What place do healings and miracles have in the church today?
(This is quite a long piece, but I’d really appreciate people’s thoughts on all this.)
I have been thinking quite a lot lately about the place of supernatural healing and miracles in the church today. In the more Pentecostal/Charismatic churches, a lot of emphasis is placed upon this. People are encouraged to believe God for their healing and to pray for one another with the laying on of hands, with the expectancy that God will restore them to full health. And I don’t doubt the authenticity of many of the healings and miracles that emerge. I myself have seen the reality of this at work in my own life on a number of occasions as well as in others whom I have prayed for.
As I have encountered and read about those churches who are part of what might be called the emerging church movement though, I have seen much less emphasis on the place of healing and miracles. It is not that they don’t believe in the ability of God to do the impossible, and nor do they doubt that He can do it today. It is just that they don’t seem to place huge priority on physical healing in their thinking about the Gospel.
Not only this, there does seem to be quite a scepticism almost amongst the emerging churches of the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches that place heavy emphasis on physical healing and the focus on people’s needs being met. Some of this is of course justified, but I do wonder if there is a real danger of throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.
My background
Before going any further, perhaps it would be worth sharing a bit of my background in order to hopefully help people see where I am coming from. I have a very diverse church background that I am truly grateful for. I grew up in a full gospel house church led by my parents. This was an amazing experience of very raw church. We saw many people come to faith in Christ (a good number of whom were baptised in our bath!), and we saw a lot of people receive miraculous healings. No matter how hard someone might try to persuade me that God doesn’t do miracles anymore, I know without a shadow of a doubt that He does. I saw the incredible power of God dramatically encountering people’s lives.
Out of that environment, I eventually got involved with a local village Anglican church who didn’t really believe in the present day power and working of the Holy Spirit in terms of the miraculous. The same was true when I got involved with a Evangelical Free church. Eventually, when I was about 17, I got involved with an Assemblies of God Pentecostal church before joining a charismatic Anglican Baptist church when I went away to university in Sheffield. These last two churches were very much open to the miraculous, the latter very influenced by the teaching of John Wimber.
My final church experience before reaching where we are now with starting Mosaic Sheffield, was as the assistant pastor of a African originated Pentecostal network. They have planted some 7000 churches all around the world in the last 20 years and gather over 1 million people in the same building for monthly all night services that are filled with many miracles. (I visited the larger annual celebration with an estimated 7.2 million people and watched in amazement as numerous cripples were supernaturally healed right before my eyes).
So where I am going with all this?
I say all of this because I am really trying to think through what place the miraculous should have in our churches today. To be honest, I look at many Pentecostal / Charismatic churches and I struggle with the way that the emphasis with healing is almost always inward. It is Christians praying for Christians that God would heal them. There doesn’t seem to be much outward focus on those outside of the church.
I then look at many of the emerging churches and they don’t seem to lay their hands on the sick at all. They don’t seem to see physical healing as a major priority of the Great Commission at all. I love the outward focus and the desire to connect and be relevant to the world, but shouldn’t healing and miracles be a part of that?
When I think about the four Gospel’s, it is abundantly clear to me that physical healing, deliverance, meeting practical needs, etc is right at the heart of what Jesus’ ministry was about. It’s wasn’t just an add on or some kind of optional extra. It seems to me that healing was a part of the Gospel. Sick people being healed seems to be a big part of what the kingdom coming is all about.
At the same time, Jesus doesn’t seem to focus the healing on those who we were believers in God already. His focus on bringing healing was also – more often than not – away from the temple. He brought healing to people out and about in the real world. And healed them not just as some sign to make them believe, but because He had compassion for them. The miracles were signs of course and that for me is part of their purpose, but more than that, it is about compassion.
Bringing it all together
So in conclusion, I want to have a real expectancy for miracles and the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit, but I want the focus to be on those outside of the church. I don’t want Mosaic to be some kind of bless me club. I want us to be a community of people consumed with a passion to serve the people around us and bring the reality and power of the Gospel to their lives. I don’t want us to focus on physical healing at the expense of other equally vital needs, but I don’t want us to neglect it either. I want to encourage every follow of Christ in our midst to expect the unexpected, lay hands on the sick, and ask God to bring His kingdom in. I want us to be led by the Holy Spirit, moving in His gifts, and partnering with Him in bringing the Gospel to bear in the world around us. I want us to learn what it means to live naturally supernatural lives.
