This is an article from my favorite guest author. I know this article is going to offend some people who read it, it may even make them mad. Our intention in writing these articles is never to intentionally offend or anger anyone. We are simply trying to share our experiences and sound the alarm to others that may not be aware of doctrines, teachings and philosophies that are not biblical. We believe in Sola Scriptura, scripture alone, that means that the canon of scripture is closed, it is complete and finished. Keep in mind there are a lot of pastor’s that would have a lot to loose if their congregations were told the truth about what my guest author reveals in this article. If you aren’t pledging your allegiance to these pastors then chances are you aren’t pouring your hard earned money into their buckets for all sorts of big ticket items to keep their church palace entertaining. We have nothing to loose by posting the truth but your pastor has plenty to loose, keep that in mind. And for goodness sake don’t drink the Kool-Aid these guys are serving!
By: Clint Baker
Recently I have been revisiting some of the things I learned during my time in a charismatic church that I believe God has opened my eyes to the truth behind them. (First let me state I am by no means saying “that we are not to submit to our authorities”, we should, but I am saying we are to make sure that what we are being taught or asked to do lines up with God’s Word.) This particular teaching that I am writing about today has the potential to be a hindrance to our walk with God. Just looking at the surface of this teaching it seems okay, that is until you look at the underlying details of what it really means. I grew up in a very small church where the sermons and teachings were straight out of God’s Holy Word. I had never heard of this question, “Who is your covering? Or this expression, “your pastor is you’re covering!” I started to hear this phrase a few years ago in a church that my wife and I attended. I just wrote it off as something that wasn’t taught in my little country church or maybe I just hadn’t come across this in the bible yet. It didn’t even cross my mind to do what God’s word tells us to do, and that is “test every kind of spirit to make sure if it comes from God” 1 John 4:1. I didn’t do this because at the same time I was being taught that to test or question the man of God’s teaching fell under “touch not God’s anointed”, which is another unbiblical philosophy that maybe we can contend with at a later time. Both of these come from “The Shepherding Movement, which came about in the early 1970s in an effort to solve the deficiencies of the Christian church, such as disciplining, how to grow in faith, how to pray, and how to live a lifestyle that would be acceptable to God.
Great, right? I would like to think so, but the pastor’s that use these ideas are attempting to take on the role of Jesus Christ , who’s supposed to fulfill that role for us, the pastor would take on the role of the one left behind to teach us “The Holy Spirit”, he would now become the “covering”. This is slowly introduced to the congregation, almost in a cunning way. The pastor “shepherd” would become the spiritual leader of the entire congregation, the counselor, even making decisions for them, if the pastor made wrong decisions or fell into sin the congregant would not be accountable because he or she was being obedient to God in submitting to the authority of his pastor. The congregant would not even be required to leave the pastor’s ministry if the pastor fell into error or sin. It is taught that the shepherd “pastor” is the one who is “appointed and anointed” by God as the authority and since he is the authority, his teachings or counsel are to be followed at all times. People are taught, this by the twisting of God’s scripture, that the pastor is “God’s anointed” and we are not to question his sermons or the decision’s that are being made. Some pastor’s with this concept will teach to trust the shepherd and his so called direct revelation from God rather than the doctrines of the bible, the whole council of God’s word. These pastors clearly don’t adhere to Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone! Remember to test everything!
In New Wine magazine the following statement is made: “Also, as Christians, we do not obey those in authority because they are right; we obey them because they are in authority, and all authority ultimately stems from God Himself.” This was a quote by Derek Prince, “Discipleship, Shepherding & Authority.” WOW! According to this a Christian could unknowingly sin but because they are covered by their pastor and submitted to him they won’t be held accountable for it because of their obedience to their pastor. I don’t know about you, but I want to be “covered and protected” by the blood of Jesus and follow His commands, not a man that could fall into sin or be deceived by the devil. Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”That my friends, is what I fear, don’t let this happen, don’t let yourself be destroyed for the lack of Godly, biblical knowledge!
In the churches where these pastor’s use techniques like this, to control their congregation, you will hear statements like “I have been called to this man of God”, or “This pastor was given a special anointing so we must submit to his authority and not question him”, or “The leader of this ministry is who you are to submit to.”What about submitting to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? God tells us not to put our faith or trust in any man but only in Him. After realizing there are pastor’s that use methods such as these to manipulate those in the congregation to follow everything they teach, I realize why God commanded us to only trust in Him, to only submit to His covering and protection. Now, if a pastor is fulfilling his biblical role, he will 1) be a true servant to the congregation 2) teach God’s word in its correct meaning and be humble in response to correction 3) lead in a way that would be pleasing to God 4) Warn and protect his (flock) congregation against false teachings, false movements, false teachers that are used to draw people away from the truth of God’s Word. These are examples of a pastor that we are supposed to sit under the knowledge of, but still allow the Holy Spirit to teach us.
The Hebrew words for covering are: sakak: “to cover or hedge in, defend, join together”, kasha: “to cover for clothing or secrecy, conceal” and kaphar: “to make atonement, to cover over, pacify, make propitiation, wipe it out, annul it, and make it non- existent.” This word in the Old Testament is used with blood covering. All definition’s from the Strong’s Concordance.
So with the definitions in front of us, how can a pastor allow this unbiblical philosophy to be in his church? Which one of these definitions after looking at them gives a pastor or his congregants the right to say that the shepherd (pastor) “Is their covering or protection”? I have even heard the statement made, “You may not get every blessing God has in store for you if you are under the wrong covering or man of God”. If we are saved and under the protection and grace of our Lord Jesus, would this not just be another scare tactic to keep us under a particular pastor or teaching? Sounds a little cultish if you ask me!
In the Book “Under Cover: The Promise of Protection Under Authority”, John Bevere teaches that “one should submit to authority of all kinds and that by doing so one is protected by God, even if or when the authority has made a mistake.”This is not Biblical, this can actually lead to physical, leader, spiritual or marriage abuse and the person being abused or deceived will believe they are the ones in error! There are many good points in this book, but this is one of the books used now by these pastors that are using this teaching in the church to help with this control issue they have. This philosophy is dangerous, and misleading.
