My Discussion in an Anglican blog after Todd Bentley's fall.

First of all I had wanted you to know that I have not visited your blog site before. I got to it because of the article on Todd Bentley. I wanted all of to know , how much I have enjoyed your comments. They are deep and insightful and for the most part your observations of the Charismatic abuses are correct.
My wife and I are pastors in a charismatic denomination called The Vineyard.
We have lived in Kenya for 18 months and ministered to the Pueblo Native American nations for 8 years.
Many people in my church in Miami Florida went to the Lakeland Revival. Many were deeply touched by the power of God. The actions of Todd Bentley however towards the end of the revival as one reader rightfully commented was absolutely unrighteous.
There have been two great ills with the charismatic movement which God is at hard at work correcting. There was the whole prosperity movement which Jesus never taught about. Many, and I say many well known Charismatic leaders, have fallen and are still falling due to the great corruption of greed and avarice and injury that this erroneous teaching has brought. God is cleaning up His house!
Then other one which another reader correctly said is the notion that God is a “candy dispenser” of spiritual gifts and miracles. There have many abuses with that as well. This in part is why people such as Todd Bentley have fallen. I personally met Todd in London and talked to him on the way from Kenya to the USA. He was man a gentle man of love. We have sat under his conferences and read his books. I have been tremendously blessed by his ministry. He does move in the genuine power of God. However one of the big mistakes that we the Charismatics have commited is to exalt “anointing or power before spiritual character” . Charismatic leaders quickly exalted his anointing and put him at the forefront
Paul tells us in the NT never to put a novice into a position of leadership. In the 90's we the Charismatics got into the whole notion of exalting the glory and the power of God before spiritual character. It has caught up with us. The power and the glory of God are wonderful and essential but they must be held in an earthenware vessels of godly character.
Finally, everything must be based on the written Word of God. Amongst the charismatics there has been a great weakness in the study of the written Word and a focus on anointing, sometimes producing chaos and a circus type of atmosphere
My wife and I move in the gifts of word of knowledge, prophecy, miracles, healing and tongues. I can tell you that it has cost us much to operate in these gifts. For us God has never dispensed them. We have had to become broken and healed vessels who will not take the power or glory of God for ourselves.
In conclusion, I believe that the charismatic giftings are incredibly essential to the Body of Christ, for this is how the Holy Spirit manifests Himself to the world. We must not throw out the baby with the bath water So is the expositional study of the Word of God even more essential.
As I see the corrections that God is bringing to the charismatic movement is the getting rid or the pernicious prosperity teaching, putting mature and godly spiritual character before anointing and spiritual giftings, while leaving all of the spiritual giftings intact, and stressing the study of His word and the making and raising up disciples who will go into the world.
Please forgive us for the mistakes that we have made. Truly the whole charismatic emphasis of God when it is birthed by the Holy Spirit is wonderful and essential for all people regardless of their denomiantion.