“A Bit-bull with lipstick,” Sarah Palin describes herself. She projects herself as tough and ready to do all she can for her country. She is an evangelical, but am I supposed to feel solidarity with her?
If I had one question I could ask her it would be this, “Where do you stand on Guantanamo Bay?”To me that would speak volumes more than the heaped up words of her speaches and of the commentators.
Today is my 30th wedding anniverary. And I still love my Penny. Of course she is older but when I look at her face I can still the face of the girl that said, “Yes,” and married me.
I have found that the God who saves is the God who keeps. I felt His grip on my life down the years. It is His grip that has enabled me to decide to love and be faithful.
The gospel of Jesus is true, and following him works!
First Dutch Sheets “came out” and now Peter Wagner has added his voice to the call to the Todd Bentley scandal.
Wagner doesn’t pull any punches in his assessment of the situation. He claims that “The Revival Alliance is dealing with Todd Bentley and the fallout from his sin that has been and continues to be exposed.” No one seems to know what is yet to be discovered about what this man has been up to.
He declares,
“Todd Bentley now carries the label of a liar and a deceiver.”
He tells us,
“First of all, Todd has been removed from public ministry until further notice. He has resigned from the ministry he founded, Fresh Fire, so he is no longer a part of that board. It has become clear that he indulged in periodic drunkenness. He has no intention at the moment of reconciling with Shonna, nor does she with him. Their marriage has been torn for years by his emotional attachment with at least one other female whose physical contact went beyond hugging and kissing and holding hands. Enough said-maybe more details will be revealed later-but it was clearly immoral. All of this was skillfully concealed by lying and by swearing close associates who had observed his behavior to secrecy.”
I find one of the most interesting things he says is that there is going to be an attempt in the USA to define a standard regarding “operational beliefs and practices, particularly in our charismatically-inclined evangelical segment of the church.”
This is like Church History repeating itself with a church council producing a creed. They certainly seem determined to prevent a repeat of this tragedy. Wagner says they have a list of 24 serious issues that have emerged.
Now, as I consider some of the outrageous things Todd has done, the kicking, punching and outlandish claims he has made such as his personal visits to the throne room of God, I wonder how much of it will have been while he was under the influence of alcohol.
Where does all this leave us? Christians need to be Biblically literate. There is no better source for revelation for the believer that the ancient scriptures. That is what we as church leaders are called to do above all else.
Note: I have pasted quotes from their original sources so some will notice typos and USA spellings.
It seems Peter Wagner’s full text was not posted on a website but sent as an email bulletin. See this link for a copy.
Dutch Sheets repents on behalf of the leadership of the charismatic body of Christ over the Todd Bently scandal.
I had observed in my previous posts that people were reporting having an encounter with God at the Todd Bentley meetings in Lakeland, Florida. See ‘Toronto, Pensacola, Lakeland..’ ; ‘Chasing Intimacy in Florida’ and ‘Disappointment in Lakeland, Florida’.
Some people highly regarded in Charismatic circles had endorsed Bentley’s controversial ministry. There is now much embarrassment, but at least some people are admitting they made mistakes and are asking serious questions which have a relevance far beyond this scandal alone.
Dutch Sheets (yes, an unusual name) has issued a statement on his website which is worth reading in its entirety. Dutch has now “come out” and speaks of the mistakes that have been made and the reservations he had. He says,
I could not ignore the“check”, the uneasiness, the sickening feeling deep in my spirit telling me something else was wrong—terribly wrong—in this situation. Like other leaders I tried to push past my uneasiness with the showmanship, the “bams,” the head butts and kneeing, along with certain experiences and doctrines, all in order to embrace the good. Like many of my friends I tried to be—and believe I was—gracious, accepting, ready to think “out of the box”, etc. But try as I may, the uneasiness in my spirit just wouldn’t leave.
I find that one of the distinctives of this Todd Bentley thing has been the reluctance of some church leaders to speak of their concerns and reservations. Peer pressure has had an almost bulling effect. To Dutch’s credit it seems he had tried to raise his concerns with the appropriate people, including stating his concerns about Todd’s marriage to the ‘Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team’. He claims some listened and some did not.
Dutch claims the leaders of the charismatic community, have operated in an extremely low level of discernment. He says they often don’t even try to discern. He says that their worldy measures of success have,
“contributed to the body of Christ giving millions of dollars to undeserving individuals; it has allowed people living in sin to become influential leaders—even to lead movements, allowing them influence all the way to the White House. Through our lack of discernment we built their stages and gave them their platforms. We have been gullible beyond words—gullible leaders producing gullible sheep.”
He goes on,
“For those on Todd Bentley’s board who had previous knowledge of his marriage problems and said nothing, it was more than a mistake—it was reckless, foolish, and irresponsible.”
Dutch’s anguish is particularly heard through his soul-searching denouncement of himself and colleagues that has an almost Old Testament ring to it.
