'3. DESTINY. PRESENCE. GLORY. "Though members are not always charismatic, they frequently emphasize a manifestation of 'Glory' and 'God's presence,' and often have a special anointing to receive direct revelation from God, perform healings and other signs and wonders. They teach that our purpose is to achieve our dream destiny so that we can change the world."
Did you get that? If you emphasize God's presence in your corporate services or your private prayer life, you're probably NAR. If you believe the Spirit is still speaking and healing, you're probably NAR. If you believe that God wants to use you, as a follower of Jesus, to be a world changer, you're probably NAR. Once again, you can see how utterly unhelpful and confusing such definitions are, especially when you remember that day and night, we hear about the dangers of "NAR."' - Dr. Michael Brown
Dr. Brown is just being purposefully obtuse here. He knows darn well that is not what this is saying. It is not very confusing at all, unless you are seeking to confuse people. As stated earlier, one of the hallmark teachings of the NAR is this obsession with the supernatural, or what I call false signs and lying wonders. It is not decrying the glory of God but rather the fake manifestations of that glory. Like I don't know, maybe when Bethel pumps smoke through their ventilation system to pretend there is a glory cloud. The dream destiny thingy? Brown knows this is an active teaching in most Charismatic churches and certainly in NAR dominionist circles. It is portrayed as a war, and we are culture warriors taking over the seven mountains to facilitate the second coming of Christ. By the way, if you are being taught that God wants to use you specifically to change the world, yes you are in a NAR church! Are you serious Dr. Brown! Is this world passing away or not? Are we called to preach the gospel so that some might be saved out from this world or not? You either believe in the bible or you do not. It is not about believing in healing today. Everyone believes that. It is not believing that when Benny Hinn waves his magical suit coat that thousands are saved and healed. It is not believing that when Todd Bentley punches a man in the stomach with stage four pancreatic cancer that the spirit told him to do it. Before Brown starts defending himself by saying he denounced Bentley remember he only did so the SECOND time he was exposed as a sexual predator. He also glosses over the fact that the NAR, including his good buddy Bill Johnson, went down to Lakeland Florida and anointed (there's that word again Dr. Brown) Bentley a prophet! So as Brown just said, did you get that?
"4. REVIVAL. "Revival on a massive scale is key in this movement. There is a strong emphasis on an 'end times harvest' through a great awakening that we can usher in. Often these revivals are held in stadiums and reach millions around the world via live stream technology; they are marketed and produced like rock concerts. All scripture verses about an end times falling away are ignored, and get replaced with hyped-up claims about the Next Big Thing that's always just around the corner."
Again, aside from gross exaggerations, such as, "All scripture verses about an end times falling away are ignored," this description indicts countless thousands of churches worldwide that have been praying for revival and believing for a great end-time harvest for decades (even while recognizing that there will be falling away as well). This also indicts the hundreds of millions of believers who have prayed and believed for revival and a great end-time harvest throughout church history. This also indicts much of the world missions movement, along with many postmillennialists who are even anti-charismatic. Uniquely NAR? Hardly." - Dr. Michael Brown
Dr. Brown is again engaging in distraction and hyperbole instead of dealing with the known truths being discussed. To say the NAR is overly focused on pursuing this false revival is so blatantly obvious. That is how the NAR presents their dominionist argument. They butcher American History to turn all the Founding Fathers into tongue speaking Charismatics who were apparently trying to establish a theocracy here in the new world. They ignore the deists. They ignore the atheists. They whitewash the sins of this country such as slavery, sweatshops and imperialism. They pretend the American Revolution, which violated Romans 11, was not about economics, which it most certainly was. They do this so they can create the myth that the godless "left" in this country then somehow snuck in all these other religions into this country and now if we could just beat them into the ground and teach the lost to behave better, then God would send revival. The problem of course is that revival assumes something was once alive. America never was and is not now under covenant with God. This is a point I think Brown would agree with while not rejecting the teachers who clearly do believe this. The bible does not promise this revival. It promises a great end times apostasy, as seen in the key verse above. That apostasy is underway today and being led by NAR teachings. Oh, and these rock show large scale revival events that Dr. Brown seems to gloss over here? He should ask his good friend Lou Engle, who organizes many of them.
5. UNITY. "Unity (at the expense of biblical doctrine) is almost always used as both the how and the why in this movement. Unity for the sake of bringing Heaven to Earth is leading to the blurring of doctrinal and denominational lines, often bringing together well-known leaders of charismatic, reformed, Word of Faith, seeker-emergent, progressive and Roman Catholics churches, all under one umbrella."
Again, I don't work with anyone who believes in unity at the expense of essential doctrines. But hopefully we all believe in unity around Jesus despite secondary doctrinal issues. As for this being a description of "NAR," notice now that this becomes the umbrella for "well-known leaders of charismatic, reformed, Word of Faith, seeker-emergent, progressive and Roman Catholics churches." It looks like everything is NAR!" - Dr. Michael Brown
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