Journal of Thai Protestant Theology

Volume 4, Issue 1 – October 2025

“Slain in the Spirit” and the “Fire Movement”: An Evangelical Protestant Evaluation

Author: Dr. Chansamone Saiyasak (Professor of Religious Studies and Missiology), Theological Commissions of Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand & Asia Evangelical Alliance (a WEA-Regional Alliance)

Date: 9 October 2025

Introduction

The phenomena known as “Slain in the Spirit” and the “Fire…Fire” movement have gained attention across Pentecostal and charismatic circles worldwide, including within Thailand. These experiences—marked by falling to the ground or exhibiting intense physical reactions—are often interpreted as signs of the Holy Spirit’s power. Yet despite their emotional appeal, these manifestations raise serious concerns within evangelical and Protestant theology.

This article continues and expands upon the author’s earlier biblical and theological critique published in The Journal of Thai Protestant Theology (Saiyasak, 2025), which concluded that Slain in the Spirit and Strange Fire manifestations lack scriptural foundation and distort authentic Christian spirituality. Building on that prior study, the present reflection re-examines these practices in light of their continued popularity in Asian and Thai contexts. It argues that the Slain in the Spirit and Fire movements remain unbiblical in origin, theologically distorted, pastorally dangerous, and inconsistent with Protestant faith, even though their social and cultural appeal in Asia may explain their persistence. What appears spiritually thrilling may, in fact, be spiritually misleading.

A prominent example of the theology and practices discussed here is found in the New Wine International Church Bangkok (คริสตจักรน้ำองุ่นใหม่). As documented in the companion reflection “From Fire to Fallout: The New Wine Church and the Toronto–Tampa Revival’s Final Crisis in Thailand” (Saiyasak, 2025, October 11), this congregation represents the direct outworking of the Slain in the Spirit and Fire movements within the Thai context. Its emphasis on fire revivalism, falling under the power, and rhema revelation demonstrates how the Toronto Blessing and Rodney Howard-Browne’s “fire theology” have merged into a uniquely Thai expression of neo-charismatic spirituality. The present article provides the theological foundation for understanding that case, while the later reflection analyzes its ecclesial and ethical consequences.

Biblical Evaluation: Absence of Apostolic Precedent

Scripture provides no warrant for believers collapsing or losing bodily control as normative evidence of the Spirit’s work. The Holy Spirit convicts, empowers, and comforts but never overpowers believers into unconsciousness or involuntary behavior. Paul’s instruction is decisive: “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Cor 14:33, NIV). Likewise, “the fruit of the Spirit is… self-control” (Gal 5:22–23).

Biblical examples of falling—such as Ezekiel 1:28, Revelation 1:17, or John 18:6—occur in singular revelatory or judgment contexts, never as repeatable congregational phenomena. Stott (1964) reminds, “What we seek for ourselves and what we teach to others must be governed by the Scripture alone… Experience must never be the criterion of truth; truth must always be the criterion of experience” (p. 15). Accordingly, any supposed work of the Spirit that contradicts Scripture cannot truly be of God. The ritualized practice of “slaying” is therefore without apostolic precedent and contrary to the Spirit’s orderly nature.

Theological Evaluation: A Distorted View of the Spirit

Many “Fire” ministries portray the Holy Spirit as a transferable energy or force imparted by human command. Such teaching depersonalizes the Spirit and produces a false pneumatology that conflicts with Trinitarian doctrine. Evangelical theology affirms that the Spirit is a divine Person (John 14:26; Acts 5:3–4) who glorifies Christ (John 16:14) and sanctifies believers (2 Thess 2:13).

Packer (1984) warns that the Spirit’s ministry is often misunderstood when it becomes “Christian-centered instead of Christ-centered—man-centered rather than God-centered” (p. 67). The Spirit’s main task under the new covenant is to mediate the presence of Christ. When emotion or human experience replaces this Christ-focused ministry, the Spirit is eclipsed rather than exalted. When “fire” or “falling” dominates ministry, spectacle displaces sanctification. As demonstrated in Saiyasak (2025), such teaching is theologically unsound and spiritually perilous, substituting genuine transformation with emotional performance.

