Feature:
An Elder Brother Joins the Party
By: Tony Higton
One of England's foremost critics of the Toronto Blessing found himself apprehended by
God. Tony Higton relates the circumstances that prompted him to oppose God's blessing, and
then to embrace it.
While driving home from a holiday in 1994, my wife Patricia and I listened to a tape
of a testimony by someone who had visited Toronto. I was moved as I heard the dynamic
spiritual effect of the Blessing in her life. Later a number of the key charismatic
leaders in Britain also told me they had had a similar experience. I listened with
interest, but mentally filed it all under "pending."
Soon after controversy began to rage, and I became more and more negative about the
"animal noises" and some of the more unusual involuntary bodily actions. I was
convinced God would not do this to people.
In December that year we attended a renewal meeting associated with the Toronto
movement. I didn't question the fact that the leader conducting the meeting was a sincere
child of God, and that God was using him. However, in my estimation, the meeting was a
disaster. There was no ministry of the Word that night except during an extended appeal
for money. The administration of the meeting left much to be desired: it was superficial
-- even aggressive and manipulative at times -- and the behaviour of the huge audience
seemed out of control. I now believe leaders of that
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"...leaders of that meeting still had much to learn about how to minister during
renewal services and how to administrate them."
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meeting still had much to learn about how to minister during renewal services and how
to administrate them.
I wrote a scathing two-part article denouncing the meeting in my regular column in a
national Christian weekly.
As a result Patricia and I were both invited to join an anti-Toronto consultation with
other well-known charismatic leaders in January 1995. We published a critical statement.
The headline in the Church of England Newspaper read "Charismatics against
Toronto."
I then began to write a long, biblical study paper on the issues raised by the
Blessing. I had to acknowledge that some manifestations were acceptable and had occurred
in past revivals. But I concluded that animal noises could not be a work of the Spirit
because they seemed degrading to human beings.
Soon after this we attended another Toronto-style day conference and were attracted by
the testimonies but greatly disturbed by the speaker's inappropriate interpretation of
Scripture. We didn't even consider asking for prayer for ourselves in such a context.
At a second consultation in May we heard more horror stories about the effects of the
Blessing and saw some videos which implied that renewal leaders associated with the
Toronto Blessing are prone to extreme and manipulative behaviour. When we combined this
experience with our own negative theological arguments, the conclusion we drew was
inevitable.
The participants of the consultation set up a small working party to begin a campaign
against what we saw as unbiblical, experience-based deceit within the renewal movement.
That, of course, included the Toronto phenomenon. We were both invited to write chapters
for a negative book; my invitation was eventually dropped and Patricia later withdrew her
contribution.
I was due to chair the anti-Toronto working party in London in late June. But as we
travelled to the meeting I felt increasingly uneasy. For some reason I couldn't get the
older brother in the prodigal son story out of my mind. There was no rational explanation
for this increasingly dominant thought.
I confess I chaired the meeting rather provocatively. In my opening remarks I said we
must be careful not to be pharisaical and that surely we also longed for more of God's
blessing. The comment wasn't well received but sparked a brief and lively debate on
pharisaism. The meeting continued and included further unsubstantiated horror stories
which were, it seemed, readily accepted. I was concerned at what appeared to be a hint of
some anti-charismatic as well as anti-Toronto trends. However, Patricia and I were able to
prevent a negative public statement from being issued.
I left even more uneasy and disturbed. The relevance of the older brother began to
dawn on me. He couldn't cope with the father blessing someone of whom he disapproved,
namely, his younger
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"The Holy Spirit seemed to be pointing out that we couldn't cope with the Father
blessing those of whom we disapproved."
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brother. The Holy Spirit seemed to be pointing out that we couldn't cope with the
Father blessing those of whom we disapproved. Still we found it difficult to be positive
about the Toronto phenomenon.
In early July we decided to attend a day conference at which Randy Clark was speaking.
I had very mixed feelings about going and circumstances unconnected with the conference
left me in a very negative frame of mind during the morning session. Basically we were
expecting the same bad experience we had had with the previous speaker, but this time from
a brash American! We'd heard stories about him too.
