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All past, current, and future Christian Celebrity Repentance Episodes are / will be additionally indexed under their own category “CCR Episodes” available at this link or through the “CCR Episodes” link in the sidebar under the “Categories” section.

I had promised my buddy ‘Triple-P’ for a long time that I would better index and categorize them much better and to be more logically accessible. After seeing Miriam over at End Times Prophetic Words write a post with a synopsis of all her articles, I remembered my conversation with ‘Triple-P’ and went ahead and categorized my posts.

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Christian Celebrity Repentance Episodes

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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The Odd Couple

In light of the recent J. Lee Grady article “The Tragic Scandal of Greasy Grace” and the now famous reBUTTal letter, there was a poster over at Grady’s article named ‘jks2009′ who mentioned, per their words

…the Gray Christians and the Blue Christians…

As I read this tripe

In defense of Rick Joyner
Awhile back the Lord showed Rick that a division was coming in the body of Christ, between the Gray Christians and the Blue Christians. I believe the distinguishing factor between the two is Legalism vs Grace. Those dominated by legalism are quick to condemn, those dominated by grace are quick to forgive. It is clear that the Pharisee spirit is alive and well here. I have never seen so many people just itching to throw stones at a brother, when in fact they should take the Good Samaritan role. Legalism is just as bad now as it was when Paul wrote Galatians. Jesus had strong words for those who judge others. If Jesus does not condemn Todd, and He doesn’t, according to Romans 8, who are you to condemn him? If his sin is under the blood, who are you to bring it up? Who appointed you to be judges? Who are you to judge another man’s servant? It is clear that many of you do not have a revelation of the Grace of God. You should be ashamed.

I saw where this poster has now tried to parallel the “Gray Christians” to “legalism” and the “Blue Christians” to “Grace”. I still believe (as I stated in part one) that the real spirit behind the article is David (a man after God’s own heart) versus Absalom (a rebellious seed brought forth by David’s sin).

There is another very common theme between the Christian Civil War and the U.S. Civil War (that I did not see in part one):

slavery

Where Moses came out against Pharaoh in the Exodus, Martin Luther came out against the Catholic Church in the Protestant Reformation, Abraham Lincoln came out against the Confederacy in the US Civil War, and the United States came out against Nazi Germany’s concentration camps in World War II, we are now actually seeing the parallel fight against ’spiritual slavery’ being fought where .

Orthodox and mainstream Christianity are coming out against the Revival Alliance, Third Wave Prophets, and the New Apostolic Reformation.

It is really the broadening of a public attempt of overthrow to make all churches come under their rule and authority with C. Peter Wagner as the “Pope Of Protestantism”. On that June evening, we saw the official ceremony of the secession (and the firing of the First shot) of the fringe movement fanatics who are considered ‘non-mainstream’ in a movement that is viewed by historical orthodox mainline Christianity as being ‘non-mainstream. We saw Todd receive his Gnostic decoder ring with then wife Shonnah by his side as “Stacey Shakeums” performed the Gnostic Go-Go Dance. Joyner was also on that same stage talking about longevity and unstopping wells especially the oil wells that ‘catch on fire when you unstop them’.

What we are now seeing is the rise of orthodox Christians who have decided to come against the attempted ‘re-slavery’ of Christianity and the attempted shuffling of dissenters into ‘Christian concentration camps’ where ‘concentration’ means…

Don’t think and be Berean, do as we say and you will not touch God’s anointed (actually annoying) and do the prophets (actually profit$) harm in order to achieve your blessing and your destiny.

And we know of what happened in the concentration camps, the murder of innocent people murdered via the gas chambers or firing squads and lest we not forget, the medical ‘experiments’ performed in the most inhumane of conditions. The ones who happened to survive carried around the mental and physical scars, pain, tattoos, and branding for the rest of their lives.

And we are now seeing testimony after testimony of what is happening in the Christian concentration camps, the spiritual murder and malnourishment of Christians who voluntarily went there to be part of the ‘elite remnant’ to end up in the gas chamber sanctuary of hot air shouts of warfare and Christian catch phrazes while some participated in the mantra and meditative experiments of ‘cutting edge’, ‘next level’, and ‘new thing’ teachings. Some develop the spiritualized Stockholm Syndrome and sympathize with the ones who teach this nonsense and eventually join their side in the fight. Some see the truth but die spiritually at the treatment of the scorn, shame and ridicule given to them. Some eventually escape but possess for many years up to the end of their life the mental and spiritual scars, pain, tattoos, and branding for the rest of their lives.

