Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; - 2Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV)
For someone who once swore the NAR did not exist and now spends his days persuading people that it essentially does not exist as we all know it does, the imaginary NAR sure seems to have rented permanent space in Dr. Michael Brown's brain. It seems every week I come across yet another distorted article designed to muddy the waters about something that is crystal clear to anyone with an ounce of discernment. I was bored reviewing the usual Charisma News smorgasbord of false prophets and political gaslighting disguised as piety and decided to wander over to Dr. Brown's website. I found the above article I had missed from a few weeks back which claims he wants to ask an honest question of NAR critics. I am gingerly approaching this because rarely are such questions from Dr. Brown actually honest but let us reason once more beloved as we go through this together.
"This article is not meant to provoke or insult or demean or antagonize or gaslight. Instead, it is meant to help readers understand why I continue to say that the "NAR" of the critics does not exist. Remember that I freely acknowledge the existence of the New Apostolic Reformation as articulated by Peter Wagner and, in certain ways, spearheaded by him. I freely acknowledge that I have been a member and leader in the US Coalition of Apostolic Leaders (USCAL), but only after the name was changed from Apostles to Apostolic Leaders, which was subsequent to Dr. Wagner's involvement. I freely acknowledge that I believe in the ongoing ministry of apostles and prophets in the church, holding to the view that there have been apostles and prophets operating in the Church throughout history, even if not called by those names." - Dr. Michael Brown
This is the latest tactic from Dr. Brown, who is a gatekeeper for NAR false teachers and prophets. What I mean by that is while he may not advocate for many NAR positions himself, he spends his ministry these days defending those that do. He does so however in a disingenuous manner. Originally, he absolutely pretended the NAR did not even exist. When he realized there were far too many materials on the NAR, a term coined by his former colleague C. Peter Wagner, Brown had to change strategies. So, the new talking point is that the NAR as the critics describe it, does not exist. That it is just good old-fashioned Pentecostals concerned about our country and who have just as much a right to politically guide it as those godless lefty heathens. Except of course they do so by pretending their political choices are God's choices and that anyone who does not vote as they do, are hell-bound miscreants. Hyperbole? Not if you listen to Greg Locke, Mario Murillo and their ilk, none of which Dr. Brown would dare criticize.
It is interesting here that Brown highlights a group of people who on their own decided they were apostles. I agree that apostolic work, known as missionary work, has always been carried on within the church. I further agree that people have acted prophetically, as this is one of the active gifts of the Holy Spirit. I am not of course speaking about the psychic parlor tricks and clairvoyance that Dr. Brown endorses as prophecy today. This notion that prophets in the New Testament are held to laughably lower standards than their Old Testament counterparts is absurdly not supported by the bible. I acknowledge that the brainchild of C. Peter Wagner has been morphed so greatly over the years since his passing, but we all agree he started the idea. He wrote extensively about it. The problem back then remains the same problem Brown finds himself in now. You see, Wagner's posited that God was putting the band back together by reintroducing the apostles in these last days and wouldn't you know it? He was one of them! Except he wasn't of course, and God was doing no such thing. Brown has the same credibility problem when freely admitting he is part of an organization that essentially have declared themselves apostles. They are not.
"I freely acknowledge that I am friends with men like Lou Engle, Randy Clark, and Sid Roth. I freely acknowledge that I am an unashamed Pentecostal-Charismatic, that I have spoken in tongues since January 24, 1972, and that I will gladly debate any qualified leader or scholar on the continuation of the gifts of the Spirit." - Dr. Michael Brown
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