(UPDATED) some sobering thoughts for critics of Todd Bentley and the Lakeland Outpouring
UPDATED - It was with considerable sadness that we heard the news that Todd Bentley and his wife have just separated this week. Since the Lakeland Outpouring began back in April, Todd Bentley has endured probably some of the most severe criticism of any Christian leader in recent memory. Now in light of the sad news of his separation from his wife, the critics guns are firing at him, his ministry and ultimately the move of God in Lakeland like never before. Todd has got some serious problems to work on and will hopefully (in submission to those he is accountable to) step out of public ministry for a season and work to save his marriage. If he does, his best days lie ahead. If he doesn't, then the story of a guy like Lonnie Frisbee (who rejected the counsel of those he was accountable to, didn't work on his sin issues and tried to keep on ministering) could tragically be repeated.
Todd Bentley is an ordinary guy, who God saved out of a rough background and put His Spirit upon him. Unlike many of the critics who are basing their assessment of the man solely based on video clips from YouTube, we know Todd Bentley from attending many of his meetings (before Lakeland) and traveling with him (and a Fresh Fire team) on a missions trip. I've seen deaf ears open and numerous other healings flow through his hands and those who are part of his ministry. I've seen his amazing prophetic gift in action. Having listened to perhaps a few hundred hours of his teachings (from CD's and his podcasts), I know that Todd Bentley is thoroughly Orthodox in his theology. (Note: see my "comment" concerning his orthodoxy)
What I don't understand at all at this time is why people feel they can completely discount his ministry, the Lakeland Outpouring and everything else because the Bentley's are having serious martial problems. I have been in ministry and around people in ministry for a couple of decades now. I have seen many men (and women) who have struggled to keep a healthy balance between their ministry and their families. After reading a scathing editorial in Charisma magazine, I just found myself wondering how many of that man's friends in ministry have struggled with marital and family problems due to their inability to balance their ministries with their family responsibilities. The fact is, I have seen many who have had successful ministries neglect their wives and their children for the ministry (and like Todd develop inappropriate emotional ties to people in their ministry). Very few seem to say a thing until something like a separation or a divorce takes place. Shame on US who call them OUR friends, especially since we saw things deteriorating and didn't have the guts to speak up.
The Lord did some incredible things (and continues to do so) through the Lakeland Outpouring. I know many who personally went to Lakeland and encountered God in amazing ways - some who were healed, others refreshed and renewed and still others who received an impartation. Two of those people happen to be my wife and mother-in-law. I also attended one of Todd's meetings when he traveled to another city. The Lord healed my leg sovereignly in that meeting. The fact that God was using a broken vessel with some challenging martial struggles doesn't take away from anything God has done.
I guess there are still some who really struggle with the fact that God uses real people, with real problems (and sin issues) to establish His Kingdom. I may not like it when God uses people with theologies I disagree with (and believe to be "in error"). I might want God to use people who "do ministry" in a way I find more acceptable. I may want God to select people with
weaknesses that I find less offensive. But the last time I checked, God isn't asking me who He should or shouldn't use. (Note: I can't tell you how many Christian pastors and leaders I've met who were so arrogant that I was stumbled by their attitudes of elitism and superiority - which Biblically is as serious of sin as anything Todd has or is entangled in right now. People just seem to tolerate more "acceptable" sins though - like Christian leaders who are arrogant and proud. Nobody is rejecting wholesale their ministries in spite of the fact that Scripture teaches that "God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble")
What most likely lies behind most of the criticism of Todd Bentley is the fact that God chose to put His Spirit upon a man with an 8th grade education and give him a worldwide ministry. He has experiences that we read about in the Bible (i.e. angelic visitations) and people cry "heresy". People genuinely get healed, and the critics try to track down the ones who didn't. They focus on one or two of the more "sensational" ways he has ministered through the years, and completely overlook the 1000's who he has touched in a loving and sensitive way.
What also seems to be fueling so much of the controversy is their envy and jealously. They couldn't rejoice with Todd during Lakeland's success and now they are seeming to rejoice with his failure. Sounds demonic to me!
