Michael Brown: Playing With Holy Fire
Michael L. Brown, Playing With Holy Fire: A Wake-Up Call To the Pentecostal-Charismatic Church (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2018), 224 pages, ISBN 9781629994987.
Dr. Michael Brown has Pentecostal roots that run deep. His early days as a Christian were spent in an Italian Pentecostal Church in New York, years later he was one of the leaders in the Brownsville Revival in Florida, and in addition he has written a number of books that deal with the ministry of the Spirit. Some of his books dealing with the work of the Holy Spirit include: Whatever Happened to the Power of God, The Revival Answer Book, and Authentic Fire. He has been exposed to the charismatic workings of the Spirit since the early 1970s both as an observer and as a participant. He cares very deeply about the Charismatic/Pentecostal movements. Much good has come from these movements, however, there is no denying that they have had their fair share of problems as well. In Playing With Holy Fire Brown addresses some of the problems within the Charismatic/Pentecostal church. He also gives examples of positive things that have taken place as people have obeyed the promptings of God. In some of his other books, Brown has written about the shortcomings of the Spirit-filled church, in this current volume he deals with them quite extensively. He does not write merely as a critic, as always, he seeks to be redemptive. He identifies the problems, explains why they are problems, and offers counsel to move forward toward more biblical beliefs and practices. The author offers a wealth of scriptural references to substantiate the truth in the face of error.
The book consists of a preface, twelve chapters, and a postscript. The chapters are: “The Spirit Is Moving Mightily!,” “Why Are We So Gullible?”, “Mercenary Prophets,” “Superstar Leaders,” “Abusive Leadership,” “Unaccountable Prophecies,” “Sexual Immorality,” “The Pep-Talk, Prosperity Gospel,” “Celebrating Doctrinal Deviance,” “To the Third Heaven and Back in a Flash,” “Wanting to Be Wise Like the World,” and “Where Do We Go From Here?” The postscript is titled: “A Word to the Charismatic Critics.” As a quick look at the chapter titles makes clear, Brown covers a number of very significant topics. One interesting feature of this book is that the author does not give the names of the people who are in error in the various areas that he covers in the book. He states his reasons for not naming names in the preface of the book. In the preface he also lists things that have contributed to the problems in the Charismatic/Pentecostal Movements, he believes they stem from “immaturity, gullibility, carnality, sensationalism, merchandising, corruption, and doctrinal error” in a rapidly growing supernatural movement.
Chapter one is very positive. It speaks about the tremendous impact that the charismatic work of the Holy Spirit has had upon our world. In fact, Brown tells us that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Azusa Street ranked 68th in a list of the top 100 events of the last 1,000 years in a report published by Life Magazine in 1999. So the world has noticed!
In the chapters that follow the author begins to address some of the problems. Without question there are problems with some of the leaders in the movements, this was true in the past and it is true now, their errors will become clearer as one reads the book. However, problems can also be found among some of their followers. In chapter two, Brown discusses the gullibility of some people in the Spirit-filled movements. Why do some Charismatic/Pentecostal believers so readily accept beliefs and practices that fail the test of biblical orthodoxy? Brown mentions two positive characteristics of charismatics that if not tempered with discernment can cause them to buy into error. The two characteristics are child-like faith and a respect for their leaders. In the chapters that follow Brown deals with various errors in the movements, these included both faulty beliefs and faulty behavior. The errors in large measure are in three areas: morality, money, and fame. In dealing with these Brown cites specific cases of abuse in each area.
One feature of the book that I found to be particularly enjoyable were the positive examples of the gifts of the Spirit in operation. Some were particularly striking. The account of Smith Wigglesworth shouting the text of John 3:16 through the keyhole of the door of a house was powerful. Another one which I found to be especially powerful was a prophetic word that a man gave to a young woman. The man with the prophetic word said “I hate mommies and daddies.” On the surface this sounds bizarre. However, it had a very powerful impact on the woman it was spoken to. The reason for this is that it had direct bearing upon some events in her life that other listeners (and readers) did not know about. The book tells you why she was so powerfully moved.
Playing With Holy Fire is a call for reflection and action on the part of those who call themselves Charismatics or Pentecostals. As the book closes Brown lists a number of things that Spirit-filled believers can do to address and curtail the abuses that currently plague our movements. His list is below.
- We must pursue intimacy with the Lord and immerse ourselves in the Word.
- We must put our emphasis on being disciples and making disciples.
- We must get our own houses in order and redemptively confront those who are in error.
- We must have a fresh encounter with the Holy Spirit.
These are timely words. May the Lord help us to hear and heed the message in this book, for it is a fresh call to return to truly biblical faith and practice.
Reviewed by John P. Lathrop
