• Having temporarily failed to usher in its new global order by military force, the Illuminati has now decided to unleash a far greater power in pursuit of its wicked, dictatorial goals: The power of Global Spirituality.
• To achieve this, the Illuminati's premier political and economic organ, the socialistic, pro-Zionist Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), has elevated to membership two key operatives, two men who are at the helm of America's most influential Christian evangelical groups.
• I refer to Pastor Rick Warren, Saddleback Community Church in California, and Dr. Richard Land, reigning religious potentate and poobah of the massive Southern Baptist Convention.

  • Southern Baptist "traitors"
•          

  The Illuminati’s Council on Foreign Relations has enlisted the services of evangelicals, Pastor Rick Warren (left) and Richard Land (right), to marshall tens of millions of evangelical Christians in a global crusade to convert humanity to the New Global Spirituality
• For the first time in the almost 100-year history of the CFR, evangelical leaders have been elevated to elite status as members of the exclusive globalist secret society.
• Their charge is to bring over 100 million Americans who are thought to be religious conservatives into the fold of the Illuminati and into the Big Tent of the emerging Zionist Global Order.

  • Not me!
• Rick Warren, called "America's Pastor" by the Illuminist-controlled media, has over 100,000 churches and pastors signed up in allegiance to his New Age Purpose-Driven Movement.
• Richard Land, meanwhile, is heard on over 600 radio stations and is a featured speaker at Southern Baptist conclaves.
• Rick Warren—CFR Puppet, "America's Pastor"
• The CFR elite have assigned their religious stooge, Mr. Warren, the task of bringing Africa and many of the world's Muslims into the fold of Illuminism.
• Warren was recently trained by the CFR's neo-con Jews in residence at the Bush White House and was sent forth to Syria where he cuddled up with that nation's Moslem brotherhood and leadership.
• Warren was also chosen by Jewish Zionist billionaire Rupert Murdoch to be given a full hour of praise in a special report entitled, "Can Rick Warren Change the World?"

  • Many false Christs..
• This video documentary, aired on Murdoch's neo-con Jew network, Fox-TV News, was a puff piece lauding Warren's ministry and especially his propagandistic African crusades.
• Meanwhile, the Jewish-controlled media colluded to make Rick Warren's New Age classic book, The Purpose-Driven Life, a #1 New York Times bestseller.
• SBC's Richard Land a Devoted Environmentalist
• Dr. Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptists' Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, was chosen by the CFR elite for promotion after he proved to the Illuminati his base loyalty in two very key areas: (1) Zionism; and (2) Environmentalism.
• Richard Land, supposedly a religious conservative, strangely is a globalist associate of Jim Wallis, liberal darling and head of the Masonic-oriented Sojourners group.
• Land is also an ardent Zionist and is joint backer with Falwell, Hagee, Vines and others, of Jewish and Israeli racist supremacism.
• Land essentially teaches that Jesus died on the cross to save Mother Earth and to save human souls.
• He is the evangelicals' leading point man on environmentalism.
• Land says that the Great Commission includes the preaching of environmentalism just as much as it does the traditional John 3:16 message.

  • Blasphemy and error
• The Illuminists love it when their Mother Earth Gospel is promoted by a neocon backer and Zionist advocate, Richard Land, who sits at the   

  In this issue of their influential journal, the Council on Foreign Relations announced its intention of using their chosen puppet leaders in the evangelical community to bring about their scheme of a united global order and an Occult Theocracy.

  helm of power in the 16-million strong Baptist empire.
• Dr. Land, like some others whom the CFR has recruited, still preaches Jesus.
• But over time, it is expected that he and the SBC will moderate these exclusivist views to accommodate the new and approved CFR spiritual model of Unity and Diversity, a model that holds that Jesus is only one of many religious ways.
• The Illuminati's CFR elite, with help from global servants like Warren and Land, has crafted a new gospel, a Global Spirituality.
• The new versions of the Bible are now quickly incorporating this new gospel message into their latest printings.
• Rick Warren uses quotes from these new versions, including the New Century Version and The Message, in his Purpose-Driven books.

• Everything is God: Core Teaching of the Global Spirituality

    

   

  The Council on Foreign Relations, headquartered in the Harold Pratt House in New York City, has decided to use religion to manipulate the masses in the final drive for global domination and totalitarian rule.           Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, is a Jew.
• The new gospel of CFR and its evangelical associates holds that "All Things Are One."
• Therefore, the Lord's Prayer, as quoted from the New Age Bible version, The Message, as found in Rick Warren's books, uses the well-known occultic phrase, "as above, so below."
• In the King James, we find a quite different rendition, the wording, "Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."
• This ancient occult formulation, taught from the days of the Egyptian/Greek god, Hermes, brings with it the doctrine that all things are One, that there is no God outside of us, that heaven and earth are now and have always been a unity, and that we, ourselves, are collectively "God." The earth is God, the stars are God, nature is God. All is One. All is Divine.
• Every student of the occult instantly recognizes the motto, "as above, so below."
• Of course, this is pantheism; it is classic Hinduism and New Age.
• This new gospel is of paramount significance to the Illuminati for it dethrones the external God. The new theology unites all deities and faiths. It refutes any conception of a separate heaven and hell. It sacrilizes and deifies planet earth, and it enthrones Man as God incarnate.
• It is essentially the old lie spoken of in the Bible's book of Genesis, in which Lucifer promised a rebellious Adam and Eve, "Ye shall be as gods."
• It is the lie prophesied in 2 Thes. 2 to come to fullness in these last days, the lie in which the whole world will believe and be damned. It is the lie which is described by the Apostle Paul as the Strong Delusion. This lie represents the Great Apostasy, the falling away that was prophesied.
• Occult Theocracy—The Mingling of Deities
• Shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, Britain's Lady Queensborough authored a wonderfully descriptive book that unmasked this perennially deceptive philosophy.
• She called it "Occult Theocracy," which she defined as a Luciferian combining, or mingling, of secret society and ancient religious dogma to produce a deadly ecumenical mixture that presents itself as a great and global danger.
• Now come the new evangelicals, chosen as 21st century prophets of the Council on Foreign Relations, apostles of the gospel of Global Spirituality, in new shiny garb, fervently preaching this same, incredible, occult doctrine: As Above, So Below.
• This Mystery Religion doctrine, "As Above, So Below," and its goal of the setting up of an Occult Theocracy is expressed symbolically (see Codex Magica) as the Masonic Lodge's black and white tiled floor and as Masonry's double-headed eagle;
• it can be seen in the form of the Roman religion's god, the two-faced Janus, as the Oriental Tao's yin and yang, and as the Jews' six-pointed Star of David, composed of two superimposed triangles.
• It represents the defiant threat of Lucifer who arrogantly boasted, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." (Isaiah 14:13)
• Their Destiny is the Pit of Hell
• Let the wicked rulers of the Illuminati and its Council on Foreign Relations who plot in secret take heed, and let their globalist religious puppets, Rick Warren, Richard Land and others take note.
• When Lucifer had finished making that idle boast, after he had blasphemously declared, "As Above, So Below," Isaiah, a mighty Prophet of God, immediately pronounced judgment on the Wicked One: "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."
• And so it shall be for all who join themselves together as partakers of the ongoing Occult Theocracy.
• These disciples of evil will be recompensed for their unholy rebellion against God and against His anointed. "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

47 more annotations...

• "THE   FAMILY" AND ITS HIJACKING OF EVANGELICALISM
    PART 3
• By   Attorney Constance Cumbey
    August 23, 2008
    NewsWithViews.com
• How   it all started for me
• Traipsing   around Wayne State University in the late 1960s when I was a student,   I saw posters for a new “messiah,” Sun Myung Moon.
• I thought   then of the Biblical warnings of Jesus that “false christs and   messiahs shall arise, deceiving many.”
• Rev. Moon was visiting   the United States then. He moved here in the 1970s. The followers elicited   many jokes about “flower sellers.” Books by authors such   as Ted Patrick warned that these groups were brainwashing America’s   children.
• The only seeming Christian regard for them then appeared to   be that of something to be avoided at all costs.
• I   graduated from law school in 1975 and immediately began an active practice.   My work frequently took me downtown. Downtown Detroit had a prominent   building – still there – the First National Building.
• The   First National Building had a health food bar – one where somebody   could sip herbal teas, buy ginseng tablets (billed as a legal way to   keep us awake) and eat various nutritional goodies.
• Although the staff   was fairly quiet, it soon came out that they believed Rev. Moon was   the messiah.
• When   Benjamin Crème spoke in Detroit, November 4, 1981, the Unification   health food store and faces commonly seen there were included in his   large audience.
• So was just about every other mind control and /or other   forms of “New Age.” Bread for the World and Oxfam also had   a presence that evening. The First National health food bar personnel   were visibly present.
• There   were so many people in the audience representing such a huge variety   of New Age groups – ranging from Est to Rajneeshees (Osho), to   Unity and A Course in Miracles that Unification Church seemed the least   of our worries.
• When I collected the New Age books and periodicals,   there was ample evidence that Rev. Moon and his organization were clearly   part of the New Age landscape.
• Escalating   events seemed to carry me about after Benjamin Crème and company   ran their April 25th, 1982 advertisements proclaiming “THE CHRIST   IS NOW HERE.”
• Only a few short days after those ads appeared,   the local paper, THE DETROIT FREE PRESS featured a large feature article   by staff writer, Ruth Seymour.
• The numbers attending my local lectures   suddenly jumped from 35 to hundreds. I was suddenly on demand for television   appearances, radio interviews, and many out of town lectures. I would   put my law practice on hold for the next seven years and get the bulk   of my exercise running for planes.
• An unexpected referral fee for an   old medical malpractice fee came just in time to sustain us financially   during this time that my law income was diminished.
• As I did not feel   I could maintain credibility for a controversial message by exploiting   it financially, I spoke for free will offerings.
• Often the speaking   engagements came from small churches that sacrificed to raise the transportation   and lodging expenses. To lighten the load on organizers, more often   than not I was housed in church member homes. Things were happening   to me so rapidly, I could scarcely reflect on them, let alone daily   catalog them.
• This   was also a time when I was receiving fierce opposition from too many   Evangelical sources for reasons I did not understand and would not fully   understand until I discovered the details outlined in the first two   articles of this series.
• It was a time of tremendous anxiety and stress   for both me and my family. My disabled husband who had lost both legs   above the knees in a 1979 accident and my son were understanding troupers   throughout these years as I traveled more heavily than I had expected   to ever do in my life.
• THE   HIDDEN DANGERS OF THE RAINBOW was released in late May, 1983.
• By early   October 1983 it headed the Christian best seller list for the USA. Foreign   editions were scheduled.
• It was about that time I received a letter   which rang a curious bell. The letter, on CAUSA letterhead, was signed   by a U.S. Brigadier General E. D. Woellner. It invited me to an all   expenses paid seminar in Washington, D.C. “to explore positive   alternatives to Marxism.”

  • Brigadier Gen Woellner and CAUSA: political arm of the Unification Church
• It specifically denied any Unification   Church involvement in its operation. I pulled an article from my filing   cabinets I had recently filed under “Uruguay.” The article   talked about the success of the Unification Church in that South American   country.
• It further called CAUSA, “the political arm of the Unification   Church.”
• Just   about that time the phone rang and Kansas city friends were on the line.   They told me they had just come back from a CAUSA conference and were   shocked at what they had seen.
• They said all accommodations were deluxe.   They said they had met a “Bo Hi Pak,” whom they subsequently   learned was then “number two” in Unification Church.
• Cleon   Skousen as well as W. Steuart McBirnie, author of then popular books   on the antichrist had been present at the same conference.
• My Kansas   City friends told me they said to each other, “good grief, they’re   presenting the entire New Age agenda as a positive alternative to Marxism.”

  • New Age as an alternative to Marxism
• There   was a form to fill out at the end of the conference. It included a “whom   shall we invite.” They duly filled out “Constance Cumbey”   complete with Detroit address and phone number. They called me to say   that they both thought it terribly important that I see it for myself.   They were right.
• Shortly   thereafter I got a follow up call from CAUSA staff. I said I would accept   their invitation; however, they would have to fly me from Fort Wayne,   Indiana as I would be there for Christmas.
• They would have to return   me to Detroit. The terms were accepted.
• Flying that “milk bucket   route,” I was routed through Charlotte and got there several hours   late. There was a “Carla,” with the “CAUSA”   sign held aloft waiting for me.
• She drove me to the hotel. I went to   the room which I learned was to be shared with a female author of books   on camping.
• She told me she was there because they had a son involved   in Unification Church. They had tried unsuccessful attempts at deprogramming   and they had given up on seeing their son again.
• Then, she said, out   of “the blue,” they were contacted by Unification Church   personnel and told that if they became active in CAUSA, they could have   free access to their son.

  • In order to have access to family members involved in the Unification Church, families would have to become active in CAUSA...of Brig Gen Woellner fame. SEE: Any connection with the "Sirius Cult?"
• I   filed this using of children as literal hostages to the devil away in   my memory for future reference.
• I then went down to the reception which   was full of almost every delicacy one could conceive.
• It was there that   I met Kofi Annan who would later become the Secretary General of the   United Nations. He must have told the organizers that I had expressed   concerns as shortly thereafter I was taken aside and grilled by General   and Mrs. E. D. Woellner.
• They said, “who invited you?” I   said, “you did.” I was to be watched extremely closely over   the next few hours until I was literally put under house arrest and   extradited back to Detroit.

  • Strong arm tactics by CAUSA
• What was even more shocking was to watch the Christians   sitting there, very respectfully under the image of Buddha (projected   during the presentations) and hearing that “when we say God, we   mean the God who is the God of the Christians, of the Jews, of the Mormons,   of Unification Church...”

  • Sounds like George W. Bush's theology
• Well,   I had the conference materials and lists of names of those there. I   also had a sense of the danger the organization paid.
• CAUSA Executive   Director Joseph Tully had admitted to me, “ yes, we work with   Benjamin Crème AND Tara Center, but we don’t all agree   on who that new Christ is.”
• For the record, I had not mentioned   “Tara Center” to him – only that I had seen local   Unificationists in the Detroit area present at the November 1981 Crème   lecture.
• Many radio interviews gave me the opportunity to give   CAUSA more "free advertising" than they had ever counted on.
• I had telephone calls from Memphis pastors. Two, saying they were from   large Memphis, Tennessee churches called me to tell me the Unificationists   had tried to work their congregation over "religious freedom issues."
• They said they working to free people such as Everett Sileven and Rev.   Moon from "religious persecution."
• These godly men further   told me they were presented brochures indicating "bubble gum card"   Christians such as Tim LaHaye (Chairman), Marlin Maddoux, Jan and Paul   Crouch, and many others were named on the brochure for the organization   "Coalition for Religious Freedom."

  • Supposedly Evangelical/Pentecostal Christians allied with anti-Christian organizations

  • Tim LaHaye, Jan and Paul Crouch and Marlin Maddoux
• The ministers said they   had called these people who had refused to listen. Given my recent personal   experiences with this cult, I listened.
• We   would move to Lake Orion, Michigan in late 1984. In late 1985 I read   an article, THE MOONIES AND THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT by a free lance writer,   Carolyn Weaver in MOTHER JONES MAGAZINE.
• I saw it in the small bookstore   of Lake Orion where we were very new in town.
• Ms. Weaver said that by   writing this article which featured sad news of Tim LaHaye’s entanglement   with Bo Hi Pak, she did not intend to imply that the average fundamentalist   Christian supported Bo Hi Pak or Unification Church in any manner. “To   the contrary, the average Christian would perceive Bo Hi Pak as an altar   boy to the Antichrist,” aptly wrote Ms. Weaver.
• At   Huntington House’s request, I attended the 1986 National Religious   Broadcasters convention held in Washington, D.C. In February 1984, two   years earlier, Tim LaHaye had introduced himself to me at that event   one year earlier.

