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This may be a very unpopular post, but I just felt as if it needed to be made. After over 40 years in the ministry, I really feel it's time we re-examine our thinking on people falling out or being slain in the Spirit. First, let me say that I have fallen under the power of God and I know it to be a genuine thing.That being said, at many of our meetings down through the years I have seen the following procedures being done to ellicit the response desired.First is the time honored high speed slap on the forehead that will cause the person to fall vack due to a loss of balance.Second is the much used neck crack. One hand is placed on the forehead and another is placed on the back of the neck. The head is tilted back until the person loses balance and falls.Third is the gentler approach. The person praying for them gets them rocking forwards and backwards until they go one degree backwards too far and they fall back into the arms of the designated catcher.I found a fourth one at a meeting the other night. As I stood around the altar, I was praying, my eyes closed, my hands lifted, when I felt an annoying fly around my face. I quickly swipped at it with my hand and nearly wound up slapping the face of the evangelist who was blowing on my face.Here is a tough question. Do many people go down because they are expected to go down? Are they doing these mercy drops because they don't want to be accused of resisting the Holy Spirit?I see catchers sprinting back and forth at our meetings lest someone fall and hurt themselves.Excuse me for my humor here, but sometimes I wonder what would happen if the next time a neck cracker got hold of me that I'd get the same hold on him. I'm a pretty big old boy. We might wrassle for a while.Sometimes preachers treat having people fall out as notches on their spiritual six gun.To the slappers, neck crackers, tippers, etc I have to ask these questions.Why do it?Do you think you are really fooling anyone?Okay, let the discussion begin

I never did a courtesy drop for anyone.I did see a older missionary woman get killed due to this practice here in Jacksonville.Her head hit the concrete with a sickening thud.The ambulance rolled.She never regained consciousness and died a few days later.With that said - anyone that hits me in the head nowadays does get hit back - with me telling them to Cut out this stupidity before you hurt someone.The so called spirit gets quenched when that happens - and I am spoken of as an unchristian - but at least everyone gets to go home safely.(I wish this weren't true - but it is) So rough - please grab, hit back, or whatever it takes to stop it.Of course, if it is real - you couldn't stop it if you wanted to

Interestingly enough, you don't see these problems in the UPCI of which I used to be a part. Instead of falling and catching, everyone just starts shouting and dancing when you pray for them. Less cracked skulls that way

Here is the deal, Rough. Some stuff ain't real. It just aint the real deal. Some folks is slappin, others is tommyhawk choppin, an some is droppin.

I am very critical of the practice. I have seen many people slain in the spirit and NEVER a 'catcher'. Of course many times it was a sawdust floor. But the early COG folk would have considered it not trusting God to have catchers, and I know that for a fact.One night in the Mt. Holly COG in NC a man went forward for prayer, the pastor calmly anointed his head with a light touch and prayer. the man fell back and I heard a very sickening thud. He hit the first bench. He got up and asked the man sitting on the pew loud enough for others to hear, Where are the catchers? That was my first time hearing the term.It could have been the same effect as NBF described. SAD we have come to this. It is well know that several of our well respected leaders used these same tactics. Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/

good discussion I would say that most people slain have resisted slaying by stiffening their knees and they go backward because of imbalance. This is not a spiritual phenomenon. There is a medical case of buckling knees often due to physical trauma, People over fifty have to take care of this when climbing stairs. I have always resisted being slain because of my fondness for my head! However there have been cases of my knees giving away and dropping to the floor and the experience is always cathartic. I get a blessing from God and always needed! Yes, when a false preacher tries to push you down resist if at all possible. If it is impossible to resist you may be about to get a blessing, don't resist that. But don't feel you have to fall backward on your hea

I have seen a bloody head and broken collar bone 1 Corinthians 14:33

Recently somebody mentioned that all Bible accounts of people being slain in the Spirit involve him or her falling forward. She heard a teaching claiming that the people falling backwards were being judged, not blessed. The one example I remember dealt with the soldiers falling backwards when they came to get Jesus.I am not saying this is true because I haven't taken the time to study the Biblical accounts of falling backwards or forwards Have any of you heard this theory about those being slain in the Spirit fall forwards in the Bible accounts. Again I haven't given this much thought and don't have time now to think about or list examples either way so I am not trying to prove anything.

I can't recall a young person getting slain in the spirit at youth camp. It was always an adult thing to do. Now as kids when we would play church someone would pretend to be slain!

Problem is, Charles, at some folk never growed up spiritually. They still pretendin. Which one of those slaying people tactics do you use, Old Timer?Just josh in' ya. You don't want nothing but the genuine.