A new variant of religious right extremism?
Created by NewApostolicReformationWatch on Jul 15, 2011
Last updated: 03/19/12 at 02:12 PM
Tags: religious right New Apostolic Reformation
Four days after Newt Gingrich scrambled the Republican primary race with his surprise South Carolina win, a man named Dutch Sheets came forward to endorse the former House speaker, saying he was the only candidate with the “heart, experience, backbone, Constitutional brilliance and intellectual strength to defeat Obama and lead America back to greatness.” It was the kind of embrace that tends to make politicians skittish. After all, Sheets is a self-proclaimed apostle and a leading figure in a radical Christian movement, known as the New Apostolic Reformation, which teaches that Christians must infiltrate and take control of government and other worldly institutions to pave the way for Jesus’ return. And that’s just the beginning. Sheets also believes, among other things, that his prayers led directly to Saddam Hussein’s capture and that Washington is controlled by “antichrist” forces. As for Barack Obama, Sheets insists that he is Muslim and that his presence in the Oval Office is a sign that God has “turned us over to our enemies” as part of his “judgment on America.” His ultimate goal is to “raise up” an army of “kingdom warriors that are ready to do whatever it takes to bring forth [God’s] kingdom rule in the earth.”
Pic credit: Gage Skidmore [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://www.thenation.com/article/166481/newts-last-prayer-christian-dominionists-go-gingrich
The late Virginia pastor John Gimenez founded the Washington for Jesus rally on April 29, 1980 with fellow Religious Right activists including Pat Robertson, Jim Bakker, Bill Bright and Jerry Falwell to mobilize “against abortion, in favor of allowing prayer in schools, opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment and against homosexual conduct.” Bright told Ronald Reagan that his election was a result of the Washington for Jesus prayer rally, telling him: “Mr. President, you were elected April 29, 1980, not in November.”
Gimenez’s wife Anne is now planning a similar prayer rally in Philadelphia called ‘America for Jesus’ to combat “widespread moral depravity and economic meltdown,” and has the help of figures such as Jim Garlow, Cindy Jacobs, Lou Engle, Samuel Rodriguez, Doug Stringer and Harry Jackson.
The prominent role of New Apostolic Reformation leaders in the event reveals just how much the Religious Right has changed and grown even more extreme, as leaders now not only claim that they have a divine mandate to change politics but also that they are actual apostles and prophets with the same divine appointment as the apostles and prophets of the Bible and receive direct prophesies from God.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/washington-jesus-returns-america-jesus-prayer-rally-philadelphia
We have written several posts in the past about how Newt Gingrich's leading Religious Right supporter, Jim Garlow, manages to straddle the increasingly thin line between the more traditional Religious Right movement and the growing New Apostolic Reformation spiritual warfare movement.
It was at a Cindy Jacobs' conference in 2010 that we first learned that Gingrich had tapped Garlow to run his Renewing American Leadership organization. It was Garlow who brought Lou Engle in to lead the prayer and fasting as they pressed for passage of Prop 8, which might explain how Gingrich ended up in Virginia in 2009 being prayed over by none other than Engle himself...Garlow is deeply tied to various leaders within the New Apostolic Reformation, promotes their agenda, and has worked tirelessly to bring them into the wider Religious Right movement.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/gingrich-speak-nar-affiliated-church-tonight
Late last week, New Apostolic Reformation "prophetess" Cindy Jacobs announced the yearly "Word of the Lord" from the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders. (h/t to PFAW's Right Wing Watch).
This "Word" makes for pretty chilling reading. Jacobs declares that this will be a year of a "world-wide shaking"--and that this country is going to get shaken as well unless it shifts hard to the right.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2012/1/10/183014/485
Although the New Apostolic Reformation has co-opted language of the social gospel, they promote a Tea Party-style anti-statism. Call it prosperity doctrine with a twist. Leading apostles oppose state involvement in social services, but teach that the movement is going to end poverty, "transform" communities, and take dominion over society and government with the aid of a "great wealth transfer" from the ungodly to the godly. Leading "workplace apostles" gather annually for the Kingdom Economic Yearly Summit (KEYS), the apostles' version of the World Economic Forum, to prepare for the great wealth transfer and taking control over the Seven Mountains of culture.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/10/12/234125/81
During our coverage of the massive prayer rally organized by Gov. Rick Perry last month, one of the things we noticed was the large number of people associated with the New Apostolic Reformation who were involved in organizing, endorsing, or speaking at the event, including prominent NAR leader C. Peter Wagner.
