A Bondservant of Jesus Christ

The Case Against Todd Bentley, Part II

2010-03-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

Now on to Todd's restoration into ministry.

I don't think we need to take as much time on this as we did on the previous item because the Bible gives us the standard that needs to be followed when it comes to leaders in the Church, and someone who leads an evangelistic ministry such as this, has to fall under the guidelines established in Timothy and Titus, specifically as it describes overseers.

I Timothy 3: 2-8, 12

Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.

Titus 1: 6-8

An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

For brevities sake, lets just take a look at key points from what has been highlighted in bold letters from the above passages:

'must be above reproach'; one definition of the word applies well here: to be a cause of blame or discredit to. Was Todd the cause of blame or discredit to... the Body of Christ? We have to look no further than Lakeland circa 2008 to get that answer. Thousands upon thousands went to this so-called revival for a healing from God and came away from it the same way they arrived. Here are some video clips of Justin Peters, who went down to the revival when it was at it's peak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNc4_eQmedQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSNSmKKtMXA

'the husband of but one wife'; hard to understand how Todd qualifies to be back in ministry in the light of this.

'he must manage his own family well'; not sure how this gets accomplished when he is in the US and his family is in Canada.

'he must also have a good reputation with outsiders'; hard to see how he does based on just the Nightline piece that was done on him during the revival.

'not given to drunkenness'; now this one he may have overcome (though it was never discussed in the 'restoration' videos), and for Todd's eternal salvation, I pray that he has overcome the bottle, because the Bible is clear on the position of the drunkard visa vie the Kingdom. (I Corinthians 6: 9-10).

One constant from the videos was the talk of Todd's doctrine on marriage and divorce that has been forthcoming for many months now, but as of yet, has not seen the light of day. Many seem to put their decision on whether or not to follow Todd again on if this doctrine will hold up to Biblical scrutiny. You would think something so important would have to come before Todd were to re-enter the ministry, but somehow Rick Joyner believes that Todd can be released into local ministry while still being in the process of restoration.

http://morningstarministries.org/Groups/1000040651/MorningStar_Ministries/Media/VIDEO_Todd_Bentleys/VIDEO_Todd_Bentleys.aspx

To which I emailed Rick about this, as of this writing he has yet to respond:

Hello Rick,

So Todd has been restored to local ministry? Does the Bible make a distinction between local and national? I am assuming he has been restored to the Body of Christ, first and foremost, yet that has not been mentioned or addressed. Shouldn't one be FULLY restored to the Body before being allowed to minister to the Body?

Yes, we are to restore a brother who has fallen into sin (Galatians 6:1), but should he be restored to ministry? Restored to the Body and restored to ministry are two entirely different things. Are there not things that now disqualify Todd from ministry? If not, what to do with I Timothy 3 & Titus 1, or have you received revelation from God that contradicts what the Bible says?

I would be interested in hearing from you as there are those in my church family who believe they have been given direction from Todd's ministering at a recent conference at MorningStar, but I fail to see how it was from the LORD, when the Bible says that one such as Todd should not be leading any kind of ministry in the Body, which leads me to believe that it may not be GOD who is directing him, as was clearly the case in Lakeland.

If you disagree with my last statement, you have to ask yourself a question. If it was GOD through the Holy Spirit directing Todd in Lakeland, then who was it who exposed Todd? Your answer to this question is key to whether or not you are really of God as well. I will give you a hint; Patricia King got it wrong, and exposed herself as not being of the one true GOD. I will be looking forward to your answer.

Your Brother-in-Christ,

Michael T Peabody
Stratford, CT

No matter what the outcome to this is, the Bible makes it clear; Todd Bentley is no longer fit for ministry of any kind.

The Case Against Todd Bentley; Part I: Restoration to the Body of Christ

2009-09-09T01:41:00.000-07:00

No, not on him being restored to the Body of Christ, we should restore him, because Scripture tells us so.

Galatians 6:1

"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."

The warning that comes in that second sentence should be heeded with all caution by those who are in the restoration process of Mr. Bentley. Tempted to fall into sin themselves while restoring someone is exactly what I fear is happening to those involved. While Rick Joyner may be talking the talk on Todd's restoration, he is not walking the walk.

(To see the entire catalog of the 'Todd Bentley Restoration Video Updates', click on the following link: http://www.morningstarministries.org/Group/Group.aspx?ID=1000040651 Go through these videos in order and see if you come to the same conclusion.)

