I recently started attending a new church; recently, however, we had an altar call in which some of my friends went up for. Feeling the prompting of the holy spirit, I went and laid my hands on them and prayed for them. The next day, during morning prayer, one of the new pastors came and spoke to me telling me not to do that until I was more rooted in the church. I don't really know how to take this. I absolutely love the church, and I want to make it my home church, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about a Pastor telling me to not lay hands on and pray for those in the church. I'm not self righteous, just following the prompting of God, what should I do? Any thoughts on this? Suggestions?

You said they don't know you. You're new there. As leaders and shepherds of the flock, they have a responsibility to know who is doing what, especially when it comes to spiritual matters like this. Since they don't know you, they have no idea what you were doing or what you were praying, so they're just being careful. If you really want to get in good and have the opportunity to do such things again, just go with it. The next time an unknown person comes in and wants to lay hands on people, their caution will be protecting you, too.

I agree. The practice of laying hands is something to take seriously. I have no doubt what you did was pure and not wrong... but its also nice to hear of pastors that are keeping a sharp eye over their flock.

It's for this reason why it's always good to keep your hands to yourself. I mean, suppose you went to the local Starbucks one day and you saw the barista massaging her neck (indicating she is in pain) and wanting to do a good thing, you walk up to her and start massaging her neck and relieve her pain. Show 'em what he won, Joe: a free trip to jail for sexual harassment. Maybe if you had gone to that Starbucks for awhile and knew the barista well and had a rapport with her, you may be able to do such a thing and it would be received. It's the logic of rapport, trust, and comfort with other people.

I think in this day and age, you have to have an established rapport with people and with a group. Don't try to be all spiritual... if this situation is any indicator, that prompting of the Spirit you were talking about may have been merely a muscle cramp. Why would God persuade you to do something that goes against rational, ordinary human behavior and what is accepted? I don't buy that stuff.

Why have you started attending a new church? What was wrong with the past one?

I agree with the others, its more acting out of respect.
My girlfriend attends a different church to me, so sometimes I go to hers instead. I play bass guitar in my church, and as much as I would love to play in my girlfriends church too, I don't, because Im not a regular member and it would be disrespectful to play.

Sometimes you have to spend a bit of time to just sit and watch, before the elders will allow you to do things like that, I mean, people that do things like laying of hands, playing music, preaching etc are long time members of the church.
Give it some time.

You know what, if they have such an issue of your laying hands to pray. Maybe it is not the right church for you.

The thing is laying of hands and praying for another is a spiritual act. You should not be questioned, also it is something that you felt was the right thing to do. That God was calling you up there to do that.

It is no ones business on whether you go up there or not except for God himself.

You may like the church but for me that is a red flag warning sign. It sounds like a controlling situation with the minister to make a comment like that to you.

If it was all loving and all accepting the church leader would have said. It was great to see you go up and pray for somebody. We appreciate you being here and everybody is welcomed to come up and pray any way the spirit leads them too.

The church, and different churches seems to make up rules that are man made when the God that we follow is about love and prayer. You were led to pray and lay of hands and that should not have been questioned.

God knows what is in your heart, mind and soul. That is the only thing that should matter. I have been to many different churches and denominations and have done laying of hands on my first visit. Another church they hold healing services that whoever goes up can receive healing and anybody that feels the need to lay hands on you are welcomed too.

So please do not feel discouraged. Thinking that man, puts rules on people that do not necessarily go along with what God has taught us to do. So in ending, maybe you are there to teach some of these people something. Might not be popular answer but that is what I think.

Good luck with everything, but thinking you need to do what is right in your heart, and God has made an example of a lot of people. There are many times where Jesus has gone against the grain of what people thought were expected of them by God. Do what is right in your heart. You feel like laying hands on somebody while praying. Do it. If they can not except that then you are in the wrong church.

Joe

I have to disagree. As you said, laying of hands and praying for someone is a spiritual act. Those elders etc. are appointed by God to oversee and look out for the church, especially in spiritual matters. If they don't know you, they don't know what you might pray for and they don't know that your heart is right. So they are right to question, and to want to know what an unknown commodity might be doing to a member of their flock.