To our surprise, Randy was unlike anything we had imagined. He was a humble, godly man
who obviously loved Jesus. It took the wind out of our sails. His ministry was explicitly
biblical and at one point he gave an hour's biblical sermon on Jesus. We found the same
thing at a conference this year where John and Carol Arnott spoke. John spoke for an hour
on the Cross.
Yet the battle with negativism was still raging within me at lunch time. I told
Patricia, with little conviction, that I intended to go home. While I was waiting for
Patricia, I happened to meet the leader of the church organizing the conference and I soon
found myself, less than willingly, telling him the problems I had with Toronto. By this
time the afternoon session was beginning, and I felt trapped into attending. Reluctantly
and rather resentfully I wandered back into the hall.
Randy's ministry was just as profound in that session and my hardness of
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"...my heardness of heart was beginning to melt. The Holy Spirit was manifestly at
work."
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heart was beginning to melt. The Holy Spirit was manifestly at work. The time for
ministry arrived and Patricia was immediately up and away for prayer. With true British
male Anglican recklessness, I sat firmly in my seat wrestling with my conflicting
emotions.
In desperation I prayed, "Lord, please speak to me through your Word." My
Bible fell open at John 12:37 to a heading, The Jews Continue in Their Unbelief. The
following verses hit me hard:
Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still
would not believe in Him. This was to fulfil the word of Isaiah the prophet: "Lord,
who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" For
this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: "He has
blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts so they can neither see with their eyes nor
understand with their hearts and turn that I would heal them..." Yet at the same time
many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not
confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise
from men more than praise from God.
I went forward for ministry!
It was like having a warm shower in the love, peace and joy of the Lord. I stood --
yes, vertically -- for a long time basking in His presence.
We drove off to Windsor Great Park and walked in the sunshine. It was as if a huge
weight had lifted from our shoulders and, more important, a veil had fallen from our eyes.
We suddenly saw how negative, judgmental and legalistic we had become over the previous
six or seven years. This wasn't only true of the Toronto Blessing, but over areas of
Charismatic renewal too. Although we had rightly expressed caution over some aspects, we
had partially, and unwittingly turned against the work of the Spirit.
For the previous 11 years I had been speaking prophetically at a national level into
the Church of England about bishops denying credal doctrine and against multi-faith
worship and homosexual practices. I continue to stand by these positions, but at the
General Synod just a few days after our day with Randy Clark, the Lord broke me in
repentance for the wrong attitudes of negativism, judgmentalism and legalism. At the same
time He began to overwhelm me with the immensity of His mercy. He doesn't throw the book
at us. Scripture shows God acting in both redemptive judgment but also extravagantly
blessing sinners in order to win them to repentance.
I'm still not comfortable with some of the more unusual manifestations,
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"...manifestations...are not a work of the Spirit, but a human reaction to the work
of the Spirit."
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although it helps me to remember that they are not a work of the Spirit, but a human
reaction to the work of the Spirit. Some strange manifestations may also result from
healing of deep traumas or deliverance from demonic influences. As always in Christian
circles there is a mixture of flesh and Spirit. Many of these problems can be resolved by
wise, strong and disciplined administration at the local church level. This is sometimes
lacking. We as leaders need to use sanctified common sense.
On the other hand, many vehement critics have unwittingly fallen into the same
failings as we did. Unlike us, some of them have never experienced first-hand the ministry
of people like Randy, John and Carol. Yet they speak with confidence against them. And,
given the openness to negative gossip and the fearful spiritual superstition which
bedevils some Christian circles, their views find many supporters.
I'm sure God has even greater things to do in the future than the current Blessing.
But I am very glad to testify that prayer in a Toronto context led me to deep repentance
and perhaps the most profound biblical paradigm-shift I have ever experienced. Eight
months later we're still rejoicing in the fruit of it and working out its practical
implications.
(Tony Higton is Rector of Hawkwell, Essex; member of General Synod of the Anglican
Church; author of several books; columnist in a national Christian weekly; international
conference speaker; founder of Action for Biblical Witness to our Nation (ABWON);
co-founder of Time Ministries International and a campaigner for biblical doctrine and
morality.)
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