Today, Voice of America posted a wide-ranging twenty minute interview with Wagner in which he discussed everything from Seven Mountains theology to spiritual warfare to the role of NAR in Perry's prayer rally.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/wagner-admits-nar-presence-perry-prayer-rally-sign-its-growing-influence
Furthermore, C Peter Wagner, the intellectual godfather of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), actually wrote a book called Dominion! in 2008. Chapter Three was entitled “Dominion Theology”. When pressed, Peter likes to pretend that his ideas are just garden-variety Christianity, based on Genesis 1:26, in which, before the fall, God gives Adam and Eve dominion over the natural world - a far cry from dominion over other people, who did not even exist at the time, as evangelical critics of this dominionist argument have repeatedly pointed out.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/09/2011948160923228.html
...So, as background: dominionism refers to a theological tenet at the core of the religious right movement—that Christians are meant to exercise dominion over the earth. As RD readers know, dominionist thought is not a new phenomenon. It may be true, as evangelical leader Mark DeMoss says in Miller’s story, that “you would be hard-pressed to find one in 1,000 Christians in America would could even wager a guess at what dominionism is.” But it’s certainly not true of the leaders of the religious right political movement. Their followers are hearing dominionist teaching whether they know it or not.
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The language has been used by Pentecostal leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation, a group that sees itself creating a new church and an army of spiritual warriors who will hasten the return of Christ by taking dominion over the earth. But the Seven Mountains framework has also become a sort of lingua franca among the religious right, forming the basis for Janet Porter’s May Day rally on the mall last year as well as the National Day of Prayer and Jim Garlow’s Pray and Act campaign. The Family Research Council and prominent religious right figures like Harry Jackson and David Barton all use the language.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/5008/paranoia_and_the_progressive_press:_a_response_to_wapo%27s_religion_columnist/
...So, as background: dominionism refers to a theological tenet at the core of the religious right movement—that Christians are meant to exercise dominion over the earth. As RD readers know, dominionist thought is not a new phenomenon. It may be true, as evangelical leader Mark DeMoss says in Miller’s story, that “you would be hard-pressed to find one in 1,000 Christians in America would could even wager a guess at what dominionism is.” But it’s certainly not true of the leaders of the religious right political movement. Their followers are hearing dominionist teaching whether they know it or not.
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The language has been used by Pentecostal leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation, a group that sees itself creating a new church and an army of spiritual warriors who will hasten the return of Christ by taking dominion over the earth. But the Seven Mountains framework has also become a sort of lingua franca among the religious right, forming the basis for Janet Porter’s May Day rally on the mall last year as well as the National Day of Prayer and Jim Garlow’s Pray and Act campaign. The Family Research Council and prominent religious right figures like Harry Jackson and David Barton all use the language.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/5008/paranoia_and_the_progressive_press:_a_response_to_wapo%27s_religion_columnist/
High-profile attacks on progressive reporting about Christian dominionism speak to the power of truth-telling.
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Prior to the birth of the religious right, most evangelicals saw the world of secular politics as something to avoid. Dominionism was almost a necessary turn of theology if evangelicals were to be mobilized as a political force. Politics had to be anointed as a path to godliness, and a handful of influential religious leaders and theologians did just that. Rousas John Rushdoony, the father of Christian Reconstructionism; Francis Schaeffer, an early crusader against abortion (whom Michele Bachmann often claims as an important influence); and Bill Bright, founder of the Campus Crusade for Christ, all set the stage for the creation of the religious right as a political force in the 1970s.
This is Contemporary American Religion 101; it is also Contemporary American Politics 101. For the religion editor of a major American news magazine [Lisa Miller, religion editor of Newsweek] not to know this simply boggles the mind.
Dominionism is an idea embraced by worshipers from a range of denominations, faithful whose style of worship can vary widely. In recent years, the growth of Pentecostal sects has given dominionism a new character. Rick Perry's prayer rally cast light on the New Apostolic Reformation, which weds the Seven Mountains strain of dominionism attributed to Bill Bright with a mystical religious belief in the power of demons to possess people and even institutions. Lou Engle, who prayed with Michele Bachmann on a Family Research Council Webcast for the defeat of health-care reform, routinely describes LGBT people as being possessed by demons -- and he means that literally. Engle is part of the New Apostolic Reformation. He is not a paranoid fantasy. He is a real person, embraced by powerful political players.
http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/152133/rampant_denial_about_the_threat_posed_by_christian_dominionists%2C_perry_and_bachmann/?page=2
To equate dominionism with "a firm belief in Jesus" does a disservice to all those Americans who firmly believe in Jesus, but who also firmly believe in the separation of church and state. To deny the pervasive influence of dominionism on the professed faith of many -- perhaps most -- on the religious right is to reveal a breathtaking ignorance of American evangelical theology as it has evolved over the past 40 years.
And to equate the fact, proven by diligent reporters and by the theological writings of right-wing religious leaders, of the impact of dominionist ideology on Republican politics with the malevolent, racist fantasy of Obama as anti-Christ should really be a firing offense at any publication whose credibility rests on the conveyance of factual information. But I expect that [Newsweek religion editor Lisa] Miller will keep her job.
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Prior to the birth of the religious right, most evangelicals saw the world of secular politics as something to avoid. Dominionism was almost a necessary turn of theology if evangelicals were to be mobilized as a political force. Politics had to be anointed as a path to godliness, and a handful of influential religious leaders and theologians did just that. Rousas John Rushdoony, the father of Christian Reconstructionism; Francis Schaeffer, an early crusader against abortion (whom Michele Bachmann often claims as an important influence); and Bill Bright, founder of the Campus Crusade for Christ, all set the stage for the creation of the religious right as a political force in the 1970s.
