Dr. Michael Brown is going to investigate the Todd Bentley fiasco...what can go wrong?

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Enough is enough. It is time for the body of Christ to stand up and tell wannabe leaders who do not care about the cause of Christ to shut up and sit down. That starts with Dr. Michael Brown. The recent debacle surrounding false prophet Todd Bentley has been disgusting and revolting along with totally damaging to the Gospel. It ripped the scab off of the original wound from ten years ago when Bill Johnson and Chuck Pierce declared Bentley was penitent enough to return to ministry. They paved the way for the past ten years of mangled sheep at the bloody hands of Todd Bentley. After having to deal with the unseemliness of new accusations of sexual abuse we also had to tolerate Brown, speaking out of both sides of his mouth in trying to give Bentley some cover. As if this insult was not enough Brown now apparently is going to head up a commission to investigate the allegations and recommend punishment if warranted. Please. So let us wade through Brown's official statement and rebuke the gatekeeper of all that is false in the body today.

"Official Statement Concerning Allegations Against Todd Bentley, by Dr. Michael Brown. Dear friends in the Body of Christ, Last month, a long list of serious charges against evangelist Todd Bentley was posted online, leading to a firestorm of controversy and confusion. In turn, this has unleashed a wave of gossip, slander, and innuendo against others in the family of God. Along with this, many are asking the question: Is there any accountability in the Church?" -- Dr. Michael Brown

Forever in the 20^th century, Brown absolutely hates whenever anyone uses modern technology to communicate. That aside, Todd Bentley is not an evangelist Michael. He is a cancer within the body of Crist metastasizing due to your friends Bill Johnson and Chuck Pierce. He is a shill and a con man. He is a false prophet and false teacher that should never have been allowed back into the sheep pen if not for the treacherous work of those you continue to defend. Now we are supposed to have confidence that you are going impartially investigate him? Seriously? You wrote a book against hyper grace but refuse to call Joseph Prince a false teacher. You wrote a book about the abuses with the charismatic church but claim Benny Hinn and Johnson are good brothers in the Lord. Why would we expect anything other than a whitewashing from you? Even this opening statement reveals your bias. There was no innuendo. There was no confusion. Here was the statement of the accuser:

"I love and honor [Joyner and Bentley] and that's why what I'm about to say next is so painful and hard. Todd has an appetite for a variety of sexual sins including both homosexual and heterosexual activity. Down through the years Todd has made sexual advances toward (and in some cases engaged in sexual sin with) a number of different men and women outside his marriage, many of them interns and/or students under his leadership care in the church." -- Stephen Powell

That seems pretty straightforward to me Doc. No one has gossiped about Bentley. They have only told the truth. The accusations include paying a male intern $1000 for oral sex, sending sexual pictures of his wife to interns, asking interns for videos of them masturbating, and being caught drunk on several occasions. Is that the innuendo you allude to? Then how do you square Bentley's own statement regarding these charges?

"Recently, accusations have been circulating about me and my wife, Jessa. These are by a former associate. The majority of these accusations are absolutely not true. Not all, but the majority. However, there are some that are true, some that even are partial truths. Much are exaggerated and are based on personal speculation. In 2013, ... I wasn't involved in any whatsoever adulterous-type affair. There has been no sex outside of my marriage connected to this incident. Over the last six years of text messages now, since 2013, these messages have come up. I had them with associates, interns. They were sexually suggestive. Some of these texts in nature were just outright inappropriate to have these conversations, even about Jessa, things that were in our marriage bed. ... These sins were despicable." -- Todd Bentley

Did you note what Bentley has said here? Some of the accusations were absolutely true! He was texting his interns the details about sex with his wife! Are you serious here Dr. Brown? Is there any investigation you can conduct or context you can find that would excuse this behavior?

