Monday, October 10, 2011

What Is The New Apostolic Reformation? (And Why Should We Be Concerned About It?)

Posted by Christine Pack

A Personal Note: Please-please-please send this article to your loved ones so that they can be on the look-out for this dangerous movement sweeping through Christianity. I consider this to be one of the most important articles I have ever written, and I regret not having written it sooner. And please understand that I have only scratched the surface in this article. Unfortunately, the NAR is such a massive movement, with so many tentacles, and so many people involved, that it was almost impossible to talk about it concisely. It is almost unfathomable to me how many people have been affected by this dangerous movement. Hardly a day goes by that I don't hear from at least one person who has personally had to flee a once solid church because this teaching has suddenly swept in, or someone who has watched a loved one be seduced by it, or someone who has even been unwittingly swept up in this movement themselves.

We all know about pandemics, right? The World Health Organization will often track a virus that is in pigs or birds or some other known animal carrier. The virus being tracked could stay within its animal group for years, not causing problems for humans, but sometimes, for unknown reasons, the virus will unexpectedly "jump" from its animal group......to humans. That's what the scientists are always concerned about, and when that happens, they sit up and take notice, and start churning out public service warnings, because they know this previously harmless virus could potentially turn into a very dangerous, and deadly, pandemic.

In somewhat the same way, a new movement - with some pretty strange beliefs - inside of Christian evangelicalism called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) has gathered lethal momentum very unexpectedly. This movement had up until recently only been taught and believed inside the hyper-charismatic movement (think IHOP, Kansas City Prophets, Mike Bickle, etc.). But now, having somehow "jumped" from its normal carrier, rather than being "contained" as a strange belief system that would only impact a limited number of people, it suddenly began to go viral when big names on the political right began to align themselves with the big names from the charismatic Christian side.

Why exactly has the NAR, which makes alarming use of militant "warfare" language and talks of "taking dominion" over the world "one mountain at a time," gotten so big, so fast, and with so many big political names attached? In my view, it's because there are many on the political right, who, despite their moralistic stance, have a tendency to be more invested in political strategy, power and numbers than in sound doctrine and biblical truth. Thus, to the political right without discernment, Numbers = Power. And I suspect this is what happened: they looked out over the landscape of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement (which is an extremely large segment of professing Christians), decided this was representative of "Christianity," did the math, and then jumped on board.


The 7 Mountain Mandate

click here for entire article and useful information

Sunday, October 9, 2011

DAVID BARTON - Black Box Warning!

Whenever a pharmaceutical agent has serious health risks, the FDA gives the drug a "black-box warning". This warning does not mean that the drug is no longer effective, but the consumer needs to be made aware of the risks. With that said and after much research, I feel that we need to put a "black-box warning" on the views of one David Barton and his Wallbuilders ministry. I understand that the above statement may come as a shock to many, but if we are striving to be biblical we must analyze and evaluate all statements, claims and ministries through the lens of scripture.

David Barton and his Wallbuilders ministry, have done some very valuable things when it comes to getting people excited about American history. As a former history teacher, I can appreciate anyone who values the origins of ideas, movements and peoples. I must admit, I was drawn to David and his ministry, I soaked up everything he had to say and took it as truth. I interjected it into my classroom; I allowed it to shape my beliefs and philosophy regarding the United States and even taught it in Biblical Worldview classes. So, it is with a tremendous broken heart that I share what is going on with David and warn the true church about the dangers of his philosophies. Questions should arise for discerning believers when a leading Christian voice joins arms with a Mormon for the sake of patriotism.

Let’s remind ourselves that Beck is not a naive Mormon follower. He is a "temple Mormon", which is something that is not offered or easily accessed by your common LDS member. Beck talks passionately about his conversion - you can view it for yourself here – (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USpeolBTKIo).  Mormon(s) do not worship the God of the Bible, they believe that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers, and believe in works righteousness just to name a few. Many Christians were willing to ignore Beck's belief system because they agreed with his politics. I personally know people who traveled to Washington D.C. last summer to attend his "Restoring Honor Rally" in which you saw Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Christians all locking arms with a Mormon in the name of patriotism. People also saw a new "Black Robe Regiment" introduced, this new formulation of religious leaders was headed by none other than David Barton.

