Lakeland Apostolic Findings by C. Peter Wagner, “Convening Apostle”

This is the latest release from C Peter Wagner on Lakeland and Todd Bentley. Compare this latest statement with the one at the bottom of this post which was released on the Elijah List on June 24th along with Chuck Pierce’s own glowing endorsement of Todd Bentley (see here). How things change in just six weeks!

“THE LAKELAND APOSTOLIC FINDINGS

From the Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team
by C. Peter Wagner, Convening Apostle, 11th August 2008

Introduction

Few events in recent church history have drawn as much national and international attention as the Lakeland Outpouring, May-August 2008, led by evangelist Todd Bentley and his Fresh Fire Ministries team. A key factor contributing to this unusual phenomenon has been the decision of Rory and Wendy Alec to use GOD TV to televise the revival meetings internationally.

As would be expected, true to the history of revivals, a powerful move of God like this inevitably draws serious attacks from the enemy and his forces of darkness. One outcome is a range of reactions to the phenomenon from those who focus on the hand of God in the ministry to those who focus on the damage that the enemy is doing.

Because of the unprecedented number of people who have been affected one way or another by Lakeland and because of instant communication through technology, opinions and points of view easily become public domain, and the body of Christ can readily become polarized, which, of course, would be a victory for the enemy.

[End times note - What C Peter Wagner is doing is effectively putting down the bloggers on the internet who were the main voices against Lakeland and Todd Bentley and helped to bring him down via the "public domain".

By "the body of Christ being polarised", Wagner means that a distinct band of people spoke up publically and warned and said Lakeland, Todd Bentley and the false apostles and false prophets and false manifestations linked with it are not of God, and people should have nothing to do with it, let alone come under the apostles headed by Wagner that are being promoted through it.

These apostles have been wooing the body seeking dominion over it, and continue to woo under the guise of "mending the church" - when it is them and their unsound doctrines, wicked schemes and vile plottings that has caused this division and hurt in the first place!

As C Peter Wagner demands unity under him, with him being the king of the castle, then of course he is going to view any opposition to this eg 'polarisation' - as not being good - as it is not good for HIM!  Even when the critical bloggers' words have been proven to be true NOW with the passing of time, and the apostolic-prophetic movement have been proven to be the false prophets, liars and hypocrits and promoters of darkness that they are, they still hold themselves up as the heros in all this and urge "come let us fix this problem!" - that they themselves wilfully and deliberately caused!]

Unfortunately, in the case of Lakeland, the enemy has been succeeding, more than he should, in producing widespread confusion and even chaos throughout large segments of the body of Christ.

[End times note - the enemy suceeded in blinding multitudes for months to an evil charlatan and his false anointing and prophecies - and though many have been forcibly woken up, many are still blind because they want to be blind. Wagner does not seem to care about the enemy "winning" through false doctrine, false prophecy, false impartations, and being hustled financially by a huckster. Wagner only seems to care now that Bentley has been outed - and that is the truth of it - and to do some damage control to protect himself and his interests as well as to seek to gain a greater foothold in the charismatic church through repairing something he himself created - just as in a political false flag incident. Church, do not allow him to take over as a false Messiah figure that promises peace to the spiritual Israel as he will break his promises as surely as he will either corrupt or destroy the body - and more than that, thoroughly root him, his associates and his false doctrines out NOW. This man and his movement is dangerous and is antichrist.

Also in terms of confusion, false prophets like Todd Bentley spread confusion as they continually contradict not only themselves but also the word of God. The bloggers that warned about him did not contradict either themselves or more importantly, the word of God, which makes the fact there are false prophets and charlatans most clear. There is nothing confusing about what we said - 'stay away from Lakeland, as Bentley is a poisonous serpent!' But people refused to hear the warning as they loved manifesting more than they loved truth. And some - Wagner, notably - had evil agendas and so loved the darkness and confusion created.

Wagner does not care about TRUTH and righteousness - far from it. If he did, he would have spoken out YEARS ago, not just about Todd but all the other false prophets out there linked to him. Wagner collects false prophets and has done so for years. He would have also taught truth and promoted truth instead of promoting the error he has and routed out the lies and corruption from within his ranks. And certainly he would not have taken the recent actions of publically "aligning" and commissioning Todd Bentley!]

Throughout the early weeks of the Outpouring I watched it from time to time on TV, I followed the news items and rejoiced at what God was doing in Lakeland, but the matter was located toward the bottom of my priority scale. I also became aware of a rising number of criticisms and concerns about what was going on there, but I had very little interest in absorbing or analyzing them.

