African Plume

“The Holy Spirit Does Not Produce Chaos” By Akin Ojumu Many Charismatic meetings resemble circus performances more than assemblies of Christian worship. They are boisterous, chaotic, unruly, and emotionally volatile. The typical gathering of the “Penterascals,” much like the disorder Paul condemned in the Church at Corinth, is combustible—charged with explosive emotional energy, heavy-handed manipulation, theatrical displays, and a great deal of theological gobbledygook. These gatherings are frequently characterized by an apparent loss of bodily and emotional control. People jerk violently, scream, holler, babble incoherently, collapse to the floor, laugh uncontrollably, or claim to have been rendered helpless by “the anointing.” The central question this commentary series seeks to answer is this: Can such behavior legitimately be presented as evidence that a person has been “overpowered,” “intoxicated,” or “possessed” by the Holy Spirit? Can we reasonably conclude that someone experie...

“Strange Fire and Counterfeit Revival: Testing Spiritual Manifestations by Scripture” By Akin Ojumu What do the Azusa Street Revival of 1906–1915, the Toronto Blessing of 1994, and the Brownsville Revival—also known as the Pensacola Outpouring—of 1995–2000 have in common? Each movement was marked by highly charged religious excitement: rapturous singing, ecstatic dancing, unintelligible utterances presented as speaking in tongues, and large numbers of people shaking, jerking, writhing, collapsing, or lying motionless on the floor. All these manifestations were attributed to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. For many Pentecostals and Charismatics, these events represent some of the greatest outpourings of the Spirit in modern Christian history. The unusual manifestations are regarded as evidence that God visited His people in extraordinary power. But unusual behavior is not, by itself, proof of divine activity. Similar manifestations can be found in non-Christian religious trad...

“The Holy Spirit, Self-Control, and the Test of Spiritual Manifestations” By Akin Ojumu Does the Holy Spirit cause people to lose control of themselves—to fall repeatedly, writhe on the floor, jerk uncontrollably, laugh hysterically, scream, or enter a state resembling delirium? Can such behavior legitimately be presented as evidence that a person has been “overpowered,” “intoxicated,” or “possessed” by the Holy Spirit? Can we truly or reasonably conclude that the person who manifests these euphoric and ecstatic episodes  “ filled with ”  or  “ under the influence of ”  the Holy Spirit? The biblical answer requires both discernment and theological balance. Scripture unquestionably teaches that an encounter with God may profoundly affect a person’s emotions and physical strength. People may tremble under conviction, weep in repentance, rejoice with great gladness, fall down in reverence, become physically weak, or cry out in anguish or praise. However, Scripture does ...

By Akin Ojumu As an avid fan of detective movies, riveting police procedurals and crime-investigation dramas are right up my alley. Binge-watching criminal-investigation series is how I spend many of my weekends. Law & Order, Monk, CSI, Blue Bloods, Longmire, and Unforgotten – name the show, and I have probably watched it more than once. For me, a truly great weekend consists of lying on the sofa and binge-watching six seasons of Longmire. Besides the vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and witty sayings I pick up from these shows, I have also learned about what may be called the criminal-investigation trinity: means, motive, and opportunity. Although these are not necessarily formal elements that prosecutors must prove in every criminal case, investigators frequently use them to determine whether a suspect could have committed a crime. The perpetrator must have possessed the necessary resources or ability to commit the crime – the means. He must have had a reason or intention to co...

One of the most pervasive myths in contemporary Evangelicalism is the belief that the Gospel must be made attractive, acceptable, and culturally palatable so that the perishing may be enticed into the kingdom of God.  In the attempt to make the message more appealing, the sharp edges of biblical truth are repeatedly hammered, chiseled, and reshaped. Consequently, the true Gospel is struggling to survive beneath the hammers and chisels of modern Christianity.

By Akin Ojumu Beloved, there is a great famine in the land. It is impossible to survey the profound biblical illiteracy now widespread among professing Christians without being reminded of the prophecy of Amos. Amos 8:11-12 ““Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD God, “when I will send a famine on the land – not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the Words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the Word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.”” A severe famine of the Word of the LORD has indeed overtaken much of the visible Church. Tragically, many of those suffering from this biblical kwashiorkor do not even realize it. A spiritually marasmic Church is totally oblivious of its severe spiritual protein deficiency syndrome. On the contrary, they fervently believe they are full and well-fed with the Bread of life. Biblically malnourished churchgoers run from pillar to post in search of a...

“When a Greeting Becomes a Gospel: Baba Adeboye’s Distortion of 3 John 1:2” By Akin Ojumu Regardless of a preacher’s oratorical flair or theatrical sermon delivery, no religious gathering can rightly be called a Church without the true Gospel. Fabulous stories, astonishing accounts of supernatural encounters, enormous congregations, imposing auditoriums, sophisticated branding, and aggressive marketing cannot transform a religious organization into a House of Worship of the God of the Universe. A true Church is distinguished by the faithful proclamation of the Gospel and the sound teaching of God’s Word. Contrary to what many modern-day preachers would have their followers believe, the knowledge of God is not an esoteric secret reserved for a select few who have attained some higher spiritual status through prolonged prayer and fasting. Scripture is God’s gracious gift to His Church. In it, He has revealed Himself and made known everything necessary for faith and godly living. 2 Timoth...