Emergent Monday - How To Hijack A Church

Chuck Smith
June 25, 1927 – October 3, 2013

Say what you will about Calvary Chapel, and I'm sure there's enough criticism for any institution that involves sinful mankind, but when have you ever seen a church adopt a preaching style that encopasses the bible cover to cover, chapter by chapter, verse by verse? It's a beautiful, God worshiping, Holy Spirit praising thing when a church admits that it's God that sets the agenda and not the pastor.

I personally believe that Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith put far too much emphasis on pretribulation but that's just me. I love his emphasis and his love for the principle of sola scriptura. Yes, Calvary Chapel depended heavily on contemporary music, but Chuck always made room for good ol' fashion, God worshiping hymns.

Calvary Chapel is near to my heart mostly because it's the church of choice for my wife who is nearer and dearer to my heart, and if we were not already involved in a wonderful God praising small church we would be attending a Calvary Chapel... that is until this whole thing started.

I think what caused it all was that Calvary Chapel got unfortunately huge... very huge. I say unfortunately because I believe that small churches are the best churches. Small churches attract small congregations and tend to stick by their beliefs. Meanwhile huge churches attract huge sums of money along with the people needed to carry it in the door, and that can be addictive. Big congregations need more staff, and big beautiful buildings, and before you know it you're hiring the cast of a broadway musical for your "worship" team.

Calvary Chapel got big - tv stations, radio stations, big beautiful buildings, and not to mention the intellectual property (i.e. books, sermon tapes, etc) which handled properly is a fantastic source of income. Not long after Chuck died of complications from cancer a power struggle broke out for leadership of Calvary Chapel. There were recriminations, accusations and lawsuits, and in the end Brian Brodersen, Chuck's son-in-law ended up at the top of the smoldering heap and all that money.

Emergent Monday - Steven Furtick and the House of Orange

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. (Romans 16:17)

Code Orange is a message over a hospital’s public address system warning the staff of a bomb threat, a radioactive spill or a violent person with mental issues in the hospital who needs to be subdued by force.

Code Orange is also a death metal punk rock band whose music is simply noise, akin to the sound you would get if you threw a bucket of water into an electric guitar amplifier. 

Speaking of undisciplined noise, Code Orange is the name that Superstar Steven Furtick gave to his recent Heresy-palooza. I searched the web for hours and I can't find a reason why Mr Furtick would name his supposedly God honoring event with a call that warns people of a radioactive spill or a dangerous deranged maniac.  

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3  He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. (Psalm 1:1-4)

Rather than reviewing what Mr. Furtick said at his rock concert interspersed with monologues, maybe we should concentrate on who was there, after all, you are judged by the company you keep. Yes, I know that remark is from an Aesop fable, but that sentiment is merely an echo of teachings in the bible 

Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." (1 Corinthians 15:33)

Our friends on the "Christian" left will protest by insisting "Jesus associated with the most despicable!" yes He did, but then He also associated with Satan, but His associations were brief, He shared fellowship with His apostles. The difference between you, me, Steven Furtick, and Jesus is that Jesus is God, Jesus created Satan and was not, and can not be tempted by Satan.

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them (Ephesians 5:6-7)

Emergent Monday - Steven Furtick Superstar

I really do not like polluting a worship service with narcissism, manufactured miracles, and secular noise, the primary purpose of a worship service is to praise and worship God, not the pitiful accomplishments of man.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

If Pastor Paratus stood before our congregation of Bereans during a worship service and started reciting the play-by-play of the on-going Denver Broncos game for no other reason than many of us in the congregation like the Denver Broncos, I'm sure that the board would have a meeting to discuss this. The service is to worship and glorify God, not the Denver Broncos. 

How could that possibly be any different than Steven Furtick's Elevation "Church" playing heavy metal secular music during a worship service simply because he likes it? Songs like the drug culture anthem Purple Haze by Jimmy Hendrix, music by the "theologians" Arrowsmith, the God glorifying hymn I Love Rock and Roll, and the center of all things worshipful New York New York must be found worshipful to the goats of Elevation church. Of course if you do not find this edifying it's probably because of your diminished intellectual capacity, or in the words of Steven Furtick:

“A lot of people don't like rock and roll in church because they're STUPID.” -Pastor Steven Furtick

Then again, what kind of explanation do you expect from someone who has publicly stated that they believe that Joel Osteen is "a great man of god"? It's not about what the congregation wants, it's not about what the church board wants, it's not even about what Steven Furtick Superstar wants, it's about what GOD wants.