[Rubbish! I do not believe that for a second. Lakeland was orchestrated and planned beforehand by this evil motley crew in order to elevate the false apostles, and C Peter Wagner was well aware of what was going on there, and more than that he sought every opportunity to promote and elevate himself and his apostles from the very early stages of Lakeland.  Todd's fall was even premeditated and orchestrated by the powers that be in order to further promote themselves during the fall out.

BUT even if what Wagner is saying is true, that Lakeland was the "bottom of his priorities" for a time, and he did not really know what the concerns were [what he is really doing, of course, is making excuses to distance himself from these problems], this statement of his just does not ring true for several reasons – and again, even if true, it raises major red flags so Wagner is still not in the clear.

First of all, Wagner claims he watched it “from time to time” on God TV. Nobody with any discernment needs watching Todd Bentley more than a few minutes to discern that something is very, very wrong – spiritually and theologically and ethically. What Convening Apostle Peter Wagner is saying is; “I do not have any discernment” OR “I have discernment but I like evil” OR “I have discernment and I do not care.”  None of these scenarios are good for someone who seeks dominion over the Earth and all who reside on it.

His own apostles and prophets were involved in a “revival” that was raising serious concerns and criticisms internationally – and he is not interested in at least taking a brief look at these issues? What does this say about this man’s leadership ability or pastoral heart – let alone his care for the flock – his own and the church at large?  Basically, when Wagner is saying “I had very little interest in absorbing or analyzing them” he says – “I do not care about heresy and lies within my own ranks”, “I do not care about my apostles and prophets decieving mutlitudes”, “I do not care about the devil gaining a foothold” - until someone calls him and virtually begs for his ‘apostolic’ help?! (And then still the actions in that help proferred, fall far short of reighteousness, let alone reflect true apostolic leadership) ]

This changed when I received a telephone call from Apostle Stephen Strader, Pastor of Ignited Church, and host of the Lakeland Outpouring. Stephen called me as the Presiding Apostle of the International Coalition of Apostles (ICA) of which he was a member.

{WAS? Does that mean Stephen Strader is no longer a member?]

From first hand observation he described both the blessings and harsh opposition that they had begun to experience. Then he said, “Where are the apostles?”

[Why would Stephen Strader call on the apostles when not only is he and another Strader family member apostles, but Robert Ricciardelli, yet another apostle, was there overseeing things? And when an abundance of apostles or their associated prophets were also there each night? Rodney Howard Browne was also giving his advice behind the scenes.]

I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to me at that moment and said words to the effect, “Peter, you will need to answer that question.”

[Basically Wagner is saying, "God says we are the apostles and I am the chief"]

As I have written in my books, one of the roles of an apostle is to set things in order and another is to assure that the body of Christ is operating on the basis of sound, biblical doctrine.

[Did he just say this?! Oh please this is laughable, bearing in mind the history of the NAR and its false apostles and false prophets. Sound?! These guys intentionally move away from Biblical doctrine and/or blatantly twist it - and in fact they prophesy a coming persecution of those who adhere to the Bible and sound doctrine.

Furthermore, Wagner contradicts himself from a few sentences back and also testifies against his apostleship, as in one breath he says "it was not a priority", "I had little interest", "I was unable to discern blatant heresy and blasphemy when I saw it" and then the next breath he says "one of the roles of an apostle is to set things in order and another is to assure that the body of Christ is operating on the basis of sound, biblical doctrine".   So, if he truly thinks he is a God-ordained apostle, why did Wagner not set things in order and establish sound biblical doctrine - not only at Lakeland but within his own ranks?

Also note the contradictions with the bottom statement from the 24th June where Wagner states Lakeland was "groundbreaking" and it was crucially important and "I cannot recall an event of this nature in the recent history of the Church" etc....]

There was no question about the need-disorder reigned, and many of the Lakeland doctrines as well as practices were being called into question on an international scope. I believe that I was given a divine assignment that I hadn’t even desired,

[Yeah, right! More like he saw the opportunity for self promotion....]

namely to attempt to bring some kind of apostolic order to this widespread and potentially damaging confusion.

