A very important statement finally coming from a leader, outlining many issues many hoped and prayed would come to the light regarding Lakeland. May our friends at TMC also take this at heart...
Blessings,
Andre
A STATEMENT and APPEAL REGARDING LAKELAND
-Dutch Sheets. (Aug 21,
2008).
It has now been a couple of weeks since I heard about Todd
Bentley’s plans for separation and divorce. Like everyone, I have had a variety
of emotions including anger, sadness, and grief. Every time I see this scenario
repeated, I grieve: for the husband and wife involved; for the family that will
be scarred in so many ways; because of the incredible reproach it brings to
Christ; and the distortion it gives concerning God’s heart and ways. I am
praying for Todd and his family.
I was asked numerous times to write my
position on Lakeland while it was happening, but always felt checked by the
Lord—the waters were too muddy and emotions too high. I now feel strongly that
the Lord wants me to do so. It will be arguably one of the greatest risks of my
ministry to date, but one I feel must be taken. Fathers, when given the voice to
do so, bear the responsibility of giving correction and wisdom. I hope mine
qualifies for the latter. I assure you I have spent many hours praying and
thinking through the situation. The risks are broad: with some of my dearest
friends and co-laborers, I risk harming those relationships; with many in the
charismatic body of Christ, I risk appearing to be an arrogant, “self-appointed”
spokesperson for them; to the “I told you so” crowd, I risk the accusation of
“spinning” the situation. (As far as the heresy hunters and revival police—not
those who raised legitimate questions about Lakeland, but the attack dogs who
make their living and build their ministries criticizing everyone else—I lost
respect for them long ago and couldn’t care less what they think.)
My
purpose and sincere prayer in writing this statement, however, is three-fold: to
see healing begin for the body of Christ; to initiate a process that can remove
the reproach brought to Christ and the Church; and to do these things while
preserving and honoring my current relationships. I pray that these desires,
along with my heart, come through loudly. And I hope I’m writing this with true
humility— who among us clearly sees all hidden in our own hearts? Let me also
preface this statement by saying that what needs to be said cannot be done
quickly or carelessly. I do not want my heart to be missed and am not willing to
run that risk for the sake of brevity, so please bear with the length.
(Incidentally, I think it will be obvious no one involved in the Lakeland
situation has asked me to write this; and for the sake of integrity on my part,
none have been consulted concerning what I’m stating.)
Mistakes at
Lakeland
Did leaders handling the Lakeland situation make mistakes? Yes—
huge mistakes. Beyond the obvious fruit of salvations and healings, can good
come from Lakeland, as some have suggested, even with the recent revelations
concerning Todd Bentley? Yes, but only if there is complete honesty and
transparency, the removal of all attempts at self-preservation, and absolute
humility from all sides.
Did I endorse the Lakeland meetings? No, I did
not, nor did I condemn them. I acknowledged that healings were occurring and
some were being saved, which I still believe and rejoice over. I realized and
stated that the thousands of people attending were hungry and sincere, as were
those involved in leading the 2 meetings. The worship was regularly good. But
looking past some of the immediate and positive results, I, like many, also
looked ahead to the possible fruit from questionable doctrine and
experiences, exaggeration and hype, youthful pride, character issues and the
frightening potential of a 32 year “young” man leading a movement that could
shape the future of the Church.
These things were frightening, very frightening, to others and me. When
something has the potential of setting precedent, birthing a movement and being
reproduced as a prototype, we are no longer simply endorsing good brothers, good
intentions and miracles. Doctrine and foundations will be built on these events.
Teachings and paradigms for future ministries will be formed—in short, the next
generation of the church and the move of God in the earth could be greatly
impacted. This is why I stopped short of endorsing everything at Lakeland. Just
as importantly, I could not ignore the “check”, the uneasiness, the sickening
feeling deep in my spirit telling me something else was wrong—terribly wrong—in
this situation. Like other leaders I tried to push past my uneasiness with the
showmanship, the “bams,” the head butts and kneeing, along with certain
experiences and doctrines, all in order to embrace the good. Like many of my
friends I tried to be—and believe I was—gracious, accepting, ready to think “out
of the box”, etc. But try as I may, the uneasiness in my spirit just wouldn’t
leave.
Did I voice my concerns to the appropriate people? Yes, including
stating my concerns for Todd’s marriage to the Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic
Team. Did they listen? Some did, some didn’t. But I want to state emphatically,
this is not an “I told you so” statement. In fact, much of what I want to
address goes back several years into our charismatic Christian history. And I
assure you that concerning our present weaknesses in the charismatic church,
there is plenty of blame to go around. Personally, I’ve been right at times with
my discernment and decisions, wrong at others. It would be worse than
hypocritical for me to point the finger of accusation—I have no stones of
judgment to throw. Nonetheless, mistakes were made and must be acknowledged and
learned from in order for us to heal, grow and move forward.