We are now also seeing the rising up of Godly men and women to prevent the ‘genocide of the godly’ via the attempted ‘holy holocaust’ of those who disagree with them and/or are deemed as not being ‘anointed’ (a spiritual form of “blonde-haired, blue eyed Aryan” social theories) enough to be considered as part of the mega remnant.

This isn’t the Third Wave (or as my buddy Triple-P calls it, the ‘Third Rave’), it is becoming more and more like the uprising and attempted global Christian conquest similar to Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich of Nazi Germany.

As Hitler blamed the Jews for all of Germany’s problems, the modern third wavers, N.A.R., Kingdom Now, Morningstar, Dominionists, ‘Latter Reign’, and ‘revival alliance’ followers are blaming all the orthodox Christians for all of Christianity’s problems by not coming unto unity unanimity with them. What is most bizarre is that when the war was all over, Hitler left behind a mess that got divided and squandered and the ‘Cold War’ began of democracy against communism. And just like the defeat of Hitler, the leaders of the modern third wavers, N.A.R., Kingdom Now, Morningstar, Dominionists, ‘Latter Reign’, and ‘revival alliance’ followers when exposed will leave Christianity into a further state of chaos and confusion and we could easily end up with a Christian Cold War where balance and correct Scriptural interpretation could be up against extremist legalisms and regulations.

Both Hitler and these NAR leaders wanted something so ‘precious to them’. Global Control. Hitler wanted to rule the world. The NAR leaders want to rule the Christian world by either all the churches submitting to them or via infiltration into society and culture via the “Seven Mountain Mentality” that is being taught today.

What appeared to have been the ‘covert’ declaration of war of the modern third wavers, N.A.R., Kingdom Now, Dominionists, and prophetic movement versus the historical orthodox Christian movement (in their attempt to usher in a Latter Rain consisting of a dominionist rule by some Manifest Sons of God ’spiritually killing’ anyone necessary who ‘gets in the way’) in June 2008 has now turned into the overt attack coming from the person responsible for “Celebrity Christian Repentance” against a man (that I have disagreed with in the past on many issues) who has rose up and denounced this farce of a movement for what it was, a spiritual sham in March 2009. And what did J. Lee Grady get back in return?

A form of Christian cyberbullying in Joyner’s response and especially this paragraph:

I think you owe Todd, myself, Bill, and Jack apologies for your presumptuous judgments. I think they should be as public as this letter was. If not, I feel that I will have to address this publicly, and I don’t think that is in your best interest.

And we thought cyberbullying was a MySpace phenomenon. But by Mr Grady posting the letter online, he has now taken the stance that he refuses to be bullied around and beaten up for his lunch money as documented in the ‘counter-rebuke’.

To J. Lee Grady, I say thank you for the rebuke. It was definitely needed to expose the quickie divorce/remarriage mentality that permeates the charismatic movement today. It was needed to call out the excesses within this movement and we have now seen the ruthlessness of the Charismatic movement.

This war is going to last a very long time and alot more battles, rebukes, and bullying is going to take place. And at the first of the war, it’s going to look rather hopeless. But like Moses, Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, someone will be called forth by God to further expose and to set the captives free from the bondage and win the war for the fight and preservation of orthodox Christianity.

It will be repentance that will bring forth a move of God to this nation. Not rebellion and kneeing people in the stomach. We did not hear repentance mentioned at this revival. Just hollow and empty promises of a new dominion, a couple of dancers, some theatrics…

Maybe next time, we will hear repentance….

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6-23-08 The First Shot Fired? Part 2

Then Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me.

If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Where my pastor was using this Scripture to make a point about the subject of vengeance as it relates to the overall scope of forgiveness, another thought immediately crossed into my mind that I wrote down on a scrap piece of paper to ponder later on (Because my pastor’s sermon was something I needed to hear):

Lamech comes across like most modern-day televangelists.

As I pondered this thought on the way home and after reading Genesis 4:23-24 again, I deeply felt and started to see more and more parallels between many of the cocky televangelists on television today and the cockiness displayed in Lamech’s words.

(1): Look at the number of wives: When you look further back in Genesis 4 at verse nineteen we see something of significance mentioned here.

Then Lamech took for himself two wives…..

