Unload The Stuff! And Get Real With Other Men!

Moved the Content of this blog to http://returntosimplicity.com

noreply@blogger.com (samthemacman) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:35:00 +0000

Hi!

Nice to have you visit. I have moved the contents of this blog to another URL address. In fact I have merged my three blogs; http://canemerge.blogspot.com/, http://unloadthestuffandgetrealwithothermen.blogspot.com/, and http://veritatemquaerens.blogspot.com/, and put them together under one blog, a WordPress blog, that I have added to my server address.

You can access my postings now at: http://returntosimplicity.com

I hope you join me at that address. My reasons for switching were quite simple. It is easier to maintain three blogs and one website, by merging them together. The WordPress template allows me to have multiple pages, and a very good blogging template and interface. So these are my reasons. Just go to the blog by click on this link, http://returntosimplicity.com. Thanks.

I appreciate very much your readership and comments.

Meaningful Male Friendship in a Disconnected Age - J. Lee Grady

noreply@blogger.com (samthemacman) — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:30:00 +0000

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Meaningful Male Friendship in a Disconnected Age

Wednesday, 20 May 2009 07:37 J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

The epidemic of moral failure among men in the church today is directly tied to our lack of healthy relationships.

Despite the proliferation of iPhones, Blackberries, e-mail and social networking Web sites—not to mention Starbucks locations—many Christian men, if they are honest, will tell you they are lonely. They may Twitter several times a day to co-workers; they may have occasional golf buddies; they may even grab coffee with colleagues from time to time. But so many men who attend church regularly are friendless.

This was made real to me last weekend when I spoke to a group of men at a large charismatic church in Rochester, N.Y. I was talking about three different types of relationships we need: (1) "Pauls," who serve as spiritual fathers; (2) "Barnabases," peer-level encouragers who support and challenge us; and (3) "Timothys," younger men we inspire and mentor.

I asked the guys in Rochester to write down the names of the men in their lives who fall into each category. When the session was over, one man went home to his wife and announced that he couldn't write down one name in any of the categories. He had no meaningful relationships. Other men I spoke to that night admitted that they don't have mentors and have never been transparent with a male friend about personal problems.

Men are disconnected. And we wonder why the American church is dysfunctional?

Secular psychologists can tell you why men struggle to build close relationships with each other. But we rarely address this issue in the church—and as a result many men who love God live in painful isolation. I've identified the three biggest barriers to healthy male bonding:

#1. Macho stereotypes. The macho myth says a real man is a rugged individualist: strongly independent, emotionally detached, covered in body armor without visible weaknesses. The macho myth tells boys they must never cry—even when they are in pain—and that when they become adults they cannot be intimate with their wives or tender with their children. The macho myth says they must maintain dictatorial power and control in relationships, even if abuse is necessary.

Yet when we look at Scripture we see that Jesus Christ radically challenged the macho culture promoted by the religious leaders of His day. The Pharisees looked down on women, stayed aloof from children, and celebrated their own importance while refusing to touch the needy. Jesus, on the flip side, empowered marginalized women, held babies in His arms, touched lepers and told a parable about a father who embraced and kissed his wayward son. Jesus destroyed the macho myth by demonstrating that the strongest masculinity is gentle and approachable.

#2. Fear of homosexuality. In my travels I've noticed that men in other countries feel perfectly free to be affectionate. Men in Africa hold hands; in Latin countries they kiss each other on the neck. Sociologists say male affection was once more common in this country—but it waned around the same time awareness of homosexuality increased. Nowadays, many straight men are afraid to offer a consoling embrace to a friend lest it be viewed as a sexual advance.

That's tragic for many reasons, mostly because all human beings need affection to thrive. There are men today in their 60s and 70s who still crave the affection their emotionally-repressed fathers never gave them. So they live in shells and suffer in silence.

Many guys turn to homosexuality as a substitute for the healthy, non-sexual male affection they should have received. (Then the devil is all too eager to convince them they were "born that way.") The church could offer genuine healing to guys who struggle with sexual identity issues, but it will require us to offer fatherly or brotherly affection without fear.

#3. The competition trap. Let's face it: Guys are so insecure and so work-oriented that we rate each other and ourselves solely on performance. Whether on the fourth-grade playground or in the corporate boardroom, we are so obsessed with the game that we can't let any other guy get ahead. We have to win, so every other male becomes an obstacle to our goal.

Male pride is the single biggest reason we can't get close to our brothers. It's the reason a Christian guy with a porn addiction can't be honest enough to call a friend and share his ugly secret. It's the reason some pastors can't admit their marriages are suffering. It's the reason successful businessmen end up drinking on weekends instead of finding a support group. A big, fat ego stands in the way.

Jesus showed us how to deal with male pride. Right before He went to the cross He gathered His male followers together for the Passover, stripped off His clothes and put on a slave's towel. Then He proceeded to wash His disciples' smelly, dusty feet. When He finished the job He told His men they should treat each other the same way.

The current epidemic of moral failure among men in the church today is directly tied to our lack of healthy, honest relationships. The only way to reverse the trend is to reintroduce men to the servant Savior—who was so humble that he took off His macho armor and became vulnerable.

J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at LeeGrady. He is the author of 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, which is available here.

God Has Pushed a Great Big Reset Button

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:16:00 +0000

God Has Pushed a Great Big Reset Button
Tuesday, 05 May 2009 08:35 J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

Put on your seat belt. What we are experiencing is so much more than an economic recession.

Unless you are Rip Van Winkle and have been asleep for years, I'm sure you feel the daily convulsions that are rocking our world. Change is hitting America right between the eyes. Everything that can be shaken is being shaken—from banks and insurance companies to car manufacturers and media empires.

Trusted brands, including Chrysler and United Airlines, may go out of business within months. Newspapers are laying off employees in droves as readers go digital; bookstores like Borders can't compete with Amazon.com. Pontiac is officially dead, and the city of Detroit—once the proud global headquarters of the auto industry—is rusting and jobless.
"Please don't fight the changes God wants to bring in your life. As you hold on to His unchangeable love, allow Him to push the reset button."

What we are experiencing today is more than an economic recession. The upheaval is affecting us politically, socially, technologically and spiritually. It feels as if God has pushed a giant red reset button in heaven. Change is being forced on us.

Meanwhile there is a big problem in the church: We Christians don't have a great track record when it comes to embracing change. We are slow adapters. Often we insist on doing church exactly like Grandpa did, and then when we realize we are outdated it's too late.

For a few months I've been pondering the changes happening in charismatic churches and praying about our future as a movement. I've been asking hard questions and wrestling with my own fears of change. And I've reached some uncomfortable conclusions:

1. The charismatic movement as we know it has ended. I celebrate what God did in recent years to bring the Holy Spirit's renewal to the church. My life was totally changed by it. But the cloud is moving, and we cannot pitch our tents around the revivals of the past. While we embrace the eternal things He gave us in those days, we must discard the styles and methods that are no longer fruitful so we can advance.

That doesn't mean we throw the baby out with the bathwater. We cling to what is good. But we must leave behind the excesses, extremes and flaky doctrines that give us a bad name. The one-man show is over. The prosperity circus was a failure. We must abandon the deceptive hype of the past. People today are craving authenticity—not shallow words and empty promises.

2. A "new generation" church is emerging. I visit two or three churches every month in this country. Those that are healthy and growing have developed new paradigms. Though they embrace the power of the Holy Spirit, they also place high value on evangelism, small-group discipleship, social justice and world missions. They are extravagant in giving to outreach. They are relational, not event-driven. And they demand character from leaders rather than simply celebrating a man or woman's spiritual anointing.

No one has coined a term for this movement yet, but it is growing—and it represents the future of Christianity in our country. These new generation churches embrace healthy leadership and don't tolerate the kind of ministry monkey business that has embarrassed us in recent years. These churches love sinners and preach grace, but they draw the lines necessary to enforce biblical standards.

New generation churches are also connected in a healthy, relational way to other churches, yet they are not denominational in a restrictive sense. They refuse labels. Rather than wearing the cumbersome armor of a religious structure, they are free to pray, dream and be creative about how they should reach the children, high school students, business leaders, drug addicts, immigrants, homeless people, twenty-somethings and church dropouts in their communities.

3. God is tearing down the walls that divide us. For too long we've been content to congregate in our comfortable tribal groups. But the essence of Pentecost involves the Holy Spirit's outpouring "on all mankind" (Acts 2:17, NASB). This means true Pentecostals cannot harbor racism.

God's agenda in this next season of revival will involve tearing down racist structures—and this will occur not only in white churches but in black and Hispanic ones as well. It also means that church leaders from China, India, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America will have a greater platform to speak into our lives here in the United States. Western Christians must accept the fact that we don't have all the answers!

4. We face an unprecedented global opportunity for evangelism. I've never been the first to try new gadgets. I still like to hold my newspaper and read it on the back porch—and I don't watch TV shows on an iPhone. But regardless of my creature habits, I can't stand in the way of today's technological revolution.

Jesus commanded us to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth—and that requires us to use every means possible. God is in a hurry to reach places like Uzbekistan, Niger and Yemen—and He will likely use podcasts, Blackberries and Facebook to do it. We should claim all new media so that every person on this planet can hear that Jesus died to save us.

Please don't fight the changes God wants to bring in your life. As you hold on to His unchangeable love, allow Him to push the reset button. Then buckle your seat belt and hold on. We are in for the ride of our lives!
____________________________
J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at LeeGrady.

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God Provides in Naturally Supernatural Ways All That We Need - Even Cars

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:12:00 +0000

Today was quite the day. After a week of dealing with the accident that my dearly loved daughters were in, and thank the Lord He kept them safe, we got a settlement on the car and went out shopping for the replacement car. In my cluster of friends (guys) I have three that drive Toyota products and they swear by them (in a good sense, like "affirming"). So, after searching through the Internet, we found a Toyoda Corolla, and decided that first thing we would go and see it. So we went out to the dealer to look at a 2006 Toyota Corolla. We saw it and it had all kinds of scratches and dents and the rear panel had obviously been involved in an accident. The salesman "Mike" was showing it to us, when another person came out of the dealership saying that this car had just sold! Lori, my dear wife said, "Good, because we don't want it!"

Then my wife looked at me and said, "Let's go see Mikki at Alpine!" So off we went to the dealer that had sold us our last two cars. We took out three different Hyundai Sonatas and then an XG350. We were sold on the last one, the XG350. So we got a new car. It will be ready for us on Friday. We are thankful for a new car, and thankful at how it all came together. The dealership was great, the sales person, Mikki, was equally great. Alpine Hyundai have been first rate with us for our two previous cars. This time was no different.

We have to look at the purchase of cars as a necessary expense and also with an eye that we are not buying a lemon. Testimonials of users, especially of those who make sure to maintain and upkeep with regular service their vehicles, are the best testimonials.

With all Hyundai vehicles the main maintenance issue is the timing belt, which should be changed every 100 K. If you don't you end up causing all kinds of other problems that pile up on top of each other. It only makes sense, money wise, to maintain and thereby minimize your costs. Our Santa Fe is a great vehicle and Lori drives it to work each day to Woodstock (67 KM one way) and it has proven to be very reliable, both in spring/summer and especially fall/winter driving.

Our Elantra was a great vehicle as well, and even in the accident, it absorved the head on collision quite well, airbags deployed and the seat belts did their thing to preserve our daughters lives, never mind the excellent defensive driving skills of our daughter Caitlin, which prevented the vehicle from being hit on the sides. See the video of the crash test for the Hyundai Elantra.

Anyone who talks about the stupidity of airbags and seat belts really do not understand how much they do assist in preserving life. Both saved the lives of our daughters. So we were pleased with it, but wanted a bigger vehicle. The Sonata made the choice easy until we saw the XG350. The XG350 is like a upscale Sonata.

So, having looked around online, I found a video of the main features of our new car. Here it is:

We are thankful that we could pay cash for the car and not absorb debt. So there is a lot to be thankful for. We have gainful employement. We have our daughters safe and sound. We have our insurance which came through to provide the means to get another car. God is good, for He works through all these situations and people, to provide for us and makes us stewards of our finances so that we can have the means to be about what He wants us engaged in, including our jobs. Today I thank God that we have Him involved in all our affairs. Our family is very grateful for His caring hand, and for His hand of provision. He sustains and keeps His own. He uses people and companies and employers to bless His people, and He wants us, His people to be responsible stewards with that which He provides.

My Thoughts on Todd Bentley Divorce, Remarriage & Restoration

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:51:00 +0000

Galatians 6

Nothing but the Cross

^1-3 Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. [The Message]

I have waited until now to wade into this charismaniac nightmare called the Bentley Debacle in a growing circle of conservative charismatic Christians. "Debacle" is a noun, that is defined as "a sudden and ignominious failure; a fiasco". This whole debacle has revealed the ongoing erosion of biblical evangelical conservative theology, morality and ethics in the Western church, and the false heretical teachings which have become more and more normative within charismatic circles over the last decade. There are no more variant deviant theologies than those of Rick Joyner and Bill Johnson. To even consider these men as being able to bring Todd Bentley into accountability, discipline, correction and restoration, is the most deceptive ludicrous collusion that could take place within charismatic Christianity. It is in fact the pot calling the kettle black. Both Joyner and Johnson have aberrant theologies that mirror the same heretical teachings of Bentley. It is a frightening development that will further divide and marginalize the body of Christ. Were it not for such men as J. Lee Grady and such publications as Charisma magazine, the wider charismatic stream would not be aware of ongoing developments.

So here I am today, a former ordained minister, who left the institutional church a decade ago, but still very much in the stream of evangelicalism as a charismatic Reformed Anabaptist believer in the growing house church movement, still affected by the excesses and extremes of a charismatic renewal movement that has gone off the rails. Much of this derailment can be traced to the Toronto Blessing and its subsequent off shoots, who more and more emphasized experience over godly character development, and weird manifestations attributed to the Spirit, but very much filled with flesh and the demonic such as an obsession with the angelic, unbiblical signs and wonders.

I know, for I was on the inside, and was very much engaged with the Toronto Blessing, even after the Vineyard split from it. I was hoodwinked by the likes of John Arnott and TACF, Rick Joyner, Bill Johnson, as well as Todd Bentley, Joshua Mills, and Patricia King. I was an active financial supporter of Bentley, Mills and King. I was so hungry for God, that I parked by theological training aside, and just swallowed hook line and sinker so much "crap" from these people, that it took God to bring me to a place of repentance for having embraced false teachers, and a false revival movement. The most frightening aspect of their teaching was its mixture of partial truth with grievous error, and its seducing power over your heart and mind.

My withdrawal from the wacky charismatic side began three years ago. I came across many who were deeply disturbed by the extremes dominating the charismatic branch of the church, and many who chose to withdraw and join other more conservative and less controversial expressions of the body of Christ. The writings online of such bloggers as RobbyMac and his subsequent book "Post-Charismatic?" expressed much of the angst and much of the heart of those who withdrew, hoping for a return to biblical orthodoxy by these false teachers and their followers.

There was no need for "I told you sos" when the supposed revival in Florida in 2008 was exposed as being as fraudulent as its leader. Bentley and his cohorts were being exposed for some time, and the Florida "revival" proved to be stage for his undoing and full exposure as a heretic, false teacher, and false healer. When the gang of "apostles" took centre stage with Peter C. Wagner, the deception was complete, and yet, God in His sovereignty and mercy brought the whole enterprise crashing down.

Bentley was proven to be a fraud, and yet now, more than ever we have the likes of Johnson and Joyner bullying and pimping their product (the power ministry of Bentley) upon the still conservative charismatic branch of the body of Christ. They misuse and misinterpret passages of Scripture at will, trying to convince and re-establish Bentley in ministry.