Emergent Monday - The NAR’s Infallible Prophet Rick Joyner (and the New Breed)

The controversial New Breed doctrine goes under many 

different names, although it is often called ‘Manifest Sons 

of God’ theology by discernment ministries in the 1980s.

This was posted on May 24, 2016 at Churchwatch Central, and I'm sure you'll agree with me that it is an excellent expose of narcissistic psudotheology gone wild. All emphasis is from the author, minor corrections in spelling and grammar have been made because I'm an English major with OCD.

The problem with cults is that it is hard to convince people that they actually teach really bizarre or far-fetched doctrines. It’s hard to reconcile that they push such illogical concepts on people contrary to human reason or biblical truths.

THE NEW BREED DOCTRINE

One such cult is the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) who believe they will raise raise up a generation known as the New Breed. This New Breed doctrine teaches that a generation of Christians will become “divine” or “God in human flesh” and will manifest Christ here on earth with powerful signs, wonders and judgments to cleanse the church and the world of all sin so Christ can return.

WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT THIS NEW BREED NONSENSE?

The reason why it is important to familiarize yourself with this teaching is because it is EVERYWHERE. You will see this theology emerge again and again in NAR revivals or in their attempt to promote conferences. You can detect it behind the theology of very popular movements that try to hide their theological ties to the NAR:

Emergent Monday - The NAR Has Their Own Bible Part 4

Holly Pivec at Spirit of Error is doing an outstanding job and exposing the New Apostolic Reformation so while my job has been quite ratcheted up, I'm going to repost these articles that Holly has revisited regarding the NAR bible. (Remember what I said about a cult? "Stay away from any group that has made their own bible")

In my past three posts (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3), I looked closely at a new translation of the Bible called “The Passion Translation,” produced by NAR apostle Brian Simmons. I showed why it is not a trustworthy translation.

In this post, I will show four things to look for in a trustworthy translation. To illustrate those characteristics, I will contrast the The Passion Translation with another newer translation, the English Standard Version (ESV).

Four Characteristics of a Trustworthy Translation

A trustworthy translation is produced by a team of translators. Unlike The Passion Translation, which was produced by a lone individual, the ESV was produced by more than 100 Bible scholars – an international team from many denominations. Why is team translation work important? It provides checks and balances to make sure that the translation is accurate and doesn’t reflect the pet theological views of just one person or only a certain group of Christians.

A trustworthy translation is produced by reputable scholars. Apostle Simmons’ single credential – other than the fact that he claims to be an apostle – is that he assisted in a translation project of the New Testament for an indigenous people group in Panama. But he apparently has no formal academic training – only the on-the-job training he received during his eight-year stint in Panama working with New Tribes Mission.

Emergent Monday - The NAR Has Their Own Bible Part 3

A fragment of a Greek manuscript of the 

Gospel of John that dates to the second 

century. This fragment is housed at the 

John Rylands Library in Manchester, England.

Holly Pivec at Spirit of Error is doing an outstanding job and exposing the New Apostolic Reformation so while my job has been quite ratcheted up, I'm going to repost these articles that Holly has revisited regarding the NAR bible. (Remember what I said about a cult? "Stay away from any group that has made their own bible")

In my last two posts (Part 1 and Part 2), I wrote about a new NAR translation of the Bible, called The Passion Translation, which features drastically changed verses of Scripture. See three of those changed verses here.

In this post, I show how the translator of this NAR Bible, apostle Brian Simmons, attempts to justify his changes to Scripture.

In short, Simmons claims that the vast differences in meaning are the result of his decision to translate many verses from Aramaic manuscripts – not Greek manuscripts.  (Yet, I must mention that even those verses he claims to translate from the Greek are still drastically different.)

Simmons said the reason he decided to translate from the Aramaic is because new discoveries have revealed that the New Testament was originally written in the Aramaic language, not Greek.

Here is what Simmons says, in his own words.

