I will give you a perfect example: 7 years ago, I came to a saving knowledge of God (brokeness, repentance, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost). Having faced great spiritual battles in my workplace for years, I found myself struggling in my battle against the enemy despite my new-found faith in God's mercy and grace.
Someone shared a teaching from a guy by the name of Graham Cooke. The video spoke so directly to my situation, and was so loaded with supernatural power to encourage and build me up to face such mountainous battles, I was strengthened to persevere and overcome (which I did, by God's grace because Jesus used Cooke to share that teaching).
Not long after watching the teaching, a handful of people came into the thread to discredit Mr. Cooke and cast fear upon anyone who would consider sitting under such teachings as deceived and thereby a spiritual pariah who should likewise be scrutinized with such disdain.
Because I trusted the people who cast these nebulous fears based upon unfounded, second-hand testimony related to loose affiliations Graham Cooke had with others in the Body of Christ, I rejected Graham Cooke and the rest of his teachings out of hand.
Years later, when I became much stronger in the Lord, and had developed a deep, daily intimacy with Jesus, He showed me those people were wrong, and to look back into some of the teachings Mr. Cooke has to help me understand Father God's heart for me and my ministry calling.
Does that mean I agree with everything Graham Cooke believes or teaches? No! Frankly, I have yet to encounter any preacher or teacher that I agree with every point of "their" theology. Why would I? May God be true, and every man proven to be a liar!
Just the same, God has indeed appointed people to teach on His truths, and He does so despite man, not because of man.
I regret rejecting those teachings, as it hindered God's plan of growth for me. Moreover, because our time on earth is finite, that means missing those teachings those years meant missing God's will in my ministry in some measure, too, and isn't that a shame?
When people use blanket terms over others in the Body of Christ that they disagree with on points not related to salvation, they are encouraging unfounded fear to grip their hearts. I mean, if you're going to swath a portion of the Body with such a title, you had better have a solid reason with first-hand experience and recognize your experience may not be generalized beyond the church/ministry you dealt with.
When it's all said and done, the charismatic/pentecostal church in America does indeed have some problems. They won't be solved by marginalizing members of the Body of Christ based upon blanket labels to fill newborns in Christ with fear of approaching a person's teachings or ministry work.
In short, if you're reading this thread and are unsure about what this is all about, don't worry too much about what's said on the internet. Draw near to Jesus in deep intimacy, as His Word promises that the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. And if He will guide us into all truth, surely He will show us what does not line up with His truth.
As much as I used to hate the saying, because the purity of God is such a beautiful thing, Christians should indeed "eat the meat and spit out the bones" when it comes to teachings they find because no man is pure. It's God's mercy and grace that bring forth this partnership on earth between Him and mankind, not man's ability to be righteous or right. And for that, we should all be thankful for.