In fact, this was the first ever mention of polygamy. Adam and his descendants to this point only had one wife and now we see Lamech having two at the same time. Look at many of the televangelists and research them and see how many spouses they have had. Even though they were not married to two spouses simultaneously, in most cases there was already ’something going on’ with the ‘other woman’ during marriage number one that caused divorce and the other woman became the new wife. It was two emotional, and some cases physical relationships going on simultaneously.

(2): Their bragging for seeing people die because they attacked them: In verse twenty-three, we see these statements made:

For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me.

See how many televangelists brag about the people who have died physically and/spiritually for ‘disagreeing with them’, for ‘exposing them’, for coming against the ‘annoying’ and doing the ‘profit$’ harm. I used to hear it all the time in pentecostalism how many families that ‘God broke up’ all because these parents came against them.

Worse was the fact that it was propagated that if you one day reached ‘the next level’ (send them money, pray harder, etc…), you can one day earn the same right to have God do the same atrocities / vengeances / murders, etc. on your enemies because of what ‘your enemies’ did against you.

(3): Their bragging for seeing worse punishments done to their enemies than seen by the enemies of their predecessor preachers (aka: fathers of their faith): In verse twenty-three, we see these statements made:

If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.

The reference to Cain and ’sevenfold’ is found mentioned in verse fifteen of Chapter 4 after God cursed him and declaired Cain a ‘fugitive and a vagabond’ and that God would punish the man who would succeed in killing Cain sevenfold. Lamech’s words of “seventy-sevenfold” is in a spirit of bragging but implied that there would be a worse vengeance against anyone who attacked him.

Doesn’t this sound like the same concept of Lamech and the same spirit of vengeance / murder that spews out of many televangelists mouths when people come out and call them out?

There is a huge problem here. Where the televangelists justify this same spirit of vengeance / murder by using the oft-repeated ‘…touch not mine anointed and do not the prophets harm…’ as coming from God, the problem here is that the spirit of vengeance / murder propagated from the mouth of a televangelist comes from the root of a murderer that stemmed from a spirit of jealousy traceable back to Cain who murdered Abel for providing the acceptable sacrifice pleasing to God.

It comes from a televangelist who emotionally and spiritually murders a true worshipper, prophet, evangelist, apostle, etc. for proclaiming the real truth and bringing forth real correction, for seeking and saving the lost, for setting the captives free, and for manifesting the true signs that follow them (in my name they shall cast out devils….)

It comes from a brother killing their own brother….

It manifests when the ‘cursed of the ground’ is offered up to God as the sacrifice and the problem is that the wrong blood is being wrongly shed to try to ‘atone’ for someone else’s sin.

It comes from the small church very few people attend that looks for and publicizes the flaws in the church down the street that grew because of obedience to the Lord.

It manifests in a ‘third wave revivalist’ mindset as these self-appointed mega apostles resent the sacrifices brought forth by the church leaders of the past claiming that their ‘dead spirit of religion’ is ‘holding up’ God from moving on earth to reestablish God’s Government, end abortion, marketplace ministries, and seven mountain mentalities.

It manifests when the ones who are ‘attacking them’ are deemed as ‘resenters’ when in reality, the spirit of vengeance / murder is the driving force that causes them to ‘resent’ any true worshipper, prophet, evangelist, apostle, etc. for proclaiming the real truth and bringing forth real correction.

It manifests in a theo-political mindset that believes they are going to be able to ‘take dominion’ over the earth and re set back up the justice of God to where God can come back again and get rid of their perceived enemies and set up the official state religion.

In this environment, we do not see the Lion and the Lamb. We see instead lust, lasciviousness, and the mentality of Lamech. We do not see repentance nor do we see a contrite heart. We instead see an arrogance that really believes that these leaders are more anointed and more powerful than the men of the Bible to the point where they really believe that God will punish their detractors using worse methods because they see themselves as being more important to God and even worse, God can not do anything on Earth without them.

The Lakeland Revival tried to bring the mentality of Lamech forth via an covert and deceptive manner via the now famous Todd Bentley commissioning service. Lakeland in many ways was the re-enactment of the mentality of Cain (Bob Jones, Paul Cain, C. Peter Wagner, Kansas City Prophets, etc.) who despised the true Abel blood sacrifices passed down to the younger generation possessing the mentality of Lamech (Todd Bentley, Patricia King, Bill Johnson, Che Ahn, etc.) who despises everyone who gets in their way. What we saw during the now famous Todd Bentley commissioning service (along with ‘Stacey Shakems’ bobbing her head like Linda Blair in the Exorcist), was the ‘coming out’ of the new self-appointed leaders announcing to us to get out of their way, they were going to take control of the church, reestablish God’s government, and that they would be viewed as being the ‘real church’ of the ‘real God’.

