Some Todd Bentley "stop press" items for your information.
Be sure to scroll down to the end where Todd Bentley calls the cops on his "critics", if nothing else. Yes, apparently so.
One
The evangelist's return to the public eye continues apace, with a new TV interview. He notes on his Twitter feed...
IamToddBentley: School is going well. Just finished doing some filming with Lisa ling for a new tv series on opray Winfrey telvision network on healing.
about 16 hours ago from Twitterrific
Speaking ironically, it would seem that Oprah's new TV network is off to a great news start. As you may remember from the ABC News Nightline segment that helped scupper the Lakeland Revival, Todd seemed unable to provide accounts of healings that could be confirmed by doctors.
Part 1
and Part 2
Or perhaps we could also look at the World magazine article which found not only a lack of healing, but that people declared to be healed by Todd Bentley's ministry had since died.
Or perhaps we could look at this account from a fellow with TV experience who noticed that at Lakeland people who were gravely ill or severely disabled were kept out of the range of the GOD TV cameras.
We can hope that the Oprah Winfrey network crew spots some of these things, but, alas, the quote attributed to G.K. Chesterton to the effect that a lie is halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its boots comes to mind.
Two
Todd Bentley also "tweeted" yesterday (February 5) on Twitter:
IamToddBentley: Thanks for the Love. God is blessing his people. Tonite the presence was so sweet and God bless those who persecute us
about 7 hours ago from Twitterrific
Hmm. "God bless those who persecute us." Well, what's happening that he defines as persecution? All that I have seen on the Internet recently are blog posts and comments that question his theology or whether he is fully repentant of his past actions. As Bentley has been, and certainly intends to remain, a public figure, these are fair comments, surely?
What is a little chilling is that we are not talking about some things that would perhaps be libelous, say. We are merely seeing public differences of opinion. (And the voices in favour of Bentley are better organized, have more resources, and are much "louder" in a getting the attention of the public sense than those who differ with him.) Most Christians don't have a problem with respectful give-and-take...but Bentley seems to.
Disagreeing is "persecution"? I'd hate to be someone in Todd's new ministry or at Morningstar who wants to constructively critique what Bentley is doing. I fear I would be shunned, fired or purged.
Define "persecute us" please, Mr. Bentley. I'll wait. A long time, I expect. But I am patient.
Three
Jessa, Todd Bentley's new wife, is jumping into his ministry with both feet.
When Todd's "starter wife" Shonnah appeared at Ignited Church during the Lakeland revival, she was recorded on CD. Listening to the CD later, I got the impression that Shonnah is very much a "stay-at-home" type who only very reluctantly took the public stage. Months and years passed with her and the kids in the background.
Not so with Jessa, Todd's "trophy wife". You may recall that in the repentance video that she did with Todd with Rick Joyner, she explained her background and how she came to Abbotsford to attend the Fresh Fire school because she wanted a ministry of her own.
As you might infer from her dream in which she talked to Oral Roberts after his death, she wants to be involved in Todd's ministry in a big way. We have video evidence of this now thanks to Phil Naessens putting this onto You Tube:
"Todd Bentley commissions His disciples" is the title given to the video. And halfway through, we see Jessa doing the shake-and-bake as Todd prays for her.
It looks like Jessa plans to keep a close eye on her husband. Which, given what happened, may be a wise idea.
[I hope that "Todd Bentley commissions his disciples" is a name that Naessens himself gives the clip. Todd Bentley himself thinking that he has "disciples" that he can commission would be kind of obnoxious, even for Bentley.]
UPDATE:
Re: "persecute us"
Okay, one Google search later...here's an account of what happened last night from a blogger who is a big Bentley fan:
Ken and I both perceived, at different points during worship, a strong demonic presence in the room. It felt like it was brooding. Or festering. That might be a better word.
So worship ended and Todd Bentley took the stage and started to take up the evening offering. From the balcony a voice rang out – screeching about adultery and repentance. Security came and got him.
Then, in turn from all around the room other men did the same thing. I think there were five in all who spoke up. There were two more who hung out the rest of service and didn’t say anything.
It was ugly. As each man began to speak you could actually feel the demonic presence coming from them. It was like… it was on their voices. Not something I’ve experienced quite like that before.
Todd was gracious. I was impressed. I don’t believe I would have been that nice under those circumstances.
Security helped them all find the door. All but one went peacefully.
Janet went to the ladies room shortly after that and said the place was swarming with police. I’m not sure if the guys got arrested, or if the cops just gave them a stern talking to.
It wouldn't be my own cup of tea, but I could understand why someone would feel that the only way that they would confront Todd Bentley about his past would be to do so by yelling out during his meetings.
Several things, if this is accurate, strike me as odd...
You'll notice that a "demonic presence" leads to the interruption. That's fighting unfairly as a blogger...
As you already have security there, why call the police? It's an intimidation tactic on Bentley's part.
Why wouldn't the group wait until he is starting his actual message to ensure that they made it onto the broadcast? I myself would assume that the internet broadcast could start after the worship and offering and Todd Bentley could easily get rid of the interruption later.
It's not like they ran on stage and made their presence impossible to ignore, say.
Which leads me to wonder if this is a "black bag" job and something that Bentley himself staged. Bad enough to get him sympathy, but not bad enough to seriously hinder him.
SECOND UPDATE: I'm glad to hear that Bentley is not machiavellian enough to pull this off himself. Apparently this was a genuine protest by some Bentley critics.