“For centuries, it has been believed that the New Testament was first written in Greek. … Some scholars now lean increasingly towards the thought that Aramaic and Hebrew texts of the New Testament are the original manuscripts, and that many of the Greek texts are copies, and a second generation from the originals! This is radically changing translation concepts, and will result in many new translations of the New Testament based on Aramaic.” [Excerpted from “Translator’s Introduction” to Letters from Heaven by the Apostle Paul, the fourth installment of The Passion Translation]

Astounding Claims

These are astounding claims. If what Simmons says is true, then that would mean that all the standard English Bible translations–including the King James Version, the New International Version, the New American Standard Bible, and the English Standard Version – are not based on the earliest and most trustworthy manuscripts and should be replaced by new, more reliable translations, such as Simmons’ Passion Translation. 

Emergent Monday - The NAR Has Their Own Bible Part 2

Apostle Brian Simmons and wife
Candice

Holly Pivec at Spirit of Error is doing an outstanding job and exposing the New Apostolic Reformation so while my job has been quite ratcheted up, I'm going to repost these articles that Holly has revisited regarding the NAR bible. (Remember what I said about a cult? "Stay away from any group that has made their own bible")

In my last post, I wrote about a new translation of the Bible called “The Passion Translation”–released by New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) apostle Brian Simmons.

In this post, I will show you three of the verses Simmons has drastically changed in his new translation to make it look like the Bible promotes NAR teachings. I will contrast Simmons’ translation of the Bible with the standard English translations.

Galatians 6:6

Standard English Translations

• Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. (New International Version)
• Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. (New King James Version)
• Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. (English Standard Version)

The teaching being promoted: Church members should take care of the financial and other material needs of their spiritual leaders.

The Passion Translation

• And those who are taught the Word will receive an impartation from their teacher; a transference of anointing takes place between them.

The NAR teaching being promoted: The divine authority to minister with a specific miraculous gift–such as the gift of prophesying or healing people–can be imparted or transferred from church leaders to their followers.

Emergent Monday - The NAR has their own Bible.Part 1

Holly Pivec at Spirit of Error is doing an outstanding job and exposing the New Apostolic Reformation so while my job has been quite ratcheted up, I'm going to repost these articles that Holly has revisited regarding the NAR bible. (Remember what I said about a cult? "Stay away from any group that has made their own bible")

First a quick update. Since I wrote this series back in 2013, Simmons has released more installments of his NAR Bible: Proverbs, Matthew, Acts, Hebrews and James, and Romans. NAR leaders, including Bill Johnson, continue to promote this translation and quote from it in the pulpit. And rave reviews from Simmons’ readers pour in. I’m disappointed to report that the Passion Translation has been selling extremely well based on its rank at Amazon. For those who have never heard of the Passion Translation, you can get up to speed by reading my first post.

A New NAR Bible

Beware: An NAR apostle has come out with his own NAR translation of the Bible, called “The Passion Translation.”

Apostle Brian Simmons, of Stairway Ministries, is the lone translator of this “groundbreaking” project. To date, he has released four installments of his new translation:

• Psalms: Poetry on Fire
• Song of Solomon: Most Amazing Song of All
• Luke: To the Lovers of God
• Letters From Heaven by the Apostle Paul

Next in line is Proverbs, Wisdom From Above, due out in Fall 2013.

Emergent Monday - Yes, Bethel Redding and Bill Johnson are part of the New Apostolic Reformation

Bill Johnson

Once again Holly Pivec at The Spirit of Error blog exposes more information on one of the most dangerous cults of all times, the New Apostolic Reformation. This time she exposes Bethel Redding and their leader Bill Johnson and their ties to the NAR. Bethel Redding is all about Matthew 24:24, when Bill Johnson took over in 1996 he changed the teaching of the church from Jesus to training people in prophecy, healing and other "supernatural gifts of God". Bethel is a Word of Faith movement that teaches that faith is a force through which anything can be done. The goats at bethel come not for the gospel but that warm fuzzy feel-good feeling and miracles. They come for signs and wonders like speaking in tongues, gold dust, diamonds, and angel feathers...

Yes, Bethel Redding and Bill Johnson are part of the New Apostolic Reformation

Following Christianity Today’s recent cover story on Bethel Church in Redding, California, I’ve been contacted by people wondering about Bill Johnson’s statements made in that article distancing himself from the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). The two specific statements he made are that his church does not have any official ties to theNAR and that he’s “not completely clear on what it is.”