The mentality of Lamech resents someone else being called ‘the true people of God’. The mentality of Lamech resents the toil that the martyrs died for to promote the Christianity as portrayed in the book of Acts because the martyrs are seen as the ‘fathers of old religion’ while they want to be seen as ‘the new thing, the new way, and ‘the new and improved’ way we do church.

The mentality of Lamech to this day still wants to offer up something that was built upon the foundations of the cursed and the ground instead of accepting the ultimate blood sacrifice that Jesus gave us via his death on Calvary. The mentality of Lamech believes ‘vengeance is theirs’ when the Lord states that ‘vengeance is mine’.

The mentality of Lamech wants to offer up their ‘tentmaking’, their livestock, their flutes and harps, and their craftsman / metalworking industries (Lamech’s children’s trades) calling it ‘marketplace ministries’ when God wants us to just obey and go out and fulfill the Great Commission and seek and save the lost bring them until salvation and repentance.

It is of interest to see that after Genesis 4:24, we see no further mention of Cain’s descendants and Lamech (the Lamech mentioned in Genesis 5:25-31 is not the same person). It is not really known if they died out at this point of if they multiplied (and never documented) and were ultimately destroyed in the great flood as told in Genesis 6-8. But we can clearly see the point here.

As Cain, Lamech, and the rest of Cain’s vengeful descendants eventually dies. God wants the jealousy, resentment, bragging, vengeance, taunting, and murder that may still exist inside of us dead and inoperative.

God wants us to be free from being the tracker of what happens to those who have wronged us. God wants us to be free from thinking that we must be the ‘Holy Hitman’ and get rid of God’s enemies for him. God wants us to be free, period and one of the many ways of obtaining the fullness of life in Christ is to let those hurts, wrongs, and desires for ‘God to get them’ loose to where you can go onward, forward, and toward a productive life. Instead of the wrath and vengeance manifested in Lamech. God wants us to act in love, freedom, and compassion towards those we may disagree with or who may have wronged us.

All we can do is be forgiving at last, and let it go….

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When Lamech Starts Bragging

update: 1-2-09 9:55 PM; It has been revealed via this page that Bentley also has a Facebook page

It appears that Todd Bentley has got a new MySpace page up (with Demon Hunter music in his playlist) and sales of his ’stuff’ now goes through a company named “Sound of Fire” which appears to be overseen by Bentley’s dad and step-mom.

However, Miriam has done an excellent job of research and link tracing to both capture a conversation on this blog (see comment # 106237 in particular) and linking it to one of Todd’s MySpace “friends” (who I admit is physically, a very attractive woman) named “*~*Jessa*~*” if indeed this is true that “*~*Jessa*~*” is ‘the other woman’.

I know that everyone who is criticizing Todd is dealing specifically with the issue of his adultery, future divorce, his poor theology, and other issues too numerous to mention here. I agree wholeheartedly with many of these people that are bringing up this issue.

However, I want to bring up an aspect of this story that no one in the Christian blogosphere is talking about right now via a rhetorical question.

Where is the other woman’s own sense of marital fidelity?

Even though Todd, as the man in a marriage and head of the household is ultimately responsible for what happened with his marriage to Shonnah, I feel that we need to call out the other woman for her part of this whole tragedy for her part in all this for she needs to also bear some responsibility in this tragedy.

Most people, when being taught their core Christian value systems about marriage and marital fidelity, are taught the basics (and how complex it is to maintain the basics) of “Once married, stay married; One spouse till death do us part; Remain faithful to your spouse and thou shalt not commit adultery.”, “Do not even pursue another relationship outside of your own marriage”, etc.

However, that is only half of the concept of marital fidelity…

What about the other half of the concept of fidelity. The other half that consists of a teaching of core Christian value systems about marriage and marital fidelity especially as it relates to single people of “If a person of the opposite sex is married, do not approach them about a relationship”, “If you approach a person of the opposite sex about a relationship (you truly not knowing they are either married, engaged, or in another relationship) and you find out that they are married, engaged, or in another relationship, you apologize to that person and move on and find someone else who is not married or in a relationship”, and “If a married person of the opposite sex approaches you desiring a relationship, do what you have to do to stand firm and say no. Run like Joseph or openly rebuke them.”, etc.