While saying that there is no timetable on when Todd's restoration will be complete, and there is no hurry to get through this process on anything other than God's timetable, we see on the other hand the launching of a new Todd Bentley website: http://www.freshfireusa.com/ The subtitle of this website: "Welcome to Fresh Fire USA - The Ministry of Todd Bentley"

Wait... I am a bit confused. How can someone who is in the process of being restored to the Body of Christ, be heading a ministry in the Body of Christ? Furthermore, should Todd even be heading a ministry in the Body of Christ? What would be the criteria based on Scripture to say whether or not he should ever be restored to ministry?

But, first things first, Todd's restoration.

What would the criteria be for a successful restoration into the Body of Christ?

Truly repenting of the sin that led to him having to seek restoration in the first place would be a good start. Repairing what his sin has broken (righting the wrongs, so to speak) as best as could be done would be another good sign that he could be restored to the Church. Finally, showing signs of being someone who understands the Word of God, and lives his life accordingly would be the surest sign that he is indeed one who knows the voice of his Shepherd.

So, what was it exactly that had him removed from the Body of believers?

Todd Bentley announced his separation from his wife, Shonnah, in August 2008, and resigned from the Board of Fresh Fire. A statement released the same month by the remaining Board members said 'Todd Bentley has entered into an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff', and that he will 'refrain from all public ministry for a season to receive counsel in his personal life'.

Now Todd maintains that it was not a physical affair, that their relationship didn't blossom until after he filed for separation/divorce, and that it is just a case of 'bad timing' and 'premature' when it comes to his current relationship. But not everyone involved with Todd sees it this way. Former brethren from within his Canadian ministry as well as close associates within the NAR/ICA movements, have publically stated the facts to be a bit different than Todd's version.

Robert Ricciardelli, once a member of C. Peter Wagners International Coalition of Apostles, has indicated that this affair, whatever type it was, began in January of 2008, which would place it well before Mr. Bentley announced that he was separating from his wife Shonnah. Mr. Ricciardelli was one of the early critics of the Lakeland Outpouring, not only because he knew Todd was living in sin, but because of the lack of honesty in the meetings themselves.

"I am praying for Todd, because he really is an evangelist, and he is a gifted evangelist. But he cannot go on embellishing, speaking untruths, hyping, manipulating, shoving, kicking, slapping, leg dropping, and bamming his way on the pulpit without consequences.. God will not be mocked, and Todd and others must answer to Him for everyone led astray."
"The biggest thing about Lakeland is the lack of the fear of our Awesome God, lack of repentance and humility. Many have exchanged the truth for a lie and chosen experience over content. Angels, trances, and 3rd heaven focus has replaced the gospel as a focus... Lord do what only you can do to bring your divine alignment to all of us in Jesus name.."

And God did just that, by shinning the light of truth on Todd's life. I find it incredible that those who support Todd and the Lakeland Outpouring attempt to blame Todd's detractors and even the devil for Todd's demise. Really? What Bible are they preaching from? The devil was all too happy having Todd doing what he was doing because the devil knows that God does not use unclean vessels, and if Todd was living in unrepentant sin during those meetings it wasn't by the Holy Spirit that Todd's work was being accomplished. Just a few Bible verses for you to consider if you still believe that God was working through Todd. He may have been using Todd as God works all things for good, but these Bible verses clearly show He was wasn't working through him.

Proverbs 28:9; If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law,
even his prayers are detestable.

John 9:31; We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.

Psalm 66:18; If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened

Isaiah 59:2; But your iniquities have separated you from your God;

your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

I Peter 3:7; Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

So how could GOD have been using Todd in Lakeland if he wasn't listening to him? A teacher of the Gifts of the Spirit and Prophecy who has visited our congregation, Yan Nel has said is that you needed to minister with a clean heart, Todd's heart was harboring his ongoing iniquity of adultery, possibly during the ENTIRE Lakeland event. SO, was God using Todd? His Word says He wasn't, so to say HE was with certainty is to call God a LIAR!

Though roundly criticized while the Outpouring was on going, Mr. Ricciardelli was vindicated by the comments of both C. Peter Wagner and Dutch Sheets, albeit after Todd was exposed:

Dutch Sheets repents: http://pastorburt.lifewithchrist.org/permalink/42856.html

In this post, Dutch makes four points that goes beyond just the fiasco caused by Todd, to the deeper problems within the charismatic movement itself. Four points.

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.
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.
3)Our procedures and standards of accountability are incredibly
inadequate. We have provided camaraderie, not biblical
accountability.
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.

OUCH!

C. Peter Wagner has pointed out that this recent affair was not his second in three years but a continuation of the original that put his marriage in jeopardy back then...

