Examining the vision of C. Peter Wagner and what has and has not come to pass in today's apostate church.

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from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. -- Ephesians 4:16 (ESV)

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/5/28/19033/8502/Front_Page/C_Peter_Wagner_Explains_The_New_Apostolic_Reformation

It remains one of the more elusive terms in Christendom today. It causes debate and dissent and disagreement. It is the New Apostolic Reformation and people who are clearly a part of it often feign complete ignorance to its mere existence. Its staunchest gatekeeper, Dr. Michael Brown once scoffed at the notion that it even existed. We must understand this better because the NAR is growing exponentially and is not going away. It is the primary formative group for the apostate church that the bible warns us about. It has become somewhat of a catchall phrase for various heresies and false teachings. As a result it confuses many people. There are no memberships. There are no board meetings. No churches display they are a NAR church. Due to all of the negative connotations made of it, all pastors deny being involved. I hope this endeavor clears up some of the confusion because the last thing you want is to find yourself involved in a NAR church without realizing it. So let us reason again together beloved and clear the air surrounding the most dangerous church movement today; the NAR.

First, we must understand the overarching support structure for the NAR and other apostate churches. The 1990's saw an exponential explosion of heresy within the church. This is largely because of three false church phenomena coming together at the same time. In the early part of the 90's we saw decades worth of seeker friendly theories of church growth become codified for pastors through the publication of the Purpose Driven Church (PDC) by Rick Warren. This became a manifesto for up and coming pastors for how to grow their churches into mega churches and reap the financial whirlwind for themselves; I mean for Jesus of course, wink wink. It dramatically altered church forever in four very important ways. First, it replaced the shepherd model that Jesus taught for pastors and elders with the cult of personality vision casting CEO-dude model proposed by Warren. Pastor's had to "cast vision" for their churches regarding future growth under the guise of the Great Commission. As such, they no longer had time to actually shepherd anyone so pastoral care was relegated down to lower staff and even the new "cell group" scam that was part of the purpose driven church theology as well.

The second major change was to focus the entire church on lost goats and thus starve the actual sheep that had been entrusted to the pastor. The church was now marketed to the unsaved. The sermons were thus watered down. The Gospel was the first victim of the PDC. Sin and repentance were no longer acceptable sermon topics. Instead we saw the rise of topical preaching largely based on self help and motivational models found in the world. Sermons became focused on us instead of Christ. False signs and lying wonders started appearing regularly. Gold dust and gemstones. Angel feathers and glory clouds. The 1990's also saw the absurd holy laughter debacle in Toronto and the kundalini demonic outpouring in Brownsville. The third change was in how the lost were to be viewed. Instead of unsaved, they were now considered unchurched. The damage of this paradigm shift is still felt today as the church is far more interested in attendance than salvation. Now, Warren knew that biblically based sheep would not tolerate this shift. They would do the work of a Berean and rebuke such unbiblical nonsense. So Warren created the fourth major change -- blessed subtraction. For thousands of years, the sheep mattered as in the parable of the 99 and 1 but now Warren comes along an encourages pastors to let sheep leave the fold if they dare to disagree with the new vision. When Mark Driscoll gave his famous sermon where he bragged about the pile of dead bodies he was leaving in the wake of the Mars Hill Church bus he started by saying, "I am all about blessed subtraction."

So you have the seeker friendly theories of church growth that remove the offense of the cross out of Christianity. Then you have the purpose driven church that teaches pastors how to apostatize their mega churches. The third element in this perfect heretical storm was the NAR. I myself have interchangeable used these three terms so I am sure I contributed to the confusion. I view the seeker friendly industrial complex as implementing the purpose driven church but the vehicle for the delivery is the NAR. This industrial complex is a billion-dollar venture. Besides the churches, they wield international recording cabals, itinerant preacher/prophet networks, faux international coalitions, leadership and growth experts, and of course merchandising. The number one rule is that the complex always protects the brand. While the seeker friendly theories were always in the ether, the PDC provided the blueprint for this major paradigm earthquake. The church's top priority was the Gospel and the health of the sheep but now it would be money and the Gospel was left behind. So now that we have some background let us deal with the delivery, accomplished through the NAR.

