They billed the event as a “Holy Spirit Woodstock.” The term hippies might be a broad brush to describe the charismatics flocking to the National Mall to take part in the ecstatic mind-altering worship experiences led by New Apostolic Reformation gurus like Lou Engle, but it’s hard to deny that the experience-driven, rhapsodic worshipers have something in common with the intoxicated celebrations in 1969 New York.
Steven Kozar writes of the futility and pointlessness of such a vaguely-objectiveless event at Messed Up Church. Describing the attendees singing nonsensical songs and blowing shofars to “blast away the darkness, Kozar writes…
Let’s be honest, folks, nothing is really happening here. Many of these people are wearing t-shirts from the last “world-changing” conference or rally that they attended. This is sad, delusional and useless activity being passed off as a “revival.” Do these people really believe that darkness has now been officially driven out because they gathered and clapped and stomped and chanted?
As Kozar points out, this was just another massive charismatic gathering that was supposed to be THE EVENT of YOUR LIFETIME! There was Together 2016. There was Azusa Now 2016. These events were supposed to change the world and cause a “shaking” and other such things. But, like Woodstock of 1969, they basically just left trash behind – only the garbage left in this case is theological.
Well, it turns out that the shofar-blowing, charismatic weirdos did accomplish something, after all. They fell into the politically correct posturing of “taking a knee” for racial disharmony. Great.
Led by NAR Apostle, Cindy Jacobs, the crowd took a knee as she apologized to the black community…
“I talk to so many African-American mothers and grandmothers who say, ‘I am afraid to send my baby out.’ I am so sorry that you are afraid that if your sons drive a car, they are going to be shot. I am so sorry. We can’t gloss over it! We can’t gloss over it! It’s sin and causing lots of pain!” Jacobs cried into the microphone. “I am sorry that we have made your sons and daughters fear for our police, many of them are so good, there is a fear. I’m so sorry for the injustice. I’m so sorry.
One African American leader blamed abortion in the black community on others who “had to” abort their babies, saying, “Let’s show the world what it means to deal with a holy and righteous God, who is bringing healing for the pain that so many African-American women have faced when they got the phone call that their child had been shot in the street, that so many African-American woman feel when they leave that abortion chamber and they had to leave their babies in the containers after being targeted by the abortion industry.”
After those in attendance rose from their knees, Alveda King – niece of Martin Luther King – told Jacobs that she is forgiven, saying that she must forgive the sins of racism so that she receives forgiveness from God.
“[Martin Luther King] continually said to forgive, be one blood, one race, learn to live together as brothers and sisters. My sons have been to jail and I know many black men have been to jail and been killed. It’s an unjust unbalanced system. [Lou Engle] is right. He called of us together under God so that we could get right down to it.”
Ironically, the kneeling festival was called Rise Up.