  • Natl Religious Broadcasters convention and Tim LaHaye
• We had then held a cordial discussion. He told me   the threat as he saw it was “secular humanism.” I told him   I thought he should take a closer look at the New Age Movement.
• I did   not stay at the hotel, but with Washington area friends in 1986.
• I’m   certain that Tim LaHaye who then lived in Washington, D.C. was not staying   at the hotel either. I was scheduled to leave for Colorado for speaking   engagements in Colorado Springs and Denver. I wanted to speak with Tim   LaHaye personally about Ms. Weaver’s allegations.
• As I was coming   down a Sheraton Hotel elevator, Tim LaHaye was coming up. I said, “Tim,”   and he looked over. “Constance Cumbey,” I said. “Oh   yes, we’ll get together,” he said.
• I was scheduled   to speak to an Eagle Forum conference in Colorado Springs. My assigned   topic was New Age infiltration of the Church.
• It   never happened and it was probably nobody’s fault.
• I was wishing I had that   article with me, but I did not. The Eagle Forum chairman for Colorado,   Jayne Schindler, however, brought me a copy and specifically asked me   to comment on it. I mentioned only in passing that it was one more example   of how New Age factions were seeking to neutralize and even proselytize   the Church.
• Another speaker was Peter Waldron also of Washington, D.C.   Over the past four years I had done many radio interviews with him.   He and Tim LaHaye had joint radio ventures in Washington, D.C.
• It   was a bright post-snowy day in Colorado Springs when the sponsoring   committee took me to lunch at Furrs Cafeteria. We were all startled   to hear, “paging Wanda Leonard, paging Wanda Leonard” over   the Cafeteria’s speaker system.
• Wanda   left for the page and came back signaling me. “Tim LaHaye is on   the phone,” she said. She told me he said “This is the Rev.   Tim LaHaye calling from Washington, D.C.” She said “yes.”
• He then said, “I understand you had a certain speaker named Constance   Cumbey speak at your conference.” She said, “yes.”   He then said, “I understand she quoted from a sleazy left wing   magazine (referring to Mother Jones). Wanda said, “Well, Tim,   Constance is here. I think you should speak with her yourself.”   He said, “Fine, put her on.”

  • Tim LaHaye vs Constance Cumbey...This man, LaHaye, leaves a lot to be desired in a Christian and as a Christian leader.
• I   said, “Wanda, I am not about to debate with Tim LaHaye on Furrs   Cafeteria’s only phone, located at their cash register, at the   height of their rush hour, especially when my own lunch is getting cold.”   He’ll have to call me later.
• Wanda scheduled me for a 3:30 Colorado   time telephone conference with Tim LaHaye.
• Next   Week: PART IV: The LaHaye conversation; me as the “new enemy”   and the continued incursions of Unification Church into Jerry Falwell’s   networks and beyond. “Burying the Cross” with Rev. Moon.

  • Tim LaHaye, Jerry Falwell and ties with the Unification Church; and it's infiltration into the Church

67 more annotations...

• "THE   FAMILY" AND ITS HIJACKING OF EVANGELICALISM
    PART 2
• By   Attorney Constance Cumbey
    August 16, 2008
    NewsWithViews.com
• Buying   Evangelical Silence?
• Information   sometimes comes to me in the midst of my own disorganization.
• I knew   there had been a purported evangelization meeting between New Age leaders   and Evangelicals.
• The official line was that this was a type of missionary   outreach to New Agers.
• Although I suspected from the beginning that   deeper compromise was afoot, I would not have conclusive evidence until   2007 of the Institute of Noetic Sciences role.
• It was not until 2008   that I learned of the sophisticated financial underpinnings.
• The Unification   Church seduction and purchase of much of the Christian right had been   obvious many years earlier.
• The New Agers used to refer to the internet as “the global brain.”   I think they forgot that God who created the elements, matter, and our   individual brains could give us the skills to use the internet.
• The IONS effort was considerably more hushed.
• I sometimes   have quipped, “did they really think we planned to communicate   with tom-toms and carrier pigeons?”
• I   note wryly that Marilyn Ferguson may have been right when she wrote   in her pro-New Age expository book, THE AQUARIAN CONSPIRACY   that what distinguished this attempt of New Agers to spread their message   was that “modern communications had encircled the world beyond   any possibility of retreat.”
• But she and they forgot that it also   enables us to figuratively say, “the British are coming, the British   are coming” a la Paul Revere style with blindingly equal speed.
• The   internet can and is used to spread truth just as or more effectively   than New Agers use it to proselytize mysticism.
• My   more recent discoveries came doing a chore as mundane as summertime   2007 emptying of our basement dehumidifiers. I was approaching the end   of the overcluttered basement with its many shelves and stacks of books   I have used as research tools over the years.
• I spotted Chuck Colson’s   1975 book, BORN AGAIN. Remembering his involvement with Doug   Coe, I absent mindedly grabbed the book and took it to my computer room.

  • Chuck Colson and Doug Coe involvement together...Colson was one of the men God had warned me about...

•   I read portions while I was logging on to “google.com.”   I read the following from his “With gratitude . . .” section   on pages 344 through 346:

   

  “Two   of the men in the Fellowship, Paul Temple and Winston Weaver, made available   their vacation homes (in Spain and the Virginia mountains respectively)   to Patty and me when we needed a place of retreat.”
• That   was all I read. That was the only mention of Paul Temple in the book.
• I was, as most of my readers know, heavily focused on Javier Solana   and the European Union. Javier Solana is from Spain.
• The thought ran   through my head, “wonder if Paul Temple ever met Javier Solana?”
• I   absent mindedly googled as follows: “Douglas Coe” “Paul   Temple.”

• I   was astounded to come   up with this link to page after page material I wrote and others   reprinted from my former newsletter, NEW AGE MONITOR, 19 years earlier,   in 1988:

   

  New   Age Monitor~ July 1988 ~ Constance Cumbey
    Holy Watergate!
    The Missing Eighteen and One Half Hour Tapes!
    Gold Lake Secrecy Pact Discovered in Conversations with Doug Coe’s   Secretary and Art Lindsley
• "A   friend who also researches and writes about the New Age Movement called   me immediately after her July 8, 1988 conversations with Doug Coe’s   secretary at the Fellowship Foundation (Washington Fellowship) and Art   Lindsley of the C. S. Lewis Institute about the Gold Lake event.
• She   made extensive notes of her conversations with Dr. Gordon Lewis (Denver   Seminary); Molly, Doug Coe’s secretary at the Fellowship Foundation;   and Dr. Art Lindsley (Spiritual Counterfeits Project and the C. S. Lewis   Institute, Washington, D.C.)
• She shared her copious notes with me. We   learned that the Gold Lake event was a “retreat” sponsored   by “Christians” for New Age leaders.
• The events were chummy   to the extent of featuring such popular trust-building exercises (popular   in New Age circles) as Christians running obstacle races with New Agers.
• Molly told our friend that the events consisted mainly of group activities.   Molly also told our friend that Art Lindsley was the person who knew   about the tapes.
• This was the culmination of many months of our trying   frustratingly to gather information on Gold Lake and being able to eke   out only small tidbits from New Agers such as David Spangler and Fritz   Hull bragging about the events.
• The following story will describe what   we have been able to learn to date. “Dynamic Links” are   the newest concept in software.
• It appears that there are all too many   “dynamic links” between Christians and the globalist-occult   community. Are they witnessing/ Or much more likely, are they networking?   You be the judge!
• "Barbara   Marx Hubbard’s most successful “Harmonic Convergence”   did not take place on August 16-17, 1987. Nor was it the Soviet-American   dialogues.
• Instead, her most successful blending of what she calls “resonating   core groups” was held in Boulder, Colorado October 24 through   26, 1987. She started at a conference called “Christianity and   the New Age” sponsored by Doug Coe’s Fellowship Foundation,   Inc. (more commonly known as “The Washington Fellowship,”   or “The Fellowship”), The C. S. Lewis Institute, Spiritual   Counterfeits Project and other ‘Christian” organizations.
• The event seems to strongly smack of Evangelical Ministry to New Religions   (EMNR’s) imprinting – in fact, many EMNR principals such   as J. Vernon Grounds and Gordon Lewis were involved.
• "Our   information for this story was culled from many sources. We learned   by listening to tapes of New Agers, by asking New Agers such as Marilyn   Ferguson, by other Christians calling “Christians” who were   there and passing on the little information they received to us.
• The   most important thing we learned was that the Christians there made a   pact with the New Agers not to reveal information about the retreat.
• The 'Christians' obviously kept their word better than the New Agers.
• In fact, the very day the conference ended, David Spangler spoke at   an Episcopal Church in Boulder, bragging about the success of the event.
• If the New Agers were less than reticent about talking about the event   than the Christians, perhaps it was because the New Agers had less to   hide!

• Another   article on the same website included a copy of an invitation to the   event. You may view it in context by clicking   here and scrolling down as needed on the article:

   

  October   5, 1987
    Name withheld
    Stanford CA, 94025

• Dear
    XXXXX,

   

  "We   are writing to invite you to join us for the gathering we are hosting   at Gold Lake on October 24-27, entitled “Bridging Through Christ.”
• The conference will be held at Gold Lake Ranch, an executive retreat   conference center, educational foundation, and community initiative   located in the mountains outside Boulder, Colorado.
• "We   plan to meet in dialogue and prayer, with our daily roles and titles,   to form deep personal bonds that will last beyond this weekend.
• We hope   to come out of this meeting with a clearer sense of direction and set   a course for further contact and dialogue.
• The meeting will be structured   so that it can change according to the needs and interests of the group.
• We have asked two close friends, Barbara Marx Hubbard and Doug Coe to   serve as co-hosts for this event, as well as Robin’s parents,   Paul and Diane Temple.

  • Barbara Marx Hubbard, Doug Coe and the Temples
• All of them are deeply dedicated and have each,   in their own way, become powerful catalysts for bringing people around   the globe together in the Spirit of Christ.
• We are planning to limit the participants to about 30 lay people in   order to create the opportunity for deeper communication and sharing.

• We   are eagerly looking forward to being with you at Gold Lake in October   and getting to know you in person. Enclosed is the logistics sheet and   registration form which we would appreciate you filling out and returning   it as soon as possible.

   

  Warmly,
    Robin and Logan Kline
• Robin   Kline is Paul Temple’s daughter’s married name.
• The   information and its ramifications would continue to haunt me.
• Googling   more and discovering Paul Temple’s pivotal role in both the Prayer   Breakfast Network and the powerful New Age Institute of Noetic Sciences   disturbed me more.
• From time to time I would google “Paul N. Temple”   and learn progressively more of his business ventures which included   a holding company named Shambhala, the mythical residence of the “Tibetan   Masters” a la Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Helena Roehrich, and   Alice Ann Bailey.

  • Paul N. Temple and the "Tibetan Masters" of Helena Blavatsky fame
• A   few weeks ago, I made another pivotal on line discovery. I did a routine   search for “Paul N. Temple” and googled it together with   the term, “noetic.”
• This search yielded a “Three Swallows   Foundation.” Reading on line reporter summaries, I learned that   recipients had included groups as diverse as Arthur Blessit Ministries,   All Seasons Chalice Church, and Montessori and Steiner schools.
• Large   amounts of money had gone to the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
• Much   larger amounts of money had gone to something called “International   Foundation” of Washington, D.C.

• International   Foundation? Online Star encapsulated   foundation information gave a link to an Oklahoma organization,

   

  INTERNATIONAL   FOUNDATION
    4809 S GUM   AVE
    BROKEN ARROW, OK 74011

• Clicking   on its required 990 report, this   is what I found:

   

  Obviously,   this modest Oklahoma missionary group could not have been the recipient   of the amounts of moneys indicated had been distributed by the Three   Swallows Foundation.
• I googled “International Foundation”   and came up with nothing that led me to what it had really funded. I   then had an idea.
• I went to Three Swallows Foundation’s 990 reports.   I read the reports to the very bottom and found an entry for “International   Foundation.”

• It had an address: 133 C Street, SE. Washington,   DC 20003. I googled that address.

   

  Bingo!   Here is what I found:

   

  Mr.   Douglas E. Coe
    133 C Street, SE
    Washington, DC
    20003
• Suddenly,   I had much deeper understanding of why Evangelical organizations I had   presumed would be equally interested in knowledge of New Age hostile   ones had so frantically tried to stop my work.
• The motive was in no   small part money. Paul N. Temple (and perhaps others) was funding both   sides – New Age and “Christian.”

  • Those who are funding both New Age groups and "Christian" groups...
• Totaling   Paul Temple’s Three Swallows Foundation donations as shown   in its 990 forms between 1998 and 2007, I would learn that nearly   $1.7 million had been donated to “The International Foundation”   and various smaller amounts to groups as diverse as Arthur Blessit Ministries   and Campus Crusade for Christ.
• Nearly $700,000 had gone to his own Institute   of Noetic Sciences.
• The Gold Lake conference had been convened by Paul   Temple’s own children: clearly not to “Bridge” to   Jesus Christ, but to bridge to their New Age “Christ.”
• Silence   had been purchased at no small cost in dollars to Paul N. Temple and   in souls lost to Evangelicals.
• Legitimate opposition to the hostile   anti-Christian New Age Movement had been marginalized to protect Paul   Temple’s investment.

• Those not bought off by Paul Temple were   bought off with even greater investments from the Moonies. For part   one click below.

   

  Click   here for part -----> 1,

   

  Next   Week: Part III – Unification Church’s seduction   and corruption of Christian theology.
• ©   2008 - Constance Cumbey - All Rights Reserved

69 more annotations...

• Texe Marrs: The Blind and The Dead
• Exposed!—Benny Hinn, Paul and Jan Crouch, Steve Brock, Steve Hill, John Avanzini, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Rodney Howard-Browne, and a host of other famous-name “Christian” televangelists and charismatic leaders.
• You’ll be shocked, stupefied, appalled, disgusted, and saddened all in one as you watch the outrageous antics of well-known Christian celebrities and their untold thousands of gullible followers.
• You’ll shake your head in dismay as you see men barking like dogs and being led around on leashes; women howling like wolves and braying like donkeys; and profanity shouted from the pulpit.
• You’ll recoil in astonishment to discover supposed Christian leaders scoffing at Bible doctrine; a televangelist and his associates sharing an opium smoking pipe; possessed people slithering like serpents at crusades; and thousands of worshippers blasphemously speaking in false tongues and breaking out in roaring, hysterical laughter..

4 more annotations...

• Dominionism
    and the Rise of Christian Imperialism
• By Sarah   Leslie

• American churches are to   a large degree defined by what they choose to rebel against. The Christian   right has set itself in opposition to liberal, secular government and, as a   political consequence, declared itself a buddy of big business.”

   

    Russ Rymer, Mother   Jones, Dec. 2005²

• The   ambassador's words seemed prophetic a couple of weeks later, when a Dream for   Africa draft plan found its way into Swazi newspapers, turning public opinion   sharply against Mr. Wilkinson. Under the headline “British Colony or Dr Bruce   Colony?” one op-ed writer in the Swazi News wrote, “Why can't he simply tell   us that he wants to be given the whole country so that he can gloat to his   friends overseas that he owns a modern day colony in Africa called Swaziland?”