As stated, the NAR is not a particular church or even denomination. It is a loose collective term that makes up the modern apostate church. This does not mean however that we are making it up as we go along. The NAR was founded in the late 1990's by heretic C. Peter Wagner. The common belief is he was trying to pretend that God was "putting the band back together" when it came to the apostles and lo and behold -- it was Wagner and his friends! While this account is accurate it leaves so much missing from Wagner's thought process. The above link is to an old article by Wagner where he tries to define the NAR. As it is too long to go line by line, I will provide the highlights.

"One of the most basic lessons I learned from McGavran was that the best way to discover what makes churches grow is to study growing churches. As a result, my first season of research, spanning the 1970s and into the 1980s, was spent doing exactly that. In retrospect, I now look at this as researching the technical principles of church growth." -- C. Peter Wagner

I cite this so we can see that the tentacles of the NAR stretch back as far as the seeker friendly theories of church growth. They are intertwined throughout the decades, which is why I do not try and pry them apart now. What is also interesting is that similar to the PDC, Wagner was very interested in the same carnal growth schemes.

"During that time, I began to notice something I obviously did not have the mental equipment to understand or to assimilate into my analysis of church growth. I noticed that the churches worldwide that seemed to grow the most rapidly were, for the most part, those that outwardly featured the immediate present-day supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit." -- C. Peter Wagner

Did you catch that? Wagner's research uncovered that places like the Vineyard church, which focused on this new iteration of the old latter rain heresies had the most growth. This is why and how the false signs and lying wonders became a plank in the foundation of the NAR. This is what paved the way for the cesspool that is Bethel Church, the Kansas City Prophets and IHOP.

"One of the most explicit Scripture verses about church growth is Ephesians 4:16, which says that the Body of which Jesus is the head, "joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body" (italics added). A formula for growth, then, is: Unity (joined together) + Gifts (every part does its share) = Growth." -- C. Peter Wagner

I have made Ephesians 4:16 the key verse for today because this is where the fundamental biblical flaw was made in the formation of the NAR. If one reads the entire context of Ephesians 4 it is dealing with the growth of believers into Christ; not the overall numerical growth of the church. Acts teaches us that horizontal growth belongs to the Lord. Ephesians 4 is dealing with the vertical growth of the sheep. That is why they need shepherding. This is why the seeker friendly, purpose driven NAR is so antithetical to the bible. We are supposed to mature to the stature of the fullness of Christ but when the church no longer tends to the sheep, they starve to death. So this formula that came from the wickedly deceitful heart of C. Peter Wagner is fatal underpinning to all of the apostasy we see today.

"Every time Jesus began building His Church in a new way throughout history, He provided new wineskins. While He was still on earth, He said that such a thing would be necessary: "Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into the new wineskins, and both are preserved" (Matt. 9:17). The growth of the Church through the ages is, in part, a story of new wineskins. Because this is the case, a crucial question not only for professors of church growth, but also for Christians in general, is this: What are the new wineskins Jesus is providing as we move into the twenty-first century?" -- C. Peter Wagner

Whenever we hear the crazy theology of the NAR today we can wistfully think back to the crazy theology of C. Peter Wagner. The portion of scripture he references are part of three parables Jesus told in response to the Pharisees asking why His disciples did not fast. The wineskin parable represents the inability to try and squeeze the legalism of the Pharisees, who strain out gnats to swallow camels, into the new covenant. It has nothing to do with building the church. Jesus is not providing "new wineskins" for the 21^st century, ugh.

"My experience as a church growth scholar has led me constantly to ask four crucial questions:Why does the blessing of God rest where it does? Churches are not all equal. Why is it that at certain times, some churches are more blessed than others? Can any pattern of divine blessing be discerned? Do those churches that seem to be unusually blessed have any common characteristics?" -- C. Peter Wagner

Here is the birth of the bless me theology that so plagues the modern church today and the NAR specifically. Don't get me wrong, the prosperity heresies have been a long time running in the church but this notion of everything relating to blessings is an NAR creation and here we see its genesis. Realize too that this is where the infatuation with numbers came from. Wagner equates a numerically advanced church with being "blessed." By that logic, Lakewood Church is the most blessed church in America with the vast majority of congregants falsely converted and on the broad path that leads to destruction. Give me a church with 200 heaven bound congregants over a mega church with untold thousands going to hell. To the NAR, the church of 200 is unhealthy and the mega church is thriving but those are carnal measurements. At this point, Wagner lists nine components of this new church he was birthing.