Somehow we have either failed to teach this other half or that we have become ‘pragmatic relationship opportunists’ and we do not believe the other half of the core values exist anymore.

If this other woman was approached by Todd knowing all along (the other woman was supposed to be the nanny for the kids) that Todd was married, she is equally guilty of adultery and should be called ‘adulteress’. She should be equally called out as adulteress like Todd has been called out as being. She should have had the core value system of relationships to where she should had stood her ground in the name, respect, and honor of someone else’s marriage and said

NO!

and told Todd’s wife and employer what happened.

It is like we develop a false and deceptive sense of hope that the other person will eventually get tired and bored and eventually want us instead of ‘the spouse’. It is like we treat the one we want like a mouse and we put out whatever mousetraps and cheese it takes to ensnare them in order to entrap them.

Why is it we treat spousal relations and finding a church much like a job interview? Why is it that we seem to not be able to honor a lifelong covenant in the eyes of God and believe it’s ok to dump our spouses and betray our families when ‘a better opportunity comes along’? Why is it that we believe that ‘the grass is greener on the other side’?

Let’s take this phrase ‘the grass is greener on the other side’ literally…

Let’s say that there is a fence separating your yard from your neighbor’s yard and you look over the fence and see that your neighbor has beautiful rye grass growing while you have dried up brown centipede grass. Do you decide to move out of your house and move in with the neighbors because the grass in their yard is greener?

Of course not!!

What do most people start doing? Most people start researching, learning, and eventually go out to the garden shop at Home Depot (consulting with the ‘expert’ in the orange apron) and spend some money on some fertilizer and/or grass patches and began a process of seeding/planting, fertilizing, watering, and manicuring the new grass in their yard to where it’s lively and green.

Where am I going with this analogy?

Plain and simple. Todd, the grassy life was never ‘greener’ with the ‘other woman’. Instead of pursuing a relationship with the ‘other woman’ that went too far via the adultery when you moved your emotions, affections, and sexuality to her, you should have prayed, researched, learned, and if needed, spend money on some counseling for resources that would have watered, fertilized, nurtured, and planted new seeds of growth within your own relationship with your own wife in your own backyard that would have reaped a beautiful harvest similar in ways to a beautiful grassy yard.

In other words Todd, if the woman approached you about a relationship and / or if you approached her first, the ‘approachee’ should have directed and shown the ‘approacher’ the

KEEP OFF THE GRASS

sign stating that the grass / yard / relationship was ‘off limits’ to everyone else.

But in reality, it should have never even gotten to this point. If true relationship core values were learned and followed, then the both of you would have had loyality and respect to God, your spouse, families, each other, and yourself and would have never allowed the temptation to take root and grow to begin with.

Like uprooting artichokes and dandelions that love to absorb the minerals that the grass needs to grow, the both of you should have treated that temptation like you treat artichokes and dandelions and got it uprooted as soon as possible.

But you didn’t and the grass became full of those artichokes and dandelions and you wanted to experience greener grass in a easier non-committed, less working way and you jumped the fence and the ‘other woman’ wanted you to jump the fence…..

Shame on both of you…

Fidelity is a two-sided coin where integrity of sexual purity before marriage is equally as important as integrity of sexual purity during marriage. Usually, how you conduct yourself in reference to integrity of sexual purity before marriage is a good indication of how you will act with integrity of sexual purity during marriage. It seems that we have lost the value of loyality and respect of fidelity to God first, and then to the person who we will one day call our spouse. We think that the other side is better when if we were to spend time nurturing what we already have, we would in the long run be more fulfilled, more satisfied, more in love, and more greatful for what we already have and desire nothing else.

Todd is wrong going outside of his marriage for an relationship with another woman and showing disrespect to God, his wife, and his family.

The other woman is wrong for pursuing a relationship with a known married man and showing disrespect to God, Todd’s wife, and Todd’s family.

Both need calling out. Both need a stern rebuke. Both need to sever their ties and go back where they came from.

It has been stated on other Christian blogs that Todd has no interest in restoring his marriage with Shonnah and that Todd would be going to a well known Charismatic hangout in Charlotte, NC in early 2009 to ‘get counseling, restoration, etc. I wonder since the new MySpace page showed up and that the new Ministry page is online if Todd will go and receive his ‘counseling’ or if he will go, ‘get a wristslap’ and go back out on the road because he is a third wave money draw, or if he will go back to business as usual looking for a new demographic audience unfamiliar with what happened to him (worked with Robert Tilton and Jim WhittingTONNNN) because he needs money for alimony and child support.

we are about to find out……

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The Other Half of Fidelity

Go check out the video and see the craziness portrayed in it. While you are at it, check out this site and also this site and watch the videos.