This is Contemporary American Religion 101; it is also Contemporary American Politics 101. For the religion editor of a major American news magazine not to know this simply boggles the mind.
http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/152133/rampant_denial_about_the_threat_posed_by_christian_dominionists%2C_perry_and_bachmann/
All the attention came in the weeks before and after “The Response,” Perry’s highly publicized prayer rally modeled on what organizers believe is the “solemn assembly” described in Joel 2, in which “end-times warriors” prepare the nation for God’s judgment and, ultimately, Christ’s return. This “new” movement, the New Apostolic Reformation, is one strand of neo-Pentecostalism that draws on the ideas of dominionism and spiritual warfare. Its adherents display gifts of the spirit, the religious expression of Pentecostal and charismatic believers that includes speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing and a belief in signs, wonders and miracles. These evangelists also preach the “Seven Mountains” theory of dominionism: that Christians need to take control of different sectors of public life, such as government, the media and the law.
http://www.salon.com/2011/08/21/posner_nar_dominionism/
It appears as if C. Peter Wagner is not very happy with the recent attention and criticism his New Apostolic Reformation has been receiving and so he decided to send out a message in order to set the record straight.
In it, he explains that NAR supporters don't want to establish a "theocracy," but are merely seeking to take control of the Seven Mountains so that they can dislodge "the long-standing kingdom of Satan" and establish the Kingdom of God here on Earth:
Dominionism. This refers to the desire that some of my friends and I have to follow Jesus and do what He wants.
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But where does dominion come in? On the first page of the Bible, God told Adam and Eve to "fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, etc." (Genesis 1:28). Adam, Eve, and the whole human race were to take dominion over the rest of creation, but Satan entered the picture, succeeded in usurping Adam's dominion for himself and became what Jesus calls "the ruler of this world" (John 14:30). When Jesus came, he brought the kingdom of God and He expects His kingdom-minded people to take whatever action is needed to push back the long-standing kingdom of Satan and bring the peace and prosperity of His kingdom here on earth. This is what we mean by dominionism.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/NAR-doesnt-want-theocracy
And the notion that regular Americans would buy into an ideology that seeks to implement biblical law as the law of the land really shouldn't come as a surprise to reporters. The Pew 2006 survey found that nearly one-third of Americans said they felt the law of the Bible should outweigh citizen preferences in the formation of civil law.
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In the New York Times' coverage of the rally, the name, New Apostolic Reformation, never appeared, even though one of the movement's more controversial organizations, the International House of Prayer, was among the event's organizers. (Although IHOP was named as an organizer by reporter Manny Fernandez, nothing about its place in the NAR was mentioned in the article. To his credit, though, Fernandez did note that the American Family Association has been named an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.) But this enlargement of the religious-right coalition to include elements once deemed "fringe" even by fellow evangelicals is a major story, especially given the 50-state, cell-based "prayer networks" that are part of the NAR infrastructure.
Meanwhile, at the Washington Post, Jacques Berlinerblau, writing in the paper's "On Faith" section, tsk-tsk'd Perry for talking about Jesus too much, reading too much scripture and generally being unecumenical.
http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/152053/why_the_mainstream_media_are_clueless_about_the_religious_right/?page=entire
Author of Alternet news pieces on the rise of the New Apostolic Reformation and this charismatic/pentecostal branch of the religious right's determination to take over the seven mountains of American life: government, culture, schools, business, media, arts and entertainment, the family, religion.
Dominionism is a term that should only be used for those whose eschatological timeline requires that Christians, in some way, gain complete authority over the earth before the return of Jesus can take place. This can refer to some postmillennial theologies or forms of premillennial theology in which Christians are not Raptured prior to the Tribulation. The term Dominionism should not be used to describe pre-Tribulation Dispensational theology.
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Millions in the Pentecostal/Charismatic sector of Christianity are now actively involved in spiritual warfare networks, prayer marches, long term fasting, around the clock prayer vigils, and organized campaigns like "Reclaiming the Seven Mountains of Culture" to take control over society and government. These seven mountains are government, education, arts and entertainment, media, family, religion, and business. Many pastors across the Pentecostal/Charismatic spectrum have rejected the pre-Tribulation Rapture and embraced these campaigns for dominion. Youth across the country are being trained to be warriors, much like the Tribulation Force of the Left Behind series. However, in this scenario, true believers will not be snatched away from the earth before the battle begins, and there will be no waiting for armies from heaven. These Christian warriors, representing the "corporate body" of Christ, plan to be victorious over evil themselves.
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The support system for the Charismatic Messianic network are Christian Zionists who have gained access to Jewish communities through their "pro-Israel" partnerships such as John Hagee's Christians United for Israel (CUFI). With very few exceptions, the leadership of CUFI is Independent Charismatic as are the churches which hold CUFI events. Hagee continues to be a vocal Dispensationalist, preaching an imminent Rapture. He assures his Jewish partners that his Christian Zionists supporters do not believe humans can advance the prophetic clock, a claim Jewish leaders often repeat their organizations and synagogues. This serves as a smokescreen for CUFI, since the majority of its directors and host churches teach that humans must work to being about the Millennial Kingdom themselves, including providing support for Messianic ministries in Israel. Many of CUFI"s directors and supporters are directly involved in the New Apostolic movement.
