| Issues and Controversies | In addition to our Statement of Beliefs, the following represents an alphabetical list of my thoughts on, understandings of, and positions concerning various issues, teachings, doctrines, and controversies. Disclaimer: Reasonable people can disagree. I fellowship with ministers that I respect who disagree with me on some of these issues. For the purpose of this list, I just call 'em as I see 'em. Additions are made to this list as my time permits: | -A- Authority, Spiritual God occupies the position of ultimate spiritual authority. After Christ's resurrection, the Lord said that " . . . All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (Mat. 28:18 NIV). Therefore, all spiritual authority is exercised by Christ and through Christ. Yet Christ compared himself to a man taking a far journey, and delegating authority to his servants to use until he returned: "For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch." (Mat. 13:34). I believe there is a solid scriptural argument to be made that all Christians walk in a certain amount of spiritual authority that is delegated to them by Jesus Christ. " The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV). However, I do not believe this delegated spiritual authority can be exercised promiscuously, or at will. I believe this authority is powerful, effective, and unstoppable ONLY when it is exercised in prayer within the guidelines of God's will as expressed in Scripture. For instance, the prayers of a genuine healing evangelist can bring healing to multitudes, but not to everyone. Some are healed, and some are not. Although I believe it is God's will for all to walk in healing and health, if healing prayers or power could be exercised at will, then all healing evangelists would have 100% success in praying for the sick. Since no healing evangelist has 100% success, clearly no healing evangelist is able to exercise healing power at his own will. Genuine spiritual authority, in my opinion, can be exercised only in within scriptural limitations. Spiritual authority operates in a manner similar to the operation of spiritual gifts--working only as the Holy Spirit wills: "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." (I Cor. 12:11). In other words, you can exercise spiritual authority only in instances in which what you are asking or desiring is clearly scriptural, and if and only if you have the leading of the Lord to do so. | -B- Branham, William Based on what I have read from materials about William Branham by Gordon Lindsay, Kenneth Hagin, and Roberts Liardon, I believe that Brother Branham began as a genuine prophet sent from God. I believe his gift and anointing was real. I have spoken with a person who knew Branham and his ministry well. This person said that as long as Gordon Lindsay managed Branham's ministry meetings, Branham stayed true. Brother Lindsay was very protective of Branham. Lindsay surrounded Branham with sound men of God. For instance, when Branham would preach a series of meetings in the evenings, Lindsay would schedule F.F. Bosworth or T.L. Osborn to preach sessions during the day. As long as Branham was continuously exposed to sound doctrine and scriptural preaching, it reinforced the same in Branham, and his teachings and revelations remained pure. Once Lindsay's own ministry grew to the point that it required his full-time attention and he left Branham's ministry, Branham began going downhill. His "revelations" and teaching became unscriptural and bizarre, and within a few years he died discredited and disgraced. I believe a Christian can be blessed by viewing for instance Roberts Liardon's "God's Generals" video of Branham. It provides a balanced presentation of the strengths and weaknesses of William Branham. It gives a visual example of Branham's prophetic gift in operation, and we can learn by observing this gift in operation. But I warn people in the strongest possible terms not to read Branham's later books and writings--they are full of a sliver of truth mixed with tons of error and confusion. Likewise, I recommend everyone avoid any minister who claims to have been mentored by Branham. All such ministers that I have ever observed or read their writings are as deeply confused and in as much gross error as was Branham. | -C- Confession--Positive/Negative I believe in "positive confession" only in a very limited sense. I do not believe that human words contain power. There is only one power, that is, the power of God. He releases His power as He sees fit. I do not believe that human words have creative power. Nor do I believe that we can "speak things into existence." I believe that it pleases God when we have a positive outlook on life, and as we continue to speak positively of His limitlessness and His presence with us in every difficulty. I believe "positive confession" works only in the sense that it helps us remain in an attitude of trust and faith towards God, helping us to remain focused on believing in His absolute wisdom, faithfulness, and ability to heal us, provide for us, protect us, and deliver us in every situation. I reject the concept that human beings can, at will, release God's power through their own words. I believe however, that when a Christian is living uprightly, adhering to sound doctrine, and speaks out a command in faith, many times God will release His power as though the words were His Own. But such close collaboration between a human and the Almighty God, as you see in the ministries of the Apostles and Prophets of the Bible, requires a walk of great humility, uncompromising holiness, stedfast obedience, and the person must be commanding something that not only agrees with Scripture, but also agrees with God's specific will for the situation involved, accompanied by God's SPECIFIC leading to do so. If any of these elements are missing, then the "command of faith" will produce results that are sporadic or none at all. | -D- Dominionist Theology An error based around the concept that before Christ returns, believers will develop into such an advanced state of spiritual authority and power that all sickness will be overcome, all works of the Devil will be put under our feet, even whole governments will be taken over and run by the righteous. Apostles will create some sort of world-wide spiritual government that will purify the world, and the Church to the point where the Church will be "without spot or wrinkle." I do not believe this unbiblical and ridiculous teaching, and I have no confidence in preachers who have been deceived by this error. Dominionist Theology goes by a number of other