Joseph Mattera, NAR dominionist and part of Dr. Michael Brown's investigative team has drawn a line in the sand for acceptable ministerial behavior. Apparently punching and kicking sick and old people are acceptable activities.

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Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! -- Isaiah 5:20 (ESV)

https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/the-pulse/79445-the-panel-on-todd-bentley-the-line-being-drawn-in-the-sand

I have likened the Dr. Michael Brown investigation into Todd Bentley as a Scooby-Doo investigation. This is to purposefully draw attention to the insanity of it and so people stop giving it the level of seriousness it does not deserve. What Bentley stands accused of recently is serious; do not get me wrong. Sexting with your interns details and pictures of your wife, I am pretty sure violates some biblical standards for preachers. If this was the only accusation, I would wholeheartedly support the investigation. The problem with this one is that it turns a blind eye to the fact that Todd Bentley never should have been allowed back in ministry to begin with. He should never have had the NAR anoint him a prophet. He should never have had Bill Johnson pray over him. He should never had Rick Joyner excuse him and declare he was restored. The above link is to an article by a member of those meddling kids, Joseph Mattera. Here he is defending the indefensible. Not that he excuses the 2019 version of Todd Bentley but that he approves of the 2008-2012 version. That is what makes the 2019 investigation nothing more than a cartoon caricature. They are investigating if a man who used to kick and punch people to "impart" healing, claims a relationship with an angel named Emma and had an affair on his first wife with his nanny is qualified for ministry due to other allegations occurring ten years later. Ruh-roh Shaggy! Let us reason once more.

'"I have recently heard from several of my friends that they believe 2020 will be a year when God starts reforming His church. I believe this to be true. Part of this reformation will be the revelation of the hearts of leaders as well as highlighting some of the modern distortions of the gospel. Soon I will deal with six areas for church reformation but for now I will just focus on the first area of reformation I believe God is orchestrating in His church. Biblical Standards for Christian Leadership This first point is something I am participating in right now as I have agreed to serve on a panel that rendered an opinion this past week that stated--among other things--that evangelist Todd Bentley should lose his ordination and step down from all ministry because of an avalanche of allegations against him related to immoral behavior. (Dr. Michael Brown released the official statement by our panel on major Christian news outlets such as Charisma magazine, The Christian Post and beyond.) Of course--echoing the voice of the panel--all of us desire Todd's full restoration, first to God and eventually to some form of ministry. We all have to take heed to the admonition of Paul related to restoring a fallen believer: Galatians 6:1 says, "Brothers, if a man is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, watching yourselves, lest you also be tempted."' -- Joseph Mattera

In his zeal to be "someone" in the Charismaniacal world, Mattera has simply lost more and more credibility as time has worn on. A full-throated NAR dominionist, Mattera has seen his profile at Charisma news rise as he has taken a vocal mantle to prop up what the NAR wants. He does so however with a certain faux-biblical arrogance that many of his false peers do not bother with. Sure Kris Vallotton or Jennifer LeClaire will throw a verse around here or there for the appearance of piety but Mattera uses the bible to pretend that he alone is righteous in his most unbiblical causes. What we see before us is just a microcosm of this. Galatians 6:1 has nothing to do with fallen ministers -- nothing. It has to do with a brother or sister who falls into repeated sin. Yes Bentley certainly counts in that group but not for what Dr. Michael Brown's Scooby-Doo investigation purpose was. Brown insists that their role was to determine if Bentley should be allowed to continue in ministry -- not to restore him. If Mattera and Brown were genuinely concerned about Galatians 6:1 then this process never would have been public and instead would solely be focused on the walk of Todd Bentley -- not his cash cow ministry.

Mattera gives up the truth however right in the opening paragraph because he cannot see past his own arrogance. All of us desire Todd Bentley's full restoration to some form of ministry? No sir we do not. You see Joseph, discerning Christians dismiss Bentley as a fraud and a huckster based upon his ministry in 2008. The reveal of the affair was just God forcing your hand but shouldn't the manner of his ministry have mattered to you as a minister of the Gospel? Just from this opening paragraph, Joseph Mattera has come out in support of assault and battery as a healing technique. He has affirmed kicking old ladies in the face with steel tipped boots, as Bentley once bragged about. You think God is charging you with writing about church reformation but He has not told you that punching someone with stage four pancreatic cancer is not from the Holy Spirit? Yeah, that dog don't hunt.