Todd Bentley is an ordinary guy, who God saved out of a rough background and put His Spirit upon him. Unlike many of the critics who are basing their assessment of the man solely based on video clips from YouTube, we know Todd Bentley from attending many of his meetings (before Lakeland) and traveling with him (and a Fresh Fire team) on a missions trip. I've seen deaf ears open and numerous other healings flow through his hands and those who are part of his ministry. I've seen his amazing prophetic gift in action. Having listened to perhaps a few hundred hours of his teachings (from CD's and his podcasts), I know that Todd Bentley is thoroughly Orthodox in his theology. (Note: see my "comment" concerning his orthodoxy)
What I don't understand at all at this time is why people feel they can completely discount his ministry, the Lakeland Outpouring and everything else because the Bentley's are having serious martial problems. I have been in ministry and around people in ministry for a couple of decades now. I have seen many men (and women) who have struggled to keep a healthy balance between their ministry and their families. After reading a scathing editorial in Charisma magazine, I just found myself wondering how many of that man's friends in ministry have struggled with marital and family problems due to their inability to balance their ministries with their family responsibilities. The fact is, I have seen many who have had successful ministries neglect their wives and their children for the ministry (and like Todd develop inappropriate emotional ties to people in their ministry). Very few seem to say a thing until something like a separation or a divorce takes place. Shame on US who call them OUR friends, especially since we saw things deteriorating and didn't have the guts to speak up.
The Lord did some incredible things (and continues to do so) through the Lakeland Outpouring. I know many who personally went to Lakeland and encountered God in amazing ways - some who were healed, others refreshed and renewed and still others who received an impartation. Two of those people happen to be my wife and mother-in-law. I also attended one of Todd's meetings when he traveled to another city. The Lord healed my leg sovereignly in that meeting. The fact that God was using a broken vessel with some challenging martial struggles doesn't take away from anything God has done.
I guess there are still some who really struggle with the fact that God uses real people, with real problems (and sin issues) to establish His Kingdom. I may not like it when God uses people with theologies I disagree with (and believe to be "in error"). I might want God to use people who "do ministry" in a way I find more acceptable. I may want God to select people with
weaknesses that I find less offensive. But the last time I checked, God isn't asking me who He should or shouldn't use. (Note: I can't tell you how many Christian pastors and leaders I've met who were so arrogant that I was stumbled by their attitudes of elitism and superiority - which Biblically is as serious of sin as anything Todd has or is entangled in right now. People just seem to tolerate more "acceptable" sins though - like Christian leaders who are arrogant and proud. Nobody is rejecting wholesale their ministries in spite of the fact that Scripture teaches that "God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble")
What most likely lies behind most of the criticism of Todd Bentley is the fact that God chose to put His Spirit upon a man with an 8th grade education and give him a worldwide ministry. He has experiences that we read about in the Bible (i.e. angelic visitations) and people cry "heresy". People genuinely get healed, and the critics try to track down the ones who didn't. They focus on one or two of the more "sensational" ways he has ministered through the years, and completely overlook the 1000's who he has touched in a loving and sensitive way.
What also seems to be fueling so much of the controversy is their envy and jealously. They couldn't rejoice with Todd during Lakeland's success and now they are seeming to rejoice with his failure. Sounds demonic to me!
You say that Todd is orthodox in his doctrine, I'm afraid that's just not true. Over and over he has expressed views that do not line up with the bible.
ReplyDeleteYou point out the sacrifices that we ministers have to make, when ministering, I#m afraid this is where he shows his immaturity, and that of his apostolic connections in not correcting him.
I feel for him, I have been divorced, it was like having a lung ripped out, let's pray for Todd and not seek to cover up the cracks
Thank you for sharing and pointing
ReplyDeleteout what many choose to ignore or
overlook. YES, Jesus uses broken
vessels to do His work so that we
can see and recognize HIS power and
HIS glory as He works through
that person. Otherwise, our focus
remains on the person's personal gifts and not on the HEALER.