names including Kingdom Now, and Manifested Sons of God. | -E- Elijah List An internet website that claims to be a source for prophecies from legitimate Christian prophets. However, this collection of "prophecies," dreams, visions, etc., is at best mostly gibberish, and in my opinion is the largest collection of error and nonsense on the internet today. I've observed this site from a distance now for years, hoping that they would eventually correct their excesses and at least pretend to follow scriptural order and sound doctrine. My wait has been in vain. As long as there is a buck to be made off selling books and CD's full of nonsense--and they sell it by the ton--I guess it is against their financial self-interest to conform to biblical practices. In my opinion, any book, CD, conference, or ministry recommended by this site should be avoided. (If you find anything by me posted on that website, it is done so without my knowledge). | -F- Five-Fold Ministry I believe that the "five-fold ministry" of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers have continued from the days of the Early Church to today. (Ephesians 4:10-12). I believe however that the Apostles and Prophets of the Early Church served in a function that is no longer true of Apostles and Prophets today. Namely, they were the foundation layers of the Church, along with Christ being the Chief Cornerstone. (Eph. 2:20). In the days of the Early Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ was fully revealed, the Body of Christ was established, the canon of Scripture was completed, and thus the "foundation" was laid, Apostles and Prophets today do not operate in as high of a spiritual dimension as did those of the Early Church. They do not write Scripture. Nor does God give them visions and revelations today that are to be considered equal to scripture. Nor are their teachings and actions beyond questioning. Apostles today remain "foundation layers" not by establishing new doctrine, but by laying the foundation for new churches and ministries to be built in areas of the world or of society in which the Gospel has never before fully taken root. To this end, I believe God grants signs, wonders, and miracles to accompany the ministries of apostles (and to the other offices of the 5-fold ministry). Having said that, I must also add that I believe that false apostles and false prophets outnumber the real ones in our day about 100 to 1. Many of these false apostles and false prophets simply have taken these titles to hype their own ministries and to stroke their own egos. Most operate in no real spiritual power. However, I see today numerous Christian ministers who claim to be apostles and prophets, but show by their teachings and actions that they are false ones, not true ones. And these individuals do indeed show forth impressive "signs, wonders, and miracles" sometimes, which indicates a supernatural inspiration to their ministries. I believe such individuals are false apostles and false prophets who ignorantly work miracles through "the Spirit of Error" (I John 4:6), and receive revelations through "seducing spirits." (I Tim. 4:1). I do not believe in, and refuse to be a part of, any attempt to establish some sort of world-wide Apostolic and Prophetic hierarchy that would seek to dominate the local church and the Body of Christ. | | -G- | -H- Hagin, Kenneth (Sr). I believe Kenneth Hagin Sr. was a genuine prophet sent from God. He patterned his prophetic ministry after the spiritual flow he saw in his best friends, the Rev. and Mrs. J.R. Goodwin. I was mentored by Sister Goodwin in her final years, and am close with their son Dr. Charles Goodwin. I summarize here the case I make in detail in "Kenneth Hagin's Two Faith Messages." Namely, I believe Kenneth Hagin received a miraculous healing from God as a teen ager. He met the Goodwins in 1938, during his early years of ministry in preaching his "faith message." Some years afterward, he encountered and embraced the writings of E.W. Kenyon, mixing them in with his own message, thus creating an expanded "faith message." The Goodwins considered, along with most credentialed Bible scholars, and I too consider, Brother Hagin's expanded "faith message" to contain a number of unbiblical concepts and reasonings. This does not, in my opinion, make Kenneth Hagin a false prophet. It made him a genuine and sincere prophet of God, who was very weak in theology. I continue to believe in Kenneth Hagin's original faith message, and find it to be entirely compatible with sound orthodox doctrine. | | -I- | | -J- | -K- | -L- Laughing in the Spirit Proponents and opponents both will be unhappy with me, because both sides are telling only part of the truth: It is a historical fact that what we call Laughing in the Spirit occurred in numerous meetings throughout the First Great Awakening (1730 - 1740), and in the Second Great Awakening (1790 - 1840). This manifestation occurred frequently in meetings held by legitimate, orthodox ministers. Although this can be a genuine spiritual manifestation inspired by the Holy Spirit, it can also be psychologically induced. When Laughing in the Spirit is a genuine manifestation inspired by the Holy Spirit, it can bring refreshing and great blessing. I find no clear example in scripture of this manifestation. I believe if the Holy Spirit moves in this manner in a service, we should flow with Him, and allow Him to move however He desires to move. I believe servcies should be built around the clear preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and if the Holy Spirit moves in special manifestations, we should accommodate them in a decent and orderly way. I do not believe in attempting to conjure up Laughing in the Spirit or any other spiritual manifestation. Nor do I believe in "leading people into" this experience. Either God moves in this manner, or He does not. If He inspires this, then yield to it and accommodate it. If He does not move in this manner, don't try to conjure it up. I do not believe Laughing in the Spirit is a sign of great spirituality, of "yielding to the Lord," or conclusive proof of receiving a spiritual blessing. Nor when it occurs do I believe it is a sign of a ministry being "anointed." Only fruit borne over time is the proof of having truly received, and such fruit is also the only valid proof of the legitimacy of a ministry. Sometimes Laughing in the Spirit will come upon an individual after a season of prayer as a sign from the Lord that their prayers have prevailed, and thus serves as a sign to the believer that God is in the process of answering their prayer.