   

    Michael M.   Phillips, “Mr.   Wilkinson Hits Wall Trying To Push 'Orphan Village'”,
      Wall Street Journal,   12/19/05³
• For   the past several decades the political Left has focused attention on the   Christian Right’s political activism in America.
• Particularly, the Left has   been highly critical of a select group of dominionists called   Reconstructionists, whose aggressive verbiage, extreme Calvinist theologies,   and religious political agendas have made it an ideal target for outrage.
• But,   as Leftist researcher Sara Diamond has astutely observed, “the   Reconstructionists’ religion of Calvinism. . . makes them unlikely to appeal   to most evangelicals.”⁴ Indeed, few Reconstructionists would   consider themselves to be evangelicals. Nevertheless, their influence has been   considerable over the much larger group of patriotic evangelicals.
• These dominionists have been able to function virtually   incognito for several reasons
• There are two other   dominionist sects within evangelicalism that have escaped in-depth scrutiny   from the Left.
• 1) They have been deeply embedded within the   evangelical subculture;
• 2) They cloaked their dominionism with new   terminologies and doctrines over a period of thirty years;
• and 3) They figured   out how to package dominionism using sophisticated mass marketing techniques.
• Also noteworthy: these two other dominionist camps have been operating in a   dialectical fashion – while one group appealed to the TBN charismatics with   all of its emotional excesses, the other group carefully managed its more   intellectual public image to conform to traditional evangelical standards.
• This paper is a brief   overview of the three main dominionist movements operating inside   evangelicaldom and examines how all three of these sects are now converging   around a global “kingdom” agenda.
• This paper does not cover the   broader issue of dominionist sects within other world religions, except for a   few brief noteworthy mentions.
• To examine the totality of the individuals, the   organizations, and their cross-linkages would require an exhaustive study   which is beyond the scope of this brief synopsis.
• Even so, every point made in   this paper could   be validated by dozens, sometimes hundreds, of pieces of documentation. The   inquiring reader may check out the footnotes and references.
• Only a small handful of   Christian discernment and apologetics ministries, of which this writer is a   part, have been paying attention to the intersection of the dominionist   streams.
• The apologetic ministries fulfill a Scriptural role to examine and   expose false doctrines and teachers, and to warn other believers of heresies   (Jude 3, 2 Peter 2:1).

  • What is "apologetics?"
• Increasingly, over the past two   decades, many apologists have become seduced by dominionism, blunting their   ability to critically examine the roots and fruits of this rapidly rising new   church era.

  • Some Christian "Apologists" are being compromised by the Dominionists.
• Dominionism in brief
• This seam has ebbed and flowed for 20 centuries,   sometimes submerged, sometimes exposed. Whenever out in the open, it has given   rise to horrible abuses done in the name of Christ.

  • The Crusades
• Throughout the 2000 year   history of Christianity there has always been a vein of dominionism embedded   in the strata of doctrines.

• Keep in mind:

    <!--mstheme--><!--msthemelist-->  <!--msthemelist-->  <!--msthemelist-->

  	<!--mstheme-->  Dominionism is   always an aberration of true Christian theology.<!--mstheme--><!--msthemelist-->
  	<!--mstheme-->  A remnant of believers has always opposed it, often suffering a martyr’s   fate at the hands of intolerant dominionists.
• In the early 21^st   century, once again this vein is now showing and active.
• Traditional Christianity   teaches:
• The Gospel of Salvation   is by faith in Jesus Christ and His shed blood on the cross.
• The emphasis is   placed upon repentance and conversion of individual souls.
• The Kingdom of God   in this age is spiritual and grows through efforts of evangelism   based on teaching the Bible. It is “not of this world” (John 18:36), but a   spiritual rule in the hearts of men (Luke 17:20-21).
• Furthermore, the Kingdom   of God is only finally realized upon Christ’s second return to Earth, whereby   He Himself establishes His literal and physical reign.

  • Truth!

• The evangelism   mandate by Word and Spirit

   

    Christ never intended   that His gospel should be propagated by fire and sword or His righteousness   wrought by the wrath of man. When the high praises of God are in our mouth   with them we should have an olive-branch of peace in our hands. Christ’s   victories are by the power of His gospel and grace over spiritual   enemies, in which all believers are more than conquerors. The word of   God is the two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12), the sword of the Spirit (Eph.   6:17).⁵   [emphasis added]

   

    Matthew Henry, circa   1700
• Dominionism teaches:
• The Gospel of Salvation   is achieved by setting up the “Kingdom of God” as a literal and physical   kingdom to be “advanced” on Earth in the present age.
• Some   dominionists liken the New Testament Kingdom to the Old Testament Israel in   ways that justify taking up the sword, or other methods of punitive judgment,   to war against enemies of their kingdom.
• Dominionists teach that men can be   coerced or compelled to enter the kingdom.

  • As in the deeds of the Roman Church via the "Inquisition" and the Crusades.
• They assign to the Church duties   and rights that belong Scripturally only to Jesus Christ.
• This includes the   esoteric belief that believers can “incarnate” Christ and function as His body   on Earth to establish His kingdom rule.
• An inordinate emphasis is placed on   man’s efforts; the doctrine of the sovereignty of God is diminished.

  • " sovereignty of God is diminished"
• The new dominion   mandate by control
• 1) Satan usurped man’s dominion over   the earth through the temptation of Adam and Eve;
• Dominion theology is   predicated upon three basic beliefs:
• 2) The Church is God’s   instrument to take dominion back from Satan;

• 3) Jesus cannot or will not   return until the Church has taken dominion by gaining   control of the earth’s governmental and social institutions.⁶  [emphasis added]

   

    Al Dager, Vengeance   Is Ours: The Church In Dominion

   

   
• As such it is rarely presented as openly as the   definitions above may indicate.
• Outside of the Reconstructionist camp,   evangelical dominionism has wrapped itself in slick packages – one piece at a   time – for mass-media consumption.
• Dominion theology is a  heresy.
• This has been a slow process, taking   several decades.
• Few evangelicals would recognize the word “dominionism” or   know what it means. This is because other terminologies have been developed   which soft-sell dominionism, concealing the full scope of the agenda.
• Many   evangelicals (and even their more conservative counterparts, the   fundamentalists) may adhere to tidbits of dominionism without recognizing the   error. This is because dominionism has “crept in unawares” (Jude 4) to seduce   an undiscerning generation.

  • The sneaky snake of Dominionism has crawled into the Evangelical community
• To most effectively   propagate their agenda, dominionist leaders first developed new   ecclesiologies, eschatologies and soteriologies for targeted audiences along   the major denominational fault lines of evangelical Christianity.
• Then   the 1990s Promise Keepers men’s movement was used as a vehicle to “break down   the walls”, i.e., cross denominational barriers for the purpose of exporting   dominionism to the wider evangelical subculture.⁷
• This strategy was   so effective that it reached into the mainline Protestant denominations.
• Dominionists have carefully selected leaders to be trained as “change agents”   for “transformation” (dominion) in an erudite manner that belies the media   stereotype of southern-talking, Bible-thumping, fundamentalist half-wits.

  • Dominionist "change agents"
• The 3 sects of   evangelical dominionism
• There are three   predominant sects (or movements) that propagate dominion theology which hold   considerable influence over evangelicaldom.
• The Kingdom of   God must be advanced on Earth through hyper-spiritual “warfare” activities   against the devil.
• 1.         SPIRITUAL WARFARE PRAYER movement:
• A veritable supermarket of verbal and physical prayer   techniques such as chanting, walks, and marches are employed in this effort.
• Believers are told their prayer power creates spiritual “canopies” over   regions, preparing the way for “revival.”
• In this sense, prayer warfare is   seen as preparatory work so that the other two movements can build the   kingdom.
• Recently the contemplative prayer movement – which includes   meditation, fasting, and labyrinths – has been brought into the spiritual   warfare prayer “arsenal.”

  • Using the Eastern religions' occultic tools to war against Satan? Jesus said a "kingdom divided against itself cannot stand..." In otherwords: you are not bringing down Satanic strongholds by using Satanic weapons or energies. What you are doing is strengthening that Arch Foe.
• Prayer serves as a convenient decoy for covert   operations.
• All three sects are utilizing massive statistical databanking   resources (e.g., the World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs) and   sophisticated psycho-social group manipulations to forge kingdom   “transformation.”

  • Is Colorado or Colorado Springs, more specifically, becoming the head quarters for apostate Christianity? Seems to be. Seems every time one turns around some backslidden ministry, company of reprobates or apostates are locating themselves in Colorado Springs or in Colorado in general. What gives..?

• One key leader of this sect is Cindy Jacobs, who is closely   associated with C. Peter Wagner (see below). Her website    http://www.generals.org epitomizes   the militant doctrines and practices of the spiritual warfare sect.

     
• Prayer before fighting
• Our   calling is to be worshippers, warriors, and workers. We must first offer our   lives as a living sacrifice in worship to God. From our worship will flow   our intercession and warfare as we fight with weapons of righteousness in   our right hand and in our left. Only after we have worshipped our God   and fought the fight in the Spirit will we proceed to work in   the harvest fields, advancing the Kingdom   of God.⁸     [emphasis added]
• Promoting these prayer   warfare activities are hyper-charismatics from the “signs and wonders”   movement, which include self-anointed, self-appointed “apostles” and   “prophets” who are preparing to govern the world through their “New Apostolic   Reformation.”
• This dominionist sect is a direct offshoot of the Latter Rain   cult (also known as Joel’s Army or Manifest Sons of God).

  • "Latter Rain" cult aka "Joel's Army" or "Manifest Sons of God"
• Chief   architect of this movement for the past two decades is C. Peter Wagner,   President of Global Harvest Ministries and Chancellor of the Wagner Leadership   Institute.
• His spiritual warfare teachings have been widely disseminated   through mission networks such as AD 2000, which was closely associated with   the Lausanne Movement.
• A prominent individual connected to this sect is Ted   Haggard, current head of the National Association of Evangelicals.¹⁰

  • Haggard is not head of the NAE anymore; not since his fall over revelations of his drug use and "close" association with a confessed homosexual male. AND BY THE WAY: this explains a few things...
• The New Apostolic   Reformation
• Since 2001, the body of   Christ has been in the   Second Apostolic Age.   The   apostolic/prophetic   government of the church   is now in place.
• This   time, however, we feel that God wants us to start   governmentally,   connecting with the apostles of   the region.
• . . . [W]e began to   build our base   by locating   and   identifying with the intercessory prayer movements.
• God has already raised up for us a   key apostle   in one of the   strategic nations   of the Middle East, and other   apostles   are already coming on board.

  • The Middle East, huh? It always seems to get around to this precise area of the globe. Obviously these "New Apostles" are up to something sinister, if they are aware of it or not...

• Once we have the   apostles in place,   we will then bring the intercessors and the   prophets   into the   inner circle, and we will end up with the   spiritual core   we need to move ahead for   retaking the dominion that is rightfully ours.¹¹  [emphasis   added]

   

    C. Peter Wagner
• The words   “revival,” “reformation” and “transformation” now carry embedded dominionist   connotations.
• 2.       MISSION   AS TRANSFORMATION movement:
• “Fulfilling the Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20) no longer   means spreading the Gospel message by speaking the Word of salvation from the   Bible. The dominionist focus is placed upon the phrase making disciples,   with an incorrect exegesis that is disconcertingly compulsory.
• Traditional   mission evangelism, done one-on-one using the Bible, is being replaced with a   slew of “kingdom building” corporate activities for cities,   regions and nations.
• Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ   International and Ralph Winter, founder of the U.S. Center for World Mission   and editor of the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement   curriculum (which has taught dominionism to an entire generation of   missionaries), have been among the chief architects of this movement.¹²
• The disingenuous phrase “bless the nations” is often used   to conceal dominionism.
• Dominionism   supplants biblical evangelism

• “The Church must   grow past the ‘Gospel of Salvation’ message   and understand that it is only when we begin to implement the principles of   the ‘Gospel of the kingdom’ that we will really begin to see change   in lives and cities and nations.   The Church has no   understanding of this realm. . .   The Church must grow up.   . . .   ¹³      [emphasis added]

   

    Dale Neill, president   of ICCC

  • Heresy and blatant error...
• Beyond Salvation
• “. . . God's concern   goes beyond the salvation of individual people.

  • Plain what "spirit" is at work through this statement.

• His redemptive plan   encompasses the healing and transformation of entire nations . . . .  Nations are discipled as the church makes the invisible Kingdom   visible by faithful obedience to God's Word throughout culture--in every   area of life, and every realm of society including the family, the   community, the arts, sciences, media, law, government, schools, or business.   . . .”¹⁴   [emphasis added]

   

    Disciple the Nations
• 3.          PATRIOTIC AMERICAN movement:
• Patriotic   dominionists, most of whom are not Reconstructionists, teach   that political action will advance the kingdom of God in America.
• Using the   vehicle of Christian media, they have taught evangelicals for the past three   decades that America is a Christian nation and needs to return to its roots.
• Almost every evangelical in the pew has been influenced in one way or   another by this sect.
• Patriotic dominionist leaders and their organizations   have been closely interlocked financially and politically with the   conservatives from the political Right.

  • politics and patriotism...twins
• The secular conservatives purport to   uphold morality, which appeals to evangelicals.

  • Ant-Gay; anti-abortion
• The combined force of   conservatives and evangelicals flexes its political muscles in Washington.
• One   of its most powerful leaders is James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Patriotic   dominionism was widely disseminated through the activities of Jay Grimstead,   founder of Coalition on Revival (COR).
• From its earliest inception COR managed   to successfully bring together key leaders from all three dominionist sects,   including the Reconstructionists, to promote the most ruthless doctrines of   dominionism.¹⁵

  • This, in my opinion, is why these rabidly, madly and loudly support Bush-Cheney, McCain for "WAR!" "WAR!" and "MORE WAR!"
• Grimstead’s COR   Steering Council letter, dated May 1993
• 1. The Kingdom of God   was inaugurated and the King was installed and seated in the First Century   A.D. and we need not wait for the King's second coming to get the Kingdom   started here on earth.
• 4. At this moment of   history, all humans on earth, whether Jew or Gentile, believer or   unbeliever, private person or public official, are obligated to bow their   knees to this King Jesus, confess Him as Lord of the universe   with their tongues, and submit to His lordship over every aspect of   their lives in thought, word and deed.
• 5. Biblical evangelism   according to the Great Commission of Matt. 28:18-20 is not truly   accomplished unless that message of Christ's lordship from point #4 above is   given to the person being evangelized so that they know that an attempt   at personal neutrality before King Jesus is sin and treason in this   universe.¹⁶   [emphases added]

  • It does indeed sound a lot like the Taliban, Osama Ben Laden and all radical Muslim terrorists.
• Dominionism goes global
• These three branches of dominionism are linked   historically at many levels, and there is solid documentation to support the   idea that the current convergence was planned and intentional.¹⁷
• Since the latter half of   the 1990s the three major dominionists sects have openly converged into an   ecumenical force.
• While Leftists focused   their attentions on political dominionists in American politics and what was   going on in Iraq, the three movements went global.
• This new confederation of   dominionists has been rapidly advancing its kingdom across the globe through   “economic, social, political and spiritual transformation.”¹⁸
• To   achieve this paradigm shift, the global dominionists have employed   sophisticated psycho-social methodologies, statistical research,   socio-economic development tools, marketing research, strategic planning,   assessments, databanking and monitoring, and technical assistance.

  • Is Pat Robertson's CBN a participant in this heresy by way of "Operation Blessing?"
• They are   also aggressively forming alliances with national and international   governments, corporations, individuals, private agencies, philanthropic groups   and other entities.

  • Rick Warren of "Emerging Church" fame is doing this...
• Below are some key examples of this rapid convergence   around a global kingdom worldview.
• 1.  Global “spheres.”  Observers from   the Left were infuriated when the Coalition on Revival political dominionists   cranked out documents during the 1980s addressing a Christian worldview in   seventeen “spheres” of life and ministry – education, health care, the family,   the arts, sciences, law, media, government, business, etc.
• This is because COR   didn’t just write a philosophical statement. COR “determined that it is   mandatory for all Christians to implement that worldview in society,   particularly as it applies to the dominionist interpretation of the Great   Commission.”
• These spheres didn’t disappear when COR began to   fade off the radar screen. They have a new life. The worldview sphere   documents have now gone global by becoming incorporated into mission agendas.
• Mission groups are now partnering with national and international governments,   business corporations, NGOs, humanitarian entities and others to build their   kingdom in the cultural spheres of selected nations around the globe.