Despite Johnson’s distancing himself from the NAR, he very clearly is part of it. Let’s look at his two claims.

What makes the NAR the NAR?

One of Johnson’s claims is that he’s not completely clear on what the NAR is. Interestingly, the author of the Christianity Today article said he laughed with disbelief. I. too, find Johnson’s claim hard to believe because the NAR is all about apostles–and Johnson clearly sees himself as one. 

Emergent Monday - Bickles Bible Botching

“Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the
difference between what is right and wrong;
rather it is the difference between right and
 almost right.” - CH Spurgeon

Thank you to all of you who've given me so much feedback on my NAR posts, but if you like my stuff, wait until you take a look at Holly Pivec's articles at the Spirit of Error blog. She is doing an incredible job of keeping track of apostolic-prophetic movement (the NAR or the “New Apostolic Reformation“) — the fast-growing movement within charismatic and Pentecostal churches that promotes modern-day apostles and prophets who assume great authority that biblically is not theirs to assume. Holly is the former managing editor of Biola University’s magazine, Biola Magazine, and a former contributing writer to the Christian Research Journal. She has a master’s degree in Christian apologetics from Biola. This is one of her most read postings:

Bickles Bible Botching

Mike Bickle–the leader of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City, Missouri–is revered by many people in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement as a sound Bible teacher, as someone who majors on teaching people the written Word of God. 

But I have noticed something disturbing about his teachings. The Bible verses he uses to support them frequently have nothing to do with those teachings–and sometimes they actually teach something very different.

In this post, I look at one of Bickle’s teachings and show how he attempts to support it through the use of a botched interpretation of Scripture. This example should raise a flag of caution in people’s minds when they encounter his other NAR teachings.

The ‘Israel Mandate’

IHOP has a ministry called the “Israel Mandate,” that seeks to mobilize people to pray for Israel and the salvation of the Jewish people. Well, this might all sound good–even to many traditional evangelicals who have, historically, shown strong support for Israel and Jewish people.

So, then, what’s the problem with the “Israel Mandate?”

Emergent Monday - Excuses Excuses

If you've been keeping track, the prophesy record for the NAR is pretty abysmal. Keep in mind that being a prophet isn't all about picking Super Bowl winners (am I right Rick Joyner?) but about speaking God's truth to others. The English word prophet comes from the Greek word prophetes, which can mean “one who speaks forth” or “advocate.”

More than 133 named prophets are mentioned in the Bible, including 16 women.These aren't folks who just woke up one day and thought to themselves "Hey, I'll be a prophet, the money's not good but the work is easy" True prophets are chosen by God to speak for Him

I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. (Deuteronomy 18:18)

True prophets of God aren't well loved in this sinful world, primarily because they are true prophets of God and say what God tells them to say. A shining example is Ahab, king of Israel. He had 400 false prophets telling him what he liked to hear, and one true prophet, Micaiah. The 400 predicted victory for Israel over that Arameans, but  Micaiah prophesied defeat and death, for which he was imprisoned. Of course Micaiah was right (2 Kings 22:1-40) Paul also has been known to prophesy, one of his most damning prophesies is found in his letter to the Romans where he tells of a world falling deeper into sin (Romans 1:20-32).

Enter the New Apostolic Reformation - it's not new, it's not apostolic, and the only thing they have reformed is the art of ear tickling - their false prophecy is staggering and nearly as creative as their excuses for spewing false prophecy in the first place. Let's look at a few. First is Dutch Sheets prophesying that the leaders of all governments will lead their nations righteously

Emergent Monday - IHOP and the Perils of Passion

Scott Pursley is the Senior Pastor at Lamb of God Fellowship in Livingston, NJ. He is a teacher who is well grounded in the Word. This article was originally presented in sermon form (mp3). Pastor Scott reformatted his notes for publication at BeyondGrace and are reposted here

The International House of Prayer, located in Kansas City Missouri is principally the vision of one man, its founder and chief doctrinal spokesman, Mike Bickle. Therefore a critique of IHOP is in the final analysis a critique of Mike Bickle’s teaching ministry. However, because of the unusual beginnings of Mr. Bickle’s ministry and rise to national prominence it is also necessary to focus on the teaching/preaching ministries of two alleged prophets, Paul Cain and Bob Jones. Their ministries are parallel developments and significantly influence and shape Mr. Bickle’s perception of IHOP’s divinely authorized origins.

