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Originally Posted by LeftCoast
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This is perfect example of why I strongly support the idea of catchers in Pentecostal churches. They are a necessary product of our times. Catchers don't exist for people who fall under the power of the Holy Spirit. They exist to catch those who fall in the flesh. This is important (1) to prevent lawsuits and (2) for the ethical fact that why let a person who falls in the flesh get (potentially) seriously hurt. There have been well publicised cases of people who fell "in the spirit" and either died or were hospitalized. There are some who may say "well, they deserved it", but does that do to the church, especially if there is publicity involved?
I personally know of a church here in town that was consistently moving in the power of the Holy Spirit, with many manifestations happening on a regular basis. However, they had no catchers. A woman came in for prayer, fell out, and then sued the church. Nevermind the question as to whether the injuries were fake or not, neither way changes what happened as a consequence to that church, which was:
(1) ALL manifestations of the Spirit, whether genuine or not, were effectively stopped, both volutarily by some in the congregation and some as enforced by leadership. They did this to avoid further injuries and to avoid a bad name. This was a prominant congregation of 1500 at the time. It got to the extreame that now tongues and interpretations need to be written down and approved by the pastor in advance!!
(2) The church split. The segment that wanted to continue yielding to the Spirit were forced to leave, thus depriving the church of the very people who were more likely to usher in the presence of God.
When its all said and done, its just worth it to endure the snickers of our Pentecostal brethern and pull out the catchers. In many cases the alternative has had grave consequences.
if only 1% of all christians adopted.... there would be NO children in orphanages... 
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