"1. A new name - The name I have settled on for the movement is the New Apostolic Reformation, and individual churches being designated as new apostolic churches. I use "reformation" because, as I have said, these new wineskins appear to be at least as radical as those of the Protestant Reformation almost 500 years ago. "Apostolic" connotes a strong focus on outreach plus a recognition of present-day apostolic ministries. "New" adds a contemporary spin to the name. Although many people were begging for a definition of the New Apostolic Reformation from the beginning, I resisted formulating one until I believed I had a more mature grasp of the movement. Now that I have taught my first Fuller Seminary course about the subject, I believe it is time to take the risk of a definition, hoping that it will not have to be revised too frequently in the future." -- C. Peter Wagner

It is fascinating to read how he saw this movement and how much of it has come to pass and what has not. He wished for few revisions in defining the NAR and that has certainly not gone in his favor. What is important here in his naming is apostolic. It appears from his rationale here that he chose it to be outwardly focused and to assert the new false authority paradigm that marks the NAR to this day. I recently reviewed an article from a NAR pastor who says the next shift is for the false apostles of the NAR to take over the role of the pastors and relegate them to be small group leaders. I kid you not. When you look around the apostate church today and see this dramatic focus on the outside and the abuse of apostolic titles and authority -- this is where it was born.

"2. New Authority Structure - In my judgment, views of leadership and leadership authority constitute the most radical of the nine changes from traditional Christianity. Here is the main difference: The amount of spiritual authority delegated by the Holy Spirit to individuals. I have attempted to use each word in that statement advisedly. We are seeing a transition from bureaucratic authority to personal authority, from legal structure to relational structure, from control to coordination and from rational leadership to charismatic leadership." -- C. Peter Wagner

Here is the attention to the authority grab. The NAR firmly believes that apostles should run everything, with prophets second because that is the order they are presented in scripture. Here Wagner speaks about how congregants have to trust their apostle, supported of course by the ever looming PDC threat of blessed subtraction. Today we see people like Bill Johnson, Mike Bickle and countless others referred to as "apostle." They have created fake international organizations to give each other street cred. For example, Jennifer LeClaire, one of the most ridiculous "prophetesses," claims false prophet James Goll is her "covering." While I do not know how much she had to pay Goll for that right, she now has created her own prophetic network and charges several hundred dollars for people to be able to claim her as their covering. It is all a scam of course. They parasitically feed off of each other and in turn they claim their stature in the business as such.

"3. New Leadership Training - Members of the paid pastoral staff of typical new apostolic churches are usually homegrown. As all the believers in the congregation become active in ministry, certain ones tend to rise to the top like cream on fresh milk, and they are the ones who are then recruited for the staff. Because for many this involves a midlife career change, the possibility of their enrolling for two or three years in the residence program of a traditional seminary or Bible school is extremely remote. Therefore, academic requirements for ordination, so long the staple in traditional churches, are being scrapped. New apostolic ordination is primarily rooted in personal relationships, which verify character, and in proved ministry skills." -- C. Peter Wagner

One of the hallmarks of the NAR and thus the end times church is a distancing from biblical truth. Places like Bethel for example emphasize experience over scripture. What we see here in point number three is the birth of that thought process. Instead of relying upon leaders who have studied to show themselves approved, Wagner taught that apostolic ordination would be rooted in personal relationships to verify character and proved ministry skills. For this I present Todd Bentley. In 2008, Bentley was packing 15,000 a night into tent revival meetings in Lakeland Florida. His ministry was bizarre as he claimed the Holy Spirit told him to kick and punch people to impart healing. If anyone was holding a bible, he would have been dismissed out of hand but the NAR saw the money he could generate and went down to Lakeland to anoint him a prophet. They attested to his character and ministry skills and poured oil over his head. Bill Johnson was there. Apostle Che Ahn was there. Even C. Peter Wagner was there. Within a month, Bentley was exposed as being in an adulterous affair with the nanny of his child. This is what happens when you remove the bible from anything. The modern apostate church is littered with people who have never studied to show themselves approved and it all starts with Wagner's vision of the NAR all these years ago.

