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LIFE AFTER LAKELAND: Sorting Out the Confusion -by J. Lee Grady.
Todd Bentley's announcement that his marriage is ending has thrown our
movement into a tailspin-and questions need to be answered.
It was not supposed to end like this.
Evangelist Todd Bentley had heralded the Lakeland revival as the greatest
Pentecostal outpouring since Azusa Street. From his stage in a
gigantic tent
in Florida, Bentley preached to thousands, bringing many of them to the
stage for prayer. Many claimed to be healed of deafness, blindness, heart
problems, depression and dozens of other conditions in the Lakeland
services, which ran for more than 100 consecutive nights. Bentley announced
confidently that dozens of people had been raised from the dead
during the
revival.
But this week, a few days after the Canadian preacher announced the
end of
his visits to Lakeland, he told his staff that his marriage is ending.
Without blaming the pace of the revival for Bentley's personal
problems, his
board released a public statement saying that he and his wife,
Shonnah, are
separating. The news shocked Bentley's adoring fans and saddened
those who
have questioned his credibility since the Lakeland movement erupted
in early
April.
I'm sad. I'm disappointed. And I'm angry. Here are few of my many, many
questions about this fiasco:
Why did so many people flock to Lakeland from around the world to rally
behind an evangelist who had serious credibility issues from the beginning?
To put it bluntly, we're just plain gullible.
From the first week of the Lakeland revival, many discerning Christians
raised questions about Bentley's beliefs and practices.
They felt uneasy when he said he talked to an angel in his hotel
room. They
sensed something amiss when he wore a T-shirt with a skeleton on it. They
wondered why a man of God would cover himself with tattoos. They were
horrified when they heard him describe how he tackled a man and
knocked his
tooth out during prayer.
But among those who jumped on the Lakeland bandwagon, discernment was
discouraged. They were expected to swallow and follow. The message was
clear: "This is God. Don't question."
So before we could all say, "Sheeka Boomba" (as Bentley
often prayed from
his pulpit), many people went home, prayed for people and shoved them
to the
floor with reckless abandon, Bentley-style.
I blame this lack of discernment, partly, on raw zeal for God. We're
spiritual hungry-which can be a good thing. But sometimes, hungry people
will eat anything.
Many of us would rather watch a noisy demonstration of miracles,
signs and
wonders than have a quiet Bible study. Yet we are faced today with
the sad
reality that our untempered zeal is a sign of immaturity. Our adolescent
craving for the wild and crazy makes us do stupid things. It's way
past time
for us to grow up.
Why didn't anyone in Lakeland denounce the favorable comments Bentley made
about William Branham?
This one baffles me. Branham embraced horrible deception near the end
of his
ministry... and his strange doctrines are still embraced by a cultlike
following today...
Why didn't anyone correct this error from the pulpit? Godly leaders are
supposed to protect the sheep from heresy, not spoon feed deception
to them.
Only God knows how far this poison traveled from Lakeland to take root
elsewhere. May God forgive us for allowing His Word to be so flippantly
contaminated.
A prominent Pentecostal evangelist called me this week after
Bentley's news
hit the fan. He said to me: "I'm now convinced that a large
segment of the
charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up
because they
have no discernment." Ouch.
Hopefully we'll learn our lesson this time and apply the necessary caution
when an imposter shows up.
Why did God TV tell people that "any criticism of Todd Bentley
is demonic"?
This ridiculous statement was actually made on one of God TV's
pre-shows. In
fact, the network's hosts also warned listeners that if they listened to
criticism of Bentley, they could lose their healings.
This is cultic manipulation at its worst. The Bible tells us that the
Bereans were noble believers because they studied the Scriptures
daily "to
see whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11, NASB).
Yet in the case of Lakeland, honest intellectual inquiry was viewed
as a
sign of weakness. People were expected to jump first and then open their
eyes.
Just because we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit does not mean we
check our brains at the church door. We are commanded to test the spirits.
Jesus wants us to love Him with our hearts and our minds.
Because of the Lakeland scandal, there may be large numbers of people who
feel they've been burned by Bentley. Some may give up on church and
join the
growing ranks of bitter, disenfranchised Christians. Others may
suffer total
spiritual shipwreck. This could have been avoided if leaders had been more
vocal about their objections and urged people to evaluate spiritual
experiences through the filter of God's Word.
Why did a group of respected ministers lay hands on Bentley on June
23 and
publicly ordain him? Did they know of his personal problems?
This controversial ceremony was organized by Peter Wagner, who felt
that one
of Bentley's greatest needs was proper spiritual covering. He asked
California pastors Che Ahn and Bill Johnson, along with Canadian
pastor John
Arnott, to lay hands on Bentley and bring him under their care.
Bentley certainly needs such covering. No one in ministry today
should be
out on their own, living in isolation without checks, balances and wise
counsel. It was commendable that Wagner reached out to Bentley and that
Bentley acknowledged his need for spiritual fathers by agreeing to
submit to
the process. The question remains, however, whether it was wise to commend
Bentley during a televised commissioning service that at times seemed more
like a king's coronation.
In hindsight, we can all see that it would have been better to take Bentley
into a back room and talk about his personal issues.
The Bible tells us that ordination of a minister is a sober responsibility.
Paul wrote: "Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and
thereby share
responsibility for the sins of others"
(1 Tim. 5:22). We might be tempted to rush the process, but the apostle
warned against fast-tracking ordination-and he said that those who
commission a minister who is not ready for the job will bear some of the
blame for his failures.
I trust that Wagner, Ahn, Johnson and Arnott didn't know of Bentley's
problems before they ordained him. I am sure they are saddened by the events
of this week and are reaching out to Bentley and his wife to promote healing
and restoration. But I believe that they, along with Bentley and the owners
of God TV, owe the body of Christ a forthright, public apology for thrusting
Bentley's ministry into the spotlight prematurely. (Perhaps such an apology
should be aired on God TV.)
Can anything good come out of this?
That depends on how people respond. If the men assigned to oversee Bentley
offer loving but firm correction, and if Bentley responds humbly to the
process by stepping out of ministry for a season of rehabilitation,
we could
witness a healthy case of church discipline play out the way it is supposed
to. If all those who were so eager to promote Bentley now rush just
as fast
to repent for their errors in judgment, then the rest of us could
breathe a
huge sigh of relief-and the credibility of our movement could be restored.
I still believe that God desires to visit our nation in supernatural power.
I know He wants to heal multitudes, and I will continue praying for a
healing revival to sweep across the United States.
But we must contend for the genuine, not an imitation. True revival
will be
accompanied by brokenness, humility, reverence and repentance-not the
arrogance, showmanship and empty hype that often was on display in Lakeland.
We are weathering an unprecedented season of moral failure and spiritual
compromise in our nation today. I urge everyone in the charismatic
world to
pray for Bentley; his wife, Shonnah; his three young children; Bentley's
ministry staff; and the men and women who serve as his counselors and
advisers. Let's pray that God will turn this embarrassing debacle
into an
opportunity for miraculous restoration.
~SOURCE: http://www.charismanews.com/
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