Yesterday, I came across a very interesting article over at Internet Monk entitled “Thoughts on Jesus Camp where Michael Spencer stated his opinions about the movie.

I left my comment and afterwards, started to think again about a certain potion of that comment

What many people tend to forget is that the movie was filmed way before the exposing of Ted Haggard. Ted Haggard was a dualistic personality within Christianity in many ways. He was widely respected by the Religious Right types for his ‘conservative ways’ and was seen by many within Christianity as being the ‘middle ground’ and more articulate and mannerly with appeal to the secular media than crass folks like Dobson, Wildmon, D. James Kennedy, Falwell, and Robertson. Secondly, because he lived in Colorado Springs, Haggard was deeply affiliated with the leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation (Wagner, Sheets, Jacobs, Pierce) and was seen in the same way that the religious right saw him because those leaders were also crass ad brash in the public eye.

Haggard was the bridge between these two separate agendas that on the outside appeared not to like each other (religious right was more mainline in Christian thought while the NAR was more pentecostal / charismatic in thought) but on the inside worked together in secret because without the other, neither group’s individual agendas would never come to existence. It would have taken the votes for the creation of the religious right utopia in America by the mainline Christians to eventually lead to the empowering of the New Apostolic Reformation as the official ‘global church authority’.

And why is Haggard now despised by both of these groups after his sins were exposed? Because he set their movements and agendas back another hundred years and/or permanently damaged their chances of ever obtaining their agendas. The religious right then looked to Sarah Palin (similar beliefs as Becky Fischer) and the NAR then looked to Todd Bentley and the Lakeland Revival where Bismarck, ND (Fischer’s birthplace) was ‘prophecied’ as one of the 100 Global Revival training and outpouring centers’.

History tells us how that worked out…..

and I began to realize more and more…..

The American Religious Right and the New Apostolic Reformation are Christianity’s version of classic television show “The Odd Couple”

The American Religious Right reminds me of the Felix Ungar character played by Tony Randall (and ‘played’ today by such people as Dobson, Wildmon, and Robertson but was ‘played’ in the past by Rushdoony, Falwell, and D. James Kennedy. The American Religious Right, like Felix Ungar is portrayed as the neat, clean, and orderly individual with an upper middle class white-collar job. And like Ungar, who was thrown out of his house by his wife, the American Religious Right strongly feels as if it was thrown out of it’s house of power by the ‘liberals’ and divorced from it’s place in American History.

The New Apostolic Reformation reminds me of the Oscar Madison character played by Jack Klugman (and played today by such people as C. Peter Wagner, Rick Joyner, Dutch Sheets, Cindy Jacobs, and Chuck Pierce). The New Apostolic Reformation, like Oscar Madison, is portrayed as the sloppy, disorderly, and casual individual with the lower middle class white collar job. And like Madison, who was thrown out of his house by his wife, the New Apostolic Reformation strongly feels as if it was thrown out of it’s house by the Vineyard Churches and divorced from it’s place in what they wish to be contemporary American Christianity. And like Oscar, who complained about paying alimony to the ex-wife, there seems to be a part of the New Apostolic Reformation that begrudges paying the alimony of history recognition back to the Vineyard church.

Where we see Felix Ungar try to win back, reconcile and eventually remarry his ex-wife, we see the American Religious Right try via politics, to ‘win back America’, forcibly reconcile (without ‘compromise’), and eventually remarry back into American culture it divorced years ago when they ran to the bunker trying to fight the culture war.

On the other hand, we see Oscar Madison verbally demean his wife and happy for his divorce feeling that he is better off. In the same manner, we have seen the New Apostolic Reformation come out against in sardonic means the Vineyard Churches and classical streams of the pentecostal and charismatic movement while at the same time, believe that they are thankful for their divorce feeling that they really are better off separated.

Throughout the entire run of television episodes, we see conflict arise between Madison and Ungar that threatens to end their friendship alliance, but the influences at their individual workplaces and their outside friends keep Madison and Ungar balanced. Even though both Madison and Ungar disdain publicly the other’s way of living, they realize that in order to survive the harsh reality of the big city, they really need each other for financial support to keep renting an apartment. Even though both the American Religious Right and the New Apostolic Reformation privately disdain the other’s way of life, they realize that in order to survive the bitter reality of the ‘once glorious’ nation, they need each other for votes / political support to keep the hope that one day, their separate end-result agendas will one day come to pass.

