What do we do in the midst of all this exposure?

 

In Kenya, a young man asked me if I thought God gave special grace to major church leaders so that they could say and do the kinds of unbiblical things he is seeing from the American church without losing their anointing. He asked this because of a preacher he listened to out of Tulsa OK, who uses profanity in sermons, wears women's clothes to preach in, and among other antics, squirted syrup all over an open Bible during a sermon to illustrate, well, no one really knows. Does God give a guy like that special grace to teach nonsense?

I told the young man in Kenya that I thought it was the exact opposite. I told him what the Bible says about teachers, that we will be held to a higher standard for what we teach, not given special passes.

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If you're wondering what that story has to do with the video above, it's this: Recently, a number of prominent leaders, ministries, movements, and "prophets" have been coming under considerable scrutiny for being lovers of money, faking miracles, faking prophecies, and abusing men, women, and children in the name of God. I've said that it seems there is a line drawn down the middle of modern, western Christianity, and we're having to decide if all this exposure is the devil trying to stop God's plans or if this is God Himself cleaning up his bride, the church. 

I've made my position clear. As painful as it is to see leaders I've loved coming under great scrutiny for serious reasons, I believe this is God's purifying work. Nevertheless, that doesn't make it easy to process. 

The video above was deeply meaningful and helpful. Yes, it is nearly 4 hours long, but that's how much help I need processing! The host of the video is Steven Bancarz. He was once a very popular New Age influencer with thousands of followers. Fortunately, he has come to Christ, repented of his former life, and has been working hard to undo much of the damage he did in leading people astray. 

In this video, he's interviewing John Davison, whom many of us at Wellspring know through our connection to Josh Lewis and Remnant Radio. John is a member of Josh's church in Oklahoma, and you'll find in the video that John is not only a graduate of the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM), but he was a prominent and highly regarded student who was likely on the way to being platformed and promoted across the Bethelverse. 

He speaks about what he learned and experienced and how he has processed the good and the bad. There is a lot of good, as many of you already know. But there is also bad. There is definitely bathwater that needs to be tossed out, and that bathwater is turning out to be way dirtier than most of us thought, but there's still a baby in it that we can't toss out. John has obviously spent considerable time processing and categorizing the things he's experienced. You'll see that there is no bitterness or malice toward the Bethel leadership whom he has loved and followed. What you'll find is a level-headed pursuit of the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. 

If you're like me, I think you'll find this video helpful.

Click here to watch Breaking Down Hyper-Charismatic Theology: W/BSSM Alumni John Davison