What about you? What role do you think healing and miracles have in the church today?
Do you agree or disagree with my conclusions?
Any other thoughts or comments?
March 23rd, 2006 at 8:40 pm
Sam I want to think on this some before I comment…I’ll be back to it.
March 23rd, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Ooh…you’re not allowed to think, Deana! (Just kidding in case you wondered!)
March 23rd, 2006 at 8:51 pm
after the night I had and the morning worked up to be you should be glad I’m thinking instead of spouting off!
March 24th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Sam, very interesting post…and about stuff that I don’t have much experience off. I have grown up in a Presbyterian church, where healing was never mentioned. I guess because of this, I was always skeptical. But recently a fellow blogger in the US has shared with me how he has been healing people. He works in a supermarket and has healed numerous people at his checkout! This all simply blew me away…
But why should I have been surprised? I mean, Jesus and the disciples did it. I can only speak from experience, but I think a lot of churches have lost the supernatural part of following Jesus. Or the mystic part of it…as our fellow Mosaic-ers call it. I believe that a lot of Christians just don’t get the whole unseen part of our faith. And healing comes into this. It frightens people because they can’t understand it.
Anyway, I think healing should be part of church today. Not the focus, but as a result of the Spirit moving. Will I see it in the church I am in? No, not for a long time anyway. We have taken the mysticism out of church by having too many man-made rules and too much tradition. We aren’t giving the Spirit of God room to operate.
And that saddens me…
March 24th, 2006 at 6:22 pm
I grew up in a pretty conservative church setting. The only times I would discuss people being healed is when me and my buddies would make fun of benny hinn. That whole have faith and you’ll be healed…stuff. After changing churches though 5 years ago…I’ve heard testimonies from several people on trips they had gone on. So why don’t we see the miraculous here? I think we see something miraculous every time somebody gets saved! That’s a miracle in and of itself…and I know I’ve taken it for granted.
As far as healing goes…there are people who don’t believe it…they acknowledge it in the scriptures…but they don’t believe…so they don’t try. I think that is the reason why we don’t see it. All the cool stuff has to happen on mission trips thousands of miles away in some tribe where they don’t have anything BUT Jesus.
Or do we even necessarily NEED that much healing over here? I mean…we have the best doctors in the world…and the only reason they are the best is because God gave them the skill in the first place. I dunno…
March 24th, 2006 at 6:43 pm
Healing is a touchy subject for me.
I think the bottom line is God heals…it doesn’t matter if it is in the church…or in the bush of Africa…in America…in England…in a hospital bed with no one around…or in your living room.
As for the doctors being the best in the world here…the doctors that helped save my son’s life are from every country but America. They brought their knowledge from different lands and had opportunity to get paid more here. I don’t think they healed my son. In fact they call him a miracle…because it was nothing they did. My son’s doctors…the buddhist…and the skeptic. The buddhist doctor tells his colleagues that our God brought him to us. He tells them that our God healed Max…in that same breath he says he prays to Buddha for Max. The skeptic doctor can not explain why Max is not dead. By all his calculations he should be…if not dead…much worse than he is today. So he shakes his head in amazement at our son…takes no credit for it and just goes on treating him.
Many people ask why doesn’t God heal Max completely? Why is Max the way he is when we follow God with our whole hearts? But Max is healthy…Max is striving. Max was not a surprise to God. He knew that Max would come and my grandma would accept Christ because He healed her great-grandson…something that no one up to that point in her life could do. A year later she passed away.
He knew that Max’s life’s story would spread to the ends of the earth…proclaiming the wondrous works of an almighty God. So if my son never gets “healed” in the sense of rise and walk…he is already a miracle. His life is being used to heal others…both spiritually and physically through the research they’ve found with Max.