{So why didn’t he then bring ”apostolic order”?! Nobody from among the apostles sorted anything out, until Bentley very publically fell after the ABC Nightline newscast. Then Robert Ricciardelli came out of the woodwork, followed by more and more “rats”. Now Wagner is joining these rats and trying to save his own ungodly scrawny ratlike neck. Note the coincedental timing of this statement too, not only after Lakeland has shut up shup, and God TV has finished its broadcast, but at the same time as Todd Bentley’s announcement of his marriage breakdown (here)]

While I was talking to Stephen, God kept bringing the word “alignment” to the front of my mind, so I questioned him on Todd Bentley’s apostolic alignment. The upshot was that Todd believed in apostles and prophets, but he had never entered into a formal alignment. I did some more investigation over the next couple of days, and I was assured that this was indeed the case.

As the picture developed, there were two pressing needs. One was to facilitate apostolic alignment for Todd

[Why would anybody align a false prophet and charlatan underneath them unless that prophet and charlatan was as false as they were and had the same agendas and was going in the same direction?  C Peter Wagner only aligned Todd in order to promote HIMSELF and his apostles. Make no mistake, he could not care less about Todd, nor about truth, as already discussed. Todd has always been disposable to them.

Furthermore, Bill Johnson, Che Ahn, Bob Jones etc testify that Todd Bentley was 'aligned' "because of his enemies" - see here for their take on the reason for the commissioning - that is, basically, in order to give a false prophet and his false revival extra credibility they publically commissioned him and endorsed him. But it was ultimately for their own purposes, in order to elevate and promote themselves in the longer run.]

and the other was to deal responsibly with the doctrinal and ministry style issues being discussed. Then the question became, Which should come first?

[What does the Bible say about false prophets and evil men like Bentley? It is abundantly clear - warn them, see if they repent, and then if not, have nothing to do with them! It does not say align and endorse them first and then sort them out. [Which despite the alignment being done June 23rd, the sorting out STILL has not been done!]

By apostle Robert Ricciardelli’s testimony, Todd Bentley refused to repent – even when requested to – for lying about God’s authoring a prophecy about money that Todd that made up in order to manipulate the crowd to give to HIM, and he lied to millions in the process here. This, though bad enough in itself and enough to strike him from ministry, is in addition to the other numerous lies about the angel Emma and so on, and so on, and so on. The list of lies coming from Lakeland alone – not just from Bentley but also from Strader and others – is extensive.]

Meanwhile I had been discussing these things with several friends, all of whom were also members of ICA and whose opinion I highly respected.

I immediately discovered to my surprise that many of my friends had formed highly-charged and emotionally intense opinions. Some were advising me not to go to Lakeland to promote a formal alignment until the doctrinal issues first had been resolved. Others took the opposite position. I carefully considered what they said and weighed the pros and cons as best I could.

My thinking was that I did not want to deal with doctrinal issues with any one but fellow apostles.

[How elitist! How unbiblical!  How trying to dodge the bullet and blameshift!]

I had recently attempted a similar process that had to do with a certain prophet,

[Being whom?  Bearing in mind so many false prophets are within Wagner's ranks]

and I had failed in accomplishing my goal of bringing about a reconciliation of opposing parties. I felt that one of my mistakes had been attempting to deal directly with a prophet who was not aligned with me instead of dealing with an apostle with whom this person was in fact aligned.

[what elitist and unbiblical claptrap!]

I certainly knew that I did not want to attempt to work directly with an evangelist such as Todd Bentley, especially one whom I had never met. If Todd was not apostolically aligned, this alignment needed to be formalized before I was prepared to go any further. I am well aware that some friends thought I should have stopped right there and pulled out. Perhaps I should have, but I felt that I would be disobeying the word from the Holy Spirit if I did. Some of my friends have not yet forgiven me for not taking their advice, and, who knows? Someday they might be telling me, “I told you so!”

[Was it the voice of the Holy Spirit or not? Not only does Wagner contradict by saying what HE thought, what HE processed, not what GOD told him - (but then according to him and Latter Rain heresy, apostles are so in tune with God they speaks and think as Gods themselves) - he also admits he is a foolish false prophet who cannot hear from God, who cannot discern truth from error, and crooks from saints, and does not know the scriptures well, OR he has evil motives at heart - because this decision is proven to have been the wrong one historically and  biblically (not by him, though, as it elevated him and his movement and achieves what he desires).

For the voice of God only leads into all truth and does not contradict scripture.  Wagner says "perhaps he should..." and "who knows? He may be proven to be wrong": but if this it was really the voice of God, how could he be possibly wrong? And how could he even possibly think perhaps he should have done something else in retrospect when he says he "obeyed the voice of the Holy Spirit"?  This contradiction indicates either Wagner is lying, that God did not tell him what he claims, OR that he is an ungodly man who does not care about obeying God. It also indicates he has ungodly friends who are not quick to forgive. It is not good any possible way of looking at it.]