I find it disturbing that these men get away with such misrepresentations of scripture. Restoration in the New Testament has nothing to do with ministry. All the passages conscerning restoration have to do with restoration to God and to other believers. The passage that Joyner has brow beaten many with, including J. Lee Grady, is Galatians 6:1 "Brothers, if a person is trapped in some sin, you who are spiritual help make him right again. You should do this in a gentle way. But be careful! You might be tempted to sin too." This only has to do with restoration to God, through repentance, and forgiveness, and restoring such a one to God and to the local body of Christ. How Joyner and others use this for restoration to ministry defies the laws of hermeneutics and twists the principles of interpretation and application.

It is not rocket science. Take the time to read Paul's writings concerning bishops, elders and deacons and you will find very strong language about conduct and behavior and the character of those who are called to servant leadership. Marriage is a huge issue in the texts found in the epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus) and here we have one area where "restoration" should have been attempted secondly, only after Todd had been restored to God. As for the latter, we have not really discovered if Todd has trully repented. For such a public personality, you would think that he would express repentance to God and the body of Christ publicly, and not go through self-justification exercises on YouTube with Joyner. Todd should have demonstrated humility and done all that he could, and more, as well as call on the body of Christ to pray for him and Shonnah, for their healing and restoration to their marriage. But no, Todd has no such faith. So what kind of "great faith gift" does Todd actually have? Does he not believe that God can and does heal and restore broken marriages? All this is a cop-out and the shaming of the institution of marriage and a dishonoring of the scriptures and the truths they reveal about God and His holiness.

There is no doubt that there are people who divorce, but I find that there is no argument for remarriage within the texts of the New Testament. Divorce was granted for the hardness of our hearts. Remarriage is not an option, for marriage is a picture of the relationship the Bride of Christ has with Christ. If anything the Old Testament and the New Testament call upon believers to forgive and restore those who have injured their marriages through unfaithfulness, and adultry. Why would Bentley not desire what God says plainly that He desires?

I have gone from one position to a more liberal position in regards to remarriage, and back again to a conservative reading and application of these same texts. Ironically all the marriages I officiated as an ordained minister were for divorced people, other than one marriage, which was for a widow and widower. I regret that I ever performed these divorced peoples' marriages, but I cannot undo them. So, now I no longer support such a view as I do not believe it to be biblical.

Likewise, I believe that unfaithfulness in marriage, compounded by erroneous theology, and aberrant false teachings, leads to the disqualifications of such persons from opportunities at servant leadership. Persons such as Todd Bentley should not be restored to any kind of public ministry, ever. Disqualification in ministry is taught and clearly revealed in 1 Corinthians 9 (especially when contrasted to the standards in the pastoral epistles, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus). In 1 Corinthians 9 we read:

²³I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

²⁵Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Paul postulates about apostleship and character and commitment to holiness and integrity, and shows that "disqualification" is a possibility. Todd Bentley disqualified himself. Plain and simple.

I pray and hope for a full restoration of Todd Bentley to God and to the Body of Christ, but that by no means includes a restoration to public ministry. There certainly are a host of others in the charismatic stream who have divorced and remarried and carried on with "successful ministries" since their second marriages. That says more about the followers than it does of the divorced and remarried. Charismatics crave public personalities and heroes, and unfortunately, through the ongoing machinations of the likes of Joyner and Johnson and their respective propaganda campaign through seducing videos on YouTube, they will wear down many, and draw many others to support the public ministry of Todd Bentley, regardless of the sins committed and the disqualification from public ministry standard found in scripture.

Joyner and Johnson have argued without a thorough study and exegesis of the biblical passages, and have dodged all attempts at true scriptural standards. They have stood on an easy theology of greasy grace, where they have neutered the biblical call to discernment and judgment. They have accused those in the Body of Christ of judgmentalism, when in fact, those who have been committed to truth and holiness, are only calling people like Bentley to a right relationship, through repentance, forgiveness and restoration to God honoring relationships. This is biblical accountability, nothing more and nothing less. Joyner avoids these things, and counter attacks with smoke and mirrors. Joyner made it abundantly clear that he only wants Todd's ministry restored, as he has this great "gift" that must be used. If Joyner truly knew the scriptures, he would know that God cares more about character than gifts. This is the whole point of the qualifications of eldership found in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus.

The unfortunate thing is that eventually Bentley will be "restored" by a perversion of the biblical texts, by false teachers such as Joyner and Johnson, and Bentley will again have a following. The degree of that following will depend on the people doing the following. Those who continue to seek after weird experiences and aberrant non-biblical teachings will continue to follow the tune of Bentley the pied piper, to their own demise and destruction. The only thing we in the wider Body of Christ can do, is to continue to pray and intercede with God for the preservation of those who belong to Him, that they will not be seduced by false teachers and their aberrant teachings. May God have mercy on us and may He rescue those who are sincerely seeking after Christ and His Kingdom.

Soli Deo Gloria
Sam in Waterloo, ON, Canada

A Divorce From Reality? by Rick Hiebert

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:38:00 +0000

The latest videos from the friends of shamed Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley show that his divorce and instantaneous remarriage is central to their thinking as they seek to "restore" him to ministry. Evidently, they hope that he will be the first of thousands, if not millions, to be restored in this way.

Mr. Bentley, they are determined, will be making a comeback....and if his friends have to change the beliefs of millions of Christians about marriage and divorce to do so, that is merely incidental.

One feature of the developing restoration campaign may be doing the evangelist himself a disservice. Another feature of the campaign may do a disservice to the Christian church as a whole, particularly the charismatic Christian subculture that Mr. Bentley and his friends are in a position to most influence.

You may recall that Mr. Bentley separated from his first wife Shonnah immediately after the collapse of his internationally famous revival in Lakeland, Florida, last summer. The separation was attributed to an "affair" that he had been conducting with Jessa Hasbrook, whom he married shortly after his divorce was finalized with his first wife.

Although there are several reasons to view Mr. Bentley and the fruit of his revival with dismay, it appears that Mr. Bentley's friends--led by his mentor, U.S. charismatic evangelist Rick Joyner--see his instant trophy wife as the biggest obstacle to his being restored, as their series of videos thus far have concentrated on Mr. Bentley's divorce and the resulting fallout.

Mr. Bentley is to be definitely restored to the ministry, no ifs ands or buts, Mr. Joyner explains in a video released a few days ago, or Mr. Joyner has failed in his task:

At the 1:20 mark of the above video, Mr. Joyner, citing Galatians 6:1, argues that when the verse "...talks about being restored....it really does mean to restore them, to put them back where they were. That has to happen." This restoration, moreover, can be as short, or as long as necessary.

In Mr. Bentley's defense, this sort of thinking may harm him. Things are being structured to not allow him the chance to do a deep soul searching, rethinking everything including his work, his theology and what God might have called him to.

For example, his tapes and CDs are being sold by Mr. Joyner's ministry. So, his mentor is saying that there is nothing wrong with his way of looking at the Bible. This discourages Mr. Bentley from studying the Bible, learning in-depth theology, and praying about whether the fruit of what he teaches is good--let alone considering the views of those who fear that he has lapsed into heresy, and whether they might have some valid points to consider.

Mr. Bentley has had what some of his friends consider two extramarital affairs. They are being blamed, at length, on "burnout", in statements issued by Mr. Joyner. Mr. Joyner, moreover, notes that Mr. Bentley's first wife Shonnah wanted to keep him grounded, more often at home with her and the kids. Perhaps Mr. Bentley is not suited to have a high pressure, international ministry and should be a pastor or a lay worker who should only do evangelistic work in addition to his day job. I don't know, but in the best interest of Mr. Bentley, he should be free to consider options like these. [I can argue that his first wife seems to have been a check and balance that could have kept him better grounded, and not burned out. His new wife, Jessa, will have less ability and authority to tell him to slow down, being younger and less mature in the faith.]

Everything, however, is being set up for him to be an evangelist again. He already has a new ministry office, Fresh Fire USA, based at Mr. Joyner's ministry. It seems, from the subtext of what Mr. Joyner and his friends are saying, that they would have a hard time explaining that Todd Bentley was restored if God didn't "put him back where he was". Todd Bentley could be very happy and content operating a skid road soup kitchen, but with a theological build-up on the need to "restore" Mr. Bentley, anything less than full-time evangelism would be seen as something continuing to be "wrong". And that's not fair to Mr. Bentley.

An example of true soul-searchhing comes to mind, one that should come to Mr. Joyner's mind as the evangelist recently, in great humility, reminded the entire Internet that he had helped Jim Bakker get back on his feet after he was released from prison. Jim Bakker, as his book I was Wrong shows, had a crisis of conscience while in prison. He came to believe that the "prosperity gospel", a feature of his PTL ministry theology, was quite wrong, and in the years since leaving prison has developed a different mindset about Christianity and how it should best relate to the world.

It would be a good sign if Mr. Bentley would be open to putting everything on the table. But, there seem to be overt and subtle pressures to leave doors and drawers locked in the spiritual house of his ministry, so that he cannot re-examine everything, as God may wish him too. Of course, Mr. Bentley's critics would suggest that his theology and ministry are so aberrant that he should blow up everything and start over. But that can't happen if restoration must, of necessity, mean that Mr. Bentley goes back to preaching the same things in the same way.

A last point about "restoration". Mandatory restoration to doing the same thing in perhaps the same way opens up questions of prudence, discernment and common sense. Mr. Bentley may have been removed by circumstances precisely because, in the great scheme of things, it is very unwise to have him doing this sort of work. Had Christian leadership thought things through, it may have been wisest to leave him working in that Fraser Valley sawmill, for various reasons. That can't happen now.

As sad as this reluctance to allow true self-searching to take place is for Mr. Bentley, what is sadder is his friends' attitude to the ease of fixing divorce.

After decades of ministry, Mr. Joyner and his friend, California minister Bill Johnson, have perhaps discovered only recently that divorce is endemic in the Christian church. And, lo and behold, the process that will "restore" Todd Bentley will restore millions of Christians too.

In the very first video made by Mr. Joyner, he notes that more than half of U.S. church members have suffered from a divorce. He defines it, however, as having "been through something similar to what you've (looking at Todd Bentley) gone through." Not so. If accounts are correct, Mr. Bentley precipitated an affair and got married as soon as possible, an explosive end to a marriage which is not the norm in most divorces.

Divorce, though serious and sad, is not the end of the world. Shortly after the 8:58 mark of this video, below, Mr. Joyner remarks that "God is divorced". But, happily, He is going to "re-marry Israel", so all will be well in the end, one assumes:

More odd thinking is prominent in a recent video, which was saved to YouTube in two parts. I'm citing the second of the two parts. Mr. Joyner is on the right, Mr. Johnson the middle and Mr. Bentley the left:

"We've got people hiding in the thousands," Mr. Johnson says, contuing (at 1:32 into this video) to add that "he (i.e. Todd Bentley) is going to raise a flag of hope for these people."

This leads Mr. Joyner to chime in a few seconds later with the note that allegedly many divorced people have been contacting his ministry to say that the Bentley restoration process "gives them hope."

Mr. Bentley's example, adds Mr. Johnson "is going to prophesy to those without hope, to those without jope, to those who have given up, to those who are outside the church for any reason".

This leads Mr. Joyner to add, "We have a terrible scourge of divorce. It is tragic, but if you've been though it, it isn't the end. God hasn't given up on you and we haven't given up on you, even if it was your fault."

The two ministers decry all the giftings that are going to waste because excessively conservative Christians are not allowing divorced people to step up and do Christian work. They express hope that Todd Bentley can be an example of the restored diroced and remarried person being an example to the church, and Mr. Bentley chips in with "I want to be that message."

Two points.

It is self-serving for Mr. Bentley's friends to appeal to the thousands of divorced Christians in their audience, hoping that he will get some residual sympathy from those who think that they have been treated unfairly after their divorce. Mr. Bentley's divorce and remarriage is different in scale and public impact that the divorces suffered by most Christians. His divorce and remarriage is arguably worse because as a minister with a very public ministry he had a thousand times more reason to want to avoid a divorce and remarriage. The Bible holds ministers to a higher standard than lay people as well.

As one gets "restored" from one's divorce, one shouldn't be surprised to see Mr. Bentley in front of you in line, with a shy grin on his face. His work is arguably so important that he has to butt in line, and who are you to say that the grace extended to you shouldn't be extended to him?

I do realize that Christians have very differnt views on divorce, but what troubles me is that historically charismatics have been very conservative on the issues of divorce and remarriage. (I'd respecfully argue that reading the Bible to mean what it says would seem to imply that men and women should only marry once in their lives.)

What disturbs me about how Mr. Bentley and his friends are approaching this is that it isn't being addressed Biblically so far. Theological liberals, who have, well, liberal views on these questions are at least trying to parse the Greek, look at history and such. There's none of that so far in the videos, and if Mr. Joyner, Mr. Bentley and friends really want their audience to rethink their views on these questions, they need to start here. (Start and end here, my theologically conservative friends would say, as they probably would be hard pressed to do that without reading into the text and dismissing things that are there.)

It's chilling to see these issues being addressed on grounds of utility. People are not in the church! Their gifts aren't being used! Their offerings aren't being taken--er, strike that. Perhaps I'm too much of a conservative, but I would like to see some solid theological arguments. I hope that Christians hearing Mr. Bentley's appeal would demand them.

One last note. If what is being reported on his behalf is true, Mr. Bentley's affair caused him to act quite peculiarly. See if you agree.

Mr. Joyner, issuing a follow-up statement on what has been happening to Mr. Bentley, discusses his affair with Jessa. A few days ago, Mr. Joyner wrote:

....After Todd hit the wall with burnout, he then fell to an emotional attachment to a staff member. There was no physical relationship, and the girl did not return even the emotional attraction. When Todd went to his leadership team about what he was feeling, they immediately sent the girl away. Todd, trying to be open, then went to his wife to confess this attraction. Todd was trying to be transparent, but he is convinced that this was what killed what was left of his relationship to his wife.

Todd often called this attraction “an affair,” but it was not one. There was no physical adultery or even physical contact with the girl. However, Todd said that he knows he would have entered into such a relationship if she had been willing, and therefore, he felt that he needed to repent of it as if it had been an affair. I can appreciate Todd feeling this way. Because of the way rumors spread and grow, many still think that Todd had an actual affair several years ago, when in fact he did not.

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that this is true for a moment. Wouldn't the ultimate defense for this be Todd and Jessa themselves issuing a statement to this effect in print and in video. Or were things seen and overheard that would lead to the pair being openly rebuked for what they said?

One assumes that Todd Bentley would have said these things privately to people before Mr. Joyner sent his trail balloon to fly. Where are the retractions and apologies from Robert Ricciradelli, C. Peter Wagner and Stephen Strader, often cited as the most reliable sources that something like an affair (at least) was going on? One would think that even one apology would be trumpeted by Mr. Bentley, but there is silence so far.

The governing board of Todd's old Fresh Fire Ministries defined Todd Bentley's actions as "adultery" in an open e-mail last fall. Are they so conservative that they would define something harmless, conducted in the brain according to Mr. Bentley, as adultery. One assumes that Shonnah Bentley would know the most details. As her reformed ministry is under the guidance of Califormia pastor Bill Johnson (a friend of Mr. Bentley's, as noted above), the first Mrs. Bentley may well be under an-offer-she-can't-refuse kinds of pressure to smooth over her ex-husband's affairs. But she has let her statement, as part of the board, be.

Mr. Bentley's critics will argue that Mr. Bentley may be testing how credulous his audience is. If so, he may have some success, as I have read commentary from people who wouldn't believe that something was amiss unless Todd and Jessa had (speaking purely hypothetically out of respect to the two in case they were good) gone to Tampa Bay and consummated an affair on the 50 yard line during Bruce Springsteen's performance at the last Super Bowl.

Sorry but I am more sceptical. Puzzled too. If Mr. Joyner's account is correct, we have a Mr. Bentley who is very conservative on sexual questions that can lead to an affair, then a divorce. Following Christ's admonition that looking at a woman with lust is essentially the same as adultery, he even polices his thoughts. Not necessarily thoughts that are a problem, thoughts that could lead to thoughts that are a problem.