“We, the leaders of the charismatic church, have built on hype, sensation, innovation, programs, personality and charisma. This has produced: shallowness; false movements; novice leaders—gifted but immature and untested; a deficient understanding of God’s word; the building of man-centered rather than kingdom-centered churches and ministries; competition rather than cooperation; humanistic, self-centered Christians who don’t understand sacrifice and commitment; Christians without discernment; superstar leaders; a perverted and powerless gospel; prayerless and anemic Christians; a replacement of the fear of the Lord with the fear of man; and a young generation that is cynical of it all. We are responsible, not the devil; he takes what we give him.”
He closes with these words,
“My passionate prayer is also that Todd Bentley’s marriage survives and thrives…that he turns his heart fully toward Christ and toward those with whom he is aligned, and allows them, as God leads, to put him on a path of complete restoration. I thank God for those who were touched by the Holy Spirit at Lakeland and while watching it on God TV and the web.”
For those who, like Dutch, were deceived by this ministry his statement will be hard reading. At least he has had the courage to face his mistake. For many, I think their release will only come when they have been as honest with themselves as Dutch has been.
SOURCE: http://www.dutchsheets.org/index.cfm
I saw some Shakespeare last night.
I do like Shakespeare. And the best way to enjoy a play in my opinion is in the open air on a summer evening. I like the enforced simplicity of set necessary in a touring open-air production. I simple set becomes the foundation for a better set to be constructed in my imagination.
Last night it was Much Ado About Nothing in the York Museum gardens and the evening was a delight. The performance, by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men was excellent.The Lord Chamberlain’s Men was the name of the playing company that William Shakespeare is believed to have worked for (depending upon who you think Shakespeare really was). This company describes themselves as having re-established in 2003. Not the original troupe then.
They included period musical content which, without accompaniment was very good indeed. It was an all male cast which would have been typical of the early performances, and along with their Elizabethan costumes enriched the experience
The location is so good being surrounded by the ancient monuments which added atmosphere and enclosed us well. As darkness fell the lighting on the stage brought out the colours of the set.
Highly recommended! If they return to York next year I will try and get along.
Well, I am back. The reason this blog has been inactive for the past few weeks is that each year I spend three weeks on a field at Fraisthorpe. How did I end up doing that!? The real reason I am happy to be part of it is that every year, and this year was no exception, people have an authentic encounter with God on that field. I pray, and expect, that next year will be the same.
I got back over a week ago, but I then had to catch up with work.
Our camp took place just before the wet weather started. The rain started as the clearing away was drawing to a close.
Fraisthorpe is the site of our youth and family camp. If you go there you will have seen the team that works in the late night diner providing us with curries, kebabs, etc. Josh is the tallest on the team and he works next to the industrial size pizza oven.
What is less know about Josh is that he has a pilot’s license. He came over in his Cessna and gave me a ride over the site. I have to say I felt completely safe with his flying, and the take-off and landing at the nearby airfield were both very smooth.
Below are the pictures I took, though in real life it felt much closer to the ground! This was at the end of the camp so there are some bare patches where tents and caravans had been.
So yet another Christian leader is fallen, and this time one that has been heavily promoted, particularly by “God TV”. We now know his deception had been going on for months.
Some will feel disillusioned, particularly new Christians who had hitched their wagon to this teacher and his claims. Though not a ‘Toddley’ myself, I can sympathise with those who have been, and are now wounded by the news.
I remember many years ago discovering that a teacher I held in high regard had been in an adulterous relationship for many years and had been deceiving his church, wife, friends, the conference congregations he ministered to around the world, etc. My instinctive reaction, when it all came out, was to question how good fruit could have come from such a bad root. What was it i had received?
I was in no doubt that God had spoken to me (and others I knew) through his ministry. I quickly came to realise that what I had received from God, I had received from God and not from a man. God can communicate through a flawed vessel.
It gives me hope too, for all Christians are imperfect yet we all want to be used by our master for blessing.
Perhaps “God TV” will have learned something from getting their fingers burned. They have been promoting this “outpouring” so heavily I have been wondering if it could have arisen at all without them.
“God TV” is a strange name. Often referred to as the “God Channel” it is a bold claim to be God’s TV channel.
I do know of a God channel mentioned in the Bible, His unique channel of communication to a needy world. It broadcasts around the clock, and around the globe, has done down the ages. All Christians are that channel, see 2 Corinthians 4:7. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all- surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Yes God can use flawed vessels.
My friend George and I were emailing today abut these things. I love the following from his email to me,
“My prayer …, as I’m sure yours is, is that people would not become disillusioned with our God of slow burning, never-ending oil, as a result of this flash in the pan. As you say, it’s a marathon not a sprint!
See my previous posts for my perspective on Todd Bentley and the events in Lakeland in “Toronto, Pensacola, Lakeland..” and “Chasing Intimacy in Florida”.
