Last week, Wendell Smith (Pastor of the City Church) updated his blog, which he usually gets around to doing once or twice a year. (Not a committed blogger.)
In his most recent blog he tackled two recent scandals to hit the Evangelical world. The problems with the pastor in Lakeland Florida, and the perfectly-healthy-duper who wrote the song Healer.
Here's a segment from Smith's blog: Hot Questions and Cool Answers
What did you think of the Florida Revival? And will it continue? I think it was genuine, with authentic healings. Although there was questionable doctrine promoted at times, many people were helped in the name of the Lord. Revivals historically are plagued with accompanying excesses and ample criticism but overall they help move the Church closer to a lost and needed truth. I am also thankful a group of godly Pastors stepped in to provide accountability for the Evangelist and subsequently provide covering (“love covers a multitude of sins”) and correction for him. We pray that true restoration will work effectively in his life (Gal. 6:1-5). Should we still sing Mike Guglielmucci’s song, “The Healer”? Of course! That beautiful song belongs to the Body of Christ, and besides it was the cry of a sin sick soul that really did need the Lord to heal, (Psalm 41:3,4).
Not too shabby, Smith, not too shabby. Your response to "The Healer" is quite impressive.
If they would have stepped in sooner instead of
trying to saddle up to him in the spotlightindorsing him . .. but why am i still wasting my breath here?Wow! A politician couldn’t have responded better to both of these.
Now for someone who will really speak the truth –where would they be?
Again read endtimesprophetic –blog —that is like a daily newspaper
of this school of wierdness. It helps explain alot. You have to get your news
somewhere because you won’t get it from their blogs!
I do not know if this has been linked yet but its worth watching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbNy_CmAoB0&feature=iv&annotation_id=event_600675
This paragraph had me thinking for 2 days now.
A prominent Pentecostal evangelist called me this week after Bentley’s news hit the fan. He said to me: “I’m now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up because they have no discernment.†Ouch. Hopefully we’ll learn our lesson this time and apply the necessary caution when an imposter shows up.
http://fireinmybones.com/index.php?col=081308~Life+After+Lakeland%3A+Sorting+Out+the+Confusion
This article is from an editor of Charisma magazine. I am a charismatic who believes in healing. But I must say when a few people from our church went to see this in Spokan WA (my wife and I) where skeptics. I have consistently argued that healing is for today on this blog and elsewhere but this “ministry” was obnoxious.
Life After Lakeland: Sorting Out the Confusion
Todd Bentley’s announcement that his marriage is ending has thrown our movement into a tailspin—and questions need to be answered.
It was not supposed to end like this.
Evangelist Todd Bentley had heralded the Lakeland revival as the greatest Pentecostal outpouring since Azusa Street. From his stage in a gigantic tent in Florida, Bentley preached to thousands, bringing many of them to the stage for prayer. Many claimed to be healed of deafness, blindness, heart problems, depression and dozens of other conditions in the Lakeland services, which ran for more than 100 consecutive nights. Bentley announced confidently that dozens of people had been raised from the dead during the revival.
But this week, a few days after the Canadian preacher announced the end of his visits to Lakeland, he told his staff that his marriage is ending. Without blaming the pace of the revival for Bentley’s personal problems, his board released a public statement saying that he and his wife, Shonnah, are separating. The news shocked Bentley’s adoring fans and saddened those who have questioned his credibility since the Lakeland movement erupted in early April.
“Among those who jumped on the Lakeland bandwagon, discernment was discouraged. They were expected to swallow and follow. The message was clear: ‘This is God. Don’t question.’ â€
I’m sad. I’m disappointed. And I’m angry. Here are few of my many, many questions about this fiasco:
Why did so many people flock to Lakeland from around the world to rally behind an evangelist who had serious credibility issues from the beginning?
To put it bluntly, we’re just plain gullible.
From the first week of the Lakeland revival, many discerning Christians raised questions about Bentley’s beliefs and practices. They felt uneasy when he said he talked to an angel in his hotel room. They sensed something amiss when he wore a T-shirt with a skeleton on it. They wondered why a man of God would cover himself with tattoos. They were horrified when they heard him describe how he tackled a man and knocked his tooth out during prayer.
But among those who jumped on the Lakeland bandwagon, discernment was discouraged. They were expected to swallow and follow. The message was clear: “This is God. Don’t question.†So before we could all say, “Sheeka Boomba†(as Bentley often prayed from his pulpit), many people went home, prayed for people and shoved them to the floor with reckless abandon, Bentley-style.
I blame this lack of discernment, partly, on raw zeal for God. We’re spiritually hungry—which can be a good thing. But sometimes, hungry people will eat anything.
Many of us would rather watch a noisy demonstration of miracles, signs and wonders than have a quiet Bible study. Yet we are faced today with the sad reality that our untempered zeal is a sign of immaturity. Our adolescent craving for the wild and crazy makes us do stupid things. It’s way past time for us to grow up.
Why didn’t anyone in Lakeland denounce the favorable comments Bentley made about William Branham?
