As Charles Carrin celebrates the many blessings of God during his 70 years of fruitful ministry, you will learn of his deep concern for young church leaders and his desire to encourage them.

In 2019, I complete 70 years of Ordained Ministry. It all began in 1949 when I shoved my suitcase onto a train in Miami and headed for Atlanta. I was scared, my heart pounded, and I slept little that night. My destination was my first church as pastor–and I was only 18 years old. It was a brave step for the congregation and me. But they knew God had called me to preach and insisted that I begin immediately and obey that “Call.” Everything else could catch up later. The congregation was warm-hearted and we bonded immediately. With a salary of $35.00 a week I paid for my rent, college tuition, food, transportation, and everything else. My University study began the same time as the ministry.

At the church’s request I began preaching five times a week and maintained that pattern for the next 30 years. The only exception was when I conducted revivals and preached 12 to 14 times a week. That grueling schedule forced me to rely on the Holy Spirit. Apart from Him I could not have survived that demanding routine. The night I was ordained in Miami my pastor told me, “Charles, study as if it all depends on you. Preach as if it all depends on God!” That advice became my rule for life. In those years the Atlanta Division, University of Georgia, was only an extension-school and did not offer a degree; I gained as many credits as I could and then studied two years at Columbia Theological Seminary. The Atlanta congregation remained my charge for eleven fruitful and happy years. When I resigned they–and I–wanted me to stay. God said no.

I’ve been in the company of two Kings, a President, the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. I crossed the Atlantic at least 50 times, preached at Red Square in Moscow, Westminster Chapel in London, 800 year-old Churches in England, St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Seminary in Florida, Russian and Kazakh ministerial schools, various Jewish Synagogues, and to thousands of ministers at the International “Catch the Fire” Pastors Conferences in Toronto. I have been a return-speaker there. The day I stepped onto the train God had it all planned.

God wants to unleash the life-changing, bondage-breaking power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Pastor Chas Carrin points out what the Apostle Paul had to say about this and encourages every Jesus follower to pursue spiritual gifts.

The Apostle Paul encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road and was born again; three days later in the Damascus Room through the laying-on-of-hands by Ananias he encountered the Holy Spirit and received the Spirit’s baptism. Later, this same man wrote an 84 verse treatise on spiritual gifts: First Corinthians 12,13,14. His Biblical explanation provides the most comprehensive, authoritative information we have on the subject. More importantly, it is the only resource bearing the seal of Divine Authorship. All conflicting opinions, no matter how cherished or long-established, are but human speculation and must be discarded. Scripture is our final, absolute authority.

The Apostle begins his dissertation with the plea: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant” (12:1). Interestingly, this appeal that we “not be ignorant” appears seven times in the New Testament concerning different topics. Once, it is by Peter and six times by Paul. Each time, the request reveals an especially deep concern of the writer. Its’ appearance here should command the attention of every conscientious believer. The Apostle then proceeds carefully to detail the operation of nine grace-works of the Spirit. These are the direct result of the Spirit’s baptism. Having defended the need and purpose of the gifts, Paul then concludes his discourse with the stirring rebuke, “But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant!” (14:38). In other words, he says, “After this careful explanation of spiritual gifts, if anyone refuses to learn, I have nothing more to say to him. Let him remain illiterate!” Paul seemingly anticipated that some believers would reject his teaching on miraculous works of the Spirit and added this harsh warning:

“If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37).

1. “Earnestly desire spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31).
2. “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (14:1).
3. “Since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel” (14:12).

These admonitions do not indicate the reluctance that typifies the modern church’s attitude against spiritual gifts. There was no such lukewarmness on the part of Paul or the Corinthians. Identically, believers today are encouraged to exercise the gifts for the benefit of everyone: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all; for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills … But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 12:1;4-11;38).

Charles Carrin: I had a specific God-instruction to write a “charismatic catechism” for the benefit of Spirit-filled believers who had no such resource. I began working and the book assumed the nature of a theological-treatise. There are 300 questions and answers on a progression of 18 sub-topics, beginning with “Who Is God?,” and including questions about the Kingdom, the Church, the Bible, Mankind, Israel, Church History, Spiritual Gifts, the Devil/Demons, and Significant People. A beneficial feature of the book is that it can be opened at any page and the reader can begin studying a “capsule” of important Christian truth. The period of study can effectively be three minutes or three hours.

PneumaReview.com: Whom do you feel will benefit the most from this book?

Charles Carrin: There is something for every age and specialty-interest. Youth, middle-aged, seniors, will find an introduction to the Bible, Christianity, church history, and other important information. It will be of special help to the new Christian who is just beginning their learning process of Kingdom facts, or the long-time believer who needs to re-fresh his Christian education.

PneumaReview.com: How did you select the subjects that you included in the book?

Spirit-Empowered Theology (Chosen, 2017).

Charles Carrin: There were two motivations: A Catechism contains a progression of theological and historical topics. The format reads in an expanding way. One topic leads into another and as far as possible I pursued that development of thought. Themes were chosen in the hope that readers would continue pursuing them beyond the Catechism. Secondly, I prayed, seeking God’s direction for the fields I covered.