"Suffice it to say that there is more than I am going to mention. First of all, Todd has been removed from public ministry until further notice. He has resigned from the ministry he founded, Fresh Fire, so he is no longer a part of that board. It has become clear that he indulged in periodic drunkenness. He has no intention at the moment of reconciling with Shonna, nor does she with him. Their marriage has been torn for years by his emotional attachment with at least one other female whose physical contact went beyond hugging and kissing and holding hands. Enough said-maybe more details will be revealed later-but it was clearly immoral. All of this was skillfully concealed by lying and by swearing close associates who had observed his behavior to secrecy."

One of those 'close associates' broke their silence to all of this, again, only after this came to a head last August:

"here's some truth from behind the scenes in Abbotsford. Jessa first of all was an intern in the fall 07 cycle. She never applied for it Todd invited her into the internship. Even after a board member severly opposed it. Later Todd invited her and another intern to live in his house during the internship, and after the internship as a live in nanny. At the same time the Bellingham, Washington church was being established so fresh fire could get a legal foot hold in America. This is evident by the lack and the sheer refusal to work with the local churches. It was just for the papers not the church.
In January 2008 2 members of the board confronted Todd about Jessa, and that it was wrong and they couldn't stand by him about it. They were "relieved" of their position for doing so. This shouldn't be surprising as another member of FFM was faced with the same threat, after he caught Todd with another woman in England (this is what the dark night of the soul was actually about), the FFM member was forced to either work for FFM outside of North America or be fired. Jessa is woman number 4 that Todd has cheated on Shonnah with. Todd isn't 100% to blame just 80%, the rest of the blame falls on those board members and pastors that refused to confront Todd on his infidelities. One in particular had the mind set that if Todd does it, it's okay even if it isn't for others. Others refused to confront because they didn't want to loose their jobs (like many have over the years)
Even in Lakeland which I personally think was a two edged work of God, it was a blessing to the locals who have prayed for God to move. And the other edge was a judgement on Todd, in total over the top Todd style. During the highet of revival there was excessive drinking, slasher flicks, and other things I wont get into now with Todd and his inner circle (yes men). There was infighting with the leaders on stage, and the interns where just slaves with ministry badges. Or the fact that all the money collected for the orphans and for sudan never made it to them, it was instead used to pay for the buildings/land for the revival.
Even after Lakeland fell apart, and the news finally became public, Todd never returned home to Abbotsford. He remained in America (illegally) in California, then a breif stop in Reno for their quickie divorce rules. Then it was off to Rick Joyner and his marriage with Jessa These words are not made up, this is a summary of many conversations I have had with former FFM employees, board members and former interns. I just can't stand by and see Todd get away with this for a fourth time. A man who has turned his back on his wife and children once again. yet will be received by the masses as THE man of God."

One other item to ponder in discerning if Todd has truly repented; Todd filed for separation/divorce in July 2008, and then married his new wife in March 2009. Most pastors worth their salt (mine for one, thank goodness) would say that a period of two years before moving on from a death or divorce is appropriate, so most of the same would say the nine months between Todd's divorce filing and re-marriage was too short, but why nine months exactly? Here is an interesting tid-bit I found on divorce proceedures in Canada...

Under Canadian law, separation is a first step in divorce proceedings and takes nine months.

Todd was supposed to enter into a restoration process at that time (August), but did not which led his former ministry to issue an update on their website in November 2008, stating that Bentley was not currently submitting to this process, and was in their opinion, guilty of adultery. What caused Todd to delay his entering into the restoration process?

On the first video of the restoration series, Rick Joyner eludes to a visa issue with an office in California and that he told him to 'get that straight, and then we can deal with this'. The visa issue was only one of the issues Todd got straight, the other was marrying his mistress once his divorce was made final. I guess he felt that he would no longer be in adultery if he married her. I guess he didn't read what Jesus said about divorce and remarriage;

Matthew 19:9

I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

Todd also speaks of his previous marriage's divorce as a failure of two people, and one that was years in the making, not just a result of the 'revival' at Lakeland. In fact, Bill Johnson was quoted in an article about the separation last year eluding to the previous troubles...

“They had problems a couple of years ago, and I got involved at that time to lend support and
give counsel to Todd and his staff. In talking with Todd I was led to believe those issues were
now in order. Obviously they weren't.”

What were some of those problems? How about an 'unhealthy emotional relationship' with the nanny of his children. From the former Fresh Fire Ministries (Now Transform International) site on this issue:

"It also needs to be clarified that Shonnah has in no way initiated this divorce and has no present intention to do so at any time in the future. She is understandably hurt by Todd’s infidelity, but is not asking or pressing for a divorce. The legal separation from Shonnah was initiated completely by Todd and he has not seen her or the children since the last week in July. To our knowledge, Todd’s relationship with the female staff-member, who was a former intern and also, at his initiative, a live-in nanny in his house for over a year, is still ongoing. We believe that there are currently no biblical grounds for Todd to leave his wife and children. While it has been maintained that no physical contact happened between Todd and the former female intern until after he filed for legal separation from Shonnah, in the Boards’ eyes, the nature of the present relationship between Todd and his former staff member is that of adultery."