| | -M- | | -N- | | -O- | -P- Pensecola Revival I never attended any services in Pensecola during the revival. I visited a conference held at ORU in 1999 or 2000 held by John Kilpatrick, Steve Hill, Lindell Cooley and others from the Pensecola Revival. In the day meetings for full-time ministers, the team presented a scriptural message of revival, in what I believe was a humble spirit. In the evening public services, a clear message of Christ and revival was preached by Steve Hill. I saw nothing in the message or services that was out of order. I can not comment on manifestations people claimed to have witnessed at the church in Pensecola that hosted the revival--I did not see them. I went forward during an altar call in the meetings held at ORU by the Pensecola ministers. Hands were laid on me by volunteers, not by any well-known minister. I went back to my hotel room, humbled myself before God, and received a deep refreshing and renewal from Him. Receiving my prophetic anointing preceeded this conference by at least 10 years. I do not believe I received a gift, ministry, or anointing at this conference. I received however, a profound reviving in God. | | -Q- | | -R- | | -S- Spiritual Warfare In a general sense, a Christian's walk is one of non-stop spiritual warfare. However, I find no scriptural support for most of the "spiritual warfare" teachings that are commonly taught today. We have no record of Jesus binding territorial spirits over geographical areas. We see Christ regularly praying TO God, but we never see him pray AGAINST evil spirits over cities, villages, or countries. Paul writes, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Eph. 6:12). Some interpret this to mean that we are to go on the offensive, and somehow agressively attack evil spirits in Satan's kingdom. However, we can find no example in Scripture of Christ or any apostle engaging in prayer combats against evil spirits other than those that were possessing a victim. Rather than offensive, I believe the spiritual warfare in which we engage is a DEFENSIVE one. Namely, God has given us His word, and Satan is constantly coming against us with temptations, deception, and other tools to get us to disobey God. I believe our warfare consists exclusively of choosing to obey God's word, and choosing to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual armor and warfare involves us rebuking and resisting the tools and wiles that Satan uses to try to talk us into disobedience to God. I find no Bible support for the idea that a Christian can "pull down [spiritual] strongholds." Spiritual strongholds can be pulled down, but this happens not by us "exercising authority" over them. Only God can pull down a spiritual stronghold, and He does so in our lives, in our ministries, and in our behalf, only as we continue obeying Him fully, walking in faith, love, and obedience to His word and to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Much of what is commonly done in supposedly conducting "spiritual warfare" through intercession, by "binding the devil," and in "exercising authority" over "principalities and powers," in my opinion, is nothing more than religious traditions based on ignorance of scripture. | -T- Toronto Blessing "Toronto Blessing" is a reference to the revival that broke out in John Arnott's ministry in Toronto Canada in 1994. I have never been to services at this church, or in meetings held by Rev. Arnott, and do not know him. In any revival men have the opportunity to inject their own thoughts and agendas. Although I believe there may have been a sliver of truth, and a certain amount of the Spirit of God, in the "Toronto Blessing," I must advise caution concerning services and ministries that trace their origins back to this revival. The "Toronto Blessing" deviated from scripture in a number of teachings and practices, and a number of erroneous teachings have come from individuals involved in this revival. | | -U- | | -V- | -W- | | -X- | | -Y- | | -Z- | More issues and controversies will be addressed in a brief manner on this page as time permits. |
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