So with all of this in mind “Who is your Covering?” Is it a shepherd that is using the word “covering” to manipulate you into submitting to his authority, or is it the One and only person who has already paid the ultimate price for you and has covered your sins and sealed you to protect you from the enemy? Christians do need a pastor to help educate them in God’s word, but they need to also take some responsibility upon themselves and use all the tools that God has given them so that the Holy Spirit can teach them correctly. They need to listen to their pastor’s sermons, check their sermons by studying God’s word for their self, pray so that they will spiritually grow in the way God wants them to so as not to be led astray by detrimental or unbiblical teachings. Also recognize that Jesus Christ is our true covering and that God DID NOT appoint any man to take His place, not even your pastor. So again, “”Who is your Covering and who are you called to?”” A man or Jesus?
Excellent article written by Tricia Tillin! You can read a portion of her article here and follow the link at the bottom to read the remainder.
The “Harp and Bowl” 24-Hour Prayer Initiative
and the ‘Restoration of the Tabernacle of David’
by Tricia Tillin
“Mike Bickle, founder of Metro Christian Fellowship of Kansas City, is co-director of the International House of Prayer, ministry director of ‘Friends of the Bridegroom’ and vice-president of Grace Training Center, a full time Bible School in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Mike is the author of several books, Passion For Jesus, Growing In The Prophetic, The Singing God: Discover the Joy of Being Enjoyed by God and The Pleasures of Loving God.
Mike’s teaching emphasis is in the area of developing passion for Jesus through the knowledge of the beauty of God. He especially focuses on the Bride of Christ, and the message of the forerunner ministry in context to a fasted life-style that proclaims Jesus as Bridegroom, King and Judge. He has a deep conviction of a victorious end time church. Mike’s prayer goal is to see a 24-hour a day city-wide house of prayer in the spirit of the Tabernacle of David in every city of the earth before the Lord’s return.” (From “Tabernacle of David” website)
Way back in what seems another life, I researched the Kansas City Prophets phenomenon. That was, in its time, as gripping a tale as the Toronto Blessing and contained much the same material – manifestations, false prophecies and dominion doctrine.
Now some of the central figures involved in that discredited resurgence of the Latter Rain Movement are coming to public notice again for their Harp and Bowl initiative of round-the-clock prayer.
In order to understand the continuity of belief, we have to refer back to the earlier events. For any of you who missed the excitement here’s a brief overview of KCP (Kansas City Prophets).
A group of prophets were gathered together at Kansas City Fellowship (KCF) – now called Metro Christian Fellowship – a church founded on a supposed prophecy received by its pastor, Mike Bickle. Bickle heard the “voice of God” through a young prophet and later in Cairo, Egypt in 1982 predicting that he would be used to raise up a mighty work in the earth. Later he was told that this work would be based in Kansas City.
BOB JONES
The next year, 1983, Mike Bickle was introduced to Bob Jones, a man in his late 50′s at that time who seemed to confirm the vision for a major worldwide move of God based in Kansas City. Bob Jones was a man who had visions of angels, heard voices, claimed to meet and talk with God almost every night, had out of the body experiences frequently and had hands that turned purple in the presence of sin.
The strange visions and statements of Bob Jones have been documented by a number of researchers and that work is too lengthy to reproduce here. However, his doctrines are peppered with MSOG/Latter-Rain teachings such as the One New Man, the Corporate Christ, Joel’s Army and the restoration of the Melchizadek Priesthood.
On the latter subject he said:
“first he will bring the Five[Fold Ministries]..but there is a ministry after the fivefold called the ministry of PERFECTION, the Melchizadek priesthood. You that are children will be moving into the ministries of perfection…coming into the divine nature of Christ…not having to come out of the wilderness, but being birthed NATURAL into the Spirit, all their days moving in the Spirit. You are into the warfare, start to take the Promised Land…” (my emphasis, “Visions and Revelations” audio tape Mike Bickle/Bob Jones, Autumn 1989 KCMO)
Another practice of Bob Jones that had received a lot of attention and condemnation from various quarters is his “Shepherd’s Rod”. Every year on the Day of Atonement “God” visits Bob Jones in person, and gives him a kind of prophetic “Old Moore’s Almanac” for the year ahead. In the early days, Jones taught that all the members of the church had to pass under this Rod and even said that those who were found unworthy would die. Others would be marked as especially worthy: “And if you be found alright, He marks you to be sacrificed as a living holy sacrifice unto Him. One out of ten is marked as totally unto the Lord. That’s a Shepherd’s rod”. Bob Jones still produces these yearly prophecies. You can see them here on Bob Jones’s website.
GRACE MINISTRIES
In 1986, Bickle and the other leaders formed a ministry called Grace Ministries “committed to seeing the church restored to the glory described in God’s word – this team is composed of mature and proven men with apostolic and prophetic ministries…”
The vision of Grace Ministries and the Kansas City Fellowship was for creating apostolic teams to plant churches, setting up cell churches, forming the city church (one church per city overseen by an apostle) sending out the Joseph Company (sonship terminology for overcomers who prepare the way for the transformation) and creating Shiloh Ministries (a prophetic school), and the House of Prayer – 24-hour intercessory prayer.
The vision for the Harp and Bowl had already been given, in this climate of false prophecy and Latter Rain teaching, and CAME DIRECTLY OUT OF IT.
The official literature for the Harp and Bowl links the vision for it as being given at the same time that Bob Jones arrived at Bickle’s church as the initial prophecy given to Mike Bickle for the “great move of God”:
“In May 1983, [when Bickle met Bob Jones] the Lord gave a promise to the church at Metro Christian Fellowship that He would release in the midst of their city, a 24-hour a day, citywide ministry to the Lord in the spirit of the Tabernacle of David (Acts 15:14-18). This prayer ministry now includes continuous worship, intercession and warfare.”