Regardless, I knew that alignment needed to come first. Chuck Pierce, with whom I am closely aligned prophetically, wholeheartedly agreed.

[So despite it contradicting the scriptures, and proving wrong in the long run, who cares? Wagner 'knew' it was "God" and his heir-apparent in waiting, a false new age prophet who prophesies the Kabbalah, and merchandises galore, agreed. Like anybody with an uncorrupt heart after God and desire for truth would trust Chuck- 'I prophesy the Kabbalah' - Pierce's prophetic advice? And in retrospect. this also continues to prove Chuck Pierce's lack of discernment and true prophetic ability too.]

I did my due diligence and discovered that Ché Ahn was the ICA member who had the closest contact with Todd, and that Todd was willing to accept this alignment. Ché felt that he should bring in Bill Johnson and John Arnott since all three of them were close to Todd and they lead the newly-formed Revival Alliance. Unbelievably, all four of us had one date in common open all summer, Monday, June 23,

[Yes unbelievably - bearing in mind Bob Jones had long prophesied that June 22-July 22 would be the start of something incredible in Lakeland with the glory...(didn't happen, there's a surprise) and June 23 just so happened to be the feast day for the Knights of Malta and the summer solstice and feasts to Baal etc.]

so we decided that we would propose it to Todd. He enthusiastically agreed and invited us to come.

By now the word was getting out and I was receiving a quantity of email correspondence from other apostles who were interested. I opened the door for those who desired to accompany us on the platform. I did not allow prophets, evangelists pastors, or teachers to join the group-apostles only. A total of 17 apostles participated representing three apostolic streams: ICA, Revival Alliance, and Morning Star (Rick Joyner).

[But some of these apostles were also prophets - eg Sharon Stone, Stacy-head shaking-Campbell, Clarice Fluitt, Georgian-I mentored John Crowder-Barnov, Che Ahn, Rick Joyner....]

The Alignment Ceremony

My role in the ceremony was to facilitate Todd’s alignment with the three from Revival Alliance, who would then commission Todd as the evangelist to the Lakeland Outpouring. The others were invited to join in with short prayers or prophecies as led.

{Note the blameshifting becoming more overt. Aparently, as Wagner only “facilitated”, he is not really responsible.. .the other three really are - what a dishonest and cowardly man Wagner is – did not the Holy Spirit whisper to Wagner “alignment”? And his self-confessed God-ordained role was to bring Bentley into apostolic alignment?! First of all he says its his role and responsibility, and then he says it is not? He cannot have it both ways – take the glory and shun the blame!]

I need to explain a couple of things at this point, because it turns out that some have misunderstood what I have just said. Some have thought that Todd is aligned with me, which is not the case. He is not a member of ICA. We are barely aquainted.

{Ah more excuses. Todd is not a member of the ICA – nobody said he was. But he was officially commissioned and prophesied over by a rapturious bunch of arrogant ICA apostles on June 23rd. He was aligned to the NAR via The Revival Alliance. Now whether Todd is aligned to Che Ahn or Bill Johnson FIRST in the pyramid scheme is really neither here nor there – he was apostolically aligned and commissioned. This is what Wagner said on the night:

“This is a cermony celebrating the formal apostolic alignment of Todd Bentley…”

Todd was even given a ring by the group. This was after Todd lied and blasphemed by the way – so even if Wagner really did not know Todd before [and what man lays his hands on anyone else he does not know and commissions and aligns them?], he should not have gone through this serice based on that evidence alone – if he had any integrity that is, but we have already established Wagner has NONE.

However note the contradiction with the bottom statement written by Wagner on 24th June, which states Todd is a wonderful individual, that he likes him, and he even alikened Todd Bentley  to John Wimber [which is ridiculous, I saw Wimber on several occasions and though Wimber had faults, the two men are not alike - they are incomparable], full of the Holy Spirit with great words of knowledge. And that God came on Todd powerfully. These are Wagner’s own words. And Wagner even mentioning testing Todd for humility etc before the meeting.

Wagner is lying here! Wagner publically endorsed Bentley not just at Lakeland but on the Elijah List and on his website following the commissioning service!

But anyway, even if Todd Bentley was not aligned by any of the apostles on that night to whoever, wherever, Bentley was publically endorsed by all these apostles and prophets at Lakeland before millions - when God says have nothing to do with such men as Bentley. So who cares about the names of Wagner’s false apostles or pompous sounding false  groups and associations, it was biblically wrong any way one looks at it. And Wagner is accountable for his actions on that night and cannot worm out of it – though he will try.]