"On the other hand, I have actually been thankful that this has angered many people in the church and for some of the public attacks against me and the rest of the panel members because their attack just reveals their lack of biblical standards, their own distorted view of the grace of God, and is subsequently serving as a red flag to the rest of the body as to who else (besides Todd) belongs to his camp. (Truly, a person is not only known by his friends but equally by his opponents and for this I praise God!)" -- Joseph Mattera

Really. Let me explain the hole in Scooby's investigation. Mattera and Brown proceeded from the standpoint that the new allegations against Bentley had the seriousness to possibly discredit his ministry and bring shame unto the Gospel. While this is obvious when we are talking about Bentley admitting to sexting with his interns pictures of his wife, it carries an implicit endorsement of his ministry as a whole. What Mattera essentially supports is the previous infidelity with his nanny, then the divorce from his wife to marry his nanny. While I am glad that he apparently draws a line in the sand over sexting pictures of his former nanny/current wife to people he has power and influence over in ministry, I think the grand moral stand has left the barn. Not to mention that Mattera thinks that rightful criticism of the efforts of these meddlesome kids should be a red flag but not physically assaulting people in the name of God and blaming it on the Holy Spirit! So yeah Joseph, you are now well known by your opponents who hold the actual bible up and not mere verse fragments that serve an absurd starting point that verifies Todd Bentley's demonic outpouring as a legitimate move of God.

"In light of all this, a line is finally being drawn in the sand! Some may ask, is there a higher standard for Christian leadership in Scripture? Yes, there is! James 3:1 says that we who teach in the body of Christ will be held to the strictest judgement by God--so yes, there are higher standards for leaders, preachers and teachers of the word of God. Secondarily, in the context of the teaching of the fivefold ministry in Chapter 4 (4:11) of Ephesians, Paul the apostle admonishes us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling in which we have been called (see 4:1,2). This has nothing to do with being saved by works but with how God expects us to walk in our assignment after we have (already) been saved by grace. Thus, one of the primary reasons I agreed to participate in the panel opinion regarding Todd is because I believed this had to do with highlighting the need to return to the old biblical standards as a criteria for Christian leadership-- especially in the charismatic church--so this issue is much larger than Todd Bentley. (Especially because I didn't want to give too much focus or attention on Todd because he does not warrant it.)" -- Joseph Mattera

Yes, draw that line sharply around legitimizing a move of Satan, way to go. As for the subtle misuses of scripture. James 3:1 does say there are higher standards for preachers but as Mattera points out this judgment belongs to God, not to Scrappy-Doo. Ephesians 4:1-2 does indeed say that we should walk in a manner worthy of our calling but again this is dealing with lay persons, not leadership. Their standard is higher than this. Their standard says they should not punch and kick people in order to pretend God is healing them. It says you do not make up angels named Emma that you pretend to talk with. Let me be clear here. I take no issue with Christian leaders holding other leaders to account. Even in this scenario when Bentley refused to participate. What I take issue with is pretending to hold ministers to account for some potential offenses while giving tacit approval to other Satanic endeavors disguised as a move of God. It is like when Dr. Brown insists that the Kundalini spasmodic and demonic outpouring at Brownsville was a move of God. No it was not. Here we see the arrogance of Joseph Mattera insisting that this was a larger issue than Bentley. No it was not. It was about this man and his abuse of his interns. It was about this man and his abuse in previous instances of his ministry. By removing Bentley, you cheapen the need to call people to account in leadership. Mattera now makes some points about not charging an elder without witnesses and how they had plenty of witnesses. He also rightly handles the word regarding charging these wrongdoings in public and how many in the charismatic church have no accountability today. I say a hearty amen to these things and it highlights what is so frustrating about Mattera. When he is not off trying to conquer cultural mountains, he tends to handle the word well. If only he could see how his own NAR involvement blinds his eyes.