[The prayer for Israel at Rick Perry's "The Response" was given by Don Finto, an apostle at the heart of a network of support for Messianic ministries and proselytizing of Jews. Hagee's mentor was Derek Prince, a leader of the Ft. Lauderdale Shepherds. ]
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/8/15/9328/35473/Front_Page/The_Rise_of_Charismatic_Dominionism_Updated_
In many ways, Dominionism is more a political phenomenon than a theological one. It cuts across Christian denominations, from stern, austere sects to the signs-and-wonders culture of modern megachurches. Think of it like political Islamism, which shapes the activism of a number of antagonistic fundamentalist movements, from Sunni Wahabis in the Arab world to Shiite fundamentalists in Iran.
Dominionism derives from a small fringe sect called Christian Reconstructionism, founded by a Calvinist theologian named R. J. Rushdoony in the 1960s. Christian Reconstructionism openly advocates replacing American law with the strictures of the Old Testament, replete with the death penalty for homosexuality, abortion, and even apostasy. The appeal of Christian Reconstructionism is, obviously, limited, and mainstream Christian right figures like Ralph Reed have denounced it.
(Public domain photo)
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/14/dominionism-michele-bachmann-and-rick-perry-s-dangerous-religious-bond.html
Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is expected to announce his entry into the 2012 presidential race. Perry will make the announcement at a conference in South Carolina organized by Erick Erickson's RedState.com. Early backers of Perry's presidential run have heralded him as being behind the so-called Texas economic miracle, however many have questioned Perry's economic claims in Texas. Questions have also arisen over Perry's close ties to the radical-wing of the Christian evangelical movement. Last Saturday, Perry helped organize and spoke at a controversial seven-hour Christian prayer rally in Houston titled, "The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis." While the prayer session drew 30,000 participants and received national press, little attention was paid to the Christian evangelicals Perry worked with to organize the event. The Texas Observer has just published an explosive article titled, "Rick Perry's Army of God." It exposes how a group of radical Christians and self-proclaimed prophets from a little-known movement known as New Apostolic Reformation have been quietly pushing for Perry's presidential bid.
Lengthy quote of convoluted illogic from Alice Patterson:
Why do Democrats, especially Black Americans and Hispanics, whose values many times are biblically based, have to change their positions to run on the Democratic ticket? Because the base of the Democratic Party demands it. Who comprises the bas of the Democratic Party? The Democratic Party is controlled by the White elite: trial lawyers, labor union members, pro-choice (pro-abortion) activists, i.e., National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), gay lestian bisexual transgender activists (GLBT), entertainers, academia, anti-religious liberty proponents under the guise of separation of church and state, anti-war activists, radical environmentalist, feminists and those who believe that government programs are the answer to America’s problems. The elite make the rules, choose the platform and select the leadership of the Party. As I mentioned previously, Black Democrats are the most loyal voting block of the Democratic Party, but are not involved in the party process. So they are not a part of the groups I listed above who control the Democratic Party.
http://www.merge-left.org/2011/08/12/4571/
The name New Apostolic Reformation was chosen by C. Peter Wagner, the major thinker and organizer behind the development of the movement from an amorphous body of over 400 million Independent Charismatics or neo-Charismatics worldwide. He had originally called the movement "postdenominational" but was encouraged by Jack Hayford to reconsider. This was good advice. Hayford is the former head of the International Foursquare Gospel, a major Pentecostal denomination.
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In addition to this block of neo-Charismatics, many denominational churches are embracing New Apostolic ideology, including reorganization under apostles and prophets, and the movement's unique Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare. These churches often remain in their denomination. For instance, Sarah Palin's church of over twenty years, Wasilla Assembly of God, is still part of the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal denomination. However, the leadership embraced the ideology of the NAR years ago and and numerous national and international apostles have spoken there.
Both Jim Garlow, head of Newt Gingrich's Renewing American Leadership (ReAL), and ReAL board member David Barton, have been working with the apostles for years. As described in books by Apostles Cindy Jacobs and Alice Patterson, Barton has been working with Texas apostles for over a decade. Barton's Christian Nationalist histories, in which he portrays Democrats as the ongoing source of racism, play a significant role in outreach to African American pastors.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/8/12/18559/6431/Front_Page/Disinformation_and_Misinformation_Becoming_Educated_About_the_New_Apostolic_Reformation
An apostle is a Christian leader, gifted, taught, commissioned, and sent by God with the authority to establish the foundational government of the church within an assigned sphere of ministry by hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches and by setting things in order accordingly for the growth and maturity of the church and for the extension of the kingdom of God.
