The Lakeland Debacle

Who's To Blame?

About six months ago I had a call from a chap I know who works for God TV telling me they had cancelled their scheduled programmes to give maximum coverage to an event in Florida; it became known as the Lakeland Revival. Then I heard of thousands of people from Britain and beyond, travelling to Lakeland to see what was going on. I heard one woman say, ‘We went because we wanted God’s fire to come to where we live.’

In due course there were claims and counter-claims of miracles, people being raised from the dead, even angels appearing. One angel named Emma was seen floating down the aisle towards Todd Bentley, the miracle worker of Lakeland. Bentley then claimed that he takes out-of-body trips to Australia, he has interviewed Paul the apostle and has had chats with Jesus on the way, and everybody thought it was great. When Bentley was questioned about some of his dubious alliances he answered, ‘I’ll tell you what’s happening. People are getting healed in Lakeland. You need to come and get some!’ and he screeched and chuckled and lay on the ground rolling his head from side to side. And yet when pressed he could not provide a single authenticated case of healing.

Then emails of a different kind started flashing across computer screens, and before you could say, ‘Sheeka Boomba’ (as Bentley often yelled from his pulpit), the ‘Todd Bentley Raging Revival’ was over; it had all ended in tears.

A prominent American evangelist wrote to me last week after the news hit the fan saying, ‘Now I’m convinced that many in the charismatic church would even follow the anti-Christ, because they have no discernment.’

I feel sad for Todd Bentley and his family, and the lady who spent good money travelling to Florida because she wanted to see God’s fire where she lived.’ Sometimes, hungry people will eat anything.

Do you think we’ll ever learn, surely if God isn’t everywhere, he isn’t anywhere? And that’s the problem, it’s not Todd Bentley; he’s the victim here and he won’t be the last, for it’s always easier to crave the love of the crowd than the love of God. Let’s wait and see how many of those whose ungodly adulation set him up hang around to offer the man and his family the help and support they need now that he has crashed. Those Christian leaders who you’d think would know better, who queued up on his platform to lay hands on his head, proclaiming him as their evangelist, but in reality were more interested in grabbing a slice of the action, they’ve melted away to polish their tarnished images.

But can any good come out of it all? I’m not optimistic. For example, I read a letter about it from Mark Stibbe of St Andrews in Chorleywood. He says the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements need to work very hard in the area of prevention. But he’s missed the point, because the reason this happened and will continue to happen is the fatal flaw at the heart of the religious system; men are placed on pedestals where they don’t belong, and they’re happy to stay there.

What did Jesus say? Matthew 23; ‘Don't let people… put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him (alone) tell you what to do’.

For me the only lesson here is this; handle religion with a great deal of care.