Some of my
closest friends endorsed and participated in the Lakeland meetings. For them I
have both criticism—all of us lose credibility at this point if we’re not
completely honest—and affirmation. Should they have been more discerning and
have listened to the warnings they received? Obviously. Should those who
“aligned” Todd with spiritual fathers (which was a good thing and positioned him
to receive help if he chooses to accept it) have realized to do so publicly
was a mistake and could be interpreted by those watching in no other way than as
a complete endorsement? Yes, they should have, especially when the event became
a commissioning ceremony, complete with decrees and prophecies of going to
higher levels, predictions of Todd’s increasing world-wide influence and leading
a world-wide revival, emphatic and prolific endorsements of his character, etc.
How
could those watching believe the evening was anything but an aligning,
endorsing and commissioning ceremony? It was. It really doesn’t matter who laid
their hands on Todd—all share responsibility. This was unwise at best, naïve at
least and at its worst, foolish. And should the leaders involved have realized
that those of us connected to them relationally, ministerially, and as
movements—some even in alignment with them apostolically and as sons and
daughters—would feel minimalized, if not betrayed, by the fact that they were in
essence taking us onto the stage with them? Yes. These feelings were inevitable,
especially when we had such uneasiness and asked them not to. Should there be an
acknowledgment of these mistakes to the body of Christ for the sake of
accountability and in order to rebuild trust? I believe so, and remain hopeful
this will happen.
With such strong statements of disagreement, what is
the affirmation toward my friends who led, participated in or endorsed this
ceremony (and the meetings in general)? Simply stated, I know their hearts. It
is not a contradiction of my criticisms toward some of their actions to, at the
same time, defend and endorse their hearts and character. It is completely
appropriate — when true—to defend a person’s heart and integrity
while
disagreeing with their actions.
I think the blunder of that night was huge and very damaging to the
body of Christ, but I also realize that in their hearts, those involved honestly
felt they were doing the right things. Again, while not defending the action
taken, I would defend the character and integrity of Peter and Doris Wagner as
vigorously as anyone I know, and do so with absolute confidence. There are no
two people, and I mean that literally, who embody the qualities of humility,
integrity, holiness (no compromise!), sacrifice, unselfish kingdom-thinking, the
tireless giving of themselves to Christ’s cause and the body of Christ—and do I
need to add risk-taking?— as much as Peter and Doris Wagner. It remains my great
honor to be associated with them and call them a spiritual father and mother.
And again, while not minimizing or “sweeping under the rug” any wrong decisions,
I remain steadfast in my belief that similar affirmations could be made of
others involved—either directly or indirectly—in the ceremony. And some of them
still see their endorsing of Lakeland as an endorsement of revival generally,
not of Todd personally.
The Bigger Picture
It may come as a
surprise, however, that my real purpose in writing this is not to only state the
above, as important as I believe saying it is. My primary purpose, and I believe
my assignment from the Lord, is to identificationally repent on behalf of the
leadership of the charismatic body of Christ (see Nehemiah 1:4-7; Daniel
9:1-19). In doing so, I do not have a pompous, “no one else will, so I’ll do it”
attitude, nor am I arrogant enough to think I have become the spokesperson for
the charismatic church. But in the same way that I can identify with the racism
of white predecessors and repent to blacks, Native Americans and other races, I
can represent the leadership of the charismatic body of Christ and
identificationally repent for our sins and weaknesses. I encourage leaders who
find my statements true and appropriate to join me.
Beyond the simple
fact of it being appropriate, I firmly believe it is the only way to begin the
process of rebuilding trust with those asked to follow us and to remove the
cynicism of the world we ask to listen to us. As you know, regaining credibility
is much more difficult than attaining credibility. Concerning what I’m about to
say, I don’t believe I have a critical spirit, nor do I want to diminish the
sacrifices, faithfulness, and hard work done by so many in ministry. The fact
remains, however, that we have failed the Lord and His people in many ways—not
just with Lakeland but in countless other situations—and must repent if we are
to be trusted in the future. And as you also know, no repentance is effective if
watered down and couched in excuses, therefore, I intend to be brutally
honest:
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. We assume a person’s credibility based on gifts, charisma, the size of
their ministry or church, whether they can prophesy or work a miracle, etc.
(Miracles and signs are intended to validate God and His message, not the
messenger; sometimes they validate the assignment of an individual, but never
the person’s character, lifestyle or spiritual maturity.) We leaders in the
Church have become no different than the world around us in our standards for
measuring success and greatness. This has contributed to the body of Christ
giving millions of dollars to undeserving individuals; it has allowed people
living in sin to become influential leaders—even to lead movements, allowing
them influence all the way to the White House. Through our lack of
discernment we built their stages and gave them their platforms.
We have been gullible beyond words—gullible leaders producing gullible
sheep. When a spiritual leader we’re connected with violates trust, is exposed
for immorality or falls below other accepted standards of behavior, it does not
exonerate us simply to say we don’t condone such behavior. Those we lead trust
us to let them know whom to trust. We have failed them miserably in this regard.
For this lack of discernment, and for employing and passing on inappropriate
standards of judgment, I repent to the Lord and ask forgiveness of the body of
Christ.