Then, following his separation, Mr. Bentley goes from being very conservative on these questions to quite liberal. A church leader should be the husband "of one wife"? Shrug. Christ notes that the Isralaelites were allowed to divorce as a concession to their sinful frailties? Yawn. Off to the Nevada marrying parlour!

This is not the same person before and after. We have no evidence that Todd Bentley came to an epiphany in his understanding of these manners which, if he had rethought matters so profoundly, should have been amongst the first things he has said. Unless, Mr. Bentley is considering his very conservative audience and trying to put the most positive spin on matters that is possible, sadly even if at variance with the facts.

If Todd and Jessa Bentley were innocent friends, I'd like to hear and see them say it. Their reputations are at stake and I myself would be indignant and wanting to clear my name if falsely accused.

One wonders if they would be that brave. Sadly, one must wonder if the appropriate word, instead, would be "brazen."

Posted by Rick Hiebert on April 4, 2009 in Religion | Permalink

Mr. Friel hits the nail on Mr. Bentley's head by Rick Hiebert

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:33:00 +0000

Todd Bentley, shamed Canadian evangelist, seems to have friends who want him to return to ministry as soon as possible. His mentor, U.S. charismatic evangelist Rick Joyner, is putting several videos on his site per week about Mr. Bentley's "restoration process", not just the one video per week that was promised.

Todd Friel, an American apologetics expert with a weekly radio and TV show, analyzed parts of the videos this week on his radio program. If you are interested in his critique, I think he makes some very good points. His audio comments are below the fold of this post.

[For my part, I am puttering on several posts that may move the story forward. I think I am detecting the underlying logic of the argument that Mr. Bentley and his friends are advancing, and it's not good. But more later, as needed...]

Posted by Rick Hiebert on March 28, 2009 | Permalink

Charismatic Character Clash: Journalist and pastor debate restoration for disgraced revivalist Todd Bentley by Collin Hansen

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:10:00 +0000

After ducking scrutiny that followed the Lakeland Revival's abrupt end in August 2008, Todd Bentley resurfaced this month. The Canadian Pentecostal disappeared from the public eye in August after filing for separation from his wife. Issuing a statement through the pastor overseeing his restoration process, Bentley said he was "sorry for the hurt and confusion that my decisions have caused the body of Christ." He indicated that he was pursuing a return to ministry in order to "fulfill God's call on my life."

Bentley fell even faster than he had climbed to prominence in 2008. He became a viral sensation during a healing revival that ran 100 consecutive nights and attracted 30,000 visitors per week. His renown spread with reports of his unusual healing tactics and claims that he had raised 25 people from the dead, all over the phone. But the Florida-based event could not survive Bentley's divorce and mounting criticism. One critic, Charisma editor J. Lee Grady, faulted Bentley for sending the charismatic movement into a "tailspin." He quoted an anonymous Pentecostal evangelist who said, "I'm now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the Antichrist when he shows up because they have no discernment."

Grady said he groaned when he learned from the March 9 statement what Bentley had done since August. After divorcing his wife, Shonnah, he married Jessa Hasbrook, a former intern. The statement provided no update on Bentley's ex-wife. Grady also found fault with how Bentley's ministry was characterized by Rick Joyner, who once counseled Jim Bakker and has taken Bentley under his wing.

From Grady's perspective, gifts trumped his character in Joyner's decision to aid Bentley's return to ministry. The ends seemed to justify the means. "From the time I first met him nearly ten years ago," Joyner said of Bentley, "I knew that he had an extraordinary purpose and a gift of faith for the miraculous that would be desperately needed in these times." He closed the statement with an appeal for funds to launch Fresh Fire USA, Bentley's new ministry, now headquartered at Joyner's church in South Carolina.

"As we have been constantly reminded, the Lord had great patience with sinners, but He had none for the self-righteous," Joyner said, anticipating the inevitable criticism for his work with Bentley. "We're all here because He had mercy on us, and we know we still need it. However, we also know that true repentance and restoration can only come if we refuse to compromise the clear biblical standards for morality and integrity."

Joyner's argument hardly placated Grady. "What is most deplorable about this latest installment in the Bentley scandal is the lack of true remorse," Grady responded. He wondered how Bentley could accept responsibility for his share of the divorce and not repent of his decision to pursue the relationship with Hasbrook and marry her soon thereafter. And he asked why Bentley had not sought reconciliation with his first wife. Then Grady's argument escalated.

"Many Christians today have rejected biblical discipline and adopted a sweet, spineless love that cannot correct," Grady said. "Our grace is greasy. No matter what an offending brother does, we stroke him and pet him and nurse his wounds while we ignore the people he wounded. No matter how heinous his sin, we offer comforting platitudes because, after all, who are we to judge?"

Joyner and Grady's exchange raises a host of questions about the nature of forgiveness and qualifications for ministry. Their public debate was intensely personal. Admitting he had no time for tact, Joyner took issue with Grady's qualifications for judging. In so doing, he seemed to confirm Grady's cause for concern about ends justifying means. "If you are such [a] judge of this what gives you the credentials?" Joyner asked Grady on March 12. "What moves of God have you led? What have you built?" He went so far as to allege that Grady's judgment matched Bentley's infidelity in the economy of sin.

Joyner's indignation reflects a common misconception about judgment. Elsewhere he faults Grady for violating Matthew 18 and airing his concern publicly before going to Bentley personally. But this pattern for church discipline, taught by Jesus himself, presupposes that local church leaders will need to hold one another accountable to God's standards. Similarly, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:12, "For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?" Christians must judge one another in this way to preserve the church's moral witness and warn one another against sin.

But if church leaders will judge the body of Christ in order to protect it, they must be marked by godly character. And that's exactly the standard for leadership that Paul lays out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. As they represent God in positions of authority, overseers must demonstrate God's communicable attributes, including love, patience, and fidelity. In a Christian of godly character, gifting such as knowledge, prophecy, or teaching brings glory to God alone. It does not exalt the gifted but the Gift Giver.

As Joyner suggests, King David's example shows us that God can still do mighty things with great sinners. But does God want us to learn from David's story that infidelity should be no impediment to ministry? God deposed other leaders, including Saul, when they had sinned against him. He spared David this fate because of the covenant he initiated to preserve the David kingdom forever (2 Sam. 7:14-16), culminating in Jesus. The outcome of David's life warns us against learning the wrong lessons. David's sin undermined his leadership permanently. His son Absalom rebelled and chased the king from the city of David (2 Sam. 15).

To be sure, God's Word commands Christians to forgive, because God has forgiven them (Col. 3:13). But this forgiveness does not trump judgment as properly exercised in church discipline. And it cannot erase the temporal consequences of sin. Character, not gifting, is a leader's most important asset. This is the means God has ordained to accomplish his ends.

Collin Hansen is a CT editor at large and author of Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists.

Mr. Bentley Enters His Rehab

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:02:00 +0000

At last, new trophy wife in tow, Todd Bentley, the Canadian evangelist who has been having many problems over the past year (to put it lightly) has entered rehabilitation. Over seven months after the collapse of his internationally famous revival in the U.S., he has at last gotten around to going to North Carolina to come under the mentoring of charismatic leader Rick Joyner. Mr. Joyner is to help him return to ministry. Yet, already, in the annoucements and videos that are coming out with Mr. Bentley, there's more backspin than at a convention of billiards players evident, which is not a good omen for those hoping that Mr. Bentley can return to his work with integrity and a good character.

As videos began to be released a couple of days ago, there was a flurry of commentary and a bit of news coverage. Blogger Miriam Franklin has already weighed in with several pointed critical posts on Mr. Joyner and Mr. Bentley. I'd defintely agree with her on one point she has made, namely that people are concentrating too much on Mr. Bentley's divorce and quickie remarriage to Jessa, whose affair with the evangelist seems to be the proxinate cause of the "Lakeland revival". Not so. The affair was a symptom not a cause. That is to say, Mr. Bentley had a character problem that exhibited itself in lying from the pulpit about, for example, raising people from the dead. There were some aberrant, heretical things being said and done at Lakeland. And he was canoodling with a younger, prettier intern while his wife was either watching the kids or taking the pulpit herself to promote what her husband was doing. Marrying Jessa will likely not fix what leads to these sorts of actions.

My blogging friend Bene Diction makes an excellent point in a post that notes that many prominent charismatic groups and churches are slumping in the amount of people that are logging on to their sites. This relates to several things that I have been seeing on The Elijah List, an e-list that caters to charismatics, to the effect that people with alleged prophetic insight are commenting that God will bring Christians through the current economic woes, or bless them in amazing ways financially. There are reports of layoffs at ministries, and the tone of requests for donations has been stepped up. All this backs up Bene Diction's suspicion that there may be a lot of pressure to get Bentley out on the road prematurely so, as the "star" of the "Lakeland revival", he can start to draw the crowds again.

Mr. Joyner's first letter, announcing that Bentley and new wife had arrived, also noted that Mr. Bentley has a new ministry, Fresh Fire USA, which is organized under Mr. Joyner's own ministry for now. Those wanting to help Mr. Bentley were offered Fresh Fire USA's address. So, I had to smile when religion editor Frank Lockwood of the Arkansas Democrat, on his religious news blog, titled his note on Mr. Bentley's restoration process: "Sorry about the adultery. Please send $$$" .

Charisma, the magazine of record for charismatic Christians in the U.S., is covering this too. Their own story has an intestesting note. At the tail end of Bentley's time in Florida, a team of charismatic leaders and ministers lead by C. Peter Wagner held a special commissioning service for Bentley which was broadcast worldwide via Internet, in which the "Revival Alliance" members predicted that Bentley would go from success to success. They welcomed Bentley as a member of their group and even gave him a special ring, but Charisma's story quotes Revival Alliance member John Arnott (known for pastoring the "Toronto Blessing" in the 1990s) as saying that Bentley is no longer considered a "member in good standing" of their group. Mr. Wagner and Mr. Arnott revealed some of Bentley's misdeeds in the aftermath of his leaving the revival, so Mr. Bentley has evidently decided to form alliances with those who are more sympathtic to him, such as Mr. Joyner.

Mr. Joyner features in another Charisma item as well. Charisma editor J. Lee Grady, in his latest column, is disgusted with the rush to bring Bentley back too quickly, calling it a "travesty". Mr. Grady is righteously indignant, but what I find telling is Mr. Joyner's response. He writes, in part:

Lee, I love some of the things you write, but I also feel that some are straight from the mouth of the accuser.

I'll need to translate this for non-Christians. Mr. Joyner is referring to Revelation 12:10 which mentions that Satan is the "accuser of the brethren" (i.e. christians). So, what Mr. Joyner is saying here is that Mr. Grady, editor of a charismatic Christian magazine, is channeling Satan, basically.

It should go without saying that if you are a professing Christian, one of the worst possible insults that you could use would be to say that your opponent is being used by the devil as a ventriliquist dummy.

One would think that "fighting dirty" would be abhorrent for a Christian such as Mr. Joyner.

Mr. Joyner, as the conservative site Apologetics Index notes has a history of doing other things that would raise the eyebrows of many Christians. He has a reputation of being "prophetic" and having special insight from the Lord, but non-Christian sceptics would no doubt be amused that he occasionally sees through a glass very darkly, such as his prediction of Los Angeles being levelled by an earthquake and nuclear bombs in the 1990s.

Mr. Joyner's occasiional intemperance, as exhibited in his response to Mr. Grady, may also be shown in one of his famous prohetic words, in his book The Final Quest, about the "Blues and the Grays". He predicts a coming civil war in Christianity, with the winning side (of which Mr. Joyner is a part, of course) defeats the Christians who have been misled by Satan being defeated and removed from their positions of authority in the church. We must "remove the cancer from our midst" he writes in his book. (I wonder, given the violence waged between Christians in history, and in our own time, whether it is appropriate to share these sorts of visions in public. Certainly, Christians should "contend for the faith", but so sadly, they do not need encouragment to turn to violence in the direst of circumstances.)

I note these things and note that Mr. Bentley, when not kneeing cancer victims in the stomach, has often delighted in telling his audiences about times that he has kicked old ladies in the head with his biker boot and such. (As I write, some of these stories are preserved on YouTube.) Amongst the fruits of the Holy Spirit that should be exhibited by an evangelist such as Mr. Bentley are meekness, gentleness and self-control. I have to ask whether Mr. Bentley's mentor, Mr. Joyner, would be effective in advising him here when Mr. Joyner himself--this week--accuses his opponents of speaking on Satan's behalf, and cherishes visions of winning a "war in the church". Yes, often the flawed have to help the flawed, but this is not promising.

On to the videos that have been released to explain Mr. Bentley's rehabilitation process. The first video from Mr. Joyner's ministry has Mr. Bentley himself as a guest. I'm posting a copy of most of the first video that has been saved on YouTube in case the videos start to disappear from Mr. Joyner's own website:

Some things that jump out at me:

1. You'll notice that Mr. Bentley is full of talk of mistakes and errors, but never mentions the word "sin". Even Jimmy Swaggart had the grace to cry "I have sinned," when he next appeared before the public after he sinned.

Not that people would demand a pound of flesh, of course. But talk of sin and sinning would indicate that Mr. Bentley is a lot more serious about making things right than his critics think that he is. The evangelist already has the problem that it took him over half a year to begin this supposedly important process, so he needs to be seen to be taking it seriously.

2. I don't really believe that in an age of fax, e-mail and videoconferencing that it was impossible for Mr. Bentley to be working on his visa appeal with the U.S. custonms officials while moving to North Carolina. I'm sure that it is done all the time for compassionate reasons, for example. I sincerely doubt that it would be impossible as Mr. Bentley implies.

3. As a Canadian, I am a little dismayed to hear Mr. Bentley say this:

"....Shonnah's doing everything she can to help with my immigration process...."

It would appear that Mr. Bentley is tring to become a landed immigrant or even a U.S. citizen. No points for guessing that his marriage to Jessa was designed to help with this.

If we grant for a moment that Mr. Bentley's faith, giftings and burden to convert non-Christians are valid, this is sad. Yes, Canadian christians have been moving to the U.S. to pursue their calling since Aimee Semple McPherson, but the United States already has so many ministers and so much resources. If Mr. Bentley is who he says he is, the church in Canada needs people like him. Of course, his critics would say that Mr. Bentley should not let the door hit him on the behind as he leaves Canada. But the need is acute. If Mr. Bentley's style of faith-healing evangelism is what is needed, then it is particularly sad that he never devoted much effort to the nearest major city to where he lived, Vancouver. (The last time that he himself ministered in the city was at a medium sized church over five years ago.)

Of course, Mr. Benley's citics could question how committed Mr. Bentley was committed to "revival" in Canada's cities and towns in the first place, based on his decision to move.

4. Mr. Bentley, 7:30 into the video, starts talking about how he dealt with problems as an unsaved teenager:

"....That old [sin] nature in you is when you hurt someone, you just want to give up and run away from the whole thing. That's how I dealt with pain as I grew up as a child. If I was hurt or rejected or I disappointed my mother or disappointed my father, I just packed up and moved to the next town. When I burned all the bridges there, I just packed up and moved. This time we want to deal with everything square in the face...."

Let's follow his logic. Mr. Bentley says that it is sinful, or at least immature, to deal with problems by running away from them. This is after he has divorced his wife and not only "packed up and moved to the next town" but moved to the next country. He has "burned all his bridges" with his ex-wife, turning in for a new model, instead of "dealing with everything square in the face" of Shonnah Bentley, his first wife.

How can you teach someone to stand and deal with their problems when they have just run away from most of them? What is preventing Todd Bentley from packing up and giving up on Mr. Joyner's restoration process when by implication, spending the past few months running from everything that is painful to deal with is quite all right?

Did Mr. Joyner even try to persuade Mr. Bentley to stay with his wife and kids and stay in Canada?

