Good article from the frontlines on the problems with Lakeland from the very beginning by a Lakeland area pastor who was close, literally, to the happenings there.
When the first news began to break around here about Todd, healings and the revival…I went to see it for myself. In all I attended four separate “revival” meetings over a two month period. I also watched countless hours of the events on the Internet. I witnessed Todd hollering “BAM” a lot. I witnessed “verification teams” in the parking lot carefully choosing people deemed candidates for “healing” while turning many others down. I watched ushers push ill children away from the stage area because they had not been preapproved for “healing”.
This is the same tactic that Benny Hinn, Peter Popoff, and others in "healing" ministries have been exposed doing in the past. Yet people continue to flock to these "ministries". People are hungry for something deeper and these sorts of spectacles play on that over and over again giving false hope and faith in something that is totally deceptive.
It now turns out that this was the same hyper-Charismatic craziness without accountability that the leadership of the sponsoring church is known for. The three ring circus has been packed up, the tents have been taken down, the moral failure has been announcement, everyone involved is pushing back and thousands of hurting people are left questioning God and their salvation. The question that I now have to ask myself…the question that will haunt me for quite a while is…did I sit on the sidelines while the playing field burned?
We should remember that none of this is new and has been going on since the very beginning of the church. Paul's letters address these problems in churches at Corinth and Colossae and the letters of John are clearly speaking to this kind of thing with the phrase "other Gospels" and the use of the term Spirit of the Anti-Christ.
It's worth reading the two powerful observations above from Chris Elrod in context. The final question that he asks himself is if he did enough to protect the people he knew were going to get hurt? I think this is a critical moral question for all Christians as these sources of deception continue to abound in the Body of Christ.
(HT: Emergent Village)
No related posts.
One thing about these frauds and charlatans that should be remembered is that they not only degrade themselves and others spiritually, but they also are the cause of suffering and even death. One instance is the tragic case of Mrs. Helen Sullivan, who suffered from cancer that had weakened her back, related in Dr. William Nolen's 1974 book Healing: A Doctor in Search of a Miracle. During a faith-healing performance, Kathryn Kuhlman had her get out of her wheelchair, remove her back brace, and run across the stage repeatedly. The crowd applauded what they thought was a miracle, but the antics cost Mrs. Sullivan a collapsed vertebra. Four months after her "cure," she died.
Here is an account from Dr. Nolen's book that relates some of the mechanics of "faith-healing":
"In the next crowd that got off the elevator was one man…who didn't have a wheelchair….As he walked off the elevator, I could see him wincing with pain. He was limping badly, so I offered to help him to the auditorium. "I'd appreciate that," he said. "My back and hips hurt like the devil. I've got cancer of the kidney. Had it operated on two years ago….Now the doctors tell me it's in my spine and in my hipbones. They give me pain medicine to take, but it doesn't do me much good. I'm hoping Kathryn Kuhlman will cure me."
"Miss Kuhlman would pause between "cures," turn as if she had heard a voice and point out into the audience. "Back there…way back on the right. There's a man with cancer in his hip. You're cured. Your pain is gone. Come down and claim your cure." someone back in the hall struggled to his feet and slowly worked his way down the aisle as the crowds applauded. Behind him came one of the ushers, carrying his wheelchair. When the man got closer to the stage I could see that he was the fellow I had talked to earlier, the man with cancer of the kidney. When he was up on the stage, his wheelchair behind him, Kathryn Kuhlman said, "Is that your wheel chair?" "Yes, it is," said the man, bewildered. "And now you're walking. Isn't that wonderful? Praise the Lord. What do you think of that?" Kathryn asked, turning to the audience. Enthusiastic applause…."Bend over so everyone can see." He bent over. "Walk around." He walked around….
Now, where have we seen that before?
[...] Source: http://notes-from-offcenter.com/2008/08/25/lakelands-3-ring-circus/ [...]
I was one of the ushers in Lakeland, I was also on the security team, I was a catcher, and worked the stage area during the early weeks of July 2008. "Pushing sick children away form the stage" was not in the job description of any of those jobs. "Pre-approving people" in the parking lot never happened, what did happen was people on the testimony team would go out and ask if any one who was there had been healed in last nights meeting and would like to give a testimony, and yes, from those who gave a testimony people were selected to come up on stage to give a testimony. No, not everyone who gave a testimony got up to give one, that would take far too long, so yes, the more amazing testimonies were selected, but they valued every healing "A headache may not seem like a lot to many of you, but if you had a headache and now it's gone, it means a lot to you." The only reason to use the more dramatic healings was to build faith. If you realize that God can remove a cancerous tumor, wouldn't you be more likely to believe for your wart?
Anyways, the bottom line is that people will see what they want to see and misinterpret based on their own bias. I was there, I was on the teams, and none of what he described happened. And because the teams were volunteer based, it is possible that some rogue individuals were acting outside of their instructions and doing things they shouldn't have, but I cannot even state that as I was not there every day of the revival to make that call.
I was one of the ushers in Lakeland, I was also on the security team, I was a catcher, and worked the stage area during the early weeks of July 2008. "Pushing sick children away form the stage" was not in the job description of any of those jobs. "Pre-approving people" in the parking lot never happened, what did happen was people on the testimony team would go out and ask if any one who was there had been healed in last nights meeting and would like to give a testimony, and yes, from those who gave a testimony people were selected to come up on stage to give a testimony. No, not everyone who gave a testimony got up to give one, that would take far too long, so yes, the more amazing testimonies were selected, but they valued every healing "A headache may not seem like a lot to many of you, but if you had a headache and now it's gone, it means a lot to you." The only reason to use the more dramatic healings was to build faith. If you realize that God can remove a cancerous tumor, wouldn't you be more likely to believe for your wart?
Anyways, the bottom line is that people will see what they want to see and misinterpret based on their own bias. I was there, I was on the teams, and none of what he described happened. And because the teams were volunteer based, it is possible that some rogue individuals were acting outside of their instructions and doing things they shouldn't have, but I cannot even state that as I was not there every day of the revival to make that call.
[...] Finally, I held Fresh Fire Ministry's covering for him accountable as well. It was a circus, a sideshow of deceit. Any man that leaves his wife for someone else and does not see his kids for months is a loser. He [...]