"In response to this, I have been tasked by a number of senior leaders in the Body to assemble a group of trusted and respected men of God who will review the charges against Todd and make a determination, in accordance with 1 Corinthians 6. While we do not have judicial authority over Todd's ministry, we do have the support of a wide range of leaders in the Body, who will be stating in advance that they will back the decision of the panel. It is our hope that this will set an example of a righteous way to handle disputes and accusations such as these for others in the Church, especially in non-denominational circles where it is often more difficult to establish patterns of accountability. We will be working with an investigator who will help us vet ALL charges. The panel of leaders will then review the evidence and make a determination of guilt or innocence in accordance with the facts presented. Based on that determination, conclusions will be made in terms of how the charges against Todd have been handled, whether he should be in ministry, and whether others are guilty of falsely accusing him or misrepresenting the facts. While we are deeply grieved that this has become a public spectacle being played out online for the entire world to see, we believe that God will use all this for His glory and the good of His people. The reputation of Jesus before the Church and the world is at stake, and it is imperative that we follow a godly, biblical process in order to set things right" -- Dr. Michael Brown

Senior leaders in the body eh? I wonder who that might be? Is it from the same clown car that went down to Lakewood in 2008 to anoint Bentley a prophet only to see him fall from grace after God exposed the affair with his nanny? Do you even care the damage you wreak upon the body of Christ Dr. Brown? I mean at all? It is sadly ironic that you keep using 1Corinthains 6 but I fear you are looking at the wrong half of that chapter. Read the second half about fleeing sexual immorality. The reputation of the church is at stake but while you play Columbo you make a mockery of the church because Todd Bentley should have never been a part of the church. This is a man who punched people with stage four pancreatic cancer and kicked little old ladies in the face to "impart healing." He always had the bizarre "bam!" garbage going on when he was knocking people over. He claimed to have conversations with a personal angel name Emma. Doc, his ministry should have disqualified before he had sex with his nanny. Instead however, the New Apostolic Reformation went to Lakeland and poured oil over his head! Bill Johnson prayed and prophesied over him! Are you serious?

"It is out of jealousy for the Lord's honor and the health of the Body that I urge every leader who has posted videos or blogs -- etc., etc. -- about Todd's situation, either accusing him or defending him or simply airing an opinion, to remove all such material while we give ourselves to this process. Right now, gossip and slander and accusation are flying in every direction, defiling many. In the fear of the Lord, I appeal to my colleagues in Jesus to be circumspect and prayerful, not giving room to the adversary of our souls. While it is wrong and ungodly to sweep things under the rug, it is also wrong and ungodly to turn serious accusations into an internet show. Following God's order will result in compassionate and righteous outcomes rather than chaos, pain, and confusion." -- Dr. Michael Brown

Allow me to answer for the body Dr. Brown. No. You have no authority here. You are not an honest broker and the body does not trust you. Nor do we trust whatever NAR advocates called for you to lead an investigation into such an obvious parasite like Bentley. It is not gossip nor slander to tell the truth Doc. It is not gossip or slander to reprint the statements from the accuser or the confession from Bentley. Dear Lord, how can you be this blind? These are the unassailable facts we already know:

1. Bentley's first foray into ministry disqualified him. Period, Full stop. I do not want to gloss over this point because if we would ever properly discern what is false in our camp, we could avoid the larger problems later on. So, I ask you Dr. Brown, does the Holy Spirit heal people by demanding that you assault them? Before you answer flippantly, watch this video of Bentley in action from Lakeland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeAZ5IuydBA

So, I ask you again Dr, Brown, should lying about the Holy Spirit in this fashion disqualify someone from ministry? You must agree he was lying, correct? God does not impart healing by kicking old ladies in the face, right? He does not heal by banging a crippled person's legs up and down, right? Forget the nanny-sex and charges of drunkenness for now. Should not the false and obscene ministry of Todd Bentley been enough to disqualify him? If you say yes, you are correct but now must denounce him, Bill Johnson, Chuck Pierce and the entire NAR. If you say no, then you are disqualified, period. I do not care about your decades of service if you are finishing so weakly that you think this type of "ministry" is from God.

2. After the NAR, including Pierce, Johnson, C. Peter Wagner and Che Ahn went to Lakeland and anointed Bentley God exposed that he had been having an affair with his nanny. His ministry collapsed, praise God -- the nightmare should have been over.

3. Except your friends, people you defend to this day vociferously, picked Bentley up, oversaw his divorce and remarriage to the nanny, and then declared him restored. Just like that -- poof he's ok now. Thus, Bentley was unleashed back into the fold to continue devouring the sheep.

