Exposing the destructive heresies of the New Apostolic Reformation Movement: Part 1

     It just dawned on me this afternoon that many who might stumble upon my blog haven't the faintest idea who or what the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is, so I'm going to provide a crash course on this movement. By the way, today it is a universal movement endorsed by hundreds of the most egregious false teachers and false prophets of our time. I will later name names.

    The seeds of this movement were sown in 1996 when the late heretic, Dr. C. Peter Wagner, former professor of church growth at Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, Ca., claimed to have heard from God, literally, about restoring the offices of apostle and prophet which had been lost to the church for two millennia. Go figure. How on earth did the church ever survive? Apparently, God had been sitting on His anthropomorphic hands waiting on Dr. Wagner to set things right. Dr. Wagner would later write that this restoration began around 2001. *See his books "Churchquake" and "Apostles Today." Or not. 

    Dr. Wagner's credentials gave him church creds and his admirers embraced his every word. The language used by Wagner concerning the restoration of truths lost should ring a bell for those familiar with church history and the cults that have poisoned our nations since the early 19th century, most notably, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who made the same claim. Joseph Smith and C. Peter Wagner were cut from the same cloth. They both claimed to be called to restore this or that.

    Wagner's ministry stretched out over many years, long enough for him to have garnered a large following. I have watched videos featuring Wagner commissioning the notorious heretic Todd Bentley as an apostle and prophet who during this commissioning ceremony lay on the floor writhing and jerking as though he were demon possessed (and he probably is). 

    After Dr. Wagner died in 2016, his mantle was taken up by the false apostles Che Ahn and Bill Johnson, Johnson, by the way, is one of the pastors of Bethel Church, Redding, Ca., the home of several other false teachers and false prophets such as Kris Vallotton who is co-pastor with Johnson at Bethel Church. I call Bethel Church, "Heretics 'R Us." If your church sings contemporary Christian music, you might want to check out where it is published. Bethel Music and Jesus Culture, a singing group out of Bethel Church, are popular among church's who are ignorant of their sources. I am not suggesting that your church no longer sing music from these sources, but... Does your church pay royalties for singing their music? I would ask.

    The NAR's chief spokespersons today are Bill Johnson, Kris Vallotton, co-pastors at Bethel Church, and Che Ahn, pastor of Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, Ca. These men claim to hear from God on a daily basis. They will often say things like, "The Lord told me," or, "God told me this morning." They hear from heaven more than the Lord Jesus did. 

    I would also guess that most of those reading this blog post have never heard of Bethel Church or Bill Johnson or Kris Vallotton.  They are popular in neo-charismatic and Pentecostal circles. Johnson is a storyteller rather than a preacher of God's word. His people like it that way. They fulfill the prophecy the apostle Paul gave to Timothy, 2 Tim. 4:1-4, 2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:

 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

 (2 Tim. 4:1-4 ESV)

    The NAR leaders teach that it is always God's will to heal. Isn't it odd that faith healers often wear glasses and have illnesses in their own bodies and families? Oral Roberts died of heart disease, Charles Capps died of cancer, Kathyrn Kuhlman died on the operating table while they were trying to fix her diseased heart, Kenneth Copeland just got a pacemaker and Johnson's wife, Bennie, died of cancer while he was telling his people that it is always God's will to heal. And the sad aspect of all this is, they have millions of followers.

    Part 2 coming up.