  • I saw a segment of the CBN televised program this past summer (2008) where Pat Robertson was having a cordial interview of the mainland Chinese government's ambassador to Washington DC. Pat was so gushy and apologetic in his approach to the Communist Chinese representative of a regime that imprisons, tortures and executes it's own citizens and very many of them genuine Christian believers. So what was Pat Robertson doing, placing his unwritten seal of approval on that tyrannical government by kising up to it's ambassador and ne're a word said regarding the presecution of the true Church of Jesus Christ in China?
• Mission   incorporates COR’s spheres

• The seven spheres of influence described below will help us shape societies   for Christ. God gave us these handles to use in carrying out Matthew 28 and discipling nations for Him. We   believe He is wanting all His people to see the importance of these seven   areas and work in them to extend Christ's reign throughout the earth.           The Family & Health Care;        Commerce, Science and Technology;          The Church;        Government;        Education;        The Media;        The Arts, Entertainment and Sports²⁰

   

    Disciple the Nations
• The dominionist’s   kingdom must be advanced on Earth by gaining control of governments (State),   utilizing business (Corporations) and partnering with social sector (Church)   institutions.
• 2. The 3-legged stool.
• New bridges are being built based on triangular relationship   between all three sectors of society.
• The Church is forming partnerships (or   collaborations) with State and/or Corporate interests in order to implement   dominion.

  • SEE: The "Antipas Ministries" website for more on this alliance between the "Church" and Big Business and Big Government. While I do not agree with everything the writers of Antipas state; nevertheless, there is enough there to warrant a reading of their material which backs up a lot..in fact most..of what is being said in this article.
• Peter Drucker, the management guru, was instrumental in overseeing   the implementation of this agenda – to create a three-legged “healthy society”   globally – via Rick Warren of purpose-driven fame.

  • Rick Warren
• Warren was   mentored by Drucker, as were a number of other evangelical leaders such as Bob   Buford of Leadership Network.

  • Bob Buford
• Buford trained an entire generation of aspiring   megachurch pastors in Drucker’s social philosophies. The megachurches are   based on the Drucker corporate business model.

  • Mega Churches....this too explains a few things about them and the spiritual fruit of their clergy.
• Drucker’s ideas also undergird   the faith-based (Church-State) movement which has been politically championed   by the neoconservatives in Washington.²¹
• Dominionism is significantly breaking down the walls between Church and   Corporations (see point 4 below).

• In brief, the three-legged stool of   dominionism looks like this:

   

    CORPORATE + STATE =   Fascism

   

    STATE + CHURCH =   Faith-based

   

    CHURCH + CORPORATE =   Fusion –
    the Merchant Church

  • Shades of Hitler's Nazi Germany and the German Christians...
• Drucker’s 3-legged   stool model

• . . .[The Peter F.   Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management], created ten years ago to honor   Peter Drucker’s contributions to management and leadership, believes that a   healthy society requires three vital sectors: a public sector of effective   governments; a private sector of effective businesses; and a social sector   of effective community organizations, including faith-based organizations.   It furthers its mission to lead social sector organizations toward   excellence in performance by providing educational opportunities and   resources.²²

   

    Leadership Network

  • Even Barack Obama, of all people, has gone on record as supporting Faith Based aid to religious (Church) organizations via government tax dollars. Many on the Left who were wild about Obama initially, almost had a hissy fit when he came out with this endorsement of Bush's religio-state policy. Apparently the Liberals and Lefties for the most part are no smarter or aware of the truth behind the Faith Based agenda than are the Evangelical and Conservatives of the Right.
• Rick Warren has single-handedly accomplished more to bring about a public   convergence between the three sects of dominionism than any other individual.
• 3. The phenomenon of Rick Warren.
• Warren received his doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary under the   tutelage of his advisor, C. Peter Wagner of the spiritual warfare   dominionists.²³
• Dubbed “America’s Pastor” by the media, he is now   embarking on an aggressive marketing campaign to set up a model of Peter   Drucker’s “healthy society” in Rwanda, ostensibly under the banner of   missionary and charitable endeavors.
• Warren transcends   evangelicalism. He easily moves in internationalist circles (Aspen Institute)   and aligns himself with rock stars (Bono).

  • He is also a darling of Fox News
• Warren has launched a grandiose plan to   “transform” Africa – to “cure AIDS,” “end poverty” and “fulfill the Great   Commission.”
• Warren has audaciously called for a   “Second Reformation” based upon his global P.E.A.C.E. Plan, which is a study   in dominionism.²⁴
• Leftists who fret over Warren’s foray into AIDS²⁵   may miss the more serious dominionist ramifications of his overall global   plan.
• Warren intends to amass the world’s largest volunteer “army” of “one   billion foot soldiers” to implement his global P.E.A.C.E. Plan.²⁶

  • Sounds like 21st century brand of the Crusaders and a new Crusade.

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• Joel’s Purpose Driven Army
• August 25th, 2008<!-- by Derek --> · 8 Comments
• TWO EVENTS took place the weekend of August 16-17, 2008 that Christians should mark well. They herald nothing less than the march of American evangelicals down a road that culminates in the ascendancy of the Antichrist.
• The first event was the televised “Saddleback Civil Forum”, hosted by Rick Warren, arguably the most recognizable and popular evangelical pastor in America.
• Warren, author of the best-selling The Purpose-Driven Life, managed to bring presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain together for a nationally televised (on two cable news networks) forum.
• Many evangelicals watched the event to see how the candidates responded to Warren’s questions on faith and politics and a sea of virtual ink has been spilled debating the candidates’ answers.
• However, the most important question of the night was never asked: Doesn’t a minister of the gospel, especially one responsible for the 22,000 souls who attend his church, have anything better to do than inject himself into a political campaign?

  • Good question and one that needs to be asked of a large number of pastors across this nation.
• The answer should be clear: Yes, he does. That the question hasn’t crossed the minds of most evangelicals is the real story of the Saddleback Civil Forum.

• Jesus called His disciples to be in the world, not of it. In fact, He made it clear that being in, not of, the world was not the way to win friends and influence people:

   

  “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you…“
   (John 15:18-20, ESV)
• Jesus was crucified for his preaching. Rick Warren is a New York Times best-selling author who gets a couple hours of live simultaneous prime-time coverage on two competing cable news networks. Think on that.
• The political realm is familiar territory for Pastor Warren, who hobnobbed with the rich and famous at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2006 and again this year.

  • Chaplain to the Illuminati?
• He’s addressed the United Nations, the African Union, the Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, TED (the Technology Entertainment Design conference), and TIME’s Global Health Summit.
• Warren has recently signed on as a member of the Advisory Council to Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation, an ecumenical organization that intends to unite the Abrahamic faiths — Muslim, Christian, and Jew — in advancing the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

  • Union of Muslim, Jew and Christian???

• Those eight goals are:

   

  1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
   2. Achieve universal primary education
   3. Promote gender equality and empower women
   4. Reduce child mortality
   5. Improve maternal health
   6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
   7. Ensure environmental sustainability
   8. Develop a global partnership for development
• Noble goals, to be sure, but we followers of Christ must remember that the Great Commission was to preach the gospel to the ends of the Earth. We were never commanded to partner with earthly governments to redistribute wealth.
• And let’s be honest: all eight of the MDGs ultimately involve taking money from taxpayers and giving them to government.

• To achieve these noble goals, Warren has launched his global PEACE plan, which aspires to:

   

  • Promote reconciliation
   • Equip servant leaders
   • Assist the poor
   • Care for the sick
   • Educate the next generation
• It’s significant that Warren changed the “P”. In his original PEACE plan, P stood for “Plant churches”. Presumably, that didn’t go over too well with some of Warren’s prospective partners in global development.

  • Change language, plans and blue prints to suit the Luciferian Elite...
• Now, it’s pretty easy to understand why Rick Warren softened the gospel message at his Civil forum last Saturday night. If he’d talked about Christ and Him crucified, he would never have been granted a two hour national simulcast.

  • True!
• The programming gurus at Fox News and CNN knew he’d steer clear of the gospel and so they had no fear of featuring “America’s most influential pastor” in a prime time broadcast.
• But why would Warren water down the gospel message with his global outreach?
• Simply, Warren treats church as a business.
• One of his mentors was the late management consultant Peter Drucker.
• So for Warren, it’s all about results, measured by tangible, quantifiable actions. In his own words: “The first Reformation was about beliefs. This one needs to be about behavior.… We’ve had a Reformation; what we need now is a transformation.”
• In other words, rather than reaching out to the world with a message about beliefs essential to eternal salvation, Warren preaches a gospel of changing the world now. And that is what the old-timers called heresy.
• Which is where last weekend’s second big event comes in. While overshadowed by Warren’s political forum, it’s no less significant in what it represents.
• An estimated 50,000 people converged on Washington, D.C., for “TheCall”, twelve hours of fasting and praying for God’s forgiveness on a nation that’s turned away from His holiness. Like Warren’s PEACE plan, it sounds noble. But look beneath the surface.
• TheCall is the work of Lou Engle, who was inspired by the Promise Keepers’ 1997 “Stand in the Gap” gathering on the Mall in D.C.

  • The Call is also a part of or an affiliate of Joel's Army
• Since then, he’s organized TheCall DC and a number of regional gatherings aimed at bringing young people together in a nascent “Joel’s Army” through “prayer furnaces” and an invitation for young people to become modern-day Nazirites
• (see Numbers 6:1-21), in clear disobedience of Christ’s command against swearing vows (Matthew 5:37).
• In recruiting volunteers for his events, Engle repeatedly cites the prophetic vision of the prophet Joel:
• 12 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
    “return to me with all your heart,
   with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
    13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
   Return to the LORD your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster.
• 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
    consecrate a fast;
   call a solemn assembly;
    16 gather the people.
   Consecrate the congregation;
    assemble the elders;
   gather the children,
    even nursing infants.
   Let the bridegroom leave his room,
    and the bride her chamber.
• 18 Then the LORD became jealous for his land
    and had pity on his people.

• 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
   your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.

   

  (Excerpts from Joel 2, ESV)
• First, the apostle Peter said that Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-21). And while it’s true that prophecy often has dual fulfillments, it’s clear that the events Joel describes refer to the “day of the Lord”, which prophecy scholars identify with a future divine cataclysm that immediately precedes the Second Coming.
• This is a classic example of proof texting.
• The prophecy also refers to Israel, an inconvenient truth for Engle and his supporters.
• And the command to weep and pray “between the vestibule and the altar” is directed to “the priests, the ministers of the LORD”, not kids aged 14 to 24.
• So what’s the purpose of TheCall? It’s patriotic dominionism, a call to the youth of America to reclaim their country from the evils of secularism, paganism, and especially abortion, in disturbingly military terms.
• To many Christians, this sounds a like a good thing, a way to engage youths and young adults who are the principal targets of the peddlers of our culture of death.
• Wrong; it’s a conflation of Old Testament prophecy and modern military jargon with an emphasis on prophetic “words” from self-proclaimed seers who keep getting it wrong (which, under Mosaic Law, would be a death sentence).
• We’re known by the company we keep, and Lou Engle is no exception. His advisory board includes:

• • Rick Joyner (Morning Star Ministries), who shared his vision of God’s kingdom:

   

  The kingdom of God will not be socialism, but a freedom even greater than anyone on earth knows at this time. At first it may seem like totalitarianism, as the Lord will destroy the antichrist spirit now dominating the world with “the sword of His mouth” and will shatter many nations like pottery. However, fundamental to His rule is II Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

   

  Instead of taking away liberties and becoming more domineering, the kingdom will move from a point of necessary control while people are learning truth, integrity, honor, and how to make decisions, to increasing liberty so that they can. (Emphasis mine.)
• • Che Ahn (Harvest Rock International), under whom Engle served as associate pastor, and C. Peter Wagner (Global Harvest Ministries), who appeared together onstage June 23 to “align” themselves with charismatic evangelist Todd Bentley, who believes the Holy Spirit ordered him to “leg drop” a pastor, “clothesline” a man hoping for a miraculous healing, and kick an elderly woman in the face with his biker boot during worship services.
• At the very least, this calls into question the discernment of Ahn and Wagner — and, of course, Engle for requesting their advice.
• • Cindy Jacobs, whose prophetic ministry, “Generals International”, perpetuates the use of military terminology for theological concepts.
• • Chuck Pierce (Glory of Zion International Ministries), another self-proclaimed prophet, whose teachings appear to draw more from astrology and Jewish mysticism (kabbalah) than the Bible.
• But lest you think TheCall’s support comes exclusively from Christianity’s charismatic fringe, consider that the Lou Engle’s advisory board also includes such recognized mainstream figures as Gary Bauer (former presidential candidate and president of the Family Research Council),

  • Gary Bauer on Engle's advisory board
• Coach Bill McCartney (founder of Promise Keepers),
• Tony Perkins (current president of the FRC),
• Dr. Alveda King (niece of Martin Luther King, Jr.),
• Rod Parsley,
• Luis Palau,
• actor Stephen Baldwin,
• Steve Douglas (president of Campus Crusade),
• musicians Ricky Skaggs and Michael W. Smith, and others.
• Ted Haggard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, was a member of the board before his very public fall from grace.
• Perkins and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee were featured speakers at TheCall DC last week, so writing this off as a fringe event underestimates its growing influence with evangelical power brokers.
• Next stop for Engle is San Diego, to organize voters for Proposition 8, the gay-marriage ban on the California ballot in November. In this, Engle’s political activism echoes that of established evangelicals like Pat Robertson, Dr. James Dobson, and the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, but with a cooler website.
• Here is the heart of the matter: Lost in all of the political dealings of Lou Engle and Rick Warren is the simple gospel message of sin and salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

  • Where these Dominionists, Reconstructionists and Joel's Army troopers miss it..
• Oh, most evangelicals assume it’s in there somewhere, amidst all the talk of Nazirite vows and goals to eliminate poverty, but in the dominionist theology of Engle and Warren, grace is replaced by “purity”, reformation by transformation, and doctrine by deeds.
• Grace? That’s so 18th century.
• We’re on a dangerous road, the same path traveled by our ancestors in the faith nearly 1,700 years ago.
• American Christians are tempted to see good in what appears to be the growing influence of Jesus Christ in the political realm.
• Similarly, most 4th century Christians were convinced that the Emperor Constantine’s decision to legalize the faith was an act of God, and Theodosius the Great’s decree to make Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire was seen as further evidence of God’s power.
• After 300+ years of often brutal persecution, that’s an understandable reaction.
• Instead of God’s kingdom on Earth, however, state support of Christianity spawned the grasping hierarchy, worldly excesses, and extra-biblical doctrines of the medieval Roman Catholic Church.

  • And the eventual persecution of real and genuine Christian Believers..
• Why should we expect any better from a 21st century marriage of church and state?
• The emphasis by Warren and Engle and their supporting ministries on producing quantifiable changes in the here and now, rather than storing up treasures in heaven through individual witnessing, has produced a profound shift —
• a word that keeps turning up during my research into the growing stream of New Age thought in American evangelicalism —

  • SEE: Constance Cumbey's 3-part exposure of the meeting and wedding of American Evangelicals and blatant New Age operatives in secret meetings...Go to "News With Views" website for her articles.
• away from orthodox Christian doctrine by our most influential pastors.
• Political power is sought because it’s necessary to bring about God’s kingdom now.

