Hi Nisa,

I was in Romania at the time the Toronto type move was going on. I even went to Toronto in 1997 to check it out after a couple of years while I was in North America. I never heard any animal noises whatsoever. Mind you, Toronto was pretty quiet by then. They had a huge building but not many people coming on the weekdays. To be able to say "animal noises were symptomatic of every church that had sent people to Toronto" you would have to visit a LOT of churches. I can assure you that this was not the case. A single counter-example is sufficient to disprove the statement. If it is truth that you value, then please be open to correction on this point.

I never saw animal noises in any church. I don't think I saw as pure an expression of this movement as John has seen. Actually, I know John personally - have done so since the early 1990s - and while we have slightly different perspectives on some issues, I know him to be a man of sincere faith and genuine love for the Lord who would not lie to impress you or me.

Having said that, I do think the Toronto proponents DID massively undervalue the Word of God and the preaching of the Word. But perhaps there is something to be said for the idea that God intended to correct an imbalance. In many places there is preaching with zero expectation of any extra-ordinary operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit to follow. I don't believe this honors God either.

The whole issue is to me not as simple as most would see. I believe we should major on pursuing God and the application of His truth and not spend too much energy on rebuking things which are neither anti-Bible nor explicitly endorsed in the Bible. But neither should we just trust men and "big ministries". The Bible says to "test all things" - we do that and we also want to "hold fast to the good" where we can.