5. An offhand remark of Mr. Bentley's at the 8:55 mark will raise some eyebrows:

"There's so much that I've learned on all this. There's triumph. There's tragedy. And, you know, there'll be a message. Ther'll be a whole series of messages...."

Tragedy I can understand. Triumph? The only triumph that there would be is Christ somehow cleaning up the pig's breakfast that the evangelist has made, but the "restoration process" has only just started. Rather, are we seeing a "triumph of the will" specifically Todd Bentley's will? He got the wife he wanted. He got the parenting situation that worked best for him. He got a very sympathetic mentor to counsel him. He has a lot that he wants, and that might not be good for him.

Watching this video may bring a sense that Mr. Bentley is not being asked to be serious about his mistakes. This is an unease that is shared, according to Cary McMullen of the Lakeland Ledger newspaper, who has done a lot of great reporting on Mr. Bentley's revival and its aftermath. In a post on the reaction to the plans to restore Mr. Bentley in "Pentecostal circles", McMullen notes that many seem to fear that "this is just further evidence that Bentley and his supporters are frauds".

Mr. Bentley and Mr. Joyner have their work cut out for them. If they are truly wanting to do the right thing, there is a lot of scepticism to deal with. Well-founded scepticism, I am afraid.

Posted by Rick Hiebert on March 14, 2009 in Religion

Todd: Now what? Words from David, Todd's dad & Rick Joyner

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:58:00 +0000

NOTE: This is directly from an email sent to me from David Bentley, Todd's father. I am terribly grieved by what I read here. It is best left to you to discern and review the information for yourselves.

Blessings,

Sam

>>>

Greetings in Jesus name:

This is David Bentley, Todd's Dad, I have not been in touch with you for quite awhile, I have been helping Todd go through his process of healing. We decided to touch base and give you an up date. Todd is no longer at the Fresh Fire Ministry office in Abbotsford BC Canada.

He is based out of North Carolina, and spends most of his time with Rick Joyner, during his restoration, as well as he is busy getting his ministry set up down there as well, it is called Fresh Fire Ministry USA.The Canadian office has changed it's name , and is pursuing in a different direction.

I would like to at this time, Thank You for your prayers during these past few months, they have been greatly appreciated. The children, are doing fine, and will be with Todd as much as possible. Please find enclosed the letter that went out the other day.

Many Blessings

David Bentley if you wish to call me with any question's call 541 223 7327

Sound of Fire Productions

Soundoffire.com

250 245 7003.

We now have all of Todd's teachings and his school's, and everything he has done.

>>>

Todd Bentley Begins Restoration Process

By Rick Joyner

Todd Bentley was used to spark the Lakeland Outpouring, which raised the faith level of much of the body of Christ. Testimonies of healings and miracles from it are now virtually all over the world. When Todd's marriage failed, he abruptly stopped all ministry and virtually disappeared for almost nine months. In the meantime, his divorce was finalized and he has recently remarried.

Todd has taken full responsibility for the failure of his marriage. He and Jessa also admit that their relationship was premature and should not have happened the way it did. Both are adamant that it was not the cause for the failure of his first marriage, nor did they begin their relationship until Todd was convinced that his marriage was over. They have both expressed that it was wrong and premature. They do not want to try and cover this up even though they know many will never accept them for it. Even so, they are married now and are resolved to make the most of their marriage, their lives, and to continue to serve the Lord in the best way that they can.

My position all along has been that I will do my best to comply with Galatians 6:1, "If a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted" (NKJV). To obey this Word, I have always felt that it did not matter what one had done, and that it was my responsibility to help them find the grace of God to return to the place from which they had fallen. I confess that with Todd, I am not just doing this as a duty. From the time I first met him nearly ten years ago, I knew that he had an extraordinary purpose and a gift of faith for the miraculous that would be desperately needed in these times. I consider helping any of God's children an honor, and helping Todd is a privilege.

I also confess to some selfish ambition in wanting to do this. I had a dream two decades ago in which one of my children had fallen into a sewage ditch and could not get up. My child was being scorned and no one would help him. A man came along who helped my child get up and then cleaned up. In that dream, I felt as if I would give everything that I owned to this man who helped my child. Then I heard the voice of the Lord say, "Jim Bakker is My child. Will you help him?" Since that time, I have been devoted to helping any of God's children that I could who have committed any trespass, because I knew there were few other things that would bring the Father's favor. I consider this willingness to at least try to help others this way a major reason for the extraordinary favor that our ministry, my family, and I have received. I love Todd and am glad to help him, but I also know by doing this, I will be doing something that means a great deal to our Father.

When we release someone to minister in the body of Christ, we are releasing him or her to minister to God's own children, and I personally do not do that with anyone who I would not allow to minister to my own family. For all that was done through Todd, and especially at Lakeland, which touched and helped countless thousands, many were also left confused and hurt by the way it ended. I think Todd is even more sensitive to this than I am. Although in some ways he greatly misses being in ministry and praying for people, he wants to be sure that when he comes back that his life and his ministry are on the most solid ground possible so that he does not cause these kinds of problems again.

Jack Deere and Bill Johnson have agreed to be a part of Todd's restoration process. I asked them to be a part because I know they will probably see things I don't, but also because both Todd and I trust them and know they would not sign off on something they did not really believe in. However, both of them are going to be involved in this at a distance, and therefore, I will be the main person responsible.

Being a believer in body ministry, I expect our whole leadership team, and to some degree, our whole local church, to be involved in helping Todd and Jessa. Our staff and all from the church that I have discussed this with are very happy about them being here and want to help them in any way that they can.

In future Bulletins, we will go into more detail about what we're doing and why, as well as what we think was a cause of some of the failures Todd experienced. We will only do this for the sake of helping others avoid the same traps. We know that trust has to be earned and that Todd will have to earn the trust of the body of Christ for future ministry, which will not be easy, nor should it be. Todd, more than most, does not want to jump back into ministry prematurely, even as much as he misses it in some ways.

I for one have been very encouraged by the expressions of grace and genuine concern so many have expressed toward Todd in this situation. It gives me great hope. As we have been constantly reminded, the Lord had great patience with sinners, but He had none for the self-righteous. We're all here because He had mercy on us, and we know we still need it. However, we also know that true repentance and restoration can only come if we refuse to compromise the clear biblical standards for morality and integrity.

Todd wanted to personally say the following:

It has been a long while since I have spoken publicly and openly. I am sorry for the hurt and confusion that my decisions have caused the body of Christ. It has been a true season of brokenness, hiddenness, and a long process of grieving.

As many of you now know, my previous marriage has endured years of unresolved conflicts. I apologize that it has ended in divorce, and I take full responsibility for my part for the ending of the marriage. I realize that my silence and decisions have caused many of you to feel hurt, confused, and offended. The reason for the silence was for my need of healing, creating a restoration process under a team of qualified leaders, much needed rest after the Lakeland Outpouring, repentance, and the divorce process.

I have now relocated to Fort Mill, South Carolina and have entered into my restoration and healing process under Rick Joyner, Jack Deere, and Bill Johnson. I am confident of this one thing—that God is faithful to His promise and my hope is to be fully restored, strengthened, healed, and to learn from all the mistakes I have made along the way.

Thank you friends and partners for your continued prayers, encouragement, and love. I am committed to the work of the Holy Spirit and confident that the good men around me will help me be restored first as a man, as a husband, and ultimately to fulfill God's call on my life.

Those of you who were touched by the Lakeland Outpouring do not lose your encouragement. What happened there was from God, and Todd is a true servant of God. He has made some mistakes, and he is trying to get his life back in order, and you can be confident that he will. Throughout the Bible, many of the greatest heroes in it also made some of the worst mistakes. King David, possibly the greatest hero in the Bible after Jesus, made one of the most horrible mistakes, not only committing adultery, but murdering the husband of the woman he committed it with. God knew that was going to happen with David when He called him, and He loved David before, during, and afterward.

One of the remarkable events in the Bible is that the Lord then used Bathsheba to bring forth the heir to the throne, Solomon, and she is part of the genealogy of Jesus. It still stretches me, but we need stretching in the grace of God. At the same time, we must balance it with how God hates divorce, and it is one of the scourges of our times that is tragically hurting many, many people. Marriage is under such an assault now because it is so important. However, legalism will not overcome lawlessness. This situation and similar ones that almost every church and family are now being faced with is one that we need answers for. We cannot run from Him, but must run to Him with our need.

Many of Todd's friends and former partners have asked if and how they might help. Donations can now be made to Fresh Fire USA at the following address:

Fresh Fire USA

C/O MorningStar Fellowship Church

375 Star Light Dr.

Fort Mill, SC. 29715

Make checks out to Fresh Fire USA or if you would like to donate by credit card, call 1-800-542-0278, and tell the operator that you want to make a donation to Fresh Fire USA.

Fresh Fire USA.

PO BOX 820

Pineville NC 28134

The Tragic Scandal of Greasy Grace

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:44:00 +0000

J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

This week's announcement about evangelist Todd Bentley's hasty remarriage and restoration is sending a confusing message to the church.

I groaned when I learned early this week that Canadian preacher Todd Bentley, leader of the controversial Lakeland Revival, had decided to divorce his wife, Shonnah, and marry his former ministry intern, Jessa Hasbrook. The news surfaced after almost nine months of silence and speculation, during which time the board of Bentley's Fresh Fire Ministries in British Columbia publicly scolded him for committing adultery.

In a statement released March 10 by Rick Joyner, the popular author and minister who is overseeing Bentley's restoration process, we were told that (1) Bentley married his new wife several weeks ago and moved to Joyner's base in Fort Mill, S.C.; (2) Todd and Jessa agree that their relationship was "wrong and premature" and that it "should not have happened the way it did"; (3) Bentley will remain out of public ministry while he seeks healing; and (4) Joyner will oversee the healing process with input from Dallas pastor Jack Deere and California pastor Bill Johnson.

"Many of us have rejected biblical discipline and adopted a sweet, spineless love that cannot correct."

It was also announced that Bentley plans to relaunch his ministry, called Fresh Fire USA, in Fort Mill, and that Joyner is now collecting donations from supporters to help rebuild it. (The Canadian ministry Bentley started has now been renamed Transform International, and it has severed ties with the evangelist.)

In a few places in his statement Joyner expressed tough love, especially when he said: "We know that trust has to be earned and that Todd will have to earn the trust of the body of Christ for future ministry, which will not be easy, nor should it be." He also made it clear that true repentance and restoration "can only come if we refuse to compromise the clear biblical standards for morality and integrity."

But there were some glaring omissions in the statements released this week that indicate a fundamental weakness in our freestyle approach to "restoring" fallen leaders.

First of all, it is outrageous that Shonnah Bentley, Todd's first wife, does not seem to be an issue in the current discussion. Her name is never mentioned in Joyner's statement—while Todd is mentioned 18 times. We are never told how Shonnah is handling the divorce. How will she manage to care for the three children she and Todd share? She and the kids seem invisible in this process. Yet if anyone needs healing and restoration, is it not the other half of this broken family?

Second, we charismatics still seem to have a habit of elevating gifting above character. It's almost as if the end justifies the means. (So what if a preacher ruins one marriage and makes a hasty decision to marry a younger woman—the important thing is that we get him back in the pulpit to heal the sick!) That is a perversion of biblical integrity. God can anoint any man or woman with the Holy Spirit's power; what He is looking for are vessels of honor that can carry that anointing with dignity, humility and purity.

What is most deplorable about this latest installment in the Bentley scandal is the lack of true remorse. In his own statement, Bentley apologizes for his actions and says he "takes full responsibility for my part for the ending of the marriage." But how can he be taking "full responsibility" if he willingly chose to have a girlfriend on the side—and then married her immediately after his divorce was final? Why did he hide for several months when he should have been listening to counsel and seeking reconciliation with his first wife?

Many Christians today have rejected biblical discipline and adopted a sweet, spineless love that cannot correct. Our grace is greasy. No matter what an offending brother does, we stroke him and pet him and nurse his wounds while we ignore the people he wounded. No matter how heinous his sin, we offer comforting platitudes because, after all, who are we to judge?

When the apostle Paul learned that a member of the Corinthian church was in an immoral relationship with his father's wife, he did not rush to comfort the man. He told the Corinthians: "You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst" (I Cor. 5:2). Sometimes we must draw a ruthless sword in order to bring genuine healing. The "wounds of a friend" are faithful to bring conviction and true repentance (see Prov. 27:6).

Paul actually delivered the unrepentant Corinthian man to Satan "for the destruction of his flesh" (5:5) so that he could be saved. That does not sound very nice. Many today would call Paul's tactic harsh and legalistic. But that is because we have lost any true sense of the fear of the Lord—and we don't realize that our laxness about God's standards is a perversion of His mercy. When the sin is severe, the public rebuke must be severe.

In all the discussion of Bentley and the demise of the Lakeland Revival, I am waiting to hear the sound of sackcloth ripping into shreds. We should be weeping. We should be rending our hearts—as God commanded Israel when they fell into sin (see Joel 2: 13-14). To give guidance to a confused church, our leaders should have publicly decried the Lakeland disaster while at the same time helping both Todd and Shonnah to heal.

We have not mourned this travesty. We have not been shocked and appalled that such sin has been named among us. We act as if flippant divorce and remarriage are minor infractions—when in actuality they are such serious moral failures that they can bring disqualification.

If we truly love Todd Bentley, we will not clamor for his quick return to the pulpit. While we certainly want him to be fully restored to fellowship with God, we cannot rush the process of restoring a man to ministry. Leaders must live up to a higher standard. We must demand that those involved in Bentley's restoration not only love him but also love the church by protecting us from the kind of scandal we endured last year.

J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. To read Rick Joyner's and Todd Bentley's public statement click here.

Todd Bentley Remarries, Begins Restoration Process

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Adrienne S. Gaines News - Featured News

Todd BentleyMarch 10, 2009 -- Todd Bentley, who became well-known for leading the Lakeland Outpouring until he stepped down after announcing he was divorcing his wife, Shonnah, has remarried.

He has also entered into a restoration process led by MorningStar Ministries founder Rick Joyner, it was announced Monday.

Joyner said Bentley and his new wife, Jessa, married "several weeks ago" and have moved to Fort Mill, S.C., where MorningStar is based. Jack Deere of Wellspring Church in Texas and Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in California will assist Joyner in overseeing Bentley's restoration process.

"There were failures; there were mistakes-I want to be absolutely sure he sees them, understands them," Joyner told Charisma. "I want to see that that gate is shut, that this is not going to happen again.

"I'm not in the business of trying to perfect anyone," he added. "I'm not going to ask him to be perfect, but there are a lot of issues, and they're valid. ... He is not pushing for ministry or anything; he is trying to get his life right."

Bentley had led revival meetings in Lakeland, Fla., for nearly four months when he suddenly stepped down from public ministry in August after informing staff members that he and his wife, Shonnah, were separating.

His Fresh Fire Ministries (FFM) board, based in British Columbia, later announced that Bentley had confessed to an inappropriate relationship with a female staff member and a senior board member said Bentley's alcohol consumption had "crossed the line."

Joyner said Bentley and his new wife admit that their relationship was "premature," but say it did not begin until Bentley was convinced his first marriage could not be saved.

"They have both expressed that it was wrong and premature," Joyner said in his statement. "They do not want to try and cover this up even though they know many will never accept them for it. Even so, they are married now and are resolved to make the most of their marriage, their lives, and to continue to serve the Lord in the best way that they can." (Read Joyner's statement.)

Joyner was one of several charismatic ministers who appeared on the platform at the Lakeland Outpouring last June when Bentley publicly submitted himself to the oversight of apostolic leaders Bill Johnson, John Arnott and Ché Ahn, who represent a group called the Revival Alliance.

Arnott said the alliance would serve in an advisory role during Bentley's restoration process. "I trust all of those guys," Arnott said. "They're just men of integrity, men of grace."