Please note that purposely I have never come out and defended Todd against any of the accusations. I have attempted to maintain neutrality in order to deal with the issues as objectively as possible.

{Wagner publically endorsed Todd – because of all the heat that Todd was getting. That is tantamount to defending him in the face of criticism! 

Furthermore read again the Elijah List article at the bottom by Wagner which was published along with Chuck Pierce’s article, Wagner’s second in command, in defence of Bentley and Lakeland in the face of the criticism! Of course Wagner defended Todd and Lakeland, and of course he knew what he was doing at the time as well as did Chuck Pierce. These articles were both effectively apologetics!

Wagner claims to have attempted to maintain neutrality but this is far from the truth – a neutral person does not go and run and endorse and commission Todd! Nor does he allow his apostles to promote themselves at Lakeland, nor does he write what he did on the Elijah list etc etc

Furthermore, this revival was about elevating the false apostles from the start, so again Wagner is far from neurtal with far from neutral interest in the outcome.

Most importanly, despite all the waffle here about apostolic alignment and not knowing the full facts, Wagner has still NOT dealt with the issues – even NOW!]

Some have said that my very appearance in the ceremony constituted a de facto endorsement of the Lakeland Outpouring. I anticipated that this would be the case, and I felt I had to take the risk because I knew of no other way to proceed.

[Err speaking up? Obeying the Bible, shock horror?! Not being so gushing on the night...]

So while it was an endorsement, I in no way meant it to imply that I was endorsing Lakelands’s side of the controversial issues.

[What double speak! You cannot endorse one without endorsing the other as far as the public are concerned - unless you speak out or distance yourself from the issues. What a total hypocrit Wagner is, what a deciever!

Furthermore, how can Wagner possibly endorse Bentley or Lakeland to any degree - bearing in mind it is a false prophet and a false revival, rotten at its core. There was nothing Godly to endorse there - at all. Take away the lies and the showmanship and false prophecy and hype, and there is nothing good or godly remaining. Yet again Wagner the deciever testifies against himself as being undiscerning, uncaring, or dark at heart.]

For one thing I couldn’t do that because I had not yet investigated them as I am doing now.

[I have already gone into this - meaning a lack of discernment, a lack of care, a lack of integrity or all three! This is excuses, excuses, excuses.  And furthermore Wagner contradicts himself yet again by saying he was aware of some of the issues (if not all) before anyway.

Furthermore many of his apostles and disciples were aware of the criticism and issues as they even wrote apologetics or took direct steps to cover things up - eg Chuck Pierce, Gary Grieg, Stephen Strader and so on....is Wagner claiming he knew nothing of this?! Yeah, pull the other one.]

I felt that the proper protocol was alignment first. However, I did feel, and still do, that what was wrong with the Outpouring should be corrected if at all possible rather than rejected out of hand.

{Yawn – so why did he not correct it then? Derr…obvious question. And how do you correct something without rejecting the false and the lies as being out of hand? And of course, public correction and repentence not just private “counsel” aka covering up.

The issue here is being caught. As long as it remains hidden, all good. If out of the bag, say whatever you need to say to continue to look good. The lying rats!]

Others wondered if this was an ICA event. It was not. However, I cannot separate myself from my role as the ICA leader, and I so identified myself in my paper. Thirteen of the 17 apostles on the platform were ICA members, and they agreed that Todd would be better with formal apostolic alignment than without it.

I have been scolded by some for making an apostolic decree at the end of my presentation. They may be right. However, I believe in apostolic alignment so much, that my thought was that Todd would be blessed more after the alignment than before.

{Excuses again….]

Take note also that I mentioned a heightened level of discernment between truth and error which obviously has been called for.

{What discernment? For so far Wagner testifies not only is he false and lacks discernment (or does not care) but his apostles lack discernment (or do not care) and are lying pandering false prophets. Do you remember their gushing false prophecies on the night over Todd here? Not ONE of them spoke the truth.]

The vows of alignment with Ché, Bill, and John led to Todd’s commissioning. Ché Ahn was in charge of this. Notice that the only ones who laid on hands and commissioned were the three of them. Several prayed and prophesied. I want to make it clear that I did not commission Todd as some wrongly think. I didn’t lay on hands, I didn’t anoint with oil, in fact I moved to the back and neither my wife, Doris, nor I prayed or prophesied. I did this intentionally because I knew I would be wrongly positioned for the second part of my assignment if I did.

