Defending the Lakeland Revival
Elijah List prophet Chuck Pierce has written an article defending Todd Bentley's Lakeland revival. Also included is the text of the "commissioning" of Bentley by Peter Wagner. The
content of this article is revealing. Chuck Pierce:
We have had several people write with great concerns about the current move of God that has been stirring in Lakeland, Atlanta, Dallas and other areas of our nation....We have made our way into Northern Nigeria....I love being here, even though the surroundings are not what I am normally accustomed to; the food is different, and well, yes, there are many different creatures. The main issue is this: in the midst of this environment, I am not afraid of being infected by malaria or getting dysentery because I am in a different land. The people here are some of the most gracious in all the world.
I see that some individuals view "moves of God" this way: they see all the dangers, they are afraid that they will have a demon transferred to them, they analyze every move and shake and scrutinize doctrinally everything that is happening. This may be the only way that some can process their relationship with the Lord and the Body of Christ.
Pierce seems to think he can compare living in a different land to a different form of Christianity and the implication is that just because he's not afraid of getting malaria we shouldn't be afraid of getting something by taking part in this "revival."
I'm willing to bet that he had shots for numerous diseases before he left the U.S. however! Likewise, we have the Word of God to protect us from diseases in the body of Christ. Since he criticizes those who "scrutinize doctrinally everything that is happening," I would think that Chuck Pierce would have been a strong critic two thousand years ago of the Bereans who tested everything Paul said with the Word of God.
Some have written asking me to reject Todd Bentley. Glory of Zion International does not have a philosophy or mindset to reject anyone. We watch, pray, and then try to communicate what the Lord is saying to help the overall Body of Christ advance.
Well, since you won't reject anyone then you can expect the wolves to mingle with the sheep, Chuck! Notice that there is no appeal whatsoever to the Word of God in his effort to see what God is saying.
Please know that we are living in an age where the apostolic gift in the Body has come into a new position and era of authority.
And how do you know this? A feeling? God spoke to you? How do you know He spoke to you? What is your standard for truth?
I was very excited to read Peter Wagner's report (below) on the commissioning service in Lakeland. I admire Ché Ahn, Bill Johnson, and John Arnott. I can now rest in the LORD, knowing that if things get out of sync, this team can help Todd make adjustments so the Spirit can keep moving.
This is like sending a pack of wolves in to mind the fox in the chicken house. I have to wonder HOW out of sync things would have to get for them to step in! Maybe if Bentley rejected these leaders as genuine apostles?
I have many friends who have great cautions over experiential manifestations and extra-Biblical, sensational happenings. I heed those friends' voices and listen carefully. This does not keep me from experiencing what God is doing. I love what Bishop Bill Hamon says, "Eat the meat and spit out the bones and you will find yourself nourished."
In other words, swallow everything these people feed you, heresy or otherwise, and reject what you don't like. Don't check it for truth first, just swallow the spiritual cyanide!
Labels: Lakeland, Todd Bentley
Recently two women named Holly and Sharon have been taking issue with the fact that I speak out against what's going on in
Lakeland, Florida with Todd Bentley's revival. They would prefer that I just pray for these leaders and not speak out - in fact they say I'm much like the Pharisees who killed Jesus - which, of course, makes them just as judgmental as they claim I am. People like them will tell people to point to the fruit of these people. They forget that some of that fruit that teachers are supposed to produce is correct doctrine.
Two thousand years ago Holly and Sharon would have had to admonish Paul for publicly exposed
Hymenaeus and Alexander. Paul said "Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are
Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. (1 Tim. 1:18-20).
Paul even dared to speak out against Peter! "When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, 'You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?'" (Gal. 2:11-14)
The trouble with the American church today is that it is experience-oriented - feeling
supersede Scripture - and if an experience is happening in the church then it must be of God. Word and sacrament are no longer enough for this generation.
Back in 2006 I posted the message below. I think it's worth posting again.