Arnott said Bentley, because of his actions, had stepped out of the fellowship of the alliance. "Relationally we all do care for him," Arnott said. "But he wouldn't be seen as a member in good standing."

In a statement released with Joyner's, Bentley said he has been in a season of brokenness. He said his previous marriage endured "years of unresolved conflicts" and apologized that it ended in divorce.

"I take full responsibility for my part for the ending of the marriage," he said. "I realize that my silence and decisions have caused many of you to feel hurt, confused, and offended. The reason for the silence was for my need of healing, creating a restoration process under a team of qualified leaders, much needed rest after the Lakeland Outpouring, repentance, and the divorce process."

Bentley said he hopes to be "fully restored, strengthened, healed, and to learn from all the mistakes I have made along the way."

Bentley was scheduled to begin the restoration process last October, but Joyner said his relocation to Fort Mill was repeatedly delayed due to problems securing a permanent visa.

Last fall, Bentley stepped down from the Canada-based ministry he founded, which has since changed its name from Fresh Fire to Transform International. Joyner said Fresh Fire USA would be based in Fort Mill at Heritage International Ministries, which Joyner leads, and he invited supporters to contribute to the ministry.

"The whole point of restoration is to get you back from where you were," Joyner said. "He is going to be back in ministry, and we want to lay a solid foundation for that. There are partners who want to support his process. They want him restored and healthy. It's just building an infrastructure."

Bentley said he would remain out of public ministry while he sought healing, though teaching articles were posted at a MySpace page as recently as December and he continues to sell ministry product through his Sound of Fire Productions, which his father helps manage.

Although Joyner was unfamiliar with the MySpace page, he said it is appropriate for Bentley to begin telling people what happened in his life and ministry. "I think it can help [keep] a whole lot of other people from going through the same mess," Joyner said. "And he's a grown man; I don't treat him like a child. That would not help his process either. The main thing he's restricted himself on is preaching, going out doing any kind of public ministry, but there's a huge demand for understanding what happened."

Joyner said there is no rush to return Bentley to public ministry. "We know that trust has to be earned and that Todd will have to earn the trust of the Body of Christ for future ministry, which will not be easy, nor should it be," Joyner said in his statement. "Todd, more than most, does not want to jump back into ministry prematurely, even as much as he misses it in some ways."

From early on, the Lakeland Outpouring was fraught with controversy. When praying for healing, the tattooed evangelist was known to hit the sick in the stomach with his knee in a move more common among wrestlers than preachers. Bentley even recounted kicking a woman in the face in an act of "obedience to the Lord."

The revival meetings, which began at Ignited Church in April, ended officially in October. Pastor Stephen Strader said the church has continued to grow since then, and he has no regrets.

"I would not have done anything differently," Strader said. "Every action we took was based on the information given to us and what the Holy Spirit revealed to us. So if people aren't happy with decisions we made, they're going to have to talk to God. I tell people all the time, discernment is a gift, it's not a talent. If God decides to hide a matter, there's not a thing you can do about it. We constantly prayed for revelation, protection."

Arnott said he believes the Lakeland Outpouring was a genuine move of God. "There were a lot of people healed, a lot of people saved, genuine fruit came out of it," Arnott said. "A lot of young people got released and are ministering like never before. It is unfortunate when a leader falls like this. Nevertheless, the good part was good."

Joyner said the restoration team would be giving regular updates, including videos of Bentley telling his story posted at the MorningStar Web site.

An evangelical change of heart on sexuality - By Simon Barrow

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:31:00 +0000

In the long battle against slavery in the 19th century, it was the voices of evangelical Christians such as William Wilberforce, John Wesley and Bishop of London Beilby Porteus who played an important role in swinging the domestic political debate in favour of abolition, alongside Quakers and others - religious and non-religious.

They did so because they realised that although there were verses in the Bible (for them the determining authority in life and conduct) that could readily be pressed into the defence of slavery, there was something much larger at stake in the Gospel message which led inexorably to the conclusion that the captives should be set free – as Jesus said in one of his defining sermons, as recorded by Luke.

On that basis they re-interpreted pro-slavery verses by understanding them as overwritten by the new order of grace brought about by Christ, as warnings about the partiality of human insight into the mystery of God's love, and as stage posts in a process of unfolding, deepening revelation.

Similar arguments are being heard today from a number of evangelical Christians over the question of recognising the civil, ecclesial and relationship status of lesbian and gay people. These evangelicals are still a minority, but they are a growing one. They bring to the challenge of changing the hearts and minds of their fellow believers the same moral and theological seriousness that motivated their forebears in the anti-slavery movement.

This week, four evangelical organisations joined together to remind their fellow "Bible people" that opposing hate speech and hate crimes against homosexual people – in this case the antics of the bizarre Westboro Baptist sect – means too little if you are simultaneously defending forms of prejudice and discrimination within your own communities.

The prime mover in this, Accepting Evangelicals, is a network of Christians who take the Bible with great seriousness, but who argue that what the handful of verses deployed by anti-gay campaigners address is not modern same-sex relationships built on mutual commitment and self-giving love, but practices of pederasty, cultic prostitution and abuse in very different cultural and religious contexts.

They are supported in this view by considerable biblical scholarship and by Christians of other stripes who share the conviction that being followers of Jesus in the modern world involves responsible freedom not backward-looking fear.

The recent statement was also signed by the Network of Baptists Affirming Lesbian and Gay Christians, the Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians, Ekklesia (which has many evangelicals on board), and by Courage UK – an organisation that started out as an "ex-gay" ministry but which has now shifted towards acceptance and inclusion as a Gospel imperative.

Courage UK, founded in 1998, was pushed to resign from the Evangelical Alliance in 2002 as a result of its changed stance. Those who head up major evangelical organisations know that there are dissenters in their own ranks, but they fear the debate that would result if this was acknowledged more openly. The hardliners in their midst also find succour in being seen as part of a righteous war against a supposed "liberal" enemy intent on diluting the Gospel message. Similar arguments were used to try to rebut the abolitionists.

It is strange indeed that opposition to same-sex relationships has become a litmus test for a certain kind of orthodoxy in some evangelical circles, despite the fact that Christ said nothing about it. On the contrary, he deliberately breached religious taboos against groups ostracised by the establishment, and he upheld actions like forgiveness and economic sharing as signs of authentic discipleship – not culture-based religious restrictions.

Change is on the way, nonetheless. The refusal of a mature debate on sexuality is being questioned and jettisoned in many parts of the evangelical world: among young people involved in fresh "emerging" forms of church life, in discussions at festivals like Greenbelt, and even in the counsels of the heartlands.

Last November the highly respected Richard Cizik resigned as vice president for governmental affairs with the 50 million-strong National Association of Evangelicals in the USA, following uproar over his comments that he is shifting his views on same-sex unions.

Many privately expressed agreement with Cizik. Influential evangelical leaders Tony and Peggy Campolo have publicly debated the homosexuality issue, with Peggy moving to an openly affirming position.

In Britain, pro-gay evangelicals have also been "coming out". A few years ago veteran Methodist preacher George Hopper published an online book that sums up the difficulty of the shift, but also its hopefulness. It is called Reluctant Journey – A pilgrimage of faith from homophobia to Christian love.

The struggle against anti-gay prejudice is not just a church one. In pubs, in tabloid newspapers, in homes and workplaces, rejection lurks behind thin facades of liberalism.

Evangelical Christians are deeply immersed in the problem. But if they learn from their history and re-read the biblical message in the light of its living centre, Christ, they can be part of a historic change.

REFERENCES

* Abolitionism and the Bible - http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-145473606.html

* Affirming Evangelical statement on gay people - http://ekklesia.co.uk/node/8749

* Information on Westboro Baptist Church – http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/default.asp

* Accepting Evangelicals - http://www.acceptingevangelicals.org/

* Courage UK - http://www.courage.org.uk/

* Reluctant Journey (online book) - http://freespace.virgin.net/gseh.rj/contents.htm

------------

(c) Simon Barrow is co-director of Ekklesia. He blogs at http://faithinsociety.blogspot.com http://www.simonbarrow.net. The latest book he has edited, Fear or Freedom? Why a warring church must change is published by Shoving Leopard. His forthcoming book, Threatened With Resurrection: The difficult peace of Christ, will be published soon. and his website is at

This article is adapted from one that has also appeared on Guardian Comment-is-Free, with acknowledgments.

Simon Barrow has written at greater length on sexuality and biblical faith in Fear or Freedom?. See chapter 9.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 England & Wales License. Although the views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Ekklesia, the article may reflect Ekklesia's values. If you use Ekklesia's news briefings please consider making a donation to sponsor Ekklesia's work here.

The power of a smile & affirmation

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:13:00 +0000

I know from life experience, that the sense of loneliness and the sense that no one out there really cares, can have a detrimental effect on our day to day living. Just as the same is true, when someone smiles at you, with a sincere smile, or when someone affirms you and builds you up, or gives you a complement, it can make the whole day worth living.

I work in the insurance industry, in the most difficult aspect of it, claims. I am the front face of claims customer service. I am the person you speak to when you have new information on a claim, or you want an update on the status, or you have questions concerning how the claim was settled. You speak with me and you ask your questions, and in some cases you vent, which is understandable, especially when you thought the incident would be covered by the insurance. During a typical day, I can go through over 60 calls from people. I always try to identify with them, and treat them with respect, and respond and interact with them, the way I would want to be respected and dialogued with. Some calls are difficult and it is not always easy explaining why a claim is denied, but when people get the straight goods as to why from someone who respects them and answers their questions, they usually accept the decision.

I have had my share of "nasty calls" and it makes it all the more important to not take things personally when someone reduces the conversation to name calling, swearing, and threats. After a while you become more acquainted with these responses, and allow people their moment to vent, and if need be you escalate the call to a more senior staff member or supervisor.

Occasionally you will get someone you helped that will either send an email or phone to speak to a supervisor, and it is to that you for the exceptional service you rendered in their claim in addressing their issues professionally, and with due diligence. When those calls and emails come, and they get forwarded to you by your supervisor, it makes the whole day worth while. Sometimes, these people will speak to the supervisor, and they will ask for you directly, just to say "Thank you!" The feeling you get, of making a difference and helping people through something as unfamiliar as an insurance claim, it can be so affirming and validating.

We want to find meaning in our lives, and men in particular want to find it in their work, that someone notices and pays attention, and that it actually has worth and value, when really what we are yearning for is affirmation for ourselves as people. It is a good and noble thing, to affirm others and build them up. The Scriptures show that one of the aspects of the church is to build up and encourage, rather than to tear down. So today, won't you take the time, to smile and affirm someone?

View this short film. It will powerfully move you, and perhaps encourage you to affirm others and be affirmed yourself.

God bless,
Sam

Being a Sports Fan Reveals Your Inner Heart

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:33:00 +0000

I really am not a happy guy right now. Barely 15 minutes ago, the Steelers stole another championship with the assistance of the worlds best known sports league's amateur referees, who repeated their lousy officiating which has plagued the league this past season. There were more than enough games that were decided not by the players on the field but the men in stripes. The familiar refrain from the last time the Steelers won, against the Seahawks, did indeed happen again. The current NFL officials, and the NFL policy regarding the lack of professional officials is in desperate need of fixing, because in these two Superbowls in particular the officials "fixed" the game and decided the winner, who happen to be the Steelers.

By choice I am a Bills fan. But when the Steelers or Pats, or the Colts or the Chargers are playing in the "big game" I usually cheer for the other team.

What I find really amazing, is the emotions it stirs in a person. I had to step away and go to the bathroom and wash the face paint off my face, and to cool off at the same time. My buttons were being pushed by the mixture of the lousy play of the Cards, and the lousy officiating, and the absurd ways in which the Steelers were getting away with things in this game. I had to take a time out. I occassionally do that when I am really ticked off. I even considered just leaving my daughters alone to watch the game and just go to bed at the end of the second half. My wife looked at me and told me to go back to the girls, as they love watching games with me (I get so animated!).

I went back, and watched, with a mixture of frustration and elation as the Cards kept having to beat both the Steelers and the refs. Unbelieavable how bad these refs were. It was worse than the Seahaws-Steelers game three years ago. My daughter Erinn was of the same mind that these officials were even worse, and that was hard to believe until you actually witnessed the incompetence on the field tonight. We were both incensed.

It sure revealed the turmoil in my heart. It really pushed all these emotional buttons. It pushed that button for the underdog, and the Cards were seconds from being champtions, and Warner played his best game as a pro. He should have been MVP, even if his team lost. The refs spoiled a good effort, and the Steelers can hide behind this "win," but they can thank God tonight when they go to bed, for giving them the refs they had. They really were biased.

The NFL really has to address this issue. It is needed to give creedence to the sense of impatiality. As a fan I am not impartial. I am very biased. To the extreme sometimes. I am 50 years old, and I act like a 16 year old! I pout when I lose. Even when I played competive sports, if I even suspected that our team had been cheated by lousy officiating, I would refuse to shake hands with the oponents or the refs at the end of the game. Some said I was a poor sport, and I would respond, that I did not play the game for the sake of "good sportsmanship" but to win within the rules and impartial officiating. If I felt cheated I refused to give creedence that I had participated in a good clean game by sanctifying it with my blessing by shaking hands at the end of the contest. I would tell them, if it is a competition, why play that down? If it is only a game, why play it at all. If there is no meaning to winning or losing, why even suit up, practice, and put in the time and the discipline to become proficient at the game? If it is only about sportsmanship then competitive sports sucks! I still feel that way, and even more so when watching a league that is supposedly the most loved and cherished in N. America, and they refuse to have pro referees. That very idea appears to be lunacy. Why support the NFL and its game, if they don't want to make it better by providing real professional referees?

Well, as far as I am concerned I saw some ungliness in my heart tonight. It proves again, how much more of my character has to be renewed and transformed, even when I am a spectator of the NFL's big game. O well. God help me, and expose every wicked way in me, and please, help me deal with all the buttons that get pushed. Amen.

Passchendaele - Canadian Film With Some Searing Moments

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:58:00 +0000

You will not often find as a Canadian, anything that retells a part of our national history, a defining moment of Canadian history, on the "big screen," as Canadians we feel awkward taking a look at our own history. It is much more easy to have some bravado when it comes to hockey, rather than reflecting on the sacrifice of our forefathers, who lived and died with their friends in the muddied rat infested trenches in Belgium and France in the Great War, the "war to end all wars." But, here none the less is a 10 million dollar movie, written by and produced by, and staring Canadian actors and actresses. The mind behind it all was Paul Gross. I truly did not know what to expect.

I wanted to spend some quality time with my youngest daughter Erinn. I thought we could both take in the movie, as we are both fans of history, and military history in particular. So, I got home last night from work with fifteen minutes to spare, and picked her up. We got to our seats, just as the sound came on and the previews began to play. Great timing if I do say so myself.

The movie has a good story line based on actual events and real characters. The movie portrays very well the nasty side of nationalism and patriotism, in particular the patronizing attitudes of the upper classes, as well as the demonizing of the "enemy" shrouded in the mantra "God, King and country," so often seen in the colonies and the dominions of the British Empire. If anything turns my stomach, it is that English provincial attitude of entitlement and betterment, that always sneered at and put down those who were from the "colonies." Even within the UK, there has always been a view within English society, that they were better than the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish. My own Grandad (Northern Irish), who served in His Majesty's Royal Army, who made this remark after three decades after World War II, "Where would dear old England be without Sandy (meaning Scotland) and Pat (meaning Ireland)!" (old song sung by Brit soldiers). That same sentiment can be seen in this film, where the Canadian upper class as well as Britishers who have become part of the Canadian establishment, look down on the lower classes and portrays them as little more than cannon fodder for the war effort.

It is all too familiar. All too familiar, and all too relevant, even now, for how the lower educated and the unemployed are recruited into the Canadian Forces, and are put in the combat infantry battalions, and the combat engineers, essentially as cannon fodder for a war created by corporate America, in the illusive and non-winnable war in Afghanistan. Nationalism and patriotism, and a false form of democratic idealism costs lives of thousands of people. The current war effort to pacify and democratize Afghanistan is one such war, and the costs will be as lasting as World War I was for our forefathers.

