Wolves devouring the sheep: Bill Johnson, Lou Engle, Todd White, Kris Valloton, Che Ahn, Heidi Baker, Kenneth Copeland, Michael Koulianos, Daniel Kolenda, Rick Joyner & Cindy Jacobs.
(The Domain for Truth) “Beware of supposing that a teacher of religion is to be trusted, because although he holds some unsound views, he yet ‘teaches a great deal of truth.’ Such a teacher is precisely the man to do you harm: poison is always most dangerous when it is given in small doses and mixed with wholesome food” – J.C. Ryle
We at The Domain for Truth would like to express our sincerest gratitude to you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do an interview with us. It was not too long ago that SLIMJIM and myself fellowshipped briefly together at the Shepherds’ Conference with Pastor Costi. Lord willing we will meet you one day Pastor Anthony.
For those of you who may not know, Pastor Costi and Anthony’s ministry does not comprise mainly on the WOF and NAR movements. Both men spend a considerable amount of their lives devoted to expository preaching and shepherding a local church. To find out more about their church you can visit: https://missionbible.org/
If the Lord leads, I encourage you to surf their site and pray for them. They are one of the many good ministries out there that are aggressively and actively trying to reach folks enslaved to the WOF and NAR movement with the Gospel of grace.
Well, let us begin.
1) In essence, what is the WOF and NAR Movement? How vast of a presence do they have in the world?
The abbreviations stand for “Word of Faith” and “New Apostolic Reformation.” The WOF and NAR movements are similar in some ways and very distinct in others. They are similar in that many of the NAR leaders employ WOF theology in their teaching. A very basic summary of WOF theology is that you can use the power of “confession” to control your reality. In other words, just like you can confess your sins and confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9; 1 John 1:9), you can also use the power of confession to confess a job promotion, perfect health, or a Bentley. Ultimately, WOF theology teaches that you are in control. This is where the NAR employs it. The NAR is a movement that teaches the office of “Apostle” is back and bigger than ever. They teach that modern day apostles are going to be running the modern day church. They teach that modern day apostles are “taking dominion” (much like WOF) over the earth and able to restore peace and prosperity through their authority and special gifts. The NAR believes that its adherents should be receiving direct revelation from God, performing miracles like raising the dead and growing people’s limbs, and doing these things and more on a daily basis at will. Even though it is clear in Scripture that the Holy Spirit is the only one who gives people the gifts “of the Spirit,” the NAR charges tuition and promises to teach people how to do signs and wonders. They also offer people the chance to pay money to become an “apostle.” These movements have a vast influence across the globe because people are desperate for the two things they falsely promise: peace and prosperity. Only Jesus can fulfill the deepest needs of the human heart. They trample on His Gospel.
2) Is there any particular leaders from these two camps that are most concerning to you? I ask this because usually false teachers are charismatic and are good with mixing some unsound views with sound views. J.C. Ryle once said, “Beware of supposing that a teacher of religion is to be trusted, because although he holds some unsound views, he yet ‘teaches a great deal of truth.’ Such a teacher is precisely the man to do you harm: poison is always most dangerous when it is given in small doses and mixed with wholesome food.”
Bill Johnson, Lou Engle, Todd White, Kris Valloton, Che Ahn, Heidi Baker, Kenneth Copeland, Michael Koulianos, Daniel Kolenda, Rick Joyner, Cindy Jacobs, and numerous others are the headliners. The music that the NAR has developed is topping #1 charts in Christian music as well. Bethel Music and Jesus Culture were both “birthed” out of Bethel Church and mentored by Bill Johnson. Hillsong is right in the same theological mix as these teachers and has historical roots in Word of Faith theology. The fact that this movement has infiltrated the most mainstream avenues of Christianity should be deeply concerning to any Christian who cares about the Gospel.