VISIT TO HOLY TRINITY BROMPTON.

By David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service

The Connection with the "Toronto Blessing" and the "Laughing Revival"

HTB is one of the centers for the "Toronto Blessing" and the "Laughing Revival" in England. Eleanor Mumford, a member of the South-West London Vineyard church (associated with John Wimber), visited the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church in Ontario in 1994 and brought back the experience she contacted there. One of the priests from Holy Trinity Brompton, Nicky Gumbel, attended a meeting in a home in May 1994 where Mumford told of her experiences in Toronto and "invited the Holy Spirit to come." The moment she did that, strange things began to happen. One person was thrown across the room and lay on the floor howling and laughing, "making the most incredible noise." Another man was laying on the floor "prophesying." Some appeared to be drunken. Gumbel testified that he had an experience "like massive electricity going through my body." Gumbel got himself together and rushed to a meeting at Holy Trinity Brompton, where he apologized for being late. When he closed that meeting with prayer and said, "Lord, thank you so much for all you are doing and we pray you'll send your Spirit," the same strange phenomenon were again manifested. One of those present lay on the floor with his feet in the air and started laughing like a hyena.

HTB is also associated with the "revival" proceeding at the Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida. Steve Hill, the evangelist who has played a key role in the meetings in Pensacola, visited Holy Trinity Brompton and met with Holy Trinity's vicar, Sandy Millar, just before the outbreak of the Brownsville experience. At the time Hill met Millar, he was returning from a three-year trip to South America and Russia, and he was staying with a Roman Catholic couple in London who open their home to visiting ecumenical Christians. He found a copy of a British charismatic magazine entitled Renewal which spoke of the "revival" at Holy Trinity, and when he visited the church he had "a refreshing and empowering experience of the Holy Spirit" which opened the way for the Brownsville experience.

The HTB-Brownsville connection was further illustrated during the message Sunday evening by Jeremy Jennings, one of five men on the "pastoral team" at HTB. He said that Christians can create reality by blessing that which does not exist. To support this strange doctrine he cited a new book entitled Feast of Fire by John Kilpatrick, pastor of the Brownsville Assembly of God. Kilpatrick tells of how he prayed for 19 years that God would give his church an orchestra. They even built an orchestra pit in their auditorium, but they were unable to put together the actual orchestra. Finally, or so he claims, God told him to stop praying for the orchestra and to start blessing the non-existent orchestra. When he began to do that, the revival broke out and the rest is history! Jennings concluded this story by saying, "We can bring things into being by blessing things that do not exist."
Christian Rock Music

The largest part of the March 30 service at HTB was given over to the "worship time," led by a contemporary Christian rock group composed of two electric guitars, a drum set, a cello, and an electric piano. The music was typical of that found throughout the charismatic world. Some of it was slower, repetitive praise songs. Some of it was rock music with charismatic-style lyrics. The music was the same as that which I heard at New Orleans '87 and Indianapolis '90, massive charismatic ecumenical conferences I attended with press credentials. Fifty percent of those attending were Roman Catholic and a Catholic mass was held every morning during the congresses. When the charismatic movement refers to "worship," it is usually referring to its music.

The pew Bibles in HTB were the New International Version. I noted that most people did not bring a Bible to the service, depending rather on the pew Bibles during the sermon. I did not see anyone taking notes or searching their Bibles.

The vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, Sandy Millar, gave the announcements and prayed. He asked God to "answer the prayers of millions and give us peace in the world."
Anglican Theology and Ecumenical Unity

We must understand that Holy Trinity Brompton is a part of the Church of England, which is incredibly and wretchedly apostate. When I was passing through London in 1982, I picked up a copy of a newspaper containing an interview by John Mortiner of the Sunday Times with former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie. It was Easter, and the interviewer asked Runcie if he understood why Christ had to suffer. The Archbishop replied, "As to that I am an agnostic." He did not know for certain why Christ died on the cross! The interviewer asked, "Is God a judge?" Runcie replied, "No." The interviewer then said, "So you don't see God as celestial Lord Chief Justice?" Runcie said, "Not at all. I had an old landlady when we were at Oxford. And when we got into any sort of trouble, she'd say: 'There's one above who seeth all'. I can't think of God like that." Mortiner then asked Runcie if God accepts people of other religions, and Runcie had this reply: "I can't believe in a God who only saves people who live in certain latitudes. I used to lecture to Hellenic cruises about [Islamic] mosques, and I found great spiritual values in them."