Wagner also explains that there is no such thing as "self-appointed apostles" because all apostles are appointed by God. But that creates a bit of a dilemma for those trying to determine who are actual apostles versus those who are false apostles and so Wagner offers a rather ingenious way to tell the difference:
God's decision to make an individual an apostle must be recognized and affirmed by real people. If someone says, “God has called me to be an apostle,” but no one else agrees, then I have to doubt whether that person has accurately heard from God.
Now, if that logic seems rather circular to you, Wagner also offers up a list of "12 characteristics that are displayed by many (if not most) apostles," though he is careful to explain that not all apostles have all 12 characteristics.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/understanding-apostle-new-apostolic-reformation
The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, 8-10-2011 Summary: GOP presidential candidates vie to win the Ames, Iowa straw poll, with a focus on Rick Perry's anticipated announcement or his candidacy coinciding with the weekend of the straw poll.
The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, 8-10-2011 Summary: Interview with Forrest Wilder on the New Apostolic Reformation movement, their fixation on taking over "the 7 mountains" and end times, and Governor Rick Perry's presidential aspirations.
Forrest Wilder of the Texas Observer appeared on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show to discuss the New Apostolic Reformation, a evangelical Christian group that sees Texas Gov. Rick Perry as their chance to overtake the U.S. government.
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“The theological basis for the New Apostolic Reformation movement is about taking control of the ‘seven mountains’ — government, media, family, arts and entertainment, so on and so forth,” he explained.
http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/08/radical-christian-group-believes-gov-perry-will-lead-u-s-to-godly-government/
And even still, there were plenty of moments that should've startled the national press corps. For example, right before Perry's sermon he hugged and thanked one Alice Patterson, an "apostle" from San Antonio who Perry says he frequently prays with.
Who was this woman, one of two people he had next to him as he began speaking?
Patterson was active in the Texas Christian Coalition in the 90s but has since flung herself into the New Apostolic Reformation movement. Patterson's big thing is "racial reconciliation" between whites and blacks based, in part, on a fraudulent reading of history she borrows from Texas-based fundamentalist historian David Barton.
In Patterson's telling, it was Christian conservatives and the Republican Party that were on the side of civil rights. Contemporary liberals and the Democratic Party, she writes in her book Bridging the Racial and Political Divide: How Godly Politics Can Transform a Nation, are actually the racists because, for example, Dixiecrats in the South opposed desegregation and civil rights legislation and now oppose private school vouchers and support abortion rights ("It is tragic how the Black community is unknowingly embracing the genocide of their own race.")
http://www.texasobserver.org/forrestforthetrees/the-mainstream-medias-shallow-coverage-of-the-response
Texas Observer reporter Forrest Wilder provides video stills from The Response, Texas Governor Rick Perry's, Aug. 6th prayer rally held in Houston. Visit online for more Texas Observer news at www.texasobserver.org.
1. Significance of the 50-State "Prayer Warrior" Communication Networks
2. Coded But Blatant Political Messaging
3. Changing Public Tone Toward Jews
4. Mike Bickle's Leading Role
5. The Event Was Not Representative of all Conservative Evangelicals
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/8/8/114844/0135
...That a sitting governor would laugh off charges that his “instigation” of an exclusively Christian (and, more specifically, a certain kind of Christian) event is proof of the success of the cultural and spiritual warriors, who believe they are commanded to “take dominion” over government and other spheres of influence. Perry is their man in a high place, in this case an especially courageous one, willing to rebuff charges from the “radical secularists” that he’s crossed the line between church and state. That makes him something much more than just a political or spiritual hero; he is an exemplar....
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/4972/rick_perry%E2%80%99s_jesus_imperative%3A_a_report_from_saturday%E2%80%99s_mega-rally/
Before he began, Perry turned to hug Alice Patterson, a self-proclaimed apostle from San Antonio who believes the Democratic Party is controlled by "an invisible network of evil comprising an unholy structure" released by the demon Jezebel.
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Perry then read at length from the Book of Joel, Chapter 2 – a piece of Scripture favored by the New Apostolic Reformation movement, who see in it not just a call for a nation to repent but also a blueprint for End Times warriors.
"Blow the trumpet in Zion," Perry read to cheers and applause, a verse favored by Christian Zionists like San Antonio's John Hagee, who spoke later in the day.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://www.texasobserver.org/forrestforthetrees/rick-perry-pastor-prophet-president
With tens, even hundreds of millions of followers worldwide, the NAR's stress on Godlike prophetic and apostolic powers, its revisions of end-time prophecies, its methodology of “spiritual warfare” and its agenda of theocratic dominion over all aspects of society are not just threatening to modern secular democracy and the religious pluralism it protects, they have been sharply criticized by other conservative Christians as unbiblical, deviant teachings, even a form of the very demonic practices they obsessively declare war against. Indeed, the Assemblies of God — the largest Pentecostal denomination in America — condemned some of the NAR's teachings and practices as “deviant” in 2000, though Tabachnick told me that many within the denomination have since embraced the movement.
http://www.alternet.org/belief/151911/the_biggest_religious_movement_you_never_heard_of%3A_nine_things_you_need_to_know_about_rick_perry%27s_prayer_event/
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Council is scheduled to speak a few hours from now at Rick Perry's prayer event. The old guard of the Religious Right, including James Dobson, Richard Land, and Tony Perkins, will also be there and anxious to unify behind a single presidential candidate for 2012. They know that political success could depend on expanding their tent to include African American and Hispanic evangelicals, and for this they have turned to Charismatic and Pentecostal leadership. Despite the bad press prior to the event, many of these Charismatic leaders are quite politically savvy.
