the next thousand years. Let's try one tonight. Let's announce that the third millennium will be the Messianic Millennium. Say it with me-"the Messianic Millennium! " Say it again, so that Jesus Christ and His church will fill the earth, as the waters cover the sea. Now tonight, we've said for months, a new millennium is upon us. The streams are uniting. The river is here. It's a place which officially opens the Celebrate Jesus 2000 congress and this great birthday party. Could we just stand and sing Happy Birthday, dear Jesus? Is that all right? [crowd sings] Now let's just praise Jesus with all of our hearts!

Incredibly bold claims and unbiblical sentiments characterized Synan's statements. A misunderstanding of the definition of the "church" and its ministry and mission in the world today as well as confusion regarding the concept of the "kingdom" abounded throughout the conference. If believers are to take the Bible seriously as the inerrant Word of God, then they must believe that It is literal in what It teaches and understand such terms as "the church," "the kingdom" and "the work of God" in a proper dispensational, theological context. Nowhere does the Bible set forth a unity of theological diversity (hence, some truth mixed with much error) that is to accomplish the purpose of God in the world. The only allusion in God's Word to such a unification is the apostate, ecumenical one-world "harlot" conglomeration that is headed for God's judgment in the Great Tribulation. The "kingdom" of which the Bible prophesies will begin after that seven-year Tribulation when the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings, will return to inaugurate His millennial reign upon the earth, thus fulfilling—literally and gloriously— every prophecy given concerning the Kingdom, from Genesis through Revelation.

Speakers at the St. Louis Congress repeatedly drew from imagery and texts relating to the Old Testament Levitical system as well as to the future glory of Christ's coming Kingdom and applied them to the church today. For example, the orchestrated hysteria at one evening session culminated with the blowing of the shofar, a ram's horn, to evidently announce God's call for participants to go forth and conquer in God's new "Messianic Millennium." The raucous music and dance, the blasting trumpet calls, the shouts welcoming the coming of the Spirit that rang out over loud speakers,, and the pageantry, which included video displays and blue banquet table-like coverings streaming down the center aisle and ending at the feet of an image of Jesus, certainly fell far short of what God's Word speaks when It tells of the true glory and power of God that He will bring to pass. A "word of prophecy" was even read from the podium which suggested that God Himself was saying to the jubilant crowd, "Let the river flow!” In reality, however, these were the imaginations, works and words of men, not God.

The "Statement of Policy," written by the North American Renewal Service Committee which sponsored the Celebrate Jesus 2000 Congress, stressed the need for ecumenical unity in order to reach the desired goal of evangelizing the world through the power of “spiritual gifts," which typify the Charismatic renewal ministries represented in virtually every denominational and nondenominational group around the world. The messages delivered in all of the sessions clearly upheld the policy, which sought to minimize doctrinal differences and to accent the common objectives of winning the lost and furthering the "kingdom" (and in so doing, to demonstrate the fullness of the Charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit). The Statement of Policy reads in part:

We, the members of the North American Renewal Service Committee, acknowledge that our purpose in coming together and in working together is to service our Lord Jesus Christ and to further His plan in the world. We believe that He has called us into this relationship so that He might lead us by the power of His Spirit to contribute to the work of world evangelization…We acknowledge that our coming together is a work of the Spirit which is unusual, and which needs to be safeguarded .... We will labor to give expression to our agreement. We will respect and be sensitive to the different ways in which we express the same truths. Without compromise to our convictions, we will try to express our agreements in ways which are acceptable to all....We will respect each other's convictions in these matters [of faith and practice]. Without minimizing the very real theological differences that exist among Christians, we will strive to treat such areas of disagreement respectfully and with sensitivity to each other's churches, traditions, and constituencies.

How did this policy work its way into the messages and the instruction received by the participants? One afternoon workshop titled "Discerning the Signs of the Times" aimed to "look at the Second Coming of Christ" and teach how "to discern true and false prophecy" (according to the Congress program). Steve Strang, publisher of several Charismatic magazines including Charisma and Ministries Today, emphasized the need to believe "a little less of your pet doctrines." Regarding the Lord's return, Strang noted that the apostles and the first century Christians expected the Lord's return but that it did not happen in their lifetime; therefore, he concluded that those who insist on the literal fulfillment of certain Bible texts to take place at a definite time and sequence need to be less dogmatic. To make his point, Strang asked those attending the workshop if they had ever heard a message that taught the "abomination of desolation" in the book of Daniel was to be at a future time. Several indicated that they had. He then informed his audience that the prophecy in question had already taken place in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. Though Strang is not Roman Catholic, this preterist eschatological position supports the teachings of Rome (that the Tribulation events prophesied in Revelation and elsewhere were already fulfilled in the early centuries and that now the millennial kingdom—the Roman Catholic Church—is running its course). Strang and the accompanying speaker, Jim Murphy, stated that the only thing about which one can be certain is that Christ will come again and that believers must not allow disagreement over when and how-"the details"- to cause division or lack of harmony among Christians today. This was one example among many of how the assembly speakers followed the Congress policy of being respectful and open to other positions on various doctrines represented by the participants. However, throughout the Congress, Roman Catholic theology dominated the various theological positions presented, including the definition of the Gospel message Itself, Christ's return, the purpose of the church and the concept of the kingdom, to mention only a few.