John Eldredge speaks of the heart of a man, about what it means to be a man. He speaks of a life of an adventure to be lived (the "wild at heart") where a man needs his space, often outside of himself, the playful adventurous side that was left behind in boyhood. He speaks of a battle to be won, where man can find a purpose bigger than himself, a noble cause for which to sacrifice and to give of oneself. He speaks too, of a woman to be loved and cherished. All three help to define what it means to be a man. Watching Passchendaele made me think of Eldredge and his book Wild At Heart. I kind of wonder if there are any of these elements that are worth fighting for. Is worth anything to actually take the lives of others? Is death and carnage a necessary evil? How does a Christian man engage in a noble cause, and how noble can it be to actually be involved in the taking of lives of others?

In the film, the main character, Michael Dunne is shellshocked from an intense battle in World War I. He is sent home to Canada where is he recovers from injuries, and tries to put his life back together. He falls in love with the nurse who helped him recover in the hospital. This nurse's brother, enlists in the army, even though he has asthma. The young man has been denied entry into the army, and has fallen in love with an upper middleclass daughter of a local physician, who essentially tells the young man to prove himself by enlisting in the army. The physician falsifies the medical certificate, and the lad enlists. The main character out of love for the lad's sister, re-enlists under a different name, in order to protect the life of the young man. He does all this out of love and devotion. You see this theme in the film, the sacrificing of oneself for another. The setting for all this is Passchendaele (the third Battle of Ypres, July - November 1917), the second of Canada's Candian Corps notable victory after Vimy Ridge (Easter, April, 1917), under the command of Gen. Currie.

It is that saddest of all ironies, that the brotherhood of soldiers all share. No matter what war, how great the conflict, no matter what nation is fighting, the soldiers, the ones doing the surviving and the killing, they all share a common bond. They fight for themselves (self preservation) and they fight for each other. I have spoken to World War I and World War II vets, as well as vets of the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, and Iraq and Afghanistan. If they were not drafted, most volunteered out of a desire for adventure, as well as a career. Most who were able to fight in battles (with long lapses of boredom between engagements) did so out of a mode of self preservation, and defending their comrades. Most did not think of family, other than wishing the fighting was over, so they could go home, away from all the death and carnage. They all spoke of no glory in war, and the waste of lives and the futility of it all. All this led me to eventually become a pacifist. I had spent eight years of my life in the infantry, and I find nothing noble in war, but war does reveal character and the nobility of man as well as the depravity of man, in the inhumanity of man toward another man.

This film reveals that nobility as well as the depravity, and the carnage of battle. It reveals the desire to redeem oneself from actions done in the past, hoping to erase the psychological scarring that taking the life of another does to the mind of man. All this was very well portrayed and quite telling.

The film portrays all the various reasons for enlisting in the military adventure, and all its tragic consequences. I had my own flashbacks of the ineptitude of officers I have known, and the bad tactical decisions made in combat situations, even in training. I came away from it all just as much convinced that war is so destructive not only of the ones who die and lose their life and property, but even more so of those who survive, deeply scarred for life. All that carnage done in the name of ideology, political expediency, in the name nationalism and patriotism.

If nationalism and patriotism is reduced to sacrificing all that we hold dear in order to inflict harm and destruction on another, then that means I can no longer call myself a patriot. I refuse to wrap myself in my national flag. I refuse to take the life of another. I refuse to so serve the state, that I blindly believe and do what it tells me to do. I choose life. I choose to be a man who will choose his battles, and that battle is a battle to erradicate the need for war, the need for armies of mass destruction. I choose to love my wife and my daughters, and to protect them from harm and injury, without the need to resort to violence toward another. Would I kill another to protect them? I can only say, that I would do what needs to be done to avoid such a scenario. I know how to kill.

I taught hand to hand combat and close combat and unarmed combat tactics and techniques. I know how to kill using my bare hands. Do I want to resort to that? No, I don't. If I had to sacrifice my own life, to protect my wife and daughters, I would lay it down. But I won't take the life of another person. Could I be pushed enough or respond harshly to the threat on them? Very likely could. But I pray that God would give me the insight, the courage and strength to lead my wife and daughters to security, and to face the enemy alone, at which point I would likely die, for I could not and would not strike an enemy to save my own life. Fifteen years ago, I would have repudiated such an act. I would have defended first strike, and self-defence. Not any longer. I am a changed man, and I am no coward. I just see things much differently than before. I have a love for whom my nation calls "enemies" for I see them as Christ sees them, and not as the ministry of propaganda tells me to see them.

So this movie brings much to mind. It also reveals to me how much I have changed, and how much I loathe the war in Afghanistan and Canada's role there. As a man who wants to see nobility and service to a cause greater than himself, I find none of that in this conflict. A hundred Candian lives lost, families and loved ones empoverished by a Canadian government hoodwinked by the United States and the blackmailing of NATO, into a conflict that sees no end and only more death and destruction. Perhaps the greatest fight, worth fighting for, in the words of Eldrege is the fight to end Canada's part in it. Perhaps honoring the soldiers and their families, by bringing them home as quickly as possible. That is where my heart is, even more so, after watching this film.

This movie reveals all sides of our character and our motives, and reveals the political expediency in promoting war through nationalism and patriotism. It is worth watching, if for no other reason, that its message is as resounding today as it was in 1917. Man's inability to move beyond the use of force and violence still reigns supreme, just as Von Clausewitz said, "War is simple diplomacy by other means." Sadly it is true, and the cost in human lives is devastating. As a man, wanting to protect another, it is a good and noble thing. Taking another human life to do so, it may appear to be neccesary and justified, but that act alone is neither noble nor good. It just reveals our depravity and need of God all the more.

We Have A Reckless Cowboy Back In The Saddle!

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:06:00 +0000

To say I am "miffed" is putting it lightly to say the very least. Sure, I joined 41% of Canadians who decided that it was best to stay away from the voting booth, and like most of them, this election proved once again, that the election was an unnecessary expenditure of $300 million! You have 300 million reasons why it was stupid to have another election to re-elect the Calgary Cowboy Harper to another minority.

Canadians elected the minority government for a reason. Canadians do not trust their futures to parties that like a free reign with a partisan agenda. Canadians want some kind of accountability by the people they elect to office. Canadians want to see transparency and accountability, in the same fashion that we are held to account in our everyday working lives. For too long our politicians have had a free ride, and as long as they follow the party line, and not the wishes of their constituents, then they are safe until there is another election. That is four years without a "job review!" Sweet. Imagine a job like that one!

I would love to see some kind of electoral reform that includes the ability for review and recall, as well as changes to how the House of Commons does daily business, where ordinary MPs have more clout than just echoing and sanctioning what their party leaders tell them to do. Enough already! We have a real democratic deficit, and politics as they are currently conducted no longer work. Not that they ever did! It has been the same old parties running the show, and getting away with it since 1867! Time to modernize! Time to catch up to the new millennium!

Proportional representation, is desperately needed, as well as those things already mentioned. Of the twenty-two people I polled, only ONE voted (I believe them when they tell me they did not vote). The one who voted, did so at the urging of his girlfriend. The others stated the following reasons.

They did not like any of the leaders of the major parties.
There were not enough choices.
They did not like the platforms of the parties.
They liked a local candidate, but not the party he belonged to.
They liked a party, but not their local candidate.
They see nothing noble with the notion of voting, as a vote means nothing about democracy as all a vote does is sanction a candidate. After the vote, there is little to nothing for an individual to do in the democratic process.
The system is flawed and out of date. One past the post is archaic and needs to change.
The democratic deficit also needs to empower MPs to not be held hostage to the party leader or bound to the party ideology.

I for one was sick to my stomach by the results, and I know full well that my "voting" would have done nothing to change the results, or address the democratic deficit!

This morning we have the largest proportion of non voters who determined that the election was not worth the cost, and nor was it worth participating in the process. How will the parties change the system, the electoral process, and the daily affairs of Parliament in order to restore faith in the political system? Will the Liberals, who have had their worst showing in history, actually do something about changing the system, calling for proportional representation?

Will they do something more effective than that done by their Provincial conterparts in Ontario, that put a vote for proportional representation on the docket, but did not educate the public as to the nature of it, or how it could change and make democracy more effective? If you want change, the public needs to be educated at least over a year long process as to the nature of the change and how it will be implemented and used to make our lives better. This was not done when Ontarians faced the issue.

If the Feds want to bring change it will take the will of one of the major parties to do so. Until that kind of leadership comes forth, we are bound to see more and more of the same ineffective minority governments, with the only change coming in the form of which party actually heads the minority government. Until there is substantial change, the numbers of non voters is going to increase. And apathy has nothing to do with it! It is the pent up frustration of a system that no longer works and no longer represents the will of the people!

What is a man to do? How do I respond to this election?

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:25:00 +0000

I must admit that I am not fond of the prospects for this country. In the ways and understanding of the world, I used to "care" a great deal about politics and the those who governed the nation. As I have aged and weathered the seasons of life, and I have seen my children reach adulthood, I have seen our family accomplish a great deal in spite of the government and especially in spite of the politicians who think they know better than average citizens what is good for the rest of us. The Liberal party in particular has historically had a cavalier attitude of privilege as if it was their right to rule the nation. Several Conservative governments were a reaction to that very mindset, and they too became arrogant in the late 1980s and in the early 90's ended up with two MPs in the House! That is the problem. People react instead of respond to issues in life, and not the least in the realm of politics.

As a man, a Christian one at that, I believe I am to respond, and not react to situations in life. How do I respond, when I have totally changed my views on the role of the Christian in a secular society. After all, as Larry Norman echoed in his classic song, "I only visiting this planet." If I am a visitor, and if I am as the New Testament declares a "citizen of another country" (Hebrews 11), then how do I engage and participate in the affairs of state and society? Do I do what many would consider "nothing" by not voting? Does my voting make me a better citizen? By whose standard?

Why is it that here in Canada, the electorate get brow beaten by politicians and citizens alike with the line "You should vote, this is why our soldiers died for in World War II!" Oh, really? Have you spoken to any vets about that? I have. Far and away the only reasons that they went to war in the years of their youth were a combination of youthful enthusiasm (they did not want to miss the excitement of the war and their part in it), combined with a sense of defending home and family. When it came down to it, and they had bonded with other men in their units, they lived and died for each other. They had become a "band of brothers." I know, that connection, when you spend your day and night and under extreme conditions, with a band of men, and you only have each other, you become family to one another. I know, I was one. For eight years I was a soldier, albeit a part timer, a reservist in the Canadian military. To this day these men are closer than family to me. So spare me, that I should vote because of what the vets did for us in World War II. That is no reason to vote. It is political manipulation of it most heinous kind.

The question still begs to be asked. Why should a Christian male in this country vote? I can think of a lot of reasons not to. For one, we do not live in a democracy, but rather in a political benevolent dictatorship. We elect a party based on its promises, although the oxymoron of this whole enterprise is when we have leaders debates, and all of a sudden the debates, the polls and the media speak of the leader rather than the party and the platform. We proclaim a parliamentary system, and then run the election like an American election for president! How asinine is that?? If I vote, I do not get the opportunity to vote for the leader of the party that will become Prime Minister. Only the people who live in his or her riding get that opportunity. The best I can do is vote for the man or woman that best identifies the issues that are pressing in our region where we live, and who hold the closest convictions that matter to us and our beliefs. But, we don't run the election that way. It is a pathetic system, this one past the post system. It makes no sense that we are not evolving and developing the political system and electoral processes in this country. It makes it all the more frustrating for citizens who care about their nation.

Currently we elect a party to power, and they get free reign until the next election. Pretty scary if there is no effective opposition to hold them accountable. This is why historically the minority governments have fared well and accomplished much for the nation. This is why again, perhaps it is time for electoral reform, and it must come from the people. The historical parties have everything to lose to embrace electoral reform, because it will coral their power and will control how they behave and how they govern. Look at the Liberals and the Conservatives, and even Harper and the Conservatives this time around. He called the election because he believed that he could gain a majority and then he would not have to be accountable to Parliament and worry about the Official Opposition. He could bully through his agenda. He only released his platform yesterday, a mere six days before the election!!! How on earth are any of us supposed to debate and challenge their platform six days before the election? Perhaps this will be his undoing.

Harper and all the media wizkids around him are trying to portray him as a family man and as a compassionate and caring man. He is anything but that. He is plastic and phony and comes across as less than compassionate and understanding. He claims to be a Christian. That was the premise for me, on which I voted the last time. I had not voted since 1988 and thought that with the issue of gay marriage, I wanted to elect someone who would revisit that catastrophic faux pas by the Paul Martin led Liberals. When elected, Harper shamelessly did little to nothing to remedy the situation, deciding instead to hide behind the Supreme Court decision. Now our laws are formed by the Judiciary which is unelected and appointed by the Prime Ministry and the Privy Council. So much for democracy and the will of the people! Another reason why there is a "democratic deficit" in Canada.

The polls show that now it looks more and more like another Conservative minority. That would be good. That would bring about the need for more cooperation and no more bullying through an agenda. But where does this leave me as a Canadian male voter who is 50 years young?

I am reconciled that I am to pray for my leaders, and I am to obey the laws of the land and be a good citizen (see Romans 13). Nowhere do we find a place in the New Testament about political engagement and participation for believers. If I am going to be biblical and I believe in the sovereignty of God, does my vote really matter? God will elect who He wants to rule over us, even the ones that are evil, are placed in a place of authority for a reason and for a season. God's ultimate purposes will be fulfilled, for He even uses tyrants to accomplish His will and purposes in the earth. So, my vote really means nothing. And besides, even if I vote, the outcome is God's contrary to what our politicians tell us.

I am resigned to look and to observe and to pray for my nation and those who govern. This I have done and will continue to do. This year, though I dicided that I would engage more with my society, the place where I work and live and rub shoulders with people. I thought I would volunteer and have been active since the new year in the local literacy group, and it is here that I am finding Jesus among the people who care for other people. This is radical in your face political activism without party partizanship.

Voluteering has huge political implications, because people become engage with the grassroots of problems and issues, such as literacy, poverty, socio-economic justice, pacifism, crime, drug addiction and such things. This is where I can make a tangible and very real difference of my life touching another life, that in turn touches another life. My voting does none of that. In fact, it makes me look like I have abstained from real engagement with society and culture. I believe that if Christians actually got out of their "Christian ghettos", and outside the four walls of their lofty houses of worship, and rubbed shoulders with the people, and voluteered, without the agenda of converting people (that is God's job not ours) and just loved and cared compassionately, then the Kingdom of God would manifest where we live. Now that is the kind of "politics" I can engage in!!! How about you?

On election day, won't you open yourself up to the possibilities? What your life and your experience, filled with the love of God could do to make the world a little better for someone else?

Hockey Night In Canada Theme Contest

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:24:00 +0000

One of my friends has a song he submitted for the Hockey Night in Canada theme song contest. Check it out here.

Sam

Is it time for the church to leave the marriage business?

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:14:00 +0000

Interesting post from Think Christian site. I very much agree that the Christian church should get out of doing "legal marriages" and only be involved in blessing, unions recognized by the Scriptures and the historic church, that is the vows of men and women to one another, and before the assembled witness of the body of Christ. This would eliminate much of the debate involving "gay marriage" and whether the Christian church should recognize the union of same sex partners. This is more biblical and progressive. The last thing we need the church to represent the state in officiating marriages.

Read on.

Blessings,
Sam

Is it time for the church to leave the marriage business?

Is it time for clergy to get out of the wedding business? An article in the Sacramento Bee describes a growing sense in some California churches that the traditional “church marriage” ceremony should be reconsidered:

The controversy over same-sex marriage – along with a growing sense that many couples who marry in churches never return – has prompted faith leaders to say it’s time to reconsider how California couples tie the knot.
After the California Supreme Court ruled gay marriage legal, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California began encouraging all couples to marry outside the church.