Rodriguez has a public persona as a moderate and for encouraging evangelicals to soften their stance on immigration. But simultaneously, he is a fire-breathing culture warrior and Vice President of the Oak Initiative, an organization on a crusade to save Christendom from the enemy - a Marxist/Leftist/Homosexual/Islamic coalition.
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But both Rodriguez and Hayford are part of a movement called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), which teaches that charitable efforts are a step in taking Christian control over society and government in preparation for the end times. Charity and racial reconciliation activities (that initially sound quite progressive) are taught as part of "Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare" techniques.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/8/6/43433/78689
Apostle Don Finto led the prayer for Israel on August 6 at The Response, the prayer rally initiated by Texas Governor Rick Perry. Finto prayed for the conversion of Jews in Israel and worldwide.
The event “might play well in Iowa or South Carolina, but I’m not sure how well it plays in New Hampshire, Florida or Michigan. It’s too much of an overt mixing of religion and politics,” said John Feehery, a Republican strategist who was a top adviser to then-House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (Ill.) “Rick Perry has got to decide if he wants to run for president or run to replace Pat Robertson.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/texas-gov-rick-perry-to-host-major-prayer-event-in-houston/2011/08/04/gIQAilogwI_story.html
The Response, a prayer and fasting event featuring rumored presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry and financed by the American Family Association, has drawn heat from faith leaders and the civil liberties groups who say the event leaves out people who are not conservative Christians and blurs the line between church and state. But the Aug. 6 event has also received sharp criticism from within the conservative Christian movement for some of its sponsors who hail from the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement, a branch of Pentecostalism that some view as pagan because it works to “divorce” America from a demon called Baal.
NAR is a branch of Pentecostalism that holds non-traditional Christian views such as belief in modern-day miracles and prophesy, and that through “spiritual warfare,” believers can reclaim communities for Jesus from spirits such as Baal.
Marsha West, a conservative Christian writer, took issue with the close relationship between the AFA and the NAR and refers to the NAR movement as a cult: “Is the fact that what many consider a cult, or cult-like, are involved just a slip up or a failure on the part of AFA to fact check? No. They know perfectly well who these people are and have decided to unite with them anyway.”
Photo credit: Creative Commons/eschipul
http://www.americanindependent.com/197421/some-religious-right-leaders-warn-of-paganism-at-perrys-prayer-event
Other names on the list of coordinators and endorsers have raised eyebrows.
"I mean, when you talk about the religious right, this is the fringe of the fringe here," says Dan Quinn, communications director of the Texas Freedom Network, an Austin-based watchdog group that tracks the far right in Texas.
"This is clearly, when you look at it, religious extremism and naked partisan politics," Quinn says. "I think it's one of the most cynical displays of using faith as a political tool we've seen in a long time."
The event is being paid for by the American Family Association, which describes itself as being "on the frontlines of America's culture war." The Southern Poverty Law Center characterizes the AFA as a hate group because of its fierce anti-gay agenda.
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Other participants include:
--John Hagee, a San Antonio evangelist whose endorsement was rejected by John McCain in 2008 because of Hagee's anti-Catholic statements.
--Mike Bickle, a founder of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Mo., who's called Oprah Winfrey a "pastor of the harlot of Babylon."
--Alice Patterson, founder of Justice at the Gate, in San Antonio, has written that there is "a demonic structure behind the Democratic Party."
--And then there's John Benefiel, head of the Oklahoma-based Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network, who once said this about the Statue of Liberty: "You know where we got it from? French Freemasons. Listen, folks, that is an idol, a demonic idol right there in the middle of New York Harbor."
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/05/138995325/rick-perrys-religious-revival-sparks-a-holy-war?sc=17&f=1001
Rather, the NAR has been sharply criticised by more traditional conservative Christians precisely because practitioners go beyond the Bible - a polite way of saying that when push comes to shove, they supersede or disregard it.
"[E]xperience is elevated to a position of high authority when it is confirmed by consensus opinion and apparently positive results accordingly, it may supplant biblical truth," wrote Bishop Michael Reid in his 2002 book, Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare: A Modern Mythology? Reid goes on to quote from Confronting the Powers, a book by the NAR's intellectual godfather, C Peter Wagner, in which Wagner admits: "I am not claiming biblical proof for the validity of strategic-level spiritual warfare, spiritual mapping or identificational repentence," [glossary here]. But he does argue there is "sufficient Biblical evidence to warrant ... a working hypothesis that we can field test, evaluate, modify and refine".
Which is to say, Wagner is proposing a "scientific method" of developing extra-biblical demon-fighting practices, based on the claim that "the Bible doesn't forbid it". It should be clearly understood that dealing intuitively with the spirit world, gradually building up a body of experience on which to rely is precisely the practice of pagan "witchcraft".
