Todd Bentley
Encyclopedia
Todd Bentley is a Canadian Christian
evangelist
. He was the key figure of the Lakeland Revival
. After a brief period of retirement connected with the breakdown of his marriage and subsequent re-marriage, he has returned to ministry.
, a small community on the western coast of Canada. Bentley's parents divorced while he was a child and he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. At the age of 15, he was convicted of sexual assault, and at age 17, Bentley was hospitalized after an overdose of amphetamines and hallucinogenic pills.At age 18 Bentley changed his lifestyle completely, due to his conversion to Christ, and it was soon after this that he began his Christian ministry.
Even though the criminal records of juvenile offenders in Canada are normally protected from public disclosure, in 2001, the now-defunct Report Newsmagazine, disclosed Bentley's teenage criminal activities, calling his behavior "heinous." Bentley later said that the Report Newsmagazine article was, in substance, true: "'They were sexual crimes,' Bentley admits. 'I was involved in a sexual assault ring. I turned around and did what happened to me. I was assaulted too.'" This led to heated debate in the Christian media, asking whether Report NewsMagazine had acted correctly in publicizing Bentley's crimes, and whether this affected Bentley's position as an evangelist.
movement. The religious services became focused on renewing the faith of believers and converting nonbelievers and began to highlight Bentley's vibrant preaching style, music, and dramatic descriptions of salvation and judgment. Bentley's talent for this kind of preaching made him popular as a guest evangelist and speaker. He traveled to India, Africa, and South America taking part in religious crusades and revivals.
, to lead a one-week revival. The revival quickly became a religious and media phenomenon, attracting up to 10,000 attendees nightly with Bentley as the primary preacher. In addition to showcasing Bentley's evangelism, the revival featured colorful light shows and power-chord Christian rock music. The Ignited Church also took a multimedia approach to publicizing the event, posting webcasts online. The revival streamed live via Ustream
– which received over 1 million hits in the first five weeks of transmissions. After the initial weeks, GOD TV
, a religious satellite channel, decided to pre-empt its primetime programming and broadcast the Lakeland meetings nightly.
The revival brought in thousands, and with that many other revivalists. At one point, Bentley began to pray for and commission many of them to duplicate his model for modern day revival. Ryan Wyatt was one. Another was Evangelist Hamilton Filmalter, who was commissioned by Bentley to begin the Portland Outpouring. Filmalter teamed up with Reverend Aaron Winter the founder of Hearts of Fire International Ministries and they began to witness many of the same things that were taking place in Lakeland. However, by the time these other revivals turned up in other cities, Bentley had stepped down from Fresh Fire Ministries.
Bentley was criticized in mainstream media and on internet blogs for occasional violence done to participants, in the tradition of Smith Wigglesworth
. Todd Bentley was known to forcefully kick, hit, smack or knock over participants. In one incident, a man was knocked over and lost a tooth. In another, an elderly woman was intentionally kicked in the face. Bentley held that the Holy Spirit led him to such actions, saying that those incidents were taken out of context and adding that miracles were happening simultaneously.
On 9 July 2008 ABC News
' Nightline broadcast an investigative report on Bentley focusing on his faith healing
claims, finances, and criminal past. Following the report, Bentley took time off from the revival but returned on 18 July 2008. Five days later, Bentley and Strader announced that Bentley would be leaving the revival permanently and that his last day would be 23 August 2008.
An important aspect of many of the meetings that Bentley has led, involves prayer for miraculous healing. The New Testament records many incidents of Jesus healing the sick; belief in its contemporary practice is important for Pentecostal and charismatic
Christians. Healing testimonies were common at the Lakeland meetings. The hope of supernatural healing explains some of its popularity, as there were many first-person accounts of miracles. The lack of medical corroboration of the healings was questioned by mainstream media; the Nightline report concluded that "not a single miracle could be verified."
Some of Bentley's Christian contemporaries called for Bentley to step down in the wake of the scandal, stating that Christian leadership is incompatible with marital unfaithfulness. In response, a committee made up of Rick Joyner
, Jack Deere
, and Bill Johnson
was formed to oversee the process of spiritually restoring Bentley's family. In November 2008, the Board of Fresh Fire announced that Bentley was not submitting to the process. On March 9, 2009, Rick Joyner announced that Bentley had remarried.
A 2009 Charisma magazine
interview with Rick Joyner refuted adultery claims while characterizing the relationship as wrong and premature. Joyner told Charisma that the new couple was committed to their marriage and would “continue to serve the Lord in the best way that they can.”