Historical Evaluation: A Modern and Non-Protestant Innovation

The practice of being “slain in the Spirit” is not part of historic Protestant orthodoxy but a modern charismatic innovation that developed within nineteenth- and twentieth-century revivalist currents. Its antecedents appear in Holiness and healing revivals among evangelists such as Maria Woodworth-Etter (1844–1924) and Aimee Semple McPherson (1890–1944), whose meetings featured trance-like collapses and ecstatic utterances (Gabriel, 2014).

It re-emerged prominently in the healing ministries of Kathryn Kuhlman and Oral Roberts, who popularized the idea that the “anointing” could physically overwhelm the body. In these contexts, falling was viewed as a spontaneous response to divine presence, not a prescribed ritual.

The movement’s contemporary global form, however, is inseparable from Rodney Howard-Browne, a South African-born Pentecostal preacher who relocated to the United States in 1987. His revival meetings—marked by uncontrollable laughter, falling, and shaking—introduced what he called the “Holy Ghost and fire” experience. These meetings influenced pastors such as Randy Clark, who carried this revivalism to Toronto, igniting the 1994 Toronto Blessing at the Toronto Airport Vineyard (MacArthur, 2013; Pew Research Center, 2006).

The Toronto Blessing became an extended outpouring characterized by laughter, shaking, crying, animal-like sounds, and mass instances of being “slain in the Spirit.” Within months, thousands of pastors and worshipers visited to “receive the blessing,” later exporting it globally. Its leaders formed the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TACF), institutionalizing this new revival stream.

The “fire” vocabulary now common in Asian charismatic circles derives from this Toronto Blessing milieu, where “Fire!” became a performative cry of empowerment. Through movements such as Catch the Fire and Global Awakening, this language spread worldwide (Poloma, 2003; Anderson, 2004; Hosack, 2001; Poloma & Green, 2010).

From a Protestant standpoint, these developments mark a departure from the Reformation heritage of Word-centered and sacramentally grounded spirituality. Classical Protestantism emphasized that the Holy Spirit works through the means of grace—preaching, sacraments, prayer, and obedience—not through unmediated physical phenomena (Horton, 2011). The “slain” and “fire” manifestations thus represent revivalist excesses rooted in religious emotionalism rather than Protestant theology.

Lloyd-Jones (1959) warned that revival must never be confused with mere excitement or emotionalism: “Any direct assault upon the emotions is, of necessity, false… The emotions are to be approached through the understanding, through the mind, by truth” (p. 76). True revival produces repentance and transformation, not spectacle (pp. 147–148, 209).

Historically and doctrinally, then, the Slain in the Spirit and Fire movements are modern in construction and inconsistent with the Protestant Reformation’s emphasis on Scripture’s authority and Christ’s sufficiency.

The Christian Research Institute provides a sobering description of the movement’s theological drift: “Christianity is undergoing a paradigm shift of major proportions—a shift from faith to feelings; from fact to fantasy; and from reason to esoteric revelation. Leaders of this Counterfeit Revival, such as Rodney Howard-Browne and John Arnott, have peppered their preaching and practice with fabrications, fantasies, and frauds... Many of the followers who at first flooded into Counterfeit Revival ‘power centers’ have become disillusioned and have now slipped through the cracks into the kingdom of the cults” (Christian Research Institute, 1999, p. 3).

This assessment highlights that what began as a supposed renewal of spiritual vitality has instead produced widespread doctrinal confusion and pastoral fallout—a problem now manifesting in Asia as well.