4. Now, years later, similar accusations of sexual impropriety have arisen. I harken to the analogy of if it sounds like a duck. You however do not like that the accuser made his accusations public, probably because he was afraid of the machine sweeping it under the rug. Especially after he tried to resolve it privately through Chuck Pierce, who completely ignored him.

5. Bentley does not deny the accusations. He merely quantifies them and admits to I assume what he deems less damning. Among these are sexting with interns and revealing to them details of his sexual activity with his wife. Now Doc, he knew he had to admit to this because he knows the texts are still out there.

These are established facts Dr. Brown that need no investigation. Even if you somehow look the other way about his 2008 ministry and lying about God. and you look the other way about his staged and false restoration. You still are left with his own confession here! Are you saying there is a context that exists where you think it would acceptable for a minister (or evangelist) to sext with his interns and share sexual secrets about his wife? How low are your standards for ministry? So please, spare us your bloated faux piety about being concerned for the Lord's honor and health of the body. If you were that concerned you should have never allowed him back into the body to begin with. At the very least you should have held Bill Johnson and Chuck Pierce accountable. The damage is now done and there are more bloody sheep to tend to. In the midst of this you think the answer is to remove all commentary regarding this matter? What is the matter with transparency Doc? Let's start with who asked you to head up this Warren Commission and who have you chosen to do the cover up with you? What is worse is that you are examining a man guilty of so much, as outlined here, yet those who you think are doing the work of the enemy are those insisting on discernment and the truth. This is not an Internet show Dr. Brown. God's order does not require things to be done in secret. The chaos, pain and confusion should be laid at the feet of Bill Johnson, Chuck Pierce and people like you who enabled it. I barely even blame Bentley. Once the NAR clown car went to Lakeland, I can't blame Bentley for realizing that his ability to generate money was worth more to these leaders than the cause of Christ. So, in case you missed it Dr. Brown, the answer is no.

"Please pray for the leaders who will be involved in this sacred process, as well as for God's best for Todd Bentley and those against whom he allegedly sinned. (We will be releasing the names of the leaders involved in this procedure shortly.) May the Lord's will be done, for His glory and for our good, and may healing, righteousness, and honor be restored to His Church. (We appreciate the many words of affirmation and prayer, but due to a flood of comments raising accusations, passing judgments, and spreading misinformation, we are deleting ALL comments in this thread, since this is the very thing we are seeking to avoid. EVERYTHING will be brought to light, but following a biblical process of order.)" -- Dr. Michael Brown

God's best for Todd Bentley? How does no work for you? We should be praying for his victims. Forget the word allegedly! He has already admitted this! We have his confession from these matters and the video proof from Lakeland! Stop covering up for him! Deleting all comments from people demanding transparency and discernment? Yeah. not a good way to engender faith or trust in your endeavors here. Please stop pretending that this is being done as a biblical process. Was it biblical to allow this man to lie about the Holy Spirit demanding that he physically assault people? Was it biblical to falsify his restoration process? Was it biblical to oversee his divorce and remarriage despite what Jesus specifically teaches about adultery in these matters? There is nothing biblical about this entire process and you know it. I predict one of three outcomes from this debacle:

1. Bentley will be exonerated. This is the desire of the complex because he generates revenue. It would require him walking back his confession of some nifty whitewashing by Brown.

2. The waters will be muddied to allow cover. Sure, Brown will conclude, mistakes were made. Sins happened but aren't we supposed to forgive? The more extreme accusations like the asking for oral sex for a thousand dollars could not be "proven." Brown will write extensively about how these accusations never should have been made on that new-fangled Internet thingy. He will allow some blame for Bentley so that he can stand on a soap box but at the end of the day, after a brief hiatus in Cabo to repent, Bentley will slither back into ministry when no one is really paying attention anymore.

3. The attention stays too hot and they hang Bentley out to dry. Sure they will let him back in after some short time has passed but for now, the hammer of judgment comes down so Brown and the "leaders" can pretend they have biblically followed church discipline.

My money is on two for the record.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- September 5, 2019

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.