Playing With Holy Fire: A Wake-Up Call to the Pentecostal-Charismatic Church

Dr. Brown has written a faith-building and yet a gullibility-destroying book--a truly acrobatic balancing act! While calling out false prophets and “miracle-working” charlatans, he testifies, as an eyewitness, to the power of God to work the miraculous in our world. Here are a few good quotes: “The higher in the Lord you go, the less you will take advantage of others and the less you will need to announce how powerful you are” (p. 77). “By all means, let’s be believers, not skeptics, but let’s be believers with our heads screwed on right” (162). “. . . contrary to what our critics say, the problem is not that we put too much emphasis on the Spirit. The problem is that we do not have a deep enough encounter with the Spirit” (187).Sexual sins of Christian leaders and carnal prosperity peddlers get no pass in this volume, either. Brown devotes a chapter to each, exposing the evils therein. Pentecostal/Charismatic believers need the admonishment in these chapters as much, if not more, than anyone.Brown also addresses the obligatory issues of speaking in tongues, divine healing, and cessationism:Regarding tongues: “Speaking in tongues is different from speaking in your native language, where you consciously form the words and sentences and sounds. Instead, the Spirit speaks through you, so you yield your voice and your tongue to Him. If you think about it too much or overanalyze it, you might never speak in tongues. But we are not called to become passive and turn off our brains That’s an invitation for all kinds of deception. Instead, we are to yield our minds to the Lord, and as we sense the Spirit’s prompting, we cooperate with Him in faith. The next thing we know, we’re speaking in a language we never learned before” (137).Regarding divine healing, after explaining that in the late 70s and early 80s he tried to walk away from the Charismatic movement, studying many books against healing, but due to his in-depth study of healing for his doctoral dissertation, he rejected the anti-healing position on biblical grounds: “That’s why even if I never saw a single person healed, I would still believe healing was for today. My faith is not based on experience but on the Word. I walk by faith, not by sight. The positive experiences I have had in the Holy Spirit confirm what is written rather than dictate my theology. It’s the Word first, confirming experience second.Regarding cessationism, Brown continues the above thought, writing, “Ironically, many cessationists accuse us Charismatics of basing our faith on experience rather than Scripture, but I’ve often found the reverse is true. That is to say, the primary reason I believe the gifts of the Spirit are for today is the testimony of Scripture, which is then secondarily confirmed by experience. In contrast, the primary reason many cessationists don’t believe in the gifts—at least from what I’ve heard from them over the years—is experience. They say, ‘Well, I used to be Pentecostal, but I saw so many flaky things happen.’ Or, ‘Yes, I tried that Charismatic stuff, but it didn’t work. Friends prophesied that my uncle would be healed and he died.’ Or, ‘Just look at those loonies on Christian TV. Only a fool would believe their claims.’“Well, you might have had terrible experiences, you might have received false prophecies, and there may be some loonies on Christian TV. But what does the Word say about healing and miracles and prophecies and tongues? That’s what ultimately matters” (191–92).If you have some doubts about the practices of Pentecostals/Charismatics and you truly believe that the Bible is the word of God, get this book for a biblical balanced view.—Robert W. Graves, PresidentThe Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship, Inc.

I wish he had named names in the book if he was absolutely sure of his information regarding them. Christians want to obey the word and give but we can be so easily deceived if we are not careful.Kenneth Copeland is worth over $700 million on his way to becoming a Billionaire. Jesse DuPlantis asked his followers to give him $54 million to buy a new jet so that he can spread the gospel. They say that Billy Graham has witnessed to more people than anyone else and he took regular planes. I saw Ken Copeland say to Jesse Duplantis that he didn't want to ride on those regular planes with all those demons. Well, I would think that is where they are needed if they want to serve God. If you want to get rich, become a minister, go on tv, then all of your money that you get you don't have to pay taxes on.It's not only the money, it's the sin in the body of Christ, the affairs, the abuse of the flock. I have been a christian for 46 years and have seen plenty in church that people will answer to God for. Where is the fear of God with these people?Now I understand these scriptures better.Matthew 7:21-23 New King James Version (NKJV)I Never Knew You21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Thank you, Dr. Brown, for having the courage to write this book. After finishing it, I can honestly say that it has strengthened my faith in God and the movement, not diminished it. I appreciate the fact that you chose not to expose names, but instead, chose to expose false beliefs and wrong actions. This book encouraged me to take another look at the writings of the Apostle Paul and the life which he lived; a life in complete juxtaposition to many of the examples described in the chapters of “Playing With Holy Fire”.After being born and raised Catholic, I have been attending a nondenominational church (for better lack of words) that would fall under the umbrella “Pentecostal-Charismatic” for over three decades. While I deeply love and respect my church and its leaders, I have been increasingly concerned about the drive in today’s church movement to be “relevant “. I could list so many examples here, both from the book and from my own observations, but I won’t do that. Instead, I recommend that all believers in the faith read this book with careful and prayerful consideration. May it first lead us to repentance, then to a renewed passion in our pursuit of God. God bless you as you read it.

