We heard and saw rumblings among some Wesleyan groups toward more liberal theology in the twenty-teens. In 2020 failed prophecies shook the charismatic movement. In 2021, the reformed camp stood in disbelief as modern heroes began embracing woke ideology and began to nuance the abortion position. Having not yet fully recovered from Resolution 9, Southern Baptists were sent reeling over the Guidestone Report a few days ago. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. 

Hebrews 12:25-29 TLV “See to it that you do not refuse the One who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the One who was warning them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject the One who warns us from heaven. ²⁶ His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.” ²⁷ Now this phrase, “Yet once more,” shows the removal of those things that are shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude—through this we may offer worship in a manner pleasing to God, with reverence and awe. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.”

The Lord is getting our attention, He is saying we cannot put our trust in men, but we must hold fast to the Word of God. My foundations were shaken with the prophetic movement in 2020. It got worse when I wasn’t hearing people in leadership deal with questions people were having. Come to find out, those addressing the issues were being hidden by the powers that be. God is angry with the man-made hierarchy in the movements in the body of Christ, and He is taking them down one by one. So do not be surprised if you see beloved institutions crumble in the coming years.

God will not be mocked. His holiness will not be ridiculed, nor will He allow His power to be prostituted. As someone who has been in charismatic circles my entire life, my heart has been grieved at the lack of holiness and character that defines us. But I am beginning to see how the shaking of 2020 has caused many of us to reexamine things. We are digging into the Word again; we see the need for holiness and have recognized many leaders emphasize their dreams over teaching the Scripture.

I believe God intends this shaking for our benefit. We can choose to put the Word back in its rightful place across all movements. We can put the idol of cultural relevance on the altar and slaughter it. We can return to the fruits and the gifts of the Spirit in the charismatic movement. The prophetic can put the Word back at the top. Baptists can say no to the cultural takeover, and mainline denominations can say we are going back to the Bible.

If denominations and movements do not heed the shaking, God will bring them down, and new structures will begin to develop. We were never intended to be about denominations but the Kingdom of God. We were never meant to be identified with Calvin, Luther, Wesley, or Wigglesworth but the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let the shaking reestablish you in the Word of God. Don’t abandon your charismatic or prophetic beliefs; set them right. We are never called to leave the Word, but God may call us to abandon denominational structures, and we need to be willing to do that.

We need to recognize what God intends for the shaking and realize how the enemy wants to misuse it. This is a time to be close to God and be in the Word like never before. Let the shaking stabilize you in the Word. Let it shake out fear, doubt, unbelief, and wrong belief. Allow the shaking to build new things for the future.