Father, we ask You to heal the marriage of Todd Bently and we ask
You to protect the "neglected" marriages of Your other servants.
Father, teach us to find true
balance in our lives and protect
us from the attack of the enemy. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.
Just a word about Todd's "Orthodoxy". Todd ascribes to all the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. His ministry has a completely ORTHODOX doctrinal statement. Todd holds to some positions that I may not agree with, but so do Calvinist/Reformed Christians, but that doesn't make their doctrine unorthodox. People throw around the words "heresy" and "unorthodox" that have little to no understanding about what those terms meant in the history of the Church. Very serious accusations by people who demonstrate their knowledge of Church History is extremely weak.
ReplyDeleteI love what you said in regards to Todd's current situation. I found it to be a breath of fresh air in the midst of all the criticism.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with you DJ if I thought TB was being hammered merely for a second failed marriage. While there is Biblical warrant for a minister of the Gospel to have his house in order - and stepping down for a time of healing is in keeping with that, I did not feel that the Charisma article was mean spirited or inspired by jealousy etc.
ReplyDeleteIf I could make a very general observation about our differences DJ, it would be that you are all about grace and seeing God's power, and I'm all about truth. We both want it all, but I'm clearly less willing to believe some of the claims that come out of the mouths of T.B. and those that follow him. I would like to have somone like you on a jury deciding my sentence. We all want and need grace. When it comes to dicernement however, I cherish what I've learned in 40+ years of seeing both the genuine, and frauds who have come down the pike, and would rather have that kind of person judging my case to decide guilt or innocense.
I wouldn't walk across the street to see T.B. It's not personal, it's not jealousy, it's not that i don't belive God is moving in great power throughout the world. I've seen it in person with Kathrym Kuhlman, John Wimber, Lonnie Frisbee and others.
I believe T.B. and his ilk are, because of God's great mercy,used in spite of themselves, not because they exhibit true Christian maturity or character.
I don't believe in jewels falling from the sky, gold dust, God putting fillings in peoples mouths made of toxic mercury amalgams,(I give God credit for being up with what dentistry has known for 30 years),instant weight loss,new hair, or instant botoxed lips, I don't believe God is doing instant platic surgery in other words, or that when Todd prayed in his hotel room that the glory caused a maid to fall in a heap in the hallway from the glory that seeped out from under the door,or that a man that had a modicum of humility,(which I consider to be the gold standard of a persons authenticity), would pass on such a story unless he was wanting to minister to itching ears. I don't belive that the girl that claimed to be raised from the dead -#13 I believe, encountered a seven headed demon, or that when an angel visited Todd's hotel room, descending from heaven, that it burned the two rooms above him to a cinder. Another angel that visited him, did not identify itself. That I do believe and it is troubling to say the least. I don't believe he's been in heaven having conversations with Paul the Apostle, or that he has had his own personal pillar of fire and whirlwind.
Other such itinerant healers which I'll not mention by name, have been found to be serial, pathalogical liars, and their claims have been easily, unequivocally documented. These people are celebrities, often with about as much integrity and wisdom as the kind found in Hollywood.
What I do believe is that the intolerance for sound doctrine which God warned us of, is here, that many "Christians", will soon be swept away by believing lies, and that while God does use the weak of this world to do His bidding, He also warns that MANY will come to Him on judgement day, declaring the signs ans wonders done in His name, and be told to depart as the strangers they are, hirelings, that NEVER knew Him. Who are these people? I don't believe they are the cults. Tares look just like the real deal. God will sort them out. It is incumbent on me as a believer in the meantime to be wise as a serpent, to not check my brain at the door in the interest of another sensation, and not to believe every assanine assertion that flows from the mouth of people who's slick words,are betrayed by the reality of their often serious psychological, spiritual and emotional baggage, who have no business claiming to speak for God.
Ignorance and gullability among Christians is at an all time high. They believe they are sinning if they judge righteously, because that, coincidentally is what they are taught. We are NOT to believe every spirit, and sadly, I have found over the years, those who claim to have a healing ministry, are often the same people given lies, lavish lifestyles, and the fleecing of God's flock.