Here's an example. For a while at a church I used to attend, there was a guy who would shout out prophecies almost every week during lulls in worship. His words sounded good enough, mostly calls for people to surrender their hearts and love God more, that sort of thing. The trouble was, he said the same thing every week. This young man felt that God was leading him to make these proclamations, but eventually the leadership of the church had to take him aside and ask him not to do that any more. The problem is, feelings are no criterion of truth at all. Feelings are feelings. It could be the Spirit of God or it could be a slightly tainted egg he had for breakfast. And that's the whole point: the church elders don't know. But it's their responsibility to make sure things are done decently and in order and with the best interests of the flock in mind. In the New Testament, the apostles warned again and again about people coming in, seeming to have a form of godliness and disrupting the church and causing problems. How did that sort of thing happen? Unknown commodities were given too much free rein.

These elders did right. If this is the right church for our friend, he will do well to acknowledge their authority, get to know them and let them get to know him. There are lots of ways to minister to people in the meantime, and his time for laying on hands and praying will come. If it's not the right church for him, that will become apparent and they can part as brothers and sisters in Christ, with nobody getting their nose out of joint and causing strife in the body.

Very well said!

You might disagree, but the elders of the church are elected by men. Not by God. I think the so called church elders did wrong.

There are many examples in the bible that the so called Prophets of God, Church elders challenged and even prosecuted Jesus for what they thought were against the law of God.

Meanwhile Jesus was doing what he knew what was right by His Father.

So as far as church elders doing right by questioning you and your acts by laying of hands. Its none of their business. The only one that needs to matter is God. You by laying of hands and praying did right by God. Not by men, if you think the elders are more important then God. Trying to abide by mens laws instead of Gods greatest law, then you have a lot to learn about God.

Joe

I meant to say that by the church elders questioning the original posters acts by laying of hands.

Actually, if the pastoral epistles and several scenes in the book of Acts are any indication, the elders are chosen after prayerfully seeking God's direction, so in that sense, yes they are elected by God, or at least in theory they are. Either way, they are supposed to serve as God's guides and shepherds over the flock, and the New Testament is replete with warnings to watch out for false teachers, seditious members, and most anything else that can cause spiritual unrest within the church, and make sure it doesn't take root. These elders were obviously taking that obligation seriously, and were being cautious with an unknown commodity. I don't know what your church is like, but that's basically how the New Testament says it's supposed to be done. So they may have done wrong by your standards, but by New Testament standards, they did right. That might be worth looking into further.

Actually you have that backwards. According to the new testament. Its not by my standards, that they have done wrong to this person. That was doing what the Holy spirit led him to do, which was to go up and lay hands and pray. When you have so called church elected elders intervene and try to impede on what God was leading him to do. That is wrong. It has nothing to do with my standards at all. It has to do with God, and his love and what he calls each of us to do.

I already answered this.

I reiterate: the elders don't know if this person is really being led by the Spirit of God or not. Truth be told, neither does he. Impressions are impressions. Feelings are feelings. That's why mature third parties such as church elders are necessary to evaluate such things and make sure the church functions decently and in order.

I find it fascinating that you seem to think an individual can feel led to do something and you don't question whether it's God's Spirit or not, but when someone becomes an elder in the church, you don't seem to think God's leading or direction has anything to do with that, they're just appointed by men.

I think we're done here. This is clearly getting nowhere.

The original poster asked for thoughts and suggestions and on what to do. I hope the original poster will be able to sort through all of this thread and make decisions on how to approach this.. Obviously he felt out of place when he knew God was calling him to go up there and pray. We are told to pray for each other. Church is a community of different people with different gifts and one that this person has is going up praying and laying hands on. I think it is awesome.

