What will all the internet theologians and video editors DO if the Lakeland Revival ends?

My main reasons for not blogging about The Lakeland Outpouring

I mean seriously, with the heydey they’re having and their self-purported raison-d’etre being to warn the Body of Christ of alleged wolf in sheeps' clothing--what will the 'revival police' do when Lakeland is no longer there to criticize and what will they spend all their time blogging about?

My reason for not bothering to jump on the bandwagon and waste my opinion out there into the blogosphere is simple: there’s nothing new under the sun. People were split about Brownsville; people trashed the Toronto Blessing, and any other historical move of God was maligned by a lot of the church during their days. Is there ever such a thing as a 'clean' or 'nice' revival? Do babies come out of the womb all cleaned pampered? If we stood in the operating room when a baby is delivered, we'd never point at it and say "that can't be your baby--it's all messy and got this thing sticking out of its belly button, and it's crying and screaming and it's hair isn't parted." Of course not!

Given that many of my friends and readers of this blog might not likely be familiar with what’s going on in Lakeland, Florida, then allow me to say that something's going on that people think is revival and others think is a farce and that healings are taking place by the hand of satan, not God, because evangelist Todd Bentley has tattoos and we all know God would never ordain with his Spirit such a man.

The other reason I’ve not tackled this, is because everybody who’s got a blog and 12 people who will read it are self-proclaimed experts on the subject, because, let’s face it, it’s much easier to criticize people who are in the limelight, like Bentley, than it is to do something productive with our time instead. So since I’m also just some nobody with blog like everybody else these days, I figured “why would my opinion matter?” Will anyone receive it or are the lines already drawn in the sand with no convincing people to open up their hearts and minds concerning what God wants to do in this hour regardless of the vessel used? Unfortunately, I’m positive the Lakeland Revival/Florida Healing Outpouring has given many self-appointed heresy hunters a reason to live.

So since everybody is blogging about it, then there really is no point in adding to the confusion and writing something if people might already be so turned off of the negative criticism going on all over the net about it. Since unlike many moves of God in the past, the internet has given a dimension to what is going on in Lakeland that there has not been even with things as recent as Toronto and Pensacola. My observation is that the camps have already been settled in Christendom (the parts that even know or realize what is going on in Lakeland anyway). I have not heard anybody else jump on what I'm about to, but frankly, the division is one reason for me why this is worth being careful not to assume is false—because every genuine move of God in the past had people against it.

So I want to be careful first off, because 3 months into this one, is way too early for me to see what all the long term fruit will turn out to be, and fruit is a key thing to look for in if something is of God or not. But otherwise I'm all for it since healing, signs, wonders, and miracles, are the biggest thing I've seen missing from Christianity for years, so why would I want to get in the way and stop it if God is pouring out his Spirit on His people in such a way and in a certain location that people can receive it and change the lives of those they carry it to? This notion is NOT unbiblical nor does it contradict anything in the New Testament. The Brownsville Revival of 1995-2000 birthed a school (two technically), and sent hundreds of missionaries all over the world as a result of its 5 years or so of intensity. And now untold hundreds of fulltime missionaries are doing great works through out the world still to this day, and who knows how many others carried this fire with them to other places they came from and aren’t in ‘fulltime ministry’ but radically making an impact with what was imparted to them? So no, I will not finger point and fault find in something so readily.


What really concerns me the most
I’m going to take the time to point out something that does annoy me about much of the "revival police". I'm not talking about godly people who just simply don't get this, and that's fine. But for those who speak of other members of the church as not even being saved because they see it the same way as them. Please stick around my blog long enough to see that I do teach Biblical doctrines and stick to the Bible as my source--which is a blanket straw man argument many detractors of Todd Bentley's erroneously point out much of the time on those who are promoting the revival and in favor of what’s going on in Florida. Right now I'm just sharing my thoughts, not writing a doctoral dissertation.

Unlike many of the people who have an opinion, I have actually attended it about a month ago. You can hear me share my experiences on our Fire On Your Head podcast—because frankly, it’s easier to talk for a recording and answer someone’s questions about it than it is to write, which unarguably takes way longer to do. Another reason I’ve not blogged about it is because of how hard it would be to capture all my thoughts and make a fair assessment of it in the form of writing.

What I want to focus on is the outright dishonest and unrighteous tabloid journalism I constantly am seeing on YouTube and peoples’ personal and ministry blogs. I’m very hesitant to openly criticize individuals or ministries on my blog or our podcast. Why? What if I’m wrong and the person's right after all? What if I don't have a monopoly on proper theology and/or ministry methods after all? What if I get my blinders yanked off and find out before God on judgment day that someone I deemed a heretic was actually a key vessel He was using, and I was in the way with my narrow-minded judgmentalism and whoever else I was able to influece against them--that I inadvertantly caused 'little ones' of God's flock to stumble because they listened to me direct them away from clean waters instead of towards them? The Bible is pretty clear that being a teacher in the Body of Christ is a very serious task, so the last thing I want to do is hinder people from receiving from God because of having bad personal theology I influenced them with. To label another member of God’s family “demon possessed” or “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and things is a very serious accusation and I don’t understand the liberty with which some people can so casually throw that term around every time someone is ministering outside of their box of how God works.