Barton and Beck have become in-separable over the last 18 months. During that time Barton has appeared on Beck's television and radio programs numerous times for the sake of re-educating the public our America's founding. (Watch for yourself by clicking on video clip #1, video clip #2, video clip #3, video clip #4 and video clip #5) Since appearing with Beck, Barton has become a best-selling author and his organization has gained global recognition. Most recently, Barton traveled with Beck to Israel for the Restoring Courage Rally - in which he shared the stage with Beck, John Hagee, and many others. It is important to keep in mind, that a Christian’s purpose for traveling to Israel is much different than that of a Mormon - Considering the fact that Mormons believe that they are the true Jews. So, we must ask ourselves - why was a leading Christian voice over in Israel with the leading Mormon figure and a pastor who believes that Jews do not need to be given the Gospel?

One of the more disturbing events that has occurred over the past weeks is when Barton and Beck traveled to a Baptist Church in Texas. At this church, both Barton and Beck spoke to the congregation. At the conclusion of Beck's presentation (in which he talked about "working the atonement") he gave an alter call to receive Jesus - 120 people came forward that day under the prompting of Beck .... this is serious and we must take note, listen below as Barton defends Beck's "Christianity" ....

Link #1
Link #2
Link #3
Article #4

Barton has also found himself at the center of "The Response" - a prayer rally put on by presidential hopeful Rick Perry of Texas. On the surface it seems that a prayer rally for our nation would be a good thing. After all, Perry was there with Tony Perkins, James and Shirley Dobson, and Tim and Don Wildmon. You may be interested to know who also was in attendance - individuals like Mike Bickle of IHOP, an organization that claims to receive new revelations from God. IHOP, an off-shoot of the old Kansas City Prophet Movement, is also closely connected with what is known as the New Apostolic Reformation and Joel's Army ... all of which are un-biblical to the core. Cindy Jacobs, a woman who claims to be a modern day prophet-ess, and many other "Word of Faith" leaders were also in attendance and yes David Barton took center stage at one point in time.

• Article #1 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/30/1021672/-Critics-of-dominionism-no-longer-welcome-at-American-Family-Association
• Article #2 http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctpolitics/2011/09/some_evangelica_1.html
• Article #3 http://www.npr.org/2011/10/03/140946482/apostolic-leader-weighs-religions-role-in-politics

Lastly and most importantly, many questions have arisen over Barton's view of American history. Discerning Christians across the country are beginning to research some of Barton's claims for themselves and are discovering some disturbing trends. Barton passionately defends the "Founding Fathers" and their ideals - claiming that many of them were rooted in Christianity - And, it was because of their belief in God - that America was formed and blessed by God for some 200 years. In one of his most famous presentations, Barton pulls out a letter from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson in which they are discussing the Holy Ghost. Barton pulls a comment from the letter of Adams in which it seems that Adams is speaking of the Holy Ghost in a positive light - proving once and for all that he was a Christian. Review for yourself, the below clips from and about David Barton ….
But upon further examination of the letter in context, it reveals that Adams was mocking those who believe in the Holy Ghost ... not supporting it – watch a full length documentary regarding the “Hidden Faith of the Founders” by clicking here ...

Barton is in the midst of writing a new book about Thomas Jefferson. The book will no doubt try to paint Jefferson in a positive "Christian" light, but may we continue to keep in mind that Jefferson denied that Jesus was God and in his very own Bible (The Jefferson Bible) he cut out all the miracles, claiming impossibility. The more you dig into the belief system of the Founders - you find they were more interested in the Enlightenment - than they were proclaiming the Gospel. We must be on guard and watch for those who have crept in un-noticed. It is my prayer that men will repent of misleading the public, that Christians will become more discerning, and that the church will never raise a flag above the cross. One only needs to look to Germany during the time of WWII to be reminded of what could happen when NATIONALISM becomes the guiding principle for a nation. May you take the information presented here and research for yourself. Utilizing scripture as your guide, may you come to your own satisfactory conclusion.