[Oh the rat! Blame it all on Che Ahn!]

With the alignment completed, I was ready to go on with the second part of the assignment, namely attempting to bring order out of the confusion concerning doctrines and ministry practices

Bringing Order to the Issues

I felt that I needed a team of apostles who were willing to work with me in order to identify the concerns that had been brought up, define them as carefully as possible, and come to an opinion that could be issued to the public. Ten other apostles have agreed to work with me in this project: Ché Ahn, Bill Johnson, John Arnott, Chuck Pierce, Stephen Strader, Lee Grady, David Cannistraci, Steve Strang, Jeff Beacham, and Joe Askins.

[As quickly as possible? What long after the horse has bolted - or should I say been outed? Wow! That is impressive speed and so timely!

And Che Ahn, whom Wagner has blamed for aligning Todd, and Bill Johnson and John Arnott who was involved, is Ok to work with after all in this scheme?! Despite his lack of discernment and his public endorsement which Wagner claims that should not have been done after all....hmm, something smells real bad.

And John Arnott after the Toronto fiasco is hardly one to counsel about false revivals.

Stephen Strader has been implicit in the Lakeland deception from the start and is one that should be dealt with and reprimanded, not one to deal with Bentley!]

One of our first tasks was to develop a “Lakeland Spectrum” in order to help individuals concerned to know where they stood as over against others. We have a five point spectrum (1) Strong approval, (2) Concerned approval, (3) Neutral, (4) Conditional disapproval, (5) Strong disapproval. The members of our apostolic team range from 1 to 4.5, so we have a range of perspectives.

{wow – what bad discernment, they should have all rated 5. How can “men of God” have such differeing opinions about false prophets and liars? How can one strongly approve a blatant thief and liar? Regardless, should they also all not be united in mind and spirit?  I tend to think this is spin on Wagner’s part to make it appear as if they represent broad views and will be impartial – when in fact they are not – they only represent themselves!]

We have been working on sorting out what we now have, and the list is down to 24 issues. We are taking this very seriously, and we understand that the process will take time.

[You mean the cover-up will take time. And the distancing yourself from Bentley and the resulting spin will take time. 

If these guys cared about truth they would have publically addressed these issues long before now]

When we arrive at our conclusions we will release them to the public. John Arnott will be the point person to review our findings with Todd Bentley and the Fresh Fire Board of which he is a member.

We will add to this report of the findings as soon as possible . . . .”  {end of statement]

 ***

This is a transcript what C. Peter Wagner said on June 23, 2008 at the commissioning service. He testifies that he too is a false prophet and his decrees are the kiss of death as they certainly did not work on Todd Bentley! Quite the opposite in fact.

“A warm welcome to those of you who are present in this tent and to you who are watching through GOD TV. You are about to witness an event which could well have historic implications not only for the Lakeland Outpouring, but also for our nation and for many other nations of the world. Prophets have been telling us for years that God is about to launch an extraordinary spiritual awakening with signs and wonders, and for over two months, Todd Bentley has been leading one of the more obvious fulfillments of those prophecies. This is an exciting place to be right now!

My name is Peter Wagner and I am President of Global Harvest Ministries based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I have served the Body of Christ in apostolic ministry for many years, and currently I preside over the International Coalition of Apostles, which brings together over 500 recognized apostles. I have the honor of being assigned to preside over this momentous occasion, and I am humbled as I approach the task with an enormous sense of awe. Holy Spirit, I invite Your presence, Your power, and Your direction.

What is Apostolic Alignment?

This is a ceremony celebrating the formal apostolic alignment of Todd Bentley. My first desire is to lay a Biblical foundation for what we are about to do.

I will begin with a scripture that has been a central text for those of us who are in the stream of the contemporary apostolic/prophetic movement – Ephesians 4:11-12:

“And He Himself (Jesus at His ascension) gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry…”

The word “equipping” is a translation of the Greek katartizo which literally means “aligning,” as in setting a broken bone or a chiropractic adjustment. It means putting things in order so that the body functions as it was designed to function. This is one of the responsibilities of apostles such as those whom you see on the platform, and that is the reason we are present tonight. For example, Paul wrote to Titus, “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking…” (Titus 1:5).

Biblical, Apostolic Alignment Relationships

Speaking of Paul and Titus, their relationship is a Biblical prototype of apostolic alignment. The same would apply to Paul and Timothy. The apostolic alignment of Timothy and Titus with Paul was a principal factor in allowing God to develop and fulfill His complete destiny in both of their lives.