This one baffles me. Branham embraced horrible deception near the end of his ministry, before he died in 1965. He claimed that he was the reincarnation of Elijah—and his strange doctrines are still embraced by a cultlike following today. When Bentley announced to the world that the same angel that ushered in the 1950s healing revival had come to Lakeland, the entire audience should have run for the exits.
Why didn’t anyone correct this error from the pulpit? Godly leaders are supposed to protect the sheep from heresy, not spoon feed deception to them. Only God knows how far this poison traveled from Lakeland to take root elsewhere. May God forgive us for allowing His Word to be so flippantly contaminated.
A prominent Pentecostal evangelist called me this week after Bentley’s news hit the fan. He said to me: “I’m now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up because they have no discernment.†Ouch. Hopefully we’ll learn our lesson this time and apply the necessary caution when an imposter shows up.
Why did God TV tell people that “any criticism of Todd Bentley is demonic�
This ridiculous statement was actually made on one of God TV’s pre-shows. In fact, the network’s hosts also warned listeners that if they listened to criticism of Bentley, they could lose their healings.
This is cultic manipulation at its worst. The Bible tells us that the Bereans were noble believers because they studied the Scriptures daily “to see whether these things were so†(Acts 17:11, NASB). Yet in the case of Lakeland, honest intellectual inquiry was viewed as a sign of weakness. People were expected to jump first and then open their eyes.
Just because we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit does not mean we check our brains at the church door. We are commanded to test the spirits. Jesus wants us to love Him with our hearts and our minds.
Because of the Lakeland scandal, there may be large numbers of people who feel they’ve been burned by Bentley. Some may give up on church and join the growing ranks of bitter, disenfranchised Christians. Others may suffer total spiritual shipwreck. This could have been avoided if leaders had been more vocal about their objections and urged people to evaluate spiritual experiences through the filter of God’s Word.
Why did a group of respected ministers lay hands on Bentley on June 23 and publicly ordain him? Did they know of his personal problems?
This controversial ceremony was organized by Peter Wagner, who felt that one of Bentley’s greatest needs was proper spiritual covering. He asked California pastors Che Ahn and Bill Johnson, along with Canadian pastor John Arnott, to lay hands on Bentley and bring him under their care.
Bentley certainly needs such covering. No one in ministry today should be out on their own, living in isolation without checks, balances and wise counsel. It was commendable that Wagner reached out to Bentley and that Bentley acknowledged his need for spiritual fathers by agreeing to submit to the process. The question remains, however, whether it was wise to commend Bentley during a televised commissioning service that at times seemed more like a king’s coronation.
In hindsight, we can all see that it would have been better to take Bentley into a back room and talk about his personal issues.
The Bible tells us that ordination of a minister is a sober responsibility. Paul wrote: “Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others†(1 Tim. 5:22). We might be tempted to rush the process, but the apostle warned against fast-tracking ordination—and he said that those who commission a minister who is not ready for the job will bear some of the blame for his failures.
I trust that Wagner, Ahn, Johnson and Arnott didn’t know of Bentley’s problems before they ordained him. I am sure they are saddened by the events of this week and are reaching out to Bentley and his wife to promote healing and restoration. But I believe that they, along with Bentley and the owners of God TV, owe the body of Christ a forthright, public apology for thrusting Bentley’s ministry into the spotlight prematurely. (Perhaps such an apology should be aired on God TV.)
Can anything good come out of this?
That depends on how people respond. If the men assigned to oversee Bentley offer loving but firm correction, and if Bentley responds humbly to the process by stepping out of ministry for a season of rehabilitation, we could witness a healthy case of church discipline play out the way it is supposed to. If all those who were so eager to promote Bentley now rush just as fast to repent for their errors in judgment, then the rest of us could breathe a huge sigh of relief—and the credibility of our movement could be restored.
I still believe that God desires to visit our nation in supernatural power. I know He wants to heal multitudes, and I will continue praying for a healing revival to sweep across the United States. But we must contend for the genuine, not an imitation. True revival will be accompanied by brokenness, humility, reverence and repentance—not the arrogance, showmanship and empty hype that often was on display in Lakeland.
We are weathering an unprecedented season of moral failure and spiritual compromise in our nation today. I urge everyone in the charismatic world to pray for Bentley; his wife, Shonnah; his three young children; Bentley’s ministry staff; and the men and women who serve as his counselors and advisers. Let’s pray that God will turn this embarrassing debacle into an opportunity for miraculous restoration.
Regarding the Lakeland Florida revival, and many churches like it, the Lord gave a stern word about in Matthew 8:21-23:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And, then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
Matthew 8:21-23
This verse alone in the entire Bible scares me the most. It shows by itself with out re-enforcement that:
1. Invoking God’s powers (the Holy Spirit) works.
2. Just because you can Invoke God doesn’t mean your in good standing.
How are we in “Good Standing”? Only by the blood of Christ not by anything we can do. It is freely given to us in Grace.
That is why when someone teaches on healing and they start out by “You have to ….” or “They have to ….” I reject the entire sermon.
[How are we in “Good Standing� Only by the blood of Christ not by anything we can do. It is freely given to us in Grace. ] former NBCC Member.