Bentley's testimony includes an account of visiting Heaven
and meeting with Paul the Apostle. He has also preached about an encounter with an angel he called 'Emma' at an Assemblies of God
church in 2001. The female angel gave him a vision of gold coins, and Bentley states this was a sign of his future financial stability. In response to criticism about the Biblical inspiration
of a female angel, Bentley wrote that it was God's choice, and not his own, that an angel appeared to him in that manner.
Pastor Strader of Ignited Church who invited Bentley to Lakeland said: "We watch over everything. Everything that happens on the platform is scriptural [...] The nightly message has been totally 100 percent nothing but Jesus. People are saved, people are healed, and Jesus is being glorified. [...] Even some of my so-called friends are questioning my integrity, but they never come to the services. It's not fair just to watch [them] on TV."
s demonstrating a level of commitment to the Latter Rain doctrine of the Manifest Sons of God, (or Man-Child Generation) as preached by William M. Branham
and George Warnock. The program's doctrine was associated to an interpretation of Revelation 12 that in the last age before Jesus returns, there will be a generation of especially endowed Christians who will be able to do many miracles, and will usher in the reign of God. This is in the tradition of William M. Branham
and the healing revivals of the 50s, overlapping with Latter Rain Movement theology. Bentley's association with Paul Cain
, an associate of Branham and himself a healing evangelist of the 50s, is a further connection to the movement. Joel's Army has been connected to Dominion Theology
and Fivefold ministry thinking, and has been described as a "rapidly growing apocalyptic movement" prophesied to become an "Armageddon
-ready military force of young people with a divine mandate to physically impose Christian "dominion" on non-believers.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
. He was the key figure of the Lakeland Revival
Lakeland revival
The Lakeland Revival or Florida Healing Outpouring was a Christian revival which began on April 2, 2008, when Evangelist Todd Bentley of Fresh Fire Ministries was invited to Ignited Church in Lakeland, Florida, by Pastor Stephen Strader. Bentley was originally invited to be in Lakeland for only...
. After a brief period of retirement connected with the breakdown of his marriage and subsequent re-marriage, he has returned to ministry.
Early life
Bentley was raised mainly in Gibsons, British ColumbiaGibsons, British Columbia
Gibsons is a coastal community of 4,200 located in southwestern British Columbia, Canada on the Strait of Georgia. It is the main marine gateway to the Sunshine Coast....
, a small community on the western coast of Canada. Bentley's parents divorced while he was a child and he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. At the age of 15, he was convicted of sexual assault, and at age 17, Bentley was hospitalized after an overdose of amphetamines and hallucinogenic pills.At age 18 Bentley changed his lifestyle completely, due to his conversion to Christ, and it was soon after this that he began his Christian ministry.
Even though the criminal records of juvenile offenders in Canada are normally protected from public disclosure, in 2001, the now-defunct Report Newsmagazine, disclosed Bentley's teenage criminal activities, calling his behavior "heinous." Bentley later said that the Report Newsmagazine article was, in substance, true: "'They were sexual crimes,' Bentley admits. 'I was involved in a sexual assault ring. I turned around and did what happened to me. I was assaulted too.'" This led to heated debate in the Christian media, asking whether Report NewsMagazine had acted correctly in publicizing Bentley's crimes, and whether this affected Bentley's position as an evangelist.
Fresh Fire Ministries
In 1998, the Fresh Fire Ministry group asked Bentley to give his testimony at one of their weekly meetings. Soon after, Bentley took over the leadership of the group, which became more of a revivalRevival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...
movement. The religious services became focused on renewing the faith of believers and converting nonbelievers and began to highlight Bentley's vibrant preaching style, music, and dramatic descriptions of salvation and judgment. Bentley's talent for this kind of preaching made him popular as a guest evangelist and speaker. He traveled to India, Africa, and South America taking part in religious crusades and revivals.
Leadership of Lakeland Revival
Beginning on April 2, 2008, Bentley was invited by Stephen Strader, pastor of Ignited Church, Lakeland, FloridaLakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
, to lead a one-week revival. The revival quickly became a religious and media phenomenon, attracting up to 10,000 attendees nightly with Bentley as the primary preacher. In addition to showcasing Bentley's evangelism, the revival featured colorful light shows and power-chord Christian rock music. The Ignited Church also took a multimedia approach to publicizing the event, posting webcasts online. The revival streamed live via Ustream
Ustream
Ustream is a website which consists of a network of diverse channels providing a platform for lifecasting and live video streaming of events online. Established in March 2007, the site has over 2,000,000 registered users who generate 1,500,000+ hours of live streamed content per month with over ten...
– which received over 1 million hits in the first five weeks of transmissions. After the initial weeks, GOD TV
GOD TV
GOD TV is an international Christian television broadcaster that transmits the GOD Channel from Jerusalem.The network’s Free-to-air signal is carried via multiple satellites 24-hours-a-day providing programming at no charge to viewers. This ranges from Bible teaching to motivational seminars,...
