Has anyone heard of the Toronto Blessing?

Question

What is your "take" on it?

Jiloth: I actually went to the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship for a while. I worked there in the cafeteria they have.
I was there after all the original things that happened, and the church is actually a great place. Everywhere has their "problems" but I have met some of the ebst people there.

The church in Toronto has actually grown and now has three or four in and around Toronto.
It has a lot of conferences, seems to be one each month or so.
the best was always the youth Conference, Catch the Fire.

Answer 1

My children go there every year. It is in a place called the Toronto Christian Fellowship. Our kids meet with thousands of other Christian young people and youth leaders, and there are musicians and speakers geared especially for them.

They always come back rejuvenated in their faith, and some friends that our youth group members have invited have come to know Christ as their Saviour.

My wife has gone for the past two years as a chaperone and loves it. She says that the Spirit of God moves powerfully and
many of the kids are very dedicated to serving the Lord and much of that come out of this ministry. The youth in our church
say they can hardly wait to get back year after year. Some of the kids have gone for as much as 8 years and have become youth leaders themselves and are growing strong in their faith
while ministering to others in our group and others in Toronto.


EDIT: THERE ARE ALWAYS THOSE WHO HATE GOOD EVEN WHEN IT PRODUCES YOUTH THAT RESPECT OTHERS AND LIVE FOR GOD. HOW PATHETIC!!!

Answer 2

I was involved in it during its height about 12 years ago. I was part of a prayer team and was also a "catcher" for people slain in the spirit.

My take? To paraphrase the Word - God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.

In Toronto there were many fake experiences. People got caught up in the excitement and faked a reaction just to be part of the group. You likely have heard of "holy laughter", people "barking" or crawling on hands and knees?

On the other hand, there were miracles too. The Holy Spirit can work anywhere.

Like any church, you have real believers and so-called believers. People bring their demons to church with them. The cross, bible, preaching, holy water, statues, etc. do not keep the demon out.

Toronto was no exception.

Many Pastors from all over the world "caught the blessing" and took it back to their home churches, yet, the movement seems to have died like all such movements.

When I say "died" I mean, at its height, there were multiple meetings every week. Bus loads of people came from all over Canada and the USA and people flew in from all over the world. Thousands attended every meeting. Now, it's a once a year event.

Jim DeSantis

Answer 3

I really didn't know too much about the Toronto Blessing and have really only been able to learn based on what I can find on the Internet about it. Of course, reading sites other than the official TACF website, one is generally going to find a negative slant, while reading the TACF site, you're going to find a positive slant. This is normal in any situation.

I decided to rely mainly on what I read on the official church website for the basis of my thoughts. The reason I was willing to do this, knowing it would obviously be biased.. Is that they offered a lot of information on it regarding when they disengaged from the Vineyard movement, etc.. Allowing it to be seen that there were consequences, etc.

My take on the whole thing is that the initial 'blessing' etc was probably very real. There are many instances where God has poured out his blessings in some very pronounced ways over various churches.. I personally have witnessed some of these things in other churches.

HOWEVER, I will state as at least one other person did here, that there more than likely were a lot of people that were 'caught up' in the whole thing and the whole emotional involvement, etc takes over. I've also seen this a lot in my experiences as well. There is a lot of 'excitement' involved in these types of situations and it is very easy (and almost impossible to have not happen) for many people to get caught up in it all and make things bigger than they are.

Often, I believe, when this happens, it's not that the person is even meaning to have this happen. It's just the way the human mind works I think.. We can get all involved and truly believe that it was not our own doing, etc.

As I said, I don't have actual personal knowledge of the events in Toronto, but I tend to see it as a group that had a blessing come forth, but that allowed it to get "carried away" and many people, not even realizing it, allowed their emotions to take hold, wanting to be "touched" by God so much, that they believed they were.

I don't think it has anything to do with the Devil being involved. I don't think it's evil. I just think it's simple human nature that has allowed it to take on a bigger life..

While I do believe in the fact that people do speak in tongues (though there are specific references in the Bible about there also being someone that 'translates', etc).. and I have personally seen things like "slain in the spirit" etc.. (though I have also seen people being 'caught up' in that as well)... I have to be honest, I am not sure what I think of the 'barking' and 'growling'.. At first I thought that was just something that people made up about the TACF, but I did find them mention it (at least the growling) on their site, so it is something they say happened..

BUT then, who am I to judge, right?

I'm just explaining my opinion. I am not trying to suggest that anyone was "lying" or anything like that. I just believe that some of it was real, and more than likely some of it was simply people's emotions getting the best of them, etc.

:)

Answer 4

I don't have any personal knowledge of it but all of the reports I have read about it were bad. They all seemed to point to a satanic counterfeit of the working of the Holy Spirit, like a group of evil spirits masquerading as spirits of light were infecting people and turning them away from the true gospel of Christ to fleshly experiences.

Answer 5

I personally am a bit leery of showy
"spiritual manifestations" in the church.
But I know better than to speak
against it, because the moment we
try to put God in our own special box,
we are asking for Him to prove us
wrong!

Answer 6

It is a deceptive tool of Satan - Check what goes on against the scriptures - God does not argue with Himself - if it does not agree with the Scriptures it is false.

Answer 7

The same as 'speaking in tongues'. It's self-induced, temporary psychosis and is both harmless and meaningless.

Answer 8

yeah i just looked it up on wikipedia...it seems like a phony thing...like a bunch of people on drugs. I believe in God, but it doesn't seem...idk, true

Answer 9

Nobody could bless you, except God.
jtm