The Silent Drift Inside the Charismatic Church

For more than 50 years, I’ve reported on the move of the Holy Spirit through Charisma. I’ve had a front-row seat to revivals, miracles, prophetic voices and the remarkable spread of Spirit-filled Christianity around the world. My own family has been part of this movement for four generations, tracing back to the early 1900s—not long after Azusa Street. I owe my life and my calling to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that shaped my heritage and my career.

It is because I love this movement that I must speak candidly about something deeply troubling: compromise is quietly creeping into the charismatic and Pentecostal church. I say this not as a critic throwing stones from the outside, but as an insider who has lived this world and dedicated my life to chronicling what God has done. Over the past two decades, I’ve watched a subtle but unmistakable drift—a softening of conviction, a reluctance to confront sin and a steady retreat from the kind of bold preaching that once defined our pulpits.

One of the most glaring symptoms is the growing absence of sermons on sin, holiness and repentance. These themes were once the backbone of Pentecostal preaching. Today, they have practically vanished. In many churches, repentance has become optional, holiness is treated as an outdated ideal and sin is reframed in therapeutic terms rather than moral ones.

Pastors routinely avoid addressing cohabitation, pornography, adultery, gender confusion, drunkenness and even basic biblical morality because they fear making people uncomfortable. It’s astonishing how many young adults in our churches now live together without marriage—and no one in spiritual leadership confronts it.

It’s equally troubling how many believers are caught in pornography addiction, yet never hear a sermon naming it as sin. We preach breakthrough without requiring repentance, blessing without emphasizing obedience, destiny without discipleship and freedom without identifying the chains that bind people.

The early Pentecostals would hardly recognize what passes for Spirit-filled Christianity today. Their heartbeat was holiness, their witness was the power of God and their crown was a deep conviction that sin must be confronted, not accommodated.

Today, silence is often the scandal that defines us more than anything else.

Another troubling sign is the shift in worship. Much of what we call worship today looks more like a weekly Christian music conference—professionally staged, perfectly timed and technically excellent, but often lacking the spontaneity and holy reverence that make room for the Spirit of God.

Excellence is not the problem; the issue is when excellence replaces anointing. I remember services not that long ago where one prophetic word could stop the flow of the meeting and recalibrate the entire atmosphere. I’ve seen altars filled with repentant believers, spontaneous moves of healing, and moments of divine intervention that no worship leader could script.

Today, in many churches, every second of the service is timed and rehearsed, leaving little room for the gifts of the Spirit to operate. The atmosphere may be exciting, but excitement is not the same as the presence of God.

Perhaps the most dangerous compromise is the growing political cowardice in our pulpits. I am not advocating for partisanship; I am advocating for moral clarity. Yet the reality is unmistakable: the Democratic Party today openly champions abortion until birth, gender ideology, the mutilation of children, hostility toward Israel, hostility toward religious freedom and the dismantling of biblical marriage.

These positions are not merely political—they represent the moral rebellion of our age. And still, many Spirit-filled pastors refuse to address them because speaking up might offend Democratic voters in their congregations. They stay silent on abortion, on LGBT ideology, on socialism, on Marxism, on anti-Israel sentiment and on the larger moral collapse of our culture. This is not wisdom—it is fear disguised as pastoral sensitivity. If our gospel does not confront sin, it is not the gospel. If it avoids moral clarity, it is not the gospel. If it bows before cultural pressure, it is not the gospel.

In too many places, the charismatic world has become charismatic only in vocabulary. The labels and language remain, but the power that once distinguished us has faded to the background. I’ve visited churches that call themselves Spirit-filled, yet there is little trace of tongues, prophecy, healing, deliverance, conviction, intercession or the fear of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is acknowledged publicly but not practically welcomed. He is praised but not feared, referenced but not obeyed. What remains is often a Pentecostal form without Pentecostal fire.

The way forward is not complicated. We don’t need a new strategy, a better marketing plan or a more impressive stage design. We need a return to the foundations that made our movement powerful in the first place—a return to the fear of the Lord, holiness, repentance, bold preaching, altar calls, spiritual warfare and the unrestricted power of the Holy Spirit. We need pastors who fear God more than man, worship leaders who value God’s presence more than applause, and believers who live holy lives even when the culture mocks them.

The early Pentecostals shook nations by refusing to compromise. They confronted sin, proclaimed truth, operated in the gifts of the Spirit and depended entirely on God’s power. I believe God is calling us back to that kind of Christianity.

This article accompanies my most recent episode of The Strang Report. I encourage you to watch the whole message by clicking here—and if you want to go deeper into how to stand firm and live Spirit-led in this upside-down culture, my book Spirit-Led Living in an Upside-Down World offers practical tools to help you do so. My book is available on Amazon.com or Mycharismashop.com.

We are the people of Pentecost. Let’s reclaim the fire that once defined us.

Stephen Strang has seen major changes in the church, the culture and technology since he founded Charisma magazine in 1975. In addition to being CEO of Charisma Media, he hosts a Strang Report podcast live on YouTube and Rumble at 4 p.m. EST every Tuesday and Thursday.  His important recent book Spirit-Led Living in an Upside-World is available wherever fine Christian books are sold including online at amazon.com.