Another account (found here) credits the birth of Harp and Bowl to Paul Cain in 1996, but speaks of the vision for it being given in 1982, at the founding of Mike Bickle’s church, thus neatly avoiding the Bob Jones scandal!
However, Paul Cain is hardly a more credible figure to have launched this initiative, being one of the foremost supporters of the Latter Rain Movement still in active ministry today.
PAUL CAIN
In the mid 1980′s Mike Bickle met Paul Cain, an elderly man who had been closely involved in the Latter Rain “revival” of the 1940′s and who believed that the Movement had gone underground in the 1950′s for a wilderness period of 40 years only to emerge into full flowering with a “new breed”, a new generation of apostles and prophets who would fulfill the vision.
Cain went on record as saying that William Branham was the greatest prophet of his age. In 1987 Paul Cain was adopted as the “father” of the new work at Grace Ministries.
Cain, and a number of other false prophets with notable (notorious) ministries then became world famous for their activities and found themselves on the front pages of many Christian magazines and newspapers as the Kansas City Prophets.
They began to swallow up smaller churches in their locality, determined to produce the City Church under their apostolic headship. Spiritual abuses were commonplace.
The home team consisted of Paul Cain, Bob Jones (who was later disciplined for sexual impropriety) and John Paul Jackson with Mike Bickle as host and “interpreter” for some of the weirder dreams and visions. Later the team widened to include a host of other names, today well known in the revival.
The list of ministers joined to or associated with the work was impressive. They included:
Francis Frangipane
Ruevan Doran
Larry Randolph
David Ravenhill
Jim Goll
Harry Schroeder
Jack Deere
Rick Joyner
Then John Wimber and the Vineyard got involved, Paul Cain having adopted John Wimber as his mentor and spiritual father. In 1990, following public criticism and a hardhitting report prepared by Ernie Gruen, Mike Bickle submitted himself and Grace Ministries to John Wimber and all the fellowships associated with KCF became Vineyards. (Rather like the Toronto Fellowship, KCF were dropped by Vineyard subsequently when their activities became too troublesome.)
The FOTB (Friends of the Bridegroom) ministry of Mike Bickle actively links with Sonship/MSOG/Latter Rain prophets and apostles and many involved in the revival, including Tommy Tenney, Jack Deere, Sam Storms, John Kilpatrick and Jill Austin to name but a few.
The Church Deceived
At the height of activity of the Kansas City Prophets (late 80s to early 90s), American and English church leaders fell over themselves to applaud the KCP, with British evangelical leaders giving their support and approval to the team. British Christian David Pytches wrote a book called “Some Said It Thundered” giving a cleaned-up version of the origins and beliefs of KCP and this publicised the movement further in the UK.
Some, including myself, were vainly trying to warn Christians and leaders about the occultic manifestations, false prophecies and Latter-Rain doctrines of the group. However in those days few had even heard of the Latter Rain Movement and they missed the point. Most dismissed the warnings as scaremongering and an overreaction.
On the whole, major ministries and organisations in the UK as well as in the States (although concerned about various abuses) failed to see the real dangers.
A few individuals were left with the task of circulating damning tapes of false prophecies and dominionist doctrine by the KCP. Eventually by a sort of drip-feed system, the message got through, but not before the group had received widespread approval and support, and been promoted throughout the Church as bona fide. This early support has sustained Grace Fellowship (Metro Christian Fellowship) through the years and given its later activities some validity.
So we come to the subject of this article – the Harp and Bowl initiative.
What is the IHOP?
IHOP stands for International House of Prayer. Paul Cain used the letters also as an acrostic for the vision of the venture, which was Intercession, Holiness, Offerings and Prophecy.
Here is one official description of the work:
“The International House of Prayer is a 24-hours a day, citywide, worship and warfare, inter-denominational prayer ministry serving the body of Christ. This ministry is modeled after the tabernacle of David with singers and musicians being released to lead corporate intercession and worship 24-hours a day. This is an effective method for the churches in the county to come together and DWELL in unity so that God can unlock His commanded blessing. …The Word of God Declares “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations” Mark 11:17. … This House of Prayer for All Nations ministry includes continuous praise and prayer dethroning the principalities and power over a region declaring Gods sovereignty. This is in the spirit of Revelation 4-5 “Harp & Bowl” worship and warfare prayer gatherings, the harp representing praise and the bowl representing the prayers of the saints which is at the heart of David’s Tabernacle.” (Revival Times website)
I wanted to give a bit of background information on the Kansas City Prophets that I found on The Apologetic’s coordination team site. I tried to post a portion of the article here but when I try to it cuts off half of the text. So if you would like to read it just click on the name highlighted in blue and it will take you to the article.
Thanks to EBenz over at Do Not Be Surprised blog for finding this! I am issuing a warning that this video is nothing short of disturbing and demonic, please watch with extreme caution!
I want to warn you that the video below is nothing short of creepy…and evil. This is the “fruit” of “apostle” Rick Joyner’s Morningstar Ministries in Fort Mill, SC. As the article below states, Joyner was on the committee of this past Saturday’s May Day 2010 event. He was joined by James Dobson, who is loved by many Christians, although I would argue that also shows a lack of discernment! Where has our discernment gone? Please also listen to the Monday episode of Crosstalk Radio that is linked to below and can also be heard here.
This disturbing footage was taken last year at “apostle” Rick Joyner’s church service. This allegedly is the “New Wave” or “New Breed” of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Their aim is to take down demonic spirits in order to take back territories and institutions for Christ. After viewing this video it would appear that demonic spirits took over Rick Joyner’s church. Joyner was on the committee of the May Day 2010 event held last Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial. Leaders of the Christian Right, including James Dobson, partnered with “apostles” and “prophets” of NAR to pray for our nation. For more on this event see this post. Also listen to Ingrid Schlueter and her guest Sarah Leslie of Discernment Ministries discuss the NAR cult.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone” (Ephesians 2:19, 20).