"4. New Ministry Focus - Many traditional churches are heritage driven. "We must get back to our roots. We need to pray for renewal" - meaning that we should once again be what we used to be. The founders of the movement are often thought of as standing shoulder to shoulder with the twelve apostles. On the other hand, new apostolic church leaders are vision driven. In a conversation with a new apostolic senior pastor about his church, I once asked, "How many cell groups do you have?" I think that was sometime in 1996. He replied, "We will have 600 by the year 2000!" I can't seem to recall ever finding out how many cells he did have in 1996. As far as the pastor was concerned, though, that apparently didn't matter at all. In his mind, the 600 cells were not imaginary, they were real. The 600 was what really mattered." -- C. Peter Wagner

Most NAR churches are obsessed with the false notion of revival, loosely based on their dominionist agenda. This was not however a part of Wagner's vision. In his answer here however we see two crucial beliefs within the NAR. One is preparing for the church to come, not the one you have. Part of the vision casting taught through the PDC is for pastors to staff, build and project for more people than currently attend. Under the guise of faith, pastors constantly put themselves in a hole they have to try and dig out of seeking more and more money. The second thing to note here is the emphasis on cell groups, which is a critical part of the PDC. In order for the pastor to become the vision casting CEO-Dude, he can no longer shepherd. Wagner shared Warren's vision of cell groups being the primary and only church activity other than the Sunday service. No more men's ministry, women's ministry, or any ancillary ministry. The flaw in this system is if you starve all the sheep of the Gospel, who is leading these groups? Maybe in a church of 200 you can find a solid 10 people but when you have 2000 people, what to do? My old church had 50 cell groups at the height of the ministry and maybe ten had leaders who could handle the assignment but the other forty had no place in leadership whatsoever. Not to mention, sheep do not feed themselves. This transfer of responsibility from the pastor to the sheep still does not work to this day.

"5. New Worship Style - Worship leaders have replaced music directors. Keyboards have replaced pipe organs. Casual worship teams have replaced robed choirs. Overhead projectors have replaced hymnals. Ten to twelve minutes of congregational singing is now 30 to 49 minutes or even more. Standing during worship is the rule, although a great amount of freedom for body language prevails. As you scan a new apostolic congregation in worship, you will likely see some sitting, some kneeling, some holding up hands, some closing their eyes, some clapping their hands, some wiping tears from their eyes, some using tambourines, some dancing and some just walking around." -- C. Peter Wagner

The seeker friendly machine discovered early on that goats did not like traditional hymns because they focused on Jesus and their need to repent of their sins. These are considered anathema amongst those circles and the PDC, so it is not surprising that Wagner followed suit. Instead of congregational singing focused on God we now have a free for all, where self-expression is paramount. How many times have we heard the refrain not judge people by how they worship? Tambourines, flagging, fluorescent clothing used in dance ministries all thrived under this new paradigm and soon the contemporary music followed suit. Worship songs now worshiped the created instead of the Creator. Hillsong, Planet Shakers and Jesus Culture started filling the airwaves with vapid, insipid songs whose theology was so shallow that it helped support the vacuous sermonolgy that was taking place. Instead of singing how great thou art, we now sing how much He loves us -- as if that was worship. Along with this came the over-sexualization of worship music from places such as IHOP, where one could no longer tell the difference between a secular love song and a song allegedly about God. This is not about old versus new, as there are plenty of new worship music the glorifies God. The vast majority however is not a change in style as much as it is a change in substance.