The multi-million dollar ministry that is IHOP has it roots in the modest beginnings of the Kansas City Fellowship of the early 1980’s. According to Mr. Bickle, IHOP is a direct fulfillment of prophecies delivered to him by Bob Jones and Paul Cain. Repeatedly Mr. Bickle has declared that no one has been more integral to establishing the prophetic in his ministry than Bob Jones. Part of the mythology of Mr. Jones legendary status as a prophet are numerous false prophecies, now largely forgotten. These include claims of California being destroyed, nuclear weapons being detonated on the East and West Coast, and an oft repeated story of a drought confirming special ‘divine’ authorization on Mr. Bickle’s ministry.

From the very early days of Mr. Bickle’s ministry he adapted his own version of the so called ‘Latter Rain’ teaching of the late 1940’s made popular principally through the writing of George Warnock’s ‘Feast of Tabernacles’ (As well as a hand full of other, now obscure Pentecostal heretics). This parallel has been pointed out to Mr. Bickle on numerous occasions necessitating a public denial of IHOP’s dependance on Latter Rain teaching. However, no actual substantive explanation has ensued from Mr. Bickle regarding this allegation. The false teacher and Latter Rain proponent William Branham was very influential in the theological formation of the disgraced prophet Paul Cain. Paul Cain in turn influenced greatly both Bob Jones (who frequently referred to Mr. Cain as the greatest prophet of God on the earth) and Mike Bickle who often appeared with Mr. Cain in large venues around the U.S.

Emergent Monday: IHOP - Feeding the Undiscerning

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in  sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
(Matthew 7:15)

Once upon a time, Joseph Smith said that God sent him a message, so he started the Mormon Church. Ellen G. White also claimed a message from God and she started the Seventh Day Adventists. Mary Eddy Baker believes she got a message from God and she started the Christian Scientist church. Sun Myung Moon said he got a message from God and he started the Unification church. Muhammed claims to have received a message from God and started Islam.

Then there's Mike Bickle. In the 1980's Mike was a preacher in a small church St. Louis when a man named "Augustine told him that he had heard an audible voice that told him to prophesy "by the spirit of truth" to Bickle's congregation. Bickle allowed him to do this and was impressed by the seeming accuracy with which he described the condition of his church. In September of that same year Mike claims that while visiting Cairo, Egypt a mysterious, audible voice told him:

I am inviting you to raise up a work that will touch the ends of the earth. I have invited many people to do this thing and many people have said yes, but very few have done my will. (Source, page 60)

In 1999 Mike Bickle started the International House Of Prayer known for it's 24/7 prayer ministry. It has since grown to establish international ties, its own seminary, and an undergraduate program along with tying itself to the New Apostolic Reformation. And when I say it's a 24/7 prayer ministry, I mean it's really, really, Really 24/7. Nonstop praying 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is true that there's no such thing as praying too much, so the idea of a ministry dedicated to non-stop prayer is a good one. But what worries Christians is the type of prayer they use. IHOP is dedicated to contemplative prayer. Here are a few quotes on contemplative prayer by Mike Bickle. 

Emergent Monday - The Occultic Roots of the NAR

This is the gravestone of William Branham, the man whose strange teachings fuel the strange fire of the New Apostolic Reformation. Every Easter, many of Branham’s followers visit his grave in Jeffersonville, IN expecting to see his resurrection. They believe that his rising from the grave will be the sign that Jesus’ Second Coming is at hand. Branham’s grave attracts hundreds of domestic and international visitors who believe, as Branham prophesied, that he was the messenger of the Last Days.

This occult Masonic pyramid gravestone is adorned with an eagle, Branham stated many times that the Bible compared God's prophets to eagles, however, he never provided one scriptural example of where this was the case. This grave marker Lists the seven churches of Revelation on one side, and a list of seven men whom Branham believed signifigantly impacted the church. They are Paul, Irenaeus, Martin, Columbia, Luther, Westley, and Branham himself. This stone is eerily similar to the Watchtower Memorial marking the grave of Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Jehovah's witnesses. 