Independent evangelical analyses have repeatedly identified Howard-Browne’s revival theology as the catalyst for counterfeit manifestations. The Christian Research Institute described it as a “counterfeit revival,” emphasizing psychological manipulation and emotional contagion rather than biblical renewal (Christian Research Institute, 1999). Likewise, SheepStrong Ministries classifies Howard-Browne as a false teacher for promoting a transferable “fire anointing” and a non-biblical view of the Spirit (SheepStrong, 2024). These evaluations corroborate this study’s conclusion that such distortions have re-emerged in Asian charismatic contexts.

Official records from Revival Ministries International confirm that Howard-Browne personally conducted “Holy Ghost and Fire” gathering in Bangkok on September 20, 2019, drawing large crowds and employing the same “fire and power” vocabulary used in Tampa and Toronto. This event, part of RMI’s Great Awakening Tour, demonstrates that Howard-Browne’s revival model was directly introduced into Thailand years before the current controversy (Revival Ministries International, 2019a, 2019b).

The Tampa–Thailand Connection and the Rise of the “Fire of the Holy Spirit” Movement

The roots of the “Fire of the Holy Spirit” movement in Thailand can be traced directly to Rodney Howard-Browne and his Revival Ministries International (RMI) in Tampa, Florida. The link between Tampa and Thailand emerged through Dr. Varun Laohaprasit, a U.S.-based Thai pastor who introduced Howard-Browne’s revival theology and practices into the Thai charismatic context.

Dr. Laohaprasit has testified that he and his wife attended Howard-Browne’s meetings at The River at Tampa Bay Church and were “touched by the tangible presence of God.” Witnessing people fall under divine power—characteristic of Howard-Browne’s meetings—he embraced the “Fire of the Holy Spirit” concept and developed a ministry emphasizing laying on of hands and impartation of “fire.”

When Howard-Browne visited Bangkok for his Great Awakening Meeting on September 20, 2019, Dr. Laohaprasit served as his official Thai translator, confirming close theological alignment. Yet the same “fire” vocabulary had already appeared in Thailand earlier. A March 23, 2013 Facebook post shows Dr. Laohaprasit—then representing New Hope International Church—advertising a “Fire of the Holy Spirit Revival” in Songkhla Province. Another announcement from May 2014 promoted a “Fire Revival” in Songkhla and Bangkok, identifying him as a preacher from New Hope International Church, Seattle, USA. These campaigns show that the “fire” theology had taken root in Thailand well before 2019 (Laohaprasit & Laohaprasit, 2013; Kasama, 2014).

This transnational influence persists. On October 11, 2025, New Wine International Church Bangkok—now the central hub of this movement—hosted a “Camp” led by Joshua and Kristen Humphrey, evangelists affiliated with Revival Ministries International and The River at Tampa Bay Church. Photographs from New Wine’s official Facebook page show participants lying on the floor and exhibiting “slain in the Spirit” manifestations similar to those in Howard-Browne’s meetings. This event confirms that New Wine’s collaboration with RMI remains active and institutionally connected to the Tampa-based revival network (New Wine International Church Bangkok [Facebook post], 2025).

Theological Implications

The 2025 controversy surrounding New Wine Bangkok is therefore not an isolated development but the culmination of a decade-long relationship between Howard-Browne’s revival theology and its Thai expression. What began with Dr. Laohaprasit’s encounter in Tampa has matured into a national network that now shapes much of Thailand’s neo-charismatic landscape. This connection reveals how a transnational revival ideology—originating in the United States—has been contextualized and reproduced within Thai Protestantism, leading to both fervent imitation and increasing theological concern.