But, Paul himself was also apostolically aligned. Soon after he was called to join Barnabas and his colleagues in Antioch for the then controversial ministry of planting churches among Gentiles, he traveled to Jerusalem to bring a gift for famine relief and also to align with some of the apostles. I want to use the experience that Paul had on that occasion as the text for the protocol for tonight’s alignment and commissioning of Todd Bentley. It is found in Galatians 2:9, which tells the story of one of Paul’s visits to Jerusalem:

“…and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.”

Todd is following Paul’s example by inviting to the platform three apostolic pillars of today’s Church: Ché Ahn of Pasadena, California; Bill Johnson of Redding, California; and John Arnott of Toronto, Canada – Todd’s native land. They represent an apostolic network called Revival Alliance.

Notice that the apostles in Jerusalem “perceived the grace that God had given to Paul.” The word “grace” is charis, the root of charisma, meaning “spiritual gift or gifts.” In Paul’s case, it was the gift mix necessary to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles. In Todd’s case, it is the gift mix necessary to lead the Lakeland Outpouring.

I have a question for the three apostles: Do you perceive the grace of God given to Todd Bentley as an evangelist to lead the Lakeland Outpouring? (Answer: “I do.”)

I have a question for Todd Bentley: Do you recognize the apostolic authority of these three men in your life and ministry, and do you desire to establish an apostolic alignment with them and with Revival Alliance? (Answer: “I do.”)

This commissioning represents a powerful spiritual transaction taking place in the invisible world. With this in mind, I take the apostolic authority that God has given me and I decree to Todd Bentley:

Fellowship and Increase, Increase, Increase

With this affirmation, we will move to a formal commissioning, equivalent to “offering the right hand of fellowship” as the three apostles did to Paul in Jerusalem.

• Your power will increase.

• Your revelation will increase.

• Your authority will increase.

• Your favor will increase.

• Your influence will increase.

I also decree that:

• A new supernatural strength will flow through this ministry.
• A new life force will penetrate this move of God.
• A government will be established to set things in their proper order.
• God will pour out a higher level of discernment to distinguish truth from error.
• New relationships will surface to open gates for the future.”

***

“Peter Wagner’s Report of the Lakeland Outpouring” June 24th 2008, from http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/6611

“I am writing from Lakeland where I have just sent a report of Doris’ and my experiences here to a group of apostles I have been working with, some in favor of Lakeland and some opposed. I wanted you to have this information as well.

Blessings,

C. Peter Wagner
Global Harvest Ministries

June 24, 2008

As all of you know, what I believe to be God-orchestrated circumstances over the past three weeks or so have brought me mainstream into the Lakeland Outpouring and the controversies surrounding it.

I am writing this from Lakeland, Florida. The night of June 22, Doris and I attended the meeting in the tent along with 10,000 others – the largest crowd yet since meeting in the tent. It was the 82nd day of the Outpouring. Todd Bentley used his speaking time in giving the most detailed testimony so far of the “dark night of the soul” that he experienced for 18 months during 2005-2007. It was a very remarkable and transparent confession of his pride during the ten years previously and details of the wilderness that God took him through to break the pride. He was very clear about his lack of discipline, his emotions out of control, his rejection of God, his dislike of reading Scripture, public meltdown on the platform, memories of childhood rejection, loneliness, sexual abuse, his marriage on the brink of divorce, etc. He was so burnt out that he cried four hours per day for 21 days straight.

When it was over, God restored everything related to his staff, his marriage, his ministry, and his newly-refined personal character. This was a very remarkable and touching presentation. There was no hint of victimization or wanting a pity party. It was a confession of his own sin and the consequences he paid for disobedience. Doris and I were very touched by this, and we were thankful to God for a window on Todd’s character that we didn’t expect to be so wide open to us.

Opening Gates For New Seasons of the Movement of God

Let me remind you that Doris and I have been very close to other similar outpourings, especially the John Wimber signs and wonders phenomenon of the late ’70s and ’80s, as well as the Argentine Revival of the ’80s and ’90s. We believe we have paid our dues in terms of the ability to discern truth from error {!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how arrogant]  and also in receiving severe and often painful criticism for some of the judgments we made in supporting those two movements.