This article explores the idea of apostles in the church throughout church history. In it I will show that the restoration/Latter Rain idea that fuels the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is unbiblical and dangerous to the well-being of Christians who become part of it.
First we will review how the early church understood apostles in church history. Then we will examine the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching about apostolic authority. From there we will examine the ideas of a 17th-century mystic given new life in the Latter Rain movement, and now the NAR.
At a 1996 Fuller Seminary conference hosted by C. Peter Wagner, a movement that Wagner previously labeled “post-denominational” became the New Apostolic Reformation.1 Besides Wagner himself is another person prominent in the movement—Bill Hamon—who is strongly endorsed by Wagner. Hamon is important, as we will see, because his ministry goes all the way back to the early 1950’s and began on the heels of the Latter Rain Movement.
How the Early Church Understood Apostles
In 97 AD, Clement of Rome wrote an epistle to the church at Corinth. The epistle provides solid evidence that the early church did not believe that the apostles had successors or that new apostles were needed in order to provide direction to the church. At issue was the fact that certain individuals in Corinth challenged the duly constituted elders’ authority; Clement wrote to correct them. Clement’s testimony is remarkable because he likely was the Clement mentioned in Philippians 4:3, whom Paul called a “fellow worker.” Clement mentions the apostles in this passage:
The apostles have preached the Gospel to us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ [has done so] from God. Christ therefore was sent forth by God, and the apostles by Christ. Both these appointments, then, were made in an orderly way, according to the will of God. Having therefore received their orders, and being fully assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and established in the word of God, with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand. And thus preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the first-fruits [of their labours], having first proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons of those who should afterwards believe.2
Although the Roman Catholic Church claims that Clement himself was an apostle of Christ in succession from Peter, Clement claimed no such title and neither did he acknowledge any apostles but the true apostles—the ones Christ appointed personally. What we will see from Clement is that the apostles appointed overseers and elders (the same group), and these were the authorities in the local church. The apostle Paul had given instructions on the qualifications and roles of elders (Acts 20:28 – 31; Titus 1:5-9; 1Timothy 3:1 – 7) and provided for their continuation (2Timothy 2:2). Clement goes on to discuss this:
Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and there would be strife on account of the office of the episcopate. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they had obtained a perfect fore-knowledge of this, they appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry. We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by them, or afterwards by other eminent men, with the consent of the whole Church, and who have blamelessly served the flock of Christ in a humble, peaceable, and disinterested spirit, and have for a long time possessed the good opinion of all, cannot be justly dismissed from the ministry. For our sin will not be small, if we eject from the episcopate those who have blamelessly and holily fulfilled its duties. Blessed are those presbyters who, having finished their course before now, have obtained a fruitful and perfect departure [from this world]; for they have no fear lest any one deprive them of the place now appointed them.3
Clement did not claim the apostolic authority to intervene, but rather pointed to elders who were appointed according to the standards of the Biblical apostles. It is noteworthy that he used the terms “episcopate” and “presbyters” interchangeably for the same people. Soon the church would develop “bishops” over cities (the “monepiscopate” or single bishop over a city), which was an innovation not endorsed by the Biblical apostles. However, Clement, who had been an associate of Paul, used episkopos (overseers or bishops – KJV) and presbuteros (elders) to describe the same group of people. This is precisely what Paul did in Acts 20:17, 28 when he called the elders together and described them as “overseers.”
By 97 AD, the authorities in the church were not apostles and prophets, but elders who had been appointed according to the standards lain down by the apostles. Those who claim that God always intended there to be authoritative apostles in the church who give binding revelation ignore the fact that the apostles themselves never anticipated that they would have successors and gave no instructions for the qualifications of any such successors…
The Roman Catholic Church’s Apostles
As church history progressed, the understanding of church authority as seen in the days of Clement of Rome disappeared very quickly in favor of the monepiscopate and progressed from that unbiblical innovation to the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. This idea eventually led to the Papacy. Later in church history, and in amazing irony, the Roman Catholic Church claimed that Clement was a successor of Peter and had apostolic status. This travesty dishonors the very teachings of Clement himself who taught no such thing….
17th Century Mystic Jane Leade Prophesies of a Coming Elite Church
One of the problems that attended the Reformation was the presence of “enthusiasts” who claimed direct revelation from God. The Reformers universally condemned such persons and movements, but that did not deter them from gaining followers. One who arose a century after the Reformation and who continues to have followers was an English mystic named Jane Leade. Her writings are posted on the Internet by persons who have affiliations with latter day apostles and prophets. She held to a theory of church history that claimed that the seven churches in Revelation stood for seven successive stages of church history. There are some today who still teach this theory. The problem with it is that there is nothing in Revelation itself that indicates John expected his readers to understand it that way. This is a classic case of the reader determining the meaning of the Bible rather than the Spirit-inspired author.
Leade was particularly interested in the church at Philadelphia because Christ found no fault in it. She was involved in a movement called “The Philadelphian Society,” named after that church. In 1679, the Philadelphian Society and the Theosophists published a document containing a 60-point prophecy by Jane Leade (the document has her name as Lead).8 The document proposes ideas that resurfaced in 1948 in the Latter Rain movement, and, as we shall see, are still being promoted by a key Apostle-prophet of the New Apostolic Reformation.