"6. New Prayer Forms - Prayer in new apostolic churches has taken forms rarely seen in traditional congregations. Some of this takes place within the church and some takes place outside the church. New apostolic leaders have been among the first to understand and put into practice some of the newer forms of prayer that take place in the community itself, not in the church. For many, praise marches, prayer walking, prayer journeys and prayer expeditions have become a part of congregational life and ministry. For example, 55 members of one local church, New life Church of Colorado Springs, recently travelled to Nepal, high in the Himalayas, to pray on-site for each of the 43 major, yet-unreached people groups of the nation." -- C. Peter Wagner

As part of the word faith heresies, the NAR embraced early on this notion of a shift in prayer. IHOP for example created a 24-7 prayer and worship station on their campus and people were called into such ministries where they would spend hours in prayer each day. While there is nothing wrong with focused prayer, this notion became a source of pride and arrogance within the Charismaniacal circles. IHOP embraced and still does, contemplative prayer and many practices of eastern mysticism. Contemplative prayer is embraced beyond IHOP as well with well known preachers like Beth Moore championing it. While there is nothing wrong with the concept of a prayer walk per se, it becomes a dangerous breeding ground for self-focus. No to mention, there is no need to physically be around what you are praying for. God is everywhere; we do not need to be. I am sure the trip to Nepal was lovely, but couldn't God hear those prayers from the sanctuary just as easily? So much of the NAR delivery is narcissistic. The worship is about us. The sermons are about us. The church marketing is designed toward us. The dance, flagging and even the expression of the gifts have contributed to a showy-look at me spirit. When we walk through neighborhoods in full expressive prayer we must ask ourselves who we are really doing it for.

"7. New Financing - New apostolic churches experience relatively few financial problems. Although no vision-driven church believes it has enough resources to fulfill the vision adequately, and although financial crises do come from time to time, still, compared to traditional churches, finances are abundant. I think at least three discernible reasons explain this situation. First, generous giving is expected. Tithing is taught without apology, and those who do not tithe their incomes are subtly encouraged to evaluate their Christian lives as subpar. Second, giving is beneficial, not only to the church and its ministry in kingdom of God, but also to the giver. Tithes and offerings are regarded seeds that will produce fruit of like kind for individuals and families. Luke 6:38, which says that if we give, it will be given to us in greater measure, is taken literally. Third, giving is cheerful. It is not yet a common practice, but I have been in new apostolic churches in which the congregation breaks out into a rousing, athletic-event kind of shouting and clapping the moment the pastor announces he is collecting the morning offering. They are cheerful givers and they want everyone else to know it. I rarely hear the complaint in new apostolic churches I often hear in traditional churches: The pastor talks about money too much." -- C. Peter Wagner

I think what we see here is the vision Wagner had hoped for regarding NAR churches. The reality is that many have multi-million dollar deficit problems that arise from always budgeting for the "church that is to come." NAR churches frequently complain about giving and many have abusive tithing preachers such as Robert Morris at Gateway Church. The rousing applause at the notion of giving was tried for several years at the church I used to attend and while it originally was sincere, it eventually felt forced and contrived. Perhaps the most telling line here is that the NAR, through the PDC taught people that their Christian lives would be subpar if they did not tithe. At my old church, the new pastor stripped hundreds of people of their memberships overnight, without warning, due to unacceptable levels of tithing. Never mind if they had been there for several decades. Never mind that they did not claim their donations for tax purposes. I counselled couples who had been told by their pastor that they were not conceiving a child because they were not tithing as they should. A woman in Kenneth Copeland's church was diagnosed with cancer and instead of seeking treatment she just upped her tithe until the cancer killed her. The NAR set up a system of cult of personality pastors who get paid big. They turned an Old Testament agrarian system into a blessing machine. Anything positive in your life is attributed to your giving and anything negative to your lack of giving. Some of the more greedy-advanced NAR churches like Elevation and New Spring created a "tithing challenge" where people give for three months and if not satisfied with the return on investment, did not have to give anymore. Just like any good pyramid scheme.

