Charisma Vs. Charismania

Chuck Smith has a way with words. He gets to the heart of the matter and explains things simply using the Word of God.

Pastor Chuck Smith uses God's Word as the authority and teacher in this book which examines what happens when the seeking of emotional experiences and running after the *gifts* rather then the Word causes an imbalance in a believer's spiritual life. Pastor Chuck explains that the gifts are still in operation today but God is a God of order and the use of the gifts He bestows should be used in order and for the building up of the Body of Christ, not the individual. So often pride becomes associated with our spiritual gifts when they are used to bring attention to ourselves, Chuck explains that the Bible tells us the Lord gives us gifts to edify and build up others, not ourselves. Highly recommend !

As a baby I was dedicated by Chuck Smith, Sr. and as a teeneager was baptized by him(not to mention Chuck, Jr, married my wife & I). So as you can tell I am not in any way swayed to give this book 5 stars, ha ha ha. Actually I was raised at Calvary Chapels and Smith, Sr. was our pastor when we lived in Costa Mesa, but as I grew as an adult and was dealing with seperation in marriage and addictions, I needed something more supernatural, so I started visiting charasmatic, pentacostal and word of faith churches. I had excorsisms performed on me, and had many other supernatural experiences thru this journey. This book helped me out a lot, because the spiritual gifts are still ever present, and God still heals physically and spiritually TODAY, and the gift of tongues is a alive and well(in me anyway), but this book will help you discerne the real thing from the fake. Since I am a christian, I ended up joining a bapstist church, where I can be charismatic and still Bible based!

There are two very common beliefs among Christians in regards to the sign gifts. One view is that they have ceased. The other view is that the gifts have continued on to the present day, and that every believer can receive the gift of tongues simply by asking in faith. Pastor Chuck Smith grew up in a denomination that taught the latter view, went to a Pentecostal Bible College, and because so, speaks about the many abuses in the charismatic world. Not as an anti-charismatic, but as an insider. Chuck seeks to help the reader understand that the Bible nowhere teaches that sign gifts have ceased, while steering around the confusion found in many charismatic circles. Chuck's balance is a breath of fresh air, and I believe this book has the potential to steer many away from extremes by demonstrating balance. I highly recommend it to all.