PneumaReview.com: Why did you include entries about things outside of the Bible, such as events and people in post apostolic church history?

Charles Carrin: I have been in ordained ministry almost 70 years and have had opportunity for long-range observations of strengths and failures among believers. Most Christians, including many pastors, are woefully uninformed about their own church history. In brief, I have included such historical facts as Emperor Theodosius decreeing in 380 A.D. that only those churches accepting Imperial endorsement and known as Roman Catholic would be recognized as official. All others would be heretic. Modern Christians need to know that there were more Bishops who boycotted this decree than accepted it. Even so, the minority was declared “official” and the others heretic. My hope is that the reader will be motivated to explore the church’s historical field far beyond what I have written. Most Protestants are unaware of their own antiquity.

Over the years I have collected bits of wisdom from different sources. I share a few of them with you. When known, authors are named.

“There are none so enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“When people regard a portion of the truth as if it were the whole truth it becomes more dangerous than an untruth.” Jack Taylor

“Most preachers would make good martyrs; they are so dry they would burn well.” Charles Spurgeon

“Don’t be afraid that your life will end. Be afraid that it will never begin.” Grace Hansen

“The danger is not that God has set the ‘bar too high’ and that we will miss it–the danger is that we have set the bar too low and will make it.”

“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man would have to seek Him first to find her.” Maya Angelou

“The church must feed people the food–not merely show them the menu.”

“We make a living by what we get; We make a life by what we give.” Sir Winston Churchill

“Patience is the weapon that forces deception to expose itself.”

“Americans will die on their feet before they will live on their knees.” George Washington

“The task ahead of you is never as great as the Power behind you.”

“People like us who believe in physics know that the distinction between past, present, and future, is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” Albert Einstein

“Pray that people will meet Christ before they meet the church.”

Bumper Sticker: “I love Jesus–I just don’t like some of His Fan Clubs.”

“Sanctification is an impartation–not an imitation.” Oswald Chambers

“Find out what you are following–compare it to Christ–you will find yours to be inferior.” Perry Comas

“Do not lower God’s word to the level of your experience.” Randy Clark

“The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.”

“We better find out what God is doing today less we be found arranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic tomorrow.”

“The Bible is a verb; not a noun.” Rick Cross

“It takes a steady hand to hold a full cup.”

“The Bible was not given to replace direct revelation or the miraculous but to correct abuses.” Martyn-Lloyd Jones

“Demons are like rats at the garbage dump. Unless you get rid of the garbage they will be back.”

“One who judges others proclaims himself to be God.”

“Burnout is operating outside your anointing; it is a breakdown–not a breakthrough.” Tod Zeiger

“Success is never permanent; failure is never final.”

“When the tide comes in all the ships in the harbor rise with it.”

“Jesus is ‘Lord over the Church'; The Holy Spirit is ‘Lord in the Church’.” Derek Prince

“Follow the cloud–or follow the crowd.” James Robinson

“‘Tradition’ is the living faith of a dead past; ‘Traditionalism’ is the dead faith of a living past.” Jack Taylor

“The one who kneels before God can stand before anyone.”

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” Anais Nin

“Life is too short to be too little.” Benjamin Disraeli

“Truth is in the Scripture; Power is in the truth.” C. Carrin

“Private victories precede public victories.” Stephen Covey

“Appeasement is like feeding the alligators–hoping they will eat you last.” Sir Winston Churchill

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From Charles Carrin Ministries monthly newsletter, Gentle Conquest. Used with permission from Charles Carrin Ministries (www.CharlesCarrinMinistsries.com).

Charles Carrin

One of the tragic losses in modern Christianity is the near-elimination of the Holy Spirit from the life and activity of many believers. Religion that is learned and formalized can function without the Holy Spirit; true spirituality cannot. A prominent church leader once said of his denomination that “If the Holy Spirit were to disappear from the Church 90% of its work would go on as if nothing happened.” In many cases that is so. The loss is enormous. While your church or denomination may not be like that, there are still no known Christians today experiencing the Holy Spirit in the same capacity as did first century believers. Nor are we getting the same results. Modern Christianity exerts a fading influence in Western culture.

In John 16:13, Jesus promised, “When the Spirit of truth has come He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is mine and declare it to you.” And again, in John 15:26 He said, “When the Helper comes whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” The word Jesus used for “Helper” has a rich and wonderful meaning in its Greek equivalent, parakletos, and was used in the ancient Olympic Games to identify those who accompanied a marathon runner by shouting encouragement to him. This example of the Holy Spirit and the Christian with the marathon-runner to his paraklete is an excellent illustration. Para = “alongside of;” kaleo = “to call.” Here are six scriptural ways the Holy Spirit wants to accompany our race and shout encouragement:

1. The Holy Spirit bears witness directly to our Spirit and leads us internally: Romans 8:16: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” 1 John 5:6-8: “And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”

2. The Holy Spirit will lead us externally: Acts 16:6-7: “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia but the Spirit did not permit them.” Genesis 24:27: “As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” 1 Samuel 10:6: “Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.” Galatians 5:16-19: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”