8. New Outreach - Aggressively reaching out to the lost and hurting of the community and the world is part of the new apostolic DNA. The churches assiduously attempt to avoid the "bless me syndrome" as they try to live up to their apostolic nature and calling. They do seek personal blessings from God, but usually as means to the end of reaching others. A worship song I frequently hear in new apostolic churches says: "Let your glory fall in this room; let it go forth from here to the nations." Planting new churches is usually an assumed part of what a local congregation does. The question is not whether we should do it, but when and how." -- C. Peter Wagner

This is a critical part of the PDC that the NAR excels at. Beloved, the church was designed by God to be the place where the saints would gather to worship, hear the word, and grow in Christ. It was never meant to be focused on or marketed to the lost. Why? Because the things of God are utter foolishness to them. That is why the PDC removes the offense from the Gospel and becomes so carnally like the world. That is why we have secular songs during worship. That is why we have had circus performances, motocross, and even monster truck shows in the sanctuary! It is why every summer the NAR churches run a whole sermon series on the popular summer movies that are out. At my old church they thought nothing of dressing someone up like the Easter Bunny and having him sit on the altar! If any of the sheep dare to disagree they are branded as being selfish and only caring about "bless me." They are rapidly set up for blessed subtraction if they do not fall in line. Do we want the lost to come into our churches? Of course if the Gospel is being preached but we do not target them as a demographic. We do not water down their sin problem. Our goal should not be to "church" them. I have heard this bogus "give me the nations" nonsense before. The truth is you are dealing with a church filled with people who are probably not saved to begin with and those that are need serious discipling. The pastor should be concerned about the flock entrusted to him -- not the nebulous notion of reaching the nations. God decides the horizontal growth of the church.

'9. New Power Orientation - The majority of the new apostolic churches not only believe in the work of the Holy Spirit, but they also regularly invite Him to come into their midst to bring supernatural power. It is commonplace, therefore, to observe active ministries of healing, demonic deliverance, spiritual warfare, prophecy, failing in the Spirit, spiritual mapping, prophetic acts, fervent intercession and travail, and so on in new apostolic churches. A basic theological presupposition in new apostolic, as contrasted to traditional, churches is that supernatural power tends to open the way for applying truth, rather than vice versa. This is why visitors will frequently observe in these churches what seems to be more emphasis on the heart than on the mind. Some conclude from that that new apostolic churches are "too emotional."' -- C. Peter Wagner

Here are the beginnings of the false signs and lying wonders. The NAR prefers this malleable notion of what is the spirit to avoid the verity of scripture. Note the emphasis on the heart instead of the mind. Those who insist on biblical accuracy are deemed legalists who need a deeper revelation of the Spirit. Look at all the sub genres of false ministry Wagner foresees here that have come to pass with the NAR. Healing in NAR churches has devolved into divine healing which usurps the sovereignty of God. Demonic deliverance is an amusing concept since the NAR is responsible for the demonic activity within their midst because they haven't first clue about spiritual warfare. We see prophecy listed and today it is a billion-dollar industry within the NAR. Prophecy has been reduced to modern clairvoyance with 35% inaccuracy rates being considered a "solid" prophet. I have never heard of "failing in the spirit" and neither has Dr. Google. Spiritual mapping, I had to look up and it is defined as follows:

"In the version of spiritual warfare of Wagner and his associates and followers, "spiritual mapping" or "mapping" involves research and prayer, either to locate specific individuals who are then accused of witchcraft, or to locate individuals, groups, or locations that are thought to be victims of witchcraft or possessed by demons, against which spiritual warfare is then waged."

Gee, what could possibly go wrong here? It is interesting to note that the NAR has grown to be somewhat obsessed with witchcraft (as well as angels). Notice how Wagner separates prophecy from prophetic acts. This is to continue to normalize the absolute bizarre within Charismania. Holy Laughter is one glaring example. Others stand by the demonic outpouring at Brownsville or even the exposed Todd Bentley. Whenever Bill Johnson is trying to defend the absurd in his church he calls them "signs that make you wonder." They do not make me wonder Bill. They are demonic. Fervent intercession is the previously discussed out of control prayer like we saw at IHOP for decades. Go read the stories of those who survived that cult for a better perspective. Pay close attention to the following snippet from above

A basic theological presupposition in new apostolic, as contrasted to traditional, churches is that supernatural power tends to open the way for applying truth, rather than vice versa. This is why visitors will frequently observe in these churches what seems to be more emphasis on the heart than on the mind. Some conclude from that that new apostolic churches are "too emotional."' -- C. Peter Wagner