On October 8, 2025, Thailand’s national broadcaster Channel 7HD reported that the New Wine International Church Bangkok had become the subject of public and legal complaint. The report described the group as a “strange cult” (ลัทธิแปลก) promoting beliefs about “ghosts” and “evil spirits” (ผีร้าย) intertwined with its revival theology. Former students and parents accused the church of deception in its educational programs and of engaging in psychologically harmful practices (Channel 7HD News, 2025). While the investigation remains ongoing, the report reveals that what began as a theological deviation has now escalated into social scandal. The church’s “fire” and “spirit” rhetoric—originally borrowed from Western charismatic revivalism—has been publicly reinterpreted in Thai culture as spiritism rather than Christianity. This underscores how syncretistic theology, once tolerated as renewal, has now produced the very outcomes of confusion and moral injury that Protestant theology has long warned against.

Pastoral and Cultural Concerns

In Thailand, where animistic and spiritist worldviews remain pervasive, such manifestations resonate with local ideas of spirit possession and power encounter (Saiyasak, 2025). Their sociocultural appeal is undeniable yet theologically deceptive. Without discernment, these practices foster syncretism—a fusion of Christian vocabulary with pre-Christian spiritism (Hosack, 2001).

Emotional pressure to “fall” or “receive fire” can produce psychological manipulation and spiritual abuse. Leaders claiming to “release anointing” often exercise unbiblical control. MacArthur (2013) insists that where the Spirit truly works, He exalts Christ, produces reverence for Scripture, and promotes holiness—not hysteria. What may be culturally expressive can still be theologically indefensible and spiritually hazardous.

Elements of the Slain in the Spirit, Fire Movement, and Toronto Blessing revivals have gradually merged into one neo-charismatic stream. Imported through conferences, missionary networks, and online media, these movements were adapted by local pastors seeking visible signs of power. The resulting hybrid spirituality combines Howard-Browne’s “fire” vocabulary, Toronto’s emotive manifestations, and Thai expectations of spirit encounter (การถูกวิญญาณสัมผัส). While this synthesis reflects the global diffusion of charismatic Christianity, it also deepens confusion by equating physical phenomena with the Spirit’s presence. Thai evangelical leaders must therefore reaffirm biblical pneumatology—centering on repentance, holiness, and Christ’s lordship—over experience-based definitions of revival.

Conclusion

Drawing on prior research (Saiyasak, 2025) and the broader Protestant tradition, this study reaffirms that the Slain in the Spirit and Fire practices are unbiblical, theologically false, pastorally dangerous, and inconsistent with Protestant faith built upon centuries of Christian orthodoxy and the Reformation heritage. They replace Christ-centered discipleship with experience-centered spectacle and subordinate Scripture to emotion.

While their persistence in Asia reflects cultural factors—collective emotionalism, honor–shame dynamics, and belief in unseen powers—cultural resonance does not confer biblical legitimacy. As Lloyd-Jones (1959) declared, true revival leads to repentance, not disorder. The Church’s task is not to amplify emotion but to exalt Christ through truth, holiness, and sound doctrine.

Suggestions for Pastoral Guidance

References

About the Author

Author Photo

Dr. Chansamone Saiyasak (Professor of Religious Studies and Missiology) is a Thai theologian and missiologist, based in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, where he pastors Mekong Church Nonprasert. He serves on the Theological Commissions and Religious Liberty Commissions of the Asia Evangelical Alliance and the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand, contributing to theological development and religious freedom initiatives in Southeast Asia. He also serves as an Asian theologian for the World Evangelical Alliance General Assembly 2025's Theological Project. With over 40 years of ministry and leadership experience, he has led Christian educational and theological institutions, community development projects, and church planting movements across Thailand and Laos. He holds a Ph.D. in Theology and Religious Studies from Evangelische Theologische Faculteit (Belgium) and Doctor of Ministry and Master of Divinity from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary (USA), and has completed advanced leadership programs at Harvard University, Yale School of Management, and Oxford University. He completed Bachelor of Science in Religion from Liberty University (USA). Through his work with organizations such as the SEANET Missiological Forum and the Lausanne Movement, and World Evangelical Alliance, Dr. Saiyasak is committed to advancing Gospel-centered leadership, contextual theology, and mission engagement in Buddhist-majority societies.

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