Bentley is resolute in seeking a divorce from his wife, Shonnah, amid "his increased familiarity with a female staff member" during the revival in Lakeland, the letter states. "Todd admits to being 100 percent responsible for the divorce."
"With the development of more friction in his marriage relationship, Todd began to make irrational decisions," the letter states. "Alcohol, movies and leisure time spent with a few of the younger, more impressionable members of his staff and road-crew began to replace the hours of soaking in the presence of God in which Todd had engaged during the early days of the Outpouring."

Source: Special Prayer Request, Fresh Fire Ministries, Nov. 28, 2008

Stephen Strader, pastor of Ignited Church which hosted the Lakeland revival meetings unwittingly confirmed Todd's acknowledgment of the basis of his marital problems in an article in a Florida newspaper:

"The Rev. Stephen Strader, pastor of Ignited Church, where the Lakeland Outpouring revival began, said he talked to Bentley by phone Monday... Strader said Bentley defended himself against a couple of allegations contained in a letter from the board of directors of Fresh Fire Ministries, the British Columbia-based organization Bentley ran until August. The letter, released Friday on the ministry’s Web site, broke months of silence about Bentley’s status.

Strader said Bentley did not deny the relationship, and Strader said he agrees with the position of the board.
“I’m uncomfortable with (the relationship). I would probably stand with their letter at this point,” he said.

But Strader said Bentley told him he did not have a problem with alcohol as described by the board’s letter. He said Bentley admitted he had gotten drunk in the weeks he was in Lakeland, but the incidents were isolated and he has resolved not to drink again."

Source: Todd Bentley Controversy Continues, Cary McMullen, The Ledger (Florida, USA), Dec. 2, 2008.

Now, Todd fully admits the divorce was his fault, so any 'maritial unfaithfulness' exception would apply to his ex-wife, not to him, the one who was unfaithful. Therefore, Biblically, Shonnah can re-marry without being an adulteress and living outside of Christ's commands, but Todd, eventhough now married to Jessa, is STILL living in adultery. This is a large sticking point, not in his restoration to ministry, but rather to the Body of Christ. True repentance in this area, should be a nullification of his current marriage. Given the weight of evidence against Todd, we cannot even consider him a 'brother-in-Christ' until this is done.

But is this how his 'restorers' see it? NO. Rick Joyner in more than one video speaks of developing a 'doctrine of divorce and re-marriage', yet to date we have heard or seen nothing on the subject. I am sure it will include Paul's passage from I Corinthians...

1 Corinthians 7:9

But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

But this would be taking this verse out of context, because the context is clearly established in the preceeding verse...

1 Corinthians 7:8

Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am.

Unmarried means 'never have been', not divorced...

Furthermore, the Bible makes it perfectly clear what the 'doctrine of divorce and re-marriage' should be throughout the Old and New Testaments. Anything that strays from what Scripture says on the matter should be disregarded as not of God.

One thing that I have seen in the restoration videos is Todd's bravado has gone away. He seems truly contrite and repentant of what he has done, he has sought out all who he has hurt or even may have hurt and has apologized for his behavior. Jessa as well has been part of one of these videos and has asked for forgiveness for the role she has played in this fiasco. But to truly continue in the marriage they have made, and justify it using I Corinthians 7 would have to mean that they have to admit they weren't truly Christians before all this happened. Why? Because Paul was directing this to believers @ Corinth and closed the discussion with this verse:

1 Corinthians 7:27

Are you married? Do not seek a divorce.

I do not think that admission, even if it were true, will ever be forthcoming.

We can see examples of this in Jesus' ministry as he preached the 'Good News' to all who had not yet come to Him. The woman at the well (John 4) and the woman accused of adultery (John 8) are prime examples of the compassion Jesus had on the lost. Just as clear are His standards the he sets upon those who come to Him in regards to these issues (re-marriage and adultery) throughout the Gospels (Matthew 5:27-32; 19:1-12; Mark 10: 1-12; Luke 16:18).

What ever the outcome of all this, I would/will welcome Todd, as all believers should, back to the Body of Christ and celebrate with all the saints, another triumph over the already defeated Satan. Unfortunately, I don't believe that that can be accomplished without annulling his current marriage.