Runcie's unbelief is typical of the Church of England today. Large numbers of Anglican priests and bishops are modernists who deny the Word of God, and there is a massive homosexual movement within the Church of England. When the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement celebrated its 20th anniversary recently at the Anglican Southwark Cathedral, more than 2,000 assembled to show their support. One can find every sort of strange unscriptural thing in Anglican churches today. In one newspaper I read while in London a well-known secular reporter described his visit to an Anglican church on Easter Sunday. He said he went to see if it was still as boring as he remembered it being when he was young. The service featured songs by the Spice Girls, a popular female British rock group. The audience were asked trivia questions about this group and their music. The speaker then said the first Spice Girls were Mary and Martha who brought spices to Christ's empty tomb! This wicked nonsense is typical of Anglicanism today. In 1996, the Anglican doctrinal commission reported that Hell is not a place of eternal fiery torment. The present Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, glories in the Church of England's diversity. Last year he stated: "Anglicanism at its very best can hold differences of thought together. Catholicism, evangelicalism, charismaticism, and liberalism all contribute" (Calvary Contender, July 1, 1996). Even the pope of Rome is welcomed with open arms by the modern Anglican denomination. John Paul II was welcomed as a religious hero by the Church of England on his historic trip in 1982. The first Archbishop of Canterbury to visit a pope was Geoffrey Fisher, who paid an unofficial visit to John XXIII in December 1960. Every successor to Fisher has trotted to Rome to fellowship with the pope. Michael Ramsey officially audienced with Paul VI in March 1966. Robert Runcie met with John Paul II in October 1989 and became the second Archbishop of Canterbury to attend a papal mass. George Carey journeyed to Rome to meet with John Paul II in June 1992 and again in December 1996.

Though Holy Trinity Brompton is conservative theologically, for an Anglican church today, meaning they accept the Bible as the infallible Word of God, they ignore the Bible's commands to separate from apostasy, and they continually call for trans-denominational ecumenical unity. They also hold to traditional Anglican beliefs pertaining to the priesthood, the mass, and infant baptism. We believe that if the Holy Spirit were truly in control He would lead them out of these unscriptural doctrines and practices and He would teach them biblical separation.

The HTB is sponsoring the project to build a multi-million dollar Millennium Village in London to coincide with the A.D. 2000 celebrations. The Village is envisioned as a center for ecumenism. In regard to this project, Sandy Millar stated that it is good to see Christian leaders in England laying aside denominational differences to work together (Renewal, March 1997).

The Holy Trinity Brompton also sponsors the Alpha course, which is a series of lessons used for evangelism and discipleship. The Alpha program, which is designed to be conducted in homes, is very weak doctrinally. The emphasis is on building relationships and learning to "worship." It also promotes charismatic practices such as speaking in tongues and healing. The fact that the Alpha courses are praised by a wide variety of apostate ecumenical leaders is evidence of its unscriptural character. For example, in the February 1997 issue of Alpha News, the lead article was titled "Archbishop praises Alpha on Pope visit as Catholic church hosts conferences." It noted that Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey praised the Alpha course in a speech in Rome during his official visit with Pope John Paul II in December. The Alpha courses have been accepted by the Roman Catholic Church in England. More than 400 Catholic leaders are booked to attend a conference on the Alpha courses in Westminster Cathedral Hall in May 1997. The courses are so popular with the Catholics that two other Alpha training conferences are scheduled for Catholic venues later in 1997.

Nicky Gumbel stated the ecumenical philosophy of the HTB in these words: "We need to unite ... there has been some comment which is not helpful to unity. Let us drop that and get on. It is wonderful that the movement of the Spirit will always bring churches together. He is doing that right across the denominations and within the traditions ... we are seeing Roman Catholics coming now ... Nobody is suspicious of anybody else ... People are no longer 'labelling' themselves or others. I long for the day when we drop all these labels and just regard ourselves as Christians with a commission from Jesus Christ" (Renewal, May 1995, p. 16). Confused Invitation and "Spirit Slaying"

During the service at Holy Trinity Brompton, there was no clear presentation of the Gospel or of how it relates to personal salvation. The invitation at the end of the meeting was confusing and hazy. Sandy Millar first invited the Holy Spirit to come. He then invited people to come to the front "to express your faith" or "if you want to re-express your faith" or "if you are having difficulty expressing your faith these days." He noted that those coming forward would be assisted by members of the ministering team. At least one man fell to the ground after hands were laid upon him. He was a man who had been sitting near me in the balcony during the service, and I had noticed that he was particularly enthusiastic during the "worship times." He held both hands in the air and swayed to the beat of the music. He went to the front when the invitation was given, and when hands were laid upon him he began shaking. This gradually increased in intensity, and finally he fell to the floor.

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