What I am seeing, this is getting nuts and seems to be based on the same pervasive mentality that permeated Lakeland. It seems like the same old Word of Faith teachings taken another step further with a more militant stance.

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Seven Mountain Mentality

That term has always stuck with me and it triggered an old memory of mine. I remember in the late 1970’s when radio had to give news briefs at the top and bottom of the hour, a local classic rock radio station used to interject a song entitled “The Robots” by Kraftwerk as ‘filler music’ if there was not enough time between the last song and the news break to play another song.

In my discovery to find this song again, I went to find both the lyrics and a YouTube video for the song

“The Robots” by Kraftwerk

We’re charging our battery
And now we’re full of energy
We are the robots
We are the robots
We are the robots
We are the robots

We’re functioning automatic
And we are dancing mechanic
We are the robots
We are the robots
We are the robots
We are the robots

Ja tvoi sluga, (I’m your slave)
ja tvoi Rabotnik (I’m your worker.)

we are programmed just to do
anything you want us to
we are the robots
we are the robots
we are the robots
we are the robots

we’re functioning automatic
and we are dancing mechanic
we are the robots
we are the robots
we are the robots
we are the robots

Ja tvoi sluga, (I’m your slave)
ja tvoi Rabotnik (I’m your worker.)

Ja tvoi sluga, (I’m your slave)
ja tvoi Rabotnik (I’m your worker.)

[repeat to fade]
We are the robots

I thought about this and now everytime I think about that song, I start singing it and substituting the word ‘NARBots’ for ‘robots’ because it adequately describes the ‘do and do not think’ mentality of the New Apostolic Reformation wanting every Christian church to align under them and be their slaves to fulfill their unGodly and selfish ambitions of control and manipulation of what is deemed by them as ‘official real Christianity’. I think that it would be cool to remix this song and the video with clips from the Lakeland Revival with the lyrics…

“WE ARE THE NARBOTS”

That is what people like Wagner, Ahn, Johnson, Bentley, King, etc. are really saying.

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We Are The NARbots

According to this Westernstandard.blogs.com article and another article from the same blog written by Rick Hiebert, Todd’s wife has a medical disability of her own that would contradict his healing theology that the author of the article so correctly explains:

You see, Mr. Bentley’s theology has difficulties with people not being miraculously healed. Christians of all stripes can attest to times when prayer to God has helped people to recover from illness and times when it has not. Certainly, given the loving and merciful nature of God as reflected in Christian theology, and the several Biblical references to prayer for the sick, it can be an expression of kindness and mercy by the Christian to either pray for the sick or offer them medical care or comfort.

Mr. Bentley, however, has moved from a balanced and mature approach to the subject to one that, while boosting Mr. Bentley’s alleged expertise in these matters, implies to the sick and needy that there is something wrong with you or your faith if you are not healed….

Mr. Bentley must realize that if, he divorces his current wife in favor of a trophy wife, there will be speculation in the minds of some of his Internet and Christian media critics that one of the reasons that he is getting rid of Shonnah is because her disability embarrasses him—and moreover, that his theology does not work with a wife hobbling along at his side.

One hopes that he will do the right thing and stay with his wife. One can pray that he will–and that everyone disappointed by Mr. Bentley’s flawed revival will be ministered to…some day…

Amen Mr. Hiebert

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The Story That Never Ends

However, which song suits the revival more than the ‘la la la’ song Roy Fields used to sing everynight? The choice is yours:

Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye) – Steam – 1969

or

Ray Charles – Hit The Road Jack (actually Todd)

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Lakeland 2.0 Is Over

It was interesting to read his past story and how the pro-Lakeland people have behaved towards him:

….I have been harassed,” cursed” and called names you can not print on a family website—not to mention the accusations of Pharisee, legalist and being one of the religious “dead.”

Read very carefully the words of LocalPastor when he described what some of the ministries involved in the Lakeland Outpouring have tried to do in reference to hindering his “free speech commentary regarding their public ministry”

Thank you LocalPastor for all that you have done. Your videos really helped educate many people in regards to Lakeland and the bad doctrine that was brought forth from that circus freakshow.

May God richly bless you!

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The “LocalPastor” Talks

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Interesting Insight

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Enough of False Prophets