  • SEE: Doug Coe and "The Cedars"
• Don’t worry; it will only seem like totalitarianism at first, until we re-educate all those rebellious unbelievers. (In its most extreme forms, dominionists actually believe that Jesus cannot return until we “take dominion” of the Earth, which makes it easier to justify the means.)
• Ultimately, this dominionist heresy will lead many professing Christians to welcome the Antichrist as one of their own.

  • Exactly....Christ stated that those who would kill His true followers "wouldl think they were doing God a service" and that deception at the End Time would be so cunning, so masked as to "deceive the very elect if that were possible."
• Bear in mind that “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light”.
• If American evangelicals are so lacking in discernment that thousands swallow Todd Bentley’s demon-inspired histrionics as the work of the Holy Spirit, and tens of millions buy into Warren’s purpose-driven social gospel without questioning his documented habit of proof texting, then how many more will welcome a charming, self-effacing leader who’s only stated desire is to bring, well, PEACE to Earth?
• Now, Rick Warren probably isn’t the Antichrist, and Lou Engle no doubt believes that changing the culture according to God’s standards is a holy and righteous thing to do.
• But their actions are not scriptural, and they’re laying the groundwork for a political leader who says he shares their goals to win the hearts, minds, and souls of millions of people who claim to be Christians.

  • True
• 8 responses so far ↓
• Adrian Boyce   // Aug 25, 2008
• Unfortunately it seems many people think they can find a better way than Jesus outlines. He suffered as well as his disciples for preaching the Gospel. It was a gospel that called for great sacrifice.
• Suffering was synonymous with believing. That is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Apostles were considered the scum of the earth and no-one wanted to be an Apostle. My, how things have changed.
• David Garrett   // Aug 25, 2008
• Well it seems we are just witnessing what the Lord said would happen,Christianity has left the old paths,lots of confusion out there now,a close walk with the Lord and discernment are the only way we can make it.
• Here is a link of a mp3 file from an old fashioned pastor who has confronted Rick Joyner to his face here in Charlottle,NC,telling him he was a false prophet.
• Rick Joyner has been knighted into some group called The Knights of Malta,and has some real weird views about scripture. http://www.pawcreek.org/audio_mp3/pwobd030808.mp3
• Joanne   // Aug 26, 2008
• btw… both Rick Joyner and Ricky Scaggs were initiated into the Knights of Malta in the late ’90’s

• Mike   // Aug 28, 2008 at 10:31 am 

   

   

  Thanks for the post! And thank you Derek and Sharon for all your work with PID- there are a lot of great alternative news websites/podcasts, but PID really kept things in perspective- not sowing fear, and keeping everything Christ centered.
• Concerning the post on Warren. I was listening to Dr. Dennis Cuddy on Radio Liberty. He has 2 new articles- The Management Plan part 1 and 2: http://www.newswithviews.com/Cuddy/dennis135.htm
• On Radio Liberty Dr. Cuddy was speaking of what is called the “civic church”. This is essentially the concept of church as an all-inclusive universalist, humanitarian organization.
• Both the interview, and article are full of information on how this seemingly “modern” movement of the social gospel/dominionism has actually been in planning for a long time.
• His reference to Alice Bailey’s book, Problems of Humanity and the 1893 World Parliament of Religions really captured my attention as some great examples to expose these long planned hidden intentions.

• David Garrett   // Aug 28, 2008 at 5:14 pm 

   

   

  Dr. Dennis Cuddy is a great researcher as well as the Collins brothers,for those interested he was on Southwest Radio Church two days this month talking about the new world order,the 25th and 26th of August http://www.swrc.com/ministry/schedule/schedule.html

• Ainsley Broussard   // Aug 31, 2008 at 1:51 pm 

   

   

  Excellent article, Derek. I came across your and Sharon’s website via Tom Horn of “Raiders News Network.” Since then I have been a devoted reader and listener. Though I am middle-age and too over the hill for enlisting in “The Call” and “Jesus Camp”; I do have two sons in their early 20’s. We are a Christian family and you can believe I am watching these movements of Bentley, Engle and Warren like a hawk. Thanks to “watchmen on the wall” like you, Sharon, Tom Horn and others, you are helping we grass roots laymen to spread the word on the dangers of Dominionism and Reconstructionists. Oh..and if you would, say hello to Sharon for me and tell her I so enjoy her articles too.

94 more annotations...

• 'Arming' for Armageddon
• Militant Joel's Army Followers Seek Theocracy

  • Not sayng this version of a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center is not accurate or contains some truth. However, considering the source of this report, Southern Poverty Law Center, I take anything in this particular report, with a grain of salt.
• By Casey Sanchez
  Photography by Lowell Handler
        <!-- intel report issue information: Issue 131 --> 

    Intelligence Report
    Fall 2008
• 
  Canadian Todd Bentley, who preached for months on end this year in Florida, is a general in Joel's Army
• LAKELAND, Fla. — Todd Bentley has a long night ahead of him, resurrecting the dead, healing the blind, and exploding cancerous tumors.
• Since April 3, the 32-year-old, heavily tattooed, body-pierced, shaved-head Canadian preacher has been leading a continuous "supernatural healing revival" in central Florida.
• To contain the 10,000-plus crowds flocking from around the globe, Bentley has rented baseball stadiums, arenas and airport hangars at a cost of up to $15,000 a day.
• Many in attendance are church pastors themselves who believe Bentley to be a prophet and don't bat an eye when he tells them he's seen King David and spoken with the Apostle Paul in heaven. "He was looking very Jewish," Bentley notes.
• Tattooed across his sternum are military dog tags that read "Joel's Army."

  • Tattoos
• They're evidence of Bentley's generalship in a rapidly growing apocalyptic movement that's gone largely unnoticed by watchdogs of the theocratic right.
• According to Bentley and a handful of other "hyper-charismatic" preachers advancing the same agenda, Joel's Army is prophesied to become an Armageddon-ready military force of young people with a divine mandate to physically impose Christian "dominion" on non-believers.

  • "Christianity" by force?
• "An end-time army has one common purpose — to aggressively take ground for the kingdom of God under the authority of Jesus Christ, the Dread Champion," Bentley declares on the website for his ministry school in British Columbia, Canada.

  • "Dominionists"
• "The trumpet is sounding, calling on-fire, revolutionary believers to enlist in Joel's Army. …
• Many are now ready to be mobilized to establish and advance God's kingdom on earth."
• Joel's Army followers, many of them teenagers and young adults who believe they're members of the final generation to come of age before the end of the world, are breaking away in droves from mainline Pentecostal churches.
• Numbering in the tens of thousands, they base their beliefs on an esoteric reading of the second chapter of the Old Testament Book of Joel, in which an avenging swarm of locusts attacks Israel.
• In their view, the locusts are a metaphor for Joel's Army.

  • In my reading of that portion of the Book of Joel, that locust army sounds like anything but something of God or Christian. Traditional Bible scholars have in the past interpreted this army as demonic.
• Despite their overt militancy, there's no evidence Joel's Army followers have committed any acts of violence.
• But critics warn that actual bloodletting may only be a matter of time for a movement that casts itself as God's avenging army.
• This video was posted on YouTube by a detractor.
• Those sounding the alarm about Joel's Army are not secular foes of the Christian Right, few of whom are even aware of the movement or how widespread it's become in the past decade.
• Instead, Joel's Army critics are mostly conservative Christians, either neo-Pentecostals who left the movement in disgust or evangelical Christians who fear that Joel's Army preachers are stealing their flocks, even sending spies to infiltrate their own congregations and sway their young people to heresy. And they say the movement is becoming frightening.
• "The pitch and intensity of the military rhetoric of this branch of the global Dominionist movement has substantially increased since the beginning of 2008," writes The Discernment Research Group, a Christian watchdog group that tracks what they call heresies or cults within Christianity.
• "One can only wonder how long before this transforms into real warfare with actual warriors."
• 'Snorting Religion'
• Joel's Army believers are hard-core Christian dominionists, meaning they believe that America, along with the rest of the world, should be governed by conservative Christians and a conservative Christian interpretation of biblical law. There is no room in their doctrine for democracy or pluralism.
• Dominionism's original branch is Christian Reconstructionism, a grim, Calvinist call to theocracy that, as Reconstructionist writer Gary North describes, wants to "get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God."

  • Definition of Christian "Reconstructionism." Writer Gary North is a "Reconstructionist"..????
• Notorious for endorsing the public execution by stoning of homosexuals and adulterers, the Christian Reconstructionist movement is far better known in secular America than Joel's Army.
• That's largely because Reconstructionists have made several serious forays into mainstream politics and received a fair amount of negative publicity as a result.
• Joel's Army followers eschew the political system, believing the path to world domination lies in taking over churches, not election to public office.
• Another key difference between the two branches of dominionism, which maintain a testy, arms-length relationship with one another, is Christian Reconstructionism's buttoned-down image and heavy emphasis on Bible study, which contrasts sharply with Joel's Army anti-intellectual distrust of biblical scholars and its unruly style.
• "Some people snort cocaine, others snort religions," Joel's Army Pastor Roy said while ministering a morning program at Todd Bentley's Lakeland, Fla., revival in late May.
• As this article went to press, Bentley's "Florida Outpouring" had been running for more than 100 days straight. Many attendees came in search of spontaneous physical healing and a desire to be part of a mystical community marked by dancing, shouting, gyrating, speaking in tongues and other forms of ecstatic release.
• Snide jabs at traditional church services are fairly common at Bentley's revivals.
• In fact, what takes place onstage at the Florida Outpouring looks more like a pro wrestling extravaganza than church.
• On stage, Bentley and his team of pastors, yell, chant, and scream "Fire!" and "Bam!" while anointing followers.
• The audience members behave as if they are at a psychedelic counterculture festival.
• One couple jumps up and down twirling red and silver metallic flags. Dyed-haired teenagers pulled in by the revival's presence on Facebook and MySpace wander around looking dazed.
• Women lay facedown on the floor, convulsing and howling. Fathers wail in tongues as their confused children look on.
• Strangers lay hands on those who fail to produce tongues or gyrate wildly enough, pressuring them to "let it out."
• 
  "The Call," a 12-hour revival of up to 20,000 young people held in a different city each year, is led by Joel's Army pastor Lou Engle
• Bentley is considered a prophet both by his followers and by other leaders of the Joel's Army movement, whose adherents claim to be reviving a "five-fold ministry" of prophets, apostles, elders, pastors and teachers, as outlined in the Book of Ephesians.
• Not every five-fold ministry is connected to the Joel's Army movement, but the movement has spurred an interest in modern-day apostles and prophets that's troubling to the Assemblies of God, the world's largest Pentecostal church, which has officially disavowed the Joel's Army movement.

  • Yeah, well the Assemblies of God have their own set of problems with their joining and endorsing the "Emerging Church" movement of Rick Warren fame. Both of these movements...Joel's Army and Emerging Church are to exposed and denounced by genuine Biblical Christianity.
• In a 2001 position paper, Assemblies of God leaders wrote that they do not recognize modern-day apostles or prophets and worried that "such leaders prefer more authoritarian structures where their own word or decrees are unchallenged."
• They are right to worry. Joel's Army followers believe that once democratic institutions are overthrown, their hierarchy of apostles and prophets will rule over the earth, with one church per city.
• Warrior Nation
• According to Joel's Army doctrine, the enforcers of the five-fold ministry will be members of the final generation, for whom the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade constituted a new Passover.
• "Everyone born after abortion's legalization can consider their birth a personal invitation to take part in this great army," writes John Crowder, another prominent Joel's Army pastor, who bills his 2006 book, The New Mystics: How to Become Part of the Supernatural Generation, as a literal how-to guide for joining Joel's Army.

  • John Crowder...a Joel's Army preacher.
• Both Bentley and Crowder are enormously popular on Elijah's List, an online watering hole for a broad spectrum of Joel's Army enlistees, from lightweight believers who merely share an affection for military rhetoric and pastors who dress in army camouflage (several Joel's Army pastors are addressed by their congregants as "commandant" or "commander") to hardliners who believe the church is called to have an active military role in end-times that have already begun.

  • "Elijah's List"
• Elijah's List currently has more than 125,000 subscribers on its electronic mailing list.
• Rick Joyner, a pastor whose books, The Harvest and The Call, helped popularize Joel's Army theology by selling more than a million copies each, goes the furthest on Elijah's List in pushing the hardliner approach.

  • Rick Joyner
• In 2006, he posted a sermon called "The Warrior Nation — The New Sound of the Church," in which he claimed that a last-day army is now gathering and called believers "freedom fighters."
• "As the church begins to take on this resolve, they [Joel's Army churches] will start to be thought of more as military bases, and they will begin to take on the characteristics of military bases for training, equipping, and deploying effective spiritual forces," Joyner wrote.
• "In time, the church will actually be organized more as a military force with an army, navy, air force, etc."

  • Huh???
• In a sort of disclaimer, Joyner writes at one point that God's army "will bring love, peace and stability wherever they go." But several of his books narrate with glee what he describes as "a coming civil war within the church."
• In his 1997 book The Harvest he writes: "Some pastors and leaders who continue to resist this tide of unity will be removed from their place. Some will become so hardened they will become opposers and resist God to the end."
• Two years later, in his book The Final Quest, Joyner described a vision (taken as prophecy in the Joel's Army world, where Joyner is considered an "apostle") of the coming Christian Civil War in which demon-possessed Christian soldiers enslave other, weaker Christians who resist them.

  • A "demon possessed" "Christian" army????
• He also describes how the hero of the novel — himself — ascends a "Holy Mountain" in order to learn new truths and to acquire new, magic weapons.
• Kids on Fire
• Bentley, who claims to be a supernatural healer, is no less over the top, playing his biker-punk appearance and heavy metal theatrics to the hilt.
• On YouTube, where clips of his most dramatic healings have been condensed into a three-minute highlight reel, Bentley describes God ordering him to kick an elderly lady in the face:
• "I am thinking, 'God, why is the power of God not moving?' And He said, 'It is because you haven't kicked that women in the face.' And there was, like, this older lady worshipping right in front of the platform and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and the gift of faith came on me. He said, 'Kick her in the face … with your biker boot.'
• I inched closer and I went like this [makes kicking motion]: Bam! And just as my boot made contact with her nose, she fell under the power of God."

  • I look upon this one tid-bit as an actual Satanic conditioning for this "Joel's Army" to harden the heart, soul and mind to commit atrocities without inhibition...much like the Nazis did in WWII.
• The atmosphere is less charged with violence at "The Call," a 12-hour revival of up to 20,000 youths led by Joel's Army pastor Lou Engle and held every summer in a major American city (this year's event was scheduled for Washington, D.C. in August).

  • "The Call" and pastor "Joe Engel."
• Attendees are called upon to fast and pray for 40 days and take up culture-war pledges to lead abstinent lives, reject pornography and fight abortion.
• They're further asked to perform "identificational repentance," lugging along family trees and genealogies to see where one of their ancestors may have enslaved or oppressed another so that they can make amends. (Many in the Joel's Army movement believe in generational curses that must be broken by the current generation).
• As even his critics note, Engle is a sweet, humble and gentle man whose persona is difficult to reconcile with his belief in an end-time army of invincible young Christian warriors.
• Yet while Engle is careful to avoid deploying explicit Joel's Army rhetoric at high-profile events like The Call, when he's speaking in smaller hyper-charismatic circles to avowed Joel's Army followers, he can venture into bloodlust.
• This March, at a "Passion for Jesus" conference in Kansas City sponsored by the International House of Prayer, or IHOP, a ministry for teenagers from the heavy metal, punk and goth scenes, Engle called on his audience for vengeance.
• "I believe we're headed to an Elijah/Jezebel showdown on the Earth, not just in America but all over the globe, and the main warriors will be the prophets of Baal versus the prophets of God, and there will be no middle ground," said Engle. He was referring to the Baal of the Old Testament, a pagan idol whose followers were slaughtered under orders from the prophet Elijah.

