[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On, October 6, 2010]
Thanks a lot to Bene D, who passes along some information about Todd Bentley that might give pause to some of his followers.
Bentley will be beginning his crusade in Reno Nevada tomorrow (Oct. 7), yet it is already being called "Reno Outpouring". Just like the Lakeland Outpuring, you are supposed to think.
But guess where Bentley is holding his crusade, according to the host church's website? At a room in the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno.
If you can't wait to give away money until Todd Bentley's offering, you can leave it in the resort's "80,000 square feet" casino. Don't care to gamble on Todd's ability to get a word from the Lord for you? There's also a "Lucky's Race and Sports Book"
The host church, River Rock Christian Fellowship often hosts events at the hotel/casino, but it does have a facility that it rents that might be totally adequate for Bentley's visit.
I really doubt that there isn't a non-gambling oriented facility that the church can't find to rent. Even in Abbotsford B.C., which is smaller than Reno, Bentley was able to rent a facility seating several hundred people a mere football punt away from his old church. It wasn't even the biggest facility in the area.
Bentley may want to "hunt where the ducks fly." He might think that the media may appreciate the irony of a "revival" in a casino. But this is lacking in sense.
What about the Christians who just won't go into a casino for moral reasons? Does Bentley not care to minister to them?
What about Christians who want a blessing but have a problem with gambling and have been counselled to stay away from casinos?
This raises something else to consider. We know that Bentley wants a TV reality show. We know that observers like Ray William Johnson already see him as hilarious, if not buffoonish, entertainment.
Is Bentley reaching for glitz in addition to substance as a regular thing now?
If so, Reno is an appopriate place to start over.