God, judge us all with mercy and grace, and give us the courage, wisdom, maturity and dicernment to follow your true works in this world.
J.G.
Response to J.G.'s comment:
ReplyDeleteObviously, you and I have a totally different assessment of Todd Bentley. As you know, I spent a week traveling with Todd in 2004 (in Mexico). I have been to a number of his meetings. I have listened to perhaps hundreds of hours of his teaching. Sure he has some bizarre stories – do I believe all of them? No. He has some wild experiences that I think he might be better off keeping to himself. Is he trying to establish doctrines out of these experiences? No.
You really seem to try and look at these things in black or white terms. You know Church History well enough to know that the more “mystical” of the Christian saints had all sorts of unusual encounters. Does that mean they were heretics/heterodox/deceitful? Lonnie Frisbee had some pretty wild encounters (not unlike some of Todd’s) but you are able to embrace him. Probably has a lot to do with the fact that you were around him and saw some of the fruit for yourself. The kind of mean spirited attacks on Lonnie remind me of what some are doing with Todd.
As for your assessment about me being more “grace-oriented” and you being more “truth-oriented”. You obviously don’t know that much about my background. I was heavily into apologetics and spent years evaluating people’s doctrines. Sadly, so many of the so-called “guardians of doctrine” are deceitfully unfair in misrepresenting others’ positions, have such a narrow perspective on what constitutes the Historic Christian Faith (i.e. Hanegraff), and border on mocking the positions they critique, that you wonder what part of their task is actually Christian. A case in point was what Hanegraff did with Lonnie and Wimber in the Counterfeit Revival.
Todd Bentley has a lot of weaknesses. I saw a bunch of them when I traveled with he and his family for a weak. However, you know what concerns me more than some of things I saw in Todd’s life (that were warning flags for me personally)? The arrogance I see in many leaders in the Body of Christ. I won’t mention names, but pastors that you and I both know personally here in ...., who are so full of themselves, don’t listen to what other people say/think and come off as so proud. Of course, the Charismatic wing of the Church has an army of people like that, but I am thinking here in terms of the Evangelicals.
Todd isn’t maybe the best example, because he comes off personally a bit like that (which concerns me more than any of his so called ‘bizarre encounters’. But, a guy like Bill Johnson is so humble, so approachable. It is just refreshing to find someone with that kind of anointing, that kind of influence who cares for the one standing in front of them. That is what impresses me.
Arrogance, pride and elitism is all a stench in God’s nostrils, but I’ll tell you that in much of the Church culture that you and I find ourselves, it is not just tolerated, but simply overlooked. I sat in a megachurch staff meeting a year ago and was almost sickened as I listened to one of their pastors speak so arrogantly about the incredible resources that their church had (and he wasn’t talking financial) to offer the Church in Africa. I almost started to laugh. I’m sure this guys doctrine was as strait as an arrow – but James tells me that God is opposing him if in fact I was discerning rightly as to his arrogance and pride.
Who are my heroes in the Charismatic wing of the Church? Those who have both power and character – people like Bill Johnson, Heidi Baker and a handful of others I have gotten to know.
As for the strange, esoteric encounters. I’d love to have more. Who wouldn’t want what Ezekiel or Daniel had? The “seer” types always have encounters that others find hard to believe. As long as these experiences/encounters do not VIOLATE Scripture (note I didn’t say necessarily have a Scriptural precedent), I’m not going to let the ‘fear of deception’ become something that dominates my life. As Jack Deere I think rightly says (and I think is balanced in saying), “if you ask for the Holy Spirit, you’re going to get the Holy Spirit”.
