The following in italics is a quote from the first chapter of my new book, "The Prophetic Church: Wielding the Power to Change the World" (Chosen Books) due to be released in February, 2009. I believe that the growing healing revival under Todd Bentley in Lakeland, Florida, in progress as I write may be an answer to the fervent prayer and repentance so many of us have offered up. The outpouring in Lakeland, though controversial, has served as a kind of igniter for piles of spiritual fuel the Lord has been storing up across the Western world for decades. God has been preparing pockets of hungry saints to receive. He has given us tools for ministry in inner healing, the Father’s love, prophetic ministry, evangelism and more. These deposits are now bursting into flame.

Recently I have been made aware of a growing chorus of concerns surrounding the Lakeland Outpouring and Todd Bentley, its leader. Concerns range from issues of questionable doctrine to accusations of occult practice, and they are being raised by men who have been friends and champions of revival for many years. I have therefore been compelled to examine the issues raised. I've wrestled with their implications and tried to sort it all out prayerfully. I have come to the conclusion that, for all the flaws, I can with integrity stand by the statement I quoted above. There is good and bad, glory and flesh in the Lakeland Outpouring, but God is using it to serve His purposes in the earth.

I am not one to throw his brains on the table just because God seems to be moving. I don't believe God ever exempts us from the command to test the spirits to see if they are from God (I John 4:1) or to "judge" the words of anyone claiming, "God told me" (I Corinthians 14:29). To fail to test and judge would be foolish at best and dangerous at worst. We can and we must obey these commands in love without being Pharisees, heresy hunters or obnoxious revival critics.

I don't believe God has given it to me to publicly point out the failings of the Lakeland Outpouring or to openly specifiy the unbiblical teachings that I have heard Todd articulate. Others have done so capably and extensively, some in love and some with less than love. You can find it all over the internet with a simple word search.

I do believe it is my role to prophetically call for prayer in at least two areas. First, success is almost always toxic. Few things drive us off balance into pride and flesh faster than escalating fame and notoriety. The leaders of the Lakeland Outpouring are largely young, which adds to the vulnerability. Pray for the Lord's hand of protection and correction.

Second, pray for those who have come alongside to be spiritual fathers to Todd Bentley. Pray that their fathering role does not get buried under any degree of awe brought on by the anointing or the scope of the impact this outpouring has had. Blind acceptance leads to shipwreck as surely as does blind rejection. Four decades ago Lonnie Frisbee sparked the Jesus movement and then lit the fire that burned in the Vineyard and touched the world with its power. He, too, was young, but the fathers who should have stood with him to love and train him abandoned him when his struggles with homosexuality began to surface. A great opportunity was lost. Recently, men the likes of Che Ahn, John Arnott and Bill Johnson, among others, stood to provide apostolic covering for Todd. Pray that they do for Todd what was not done for Lonnie. Pray that they can and will faithfully speak wisdom and correction into Todd's life and ministry, even as they offer blessing.

Finally, in testing and weighing what comes out of the Lakeland Outpouring, it would be as unwise to label it all as of the devil as it would be to say it's all good. People are involved. Flesh and error are therefore inevitable. Mixed in with the anointing are things that need correction. I personally will not therefore simply jump on the bandwagon with my eyes closed. Neither will I stand as a critic and say that it's all wrong because of a set of troubling issues that have surfaced and will become more public in days to come.

We owe God and we owe our brother Todd a better deal than that.

(Prophetic Moments is an occasional bulletin produced by Pastor R. Loren Sandford, New Song Fellowship, Denver, Colorado.  For previous issues click HERE.)

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Other books by Pastor R. Loren Sandford available in our bookstore:
"Burnout:  Renewal in the Wilderness"
"Prophetic Worship"

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