While there are many excesses and outright false teachings going on within the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement today, most finger pointing has come from without. This book is unique in that's its author is a respected leader from within the movement who wrote this book because his deep concern over much of what he sees in his camp now. While I was disappointed that he doesn't name names of the chief offenders described within the categories he covers, many are fairly apparent anyhow. His approach is balanced, calling for accountability of those responsible for aberrant teaching and practices, while defending the founding theology of his Pentecostal-Charismatic roots.

Playing With Holy Fire has plenty of horror stories. It's a fun gossipy read. Most stories are blind items so the parlor game is to guess whom he's talking about. One story is as follows:"A professor at a Christian university was approached by a couple after he spoke one night, and they asked him to pray over them. As he was about to lay hands on them, the professor felt something wasn't right, so he stopped and asked, 'You're married, right?'"They shook their heads and said, 'Yes, we're married.'"Again he went to pray, but something still felt off in his spirit, so he asked them an odd-sounding question: 'You're married to each other, right?'"To his shock they replied, 'No, we're each married to someone else, but the divorces have almost gone through, and we know that the Lord is blessing our relationship, since we pray in tongues before we're together and we really feel His presence.'"Only among us Charismatics do you hear nonsense like that. . . . Interestingly in this bizarre example you see both the weaknesses and strengths of our movement: weaknesses in that some of us are so grossly (and willfully) deceived and strengths in that the Holy Spirit exposes the deception."(Michael L. Brown, Playing With Holy Fire, pp. 105-106)As entertaining or disturbing as the stories generally are, most are personal experiences or things the author has heard second hand. It is a collection of memories as opposed to an independent study. Therefore we are not told how prevalent the problems are or if they were just isolated incidents.It is unclear how influential the book will be or can be because he doesn't name names. Some will find this ineffective at rooting out evil or wicked leaders; others will find it reasonable not to take too many personal risks. If you wanted the slash-and-burn, take-no-prisoners book in the style of YouTube videos that name everybody at will, this isn't that book. Nevertheless it can be a useful eye-opener to know what kind of people are out there and how they operate.This is the first MLB book I have read. I like his style. He is thoughtful and easy to read. He is neither too offensive nor too defensive. Next I will probably get Strange Fire by John MacArthur and Brown's rebuttal, Authentic Fire.

Fantastic book by Dr Michael L Brown, addressing some serious abuses.I came across Michael Brown when he was addressing issues on Hyper Grace, then later when he addressed / responded to John MacAuthurs strange fire conference.I find him to be upright and sincere in his love for Yeshua (Jesus), for God’s Holy Word, the Bible and for people.On his YouTube channel he will address many bible related (as well as culture related) questions that I have found to be very useful and I have downloaded his App - Line of Fire Radio which I listen to almost every night.I thank God for Dr Brown as God led me to his teaching at just the right moment and time in my life when I was looking for answers and I was able to get a lot clarified.He is a gifted teacher and careful student of God’s Word and I for one, would highly recommend the material he puts out (as well as supporting his ministry - torch bearer) because it is great to see someone taking a no compromise stand for biblical truth and pointing people to the one who is “the Truth” (Jesus), in a world that desperately needs the Truth.We can take the encouragement but God alone gets all the glory 😁

The Charismatic movement dating back to the Azusa street revival, in the early 1900s, is responsible for the greatest harvest of souls in history. The center of Christianity has shifted from the western world to the east, to Africa and Asia. But with rapid growth come a lot of challenges. Oftentimes new leaders are put into place who are naturally inexperienced, which results in a lack of biblical knowledge and also in a lack of discipline and overseeing. This void of experienced leaders can be exploited by deceptive people, who are only in it for their own personal gain. Some of these abuses need to be addressed and repudiated, for a call of repentance and healing in the body of Christ. That’s what Michael Brown has done in his latest book, “Playing with Holy Fire”.From the outset Michael Brown explained why he didn’t name names. He says he wrote the book not because of his critics but despite them. Naming names would undoubtedly have caused controversy and drama, and that wasn’t his goal in writing this book. He also says, the people mentioned, might have changed their views over time, nor can he say with certainty that they are false teachers and false prophets, in the sense of 2 Peter chapter 2, teaching damnable heresies.I fully understand his reasoning. Part of me wishes however that he did name names. Not for controversy’s sake, but simply so that I would know who to avoid. Another reason is, that without specific details like, names, dates and places, the abuse stories can seem more like fables than actual eye-witness testimonies. They lose that extra bit of authenticity, in my mind.That being said, the things he shares in this book need to be heard. Some of them are so outrageous you won’t believe them. From stories to literally getting high with the Lord to the mega rich stealing from their congregation. It's infuriating and frustrating at times. But Michael Brown inserted here and there up-lifting messages, which make the whole read much more pleasant. High Recommended!

Dr. Michael Brown, PhD has written a fabulous book. I found myself weeping as I read whole chapters to my family. Any serious Christian that wants to go deeper with God and avoid the deception permeating the Body of Christ must read this book!

I consider Dr Micheal Brown to be a voice of reliability that deserves a hearing in today's church.