The first several points of the prophecy are about sealed mysteries that would be revealed only to “worthy searchers.” She claimed that there was an Ark of the Testimony in heaven containing new revelations to be opened during the church age. She wrote under point 8, “The presence of this divine ark, will constitute the Philadelphian Church, and wherever that is, there must the ark of necessity be.” Thus the group was called the “Philadelphian Society” which published “Theosophical Transactions.”9 She goes on to prophesy of an elite church that would be beyond anything previously known. In fact this church would be a “virgin” that would give birth to the “son” mentioned in Revelation 12:5:
14. Of the stem of DAVID, a virgin church, which hath known nothing of man or of human constitution, is yet to be born. 15. And if it be yet to be born, then it will require some considerable time before it gets out of its minority, and arrives to the full and mature age. 16. The birth of this virgin church was visionally typified to St. JOHN by the great wonder in Heaven bringing forth her first born, that was caught up to the throne of GOD 17. FOR — As a virgin woman brought forth CHRIST after the flesh, so likewise a virgin woman is designed by God, to bring forth the FIRST BORN after the Spirit, who shall be filled with the Holy Ghost and with power. 18. The VIRGIN that is hereto designed, must be as of a pure spirit, so also of a CLARIFIED body, and all over impregnated with the Holy Ghost. 19. This church so brought forth and signed with the mark of the divine name, shall be adorned with MIRACULOUS GIFTS AND POWERS beyond whatever yet hath been. . . . 23. This Catholic and anointed church must be perfectly holy, as CHRIST himself is holy; so that it may worthily bear the name of the Lord our Holiness, and the Lord our Righteousness. 24. Until there be such a church made ready upon the earth, so holy, so catholic, and so anointed, that is without all spot or wrinkle, and that is adorned as a bride to meet her bridegroom, CHRIST will not personally descend to solemnize this marriage, and present the same to his Father.
This prophecy of a perfected church (later called the “many-membered man-child”10 ) that will be the incarnation of Christ on the earth while Christ remains in heaven sets the stage for the Latter Rain movement in the 20th Century that would make the same claims. Whether that movement got its ideas from Leade or came up with the same heresy independently I cannot say at this time. But the ideas are identical. The church must be perfected on earth before Christ can return, and this shall be accompanied with miracles and power greater that at any time in church history—including Pentecost.
The Latter Rain Movement: Five Fold Ministry Elitism
In the 1930s, a man by the name of William Branham began to preach and exhibit supernatural manifestations. George Hawtin and P. G. Hunt heard Branham speak in Vancouver and brought his ideas to North Battleford, Saskatchewan where the “Latter Rain” revival that became the New Order of the Later Rain (NOLR) actually began. A key book that was circulated at that time was Atomic Power with God Through Prayer and Fasting by Franklin Hall. A key idea that still persists is that God is continually desiring to do great and powerful miracles through the church but is unable to do so because the church has not become holy enough, desired it badly enough, has failed in numerous other ways, or lacks the faith that is necessary to precipitate these miracles. The Latter Rain has always been predicated on elitist ideas such as those of Jane Leade previously cited. They consider ordinary churches to be miserable failures that God cannot use.
In 1951, George Warnock wrote a book that became one of the most important statements of the ideas of the NOLR, The Feast of Tabernacles. The book is based on an allegorical interpretation of the feasts of Israel that has the Feast of Tabernacles standing for a glorious end-times church that would arise before Christ can return. The entire book can be read online, as it is posted by current advocates of Latter Rain theology.
Warnock, like Myland, allegorized the rains in Israel to make them create a scheme of church history:
Joel’s prophecy, therefore, speaks of Pentecost–but it goes on to embrace the fullness of Pentecost, even the Feast of Tabernacles. God did give the former rain moderately–in the Pentecostal Age extending from the early Church until now. But here is something very unusual. Right here in the “first month” of the Agricultural Year . . . God has promised to do something most unusual; for He would give, not only the former rain which belongs to that month, but He would give the former rain and the latter rain combined!”11
This he interpreted to mean that the Latter Rain would be characterized by far greater power and glory than what was seen in the Book of Acts. Warnock thereby set the stage for the grandiose claims that are made by the apostles and prophets of our day. It is not inaccurate to say that there is no claim so grandiose that the latter day apostles will not make it. We shall demonstrate that when we examine the writings of one of their top leaders.
Warnock also claimed, like Jane Leade, that Jesus would remain in heaven until after the church achieved elite status never before seen in church history, including that of the Biblical days:
O the immensity of these words! And what is more, Christ is going to remain right where He is at God’s right hand until there shall arise a group of overcomers who shall conquer over all God’s enemies. . . . And yet the majority of Christians are looking for a rapture any moment, when Christ is supposed to catch away a miserable, defeated, disease-ridden Church.
Notice that ordinary Christians, in this elitist thinking, are “miserable, defeated, and disease ridden.”
One of the most heretical teachings associated with the NOLR was called “the manifested sons of God” that claimed that certain elite Christians would obtain the promise of immortality (as promised in Romans 8:19) now rather than at the parousia. Warnock taught that all enemies, in which he included death, the “last enemy,” had to be conquered by the church before Christ could return: “God says Christ is going to stay right where He is until all His enemies are under His feet. And His enemies include the “last enemy,” which is Death. There must arise a group of overcomers who shall conquer and become absolutely victorious over all the opposing forces of the world, the flesh, and the Devil–before this dispensation draws to a close.” 12 The “overcomers” is another term used by the Latter Rain to describe elitist Christians who are to be distinguished from the rest of us. This is in spite of the fact that the following verse applies to all Christians: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world– our faith” (1John 5:4).
One of the ironies of the Latter Rain and New Apostolic Reformation movements (the latter is merely the current version of the former as I will demonstrate) is that they hold to a “restoration” scenario in which God is supposedly progressively restoring truths lost during church history and now are being restored starting with the Reformation..
But ironically, NOLR and NAR teachers constantly contradict and reject important Reformation doctrines. They want to claim the Reformation as theirs and reject it at the same time.
Hamon became involved with C. Peter Wagner’s New Apostolic Reformation at its very inception:
The National Symposium on the Post-Denominational Church convened by Dr. C. Peter Wagner at Fuller Seminary, May 21-23, 1996, was a historical occasion in God’s annals of Church history. It was prophetically orchestrated by the Holy Spirit to fulfill God’s progressive purpose of bringing His Church to its ultimate destiny. . . . The consensus of the panelists was that there are still apostles and prophets in the Church, and that there is an emerging Apostolic Movement that will revolutionize the 21st-century Church. The last-generation Church will have an Apostolic Reformation that will be as great as the first-generation Apostolic Movement.16
With Wagner’s endorsement, Hamon brought the teachings of the Latter Rain movement into the NAR.