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. Enough of the
spin—we’re no different than Washington, DC. Every time another embarrassing and
disgraceful situation is exposed, the dancing begins. It seems that no one bears
any real responsibility except the man or woman who actually commits sin.
Incredibly, we even blame “revival” itself—the pressures, attacks, weariness,
the “revival is messy” argument, etc., saying it is responsible for the
failures. This is disgusting. Those of us on boards of fallen leaders, those who
helped give them a voice, put them on TV, published and endorsed their books
(yes, I have), etc., are not exonerated simply by saying we don’t condone the
wrong behavior or that we didn’t know. We’re supposed to know. I don’t believe
anyone is expecting perfection from us—I know I’m not. We’re far too human for
that. But we are expected to have enough humility to look the world and those
who follow us in the eye when we miss it and say, “we were wrong and we are
sorry.” Our careless accountability has caused the body of Christ to be
spiritually raped and abused. It has produced disillusionment and brought
immeasurable reproach to our God and cynicism to His message. Concerning
Lakeland, what was called the “greatest revival since Azusa Street” has become
possibly one of the greatest reproaches. We, the leaders of the charismatic
church, are responsible. For not accepting and acknowledging our responsibility,
for caring more about our own reputation than Christ’s, I repent to God and ask
forgiveness of the body of Christ.
3) Our procedures and standards of
accountability are incredibly inadequate. We have provided camaraderie, not
biblical accountability. For those on Todd Bentley’s board who had previous
knowledge of his marriage problems and said nothing, it was more than a
mistake—it was reckless, foolish, and irresponsible. For those on the stage the
night of his aligning and commissioning who knew and said nothing—ditto. For
those there who didn’t know, my question is, “why didn’t you?” You were
trusted to know. That is one of the purposes of public commissioning and the
purpose behind the concept of endorsement. I’m not trying to point the finger;
I’m endeavoring to get us to be honest about our failures—we have serious
credibility issues. Have I ever laid hands on, commissioned or endorsed anyone
without adequately checking them out? Yes, but you better believe I’ll be more
careful next time! And we must not single out Lakeland. We’re all guilty. What
about the leader in my city who ran with some of the leading spiritual fathers
in our nation— sincere and good men, I might add, and not all “charismatic”
leaders—who sang his praises and helped build his stage—all while he was doing
drugs and having sex with other men? But we shouldn’t blame only the high
profile cases—what about those of us who unknowingly have had adulterers on our
staffs or appointed elders that turned out to have compromise in their life?
Sounding familiar yet? This is so epidemic that every member of the body of
Christ stands guilty—what pastor or leader did you follow that turned out to
have sin issues? What ministry did you support that was unworthy? There is
plenty of blame to go around. The big question becomes not “who do we blame” but
“how do we fix this mess?” Leaders can live in sin—adultery, homosexuality,
financial wrongdoing, drugs, etc.—for years without it being realized. They can
offer completely unacceptable lifestyles for the body of Christ to follow and
still keep their TV programs and lavish lifestyles. In the name of grace,
compassion and forgiveness we have lowered the standard so much that often there
isn’t one. We have bought into the lie that true discipline is “shooting our
wounded.” We have made a mockery of biblical restoration, making “ministry”—not
healthy individuals, marriages and families—its ultimate goal. The fact is,
integrity matters. No, we don’t need legalistic, pharisaical standards, but we
must have standards. For this lack of biblical accountability, I repent to God
and I ask forgiveness of the body of Christ.
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. For this compromise in the way we build, for
giving the Church watered down wine, commercial Christianity, a flashy
but
weak Church and hype disguised as anointing, I repent to God and ask
forgiveness of the body of Christ. Galatians 6:1-5 is an appropriate reference
with which to end this statement: “Brethren, even if a man caught in any
trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness;
each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s
burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is
something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his
own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone,
and not in regard to another. For each one shall bear his own load.”
NAS
My passionate prayer is that God honors this repentance — I believe
He led me to do it and therefore, will—and uses it to begin a process of
cleansing and healing for all of us. In order for the coming great awakening to
bear maximum fruit we must have both, as well as a course correction that sets
us on a path of wisdom leading to life. There is no doubt that past moves of God
have been aborted, ended prematurely and contained error or heresy that have
wounded, if not destroyed, many. The healing revival of the 40’s and 50’s, the
charismatic movement, discipleship movement and Jesus movement are all examples.
My heart is to help shape a movement, the fruit of which will last for decades —
better yet, forever. And I have great expectations for us—I am not a
cynic.
My passionate prayer is also that Todd Bentley’s marriage survives
and thrives…that he turns his heart fully toward Christ and toward those with
whom he is aligned, and allows them, as God leads, to put him on a path of
complete restoration. I thank God for those who were touched by the Holy Spirit
at Lakeland and while watching it on God TV and the web. May we all move forward
into all God has planned for us in this awesome season of endless
possibility.
With great hope—Dutch Sheets.
http://www.dutchsheets.org
http://www.themiraclechannel.ca/article.php?story=20080822113433243