  • An End Times show down...
• "There's an Elijah generation that's going to be the forerunners for the coming of Jesus, a generation marked not by their niceness but by the intensity of their passion," Engle continued. "The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Such force demands an equal response, and Jesus is going to make war on everything that hinders love, with his eyes blazing fire."

  • SEE: Tim LaHaye's "Left Behind" book series and his sanctioning of the "video game" that came from it where "Christians" actually fight, kill and maim non-Christians.
• Although Joel's Army theology is mainly directed at people in their teens and early 20s via events like The Call and ministries like IHOP, sometimes the target audience is even younger.
• In some of the most arresting images in "Jesus Camp," a 2006 documentary about the Kids on Fire bible camp in North Dakota, grade school-aged kids dressed in army fatigues wield swords and conduct military field maneuvers.

  • "Hitler Youth"???

• "A lot of people die for God and they're not afraid," one camper told ABC News reporters in a follow-up segment.

   

  "We're kinda being trained to be warriors," added another, "only in a funner way."
• Cain and the Intellectuals
• Both Christian and secular critics assailed the makers of "Jesus Camp" for referring to the camp's extremist, militant Christianity as "evangelical."
• There is a name, however, that describes Kids on Fire's agenda, if you're familiar with their theology: Joel's Army.
• Pastor Becky Fischer, who runs the camp, said that a third of the kids at her camp were under 6 years old because they are "more in touch in the supernatural" and proclaimed them to be "soldiers for God's Army."

  • Claims by some of these adults of Joel's Army that small children or more in tune with the "supernatural."
• Her camp's blend of end-times militancy and supernaturalism is perfectly emblematic of the Joel's Army movement, whose adherents believe their cause is prophesied in the Old Testament chapter titled "An Army of Locusts."

  • It is my understanding this "Army of Locusts" was an evil army; either demonic or demon inspired.
• The stark, evocative passages of that chapter describe a locust swarm that lays waste to Israel (to this day, the region suffers periodic locust invasions): "Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come."
• As remarkable as the language is, most biblical scholars agree that it is a literal description of a locust invasion and resulting famine that occurred sometime between the 9th and 5th centuries B.C.E.

  • Well if this is simply an infestation of "bugs"; whoever heard a insects raping women?
• In the Book of Joel, the locust invasion is described as an omen that an Assyrian army to the north may attack Israel if it fails to repent as a nation. But nowhere is the invasion described as an army of God.
• According to an Assemblies of God position paper: "It is a complete misinterpretation of Scripture to find in Joel's army of locusts a militant, victorious force attacking society and a non-cooperating Church to prepare the earth for Christ's millennial reign."
• The story of how an ancient insect invasion came to be a rallying flag for 21st-century dominonists begins just after World War II in Canada.
• Out of a small town in Saskatchewan, a Pentecostal preacher named William Branham spearheaded a 1948 revival in which he claimed that his followers lived in a new biblical time of "Latter Rain."

  • William Branham
• The most sinless and ardent of his flock would be called "Manifest Sons of God."

  • These are part of the Dominionists movement and Reconstructionists. Either way..all three are not Christian in any sense of the term.
• By the next year, the movement was so strong — and seemed so subversive to some — that the Assemblies of God banned it as a heretic cult.
• But Branham remained a controversial figure with a loyal following; many of his followers believed him to be the end-times prophet Elijah.
• Michael Barkun, a leading scholar of radical religion, notes that in 1958, Branham began teaching "Serpent Seed" doctrine, the belief that Satan had sex with Eve, resulting in Cain and his descendants.

  • I have run across this teaching on many websites which claim to be "Christian" and do, surface wise, appear to be Biblical based. But a closer study and reading of their website offerings will reveal their teaching of a sexual union between Eve and the Serpent/Devil. One such site which finally went over to Gnostism and actually advocating Gnostic teachings was a website called, "Return of the Star Gods."
• "Through Cain came all the smart, educated people down to the antediluvian flood — the intellectuals, bible colleges," Branham wrote in the kind of anti-mainstream religion, anti-intellectual spirit that pervades the Joel's Army movement to this day.
• "They know all their creeds but know nothing about God."
• The Gates of Hell
• Branham was killed in a car accident in 1965, but his Manifest Sons of God movement, the direct predecessor of Joel's Army, lived on within a cluster of hyper-charismatic churches.
• In the 1980s, Branham's teachings took on new life at the Kansas City Fellowship (KCF), a group of popular self-styled apostles and prophets who used the Missouri church as a launching pad for national careers promoting outright Joel's Army theology.

  • The "Kansas City Fellowship"; apostles and prophets movement. This year (2008) I have come across a couple of "Christian" websites and web owners who state they pulled out of the Kansas City Fellowship due to "unbiblical" excesses and "unChristian" conduct of some of the movement's leaders. One of these dissenters is "Matthew Stephen", who has since been embroiled in his own controversy and another is the web site of an Australian who also claims to have left the Kansas City Fellowship movement due to unBiblical happenings. He runs a website called the "Revivalist" or "Revival School."
• Ernie Gruen, a local pastor who initially promoted and gave citywide credibility to KCF pastors in the early 1980s, cut his connections in 1990.
• Concerned about KCF's plans to push its teachings worldwide, Gruen published a 132-page insider's account, based on taped sermons and conversations and interviews with parents who had enrolled their kids in KCF's Dominion school.
• According to Gruen's report, students at the school were taught that they were a "super-race" of the "elected seed" of all the best bloodlines of all generations — foreknown, predestined, and hand-selected from billions of others to be part of the "end-time Omega generation."

  • Sounds like Hitler's teachings on the Nazi German "master race" teachings.
• 
  The Joel's Army movement began with the 1940s preaching of William Branham, whose group was banned as heretical by the Assemblies of God
• Though he'd once promoted these doctrines himself, Gruen became convinced that the movement was turning into an end-times cult, marked by what he summarized as "spiritual threats, fears, and warnings of death," "warning followers to beware of other Christians" and exhibiting "a 'super-race' mentality toward the training of their children."
• When contacted by the Intelligence Report, Gruen's spokesman said that Gruen stands by everything he published in the report but no longer grants media interviews.
• The Kansas City Fellowship remains in operation and has served as a farm team for many of the all-stars of the Joel's Army movement.
• Those larger-than-life figures include John Wimber, the founder of a California megachurch, The Vineyard, who, before his death in 1997, proclaimed that Joel's Army would not only conquer the earth but defeat death itself.

  • John Wimber was a part of this Kansas City movement
• Lou Engle founded The Call based on the Joel's Army visions that KCF "prophet" Bob Jones (not to be confused with Bob Jones III of Bob Jones University) received while at KCF.
• Mike Bickle, another KCF member, stayed in Kansas City to form the International House of Prayer.
• IHOP members and other Joel's Army adherents are well aware of how their movement is perceived by other conservative Christians.
• "Today, you can type 'Joel's Army' into a search engine and a thousand heresy hunter websites pop up, decrying the very mention of it," writes John Crowder in The New Mystics.
• Crowder doesn't exactly allay critic's fears. "This is truly warfare," he writes. "This battle is not a game. They [Joel's Army warriors] will not be on the defense; they will be on the offense — and the gates of hell will not be able to hold up against them."
• So far, few members of the secular media have taken notice of Joel's Army, even as they report on Protestant dominionists like Pat Robertson or the more outrageous calls for the stoning of gays and lesbians emanating from Reconstructionist circles.
• There are exceptions, however. On the DailyKos, a well-read, politically liberal blog, a diarist has been blogging for two years about her experiences as a walkaway from a Joel's Army church. She writes under a pseudonym out of fear of physical reprisals.
• She may have real cause for concern. As Wimber, the late founder of The Vineyard, put it in one of his most famous and fiery sermons, one that is still frequently cited by Joel's Army followers: "Those in this army will have His kind of power. … Anyone who wants to harm them must die."

  • Wimber, the Vineyard and Joel's Army's call for "death" for their enemies..even other non-conforming Christians.
• Southern Poverty Law Center
  400 Washington Ave.
  Montgomery, AL 36104

110 more annotations...

• Marsha West
   August 30, 2008
• The Holy Spirit is on the move. He's working in the minds and mouths of the false prophets. BAM! They've fallen and they can't get up.
• On June 23rd God moved a mountain — figuratively speaking — and the Charismatic church has been in chaos ever since.
• That day several of the New Apostolic Reformation leaders met in Lakeland, Florida for Todd Bentley's "apostolic alignment commissioning service."
• What happened was mind-blowing. I'm not talking about miraculous signs and wonders. There was no gold dust, no oil soaked hands, no angels with shimmering clothes and bright blue eyes hovering on stage. There was none of that — but there was a whole lot of shakin' goin' on!
• We have had enough of false prophets!
• Such notables as C. Peter Wagner, leader of the International Coalition of Apostles, his wife, Doris, Ché Ahn, John Arnott, Bill Johnson, Rick Joyner and several others came to the 10,000-seat tent to support what Todd Bentley and Fresh Fire were doing and to commission him as an evangelist.
• There was only one problem. The leaders failed to put Bentley through a proper vetting process to find out if he was deserving of their high honor.
• Turns out he wasn't. Now they have egg on their collective faces and everyone knows it.
• As a result, many in the Charismatic church are furious with them — but it's too late.
• The damage is already done and cannot be undone. What's worse, thousands of people believed there was a "revival" going on and traveled from all over the globe to be a part of it.
• Now they realize they were duped and have fallen into despair. People are wondering if they are even saved! (For those who doubt their salvation, remember that anyone who comes to faith in the real Jesus Christ is saved.)
• This article is not about false prophet Todd Bentley; it's about the esteemed leaders and role models who helped create the Lakeland disaster.
• Before I proceed, let's unpack the "latter rain" movement.
• Without getting too far afield, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement holds that God is restoring the lost offices of church governance, namely the offices of Prophet and Apostle.
• The founder of the movement is C. Peter Wagner. (More on Wagner in a moment.)
• The Prophets and Apostles are said to be given:
  
    "...power and authority by God to lead by serving, as described in the biblical letter of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians. As such, they believe in the 5-fold offices of the Church first popularized in Charismatic groups; of which the prophet and apostle has been absent from the Church for the last 2000 years, and are now being restored." [1]
• People in this movement believe that the Apostles and Prophets have authority over the Church.
• Even though they hold a high office, the "apostles" and "prophets" don't see eye to eye on everything.
• It has now come to light that some of the "apostles" were concerned about the possible dangers of commissioning Todd Bentley and warned other "apostles" but they were rebuffed —
• and they're not taking it lying down. They wrote letters to apologize for the bad judgment of those who disagreed with them, thus bringing outsiders into the squabble.
• The letters are posted on their websites for the entire world to read.
• Returning to the Lakeland disaster, according to The Voice Magazine:
• "Discerning Christians recognized the tell tale signs of a disaster in the making at the Lakeland Revival.
• We've seen these sorts of tragedies occur time and time again in the Body of Christ over the decades. We all hoped to see a different outcome here, but the fruit of Bentley's personal life reveals he was not ready for the level of public ministry he received and that he should never have been commissioned in an internationally televised 'apostolic alignment commissioning service.'
• Stepping down is an appropriate move in the right direction. Our concern is not only for the Bentleys, but the thousands of people around the world who are questioning everything they saw on God TV from the meetings at the Lakeland Revival.
• A lot of healing is going to be needed in the days ahead and many questions answered." [2]
• Charismatic pastor Dutch Sheets said the following in his official statement on Lakeland, which he deems an apology: (All Dutch Sheets' quotes are from his apology [3])
  
    "But looking past some of the immediate and positive results, I, like many, also looked ahead to the possible fruit from questionable doctrine and experiences, exaggeration and hype, youthful pride, character issues and the frightening potential of a 32 year 'young' man leading a movement that could shape the future of the Church.
• "These things were frightening, very frightening, to others and me. When something has the potential of setting precedent, birthing a movement and being reproduced as a prototype, we are no longer simply endorsing good brothers, good intentions and miracles.
• "Doctrine and foundations will be built on these events. Teachings and paradigms for future ministries will be formed — in short, the next generation of the church and the move of God in the earth could be greatly impacted. This is why I stopped short of endorsing everything at Lakeland."
• Dutch also stopped short of expressing his concerns to the Body of Christ, even though he claims he had a "check" in his spirit.
• He decided to ignore "...the uneasiness, the sickening feeling deep in my spirit telling me something else was wrong — terribly wrong — in this situation."
• Many Charismatic leaders felt something was terribly wrong at Lakeland as well, but they were not candid about their concerns.
• Sheets now comes forward and says he knew something was terribly wrong, yet he tried to push Bentley's "showmanship" out of his mind:
• "...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."
• It seems it was more important for Rev. Sheets to "think out of the Box" than to warn gullible sheep who were flocking to the "revival."
• Now that the cat is out of the bag, he owns up to the fact that "mistakes were made" (which is the understatement of the year) and says there is plenty of blame to go around in the Charismatic church. Boy, I'll say.
• Sheets confesses:
• "Some of my closest friends endorsed and participated in the Lakeland meetings. ... Should they have been more discerning and have listened to the warnings they received? Obviously.
• Should those who 'aligned' Todd with spiritual fathers (which was a good thing and positioned him to receive help if he chooses to accept it) have realized to do so publicly was a mistake and could be interpreted by those watching in no other way than as a complete endorsement?
• Yes, they should have, especially when the event became a commissioning ceremony, complete with decrees and prophecies of going to higher levels, predictions of Todd's increasing world-wide influence and leading a world-wide revival, emphatic and prolific endorsements of his character, etc.
• How could those watching believe the evening was anything but an aligning, endorsing and commissioning ceremony? It was.
• It really doesn't matter who laid their hands on Todd — all share responsibility. This was unwise at best, naïve at least and at its worst, foolish."
• Please. The commissioning ceremony was anything but "naïve."
• To me it looks as if their motives were self-serving, that the "apostles" wanted to be in the limelight and what better way than to appear on God TV and YouTube.

  • Exactly....
• Don't tell me they weren't thrilled that millions of people were watching them anoint Todd Bentley as he lay quivering like a bowl of Jell-O at their feet.
• "The shot heard round the world" is a well-known phrase that represents the start of the American Revolution. The voices of the false prophets who pretended to speak for God have been heard round the world, thanks to the ubiquitous video camera
• It may not start a revolution. But a battle is brewing among Charismatics and Pentecostals.
• I've gotten off point.
  
    Going back to Dutch, he complains that the leaders involved realized there was a problem:
• "Those of us connected to them relationally, ministerially, and as movements — some even in alignment with them apostolically and as sons and daughters — would feel minimalized, if not betrayed, by the fact that they were in essence taking us onto the stage with them? Yes. These feelings were inevitable, especially when we had such uneasiness and asked them not to."
• Harsh words. But he was their equal — and they ignored his warning.
• More...
  
    "Should there be an acknowledgment of these mistakes to the body of Christ for the sake of accountability and in order to rebuild trust? I believe so, and remain hopeful this will happen."
• If these men and women are truly God's people, it will happen. (They should also acknowledge that the Apostolic movement disregards the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith. In other words, it is outside the parameters of orthodoxy.)
• As I mentioned earlier, Bill Johnson is one of the "apostles" who participated in the commissioning ceremony, hence he contributed to the Lakeland disaster.
• Bill pastors Bethel Church and is the founder of the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry in Redding, California.
• Both his statement and sermon on Todd Bentley have been posted on his website.
• Here's his reason for going to Lakeland: (All Bill Johnson's quotes are from his statement [4])
• "I went to Lakeland because of his enemies. The relentless criticism and opposition, coupled with the grueling and sometimes unwise schedule, were bound to take their toll on this young man — emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
• It happened two years ago, and it could happen again. It was my intention to bring a deflection into the mix so that he wouldn't take all the heat by himself.
• Little did I realize it was too late. He was at the place of burnout again, abandoning his marriage and pulling out of all public ministry."