Michael Scanlan, a Roman Catholic priest, instructed those attending a workshop on "The Deliverance Ministry" to use holy water, a crucifix and a qualified Roman Catholic priest to deal with Christians who are demonically oppressed and possessed. Nonna Dearing, the Roman Catholic director of Prayer Ministry Christian Healing Ministries, stressed the need for forgiveness and healing deliverance from the sins of previous generations before one can be delivered from comparable bondage in the present. One key step in the healing process worthy of notice was step two: "continually renew your baptismal vows." Dearing's ministry is a dangerous mix of humanistic psychology and Roman Catholic theology.

John Kilpatrick, pastor of the Brownsville Assembly of God Church in Pensacola, Florida, led a workshop entitled, "Revival in the Church." Over four million have visited Brownsville since the "revival" broke out more than five years ago. Kilpatrick gave his testimony of how the revival began and his personal involvement in it. In addition to his testimony, however, Kilpatrick also mentioned in a question and answer time some interesting results that the revival has had upon him personally. He stated that following the "awesome," "humbling" experience of the mighty moving of the Spirit, he no longer criticizes anyone. He also presented a reason as to why he believes God is using such strange manifestations (involuntary body movements, outbursts, etc.) in these new waves of the Spirit:

I'm tired of having to explain every little thing. I believe God can do what He wants to do, when He wants to do it and how He wants to do it. [audience cheers] My God can do anything! Why did Jesus spit? [audience laughs] He sticks it on his eyes and says, go wash ... Now somebody says, "Now Brother Kilpatrick, why didn't the Lord just say, 'Be healed'?" Because He wanted to fool with your theology. [audience laughs and claps] Why didn't the Lord just say, "Be healed" or "Go in peace"? Why didn't He just do something like that? You see, you don't have a problem if you don't have a problem with spit and mud. If you've got a problem with spit and mud and you've got a problem with unorthodox behavior, you've got a problem. And even though somebody gets healed, you're upset because it off ended your theology or offended your sense of importance. And here's what I believe: I believe that these days God is moving in strange ways, and He's offending a lot of folk. And if you get offended, you need to be offended; and what that is: that's a symptom of your pride being confronted by the Holy Spirit [emphasis added].

I believe that God is going to be moving in these days in such a way that if you go to church and you have a fixed impression about how things are going to be, you're going to be really shocked as to how God is going to be moving in these days among the Catholics, among the Episcopals, the Lutherans, the Pentecostals, the Baptists, the United Methodists. Because it makes no difference what name brand you are, in God's sight you are a human being.... I don't have a prejudiced bone in my body. I can get along just fine with anybody of any religious persuasion as long as they believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God.... Being here today I know there's all different religions in here; I'm just as comfortable here as I would be behind the pulpit at Brownsville because I know that you love the Lord" [emphasis added].

When asked how he handles those who criticize this "revival," Kilpatrick mentioned that, at first, he simply ignored his critics. But then gave an example of how his relationship with one of his critics has changed in recent years:

I've been pastor at Brownsville for 19 years, so when I heard that [the fact that Hank Hanegraaff, host of "The Bible Answer Man" and president of CRI, compared the Brownsville phenomenon to the Heaven's Gate cult], it made me mad as a mama hen, and I reacted fairly strongly. And I blasted him. I was preaching a message, and the name of the sermon was "God's Ears." And I was talking about how God heard Israel. And I never prophesied, but he took an excerpt from my sermon like I was prophesying against him and played it on his program and tried to make it look like I was giving a false prophecy against him. But I was just asking God to bring him down. You know what? I wanted God to bring him down, that he was wrong.... I asked Hank to forgive me, and I learned a lesson. Hank and I got together; we had lunch there in Pensacola together. And here's what I told Hank when we sat down across the table from one another. I said, "Hank, it's a lot easier to be a sniper and shoot at me from California to here at Pensacola and for me to shoot at you from Pensacola to California as snipers. I put you in my scope, and I shoot you. And you put me in your scope and shoot me ... then it's real easy. " And I said, "When we're sitting down here across the table, then there's not 2500 miles between us"... I asked God to forgive me and I asked Hank to forgive me. And you know what? From that day to this one, we're good friends. He was in Pensacola last Sunday on Father's Day at another church, a Baptist church, and had every opportunity to blast us. He never even mentioned the Brownsville Revival. So we're good friends [emphasis added].