Latter Rain Heresy is Renamed and Reintroduced
The differences between the Latter Rain Movement and the New Apostolic Reformation mostly have to do with terminology, not doctrine. In the 1980s, a teaching circulated amongst those who attend conferences put on by those in the prophetic movement called “a new breed of man.” The basic idea is that ordinary Christians throughout church history had been colossal failures and that God was going to fall upon certain persons by His Holy Spirit and “impregnate” them so that they could “give birth” to something entirely new. The “new breed of man” would be exalted saints with holiness and power never known before. I remember debating people at the time who were following this teaching.
Bill Hamon includes the “new breed” idea in his teachings:
“The new breed of Joshua Generation apostles will move in the miraculous and definitely manifest the signs of the apostle.”23
The “Joshua Generation” is another allegory popular in this movement. The crossing of the Jordan into the promised land by Israel is allegorized to mean the triumph of the church over all enemies so as to take the land, “every place your sole treads” they claim. The “new breed” means that they are not of the same order of humans as other Christians who have ever existed.
Hamon further states: “Let it suffice to say here that the new breed of apostles will be motivated by the Spirit of Wisdom.”24
The NAR claims that Christ is coming IN the church not FOR the church. Hamon claims that he himself is one of God’s “new breed” of last-days apostles.25
The Joel’s Army Heresy Reintroduced
One of the discredited teachings of the NOLR was called “Joel’s Army.” The claim was that Joel 2:1-11 predicts that the end time church will be “Joel’s Army” that will execute God’s judgments on the earth. This is another false Latter Rain teaching that Bill Hamon still propagates. Here is his claim:
The saints are being trained now in the military bases of international training centers and their local church armories. The goal is to have them taught, equipped and field trained to be the officers that lead God’s army of prophetic evangelist saints during the coming Saints Movement. They will minister under the covering and leadership of fivefold apostolic and prophetic generals who trained them. These saints will function like God’s army prophetically described by Prophet Joel (Joel 2:1-11).29
The “Kingdom Now” Heresy Reintroduced
Another “movement” that Hamon predicts he calls “The Kingdom Establishing Movement.”31 Here he makes even more grandiose claims:
The movement will not cease until all knees bow and every tongue confesses that Jesus is the true Lord God over all the earth. That does not imply that everyone who makes that confession or acknowledgement is saved. However, there will be such worldwide demonstration of God’s power over the elements, people raised from the dead, miraculous control of natural catastrophes, miraculous prophetic words and endless supernatural manifestations, signs and wonders, until everyone will have to acknowledge that there is no god like Jesus Christ, the God of gods and Lord of lords.32
The Bible Prophesies End Times Delusion
Having seen the consistent claims spanning several centuries right up to the present that elite Christians shall arise and overcome death before the rapture, do greater miracles than those of the Biblical accounts, defeat all of God’s enemies while Christ remains “held in the heavens,” and become the virgin born, new breed of man, manifested sons, the very incarnation of God on earth, etc., let us consider what the Bible predicts about the end time. The Bible teaches none of these heretical doctrines uniformly based on allegorized Scripture, but rather teaches that massive deception through false signs and wonders would characterize the end of the age.
Jesus said: “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. . . . For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:11, 24). He did not tell us to look for a “new breed” of “anointed ones” (christs) but warned us to avoid their deceptions.
Paul predicted perilous times of sin and evil at the end of the age where men will oppose the truth by doing false signs and wonders like Pharaoh’s magicians opposed Moses (2Timothy 3:1-8). Peter predicted that false teachers would arise and seek to seduce the church by exploiting us with “false words” (2Peter 2:1-3). John warned us that in the last hour there are false “anointed ones” (antichrists). Paul tells us where this is all headed: “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it [the day of the Lord] will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,” (2Thessalonians 2:3).
Furthermore, the passages in Revelation that the elitist, NAR and NOLR apostles appropriate for themselves, do not teach the church triumphs over the world through her own efforts while Jesus is “held in the heavens.” Their interpretations are fanciful and not based on any sound hermeneutic. They allegorize the Bible because there is no way to find their ideas in the Bible if taken literally. We need to decide whether to believe what Jesus, Paul, John and Peter said in the inerrant Scripture or the prophecies of people who claim to be new apostles and prophets while simultaneously contradicting the teachings of the true apostles and prophets.
Conclusion
Church history has shown that whenever new claimants to the office of apostle have arisen, so have false teachings. The teachings of many such persons today, as we have seen, are shocking in the extremity of their error. Yet C. Peter Wagner claims that churches that he terms “apostolic” in this new sense are part of the fastest growing segment of the church in the world today.34 Perhaps he is right; but if he is, this is proof of massive end time apostasy and not the revival he claims it to be.
The only binding authority in the church is that of Scripture. God does not bind us to mixture, error, or the musings of men. The false apostles and prophets of the NOLR and NAR have no power over the true, blood-bought church of God.
Prophets that are less than inerrant have nothing to sell but fear: “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:22).
The grandiose claims that span from Leade, to Warnock, to Branham, to Paulk, and to Hamon have never come to pass, and they never will. There will be no virgin born, many-membered man-child, Elijah company, new breed of man, new incarnation of the Christ on earth or any other such blasphemy.
****
*Some portions were omitted because of length, but you can read it all HERE.
This is an article that while the Lakeland Revival was going on, I was still attending my old church. People from my church were flocking to this revival, my pastor was promoting it and talking about how great and awesome a move of God it was. This was the beginning of the journey out of my church.Mind you this revival is long gone, but Todd is still around and many more just like him. Such as Bob Jones, Patricia King, Matt Sorger, James Goll, Rodney Howard Browne, Dutch Sheets, Robert Stearns, Che Ahn and many more. Also beware of these ministries: New Apostolic Reformation, International House of Prayer, Elijah List, Extreme Prophetic, Open Heaven Conferences and God TV.