  • Oh, so the cause of Bentley's heresy, false-teachings and walking out on his marriage was...uh..just "burnout?"
• Poor Todd. His grueling schedule took a toll on him. He became so spiritually and emotionally drained that he found solace in the arms of another woman.
• It was not the first time this has happened, by the way, which is what Bill meant by "it happened two years ago."
• Nonetheless, he stood by Todd, even counseled the Bentleys through all the turmoil. Which begs the question: Why didn't he pass what he knew about Todd's private life on the other "apostles" and "prophets"?
• In John Arnott's statement he says he wishes he had known Todd was struggling in his marriage but he wasn't told.
• Peter Wagner wasn't told either.
• Yet Bill indicates they all knew about Todd's issues: (My remarks in brackets.)
• "And it was thought to all of us involved that the healing had taken place when in fact there were areas [of sin] that just weren't dealt with. He just drug it into this great outpouring [that turned out to be not so great because they ignored his sin]."
• I asked this question of Fresh Fire Ministries in my recent article, Todd Bentley Separates From Wife and Lakeland: "What did they know and when did they know it?"
• Now I'll ask the same question of the "apostles" who commissioned Bentley: What did they know and when did they know it?
• Johnson calls those who exposed Todd Bentley as a false prophet "sharks." He also says:
  
    "I'll never blame the opponents [sharks] of this outpouring for Todd's choices [sin]. However, it had a greater effect on the outcome than any of his critics will likely own up to in this lifetime. History proves this."
• So Bentley's opponents drove him into an "unhealthy relationship" with a woman on his staff?
• But how can that be when so-called sharks weren't swimming around Todd Bentley two years ago?
• He wasn't that popular until April 2008 when he showed up in Lakeland. (Watch Johnson's sermon video here [5] Note: His "shark" remark is 7 minutes into his speech.)
• "Apostle" Bill Johnson was one of the leaders who "prophesied" over Todd Bentley during the commissioning.
• Here's what he said:
  
    "When David wanted Uriah killed, he sent him into battle and then withdrew from him. As a company of people, we refuse to do that. Many revivals through history have been cut short of their intention, God's destiny and intention over individuals, because of jealousies and fears that get stirred-up in the people of God, and we refuse to do that. We shape the coarse of history by partnering with you, giving honor where it's due. You welcome the glory as well as anybody I've ever seen in my life. I long to learn from you=2 0in that. And I bless you and I pray with the rest of these, that the measure of glory would increase; that Moses would no longer be considered the high-water mark, with the glory shown from his face, but instead the revelation of the goodness of God would change the face of the church, and He would use your voice; He would use your grace, your anointing to alter the face of the church before this world; that the goodness of the Lord will be seen once again. I pray this over you in Jesus' name." [6]

  • Bill Johnson's prayer over Todd Bentley at the "commissioning" ceremony.
• Jealousies and fears, huh?
• I find this disturbing on so many levels. Where to begin... First of all, Bill knew better than anyone that Todd Bentley had deep character flaws. Secondly, he was aware of concerns over: doctrinal error... unverifiable stories... the angel "Emma-O," the money angel "Winds of Change" and other alleged angelic visitations
• (nowhere in Scripture does it say that we should elevate angels, nor did the apostles point us to angels, our focus is to be on Jesus Christ alone)
• .. exaggerated healings... unsubstantiated claims that people were raised from the dead...bizarre and dangerous "healing" practices (assaulting the sick with leg drops, high kicks, head punches, etc.)...
• excessive drinking.
• Thirdly, Todd had been unfaithful to his wife and there was a rumor going around that he was at it again!
• This is the man the "apostles" and "prophets" hoped to "partner with...to shape the course of history?" It's the sort of insanity that goes on in politics — but not in the Church of Jesus Christ!
• May the Lord restore Todd Bentley and heal him.
• Returning to Dutch Sheets' apology:
  
    "With such strong statements of disagreement, what is the affirmation toward my friends who led, participated in or endorsed this ceremony (and the meetings in general)? Simply stated, I know their hearts. It is not a contradiction of my criticisms toward some of their actions to, at the same time, defend and endorse their hearts and character. It is completely appropriate — when true — to defend a person's heart and integrity while disagreeing with their actions."
• He knows their hearts? The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer 17:9)
• Furthermore, Sheets' states that:
  
    "I think the blunder of that night was huge and very damaging to the body of Christ, but I also realize that in their hearts, those involved honestly felt they were doing the right things. Again, while not defending the action taken, I would defend the character and integrity of Peter and Doris Wagner as vigorously as anyone I know, and do so with absolute confidence. There are no two people, and I mean that literally, who embody the qualities of humility, integrity, holiness (no compromise!), sacrifice, unselfish kingdom-thinking, the tireless giving of themselves to Christ's cause and the body of Christ -and do I need to add risk-taking? — as much as Peter and Doris Wagner.
• It remains my great honor to be associated with them and call them a spiritual father and mother. And again, while not minimizing or 'sweeping under the rug' any wrong decisions, I remain steadfast in my belief that similar affirmations could be made of others involved — either directly or indirectly — in the ceremony.
• And some of them still see their endorsing of Lakeland as an endorsement of revival generally, not of Todd personally."

  • Huh...?! They were wrong in any case!!!
• Spiritual Father Peter Wagner brought the commissioning ceremony to the wide screen and used his "apostolic authority" to endorse Todd Bentley, a man he claims he never met. Now Wagner is back peddling:
• "I could easily see that Todd needs deep inner healing and professional-level deliverance he has not yet had the opportunity to receive.
• One of our critics said that we got it backwards and should have taken him into a back room and ministered to him before the ceremony.
• We had the luxury of a few minutes with Todd before the evening meeting. We had never met the man before. Was I to say 'Hey, Todd, you're a mess and need help in the next five minutes?'"

  • No, but the Bible you claim to teach and the position in the Body of Christ, you maintain for yourself states and should be SOP: "be not hasty in the laying on of hands." You did not follow this simple rule, Wagner; nor you Bill Johnson; nor you Arnott!!
• So instead of taking the "mess" into a back room, he commissioned him as an evangelist?
• Here is what Peter Wagner said to Todd Bentley when he stepped onto the stage: (All "prophecies" are from the VodPod video of Todd Bentley's commissioning [7])
• "This commissioning represents a powerful spiritual transaction taking place in the invisible world. With this in mind, I take the apostolic authority that God has given me and I decree to Todd Bentley:
  
    Your power will increase.
  
    Your authority will increase.
  
    Your favor will increase.
  
    Your influence will increase.
  
    Your revelation will increase.
  
    I also decree that:
  
    A new supernatural strength will flow through this ministry.
  
    A new life force will penetrate this move of God.
  
    Government will be established to set things in their proper order.
  
    God will pour out a higher level of discernment to distinguish truth from error.
  
    New relationships will surface to open the gates to the future." [7]

  • C. Peter Wagner's "commissioning" blessing he prayed over Bentley at the ceremony...
• Wagner admits that he said these words to a man who needs deep inner healing.
• And by the way, those in the commissioning group hold that "professional-level deliverance" means deliverance from demons!
• Here are other "prophecies" uttered by those involved in the commissioning:
• John Arnott:
  
    "We bless you today, Todd Bentley. You're a friend. You're a man of God. You're a man of prayer. You're a man of the spirit. You love the anointing. And I would say that it's not just the Lakeland revival, but the whole world that goes into revival. And you're leading an amazing charge. And, multitudes are getting in behind you and saying, 'Come on. I'm gonna go with you.' And so we bless all of that. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for raising up this young man, to lead such a mighty charge around the world, and to partner with God TV in all that has happened here in the last, uh, several months now, three months almost. We bless it in the name of Jesus, and we stand with you, and we encourage you, and we honor you."

  • John Arnott's commissioning blessing he prayed over Todd Bentley
• We honor you? Does John Arnott now regret his prophecy over Bentley? Not at all. (Read his statement here [8])
• Che Ahn:
  
    "Recognizing that God has chosen you and appointed you to bear much and lasting fruit in this Lakeland revival, and revival around the world. Recognizing that He has called you as an Ephesians 4 evangelist and a revivalist moving in signs and wonders. Knowing that you have walked in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Jesus in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the intimacy and knowledge of God, we as your brothers and your friends, who have a deep love for you, Shonnah, your whole family, we just esteem you. We are here to stand with you, support you. And we are here to commission you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — in the power of His name — with special oil from Chuck Pierce. It's called 'Revival Oil.' Chuck could not make it, so he sent this Fed-Ex. Special oil for you. He's in Africa. And so we anoint you and commission you in Jesus' name."

  • Che Ahn's blessing he prayed over Bentley too at the "commissioning" ceremony.
• What Todd needs is truth serum!
• I watched the "commissioning" on YouTube and got a "check" in my spirit.... because I knew from all the research I've done on Todd Bentley that these men and women were out of touch with reality.
• Special "Revival oil"? Oh brother.
• I tested the spirits by the Word of God, and low and behold, what these so-called apostles and prophets prophesied over Bentley was not from God!
• And if what they prophesied does not come to pass, God himself labels them false prophets, and he will judge them!
• Dr. Clarice Fluitt:
  
    "Hallelujah! For the word of the Lord would say, Behold the vanguard. Behold the tugboat that is cutting through the ice of religious traditions — the cruel, hard things. The understanding of the mind of men will now bow to the reality of the revelation of the finished work of Calvary. Behold, sayeth God, you have been equipped with cutting power. You have been equipped to go through those traditions of the mind of man. Yea, sayeth God, and you are pulling the church into the realm of glory. Behind you is a great ship that is laden with healing and deliverance and prosperity. This is the word to you, oh man of God- arise, kill, and eat. No longer; no longer; no longer will men call unclean what I have called clean."

  • Dr Clarice Fluitt's commissioning prayer over Todd Bentley
• Apparently, when they "prophesy" in King James English they're hoping to convince those listening to them that they are actually speaking for Almighty God.
• (Try using this tactic on your kids and you'll see amazing results.)

  • lol..lol
• What really threw me off in Fluitt's "prophetic utterance" was her use of the modern term "tugboat" instead of "ship" or "sailing vessel."
• That aside, did Todd Bentley pull the church into the realm of glory as the pretend prophetess said he would?
• Well, not exactly. In fact, he tried to pull the church into the realm of the occult — and he would have succeeded if the "demon of lust" hadn't gotten him off track.

  • Todd Bentley and the occult
• Joshua Fowler:
  
    "Todd, the Lord has made you to be a detonator. I see cables going around the world to different nations. I see Great Britain being set ablaze by the power of God. I see even as you go into places that God says you'll go even with the glory even like William Branham, and the Lord says you'll carry a portal anointing. And whatever city you go over, there will be a portal! 'There'll be a portal that will be opened up,' sayeth the Lord! The Lord says you'll detonate, and BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! There'll be a release of glory through the nations, says the Spirit of the Lord!"

  • Joshua Fowler's commissioning prayer over Todd Bentley...NOTICE too..Fowler's reference to "portals" again and again. A term that is most often used in and about occult and demonic rituals.
• Another "prophet" who believes he speaks for God. Yet he cites William Branham, a "Latter Rain" false prophet who denied the doctrine of Trinity.

  • Branham of the "Latter Rain" movement (a "father" to the Joel's Army and originator of the group "The Manifest Sons of God") denied the doctrine of the Trinity...as does T.D. Jakes.
• He held to a variation of a second century heresy taught by Sabellius know as Modalistic Monarchianism or Patripassianism. And yet Fowler — and Bentley — idolize the man.
• (Bentley acknowledged Branham as the greatest healing evangelist who ever lived!
• Read about Branham here [9])

  • Branham
• The false prophet proclaimed himself an angel of Revelation 3:14 and 10:7.
• He prophesied:
  
    "...by 1977 all denominations would be consumed by the World Council of Churches under the control of the Roman Catholics, that the Rapture would take place, and that the world would be destroyed. He died in 1965, but many of his followers expected him to be resurrected, some believing him to be God, others believing him to be virgin-born.
• Branham's influence has continued in many churches where his prophecies are considered to be divinely inspired. His teaching on the power of the spoken word has been a characteristic of later revivalists." [10]
• Instead of Fowler's promised "release of glory," God released (BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!) many of the people who were under the spell of the false teachers.
• Isaiah 44:24, 25: "Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish."

  • This has certainly been fulfilled and seen in the life of Todd Bentley, the Lakeland "Revival" and those around him who laid hands on Bentley and endorsed his deceptive ministry.
• Listen to what Gregory Koukl gleaned from 2 Timothy:
  
    "In Paul's final warning to the church, he does not counsel them to face the challenges of the future by embracing new movements of the Spirit. Instead, he tells them to look backwards, to continue in and guard what has already been revealed.
  
    "This is Paul's message throughout his entire letter. 'Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me' (1:13). 'Guard...the treasure which has been entrusted to you' (1:14). 'And the things which you have heard from me...these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also' (2:2).
• "Paul warns of a time of moral chaos falling on the world and theological chaos falling on the church.
• The antidote for both is the same: Steady at the helm. Guard what has already been entrusted to you. Continue in the things which you have already learned.

  • The Bible's command for real Christians in these chaotic, confused days of deception.
• "Everything we need to be fruitful and productive, to be trained in righteousness, to be adequately equipped for every good work, has already been revealed. For Paul, all the old stuff was all the right stuff.
• "New movement of the Spirit? Maybe. And maybe not.
• I don't have to decide. Instead, I'm taking the safe route by heeding Paul's advice and focusing on the old movement of the Spirit. And so should you." [11]

  • Amen
• Some good has come out of the "Lakeland Outpouring."
• It brought to light the highly unorthodox beliefs of the NAR. Those who are a part of this movement should commit 2 Timothy to memory.
• Another good thing that came out of it is that the Charismatic church leaders who participated in Todd Bentley's coronation ceremony have been exposed as false prophets and fools.
• The chickens have come home to roost.
  
• Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. — Jer 14:14
• Marsha West is the Founder and Editor of the E-Mail Brigade News Report, an online news report for conservative people of faith.
• Marsha is a freelance writer specializing in Christian worldview.
• She's a regular contributor to NewsWithViews.com, CapitolHillCoffeeHouse.com, Webcommentary.com, RWNetwork.net, plus her commentaries appear in MichNews.com, RenewAmerica.us, SierraTimes.com, TheConservativeVoice.com, OpinionEditorials.com, Americandaily.com, and others.
• Marsha is also designer and webmaster of a Christian apologetics website, On Solid Rock Resources. She is currently writing a series of children's books for homeschoolers.

135 more annotations...

• "THE   FAMILY" AND ITS HIJACKING OF EVANGELICALISM
• PART 4
• By   Attorney Constance Cumbey
    August 31, 2008
    NewsWithViews.com
• In   part III I told of my personal experiences witnessing a “CAUSA”   conference.
• It purported to be an “alternative to Marxism,”   non-Unification Church event. However, it was obviously operated and   controlled by Unification Church and nearly all speakers praised Rev.   Moon and Unification Church.
• When its organizers discovered they had   invited an “enemy,” they took steps to immediately isolate   and deport me back to Detroit.
• Two years later, I had an unexpected   encounter with Tim LaHaye on the subject.
• It   was February 7, 1986. I left Washington, D.C. for speaking engagements   in Colorado Springs. I did not see Tim LaHaye again while in Washington.   I was scheduled to speak in Monument, Colorado and thereafter for a   Colorado Eagle Forum Friday-Saturday conference.
• From there I was taken   to Denver for a busy and intense schedule that would span the next two   weeks.
• Monday,   February 10th, I was taken by the Committee to Furrs Cafeteria. We obtained   our food and had just seated. Suddenly we heard, “Paging Wanda   Leonard. Paging Wanda Leonard.”
• We were fearful that there was   an emergency with her husband and/or children. Wanda answered the page.   She then summoned me.
• She said, “Tim LaHaye is on the phone. He   said, “This is the Rev. Tim LaHaye calling from Washington, D.C.   “ she said, “yes,.” He said, “I understand you   had a certain woman named Constance Cumbey speak at your conference.”   Wanda said “yes.”