"One solution to this problem, especially for the many thousands of nondenominational, independent charismatic leaders and movements, is that I am hoping that leaders I work with in the church, leaders like Dr. Brown and like those who serve with me on the council of the United States Coalition of Apostolic Leaders, would eventually serve as a type of Jerusalem council (see Acts 15) to discuss current church trends, culture, doctrine, theology and to hold leaders in certain circles of the church accountable. (For those who are not affiliated or accountable to any governing body in the church, the best we can do is to correct them in public.) Jesus said He would build His church (Matt. 16) but He also utilizes leaders to build His church; hence, all leaders need to understand and apply proper protocols, criteria and standards of ethics in order to qualify as a leader (take note how Jesus used leaders of each of the seven churches in Revelation Chapters 2,3 to deliver His message of correction, encouragement, and or rebuke)." -- Joseph Mattera

Again the arrogance. Dr. Brown has not met a heretic he could not defend. He appeared for a week on the Benny Hinn show and calls him a good brother in the Lord. He defends Bill Johnson vociferously. He excused Jennifer LeClaire's asinine sneaky squid spirit and gave her cover on his national radio show. As for the United States Coalition of Apostolic Leaders (USCAL) -- Mattera is the convening member! This is how the NAR works. They form these loose associations comprised of other false teachers or prophets and prop each other up with official sounding names like USCAL. Mattera wants to serve as the Jerusalem Council did? He has disqualified himself already by being unwilling or unable to disavow the entire ministry of Todd Bentley and by declaring people who practice discernment as his enemies.

Mattera now goes into a longer rant about hyper-grace. He is largely correct in his dissection of it although he misses the boat overall twice. First of all, he blames the sin lifestyle of the current church on hyper-grace teachings. Now, I agree they have contributed but Mattera turns a blind eye to many other culprits, including his own NAR and Charismaniacal Church. They both have fully embraced the Warrenistic teachings of the purpose driven church. The core of these teachings is to strip the judgment and wrath out of the Gospel, leaving only the sloppy agape Mattera seems to be ranting against. That said, the second thing he misses is the same blind spot as his pal Michael Brown. There is one undisputed king of hyper-grace preaching and that is Joseph Prince. Dr. Brown has written an entire book on the errors of hyper-grace yet refuses to call out Prince by name. when I pressed him on it, he told me that Prince as just a good brother in the Lord with some holes in his theology. No Michael. He is a ravenous wolf devouring the sheep of the Lord and you are his gatekeeper. If Mattera refuses to name names here, then he is also a gatekeeper for one of the most voracious wolves on the planet in Joseph Prince.

"In closing, I believe the charismatic church is in a critical moment, in a crossroads so to speak, with a hypothetical line in the sand drawn across churches and leaders, as will be seen in their social media platforms and pulpits. In the revivals of the early 18th to the 20th century, pubs were emptied or even closed down. Now they are populated by Christians who actually view getting drunk as a sign of freedom and those who oppose this practice as antiquated legalists. The next year will expose those who are attempting to walk in the whole counsel of God (see Acts 20:27) or merely use one aspect of His character and nature--His grace--as a license to sin and as a way to justify living between two opinions, trying to love God and love the world at the same time. Hopefully many will take heed to the warning from James (see James 4:4) who said that friendship with the world is to be an enemy of God. May God reform His church and conform all of us in His body to the image of His Son Jesus." -- Joseph Mattera

Mattera has scapegoated hyper-grace as the only villain in the demise of the current church. The reality is that it is only one culprit and quite frankly not as big as others. The NAR, purpose driven industrial complex rolls on the like and army of steamrollers. Mattera operates one of those steamrollers. The church today is so infected with worldly theology, dominionist idol worship and feel-good sloppy agape that they are now the apostate church. Mattera is seeking a remnant from the apostate church to behave a little better. To put on a better act so to speak. So that they can lie in sackcloth and ashes for all to see how pious they are, while endorsing whatever their pet heresies are. Todd Bentley is and always has been a scourge upon the church. He has always been a cancerous tumor upon Christianity. Just like the holy laughter garbage and the Brownsville nonsense. Just like the end of a good Scooby-Doo episode though, we find out who was wearing the masks. It was Joseph Mattera. It was Dr. Michael Brown. In a true whodunnit twist the perpetrators behind the mask were those meddling kids all along.

Reverend Anthony Wade - January 13, 2020

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.