“I urge you to encourage all couples, regardless of orientation, to follow the pattern of first being married in a secular service, and then being blessed in the Episcopal Church,” Bishop Marc Handley Andrus wrote his clergy June 9.

The ideas described in the article center around offloading legal marriage ceremonies to the state, and allowing married couples to then optionally have their union blessed in a separate church ceremony (if the church approves). Proponents of the idea say that this would allow churches to stay out of messy legal quandaries about same-sex marriage laws, while still allowing churches to recognize and bless marriages that fit their spiritual criteria. And it would also address the common situation in which (sometimes unbelieving) couples are married in churches they’ll never attend again.

Is that a good idea?

I am unsure if this would help with the “drive-by marriage” problem, simply because so many couples (religious or otherwise) feel family or social pressure to get married in a church, even if they don’t attend the church and don’t believe in (or live by) Biblical principles. But there is a certain appeal in removing the church from the legal side of marriage, and disentangling it from the legal/civic side of the same-sex marriage controversy.

Here are a few questions to think about:

What is your church’s response to engaged couples who want to get married in your church, but whose religious beliefs or lifestyles conflict with your church’s teachings?
Does your church require engaged couples to attend counseling or worship services before getting married in the church?
In your view, is it better for a church to turn away a couple that doesn’t meet its standards for marriage, or is it better to marry the couple and just try to be a good witness in the process?
Do you think there should be a stronger distinction between the state’s legal recognition of marriage, and the church’s moral recognition?

Male Definition of Masculinity Is a Surprise

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:32:00 +0000

Interesting article here on "masculinity." I am thankful for the recognition of society and research and that the findings reveal that men are not as shallow as once portrayed. Thank goodness for news of this kind.

Sam

Read on.

Male Definition of Masculinity Is a Surprise
By Rick Nauert, Ph.D.
Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 27, 2008

Wednesday, Aug 27 (Psych Central) -- A new study finds that men defy stereotypes in defining masculinity.

Contrary to stereotypes about sexual performance and masculinity, men interviewed in a large international study reported that being seen as honorable, self-reliant and respected was more important to their idea of masculinity than being seen as attractive, sexually active or successful with women.

The study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine included interviews with more than 27,000 randomly selected men from eight countries (Germany, U.S., U.K., Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and France), with about 16 percent of the men reporting erectile problems.

Regardless of age or nationality, the men more frequently ranked good health, harmonious family life and good relationships with their wife or partner as more important to their quality of life than material, self-fulfilling or purely sexual concerns.

There was no significant difference in rankings of masculinity and quality of life characteristics between men who experienced erectile dysfunction and those who did not.

The study, part of the Men’s Attitudes to Life Events and Sexuality (MALES) project, aimed to determine characteristics of masculinity and quality of life in men with and without self-reported erectile dysfunction, and how those ideas of masculinity might affect seeking help and treatment.

“Many meanings, positive and negative, are attached to the term, ‘masculinity,’” said Julia Heiman, director of The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University and an author of this study. “To ask a large sample of men what comprises their own sense of masculinity is very useful for both the media and for research. These results suggest we should pay attention and ask rather than presume we know.”

Source: Indiana University

Pastor Reproves Lakeland Leaders—Paul Steven Ghiringhelli

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:47:00 +0000

Finally, a "servant leader" calling it like it is, and offering repentance to the Lord and the body of Christ. Someone calling sin, sin, and stating what should have been obvious all along, and showing that character matters to God. Thank you Mr. Sheets, for saying it like it is.

Sam

Pastor Reproves Lakeland Leaders

Dutch Sheets, founder of Dutch Sheet Ministries, has responded to the post-Lakeland, Todd Bentley fallout. He also repented on behalf of the charismatic community.

[08.22.08] In an extremely personal letter made public yesterday, Colorado megachurch pastor Dutch Sheets admonished those who publicly commissioned revivalist Todd Bentley in June for allegedly ignoring concerns shared with them about Bentley and for performing an “apostolic alignment” ceremony with Bentley in front of an international audience on GOD TV.

“Those who ‘aligned’ Todd with spiritual fathers [should] have realized to do so publicly was a mistake,” Sheets stated, “and could be interpreted by those watching in no other way than as a complete endorsement.” He said the alignment should’ve been carried out privately.

The letter marked the first time Sheets publicly shares his opinion about the revival meetings in Lakeland, Fla. He especially lamented the apparent failure of Bentley’s “spiritual fathers,” who appeared on stage in Lakeland during the “alignment” ceremony, to discern and act properly.

Sheets wrote the letter one week after Bentley announced he was separating from his wife and that he had been involved in an emotional affair with another woman—two scandalous revelations that came days before Bentley’s departure from Lakeland to take his anointing on the road.

Sheets said the purpose of his writing was threefold: “To see healing begin for the body of Chris
t; to initiate a process that can remove the reproach brought to Christ and the Church; and to do these things while preserving and honoring my current relationships.”
Even though the apostolic alignment ceremony and Bentley’s various doctrines and practices made him extremely uneasy over the past four months, to the point of a “sickening feeling deep in my spirit,” Sheets said he never felt released by the Lord to voice those concerns, at least not publicly, until now.

He self-agonized over his own intentions in writing the letter, even candidly asking: “Who among us clearly sees all [that’s] hidden in our own hearts?”

“Personally, I've been right at times with my discernment and decisions, wrong at others,” he stated. “It would be worse than hypocritical for me to point the finger of accusation—I have no stones of judgment to throw.”

But he said that after many hours of prayer and thought he decided to do what “will be arguably
one of the greatest risks of my ministry to date, but one I feel must be taken.”

“When something has the potential of setting precedent, birthing a movement and being reproduced as a prototype, we are no longer simply endorsing good brothers, good intentions and miracles,” he stated. “Doctrine and foundations will be built on these events. Teachings and paradigms for future ministries will be formed … the next generation of the church and the move of God in the earth could be greatly impacted.”

Sheets took time in his letter to particularly emphasize his deep love and respect for C. Peter Wagner and his wife, Doris. Wagner leads the International Coalition of Apostles, of which Sheets is a member, and he attends services at Sheets’ Freedom Church in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Wagner was the one who helped organize the June 23 apostolic alignment service that publicly commissioned Bentley in Lakeland and placed him under the authority of pastors John Arnott, Bill Johnson and Ché Ahn—three senior leaders of an apostolic group called Revival Alliance—all of whom reacted with shock last week after hearing Bentley had separated from his wife.

Despite Wagner’s involvement in the ceremony, and despite many others who participated in the Lakeland Outpouring, Sheets said they are all “some of my closest friends.”

He offered strong affirmation for the “hearts and character” of those friends, but said criticism was necessary as well. “All of us lose credibility at this point if we're not completely honest,” he said. “It is completely appropriate—when true—to defend a person's heart and integrity while disagreeing with their actions,” Sheets stated, referring to the June 23 public commissioning service. “I think the blunder of that night was huge and very damaging to the body of Christ, but I also realize that in their hearts, those involved honestly felt they were doing the right things.”

In response to Sheets’ open letter, Wagner told Charisma today that he appreciated the overall sentiments expressed by his longtime friend. “I think Dutch’s statement is a very positive step forward in bringing order out of chaos [in] the big picture,” he said.

In addition to pointing out his issues with the Lakeland Outpouring, Sheets said “the bigger picture” of his letter was to point the body of Christ and himself toward honesty, healing and repentance.

“My primary purpose, and I believe my assignment from the Lord,” he said, “is to identificationally repent on behalf of the leadership of the charismatic body of Christ.”

Sheets said that for many years the leaders of the charismatic community have operated in an extremely low level of discernment. “We assume a person’s credibility based on gifts, charisma, the size of their ministry or church, whether they can prophesy or work a miracle,” he said.

“When a spiritual leader we’re connected with violates trust, is exposed for immorality, or falls below other accepted standards of behavior, it does not exonerate us simply to say we don't condone such behavior. Those we lead trust us to let them know whom to trust. We have failed them miserably in this regard.
“For this lack of discernment, and for employing and passing on inappropriate standards of judgment, I repent to the Lord and ask forgiveness of the body of Christ,” he said.

He compared the “spin” of church leaders to that of politicians in Washington, D.C., caught in scandals. “Every time another embarrassing and disgraceful situation is exposed, the dancing begins,” he said of leaders in the charismatic community.

“For not accepting and acknowledging our responsibility, for caring more about our own reputation than Christ’s, I repent to God and ask forgiveness of the body of Christ.”

Sheets also blasted, and subsequently repented of, the charismatic church’s “incredibly inadequate” accountability, as well as its leadership that has “built on hype, sensation, innovation, programs, personality and charisma.”

He said such immaturity has produced, among other things: “shallowness,” “false movements,” “novice leaders [who are] gifted but immature and untested,” “a deficient understanding of God’s word,” “self-centered Christians who don’t understand sacrifice and commitment,” “superstar leaders,” and “prayerless and anemic Christians.”

Despite the adamant, unflattering, often self-critical nature of his critique, Sheets closed the letter by telling the charismatic community that his “passionate prayer” was to see Bentley’s marriage “survive and thrive,” to see the 32-year-old evangelist put on the path to “complete restoration,” and to let the world know that he thanks God for all those who were touched by the Holy Spirit through the Lakeland Outpouring.—Paul Steven Ghiringhelli

- - - - -

A Statement and Appeal Regarding Lakeland ~ Dutch Sheets ~

August 21, 2008

It has now been a couple of weeks since I heard about Todd Bentley’s plans for separation and divorce. Like everyone, I have had a variety of emotions including anger, sadness, and grief. Every time I see this scenario repeated, I grieve: for the husband and wife involved; for the family that will be scarred in so many ways; because of the incredible reproach it brings to Christ; and the distortion it gives concerning God’s heart and ways. I am praying for Todd and his family.

I was asked numerous times to write my position on Lakeland while it was happening, but always felt checked by the Lord—the waters were too muddy and emotions too high. I now feel strongly that the Lord wants me to do so. It will be arguably one of the greatest risks of my ministry to date, but one I feel must be taken. Fathers, when given the voice to do so, bear the responsibility of giving correction and wisdom. I hope mine qualifies for the latter. I assure you I have spent many hours praying and thinking through the situation.

The risks are broad: with some of my dearest friends and co-laborers, I risk harming those relationships; with many in the charismatic body of Christ, I risk appearing to be an arrogant, “self-appointed” spokesperson for them; to the “I told you so” crowd, I risk the accusation of “spinning” the situation. (As far as the heresy hunters and revival police—not those who raised legitimate questions about Lakeland, but the attack dogs who make their living and build their
ministries criticizing everyone else—I lost respect for them long ago and couldn’t care less what they think.) My purpose and sincere prayer in writing this statement, however, is three-fold: to see healing begin for the body of Christ; to initiate a process that can remove the reproach brought to Christ and the Church; and to do these things while preserving and honoring my current relationships. I pray that these desires, along with my heart, come through loudly. And I hope I’m writing this with true humility—who among us clearly sees all hidden in our own hearts?

Let me also preface this statement by saying that what needs to be said cannot be done quickly or carelessly. I do not want my heart to be missed and am not willing to run that risk for the sake of brevity, so please bear with the length. (Incidentally, I think it will be obvious no one involved in the Lakeland situation has asked me to write this; and for the sake of integrity on my part, none have been consulted concerning what I’m stating.)

Mistakes at Lakeland

Did leaders handling the Lakeland situation make mistakes? Yes—huge mistakes. Beyond the obvious fruit of salvations and healings, can good come from Lakeland, as some have suggested, even with the recent revelations concerning Todd Bentley? Yes, but only if there is complete honesty and transparency, the removal of all attempts at self-preservation, and absolute
humility from all sides.

Did I endorse the Lakeland meetings? No, I did not, nor did I condemn them. I acknowledged that healings were occurring and some were being saved, which I still believe and rejoice over. I realized and stated that the thousands of people attending were hungry and sincere, as were those involved in leading the 2 meetings. The worship was regularly good. But looking past some of the immediate and positive results, I, like many, also looked ahead to the possible fruit from questionable doctrine and experiences, exaggeration and hype, youthful pride, character issues and the frightening potential of a 32 year “young” man leading a movement that could shape the future of the Church. These things were frightening, very frightening, to others and me.

When something has the potential of setting precedent, birthing a movement and being reproduced as a prototype, we are no longer simply endorsing good brothers, good intentions and miracles. Doctrine and foundations will be built on these events. Teachings and paradigms for future ministries will be formed—in short, the next generation of the church and the move of God in the earth could be greatly impacted. This is why I stopped short of endorsing everything at Lakeland. Just as importantly, I could not ignore the “check”, the uneasiness, the sickening feeling deep in my spirit telling me something else was wrong—terribly wrong—in this situation. Like other leaders I tried to push past my uneasiness with the showmanship, the “bams,” the head butts and kneeing, along with certain experiences and doctrines, all in order to embrace the good. Like many of my friends I tried to be—and believe I was — gracious, accepting, ready to think “out of the box”, etc. But try as I may, the uneasiness in my spirit just wouldn’t leave.

Did I voice my concerns to the appropriate people? Yes, including stating my concerns for Todd’s marriage to the Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team. Did they listen? Some did, some didn’t. But I want to state emphatically, this is not an “I told you so” statement. In fact, much of what I want to address goes back several years into our charismatic Christian history. And I assure you that concerning our present weaknesses in the charismatic church, there is plenty of blame to go around. Personally, I’ve been right at times with my discernment and decisions, wrong at others. It would be worse than hypocritical for me to point the finger of accusation—I have no stones of judgment to throw. Nonetheless, mistakes were made and must be acknowledged and learned from in order for us to heal, grow and move forward.

Some of my closest friends endorsed and participated in the Lakeland meetings. For them I have both criticism—all of us lose credibility at this point if we’re not completely honest—and affirmation. Should they have been more discerning and have listened to the warnings they received? Obviously. Should those who “aligned” Todd with spiritual fathers (which was a good thing and positioned him to receive help if he chooses to accept it) have realized to do so publicly was a mistake and could be interpreted by those watching in no other way than as a complete endorsement? Yes, they should have, especially when the event became a commissioning ceremony, complete with decrees and prophecies of going to higher levels, predictions of Todd’s increasing world-wide influence and leading a world-wide revival, emphatic and prolific endorsements of his character, etc.

How could those watching believe the evening was anything but an aligning, endorsing and commissioning ceremony? It was. It really doesn’t matter who laid their hands on Todd—all share responsibility. This was unwise at best, naïve at least and at its worst, foolish. And should the leaders involved have realized that those of us connected to them relationally, ministerially, and as movements—some even in alignment with them apostolically and as sons and daughters—would feel minimalized, if not betrayed, by the fact that they were in essence taking us onto the stage with them? Yes. These feelings were inevitable, especially when we had such uneasiness and asked them not to. Should there be an acknowledgment of these mistakes to the body of Christ for the sake of accountability and in order to rebuild trust? I believe so, and remain hopeful this will happen.

With such strong statements of disagreement, what is the affirmation toward my friends who led, participated in or endorsed this ceremony (and the meetings in general)? Simply stated, I know their hearts. It is not a contradiction of my criticisms toward some of their actions to, at the same time, defend and endorse their hearts and character. It is completely appropriate—when true—to defend a person’s heart and integrity while disagreeing with their actions. I think the blunder of that night was huge and very damaging to the body of Christ, but I also realize that in their hearts, those involved honestly felt they were doing the right things.