• He then said, “I understand she   quoted from a sleazy left wing magazine.” Wanda said, “well,   Tim, Constance is here. I think you should speak with her yourself.”

   

  “Fine,   put her on,” said Tim LaHaye.
• I   told Wanda, “Wanda, I am not about to debate with Tim LaHaye on   Furrs Cafeteria’s only phone, located by their cash register,   at the height of their rush hour -- especially when my own lunch is   getting cold. He’ll have to call me later."
• After   lunch I had a cordial meeting with the pastor of a large Presbyterian   church in Colorado Springs. Then we hurried to Wanda Leonard’s   house for the 3:30 telephone conference she had scheduled between Dr.   LaHaye and myself.
• Tim LaHaye started   by apologizing for not getting back to me in Washington, D.C. the week   before.
• The   phone rang. Wanda answered it and then handed it to me.
• Then he abruptly said, “You said that I was part of the   New Age Movement.” I was startled. “I said no such thing,”   I replied.
• He   next said, “well, you quoted from a sleazy left wing magazine.   He was obviously referring to Carolyn Weaver’s important article,   "The Moonies and the Christian Right" that had recently appeared   in Mother Jones Magazine.[1]
• I   said, “well, Tim, was it true?” He repeated, “it’s   a sleazy left wing magazine.”
• I said, “Tim, I don’t   care if it was the Moscow Journal. Was it true? Did she make it all   up?”
• He   did not answer. I then told him of the experience I had with the Unification   Church group, CAUSA and the admission they had made to me combined with   the clear pronouncements that Rev. Moon was “the Lord of the Second   Advent.”
• He didn’t want to hear, but I finished the story.   I then said, “Tim, there were clear biblical warnings about going   to Egypt for help against Assyria.”
• “I   never went to Egypt,” said Tim LaHaye. “No, you went to   Rev. Moon and Bo Hi Pak. That’s even worse."
• I told Tim LaHaye   that in my opinion God did not need twenty five cents worth of Unification   Church money to build his Kingdom.”
• I   was amazed at what Tim LaHaye said next. He said, “I never took   any money from Bo Hi Pak or Unification Church.” “Oh?,”   I replied.
• He   said, “the liberal controlled Washington Post refused to give   ACTV [American Coalition for Traditional Values] any publicity.
• So I   contacted Bo Hi Pak who arranged for a series of stories to appear in   the Washington Times. I was writing to thank him for those stories.
• I   said, “Tim, would you seriously like that explanation presented   to a jury?” He was silent.
• I note for the record that that the   context of the letter was clearly financial. Moreover, it appeared to   be priming the pump for more Unification Church contributions.
• I   said, “Tim, if you only knew how many people have contacted me   about their churches being ruined because their ministers accepted invitations   for Korean trips and came back changed.”
• “I   knew that was happening,” said Tim LaHaye. “That’s   why I resigned from Coalition for Religious Freedom.”
• “Yes,   but you didn’t resign from ACTV, you didn’t resign from   Family Life Seminars,” I replied.
• Tim   then said that he had been involved in Coalition for Religious Freedom   for religious liberty issues. I told him that it was my understanding   that Rev. Moon’s prosecution had nothing to do with religious   liberty issues whatsoever.
• It was a tax fraud case, pure and simple.   Rev. Moon had produced some allegedly 15 year old affidavits to prove   that he had been holding property in trust from Unification Church members.   The IRS had done their standard watermark testing and discovered that   the documents were very new ones.
• Tim   then said, “look, we’re both on the same side. You call   it the New Age Movement. I call it secular humanism – it’s   the same thing.”
• I   said, “well, Tim, I have an idea. Since we both agree that Unification   Church is bad and we both agree they have been using your name unfairly   to their advantage, why don’t you publicly denounce them? That   way, they won’t be able to use your name to advantage anymore.”
• Tim   LaHaye literally snarled, “I’ll be the judge of that!”   Then he slammed the telephone down without saying goodbye. I never spoke   to him again.
• A   few weeks later, I was speaking in the Seattle area. Angie Schiermeyer,   my West Coast coordinator answered a ringing telephone. On the other   end was the Washington Concerned Women of America coordinator.
• She told   Angie she had just returned from a CWA leadership conference, held,   as I recall, in Houston. All fifty state coordinators were there.
• She   said Beverly LaHaye instructed them that nobody should “give Constance   Cumbey a platform.”

  • Nice...
• When they questioned why, she reportedly said   that I had called the LaHayes New Agers in my latest book (none of my   books have ever mentioned the LaHayes)
• and I had attacked a dear friend   of theirs (referring to Pat Robertson whom I had critiqued for among   other things, promoting Jeremy Rifkin’s New Age agenda and telling   his viewers that when the Bible said ‘every eye shall behold him,’   it mean ‘on television.’
• I,   Constance Cumbey, was the new enemy!

• Per   Angie, the coordinator said that until Beverly LaHaye had given her   directive, they didn’t even know my second book was out –   several of them had immediately thereafter rushed to local bookstores   to buy it.

   

  Encouragingly,   however, over the years some courageously resisted Unification Church   lures and pressures.
• A   Minnesota conservative activist James Racer was moved to write a pamphlet   warning about the dangers of networking with Unification Church.
• He   was urge to silence (as I so often was) by those who said he would damage   the conservative cause by speaking.

  • This is the state of and mind set of the new Evangelicals

• Here is what Racer so cogently presented:

   

  "Many   conservatives would rather not have this information made public, fearing   that it will "damage the movement." I suggest that no one   needs to fear the truth. If the conservative movement is based on fraud   and deception, which it would be if this truth is stifled, then it deserves   to be damaged.

  • Exactly...and I am an Evangelical but..still a Biblical based one.
  Add Sticky Note
• "...Moon   has, in the AFC, a tremendous vehicle to assist his political movement   in the USA. Combining the thousands of black church leaders trained   through various Moon-linked organizations with the new-found political   power and savvy of the so-called New Right Christian activists, many   who would be attracted to Christian Voice, would have a profound impact   on America and the world.

  • Black churchs being deceived by Moon's operation
• "What   Moon adds to this political formula which has been missing in almost   all concentrated conservative organizing efforts is millions of dollars   and hundreds of committed 'volunteers,' the true believers and followers   of Moon...
• Regardless of what Dr. [Robert] Grant, Bob Wilson, Richard   Ichord, Dr. Ralph Abernathy, Richard Viguerie, Gary Jarmin, Dan Peterson,   or any of the other hundreds of officers and leaders involved in AFC   believe, the documentation I received after my resignation provided   to me that the Rev. Sun Myung Moon has a plan for America, and that   his plan includes the American Freedom Coalition.”

  • Moon subverting America and using the Conservative "Christian" Right to do it.
  Add Sticky Note
• Equally   disturbing as Tim LaHaye’s apparent compromise was Jerry Falwell’s.
• Jerry Falwell would speak at the 1997 CAUSA program, 4 years after my   own encounter as a keynote speaker for CAUSA. If he ever uttered a word   against the New Age Movement, I never heard of it. Perhaps others did.   Again the lure for him was obviously money. Moon had reportedly bailed   his university out of a financial crisis.

  • Jerry Falwell and Rev Moon's money
  Add Sticky Note
• What   could have been persuasive voices against religious apostasy and the   New Age Movement, including one of its more odious expressions in the   form of Rev. Moon who claimed to be “the Lord of the Second Advent”   had been either muted or silenced.
• Next   Week: Part V of this expanding series.
• Will include “the twelve”   involved with Abraham (Abram) Vereide and Marian Johnson in the formative   years of Fellowship Foundation.
• Included in the discussion will be Frank   Laubach, Norman Grubb, and Glenn Clark of Camps Farthest Out.”
• Was it Christianity, or was it badly disguised theosophy? The influence   of Frank Buchman and MRA (Moral Rearmament Movement).

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• Sloshfest 08 Glory dance trance
• Added:  July 28, 2008  (Less info) 

     

    Ben Dunn leading worship in Sloshfest '08 in the UK with emergewales. This event exploded. A heavy glory presence just rested on us and many people were taken into visions and encounters with the Lord. Come on wild fire nation!  

    

    Category:   People & Blogs 

    

   

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    EmergeWales   dance   trance   Ben   Dunn   Dave   Vaughan   Justin   Abraham   John   Crowder   Sloshfest   Glory   Holy   Ghost  

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• Say "Cheese"
• Added:  August 01, 2008  (Less info) 

     

    During the Extreme Drinking Conference in Neenah, Wisconsin, a few of us became cheeseheads.  

    

    Category:   Comedy 

    

   

    Tags:  

   

    John   Crowder   Ben   Benjamin   Stephanie   Dunn   cheese   head   Green   Bay   Packers   Vikings   fan   Pink   Floyd   heaven   funny   party  

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• Benjamin Dunn at Extreme Drinking!
• dded:  August 10, 2008  (Less info) 

     

    Ben Dunn preaching at the Extreme Drinking Conference in Neenah, Wisconsin.  

    

    Category:   People & Blogs 

    

   

    Tags:  

   

    Benjamin   Dunn   john   crowder   drunken   glory   tours   new   wine   bible   huffing   word   god   jesus   christian   ecstasy   ekstasis   bliss   holy   ghost   shika   bam   sons   of   thunder   joy   revolution   neenah   Wisconsin   valley   harvest   church   laughter   intoxicating   spirit  

1 more annotation...

• INDULGENCE   AND INDIFFERENCE

• By   Paul Proctor

   

  September   3, 2008

   

  NewsWithViews.com
• What   is it about today’s compromised church that compels certain pastors   to emulate the world and call it “evangelism”?
• Is it to quiet their   conscience and camouflage their own cravings? I think some have become   so envious of the lost and the world we were called out of for Christ   that they can’t help but gaze back at their old lives longingly like   Lot’s wife looked back at Sodom.

  • I agree
  Add Sticky Note
• The   news these days seems to be chocked full of Christians trying all sorts   of gimmicks and bribes to entice people into a churchianity that cannot   save them – all the while convinced that the end justifies the means.
• Case   in point is a drive-through church near Nashville where you can wheel   in on your way to work for some supplication and snacks as reported   by The   Tennessean:

• Prayer   doesn't always mean getting on your knees, and it doesn't have to   take hours.

   

   

   

  In   fact, going to church can take only three minutes — at least when   zipping through a drive-through.  

  Living   Word Community Church has started a drive-through prayer program from   7 a.m. to 8 a.m. every Friday at its new location in Antioch.  

  Visitors   pull into the parking lot and can stay in their car, get a coffee   and a doughnut, make a prayer request and be on their way to work   or school.
• But,   is this really answering an individual’s deep spiritual need, or ignoring   it?
• I mean, if someone is too busy to give God any more than three minutes   of their day, how can they ever be expected to surrender their entire   life to Jesus Christ?
• There’s   certainly nothing wrong with Christians making themselves available   to pray with and for those who are hurting and reaching out for answers   to the difficulties and perplexities of life. That’s a great place to   start with one’s witness for Christ.
• But   is accommodating their apathy, aversions and appetites while disregarding   their spiritual poverty and depravity really the answer?
• Are they not   being taught by example an enabling type of spirituality that winks   at waywardness and requires nothing of them – no personal responsibility   or accountability to God?
• Is   this what has become of the postmodern church – a place to drop by and   dump your garbage – grab some goodies and go? I wouldn’t call that a   church – I’d call it a convenience center.
• Tennessean   staff writer, Rachel Stults reported that the senior pastor of the aforementioned   fellowship, Rodney Beard, “came up with the idea after watching a TV   show on drive-through weddings,” adding that, “he knew there might be   a market for people with busy lives.”

• A   market?  

  Is   that what Jesus suffered and died for – a market?
• The   report went on to say: “The program has become appealing to people who   are dealing with heartache, pain or sorrow, but may not have time or   feel comfortable going to a Sunday church service,” quoting Beard as   saying "So many people are fed up with the whole concept of church,   of being judged…”
• I   can’t help but wonder when the Lord will be fed up with our “whole   concept of church.”
• Jesus   had time to be mocked, beaten and crucified for our sins – and yet we’re   going to turn the Bread of Life into fast food?
• How   comfortable do you suppose our Lord was hanging on that cross?   We certainly don’t have to attend Sunday services to feel “judged,”   do we? But I dare say the judgments we face day to day here on Earth   will pale in comparison to the Judgment that is coming for those who   refuse to repent.

• Then   there was this little benevolent bargain found in The   Christian Post: 

   

  Carol   Umsted got more than the word of God during services this summer at   the Congregational United Church of Christ of Valley City.

   

   

   

  She   also got $50 worth of free gas, thanks to winning a raffle. For the   local farmer, it was a nice side benefit, at a time when gas was more   than $4 a gallon.  

  Churches   nationwide are making similar offers, ranging from gas card raffles   to 99-cent gas sales at local stations, to boost attendance during   the vacation season and attract new members.
• According   to the report by Blake Nicholson from The Associated Press, “…the Rev.   Carl Borden, pastor of the congregation, said the overriding goal is   to have a little fun and remind people that the church is there,” quoting   him as saying: “It's a method of marketing for the church."
• Again   with the marketing!

  • Peter Drucker must have avised them

• And   their “overriding goal is to have a little fun”?  

  Is   that Jesus’ overriding goal for sinners?
• Did   the Apostle Paul ever mention this sort of thing in any of his epistles?   Did the early church ever speak to the importance of fun and games?   I wonder how many Christians have been martyred for their amusements?

• And   finally, the Arizona   Daily Star reports on a pastor in Tucson who wants to put the sexy   back in Southern Baptist: 

   

  A Web   site with a name like Puresextucson.com is not something you'd expect   a Southern Baptist pastor to brag about.

   

   

   

  But   not only is 27-year-old Jeremiah McDuffie flaunting the site — he   created it.  

  McDuffie   sent not-so-subtle mailers this week to 35,000 Tucson homes: postcards   showing a photo of four feet peeking out from under bedcovers in a   suggestive pose.  

  He   also took out full-page advertisements in two local newspapers.  

  McDuffie,   pastor of The Element Community Church, explains that he wants Tucsonans   to know that God wants them to have good sex.
• Yes,   if the mainstream media and its marketing masters have taught us anything,   it’s that sex sells.

• So, while the world goes to Hell in a hand basket,   this church is going to focus their attention on the bedroom.  

  What   a testimony to our Christian values and priorities.
• Friends,   I don’t enjoy focusing on the negatives. Frankly, stuff like this makes   me sick. It’s not about bringing down the brethren or who’s more pious   than whom.
• It’s about waking the church out of the stupor and stupidity   that has so seduced us away from the scriptures.
• It’s about stopping   all this carnal nonsense being carried out in the name of Christ that   distracts and defeats us daily and getting back to the Gospel we were   called to proclaim and the “foolishness of preaching.”
• That’s   not a very marketable plan – but it is our calling.
• There   are souls at stake here and Christians need to remember that where sin   is concerned, indulgence and indifference do not result in repentance   and faith.
• Now   if you don’t see anything wrong with the “whatever works” and “whatever   it takes” approach to ministry and you still believe the end justifies   the means, I would invite you to click on the three links below for   a little peek at the perils of pragmatism and what is now being called   “Christian.”
• I’ll   spare any additional commentary and just let the videos speak for themselves:
• “For   after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it   pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”   – 1st Corinthians 1:21