William Branham was a false prophet and major heretic who taught false doctrines and promoted occultism. Even with his outlandish teachings and proven false prophecies, there are many poor souls who still believe in him, promote his teachings, and are basing their ministries on his ranting.

Emergent Monday - The NAR and Their Day of Infamy

3 If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. (1 Timothy 6:3-5)

“Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right.” - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

I can't lay claim to calling the NAR-Todd Bently debacle the "Day of Infamy" the honor of coining that phrase goes to Steven Kozar and the Messed Up Church blog, but the question did come up last week. When I wrote about the NAR's Spiritual Mapping gimmick, Alec Satin speculated that one would expect a great deal of immorality behind the scenes or perhaps even openly, so maybe a review of the Day of Infamy would answer questions like this.

Todd Bentley was born in Gibsons, British Columbia, a small community on the western coast of Canada. As told in his autobiography, his parents divorced while he was a child, and he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction¹ Even though criminal records of juvenile offenders in Canada are sealed, several media outlets have reported on Bentley's conviction at age 15 of sexually assaulting a much younger boy when he was 13. Bentley later said that the original article was true2 At age 17 Bentley was hospitalized after an overdose of amphetamines and hallucinogens. At 18 he converted to christianity and changed his lifestyle completely.  

Emergent Monday - The Spiritual Map of George Otis and the NAR

Spiritual Mapping is a discipline used by the New Apostolic Reformation to... to... to be honest I couldn't figure out what exactly they use it for. But according to the NAR it's really important. I looked up Spiritual Mapping and was lead to a spiritual mapping webpage at isaiah54.org and found a page chock full of different type faces and colors, huge type, small type, shadowed type, italicized type, bold type, subscript type, superscript type, even Micosoft WordArt type, so spiritual mapping is clearly very important. And, a good thing, there was no explosive use of exclamation points so obviously the webmasters at isaiah54.org are not crazy. 

However the meaning and definition of Spiritual Mapping seemed to escape the webmasters notice. In their section titled WHAT IS THE DISCIPLINE OF SPIRITUAL MAPPING? they defined the word "Discipline" and completely ignored the whole Spiritual Mapping part. The page is covered with blather about spiritual warefare, partial bible quotes, bible quotes used utterly out of context and nonsense like 

"Like enemy intelligence gathering during wartime Spiritual Mapping gathers the strategic information necessary for effective intercessory "smart prayer" deployment." 

There is one quote worth paying attention to which came from Georg Otis Jr, the inventor of spiritual mapping:

(Spiritual Mapping is) "Superimposing our understanding of forces and events in the spiritual domain onto places and circumstances in the material world."  (from "The Last of the Giants" by George Otis Jr.)

I didn't say it made sense, I just said it was the one quote worth paying attention to. I first came across the term 'spiritual mapping' in a description of John MacArthurs sermon The Modern Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. In this sermon Dr. MacArthur never actually says "spiritual mapping" but he does utter the finest definition of the NAR ever spoken, and his definition has become a classic in Christianity

Emergent Monday: NAR Dominionism and the Presidential Race

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that in presidential politics the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a complete and utter failure. The bad news is that they don't realize this fact and are not stopping in their attempt to "retake the reins of our country"

I've covered the antics of the NAR in the past here, and here. and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and now we're back again for more. Do not get me wrong, I firmly believe that a man with a strong biblical background and a deep love for God will be an awesome president, but I do not believe a cult member or someone with ties to a dominionist cult could be anything more than the disaster we're trying to replace. The NAR is quickly becoming one of the most dangerous producers of false teachings that ever hid behind the banner of Christianity. I am not kidding when I say that the NAR is plotting an overthrow of the entire world world. They would rather rule the world than listen to the word of God when He said 

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Back in 2009 it was revealed that Newt Gingrich had developed ties to the NAR appearing alongside the NAR's "apostle" Lew Engle at a "Rediscovering God In America" conference where Engle laid hands upon Gingrich and prayed for God's protection for him. But Newt's ties to dominion overthrow go further back than that, Back in 1994 Newt made it clear that he was committed to the "Third Way" which, of course, is another tentacle of the hydra that is the NAR.