Matthew 7:15-20: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:29-31).Those engaged in apologetics often get criticized for always attacking other "Christians" who are just trying to bring people to Jesus Christ. "Do you always have to spend so much time attacking others?" Well, let me answer that with a question: How much time should a shepherd spend weeding the wolves out of his flock? How much time should someone spend heeding the warnings of Scripture that there are wolves right IN the church body? Maybe once a year, and let the wolves roam freely the rest of the year? Or should we constantly be on our guard?Here is an example from the London Telegraph of how modern-day Christianity is reported:There were only a few empty seats in Earls Court arena on Thursday night, almost all 10,000 places were taken....On the stage in front of them was a short, orange-looking man with a fat tie and a big grin. "Hallelujah," said Dr Morris Cerullo, prosperity preacher and "harvester of souls". "Oh Hallelujah. I'm just so glad to be here."
On the stage behind Cerullo stood several other of America's most determined money-raising evangelists, nodding their heads in approval: Pastor Benny Hinn, an Israeli, who heals believers by blowing on them; Dr Mike Murdock, a crooner, who sings amongst other things about the beauty of money. All of them with their own trademark way of persuading a congregation to part with cash, and all over here on a hunch that bewildered, binge-drinking Britain might finally have become as open to their message as the American Midwest.
"Oh-ba-ba-ba-ba" said Morris, looking at his watch as his congregation wrote out their cheques and credit card details: up to £250,000. It could have been funny, and on television, in another country, it sometimes is. But close up, the hybrid of Christianity and investment banking seemed to me less of a joke than a threat: if you don't give, Cerullo implied, God won't love you, and if he doesn't love you, he'll keep you poor. Worldly success is a measure of divine approval; after all, he points out, look at me.
Cerullo even ba-ba's like a sheep!! What an impression to leave with the non-Christian of Jesus Christ. Is there anyone out there that DOESN'T see a problem with this brand of Christianity?Labels: Lakeland, Todd Bentley
Look Out For Lakeland (and Heresy Hunters)
Charisma''s Lee Grady is expressing some concerns about the Lakeland Revival with Todd Bentley. Here is an excerpt (
click here):
I’m a cheerleader for the charismatic movement, so I rejoiced when I heard the news about revivalist Todd Bentley’s extended visit to Ignited Church. It was thrilling to hear the reports of miracles and to watch the crowd grow until a stadium was required to hold everyone. When I visited a service on April 15, I was blessed by Heather Clark’s music and the audience’s exuberant worship. And I laughed with everyone else as I watched Bentley shout his trademarked “Bam! Bam! Bam!” as he prayed for the sick and flailed his tattooed arms over the crowd. Hey, Jesus didn’t pray for people according to the Pharisees’ rulebook, so I’m open to unconventional methods.
But I would be dishonest if I told you that I wholeheartedly embraced what I saw in Lakeland. Something disturbed me, but I kept my mouth shut for three weeks while I prayed, got counsel from respected ministry leaders and searched my heart to make sure I was not harboring a religious spirit. The last thing we need today is more mean-spirited heresy hunters blasting other Christians. I am not a heresy hunter, and I support what is happening in Lakeland because I know God uses imperfect people (like me and you) to reach others for Jesus. At the same time, I believe my questions are honest and my concerns are real.
...Yet I fear another message is also being preached subtly in Lakeland—a message that cult-watchers would describe as a spiritual counterfeit. Bentley is one of several charismatic ministers who have emphasized angels in the last several years. He has taught about angels who bring financial breakthroughs or revelations, and he sometimes refers to an angel named Emma who supposedly played a role in initiating a prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s. Bentley describes Emma as a woman in a flowing white dress who floats a few feet off the floor.
...When the Holy Spirit’s power comes on people they may feel weak or even fall. The Spirit’s power can also cause people to tremble, shake, laugh or cry. Such manifestations are biblical and we should leave room for them. But where do we draw the line between legitimate experience and fanatical excess? The apostle Paul had to deal with outrageous charismatic manifestations in the Corinthian church. People were acting like raving lunatics—and turning the church in to a free-for-all of unbridled ecstatic behavior. Paul called for discipline and order, and he reminded early Christians that “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (1 Cor. 14:32). In other words, Paul was saying that no one under the influence of the Holy Spirit should act out of control. In many recent charismatic revivals, ministers have allowed people to behave like epileptics on stage—and they have attributed their attention-getting antics to the Holy Spirit. We may think it’s all in fun (you know, we’re just “acting crazy” for God) but we should be more concerned that such behavior feeds carnality and grieves the Spirit.
