In the blog of the National Catholic Register, Jim Graves wrote about “10 Truths Learned from Encounter Ministries” that he learned from Fr. Chris Clay of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington. One of them was that believers are thermostats, not thermometers:
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Thermometers measure the temperature. Thermostats change the atmosphere. The Kingdom of Heaven is inside us. The Holy Spirit is inside of us. Heaven is at hand. Do we bring God into the presence of every situation? God does not want to answer our prayers. God wants to answer the prayers through us. With the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are thermostats where we can change the temperature in our lives and those around us by the way that we pray in faith for the miraculous change that God wants to do through us.
Where does this idea come from? What does it mean? How can a Catholic say, “God does not want to answer our prayers?”
Where does this idea come from?
The short answer is that it comes from the teachings of Dawna De Silva, who worked for many years at Bethel Church, where she founded the Bethel Sozo Ministry, an “inner healing and deliverance ministry,” in 1997. Her husband Steve is a former Chief Financial Officer of Bethel Church. Her books are sold at the online shops of Bethel Church and Global Awakening.
What does it mean?
According to De Silva, shifting atmospheres is a way for believers “to discern, dispel, and displace negative spiritual forces around them and to partner with and release heaven on earth.” Following Francis Frangipane, De Silva teaches that all Christians are engaged in spiritual warfare. Because believers have been given “dominion,” they have the ability and authority to “discern” or sense what spiritual forces are operating in a given person, place, or region, to tell whether they are good or evil, and then make adjustments in the ambient spiritual temperature. Promoters of shifting the atmosphere use the words “release” and “unleash” to speak of Christians deploying the power of God’s kingdom; for example, "Every Christian can release God’s power into places and situations under the influence of evil.”
The notion that believers have the power and authority to “shift atmospheres” has become widespread within the New Apostolic Reformation, thanks to Bethel Church giving Dawna De Silva a platform. Many others have spread her teaching, with or without attribution, including the very famous Joel Osteen and the less well-known “prophetic deliverance minister” Kathy DeGraw, this person, this person, this person, and this person. It is all over the internet. Preachers can find pre-written sermons about shifting atmospheres online, and anyone who wants to learn about the concept can take an online equipping course for only $15; or, for absolutely free, you can watch this how-to video from Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural Network. You can even learn how to teach children in your Sunday school how to shift atmospheres. All the persons and sources linked to above are non-Catholics. Now, through Encounter Ministries, De Silva’s teaching on shifting atmospheres is being introduced to Catholics in several countries.
Many teach that “worship” releases the power of the Spirit into our world, so it is no surprise to find books on the subject, as well as worship songs about shifting atmospheres.
In the Encounter School of Ministry (ESM) “Satellite Campus Resources,” it is implied that St. Theresa of Calcutta taught about shifting atmospheres: “We can shift atmospheres by putting on Christ (Rom 13:14) and allowing joy to be the net by which we catch souls (St. Mother Teresa).” ESM also reminds their students that Bill Johnson says, “ we release what we are most aware of..” In saying this, Johnson is teaching that the believer should be most aware of the heavenly realm, and thus be able to reproduce heavenly power in their earthly environment.
At the Encounter Conference held in Toledo, Ohio in June of this year, Jay Jong, Director of Worship for Encounter Ministries and the Encounter School of Ministry, gave a talk about worship. The Encounter Ministries website’s description of his talk might have been written by Dawna De Silva:
The release of worship into our world unleashes joy, peace, freedom, and love, but this shift in atmosphere isn’t just supernatural or internal, but also changes our physical world. Through worship, God brings healing, signs, and wonders. Even your personal worship in your home, car, or shower changes your environment.1
How can a Catholic say, “God does not want to answer our prayers?”
The short answer is: a Catholic shouldn’t say that. Perhaps we should be asking why Catholics teaching at Encounter Ministries do say that. They say “God does not want to answer our prayers,” because they have accepted non-Catholic NAR teaching about the royal identity of the believer. In this view, a Christian has the power and authority to “release” into this world the “power of heaven” and make things happen. Logically, then, instead of merely asking God to change the spiritual temperature and accepting what happens or doesn’t happen next, Christians should act, employing their God-given power to shift the atmosphere, acting as thermostats, not thermometers. Hence the statement, “God does not want to answer our prayers. God wants to answer the prayers through us.”
In this regard, the Encounter School of Ministry is simply reproducing the teaching offered at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. They are passing on to Catholics the teaching of Dawna De Silva, Bill Johnson, Joel Osteen, and Kris Valloton that we should be thermostats and not thermometers. Creating the impression that Mother Theresa taught the same message may make it more palatable to Catholics, but is misleading.
How should Catholics think about this?
Let’s remember what Our Lord told us: We have but one teacher, the Christ. His disciples, in every age, must turn to Him and say, “Lord, teach us to pray.” The prayer He taught in response to this request addresses God as Father, not as some kind of impersonal energy source or power grid whose power we “release” or “unleash.” The Lord’s Prayer is composed, not of declarations, but of petitions. The Lord Jesus exhorts His disciples to ask the Father in HIs Name, trusting that He knows what is best for them. In the garden of Gethsemane, Christ did not shift atmospheres, but prayed to His Father, “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42; cf. Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, John 6:38).
In conclusion, Faithful Reader, I would like to shift the atmosphere, or rather the tone of this post, and end on a positive note. While we must reject the way the image of thermometer vs. thermostat as understood by those who have adopted dominionist theology, there is a way that the distinction between thermometer and thermostat could help us better understand and live the authentic Christian faith. We have all experienced how a cheerful Christian can inspire other believers who are feeling grumpy and unmotivated. Such believers have found joy, not in their own power and authority, but in obedience to God’s will, and in serving the Lord with gladness. In the words of Fr. Allan J. McDonald, they see themselves as a thermometer, and God as the thermostat.
1
Jong himself does not explicitly say these things in his talk. I include the quote here as illustrating Encounter’s beliefs about worship and shifting atmospheres.