But there was one person that held the cohesive glue to making the friendship and alliance work. In the television show, it was Murray the Cop. In the Christian version, it was…..

Ted Haggard

for those reasons I mentioned in my original response to Spencer’s article about the Jesus Camp. Haggard was at that time, one of the very few people who had mutual respect and influence/affluence within both the American Religious Right and the New Apostolic Reformation. Haggard would have signs on the property of his church telling people who and what propositions to vote for/against. Haggard was very instrumental in helping out C Peter Wagner (who once attended Haggard’s church) in creating the World Prayer Center as well as the World Prayer Team.

And we saw what happened to Haggard… And we saw how The Odd Couple severed their ties with Haggard… And we saw how The Odd Couple tried their separate things (Religious Right with Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential candidate and NAR with Todd Bentley and the Lakeland Revival).

On the last episode of the television show, Felix eventually remarries his ex-wife and goes back to his house and moves in while Oscar goes back to living alone once again. In many ways, the American Religious Right is trying their best to eventually win the heart of the ex-wife they call America back in order to be able to remarry her and move back into the mainstream influence of American society and culture war. Really, the culture war was nothing more than the grand divorce of the Christian Religious Right from Americana. And as the apartment that Felix and Oscar shared was the haven from life, the bunker mentality called the church building and it’s imitation of culture was the haven from real life. Instead of trying to work things out (like they tell marriages in trouble to do), the American Religious right settled for refuge with the New Apostolic Reformation and their sloppy Christianity and enjoyed the ‘pentecostal poker games’ Oscar had with his buddies.

In the end, I want to leave with you the final scene from the final show

Felix: Your dinner’s in the oven; turn it off in twenty minutes. [pause] Oscar … what can I say? Five years ago you took me in: a broken man on the verge of … mental collapse. I leave here a cured human being. I owe it all to you. [gesturing toward apartment] It’s all yours buddy. I salute you. [empties waste basket onto floor]

Oscar: Felix, you know how I’m gonna salute you? I’m gonna clean that up.

Felix: It has not been in vain. [They shake hands and Felix exits stage right through front door. After door closes …]

Oscar: [swings his hand through the air] I’m not gonna clean that up! [exits stage left to bedroom to audience laughter]

[Felix sneaks back in stage right and looks at floor]

Felix: [disgustedly] I knew he wouldn’t clean it up! [proceeds to pick up trash to audience applause] (fade out)

And I believe that one day, if the remarriage of the Religious right to American society and culture does take place, we will see this same scene take place. Because both the American Religious Right and the New Apostolic Reformation did the exact same thing that Felix and Oscar did…

They created a mess.

The American Religious Right with a utopia dream of no more gays, outlaw abortion, high unemployment, S&L scandals, and the lunch buffet ‘pick and choose’ theologies of Sarah Palin left a mess called an ‘image’. The NAR, with their splits from the Vineyard, their esoteric eisegesis, and the mockery called Todd Bentley and the Lakeland Revival left a colossal mess called a ‘temporary setback’ (really, its called ’sin’). As Felix Ungar went to start his new life to re-identify himself in that last episode, he eventually cleaned up the mess before leaving. The American Religious right, with the deaths of many of it’s controversial leaders and the Sarah Palin fiasco, are trying to clean up it’s mess and re-identify itself with a ‘new image’ of the mainline, clean, and moral individual as caring and compassionate.

The NAR, on the other hand, contributed to this mess over time (Kansas City Prophets, spiritual mapping, revival/renewal, Toronto Blessing, identificational repentance, and Todd Bentley / Lakeland) but like Oscar, refuses to clean the mess up because they really do not feel that it’s a mess and belongs in the society of the “Apostolic Apartment” that they now live in outright. It’s not a mess, it’s a setback to greatness as Oscar went to the bedroom to go back being a sports writer, they really believe that Galatians 6:1 means that Todd Bentley will go back as a high-powered revivalist.

However, Felix cleaned up the mess…. And if by chance one day, if the American Religious Right gets back into power (with the help of the votes from the seven mountains and the supporters of the NAR), you may find out that the cleancut, mainline, and orderly neat freak will no longer tolerate the messy, lunatic fringe, and disorderly slob and come up with legal ways to stop the theologies of the NAR / Third Wave and establish the mainline Christian religion as the official law of the land and official state religion…..

Which was part of what the American Religious Right wanted all along…

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