Kilpatrick's account should serve as a poignant reminder that comprised fellowships silence Scriptural reproof. Biblical separation is an essential doctrine that Charismatics, New Evangelicals and even some who call themselves "Fundamentalists" reject. The error that was propagated in St. Louis, and that is spread around the world by a myriad of ministries and programs in these deceptive last days before our Lord's return, must be avoided by obeying the Biblical command to separate from those who do not hold to, nor contend for, sound doctrine (Rom. 16:17; 2 Cor. 6:14-7: 1; 2 Tim. 2:15-2 1; 4:1-5; 2 Thess. 3:1-6, 14).

In the Friday evening plenary session, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. Louis, Justin Regali, read the following communiqué from Pope John Paul II to the Celebrate Jesus 2000 Congress:

Christians throughout the world are united in giving thanks to God our Father for the treasures of grace poured out upon humanity through the incarnation of His beloved Son 2000 years ago. His holiness prays that all taking part in Celebrate Jesus 2000 will experience the jubilee as a time of conversion to Christ, profound spiritual renewal, rejoicing in new life which the Holy Spirit graciously bestows upon those who have been reborn through faith and the saving waters of baptism. It is his hope that this Congress will inspire in all present the saving waters of baptism, fresh zeal of the spread of the gospel, the growth of Christian unity and the pursuit of holiness, justice and peace, which are the hallmarks of the kingdom of God. With these sentiments, the holy father cordially invokes upon the organizers and participants joy and peace in Jesus Christ out Saviour. Alleluia.

Throughout the Congress, speakers used Evangelical terminology ("salvation," "born again," "washed in the blood," "saved by faith in Jesus Christ," etc.) but went out of their way to accommodate the different meanings that various groups understood by those terms. The pope's statement, however, was the only clear contrast given at the Congress between a true Gospel and a false, unbiblical gospel. He boldly told it like it is-for the Roman Catholic Church, that is! To his credit, Pope John Paul II was honest and explicit about the Catholic position on what it takes to be saved. The Roman Catholic Catechism expressly states:

"Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord's will, it is necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism" (1277).

"Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith" (1992)

Tom Forrest, a Redemptorist Priest and international director of the Roman Catholic "Evangelization 2000," served as the keynote speaker at the concluding Saturday evening plenary session. In New Orleans, Forrest had brought the Superdome crowd to their feet in wild applause and jubilation by charging them to go forth together to evangelize the world and encouraging them to uphold the ecumenical spirit, which was the triumphant theme of that conference. That ecumenical spirit in the Charismatic movement continues today as strong as ever. Never will a "Spirit-filled" Charismatic view a Roman Catholic as one trusting in a false gospel of sacramentalism in need of salvation. In St. Louis, Forrest gave a simple, "you-can't-miss-the-point" message by exhorting those in attendance to "Say, 'yes!"' to God's will for the theologically mixed multitude to, once again, be released to go and spread the message. He cited Mary and Jesus as ones who were humble and yielded enough to say "Yes" to the Father. Forrest affirmed the Roman Catholic belief in the sacrament of the Mass, a blasphemous affront to the finished and all-sufficient work of Jesus Christ on the cross:

The Father [asks Jesus to] now appear in the world, not just in human flesh, but appear on the altar in the form of bread and wine. How humbled do I have to get? ... Putting it all together: Imagine Jesus saying, "Father, why Me? I didn't eat the apple; Adam did. Send Adam!" Now how many of those things did Jesus say? And if He had said one of those things, we would never have been saved [emphasis added].

Throughout the Congress, the true Gospel of salvation by faith alone in the finished work of Christ was never properly, Biblically defined and contrasted with that which is diametrically different (and therefore, false). Why? Because the doctrine concerning the means by which one is saved differed among the churches and denominations represented. Bible believers must never be ashamed to proclaim that true salvation can only be obtained by faith alone in what Christ has done, not by any sacrament, church membership, good work or any other man-centered effort (Rom. 5:1, 2; Eph. 2:8, 9; 2 Cor. 5:20, 21).

The policy in the St. Louis Congress to disregard doctrinal differences for the sake of unity, particularly in a gathering with such a wide array of belief,-, with respect to what it means to be "saved" or "born again," has dangerous and eternal consequences. Thousands were in attendance who were doing everything they could to experience God's best, but most were evidently not even grounded on the first essential of God's will—understanding and believing the true Gospel of God's salvation! Believers must be sure of their salvation and base that certainty on what the Bible promises to be true rather than on what men presume or create.

