Part 10: The "WHY"

So here’s my “WHY?”

I wrote most of this a few months ago and I’ve been praying about posting it ever since. I don’t ever plan on really promoting this on facebook or anything, but it stands as a reminder to others that spiritual abuse is wrong and it exists. My husband is better equipped to explain why spiritual abuse has it’s basis in false teaching. The Word of God is always twisted and used to promote an agenda in a church that has spiritually abusive leaders. But over the past few months I’ve watched the news articles about this church leader or that church leader denying their faith in God or being exposed in sin.

Well one particular leader spurred me into action and this story goes back to 2008. Todd Bentley is his name.

I remember the Lakeland Revival. I remember people from church urging me to go and make the trip to go see what was happening in that church and I remember not wanting to go and feeling very apprehensive about it all, even though I was in the Word of Faith movement at the time. So I didn’t go. Then only a few weeks later, the scandal broke in the news about Todd and his affair with his intern Jessa. They both claimed it was only an emotional affair but later it came out that it was indeed physical and that Todd was not seeking to reunite with his wife, but was leaving her. Todd, a few months later, married Jessa. Todd spent a short season out of ministry and around the same time as his marriage to Jessa, relaunched into full time ministry. In less than a year, Todd was back in full swing.

Todd, clearly, was unfit for ministry. Todd had others come forward about sexual misconduct and nothing was done back in 2008 and 2009. No one publicly dealt with Todd or Jessa! He was fully supported by those he was supposed to be accountable to and the Word of God was set aside.

Fast forward to 2019. In June, a pastor came out with a scathing rebuke of Todd and Jessa and has proof of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and debauchery that’s not even unheard of in unbelievers! Sodom and Gomorrah type stuff! I don’t think I need to describe it further. Aslo we aren’t talking about one or two people that this spiritual leader preyed upon, but we are into the double digits here!

All of this got me thinking about all the former leaders in that church that I’ve talked to. There’s a lot of us and the church is less than 5 years old! There’s four different Elder families that have left and six or more Leadership families that have left and every one of them have spoken to the Head Pastor and voiced concerns about misconduct and the common theme of his wife running the church. Not one of us has come out publicly that I know of. So people who don’t know are still trapped not knowing that the church where they attend is not a healthy place for them to be. I'll gladly be the scapegoat as I've worn that garment before with my first church staff position. (I'm still talked about and it's been 10 years!)

Going back to the Todd Bentley issue. Todd has people who are supposed to hold him accountable. None of them have. Rick Joyner is directly over Todd and Rick fully endorses Todd’s ministries. Side note: Rick Joyner, Todd Bentley and Bill Johnson, over Bethel, are all connected in ministry and endorse each other. Now if that doesn’t make you go “hmmmmm”.

So, all of us former Leaders have spoken to people privately, but never come out publicly. Paul, the apostle, called out publicly false teachers. He didn’t go into a long drawn out story as to why. But there’s precedence in scripture that we should call out false teachers. Even church discipline guidelines say that we should publicly out them if they don’t repent. Each of us former leaders have met with the Pastor about this issue or that issue, with evidence, with accusation and not once were things dealt with biblically by the Pastor. I know, based on scripture, that the men in leadership at that church as Elders are not fit for ministry. I know this based on the testimonies of more than 20 people and biblically we only need two or three.

My fear is that the Pastor, his wife and the other Elders, if not called into account publicly will be like Todd Bentley, worse years later. It’s also my hope that other former leaders will speak out or at least direct those wounded under this false ministry to my blog so they can find some healing in knowing that they aren’t alone. None of this is done maliciously. You’ll notice I don’t use names and present facts. Occasionally, I put my assumptions in there but I label them as such, even claiming that I do not know for sure. I did my best to write this out without emotionalism or bitterness.

This experience at that church wasn’t without blessings but it made me very aware that the problem of false teaching and spiritual abuse is rampant and we all need to be diligent to study the word of God for ourselves so we can see when someone is trying to lead us astray and use manipulation and witchcraft to control and destroy lives.

I conclude with this:

Luke 8:17 For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

Luke 12:1-3 Beware of the leaven of the pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.