All that to say it is important for people to understand that just because God doesn’t heal to completion does not mean that God is not healing you. For your life to be a living testimony to God and his goodness…through sickness and health is what is important. And I think that is waht the church should be teaching. Otherwise people lose faith so easily when they expect a miracle and nothing happens…if they are so focused on that miracle they may not see the hundreds of other miracles around them.
I don’t know if that answers your questions…but after thinking on it…that’s what came to mind.
March 24th, 2006 at 7:33 pm
That’s a good testimony! That’s where I was going!!! In case you didn’t catch my sarcasm at the end…
I acknowledge that God is at work over here and he heals people. I just think we don’t recognize it as much. The reason being we have good doctors…and in some random tribe…they don’t have jack. We go on foreign missions to see miracles…and I think that is just…retarded. There are people just as lost around us. When a heart surgery goes well…we’re like…”thanks to God…and the best heart surgeon in the state”…anywho
oh btw…sarcasm marks…we need sarcasm marks… why don’t we use asterisks or something
like this *yea…i LOVE JOHN KERRY*
March 24th, 2006 at 8:04 pm
Hi Sam,
I have the same questions that you have. This past summer, I witnessed some three really weird things happen - two healings of minor pain and one filled up gas tank. Strange and seemingly minor. Or were they? But the same kind of thing as you - were those significant or are we just rationalizing them like our Western culture does.
I also just started reading the book _Megashift_ last night, which has hundreds of these kinds of examples.
In other words, you are asking some great questions that I can relate to.
March 24th, 2006 at 9:12 pm
I found this just by blog hopping, and felt like interjecting. It’s great discussion to be sure and no clear answers will come in our time, but my experience leads me to believe this. Christ-followers and non-Christ-followers alike experience things that can’t be explained. things that make no rational sense. And, Christ-followers and non-Christ-followers alike experience things that really suck bad.
Jesus did not preach health and wealth, anything but, to be sure. So when awesome things happen, and when terrible things happen, i feel, it’s really just an opportunity, in both cases, to praise God.
A non-christ follower is going to be wildly dissapointed/misled if they believe becoming a follower of christ means that life is easier.
so, while that my be a bit of track, those are my beliefs.
great conversation, may you all see God’s providence in your lives.
-ben
March 24th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
I have wrestled with this question for most of my life. Everything I have thought were miracles could be explained otherwise. This perspective is compounded by the fact that so many people of faith pray for miracles in harmony with the words of scripture, yet do not receive one. I don’t think the reason is that the people of today have less faith than did the disciples. The twelve were sent out quite early in their walk with Jesus and were given miraculous working powers - including Judas! Maybe we should remember that the works of scripture - as valuable as they are to all of us today - were written 2000 years ago to people at a select period of time. Though there are principles applicable to today, not every is transferable. Additionally, the prophetic writings seem to indicate a time of miraculous workings at the end of time. It seems to me that if scripture itself projects forward to a time of miracles it is also suggesting a time without them. I do agree, though, with a previous response that we miss the greatest miracle of all - when someones heart is completely turned from self-focus to being Christ-focused. Maybe all the miracles were merely teaching aides, symbolizing the greater miracle of conversion. If God can raise the dead to life - literally, then he can surely rebirth a sinner. One last thought, the preponderance of scripture calls the church to perseverance even unto death. Our focus, thus, ought to be on being faithful regardless of circumstances with the simple prayer of Christ - thy will be done. He can deliver us from the firey furnance, but even if he chooses not to we will continue on in faith. Too many ‘test’ their Christian faith by whether or not their prayers for miracles are answered.
March 24th, 2006 at 10:47 pm
Thank you all for such thoughtful responses…much appreciated. You’ve triggered a lot more thinking of my own. I shall take a bit of time to reflect and try and post some more thoughts tomorrow.
March 27th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
Well it’s taken more than a day, but I thought I share a few further thoughts in light of all your comments. I think the more you delve into this subject of healing and the miraculous, the more you realise it is such a delicate and sensitive area. At the same time one person is rejoicing over the miraculous intervention of God saving their spouse from cancer; another couple are heart-broken over the loss of their young daughter to cerebral palsy. Both prayed, both had faith, and yet the result was oh so different. And for all the best efforts of some of the greatest theologians, there is no simple explanation for this.