The leaders at Celebrate Jesus 2000 endeavored to introduce the diverse group of participants to the supposed "gifts of the Spirit' if the participants had not already experienced these "gifts" for themselves. For example, in one afternoon workshop session entitled "Baptism of the Holy Spirit," Bishop Sam Jacobs of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana, gave the following instructions on how to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and receive the "gift" of tongues. After mentioning that it is wrong to wait for God to "zap" you, he explained.

The gift of tongues is childlike language. ... Now if you're humble and you're like a little child, then you're ready. And what is that child like? Now those here that are parents who know, when your children began to grow and to speak, they didn't speak in English or French or German...they spoke in [babbling].

[In giving his own testimony]-God said [to me], "...are you willing to open your mouth and babble like a child?" That's all! Just be a child ... He said, "Are you afraid to be a fool for Me?" I began to babble, and soon it became a prayer language. God was teaching me something: unless you become like a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom...The point is, that's freedom. God wants us to be free as a child. ... I don't listen to the words I say. They're important, but I want to focus on God, praise God. And if it means I'm babbling before the Lord and that's all it is, praise God. But what happens-it becomes the language of prayer, and that's what God wants it to be. Okay? So as we pray over you today, be open to that gift. When we pray over you ... just be open. And we're going to have people lay hands on you. We're going to lead in prayer, and we're going to have people lay hands on you, and they will be praying in tongues. Feel free—don't focus on it, just when ever you can, be willing to just babble before the Lord and let the Lord have it.

In another afternoon workshop session, Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network and Regent University, closed his message, "Preparing for the Times Ahead," by challenging all present to receive a new fullness of the Spirit and to pray or sing "in the Spirit." In order to support his challenge, Robertson gave, an incorrect interpretation of I Corinthians 14:15 by lifting it out of its context an( failing to cite the entire verse.

The Charismatics' belief that unintelligible gibberish, whether in singing o prayer, is distinct from the Bible's command that prayer and singing always occur with understanding, is a complete denial of what 1 Corinthians 14 teaches. The spiritual gift of "tongues" in the early church was intelligible speech that consisted of actual languages. The message given in a language foreign to the speaker was miraculously understood by the one speaking with the "tongue"—always!

Another major theme at the Congress was the proclamation of the Gospel into all the world with "signs and wonders following." Vinson Synan, Pat Robertson Richard Roberts and Jack Hayford repeatedly claimed that what occurs in power evangelism (miracles, hearings, wonders, etc.) is, in fact, a manifestation of the signs following," as stated in Mark 16. However, an honest development of this text without a preconceived desire to fit the text to the Charismatic phenomenon, clearly reveals that the sign gifts were specifically and only for the apostles and those they selected to be fellow-laborers with them in evangelizing the world of their day. Carefully read Mark 16, noting that the ones upbraided by the Lord for their lack of belief were the eleven disciples who were to go and take the Gospel to the world. Note carefully the pronouns used throughout and the subject matter—the lack of belief in those Christ sent out, His apostles. "Them that believe" (v. 17) refers to the now-believing apostles! The signs and wonders they were to work would authenticate the Gospel they proclaimed (note also Heb. 2:3,4; Acts 5:12-16; 2 Cor. 12:10-12). Ever the tentmaker's apron and handkerchief belonging to the apostle Paul had miraculous power (Acts 19:11, 12). Why? Because he was an apostle, taught of the Lord and sent personally by his Master!

No more apostles exist today. Charlatans and pretenders abound, some who even send their followers "miracle cloths for healing" (should a gift accompany the request!), but none are like the original eleven apostles and the apostle Paul, "one born out of due time" (I Cor. 15:8). No one today can claim that they meet the test of apostleship laid down in the Word of God that requires Christ's own instructing, choosing and commissioning. Multitudes today are tragically being deluded by these dreamers and schemers who twist the Scriptures to supposedly justify their ecumenical strategies and to fund their ungodly programs.

Could the movement of the Charismatic renewal be of the Spirit? Absolutely not! The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and would never "anoint" the heretical teachings of Roman Catholicism and liberal Protestantism which clearly contradict sound doctrine. The Canon of Scripture is the all-authoritative and completed Revelation of God to man, but the "Spirit-filled" Charismatic does not accept this fundamental fact. He has no final authority because, to him, God's revelation is open-ended; furthermore, he does not desire to militantly contend for "the Faith once delivered" (Jude 3). Those who love God's Word must sound a warning against this dangerous movement, for the very souls of men are at stake.

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