I know this is long, but please read it all the way to the end. I am sorry if it offends you but sometimes the truth is hard to take. The past three weeks I have been burdened with this beyond belief. I am sounding the alarm! I know some might say not to touch God’s annointed, but beloved we are all God’s annointed if we have the Holy Spirit in us! I am not speaking anything that is not truth. We are told time and again about this in the bible and told to make sure things line up with God’s word!
But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ (Ezekiel 33:6)
I will be silent no more! It’s time to sound the horn, the wolves have come for the sheep and the sheep don’t know they are in danger. I don’t want your blood on my hands, it is time to repent for our redemption draweth nigh!I am heavy burdened by the Lakeland Florida outpouring and the front man Todd Bentley. If you have never heard of it or him I advise you to do a little research. His strange fire could be coming to a church near you. I shouldn’t be at all surprised that people are only looking at the surface and calling it an awesome move of God. In this day and age we can’t just look at the surface of anything and make up our mind about it. (1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. )
Let’s take a look at the movie the “Golden Compass” for instance. When I saw the preview at first I thought that it looked like a great movie, lots of big name actors in it, it just looked like a good movie. Well until we started to get e-mail’s about it and found out that an atheist that hates God wrote a series of fictional books about going against God. Now it doesn’t look like something we want our kids to see, after all they will see the movie and then want to read the books. Thank God we looked into it! So are you just ignoring the warning signs that I know you have heard about Todd and Lakeland or are you going to look into it? I mean how are we going to tell if a wolf comes to us in sheep’s clothing? We have to look a little closer, dig a little deeper and trust those checks in our spirits. (Matthew 7:15-20″Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.)
I for one have had countless checks in my spirit while watching Todd and reading some of what he believes and talks about. I am sorry but I can’t get behind a guy and support him that openly brags about God telling him to kick an elderly woman in the face with his biker boot, leg drop people and take a run and hike his knee in a guys stomach. This man is very violent in his methods and that doesn’t line up with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K8XjObzfXM
(Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. His methods do line up with the works of the flesh.(Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[a] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,[b] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.)
While watching the Lakeland outpouring I have seen many violent manifestations. Sometimes Todd looks as though he is being electrocuted, which he calls vibrating. Others lie on the floor in what looks like convulsions. I watched a young man who actually looked like he was fighting off some unseen force. There was also a young mother giving her testimony and the whole time she acted rather erotic. She would twist around as if something were slithering up her body and she could barely get her words out for breathing so heavy. Do a little research about Kundalini energy and how it manifests itself, it is eerily similar. Kundalini is a Hindu occult and their God is Shiva.
Lets now move on to the Angels that Todd constantly refers to. Some would argue that Todd doesn’t worship angels and after all there are angels in the bible. Well lets just say I talked about movie stars all the time and my favorite TV shows, if you talk about something more than Jesus, that is what you are worshiping. Furthermore there were murderers, polygamists and adulterers in the bible too but I am not using that as a license to go out and do it. We are told not to worship angels! (Colossians 2:18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not[a] seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind) Todd even has names for some of these angels, one of which is called Emma and on occasion he has even called her Emma O. There is a Emma O that is a Japanese Buddhist God of the under world, could it be a coincidence?
I don’t even want to get into his third heaven stories where he claims to go regularly and talk to Paul in his cabin and where the angels put him on an operating table and put little boxes in him. I am not making this stuff up, I have seen him on video clips talking about all this. There are many videos and articles where he talks about this and even changes his story from time to time. When fishermen catch fish they get larger with each telling.
The most disturbing thing that I have listened to is an audio recording. (I have the link that you can click on here) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKA_X1zxOQc&NR=1 Todd says that God told him that he has to get the church to believe in the angel, and that the people already believe in Jesus but the church doesn’t believe in the supernatural. He goes on to say that what we need is something new. Oh Beloved! I caution you to not fall for this! Don’t take your eyes off Jesus to start believing in the angel and the manifestations. God shares His glory with nobody! (Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.) I seem to remember a certain angel who wanted God’s glory that got puffed up with pride and we all know what happened to him and some of his other angel friends that we now refer to as Satan and Demons. (1 Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron)
If you think for one second that Satan won’t use the name of Jesus, or perform miraculous signs and wonders to get you distracted enough to bind you and lead you astray then you are either deceived or on your way. Satan can’t deceive anyone unless he looks like the real thing, he will set himself up to look like anything you desire above Christ! He wont look like, sound like or act like himself, he has to be able to trick you into thinking it is of God, to get your eyes off of Jesus. How you say? Just start believing in the Angel, signs & wonders and God himself will give you over to a debased mind. (Romans 1:18-32)
I do believe God still performs miracles today and Val Thomas is living proof of that. I believe that God can do all His word says He can. However don’t be so hungry for what God can do that you will chase after anything that might resemble a move of God. Let’s stop focusing on the supernatural, angels, healings, revivals and everything else we are begging God to do for us. If we are seeking to know and obey God HE will send Revival, a revival that moves us all to fall on our faces in sincere repentance, crying out for His forgiveness. We are a faithless generation that demands signs from God, where is our Holy fear of the Lord? When are we going to get that it’s all about Him, His will, His plans, it’s not about us! Be careful when you cry out for God’s fire to fall, it might not be what you expected. I myself don’t want to have to go through any more fiery trials to get what God is trying to tell me, and I certainly don’t want God’s fire of judgment poured out on anyone! REPENT, REPENT, REPENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And draw near to Jesus and only Jesus.
P.S. Don’t just take my word for it, start looking into the people that speak into your life. Don’t just go with the flow if you don’t know for sure where you are flowing to!
(Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.)
(Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘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!’)
(Acts 20:28-31 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God[a] which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.)
(Endnotes from NKJV life application study bible for 1 Timothy 4:1,2 It is not enough that a teacher appears to know what he is talking about, is disciplined and moral, or says that he is speaking for God. If his words contradict the Bible, his teaching is false. Like Timothy, we must guard against any teaching that causes believers to dilute or reject any aspect of their faith. Such false teaching can be very direct or extremely subtle.
