Toronto Blessing and the Phenomenon of Holy Laughter - Essay Example

     Toronto Blessing and the Phenomenon of Holy Laughter Introduction There are a few individuals in the evangelical Christian worship institutions that are not aware of the idea referred to as the holy laughter. The holy laughter notion has been widely utilized and evident in charismatic religious institutions in Canada, Great Britain, and the United States for over a year, and it has spread to other religious institutions and at a quick pace. Over the last few years, the religious organization referred to as the Toronto Blessing has spread to a large number of churches all over the globe, especially in countries located in the West. This organization has introduced bizarre spiritual ideas, which have led to a number of controversial situations in the church (Beverley 7). This paper will investigate the Toronto Blessing church while looking at its origin, its connection to traditional charismatic churches, beliefs, worship service, explanation of the unusual phenomenon on blessing, other people’s views, and, finally, my views on the movement. The Toronto Blessing movement started close to Pearson Airport in Toronto at the Airport Vineyard Christian fellowship. Leaders Carol and John Arnott established the Toronto Airport Vineyard church approximately in 1988. The religious organization met in a number of rented areas all over Toronto until the beginning periods of 1990 when the church located a more long term residence close to the Pearson Airport in Toronto. A Vineyard pastor, Randy Clark, from Missouri, was requested by John Arnott to be in charge of the local church revival, on the 20th day of January, in 1994 (Roberts 5). Since that day, conventions have been hosted every week for six days, attracting people numbering 800 to 1000. This led to the formation of the Toronto Blessing movement. The Toronto Blessing movement may be connected to traditional charismatic churches. The phenomenon witnessed in the Toronto Blessing has been illustrated in a number of areas in the charismatic unit of the church for several years. The Toronto Blessing movement signifies the most recent period of the larger charismatic association. Similar to the conventional charismatic movements, the Toronto Blessing movement stress and believe in the accessibility of gifts of the Holy Spirit, including, prophecy, healing, and speaking in tongues. This movement engage in laying of hands and look for the power of the Holy Spirit. Also, the Toronto Blessing movement is recognized by its ecstatic worship, as well as shaking, laughter, crying, and what is referred to as resting or falling in the Spirit (Roberts 32). These are similar manifestations that were witnessed in the traditional charismatic churches. The Toronto Blessing church has its own set of beliefs. The Toronto Blessing church largely concentrates on activities that relate to praise and worship. The believers of the movement can sing, have fun, sing, and dance to the Lord. The church believes in a system of open worship that gives the chance to the revelation of the Holy Spirit in its church services. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit may be revealed in a number of ways, for example, through a miracle, a message passed through speaking in tongues, laying on of hands, healing, or prophesy (Roberts 36). Members of the Toronto Blessing church explicitly state or imply that the manifestation of these phenomenons is proof of revival. Finally, the movement holds the belief that Christians should pray for the Spirit to be received. The Toronto Blessing church exhibits a specified design in its worship service. The musical style utilized in the church service is characteristically a popular style. The music is performed using a number of musical instruments. In addition, the church service incorporates three foremost elements of worship. They comprise praise and worship, giving, and preaching. The Toronto Blessing church members presume that this form of worship prepares individuals to exit the worship experience and carry the message of the Lord to a world that is seemingly lost. There is a focus on getting attached to the Lord by worship (Beverley 58). Throughout the service, equal amount of time is allocated to Bible study and worship. A large amount of time is dedicated to one on one ministry and prayer. This is performed in a current layout with multi-piece groups. The church members give reasons for the remarkable phenomena linked to blessing in a number of ways. The church members utilize metaphors to illustrate the unusual phenomena associated with the blessing. These metaphors are largely evident in the common grammar of acquiescence that is portrayed in the worship songs. These are a distinguishing component of the Toronto Blessing movement (Roberts 73). In the Toronto Blessing movement, individuals attempt to maintain an adequate relation between experience, tradition, scripture, and reason. In addition, the members understand scriptural teaching cannot be understood in isolation. This means that they employ relevant biblical perspectives in explaining the remarkable phenomena linked to the blessing. The members also explain the phenomena by claiming no one can comprehend what the Lord does with a questioning mind. The term renewal refers to the procedure where church structures, systems, and members get new power, meaning, and life. Also, renewal may be referred to as the creation of an optional movement with and optional awareness, so that the leading movement may face criticisms and ultimately disbanded. Renewal enables a new movement to be established. The people who describe the movement as a renewal presume it to be a genuine urge for an individual to position himself in the church (Roberts 87). These individuals perceive renewal as more than a simple creation, the innovation of something that is different for the purpose of change. There have been several explanations as to why the Toronto Blessing movement is perceived as dangers by some individuals. Numerous lay individuals see the church activities as hysterical. These individuals associate the experiences with fascination. In addition, these people view the Toronto Blessing movement activities as risky because the experiences are influenced by peer pressure and suggestions (Beverley 101). Members of the church also face tremendous pressure of conforming to untruthful ideas. In my view, it is imperative to be unprejudiced. Scripture bears witness to an individual’s complete response to the Lord. Such a response may possess moral, spiritual, physical, and emotional impacts. Therefore, an individual should be allowed to worship where he deems desirable. Work Cited Beverley, J. A. Holy Laughter and the Toronto Blessing: An Investigative Report. Michigan: Zondervan, 1995. Print. Roberts, D. The Toronto Blessing. Colorado: Kingsway publication, 1994. Print. Read More