If someone IS in error or heresy, or just plain has bad doctrine that doesn’t influence the price of tea in China, then don’t you think we should pray for them that God would reveal the truth to them--and fervently mean it and believe God would? Or if someone is allegedly a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ like people are saying regarding the leaders of Ignited Church and Todd Bentley and any of his associates at Fresh Fire Ministries, do we suddenly have any right to be unrighteous in our means of dealing with him and pointing it out? Is vicious name calling suddenly ok because the person "isn’t really saved"? (I see this with Christians in politics demonizing the opponent they’d never vote for, but let’s stick to just this topic). If I were an unbeliever and I watched what Christians are doing to people like they do to Todd, I’d be reinforced that Christians are just jerks not worth listening to with their claims of the Gospel. I certainly wouldn’t get saved and join their faith, that’s for sure.


Another thing I want to throw out there
I was there the night Todd ALLEGEDLY prophesied Jesus was going to come back the next night. Being present, I heard exactly what Todd said and did—he READ A LETTER from someone from the God.Tv network who had a prophecy about Jesus showing up on Pentecost Sunday (which was the next night). He said, but I don't quote him 100%, but the jist of it was “now people who don’t understand the prophetic are going to say I said Jesus would physically show up tomorrow night”. What happened after that? You guessed it --there’s a popular YouTube video going around, hotly talked about on peoples’ blogs about what a false prophet Todd is because—according to them—he falsely prophesied the second coming of Christ. Todd's apparently a false prophet to be condemned by the revival police at their keyboards watching online.

What???? That would be my first reaction---if it were the truth!
I understood Bentley NOT to be talking about the second coming-and it was someone else’s prophetic word--and he was just reading it! Charismatics aren't talking about the Left Behind books or the Rapture when they use the term prophetic, but the gift of prophecy/prophesying (in other words "saying something the Lord would say if He were present in person")But the video on YouTube has all these words added to the screen by the guy who edited it to suggest for you what you should think is going on. I think that kind of stuff is really misleading and unrighteous on the part of those editing it and adding their commentary to the screen. Like I said, I was there that night and in no way shape or form interpreted or believed Todd was prophesying the second coming—nor did ANY of the other people I sat with or traveled there with—but that is exactly what all these “revival experts” are insisting on.

I don’t get how these peoples’ consciences don’t bother them or they don’t feel the Holy Spirit convicting them for being so dishonest and making another brother in Christ look so bad—which are the very things they say against the people involved in Lakeland—Todd Bentley being the key lightning rod receiving it. Have any of these Bible experts an explanation for what "take the plank out of your own eye before removing the speck in your brother's eye" means? And if the people of God are supposedly so gullible, as many critics and detractors insist one has to be if they’re on board with what’s going on in Lakeland—then how come they feel it’s acceptable for them to stoop to the same level? When I watch these videos that “quote” Todd as he speaks, it makes me wonder how dumb they think I am that I can’t just listen and watch with discernment for myself. Many of these same people who are worried about the ‘dumb sheep’ being led astray capitalize on the same lack of discernment and this is demonstrated by how they’re constantly telling them what they should think and believe about what’s going on. Does nobody else think that’s just as bad?

Critics did the SAME thing in the 1990s over Pastor John Kilpatrick and Evangelist Steve Hill, and even Dr Michael L. Brown (who was appropriately nicknamed the “theologian of the revival”) wrote a book called “Let No One Deceive You” which later got changed to “The Revival Answer Book.” It specifically was a book he wrote to answer all the objections people were having about Brownsville at the time, and revival in general, but using the Bible and theology. Highly readable and not so technical for the average reader. I remember Steve Hill was targeted on websites in an unrighteous way—you can even still find stuff online but it’s not nearly as bad as today with all the blogs, YouTube videos and podcasts people make—especially since you can watch this one live online or on God.TV! I once saw a video where they edited it and said that Steve Hill is possessed by this demon that’s a serpent, because he hisses (supposedly) and why does he touch people on the head and say “fire” when praying for them? It gives me a chuckle to see people splitting hairs over if it matters whether Todd says “Bam” or “shikaboom” when praying. Is that the best heresy some revival police can come up with on him? I know for a fact there’s plenty better ammunition than that!

To all of of the people slinging mud on Todd Bentley or any other leader of revival in recent years like John Kilpatrick and Steve Hill, John Arnott, etc – if these people are really deceptive and leading people astray, don’t you think their own words and actions can speak for themselves and don’t need carefully re-edited clips posted on YouTube to suit your view? We call that kind of behavior “LYING” when people do it in other settings like businesses or the court of law, so why Christians feel it’s an acceptable way of directing peoples’ attention to ‘concerns’ we have for them is beyond me. I fail to see how one sin is greater and more acceptable than another.


In conclusion (for now)
I don't anticipate this will be the last thing I write on my blog about Lakeland, or Todd Bentley, BUT don't expect it to turn into a blog that just documents the latest goings on with them. I don't have time for that. But I thought I'd throw this out there once. If you come across this and disagree, I don't mind. I request that no paragraphs of this be taken out of context but that if this post gets shared, it's in its entirety.

Let's be prayerful--do we really want revival to hit our land, or do we want to fight each other over all the details about it if it does come?

Please don't use the comments section to spam link to all the 'research' you've done on Todd. It's for commenting.