, a religious satellite channel, decided to pre-empt its primetime programming and broadcast the Lakeland meetings nightly.
The revival brought in thousands, and with that many other revivalists. At one point, Bentley began to pray for and commission many of them to duplicate his model for modern day revival. Ryan Wyatt was one. Another was Evangelist Hamilton Filmalter, who was commissioned by Bentley to begin the Portland Outpouring. Filmalter teamed up with Reverend Aaron Winter the founder of Hearts of Fire International Ministries and they began to witness many of the same things that were taking place in Lakeland. However, by the time these other revivals turned up in other cities, Bentley had stepped down from Fresh Fire Ministries.
Bentley was criticized in mainstream media and on internet blogs for occasional violence done to participants, in the tradition of Smith Wigglesworth
Smith Wigglesworth
Smith Wigglesworth , was a British evangelist who was important in the early history of Pentecostalism.- Early life :...
. Todd Bentley was known to forcefully kick, hit, smack or knock over participants. In one incident, a man was knocked over and lost a tooth. In another, an elderly woman was intentionally kicked in the face. Bentley held that the Holy Spirit led him to such actions, saying that those incidents were taken out of context and adding that miracles were happening simultaneously.
On 9 July 2008 ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
' Nightline broadcast an investigative report on Bentley focusing on his faith healing
Faith healing
Faith healing is healing through spiritual means. The healing of a person is brought about by religious faith through prayer and/or rituals that, according to adherents, stimulate a divine presence and power toward correcting disease and disability. Belief in divine intervention in illness or...
claims, finances, and criminal past. Following the report, Bentley took time off from the revival but returned on 18 July 2008. Five days later, Bentley and Strader announced that Bentley would be leaving the revival permanently and that his last day would be 23 August 2008.
An important aspect of many of the meetings that Bentley has led, involves prayer for miraculous healing. The New Testament records many incidents of Jesus healing the sick; belief in its contemporary practice is important for Pentecostal and charismatic
Charismatic Christianity
Charismatic Christianity is a Christian doctrine that maintains that modern-day believers experience miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and other spiritual gifts as described in of the Bible...
Christians. Healing testimonies were common at the Lakeland meetings. The hope of supernatural healing explains some of its popularity, as there were many first-person accounts of miracles. The lack of medical corroboration of the healings was questioned by mainstream media; the Nightline report concluded that "not a single miracle could be verified."
Divorce issue
Bentley announced his separation from his wife, Shonnah, in August 2008, and resigned from the Board of Fresh Fire. A statement released by the remaining Board members said "Todd Bentley has entered into an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff", and that he would 'refrain from all public ministry for a season to receive counsel in his personal life'.Some of Bentley's Christian contemporaries called for Bentley to step down in the wake of the scandal, stating that Christian leadership is incompatible with marital unfaithfulness. In response, a committee made up of Rick Joyner
Rick Joyner
Rick Joyner heads MorningStar Ministries , which he cofounded with his wife Julie Joyner in 1985...
, Jack Deere
Jack Deere
Jack Deere is a charismatic pastor and theologian from the USA.He was an associate professor of Old Testament at Dallas Seminary, a bastion of cessationism, the doctrine that the charismatic gifts of the Spirit, such as tongues, prophecy and healing, ended at the close of the 1st century...
, and Bill Johnson
Bill Johnson (pastor)
Bill Johnson and his wife Brenda Johnson are the Senior Pastors of Bethel Church in Redding, California. Johnson is a fifth generation pastor.- Personal background :...
was formed to oversee the process of spiritually restoring Bentley's family. In November 2008, the Board of Fresh Fire announced that Bentley was not submitting to the process. On March 9, 2009, Rick Joyner announced that Bentley had remarried.
A 2009 Charisma magazine
Charisma (magazine)
Charisma is a monthly Christian magazine based in Lake Mary, Florida, aimed at Pentecostals and charismatics...
interview with Rick Joyner refuted adultery claims while characterizing the relationship as wrong and premature. Joyner told Charisma that the new couple was committed to their marriage and would “continue to serve the Lord in the best way that they can.”
Theology
Bentley highlights scriptural passages in his sermons. He emphasizes that spiritual or supernatural encounters in an individual's life are gifts from the Holy Spirit. He has stated that his priority is to help people experience the presence of God. He wants the "Holy Spirit to manifest His glory in such a way that people can't deny the presence of a living God and they have a true born-again experience". He also says: "Miracles and healings are evidence [...] they are signs of the Kingdom, and if we don't have signs then all we have is a bunch of theology."Bentley's testimony includes an account of visiting Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and meeting with Paul the Apostle. He has also preached about an encounter with an angel he called 'Emma' at an Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
church in 2001. The female angel gave him a vision of gold coins, and Bentley states this was a sign of his future financial stability. In response to criticism about the Biblical inspiration
Biblical inspiration
Biblical inspiration is the doctrine in Christian theology that the authors and editors of the Bible were led or influenced by God with the result that their writings many be designated in some sense the word of God.- Etymology :...
of a female angel, Bentley wrote that it was God's choice, and not his own, that an angel appeared to him in that manner.