Amen!! That is how we know we are in good standing, when we know as Paul did, it is no longer I who lives, but it is Christ who lives in me. That we can do nothing fruitful and life-giving apart from His life in us, and the awareness that His grace extended to us and in us is the reason we have Life now and forever more.
In Bentley’s case he would say “I had to punch this guy with Stage 4 abdomen cancer in the abdomen”.
If it was not soooo disgusting it might be funny..
Doctrinally he is wrong, saying God would only heal this person because He was obedient in decking – kicking – punching – hurting someone.
I do not recall any time Jesus hit or hurt someone to heal them. That being said people got healed because they where seeking God for themselves and even though they went to this con artist, God met them where they where despite Bentley not because of him.
former NBCC Member said:
Wow, I missed this earlier! Probably because I was fed up with trying to explain this weirdness to people who didn’t seem to get what we were saying. Thanks for continuing the thread Former NBCC!
Anyway, this comment is something we have been mulling over too. What IF the great deception in the end times involves this type of issue? In the past we pictured the deception would be with non believers mostly and then some Christians falling away.
Not to be overly dramatic but let’s take it even further. Here’s another scarey thought: What if the mark of the beast and the antiChrist is actually a part of the religious system called the Church, or in other words arises from within rather than outside our midst?
Yea, my heart breaks. We had 2 people in our church go to this “ministry”. One flew down to Florida the other went to Spokan.
My heart breaks because we are too easily deceived. We want to know God so much that we forget he will meet us where we are. We do not need to go to a “special place”. When Christ shed his blood on the cross the Vail to the tabernacle was tore open. We now have the ability to go directly to the father directly and ask directly from him what we need. Not because (like in the days of the old testament) we are sinless, but because of the Blood of Christ has removed the sin from us.
Today it is all about the cross and what was accomplished. “It is finished” was Christ’s last breathing word as a human.
Todd Bentleys program doctrine was associated to an interpretation of Revelation 12 that in the last age before Jesus returns, there will be a generation of especially “ENDOWED” Christians who will be able to do many miracles, and will usher in the reign of God.[47][49] This is in the tradition of William M. Branham and the healing revivals of the 50s, overlapping with Latter Rain Movement theology. Is this the connection to “City Boobie Church”? Just wondering.
Stephen, You’re thinking of the modern-day version of the “manifested sons of god (MSOG)” doctrine that was somewhat popular in the 1900′s. There is some of that in the roots of BT/CBC.
But what has “flowered” from those roots is the doctrine known as “dominionism.” It’s what causes their elitism, and their desire to influence politics (especially), business, etc. Look up the 7 Mountains mandate.
Does that help? Too bad Joebib or Dave Mackin aren’t contributing anymore. They could probably explain it better.
Oops, my bad Anna. When I saw this section on Biblical Parody I just figured I could cut loose with some tongue-in-cheek commentary. I just saw a funny in the Doctrine of ENDOWED Christians and what the wags call City BOOBIE Church. So, I can see that my attempts of too dry, too subtle humor has bombed again. Ironically, Dave Mackin counseled me in my day about my humor–only to realize that I wasn’t being cynical about my world just seeing a funny interpretation of it. After my “counseling” session I think he appreciated my dry humor. Oops I just dated myself, one of those PBC dinosaurs!
Oh. haha! You’re right — it is funny!
I’m sure other people got the joke, but I’m a literalist — been that way my whole life. When I was 6, a family friend made a joke, and when I gave him a funny look he said, “I’m just pulling your leg!” Still in literal mode, I glanced down at my ankle (which he was not touching) and asked, “You are?!!”
I tell my son I don’t want to hear certain songs when we are driving because the literal imagery is too gross. Like “you cut me up and I keep bleeding…” or “just gonna stand there and watch me burn…”
See what a hopeless case I am?
Anna, your in depth reasoning is a great read.
So when did the Latter Rain become Acid Rain? Sure it is raining, but every drop has the kiss of death in it. It is like we want to believe something that just doesn’t work in real life.
Almost like the Catholic Church insisting that Priests not marry when that course of action has almost destroyed the whole Church–financially and spiritually. Why would we believe this pie in the sky when there is so much abuse of the “Gifts”? Haven’t we been warned? We smugly look at the world for being such dopes to believe in the Tulip Blub Bubble, The Tech Bubble, The Real Estate Bubble, but are we any better in tolerating the garbage that keeps playing out in the media? Kinda like the Communist System–it wasn’t for a lack of effort, energy, brains–the system didn’t work. Now some idiots think that the Russians didn’t do it right! Really, hey lets try it again. Is it possible we are so deluded that we can’t see the light even with our eyes wide open?
Humpty Dumpty is broken why do we pretend that he isn’t? Because we gain security, we think that we would lose our spiritual destiny, because we don’t want to admit we are wrong? It will suck if we show up at the Pearly Gates and Jesus says, “What the heck were you doing down there?” But Lord, didn’t we cast out devils in your name…?
And the City Bubble.
Stephen, thanks for the compliment.
JP: hahaha! You’re right. Lots of Christian’s have their own bubbles. And then when reality hits them (hopefully before the pearly gates), they realize how much time they wasted trying to keep that bubble from bursting.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses…. There is nothing new under the sun.