I think for me personally, I have felt it is important to have a view of physical healing that encompasses both this life and the next. For even though many may suffer physically this side of eternity we can still all look forward to the reality of God’s promise of a new body. And that new body will never again suffer from sickness and disease. The apostle Paul taught us the death is swallowed up in victory and I think it is so important that we always hold on this.
At the same time I struggle to match what I see happening today with the works Jesus did. Whilst Jesus certainly didn’t heal every sick person He saw, the Scriptures do record that every single person who went to Jesus seeking healing received it. And whilst I don’t understand why some are healed and others not, I cannot accept the teaching from some who say that Jesus sometimes says “yes�, sometimes says, “no�, and other times says “wait�. I sincerely believe that Jesus’ ultimate desire is for none of us to have to suffer from sickness and disease. Jesus’ death on the cross was to bring about a complete salvation: spirit, soul, and body.
But if Jesus does want us all to be healed, why aren’t we? Why do some receive miracles and others suffer all of their lives? Why do some get to live to 80 years old thanks to the supernatural intervention of God and others not live to see their 10th birthday? If God’s will is for healing and wholeness, why is there such a gap between His will and the reality of what happens down here on earth?
These are the really tough questions that we no doubt will never fully understand during our lifetimes. I think for me, the only way I can come towards some semblance of understanding is through grappling with what Jesus called the kingdom of God. I understand the kingdom of God as being the realm where what God wants done gets done. It is the realm where His will is done; the realm where heaven breaks into earth. And the truth is that we live in an era of time where God’s kingdom is both here and yet not fully here. The kingdom of God has come, is coming, and yet won’t fully come until Jesus Himself returns. And I for one really struggle to get my head round that! But when I see someone healed, I understand that as being God’s kingdom breaking in. It is the will of God in heaven being implemented here on earth. And Jesus taught us to pray for this. So whilst we won’t see the fullness of God’s kingdom until Jesus returns, as I see it, God wants us to pray in as much of His kingdom as possible. He wants us to partner with Him in bringing the reality of His will in heaven to bear down here on earth.
I guess for me, I know that I won’t see everyone healed, I know that I won’t see God’s will in heaven fully worked out here on earth, and I know that I won’t see the kingdom fully come, but I don’t want that to stop me from praying in as much of the kingdom in as possible in the meantime! I don’t expect everyone I lay my hands on to receive a miraculous healing, but I am going to lay my hands on as many people as possible and invite God’s kingdom to break in. As someone once said, “When I pray, coincidences happen; when I don’t, they don’t�. And I want to give as much opportunity for “coincidences� as possible!
March 27th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
Alright…so I have a general question for all of you
should we pray for God to heal? Or pray for his will to be done?
March 27th, 2006 at 6:09 pm
Good discussion!
I have been doing alot reading on this lately and there are a few things that stand out for me.
- everyone will be healed in heaven; so even if we are praying now, we may not see it until then…should that lessen our faith? Our God is faithful.
- how many of us are missing our calling by not ministering OUT OF our illness? How many people could we be blessing that are brought into our lives as a result of sickness or illness?
- why do so many more healings occur in the third world churches? My take is, it’s because God is truly all they have. We put our faith in medicines, in doctors, and then, and often only then, do we seek God in the situation.
- Many of us have not grown up ’seeing’ miracles, and in our intellectual society, we need to see before we can believe. Doesn’t God say believe first?
- many of our churches have become program driven instead of Spirit driven. It gives many people the heebie-jeebies to think about / talk about the Spirit realm, and yet God tells us it’s there. We are (mostly) ignoring it if it doesn’t fit our ‘bless’ me box.
- (now this point is fully from my own belief in Natural Hygeine and Naturopathic principles ) Until we fully submit to God in our every day, we continue to slowly poison our own bodies…many of us don’t even include one actual fruit or vegetable ( in it’s raw state ) into our daily diet. We can’t be blind to how our bodies were created and expect supernatural energy and healing to occur. There will be those that want to jump on this statement and yes, I agree, not all illness is caused by this, but we have room for improvement.
Excellent choice of topics Sam…I feel some future blogs forming on this subject that I have just been itching to write..
Blessings from Canada!
V.