Respectfully,
DJ
Well my freind, that was a good rebuttal. One of the reasons I've always appreciated you is that you are so serious in your pursuit of God, and at the same time have a great mind. Here's how my mind works. When I hear a guy telling people things like an angel descending into his hotel room, burned up the two rooms above him, I think one of two things. The person either has a schizoid fixation that everything is about him, narcisisic, in other words, random things happen, and he makes it about himself, or, he has a very unhealthy ego and is piecing together an embellished experience, and an actual fire, and sensationalizing a story that will make him look big. What's the one thing any honest person is going to asses (between the lines) from such a story? This must be a VERY important guy. We all want so badly to see our God move in power, to even follow another Moses, that we'll apparently believe just about anything. So for me that just fails the smell test for humility. Any glory God may seem to deserve in the story is overshadowed by the importance of the one telling the story. Then, proceed to a string of tall tales, and I am confronted with the obvious, that the person is not telling the truth. I've been around long enought to see people lie to help out God's reputation. I've seen it in lies about past testimonies, archeological findings, experiences, ad nauseum. I don't judge TB for a broken past, for eccentricity,a divorce or seperation,(if submitting to pastoral resroration), or for smacking someone he's trying to heal and injuring them. I draw the line at truth telling. As Pascal said, "We cannot know the truth, unless we love the truth." Another red flag which I can't pin on TB is personal gain, as Pual warns about. But back to truth. If someone is going to make _ _ _ _ up to impress people and make themselve look good, then I see a compounded character problem. Lying for what can only look like it's motivated to increase others perception of themselves. I think that's called pride. What you rightly identified in those preachers who ARE jealous - the root of all our sin. So, I don't cast stones in judgement, I will use any public forum available to me - as that person has done, to expose something that serious that the person needs to repent of, that few if any of their followers seem to have the chutzpah, common sense, honesty or spirtitual maturity to.
ReplyDeleteI'm really not so black and white. I'm actually a compatibalist on many of the issues that divide the church. Free will, eschatology, old earth -young earth etc.
What I wont' do, is compramise the gift God has put within me to discern truth. You mentioned whacky things in Church history. Let me say this, if it's in the Bible, I believe it, if it's a story about guys having their heads chopped off and running off into the sunset carrying it, I'm not byuying it. Hyperbole, fraud, lying, is nothing new.
My point is this. Someone's past no matter how ugly, does not disqualify them from minstry, (maybe it qualifies many), being theatrical does not, Kuhlman was very dramatic, even bad theology if repented of when shown the truth does not, e.g., Benny Hinn's teaching that there were nine persons in the Godhead, (thank God for Hanagraff in such times as that!). What does it for me, is somebody profiting from, or fleecing God's sheep, and or lying. If a person will lie, standing in God's pulpit, then that casts anything they say into question. There's no solid, sensible, Biblical, reason that I should give that person my time.
Can't always prove they're lying, they can't prove they're not, but that's where a good dose of common sense and being honest with yourself come in so handy. When I see a headline in National Enquirer that says something like, "Baby Born with Wooden Leg", I generally don't feel the need to look into it. "God doing gold fillings"? Why gold? Or worse, I've heard and seen mercury amalgams that were claimed to just appear in peoples heads. Why? Because if it was tooth enamel,(now that would be a dumb idea for God to use the same material),that God used to fix a cavity we wouldn't see anything"? The obvious reason God gave doctors the wisdom to do such things is that He wouldn't be healing every cavity miraculously, I'm guessing? So does he put titanium joints into people? Stints in the heart? Metal plates in peoples heads and metal screws? If you buy that, then all things really are possbile in your world. Elvis may still be alive, Big Foot will soon be discovered, the moon landing was staged etc.
Some of what I see in the church has been sadly, and accurately compared to Proffesional Wrestling. I went to a match once to see Bam Bam Biggalo, and Razor Ramone. I spent the entire time studying people in the crowd with my binoculors. I couldn't believe it.
There's a psychological dynamic that causes otherwise sane people to gravitate to some drama, even if they have to susupend critical thinking and judgement to enjoy it. The kind the will tell themselve and you, is real! Truly, the church is lacking in the area of experience, AND the use of the mind. They shouldn't be antagnistic, they don't have to be.
Thanks for letting me rant.
Keep up the great work you're doing.
Candidly, I tell friends that I'd rather go hear you than just about any of the "big name" itinerants that I've heard.
blessings
JG