Yes! Wagner knew even back then that the primary problem with his false system is that it is emotionally based, disguised as being spiritual. The emphasis in the NAR is most definitely on the wickedly deceitful heart. Beloved, supernatural power does not open the way for applying truth -- the bible does! The Holy Spirit guides us into the truths contained within scripture so we do not have to rely upon our deceitful hearts and the sways of our emotions. Mercifully, Wagner would conclude:

"The more I have studied the New Apostolic Reformation during the past few years, the more convinced I have become that we have a major transformation of Christianity on our hands. Don Miller titles his excellent new book on the subject Reinventing American Protestantism (University of California Press). By extension, I believe we are witnessing a reinvesting of world Christianity. If that is the case, it is all the more reason to give God thanks for allowing us to be alive and active in His kingdom in these enthralling days." -- C. Peter Wagner

Wagner was right. There was a major transformation of Christianity on their hands. armed with decades of seeker friendly research and the PDC, the NAR set out to transform the church and many would readily admit they have succeeded. At least in relation to the apostate church. Now there are millions of goats being taught to act like sheep and believe they are heaven bound if they just fill out a SHAPE application, tithe regularly, and discover their purpose in the parking lot ministry of their local mega church. The final telling part here however is when Wagner foresees a reinvesting of world Christianity. The only piece of the modern NAR that was missing from Wagner's vision in this article is dominionism. Perhaps that is what he was referencing here. There is no mistaking the fact that while the NAR church today encompasses many of the traits outlined here by Wagner there is one more to be addressed. Due to the heretical seven mountains mandate the NAR church is overly involved in the politics of this country. They do so because they love this world and the excess of sin it affords them. Just in case you think Wagner had no role in this, here is an excerpt from Wagner explaining a diagram (picture accompanying devotional) he considered to be the "big picture of the dominion mandate."

'"The central bar is "Social Transformation," which many are also calling "Reformation." This is our Dominion Mandate, seeing the kingdom of God actually being manifested here on earth as it is in heaven"The goal of Social Transformation rests on two indispensable pillars. One is "The Church in the Workplace," ["] and that is based on "The Government of the Church" " The other pillar is "The Great Transfer of Wealth," based on the principle of "Breaking the Spirit of Poverty," both of which I am coming to shortly. Notice, finally, that the only component of the diagram that has arrows indicating action is "Workplace Apostles." This reflects what I said a page or two ago that is only by activating apostles in the extended church that we will hope to see the necessary gates to reformation and wealth transfer effectively opened."' -- C. Peter Wagner

There you have the final plank in what today is the NAR. A constant push for reformation or revival. A disturbingly false understanding of United States history. An impending "wealth transfer" that so many false prophets continue to write about to this very day. Workplace apostles. I know this was a lot to digest but the insidious nature of the NAR needs to be properly understood. A church does not need to be all of these things to be NAR. I know many will be thinking now, what churches do not fit this mild to some degree and therein lies the truth and the frightening prospect. We will get to the one world religion through the expansion of the apostate church and that is occurring right now through the deliverance of the PDC by the NAR and for the Seeker Friendly Industrial Complex. Maybe your church only dabbles in the false signs and lying wonders. Maybe they are only into the abusive tithing paradigm or the false authority. Perhaps they are overly involved with the politics of this world. Maybe they are into several of the facets of the NAR. You must understand that their involvement in any of it opens them up to exposure to all of it. Some churches like Bethel embrace all of it. Others may only ascribe to a single tentacle. The remnant of true believers must be ready to come out from among her. C. Peter Wagner had a vision a long time ago of how the apostate church would grow and flourish and become the new norm for worldwide Christianity. I hope this has allowed you to see that his vision is indeed coming true with each passing day. This is why we are to do the work of a Berean and test everything. Consider the NAR like a sliding scale of apostasy. At one end you have churches that may only be mildly involved with one or more heretical practices and at the other you have churches like Bethel that are "all in." At the end of the day, Jesus taught that just a little leaven will eventually spread throughout the entire batch. When our churches dance with the devil always remember that he will insist on leading. When it comes to us, we can always say that we don't dance.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- October 28, 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.