Joe

I don't think either view here is really "wrong". If a church is going to be one that allows itself to operate in the Spirit, a certain degree of trust does need to be there. However, the Holy Spirit doesn't work by our church rules... He works by His (thank God). The Spirit filled church is one where frauds seem to pop up a lot more than other denominations, and for that a protective pastor and elders go along way. But we also can't find ourselves in the mind set that people outside of our church simply can't be trusted to move in the Spirit correctly.

Well said, Haunting (it won't let me give you a greenie until I spread the love a little more).

Edit: looking at what I wrote there, I can see some trash tabloid taking it out of context and producing a headline: "AMHD Promotes Promiscuity by forcing users to "spread the love" around!"

Presumably everybody knows what I meant and nobody's a secret spy for the National Blabbermouth or something :-)

No one has mentioned how the people on their knees felt. If I were at the altar in that vulnerable position, and a stranger or even someone I didn't know well put his hands on my head, I would have gone to the pastor to complain. A good pastor wouldn't bring all that up, not wanting to cause dissension among parishoners. You say they were your friends, but you also say a new church...

I emailed my son about this. He is a deacon in a Pentecostal church. Here is part of what he wrote back --

Laying on of hands varies from church to church...but in my church, there is usually a time each service where the elders and prayer team are called up to the front and people are invited to go to them for prayer and laying on hands. Some people pray in tongues, some don't. Some lay on hands, some don't. There's kind of a difference between just putting your hand on someone to pray and calling upon God to channel through oneself. But there's usually some form of bodily contact, one or two-way. Very rarely is the attention of the entire church called to a laying of hands. Usually it's for a child dedication, a missionary, a new leader having just been voted in, someone leaving the church for other ministry, or someone extremely ill, and in these cases everyone is invited to do a sort of hands "chain" around that person.

Some churches might restrict the Gifts to members or people who are familiar. They shouldn't, but it happens. There is also the possibility of things getting out of control or people acting out or being very disruptive, and they are typically monitored and spoken to
privately to assess if they are serious or just seeking attention. I've heard of some Assemblies churches where people will stand up in the middle of service and just start speaking (or yelling) in tongues or speak prophetically, and it's very disruptive...it almost never happens in our Sunday service. It's sort of a fine line to walk.

And then he emailed this --

If a stranger just came up and started doing it to other people, we would stop them. Only church leaders and specified people are allowed to do it for someone else as part of an altar call, since doctrine is tied up with prayer. That, and the congregation trusts us for that, that they're not going to get paired up with some looney but rather someone who is well-versed in Scripture and steadfast in their faith and is representing the ideals of the denomination.

Otherwise, we'd be opening the door to all kinds of problems and weirdness that confuses or offends people. Like, someone might whip out a crystal and begin rubbing it on a person. Someone might touch a person inappropriately or make an unwelcome embrace. Someone might start uttering prophecy that clashes against Scripture, invoking Mary or saints, etc. Or they might try to speak for God and give someone a command, like give me money or something.

There is actually a story in the Bible about this where the Disciples get offended that someone they don't know is casting out demons in Jesus' name. Jesus says it's ok if it's being done in His name, and that the Disciples should back off. However, the Bible also tells us to test everything against Scripture and hold onto the good. Our interests mainly lie in protecting our congregation and ensuring that proper teachings are used.

Anyway, if this poster is offended, he needs to use his imagination a little and think of all of the terrible things that could happen if churches used an open door policy like that.

Being in a vulnerable kneeling in prayer. Anybody that goes up to kneel to be prayed for will have people laying hands on them praying for them. Its to be expected actually. Also usually in that position there is more then one person that goes up to lay hands on the person being prayed for. So for a stranger or anybody to lay hands on somebody is welcomed. That is what happens. It is not something to complain about. It is something to embrace and be thankful for. Then again I have experience in many different denominations and churches. Baptist, Catholic, Anglican, Also experienced an amazing experience with Pentecostal churches and currently regular Anglican. As far as being concerned about dissension among parishioners that's hooey. Last thing anybody needs is judgement. That is up to God to judge our hearts and souls not other people. (;

*groan*