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/08/2011828282239963.html
But things haven't gone quite as planned. What was once seen as a dramatic coming out party for a latter-day Moses, in which Perry would emerge as a bona fide leader of the Christian right against the big-government "Pharaoh" (to use Perry's Exodus metaphor), is looking more and more like a flop. Just 8,000 tickets have been sold—not enough to fill a high school football stadium in Texas, let alone a 75,000-seat professional one. Of the 49 other governors Perry invited to attend, just one, Kansas Republican Sam Brownback, has said he'll show up (a few others, like GOPers Paul LePage of Maine and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, have issued proclamations). Texas Monthly's Paul Burka, the dean of Texas political analysts, is calling the event an "utter failure."
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/08/what-expect-rick-perrys-prayer-festival-the-response
Focus on the Family founder James Dobson already told listeners of his radio program that he will be giving the opening prayer at The Response, Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s upcoming prayer rally in Houston. Now, Family Research Council head Tony Perkins has announced that he will also be speaking at the event, reports Kate Shellnutt of the Houston Chronicle...
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/perkins-will-lead-response-prayer
Also providing organizational and financial support for the event are the International House of Prayer and its affiliate, The Call, both based in Kansas City, Mo.
IHOP – and, yes, the pancake chain has sued – was founded in 1999 by a self-trained evangelist named Mike Bickle and draws tens of thousands of worshippers to its revivals and sponsors perpetual prayer to help usher in the Final Days.
Bickle preaches an apocalyptic Christianity that warns of the rise of a Satan-inspired religion he labels Harlot Babylon.
“I believe that one of the main pastors of the Harlot movement – it’s not the Harlot movement yet – is Oprah,” Bickle has proclaimed. “She is winsome, she is kind, she is reasonable. She is utterly deceived.”
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Organizers of The Response also have enlisted the help of a loose association of ministers and activists calling themselves the New Apostolic Reformation. With roots in Pentecostalism, the movement emphasizes ecstatic worship, prophecy and political activism. According to their writings, followers of the movement believe they are leading an army of God that will take over society and civilian government.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2011/08/who-is-rick-perry-the-governors-web-of-christian-right-allies-converge-at-prayer-event/
Perry probably made a mistake enlisting the help of prayer warriors and self-described prophets and apostles who not only have 'out there' beliefs but are unaccustomed to the national media spotlight. Some of the leaders are interpreting the media coverage, including my article on the involvement of the New Apostolic Reformation movement, as a satanic attack.
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Of course this could prove to be a valuable learning experience for Perry. If it does prove to be an "utter failure," he may learn, before it's too late, to coddle his far-right allies in private rather than in the national spotlight.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://www.texasobserver.org/forrestforthetrees/a-wingnut--a-prayer
This could have had a much different ending. Perry could have made the event nondenominational. He could have invited people and clergy of all faiths. But he elected to make it exclusionary–and not just exclusionary, but reflective of preachers who have expressed some of the most extreme religious views in Christiandom.
Another misjudgment was the public invitation to all of his fellow governors. The right way to do this was to feel out the other governors first and announce the acceptances later, when you know who is coming. Now, with only one acceptance–Sam Brownback, of Kansas, and he has said he is going on vacation this weekend–the event looks like an utter failure.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=11011
Could the only gubernatorial guest confirmed to attend Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s national day of prayer—Gov. Sam Brownback (R., Kan.)– be backing out?
That’s the hope of the Kansas Equality Coalition, a group that bills itself as the largest gay rights organization in the state. The group criticized Mr. Brownback for accepting the invitation, citing the anti-gay stance of the event host, the American Family Association.
The AFA “isn’t just extreme, it’s barbaric,” said Thomas Witt, chairman of the Kansas Equality Coalition. “I don’t think the governor of Kansas, who’s governor of all of us, should be participating in rallies put together by groups that espouse those views.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/08/02/gov-brownback-comes-under-fire-for-plans-to-attend-gov-perrys-prayer-day/
HOUSTON — A group of Houston religious leaders have expressed concern about Gov. Rick Perry's day-long prayer meeting, saying it excludes non-Christians.
Perry has said the Saturday event at Houston's Reliant Stadium is "about coming together as a state, lifting up this nation in prayer, having a day of prayer and fasting."
But more than 50 Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders signed a statement, saying Perry's involvement in the event sends "an official endorsement of one faith over all others, thereby sending an official message of religious exclusion and preference to all Texans who do not share that faith."
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7680666.html
Brannon’s guest is independent Pentecostal pastor Bill Randles. Bill has been warning about the Gnosticism of the New Apostolic Reformation for years in his book “Beware of False Prophets.” Pastor Randles explains why Christians praying with NAR members at the August 6, 2011 “The Response” are not praying to the same Jesus of the Bible and that God cannot and will not bless this event or our nation for being unequally yoked with unbelievers.
mp3 for listening at the site
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-radio/episode.php?episodeid=19316
So far, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) is the only other governor attending the event, although Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) will send in a “short video” to be played at the rally. Others — including South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), and Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) — have issued prayer proclamations for Aug. 6. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has signed a letter of support for the event.