Again, while not defending the action taken, I would defend the character and integrity of Peter and Doris Wagner as vigorously as anyone I know, and do so with absolute confidence. There are no two people, and I mean that literally, who embody the qualities of humility, integrity, holiness (no compromise!), sacrifice, unselfish kingdom-thinking, the tireless giving of themselves to Christ’s cause and the body of Christ—and do I need to add risk-taking?—as much as Peter and Doris Wagner. It remains my great honor to be associated with them and call them a spiritual father and mother. And again, while not minimizing or “sweeping under the rug” any wrong decisions, I remain steadfast in my belief that similar affirmations could be made of others involved—either directly or indirectly—in the ceremony. And some of them still see their endorsing of Lakeland as an endorsement of revival generally, not of Todd personally.

The Bigger Picture

It may come as a surprise, however, that my real purpose in writing this is not to only state the above, as important as I believe saying it is. My primary purpose, and I believe my assignment from the Lord, is to identificationally repent on behalf of the leadership of the charismatic body of Christ (see Nehemiah 1:4- 7; Daniel 9:1-19). In doing so, I do not have a pompous, “no one else will, so I’ll do it” attitude, nor am I arrogant enough to think I have become the spokesperson for the charismatic church. But in the same way that I can identify with the racism of white predecessors and repent to blacks, Native Americans and other races, I can represent the leadership of the charismatic body of Christ and identificationally repent for our sins and weaknesses. I encourage leaders who find my statements true and appropriate to join me. Beyond the simple fact of it being appropriate, I firmly believe it is the only way to begin the process of rebuilding trust with those asked to follow us and to remove the cynicism of the world we ask to listen to us. As you know, regaining credibility is much more difficult than attaining credibility.

Concerning what I’m about to say, I don’t believe I have a critical spirit, nor do I want to diminish the sacrifices, faithfulness, and hard work done by so many in ministry. The fact remains, however, that we have failed the Lord and His people in many ways—not just with Lakeland but in countless other situations — and must repent if we are to be trusted in the future. And as you also know, no repentance is effective if watered down and couched in excuses, therefore, I intend to be brutally honest:

1) We, the leaders of the charismatic community, have operated in an extremely low level of discernment. Frankly, we often don’t even try to discern. We assume a person’s credibility based on gifts, charisma, the size of their ministry or church, whether they can prophesy or work a miracle, etc. (Miracles and signs are intended to validate God and His message, not the messenger; sometimes they validate the assignment of an individual, but never the person’s character, lifestyle or spiritual maturity.) We leaders in the Church have become no different than the world around us in our standards for measuring success and greatness. This has contributed to the body of Christ giving millions of dollars to undeserving individuals; it has allowed people living in sin to become influential leaders—even to lead movement, allowing them influence all the way to the White House. Through our lack of discernment we built their stages and gave them their platforms. We have been gullible beyond words—gullible leaders producing gullible sheep.

When a spiritual leader we’re connected with violates trust, is exposed for immorality or falls below other accepted standards of behavior, it does not exonerate us simply to say we don’t condone such behavior. Those we lead trust us to let them know whom to trust. We have failed them miserably in this regard. For this lack of discernment, and for employing and passing on
inappropriate standards of judgment, I repent to the Lord and ask forgiveness of the body of Christ.

2) We, the leaders of the charismatic church, spin our involvement and fail to acknowledge our responsibility when other leaders fall—all of which stems from our self-preservation and pride. Enough of the spin—we’re no different than Washington, DC. Every time another embarrassing and disgraceful situation is exposed, the dancing begins. It seems that no one bears any real responsibility except the man or woman who actually commits sin. Incredibly, we even blame “revival” itself—the pressures, attacks, weariness, the “revival is messy” argument, etc., saying it is responsible for the failures. This is
disgusting. Those of us on boards of fallen leaders, those who helped give them a voice, put them on TV, published and endorsed their books (yes, I have), etc., are not exonerated simply by saying we don’t condone the wrong behavior or that we didn’t know. We’re supposed to know.

I don’t believe anyone is expecting perfection from us—I know I’m not. We’re far too human for that. But we are expected to have enough humility to look the world and those who follow us in the eye when we miss it and say, “we were wrong and we are sorry.” Our careless accountability has caused the body of Christ to be spiritually raped and abused. It has produced disillusionment and brought immeasurable reproach to our God and cynicism to His message. Concerning Lakeland, what was called the “greatest revival since Azusa Street” has become possibly one of the greatest reproaches. We, the leaders of the charismatic church, are responsible.

For not accepting and acknowledging our responsibility, for caring more about our own reputation than Christ’s, I repent to God and ask forgiveness of the body of Christ.

3) Our procedures and standards of accountability are incredibly inadequate. We have provided camaraderie, not biblical accountability. For those on Todd Bentley’s board who had previous knowledge of his marriage problems and said nothing, it was more than a mistake—it was reckless, foolish, and irresponsible. For those on the stage the night of his aligning and commissioning who knew and said nothing—ditto. For those there who didn’t know, my question is, “why didn’t you?” You were trusted to know. That is one of the purposes of public commissioning and the purpose behind the concept of endorsement. I’m not trying to point the finger; I’m endeavoring to get us to be honest about our failures—we have serious credibility issues. Have I ever laid hands on, commissioned or endorsed anyone without adequately checking them out? Yes, but you better believe I’ll be more careful next time!

And we must not single out Lakeland. We’re all guilty. What about the leader in my city who ran with some of the leading spiritual fathers in our nation—sincere and good men, I might add, and not all “charismatic” leaders—who sang his praises and helped build his stage—all while he was doing drugs and having sex with other men? But we shouldn’t blame only the high profile cases—what about those of us who unknowingly have had adulterers on our staffs or appointed elders that turned out to have compromise in their life? Sounding familiar yet?

This is so epidemic that every member of the body of Christ stands guilty—what pastor or leader did you follow that turned out to have sin issues? What ministry did you support that was unworthy? There is plenty of blame to go around. The big question becomes not “who do we blame” but “how do we fix this mess?”

Leaders can live in sin—adultery, homosexuality, financial wrongdoing, drugs, etc.—for years without it being realized. They can offer completely unacceptable lifestyles for the body of Christ to follow and still keep their TV programs and lavish lifestyles. In the name of grace, compassion and forgiveness we have lowered the standard so much that often there isn’t one. We have bought into the lie that true discipline is “shooting our wounded.” We have made a mockery of biblical restoration, making “ministry”—not healthy individuals, marriages and families—its ultimate goal. The fact is, integrity matters. No, we don’t need legalistic, pharisaical standards, but we must have standards.

For this lack of biblical accountability, I repent to God and I ask forgiveness of the body of Christ.

4) We, the leaders of the charismatic church, have built on hype, sensation, innovation, programs, personality and charisma. This has produced: shallowness; false movements; novice leaders—gifted but immature and untested; a deficient understanding of God’s word; the building of man-centered rather than kingdom-centered churches and ministries; competition rather than cooperation; humanistic, self-centered Christians who don’t understand sacrifice and commitment; Christians without discernment; superstar leaders; a perverted and powerless gospel; prayerless and anemic Christians; a replacement of the fear of the Lord with the fear of man; and a young generation that is cynical of it all. We are responsible, not the devil; he takes what we give him.

For this compromise in the way we build, for giving the Church watered down wine, commercial Christianity, a flashy but weak Church and hype disguised as anointing, I repent to God and ask forgiveness of the body of Christ.

Galatians 6:1-5 is an appropriate reference with which to end this statement: “Brethren, even if a man caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one shall bear his own load.” NAS

My passionate prayer is that God honors this repentance—I believe He led me to do it and therefore, will—and uses it to begin a process of cleansing and healing for all of us. In order for the coming great awakening to bear maximum fruit we must have both, as well as a course correction that sets us on a path of wisdom leading to life. There is no doubt that past moves of God have been aborted, ended prematurely and contained error or heresy that have wounded, if not destroyed, many. The healing revival of the 40’s and 50’s, the charismatic movement, discipleship movement and Jesus movement are all examples. My heart is to help shape a movement, the fruit of which will last for decades—better yet, forever. And I have great expectations for us—I am not a cynic.

My passionate prayer is also that Todd Bentley’s marriage survives and thrives…that he turns his heart fully toward Christ and toward those with whom he is aligned, and allows them, as God leads, to put him on a path of complete restoration. I thank God for those who were touched by the Holy Spirit at Lakeland and while watching it on God TV and the web. May we all move forward into all God has planned for us in this awesome season of endless possibility.

With great hope—Dutch Sheets

Where are The Spiritual Fathers?

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:12:00 +0000

A good friend just today wrote something that I think needs to be shouted from the roof tops and I thought I would share it in light of the ongoing discussions coming out of the charismatic movement, in particular as they deal with all the "accountability" issues being raised.

On that matter Stephen Strang had some good points in a previous post:

"About a week ago Wagner issued a statement about the commissioning process, which I believe was needed and very helpful. Little did any of us know that within a matter of days revelations would come out about Bentley. In 20/20 hindsight perhaps we should have seen it coming.

* -Anyone who is in services 4 to 6 hours a day, 7 days a week for weeks on end is bound to have some type of breakdown.
* -Anyone who covers himself with tattoos while in the ministry raises questions about his stability.
* -Anyone who talks about the "Angel of the Healing Revival" that ministered to A.A. Allen and William Branham must have overlooked the fact that Allen and Branham both were discredited with moral shortcomings.
* -Anyone who baptizes people in the name of the Father, the Son "and BAM" is playing lightly with the Holy Spirit and is bordering on blasphemy.

Many of us who long for revival saw the hungry people coming to Lakeland and witnessed the powerful anointing. We recognize that God can use flawed people (because He uses us!), yet we had major questions about Bentley. But rather than censoring him, we wanted to help correct the problems.

Now is the time for Bentley to be corrected. But it would also be good for Arnott, Ahn and Johnson, as well as other leaders such as Wagner, to issue a statement to the body of Christ to help the tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands who were affected by the outpouring understand what is going on spiritually.

Because all of these men endorsed the revival, it might even be appropriate for them to issue an apology. Some of Bentley's critics say an apology is necessary.

Perhaps some of the problems would have been prevented if men had spoken into Bentley's life several months ago. As good as it is to have an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff to help the injured, it is much better to have a fence at the top of the cliff to prevent someone from going over." ~ Stephen Strang ~

My friend Jay had this to say:

"For the most part, I don't think this is about Todd Bentley. Those who implicated themselves in this mess now pleading for mercy, grace, and restoration for Bentley is/was to be expected. What else can they do? Otherwise they might have to repent for driving the get-a-way car for Todd Bentley's flesh. Paul didn't fall all over himself, cutting Corinthian flesh a bunch of apostolic slack. He called it like it was, and took the rejection that came from his straight talking.

The real problem that has been revealed in this mess is the over reaching that is going on at the top of the apostolic/prophetic movement. These men are not novices. This is not the time or place for white washing their "Fischer Price" solutions/("alignment") agenda.

When someone who sees himself as the "top of the line," urges others to come into "alignment," that just plain goes to far. This is not about Bentley's flesh, this is about abuse of power posturing as spiritual.

Why is a Catholic Pope questionable, and a "charismatic" chief apostle acceptable? By now it should be clear that neither one is of The Spirit. This is nothing more than fivefold religious ambition, caught taking advantage of a high profile manifestation of the flesh, and trying to put a face saving spin on it.

Come on! We have been around for too many years, and been watching this kind of thing for too long to coddle it any longer.

I heard and was encouraged by Bill Johnson's positive reference to spiritual fathers, but it remains to be seen if those who are increasingly open to that dimension see it as a matter of The Lordship of Jesus, or just another opportunity for flesh to create more down line.

This is not about Saving Private Bentley! It is about protecting all the "little ones" who have been offended by the charismatic pyrotechnics, and the maneuvering of the "apostolic/prophetic" power brokers.

Blessings!"

So now we can see that the lack of authentic relationships ends up being the undoing of lives, no matter how dynamic the ministry and gifts may have operated. At the end of the day the words of John Wimber ring true, "God always chooses character over gifting." Nothing could be more important than this. Godly character, sacrificial love, a brotherhood of intimate warriors, locked arms together, looking out for each other, now that is worth dying for!

Nice to Celebrate Passages! Happy Birthday Brad!

noreply@blogger.com (rtsimplicity) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:09:00 +0000

Brad is my brother in law. We don't see each other enough. As men it is important to remember important passages, like birthdays! So we sent Brad a card by email. Here it is!

Take care Brad! Enjoy your day! Enjoy your family! Your extended family wish you well! Have a great day!

Your brother Sam!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Rogers Offers Cheaper iPhone Plan After Outcry

noreply@blogger.com (samthemacman) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:54:00 +0000

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=64318
Wojtek Dabrowski, Reuters Published: Wednesday, July 09, 2008

More On This Story

GettyApple fans form a queue at a Softbank Mobile shop in Tokyo on July 9. iPhone afficionados have traded sleep and comfort for the thrill of being one of the first to buy the coveted handset in Tokyo.

TORONTO -- Rogers Communications Inc., the exclusive service provider for the Apple iPhone 3G in Canada, has added a lower-priced plan for sending and receiving data over the handset after a wave of criticism over its original pricing options.

Rogers said on Wednesday it would offer a promotional, 6-gigabyte plan for $30 a month. It will be available to those who activate by Aug. 31 on a three-year contract and can be added to any voice plans currently available.

Rogers also said it will limit purchases of Apple Inc's iPhone 3G, available in Canada on Friday, to two per customer due to "anticipated high demand."

The Toronto-based company said 6 GB of data capacity will enable a customer to visit 35,952 web pages or send and receive 157,286 e-mails or watch 6,292 minutes of YouTube videos every month.

Rogers (RCI.A/TSX) first announced voice and data plans for the iPhone 3G on June 27, ranging in price from $60 to $115 a month. Those prices include unlimited Wi-Fi access at Rogers hotspots and those of its Fido subsidiary.

The plans prompted an immediate outcry from consumers. A protest website at www.ruinediphone.com claims it had gathered more than 56,000 electronic signatures and letters of complaint.

The website is also encouraging consumers to cancel their Rogers accounts.

Carmi Levy, an industry analyst at AR Communications, said the bad press Rogers received as a result of its iPhone plans may serve as a lesson to others on pricing their products.

"It's completely out of line with what Americans are paying for similar service," Levy said. "The degree of difference was what was so galling to Canadians this time."

Canadians have long bemoaned high cost of wireless service compared with what U.S. consumers pay, and many blame lack of competition in a thinly populated country that stretches across six time zones.

Aside from Rogers, only Telus Corp and BCE Inc are national carriers, and Rogers is the only one of the three with the GSM wireless technology that the iPhone uses.

Rogers' top-end $115 plan will buy 800 weekday minutes for voice calling and unlimited time at evenings and weekends.

It will allow users to send 300 text messages and have 2 gigabytes of data usage - something that Rogers has said is enough for about 1 million text e-mails, or 16,000 Web pages, or 7,000 photo attachments.

By comparison, AT&T (T/NYSE), the exclusive iPhone service provider in the United States, offers unlimited 3G iPhone data plans for US$30 a month in addition to voice plans that start at US$39.99 a month.

The iPhone combines Apple's ubiquitous iPod portable music player with a smartphone that can receive e-mails wirelessly and let users browse the Internet.

"This is probably the most important product launch in the history of Rogers," Levy said.

Having the iPhone in its stable is a big plus for Rogers ahead of the back-to-school season and the holidays - two periods during which consumers snap up new handsets.

In the long term, it gives Rogers a leg up as the market moves away from older wireless technologies and toward third-generation, or 3G, products, he said.

It also helps it ready itself for stiffer competition following an auction of wireless spectrum that's currently under way and likely to yield new entrants.

"The landscape is about to change significantly for Rogers," Levy said. "They have to go into this period from a position of strength. The iPhone 3G is what's going to let them do it or accomplish it."

Prices for the phone itself are almost the same in Canada and the United States - $199 for the 8 GB version or $299 for the 16 GB version.

But Rogers requires a three-year contract while AT&T asks for a two-year commitment.

On Wednesday, Rogers shares were up 46 cents to $39.70 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.