Thread by @TaylorMatthewD

Evangelical twitter is atwit about the #AsburyRevival. Per @drleahpayne, this Methodist school has a history of such outbreaks.

https://twitter.com/drleahpayne/status/1624507669238419456

I thought I'd offer some history on how the #NewApostolicReformation reacted to something similar 15 yrs ago at Lakeland, FL. 1/

What I tried to capture in my Charismatic Revival Fury series (icjs.org/charismatic-re…) is that the #NewApostolicReformation & Charismatic folks in general are magnetized to the idea of revival, the extraordinary inbreaking of divine-power manifestations in the mundane world. 2/

One semi-recent such magnetic event occurred, in April 2008, in Lakeland, FL. Pastor Stephen Strader of Ignited Church invited Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley to lead a 1-week revival. wrldrels.org/2016/10/08/flo… But the 1 wk extended to 4 mos of nightly mtngs led by Bentley. 3/

Bentley was a caustic figure, 32 at the time, w/ tattoos galore, a juvenile record, & a wild-man/biker vibe. But everyone was eager for revival, & many Pentecostal & Charismatic leaders rationalized it w/ a “John the Baptist was also a wild man” style of motivated reasoning. 4/

At the nightly revival mtngs, Bentley would frequently tell stories of God giving him “faith” to heal people by kicking old people in the face or punching them. But who could deny that there was something extraordinary happening in Lakeland that summer? 5/

A few weeks in, GodTV, a Charismatic global TV network, began carrying the “Lakeland Outpouring” mtngs live nightly, simulcasting Todd Bentley’s peculiar preaching & *kinetic* healing style. It was the 1st globally telecast American revival. You can still find footage online. 6/

Enter C. Peter Wagner & the #NewApostolicReformation. Wagner was presiding apostle of the Int’l Coalition of Apostles. Pastor Stephen Strader was a member of ICA, & he appealed to Wagner for help bringing stability to Bentley’s outrageous style & keeping the revival on track. 7/

Many #NAR leaders were jazzed about Lakeland, & Wagner believed (based on prophecies from Chuck Pierce & Cindy Jacobs) that if they could bring Bentley into “apostolic alignment”–i.e. submission to apostles–the revival would be steadied & join the NAR’s global dominion plans. 8/

Ché Ahn & other members of Ahn’s Revival Alliance (a Toronto Blessing network w/ Bill Johnson, John Arnott, etc.) offered to vouch for Bentley & be the primary apostles he would align with. So Wagner set about organizing a grand “alignment ceremony” for Bentley in June 2008. 9/

The Bentley “alignment ceremony” became one of the most infamous moments in #NewApostolicReformation history. Wagner gathered his own NAR leaders, Revival Alliance apostles, & leaders from Rick Joyner’s MorningStar network as a show of apostolic force. churchwatchcentral.com/2017/08/05/ble… 10/

The New Apostolic Reformation & Associates blessed, imparted, aligned, & prophesied over Bentley on live GodTV w/ Wagner presiding the ceremony & 100s of 1000s of viewers on 6/23/08. It was a public unveiling for the Apostolic & Prophetic Movement. And then it all fell apart. 11/

A few weeks after the ceremony, ABC’s Nightline published an exposé on Bentley. They showed that not a single supernatural occurrence from Lakeland could be verified. A few weeks later, Bentley separated from his wife & took up with a ministry intern. 12/

This was a crushing blow to Wagner, the #NAR, & the burgeoning global Apostolic & Prophet Movt. Wagner was inundated w/ emails from apostles who were irate, & some left ICA & even his inner circle in response. The fallout bw Dutch Sheets & Wagner was rooted in this debacle. 13/

I’ve wondered before whether the #NAR’s political mobilization around Sarah Palin (who attended a NAR-aligned church in Alaska) in the 2008 election cycle wasn’t severely curtailed by Wagner & his circle having to deal w/ the fallout of the Bentley implosion that summer/fall. 14/

The #NAR & other apostolic leaders, now saddled with Bentley, created a jerry-rigged “restoration process” for Bentley that allowed him to return to ministry a few years later, only to disintegrate into similar scandal in 2019-2020. christianitytoday.com/news/2020/janu… 15/

So when I see Todd Bentley descending on the #AsburyRevival (self-awareness much?!),

https://twitter.com/TaylorMatthewD/status/1625311388934479873

, when I see Cindy Jacobs (

https://twitter.com/cindyjacobs/status/1623898315086565376

) & Lance Wallnau eagerly endorse it (facebook.com/LanceWallnau/v…), the historical hairs on the back of my neck stand up. 16/

When I see #SeanFeucht angling to assoc. the #AsburyRevival w/ his Xn Supremacist worship brand

https://twitter.com/seanfeucht/status/1625183750056443905

, my unsolicited advice to any who want to see whatever is happening at Asbury flourish is: Mind your bedfellows. Revival is easily hijacked to other ends. 17/17

A two-day update to this thread: Yesterday both Dutch Sheets’ GiveHim15 broadcast & Lance Wallnau’s daily podcast podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… were devoted to them full-throatedly supporting the #AsburyRevival. 18/

Not only were Dutch Sheets & Lance Wallnau (as I argue in Charismatic Revival Fury icjs.org/charismatic-re…) 2 of the most influential Christian leaders in galvanizing the #January6th Capitol Riot, they were both instrumentally involved in the 2008 Lakeland Debacle. 19/

Just in case you need 1 more NAR-Lakeland-Asbury connection: Steve Strang (CEO Charisma Media) had Jim Garlow (Trump adviser & convener of the Election Integrity Prayer Calls mobilizing for #January6th) on his podcast yesterday podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jim… to talk #AsburyRevival. 20/

In that intrvw, Jim Garlow theorizes how his Alt. Alt. Prayer Breakfast (& full-on #January6th-inspired liturgy) w/ Tony Perkins at Museum of the Bible in early Feb might have released something that led to this revival.

https://twitter.com/TaylorMatthewD/status/1622083562953482242

It’s turtles all the way down. 21/