Why Are We So Gullible?

Yesterday Ed Stetzer wrote and excellent post on the Todd Bentley fiasco entitled evangelical gullibility... 

On April 3, 2008 Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley was invited to speak to the Ignited Church of Lakeland, FL. Though he was only scheduled to be there for 5 days, he remained for 3 months during what he considered to be the biggest pentecostal revival since Azusa Street. Now Bentley is stepping down after filing for separation from his wife and admitting to an inappropriate relationship with another woman on his staff.

J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine, offers a voice of reasoned critique in his recent article on Todd Bentley and the Lakeland fiasco. Grady asks some hard questions in his article…

Why did so many people flock to Lakeland from around the world to rally behind an evangelist who had serious credibility issues from the beginning?

To put it bluntly, we’re just plain gullible.

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.

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.”

Why did God TV tell people that “any criticism of Todd Bentley is demonic”?

This ridiculous statement was actually made on one of God TV’s pre-shows. In fact, the network’s hosts also warned listeners that if they listened to criticism of Bentley, they could lose their healings.

This is cultic manipulation at its worst… Just because we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit does not mean we check our brains at the church door. We are commanded to test the spirits. Jesus wants us to love Him with our hearts and our minds.

But among those who jumped on the Lakeland bandwagon, discernment was discouraged. Followers were expected to swallow and follow.

Why did Peter Wagner and California pastors Che Ahn and Bill Johnson, along with Canadian pastor John Arnott, lay hands on Bentley and publicly ordain him and bring him under their care?

Bentley certainly needed such covering. No one in ministry today should be out on their own, living in isolation without checks, balances and wise counsel. It was commendable that Wagner reached out to Bentley and that Bentley acknowledged his need for spiritual fathers by agreeing to submit to the process. The question remains, however, whether it was wise to commend Bentley during a televised commissioning service that at times seemed more like a king’s coronation.

Wagner proclaimed that the commissioning represented a powerful spiritual transaction taking place in the invisible world.

“With this in mind, I take the apostolic authority that God has given me and I decree to Todd Bentley:

• Your power will increase.
• Your authority will increase.
• Your favor will increase.
• Your influence will increase.
• Your revelation will increase.

I also decree that:

• A new supernatural strength will flow through this ministry.
• A new life force will penetrate this move of God.
• A government will be established to set things in their proper order.
• God will pour out a higher level of discernment to distinguish truth from error.
• New relationships will surface to open gates for the future.”

In hindsight, we can all see that it would have been better to take Bentley into a back room and talk about his personal and theological issues.

So why are we so gullible? How do we become so desperate for signs and wonders that we will check our brains at the door? How do otherwise reasonable men and women watch this stuff on TV and become convinced the answer for their struggling church is for their pastor to get on a plane and catch some “fresh fire?”

Ed Stetzer points out that his is not just a Charismatic or Pentecostal tendency, Christians everywhere are forwarding emails about the FCC's phony plan to ban religious braoadcasting, signing up to have emails sent to the loved ones after the rapture, and watching Christian television for its theological depth.

As pastors, how do we teach discernment without coming across as being judgmental, jealous or arrogant? How do we guard our people from the kind of manipulation used by God TV? What are the underlying issues that could cause so many people to check their common sense at the door?

Finally, many of you remember that Dr. George Wood issued a statement along with the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God to provide some scriptural guidelines for assessment of revivals. I’ve got to admit that there are times when I feel denominationalism is overly bureaucratic and irrelevant, but it is in times like these that I am grateful to be in a fellowship with other ministers who have prayerfully searched the scriptures and strive together to maintain order and accountability. 

Comments

[George P. Wood]

Good post, Paul! (As always.) I know it's a very unpostmodern thing to say, but I think we Pentecostals and evangelicals could use a little more rationalism in our theology. Or maybe we should just all read Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards and Dynamics of the Spiritual Life by Richard Lovelace. And maybe we should just throw every Peter Wagner book we own into the trash.

[jessica]

I am so with you on this one. Too many people are fooled into thinking emotional euphorias and chaos are signs of the Holy Spirit.

The more I have seen of Todd Bentley through the internet, the more I 1) think he should be arrested for assault for the way he punches people to heal them 2)have wondered why in the world leadership has been so timid about criticizing him.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see these things.

[Josh Potter]

It was nice connecting with you and your wife yesterday. I was very cautious about this whole thing, but was willing to give it time. I was always nervous that there was not very much preaching of the gospel. Anyhow, thanks for the post I was wondering what was going on down there.

[Eric]

Great post - and now it seems the depth of this disaster runs even deeper with the recent revelation from John Arnott (posted on his site) that Todd has been "excessively drinking", which may confirm rumors that Bentley was hanging out in bars while in Lakeland.