...Some of the language used during the Lakeland Revival has created an almost sideshow atmosphere. People are invited to “Come and get some.” Miracles are supposedly “popping like popcorn.” Organizers tout it as the greatest revival in history. Such brash statements cheapen what the Holy Spirit is doing—and they do a disservice to our brothers and sisters who are experiencing New Testament-style revival in countries such as Iran, China and India. We have a long way to go before we experience their level of revival. Let’s stay humble and broken before the Lord.
It appears that Grady thinks that heresy hunters are, by definition, mean-spirited people who speaking out against error. However, using the word "cult-watchers" is okay. Since he's expressing concern I guess he isn't a heresy hunter, but a cult-watcher. If he wants to call people who expose error heresy hunters, fine, but at least he's expressing concern about this movement regardless of what label he wants use. Certainly took him long enough to recognize what the rest of us knew immediately, though.
Incidentally, I call my blog Heresy Hunter for two reasons - one, the obvious twist on my name, and secondly, the fact that anyone who criticizes the teachings of the Word Faith teachers is automatically labeled a heresy hunter.
Labels: Lakeland, Todd Bentley
Strang On Lakeland Revival
Charisma's Steven Strang has weighed in on the so-called revival taking place with Todd Bentley in Lakeland, Florida.
He writes, in part:
The latest outbreak of revival is apparently in Lakeland, Florida. It started with meetings with Todd Bentley on April 2 at Ignited Church pastored by my long-time friend Steve Strader....That was also the church where Rodney Howard Browne's ministry really took off in the United States with extended meetings back in the early 90's.
...Before I attended on Monday I was also beginning to get critical emails about the revival, expressing cautions, etc.
As I've covered the move of the Holy Spirit for the last three decades, I know that anytime there is a genuine move of God, it is guaranteed that certain people will automatically oppose it. These people oppose any move of God that is beyond their own religious experience. The sad thing is that some times they will have some valid criticisms that people like me tend to discount because they are so negative.
Some people also question Todd Bentley's past. He has quite a "testimony" that actually was first reported in Charisma several years ago. But there are those who feel that a person who is less than perfect can't really be used by God. Actually I believe that the Bible teaches that "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:27, NIV).
Also, at one of the meetings recently Paul Cain was given a place on the platform. Unfortunately Paul Cain has disqualified himself from ministry due to various sins in his life he has confessed to including drunkenness and homosexuality. Other ministers have worked to restore him, but we are told that the restoration process has not continued.
...When I was asked later on to describe the service I heard myself saying rather extemporaneously that the first part of the service with worship reminded me of the worship at the Brownsville revival and Todd's style of ministry reminded me of a "Benny Hinn with tattoos." A couple people I've said that to have found it rather funny and have also found it a helpful word picture.
It's too early to really tell the long-term effect of this revival. My report today is neither criticism nor an affirmation. I have not had an opportunity to research any of the miracles or even to talk personally with Todd Bentley. Much of what I know has come from Steve Strader (whom I have known a long time and who I trust).
Yes, "certain people" do criticize these "revivals." They've seen the Toronto Blessing - in my case I went to many of the meetings to see what was going on. They've seen the Brownsville Revival. They've also seen the devastation that results in the lives of disillusioned Christians who rely on
experiences for their spiritual food rather than on the Word of God.
If Strang wants to take out of context the passage that God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, then I could give him a list of some very strange cults that God
must be using today to confound the wise. Is that his measure of truth? Does he think allowing Paul Cain to speak at this "revival" shows discernment on the part of the leaders at Lakeland? His history is very well known in those circles.
No, give me the Word of God. Give me Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Give me His presence in Word and Sacrament. That's what He left us, not foolish experiences like we see in these revivals.
Labels: Lakeland, Revival, Todd Bentley