I am very concerned about the amount of Christians that are flocking to these Super Prophetic, Open Heaven, come get your Glory on conferences. I hear of otherwise intelligent people who are getting caught in this snare. There is no easy way to say this but folks, THESE CONFERENCES ARE NOT BIBLICAL!We saw the same kind of things going on during the Lakeland Revival with super false prophet Todd Bentley. We now have a new golden boy that James Goll has recently ordained names Matt Sorger. Folks there are testimonies upon testimonies of people that were sucked in by Todd and the Lakeland Revival that are having serious problems. There are no documented miracles that came out of that revival, nothing but lying signs and wonders came out of the Lakeland Revival, these folks are operating under another Jesus, a false Jesus.
In the coming weeks I am going to be posting some things to show those of you that may not realize the danger behind all this, some of this will be disturbing, some of it a lot of you may have already seen. I am also going to post an article I wrote while the Lakeland Revival was in full swing and people from my old church were running down there and my Pastor was promoting it. Needless to say I left that church, if a pastor can’t guard his flock any better than that, well you get the point! Please if you are attending one of these conferences or a church that is hosting one, pay attention to the things I am going to post in the coming days and pray to God for discernment.
I posted this article in April of 2010 and just read it again this evening, it has such good information in it that I decided to post it again.
This is a great article from: The Word on The Word of Faith Blog. This is a really great blog, they have tons of great articles and videos about the WOF, Word of Faith movement. Stop by and check it out!
Abusive fellowships are often the most exciting Christian gatherings around — filled with dedicated, committed, enthusiastic leaders and members. Do not let enthusiasm and sincerity be the basis for approval. More often than not, abusive fellowships cannot be recognized by mere outward appearance. By discrediting facts, the leaders of such gatherings control information. Leaders may deny these practices — or marginalize them in some way. It is important to investigate any fellowship thoroughly.
Abusive fellowships often change the meaning of words. In these fellowships, “unity” commonly means agreement with the leaders opinions. Members are often told that they are “out of unity” when they disagree with the leaders’ opinions. Healthy fellowships understand that true unity means that
There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4)
Every healthy fellowship will have disagreements, and yet be in unity in the Biblical sense as brothers and sisters in Christ.
In healthy fellowships members commonly maintain friendships when friends leave the group. Abusive fellowships tend to view almost everyone who leaves as a backslider and they view most other Christians as not committed or saved. Healthy fellowships do not consistently tell derogatory stories about those who leave.
In healthy fellowships the leaders prove themselves to be trustworthy in order to be trusted. In abusive fellowships the leaders must be trusted because they are the leaders. To not trust them is to sin.
In healthy fellowships we are admonished to imitate the Christ-like virtues seen in others. In abusive fellowships the leaders are imitated in many more ways than just their virtues. In fact, members take on many of the personal characteristics (personality) of the leaders in a manner that appears unseemly. This is particularly true of those being groomed for “ministry.”
In healthy fellowships commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to Apostolic teaching, is absolutely necessary. In abusive fellowships members must be equally committed to the group and to its practices and peculiar beliefs. Some even have members sign “covenant” documents, much like marriage vows.
In healthy fellowships we are exhorted to obey clear Biblical mandates. In abusive fellowships we are exhorted (or pressured) to obey the leaders’ opinions –even when our conscience says “no.”
In healthy fellowships the confession of sins and “bearing of one another’s burdens” is a personal matter that takes place in the context of a larger “family” relationship with other Christians. In abusive fellowships sins are exposed by (or to) leaders and pressure is often applied to confess to the group.
In healthy fellowships secrecy and independence in personal matters — before God — are acceptable as long as sins are confessed in private. In abusive fellowships secrecy or independence in personal affairs are scorned, and all areas of life are to be exposed — even those that do not touch moral issues.
In healthy fellowships we are encouraged to love and bless our enemies. In abusive fellowships showing hatred for our enemies and speaking defamatory of them is acceptable. And often the occasion for “rallying the troops.”
Abusive leaders seldom practice this scripture:
…when ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered we respond gently… (1 Cor 4:12, 13)
Matt. 18:15
If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.1 Timothy 5:19, 20
Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.
In healthy fellowships Matthew 18:15 applies to every member without distinction — you are to go to your brother or sister alone — while 1st Timothy 5:19-20 (a stricter standard) applies to leaders. In abusive fellowships Matthew 18:15 applies to leaders — you are to deal with them alone — instead of 1st Timothy 5:19-20. These latter verses are often ignored, thus preventing two or three from EVER bringing an accusation against a leader in error.
Non-abusive leaders rebuke members only for grave public sins, as a last resort (Matthew 18:17). Abusive leaders often publicly rebuke or ostracize members who simply disagree with leaders’ opinions. Usually vis-à-vis sermon illustrations or applications, etc.
Non-abusive leaders do not encourage people to leave the fellowships because of differences of opinion. Abusive leaders often assume the right — unilaterally — to tell or encourage members who do not agree with leaders’ opinions to leave the fellowship.
Non-abusive leaders do not view members as “lacking spiritually” simply because they do not participate in numerous fellowship activities. Abusive leaders view as “spiritually lacking” those who fail to attend most all their fellowship activities. Some even mandate the number of meetings members MUST attend.
Non-abusive leaders do not discourage members from reading information critical about the group. Abusive leaders often control negative information about the group by either discrediting it or by dissuading members not to read it.
Non-abusive leaders do not judge your hearts, but they leave that to God. Abusive leaders constantly judge hearts, motives, and intents. They basically assume — rather, usurp — the place of God.
“Mike Bickle, founder of Metro Christian Fellowship of Kansas City, is co-director of the International House of Prayer, ministry director of ‘Friends of the Bridegroom’ and vice-president of Grace Training Center, a full time Bible School in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Mike is the author of several books, Passion For Jesus, Growing In The Prophetic, The Singing God: Discover the Joy of Being Enjoyed by God and The Pleasures of Loving God.