April 3rd, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Sam, you pose some great questions that I think all of us struggle with at some point (again and again, for me). I like the idea of living naturally supernatural lives! That’s an inspiring thought. In your most recent comment, you refer to Christ wanting to see everyone healed. The last few sections of Hebrews 11 speaks of something very similar: Those who lived and died by faith. By their great faith for which they were commended, some of them were delivered from their trials while others perished. Hebrews says that God had something greater in store than mere earthly deliverance. I prayed in faith for 11 years for healing and watched as my grandmother wasted away from parkinsons. After years of praying, she was finally healed, eternally. At times we don’t place enough emphasis on physical miracles, however, I believe focusing on that alone is folly.
I just think of the widow’s son that returned to life after Elisha prayed for him. What joy for the widow! Yet he returned to life, only to suffer death again at a later date. We should pray for physical healing, absolutely. But how much more should we pray for the spiritual mending of the broken hearted (Isaiah 61:1-6). It does little good to cleanse a physical wound if a poison festers beneath the surface.
To me, it is a much greater miracle to see a bitter, hateful heart transformed, yielding a kind, gentle, peacefully passionate person. For an individual to completely change their attitudes, passions, and disposition requires either some SERIOUS “positive thinking” or a divine intervention like only our great God can provide.
April 3rd, 2006 at 6:10 pm
Lots of good thoughts, V and Nathan. Really appreciate your input.
Just one thought on the “how much more should we pray for the spiritual mending of the broken hearted ” comment: should we separate healing like that? Jesus seemed to see people holistically and didn’t seem to separate spirtual as being more important than physical (or emotional, mental, etc). I think Jesus was all about health, full stop. And that health emcompassed the whole person. I don’t want to overly separate humanity into parts and make some parts more important than others. I believe Jesus came to rescue and redeem all of humanity and every aspect of humanity.
I guess the reason I started this discussion focussing on the physical side of healing is because this seems to have so much less of a place/emphasis in what I am seeing in many emerging churches. Of course we have hospitals and highly skilled doctors who I believe are part of the way God brings healing to people. But there are still many desperate people who need a supernatural miracle as their situation has gone beyond the realm in which medicine can help. So whilst there is undoubtedly more need in parts of Africa, for example, there really is still countless situations here in the West where, I believe, we should be seeking God for His supernatural breakthrough.
I understand, Nathan, why you would think a hateful heart being transformed is a greater miracle that a physical one, but, for me at least, I am not sure we can truly say what is greater. For the person who physical cancer is their greatest enemy, healing would be their greatest miracle. For the person who’s greatest enemy is their struggle with anger, healing of that would be the greatest miracle.
I guess ultimately, I don’t want either/or but both/and if that makes sense?!
April 5th, 2006 at 7:04 am
Sam,
I love the thought and questions that are developing here… A few quick comments because I’m not a “deep” thinker
1. God IS able. (I don’t know whether he will heal X person but He is able.)
2. I don’t think we’ll figure out a cut and dried simple answer but keep looking to God’s Word for the answers
3. How will a specific healing bring God glory (I believe that He is able - God’s Word seems to back that up)
4. I believe that some of the more conservative churches don’t talk about healing simply as a reactionary move. I know I was surprised a few years back talking to an elder from my church that… the elders DO pray over the sick and will annoint them folks with oil as requested.
I think personally this is difficult because when someone we care about is sick/dying we WANT them to be healed period in OUR timeframe because after all that’s what we want AND as a benefit it will help someone else too! I too often don’t pray as long as I should simply because I don’t want God to disappoint me (I have much to learn about faith and perserverance). As if I should be after the Work He has done on my behalf.
Keep asking the questions they force us to think - Blessings
April 7th, 2006 at 12:53 pm
[…] PS Please feel free to join in the ongoing conversation happening around my last-but-one entry entitled “What place to healings and miracles have in the church today?“ […]
April 11th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
Sam
Apparently there is this blind dude from “The Order of the Well” form the Church of England coming to SA now in May. He has a healing ministry and was ordained into the clergy of the church without any formal training!
Let me know if you know him.
Our leadership school starts tonight, will let you know how it went!
Take care!