Pastor Strader of Ignited Church who invited Bentley to Lakeland said: "We watch over everything. Everything that happens on the platform is scriptural [...] The nightly message has been totally 100 percent nothing but Jesus. People are saved, people are healed, and Jesus is being glorified. [...] Even some of my so-called friends are questioning my integrity, but they never come to the services. It's not fair just to watch [them] on TV."
Joel's Army
Bentley has sponsored an internship program called 'Joel's Army' in addition to having the words "Joel's Army" tattooed across his sternum with military dog tagDog tag
A pet ID tag, or pet tag is a small flat tag worn on pets' collars or harnesses.Humane societies and rescue organizations recommend that dogs and cats wear these tags, which contain information to enable someone encountering a stray animal to contact the owner.Some people object to pet id tags...
s demonstrating a level of commitment to the Latter Rain doctrine of the Manifest Sons of God, (or Man-Child Generation) as preached by William M. Branham
William M. Branham
William Marrion Branham was a Christian minister, usually credited with founding the post World War II faith healing movement...
and George Warnock. The program's doctrine was associated to an interpretation of Revelation 12 that in the last age before Jesus returns, there will be a generation of especially endowed Christians who will be able to do many miracles, and will usher in the reign of God. This is in the tradition of William M. Branham
William M. Branham
William Marrion Branham was a Christian minister, usually credited with founding the post World War II faith healing movement...
and the healing revivals of the 50s, overlapping with Latter Rain Movement theology. Bentley's association with Paul Cain
Paul Cain (minister)
Paul Cain is a Pentecostal Christian minister involved with both neo-charismatic churches and the Charismatic Movement. As a young man he was one of the Voice of Healing revivalists of the 50s. Cain currently resides in California and ministers monthly at a local church in Santa...
, an associate of Branham and himself a healing evangelist of the 50s, is a further connection to the movement. Joel's Army has been connected to Dominion Theology
Dominion Theology
Dominion Theology is seen by some as a subset of Dominionism, a term used by some social scientists and journalists to describe a theological form of political ideology, which they claim has broadly influenced the Christian Right in the United States, Canada, and Europe, within Protestant...
and Fivefold ministry thinking, and has been described as a "rapidly growing apocalyptic movement" prophesied to become an "Armageddon
Armageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
-ready military force of young people with a divine mandate to physically impose Christian "dominion" on non-believers.
Appearance
Bentley's physical appearance has been noted for being very unconventional for that of an evangelist. He has dozens of tattoos, multiple facial piercings, and a preference for t-shirts over ties. Bentley's preaching style is also flamboyant, known for mannerisms like shouting 'Bam!' during his delivery.See also
- Apostolic-Prophetic MovementApostolic-Prophetic MovementThe Apostolic-Prophetic Movement in Charismatic Christianity is seen by its participants as a restoration of the neglected elements of the Five-Fold Ministry described in the New Testament book of Ephesians, "some apostles, and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; for...
- Bill JohnsonBill Johnson (pastor)Bill Johnson and his wife Brenda Johnson are the Senior Pastors of Bethel Church in Redding, California. Johnson is a fifth generation pastor.- Personal background :...
- Paul CainPaul Cain (minister)Paul Cain is a Pentecostal Christian minister involved with both neo-charismatic churches and the Charismatic Movement. As a young man he was one of the Voice of Healing revivalists of the 50s. Cain currently resides in California and ministers monthly at a local church in Santa...
- Rick JoynerRick JoynerRick Joyner heads MorningStar Ministries , which he cofounded with his wife Julie Joyner in 1985...
- James GollJames GollJames W. Goll formerly known as Jim Goll, is the Director of Prayer Storm, Coordinator of Encounters Alliance, and author. He is the co-founder of...
- John Paul JacksonJohn Paul JacksonJohn Paul Jackson was a member of the controversial Kansas City Prophets, whose practice and doctrine came under fire in the 1980s and '90s. He is the founder of Streams Ministries International, a Christian group that deals especially with the practice known as prophecy...
External links
- Fresh Fire Ministries
- Todd Bentley resigns from Fresh Fire Ministries
- Todd Bentley's restoration
- Todd Bentley & the End-Times Apostasy a critical look at Todd Bentley's ministry and teachings