...
According to event organizers, the majority of attendees are coming from Houston and other parts of Texas. Two Houston megachurches — the nondenominational Lakewood Church and Second Baptist Church (the largest and fifth-largest congregations in the U.S., respectively) — are expected to deliver particularly strong showings at The Response.
...
The organizers for The Response are less well-known, but equally significant. The team responsible for mobilizing churches and ministries for the event is made up of leaders of a new — but rapidly expanding — movement of evangelicals, known as the New Apostolic Reformation. [For more on the movement, check out this slideshow.]
This Christian fringe movement is quickly gaining acceptance among mainstream fundamentalist evangelicals. Their explosive growth that can be attributed to the proliferation of New Apostolic “prayer networks.” It is through these national networks — which operate outside of any specific church or denomination — that organizers are mobilizing followers for The Response.
Leading the charge is Doug Stringer, who is responsible for coordinating national church mobilization for The Response. Stringer is an advisor to the Texas Apostolic Prayer Network, a statewide Apostolic Prayer network that is part of the 50-state Heartland Apostolic Network.
...
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://www.businessinsider.com/rick-perry-the-response-campaign-2012-2011-8
"We cherish the fact that we can pray freely in our own way, because our founding fathers wisely envisioned and provided for a nation grounded in the principle of separation of church and state. This freedom from government imposed religion allows all religions to flourish in our democratic society. It is with this thought in mind that we express our concern that Governor Rick Perry has called for a full day of exclusionary prayer on August 6, 2011. This religious event is not open to all faiths, as its statement of beliefs does not represent religious diversity.
Governor Perry has a constitutional duty to treat all Texans equally regardless of race, religion or ethnicity. His official involvement with the Response at minimum violates the spirit of that duty. "
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://regions.adl.org/southwest/news/clergy-and-community-leaders.html
“The Response” has generated a squall of controversy, much of it centered around [Bryan] Fischer, the AFA’s Director of Analysis for Government and Public Policy. Fischer is perhaps best known for warning the people of America that President Obama “wants to give the entire land mass of the United States of America back to the Indians. He wants Indian tribes to be our new overlords.” But it was Fischer’s article “Native Americans Morally Disqualified Themselves from the Land” published last winter that has generated the harshest criticism for its blatant racism against the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island.
The article was removed from the AFA website but is archived as Text of Fischer’s Racist Screed on Newspaper Rock. In it, Fischer claims that “the superstition, savagery and sexual immorality of native (sic) Americans” made them “morally disqualified from sovereign control of American soil.” He draws an analogy between the Indigenous Peoples of this country and the “Amorites, or Canaanite peoples” – the ancestors of today’s Palestinians – who “practiced one moral abomination after another, whether it was incest, adultery, sexually immorality, homosexuality, bestiality or child sacrifice, and God finally said ‘Enough’” – and gave the land to the ancient Israelites.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/08/%E2%80%9Cthe-response%E2%80%9D-promises-toxic-mix-of-racism-and-bigotry/
Further research on these people and the new Apostolic Reformation movement revealed that this movement, according to its leaders, promises to make the Christian Reformation of several centuries ago look like a walk in the park. They have proclaimed that Texas is “The Prophet State” anointed by God to lead the USA into revival and “Godly government.”
As Wilder pointed out in his article: ” . . . what makes the New Apostolic Reformation movement so potent is its growing fascination with infiltrating politics and government. The new prophets and apostles believe certain Christians are destined to not just the “dominion” over government, but to also stealthily climb the “Seven Mountains” of society, including the media and the arts and entertainment world. They believe they’re intended to lord over it all.”
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://my.firedoglake.com/iflizwerequeen/2011/08/01/rick-perry-and-the-new-apostolic-reformation-movement/
HOUSTON, TX -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation lacks the standing to stop Gov. Rick Perry from leading an Aug. 6 prayer rally in Houston and publishing his proclamation for "A Day of Prayer and Fasting for Our Nation," a federal judge ruled.
U.S. District Judge Gray Miller tossed a complaint filed by the foundation and five of its Houston members. The group sought to bar Perry, in his official capacity as Texas governor, from orchestrating a prayer rally set to take place on Aug. 6 at Houston's Reliant Stadium. It also sought to enjoin Perry from continuing to disseminate his proclamation for "A Day of Prayer and Fasting for Our Nation."
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/christianity/judge-clears-way-texas-gov-rick-perrys-prayer-rally
There are lots of crazy groups out there, I’m not going to worry about all of them. But in the last decade or so they have made massive inroads into political politics, and are trying to mainstream themselves by holding events at places like Harvard. That the endorsers list of the upcoming Texas prayer event The Response reads like a partial who’s who of the New Apostolic Reformation is disturbing, not simply because Governor Rick Perry might be sympathetic to them, but because it means this “Third Wave” has succeeded in becoming a part of the mainstream Religious Right.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2011/07/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-new-apostolic-reformation.html
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