Emergent Monday - False Doctrine from a False Doctor

Dr. Rick "Super Bowl" Joyner not only is a false prophet, he has a false degree. Mr. Joyner received his 'doctorate' from a "paper mill", an unaccredited institution that cranks out doctoral certificates that claims that "experience" is as good as a bachelors AND a masters degree. Earning a degree means that you have undertaken the prescribed course of study, which for a doctorate is 14 years of intense study. In a legitimate institution the prerequisites for a doctorate requires a bachelor's degree which takes four years to complete, and a masters degree which takes an additional two to three years. Generally a doctor's degree will take an additional 8 years to complete. Rick Joyner skipped the bachelors degree and the masters degree and went straight into his doctoral program with a high school GED. Mr. Joyner purchased his doctorate from North Carolina College of Theology whose accreditation is questionable at best.

Oh, and by the way, Rick Joyner is the founder and Executive Director of MorningStar University. Would you go to a university whose director has only one legitimate diploma, and that one is a High School Graduate Equivalency Diploma?

Mr. Joyner's falsehoods go beyond his academic career, his prophetic 'gift' needs a bit of a tune-up too. On June 23, 2008 Mr. Joyner joined several of his cohorts in the New Apostolic Reformation to "ordain" Todd Bentley as an apostle in the NAR at the Lakeland Revival. When it it Mr. Joyner's turn to speak he steps up to the microphone and proceeds to prophesy over Bentley. In part he says:

Emergent Monday - Rick Joyner Is A False Prophet

26 "How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, 27 who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? (Jeremiah 23:26-27)

This may come as a shock to some of you, so if you're weak of heart please change your web page to something less shocking, like this page, Ready? Here goes: Rick Joyner is a false prophet. 

I know, I know - shocking news to some, old hat to others, but Rick Joyner, IHOP cult member New Age Emergent man of God isn't what he professes to be. Rick Joyner has made a comfortable life for himself through biblical shenanigans, false prophecy, and utter nonsense. Back in 1992 he wrote a book titled "There Were Two Trees in the Garden" which opens with this:

"The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is a powerful Biblical model of the Law.  As the Apostle Paul declared "The power of sin is the law" (1 Corinthians 15:56).  This is because it is through the Law that we must derive our knowledge of good and evil.  We may wonder how this knowledge brings death until we see the fruit.  The knowledge of good and evil kills us by distracting us from the One who is the source of life; the Tree of Life - Jesus. The Tree of Knowledge causes us to focus our attention upon ourselves.  Sin is empowered by the law; not just because the evil is revealed but the good as well. It drives us either to corruption or self-righteousness, both of which lead to death." (There Were Two Trees In The Garden, Rick Joyner, pp. 9-10.) 

Emergent Monday - The Theology of the Christian Left

If you go to the Christian Left web site and search for Theology, you end up with one article – “Our Theology" posted a year ago. Their theology is summed up in one sentence: 

We’re not affiliated with any denomination but we fully agree with the theology of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

 According to A Handbook for Today's Disciples in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 

"the one essential is the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and obedience to him in baptism. There is no requirement to give assent to any other statement of belief or creed. Nor is there any "official" interpretation of the Bible.

How convenient, is this a Christian flavored "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" theology.that Aleister Crowley would be proud of? One can only ask: How do you know the Jesus Christ you serve is the Jesus Christ of the bible if you have no biblical background to understand Him by? To conveniently ignore the teachings (doctrine) of the bible is a ticket to make up your own, man based doctrine. The Disciples of Christ continue:

Hierarchical doctrine was traditionally rejected by Disciples as human-made and divisive, and subsequently, freedom of belief and scriptural interpretation allows many Disciples to question or even deny beliefs common in doctrinal churches such as the Incarnation, the Trinity, and the Atonement. 

Famous members of the Disciples of Christ include President Ronald Reagan and National Rifle Association board member and gun advocate Tom Selleck, the "Christian" Left must be wild about that. And, most tellingly, the Disciples of Christ's one display of obedience to Christ, baptism, is rejected by many on the Christian left, their emphasis is not on our faith and what we do to please God but what God does to please us. 

The "Christian" Left declares their name to be a term used to describe a spectrum of left-wing Christian political and social movements which largely embraces social justice. (keep in mind that social justice is not a religious view point, it's a political construct) or care for the poor and the oppressed. (keep in mind that most religions do extraordinary work caring for the poor, the sick, the sinners, yet the "Christian" left refuses to acknowledge their actions)