When I wrote More and More, I concentrated on the changed in Todd especially the piercings and tattoos….
However, as I re-watched:
The video below from early 2004 at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship:
And the video of Bentley now at the Lakeland meetings:
I noticed something else that appears to have changed….
His voice…
In the Lakeland video, it appears that Todd has started speaking in a southern drawl. I noticed Monday night when he called out for people from Ireland to come forth, he began (subconsciously or not) to start speaking with an Irish accent. Plus, it is starting to sound gravely like many I have met that were heavily involved with the extreme spiritual warfare factions.
We were never intended to be in and out of ‘revival’. Like the church of Acts, we are supposed to have ‘gotten it right the first time’ to go continuously onward never to ‘get dry’, never to ‘backslide’, never to ‘constantly repent over and over again’ for stuff repented numerous times before or invented sins hoping we ‘cracked the spiritual safe of blessings’. We were never intended to have a spiritual roller coaster, but instead we were meant to have a spiritual walk that involves running to finish and win the race.
A level walk, a level head, and no ‘next levels’.
A consistent walk, a consistent relationship, and no ‘inconsistencies’ in translating scripture.
Messiah not Mantra
Holy Spirit not ‘Sikka Bam Bam’
For I am the LORD, I do not change - Malachi 3:6
Is it possible this Todd guy just “lost it” (as in a slo-mo breakdown) between 2004 and now?
And “extreme spiritual warfare faction”, i.e. Witchfinder General and/or White Wizard, is ALWAYS a Big Red Danger Sign. My writing partner told me about someone he knew who went off the deep end into Extreme Spiritual Warfare, to the point that if his kitchen light bulb burned out he’d dig out his Bible and start loudly rebuking The Demon Who Burns Out Light Bulbs instead of replacing the bulb. Poster child for Sagan’s Demon-Haunted World…
(Makes you want to steer one of these guys into a REAL Possession/Exorcism situation and watch from a safe distance — Seven Sons of Sceva, anyone?)