As we observed and participated in the meeting in the tent, we became very nostalgic about Wimber and Argentina, even noting some physical resemblance between Todd and Wimber. His accuracy in words of knowledge reminded us of both John Wimber in the past and Robert Henderson in the present. The worship time was similar to the worship we experience in Freedom Church in Colorado Springs, except on a larger and more exuberant scale. We saw or felt nothing that would cross the lines we have previously experienced in high-profile revival. We have learned that God-driven revival is often messy, tending to pull some out of their religious comfort zones, but at the same time opening gates for new seasons of the movement of God.

All this was in preparation for last night, June 23, when we held a ceremony of apostolic alignment for Todd Bentley. As you will see from the document I will attach, the gist was that Todd would be aligned with Ché Ahn, Bill Johnson and John Arnott, representing Revival Alliance, who would then commission him as the evangelist to lead the Lakeland Outpouring.

A few of us met with Todd personally before the service, and we found him to be a wonderful individual. Doris and I had never met him before. I explained to him what the ceremony would be like, and he agreed. I thought that it was interesting when he wanted to change one thing I had written in this document, because I could then run a quiet test of his humility and his respect for authority. Keep in mind that this was Todd’s ministry and Todd’s meeting. However, he had delegated the leadership of the ceremony to me. I suggested that his change was not wise, and he immediately accepted my decision. We were on the same page! In fact, we like each other!

Commissioning Todd Bentley in the Lakeland Outpouring

The scenario was that I took the podium and called around me Todd Bentley, Ché Ahn, Bill Johnson and John Arnott. I then called to the platform a number of apostles whom I had chosen to stand behind us: Stephen Strader of Lakeland, Florida; Karl Strader of Lakeland, Florida; Jeff Beacham of Sydney, Australia; Rick Joyner of Fort Mill, South Carolina; Doris Wagner of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Sharon Stone of Burton, England; Paco Garcia of Chiclana, Spain; Clarice Fluitt of Monroe, Louisiana; Richard Maiden of Scottsdale, Arizona; Michael Maiden of Phoenix, Arizona; Joshua Fowler of Orlando, Florida; Barry Boucher of Ottawa, Canada; and Wesley Campbell of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Unfortunately, Bishop Bill Hamon had to cancel because of a travel problem. I then read the paper I am attaching and, despite several requests, I even desisted from telling a joke! When I finished, I handed the microphone to Ché Ahn, and he was in charge.

Ché Ahn, Bill Johnson and John Arnott laid on hands and anointed Todd Bentley with a special new “Be Revived” oil that Chuck Pierce (who was in Africa) sent for the event. Todd went down under the power of the Spirit and the three prophesied over him, commissioning him as the evangelist to lead the Lakeland Outpouring. Then most of the backup apostles prayed and prophesied as well. The power of the Holy Spirit was so heavy on that event that you could almost have cut it with a knife!

It was quite evident to those present that this was a groundbreaking event. A serious public problem had been growing in the Body of Christ revolving around concerns about Lakeland from respected leaders. Even “schism” had been mentioned frequently. Because of the extensive media coverage through GOD TV, it was much more than a private or a trivial matter. Something was called for to set things in order, and this is the stated role of apostles.

We are now in a place in what I see as the Second Apostolic Age that apostles can agree publicly to bring alignment. The seventeen apostles involved in this event represented three distinct apostolic streams: ICA (10 were ICA members), Revival Alliance, and Morningstar. Even though we are not networked formally, we believe in and support each other and we stand together when a crisis such as this one comes along. I may be wrong, but I cannot recall an event of this nature in the recent history of the Church.

The Prophetic Dimension Accompanying the Commissioning Event

There was a notable prophetic dimension accompanying the event. Around a month ago, Bob Jones prophesied that on June 22 the outpouring would increase so much that it would appear that the revival would really begin at that time. Of course no one knew that June 23, the day after June 22, would be the date of Todd’s apostolic alignment which could well be the event to release increased spiritual power. Parenthetically, both June 22 and June 23 broke previous attendance records in the 10,000-seat tent.

There is a great deal more to say, but I will leave it as it is for the moment. My paper, “Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Alignment,” which is below, will fill in many details. Although I am writing this primarily to you who are mentioned above, I will also send it to some others to whom I feel responsible for a report of Todd’s alignment and commissioning.

Blessings,

C. Peter Wagner
Global Harvest Ministries

P.S. June 25 was Todd’s day off, so Ché Ahn took the service. Among other things, he used Chuck Pierce’s “Be Revived” anointing oil

[end times note - note the selling of the branded oil!]

to personally anoint the 1,000 or so pastors as “carriers of fire” to their churches. Forty-seven nations were represented in the meeting. He admonished them to receive it here in Lakeland, Florida, and then give it away!”