Todd Bentley Removed from Ministry

7 CommentsNews, Ridiculous!

Todd Bentley, leader of the counterfeit revival in Florida and elsewhere is stepping down. Here’s a news release from the “Fresh Fire Ministries” Board of Directors:

“We wish to acknowledge… that since our last statement from the Fresh Fire Board of Directors, we have discovered new information revealing that Todd Bentley has entered into an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff. In light of this new information and in consultation with his leaders and advisors, Todd Bentley has agreed to step down from his position on the Board of Directors and to refrain from all public ministry for a season to receive counsel in his personal life.”

John Piper, on his Desiring God blog writes this concerning the foolishness down in Lakeland, Florida:

Lee Grady, the editor of Charisma, one of the main charismatic magazines, has written a lament and critique of the Lakeland “revival” which is now in a tailspin over the leader’s announced separation from his wife. Grady’s summons to pray for the church and our nation is right, and among his commendable questions and observations are these:

  • “Many of us would rather watch a noisy demonstration of miracles, signs and wonders than have a quiet Bible study. Yet we are faced today with the sad reality that our untempered zeal is a sign of immaturity. Our adolescent craving for the wild and crazy makes us do stupid things. It’s way past time for us to grow up.”
  • “True revival will be accompanied by brokenness, humility, reverence and repentance—not the arrogance, showmanship and empty hype that often was on display in Lakeland.”
  • “A prominent Pentecostal evangelist called me this week after Bentley’s news hit the fan. He said to me: ‘I’m now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up because they have no discernment.’ Ouch. Hopefully we’ll learn our lesson this time and apply the necessary caution when an imposter shows up.”

Charismatics will not be the only ones who follow the Antichrist when he rises. So will the mass of those who today in thousands of evangelical churches belittle the truth of biblical doctrine as God’s agent to set us free (John 8:32).

Discernment is not created in God’s people by brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance. It is created by biblical truth and the application of truth by the power of the Holy Spirit to our hearts and minds. When that happens, then the brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance will have the strong fiber of the full counsel of God in them. They will be profoundly Christian and not merely religious and emotional and psychological.

Read Tony Miano’s suggestions on how Christians should respond to this tragedy here.

Read about an evangelism team’s experiences while preaching to those attending a Bentley Revival meeting here!

Comments (7)

  1. dede

    Reply

    sorry, but when you get to be as old as i am you tend to gain some valuable experience in your walk with Christ.

    i was a product of the benny hinn fiasco. although i was already truely saved at the time, i found myself getting swayed by “sensationalism” of the supernatural. i once dragged my dear husband and kids to one of these crusades and was very embarrassed that i exposed my family to basically nothingness. i went expecting to “feel” something and hoping i would get “slain in the Spirit”.

    thankfully as time went on the Lord weaned me from those stupid shows of “prosperity preachers” and gently lead me back to Himself…no bangs, no bells, no cymbals,

    i would like to encourage my like-minded family- of -Christ to continue preaching the message. if someone was outside preaching to me maybe i wouldn’t have wasted so much time coming back to the One that saved my soul.

  2. m e brooks

    Reply

    Pride comes before the Fall. A false prophet. Wolf in sheep skins. He taught heresy and lived like a heretic. I am ashamed at the Church and its’ lack of Discernment concerning this man’s teachings. Ashamed.

  3. Linda Spagnola

    Reply

    It is easy to gage the true from the false portions of the body of Christ from the reaction to what went on in Florida. Sad to say, the ministry that Todd Bentley is part of, which includes people like Rick Joyner, still claims in some respects that this was a move of God/started out as/still is (depending upon which version you read/listen to). They may have removed Todd from the front lines for the time being so he can get counseling, but those who are members of the same movement have not fully repented of the falsehood of that movement. This “Prophetic Movement” out of KS has been around for years: it has a new agey edge to it and those at the head of it are blind to what they have become. I know one of the people who were once part of this “ministry” and who has left it due to the blatant falsehood and ungodliness it perpetrates – and the wasteland of spoiled human spirit it has left in its wake. As followers of Christ, our only Spiritual Head, it is our responsibility to test/discern all spirits to see if they are of God. We can accomplish this only if we are committed to Christ and approach the situation with all humbleness. The people who followed Todd and this movement, and those that still do put themselves before God. Only when Christ and Father are the center of our worship will we be able to discern true from false movement. It is not about listening to what others say, but rather, what God says. It is not about expecting God to bless us, but rather, we take the time to bless Him with our worship. The madness in Florida was not about worshipping God, but about ‘oing to get’, which Todd made very clear in his word usage. Let us pray for those who are still in the grip of deceptiveness.

  4. Gladstone Bhasme

    Reply

    It’s my observation that ALL human beings have something to hide!
    We are all sinners – even the ones who are quick to point an accusing finger at someone else – and such accusers are only disciples of Satan – the Chief Accuser.
    Such accusers are far more clever than the accused in hiding their own sins.
    Only the Perfect should ‘throw stones’!!!!!
    I am a follower of Jesus Christ and have a deep desire to become more and more like Christ – but I find myself like Paul in the Bible “doing things I don’t want to do or not doing things I want to do”.
    When I sincerely confess my sins He is faithful and just to forgive my sins!!
    Only Christ in us makes us stand totally righteous before God our Father.
    I certainly DO NOT SUPPORT sin of any kind and I don’t understand everything that folks like Todd Bentley do – but I love Todd Bentley and all those accused – because the work that God has started in them (and in me) HE WILL COMPLETE in due course – even if we seem imperfect for a while!!

  5. Brad

    Reply

    Gladstone

    There is nothing Christian about Todd Bentley who has shown to the world he is a liar, a thief, a womanizer, an adulterers, a home breaker, a false prophet, and a nut! He is no different than many pagans who are in prison for their crimes! Todd Bentley needs to be saved if not delivered from all the demons that have entered his body, life and ministry

  6. Nat

    Reply

    You missed some of the article – the last two paragraphs. It would be helpful to tell us it was not a complete quote.

    Thanks.

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