Joyner's Response to Bentley's Separation Alarming

 

We were very excited about having Todd Bentley back with us for the gathering on 8/8/08. Todd has stirred up the church like few others in recent times. ……
I have known Todd for years and have spoken at his conferences just as he has spoken at ours. However, he was as anointed that night as I’ve ever seen him, and he said it was the strongest he had felt for some time. His message was both profound and anointed. The ministry time was powerful, and many people, some of whom we knew, were healed. There were also what the Scripture calls “noteworthy miracles” (see Acts 4:16). When it was over, everyone on our team and everyone I talked to afterward said that the day had exceeded their expectations. God had no doubt smiled on this gathering in a remarkable and prophetic way. The DVD sets from that night will be classics.

Todd Bentley’s Personal Problems                                                                                  
I did not hear that Todd was going through a personal crisis until the day before our meeting with him here. (That is convenient… Joyner was just at Todd’s Commissioning where he prophesied over him!  Joyner claims to have insight and revelation to govern and steer the entire course of today’s church yet he is unable to discern one man’s immorality?) When I saw him Wednesday night, he immediately wanted to share with me about his personal problems—especially about his recent separation from his wife. Todd did not share this in a way to try and justify himself, but he wanted me to know what was going on with him to give me an out if I did not think he should minister the next day. I greatly appreciated this. (Obviously Joyner did not see this as a problem as he let Todd minister. So either Joyner did not care, or he honestly believed that no fault lay with Todd. Another possibility may be the fact that he did not want to lose the money that the over-hyped service would bring in). 

I still do not know all of the details of his separation, but I did ask him if there had been any immorality on his part, or if he had affections for someone else that was causing this. He assured me that he had never committed adultery, and that there was no “other woman” that caused his separation. Some of his leaders who I talked to also confirmed that Todd had not been in any immoral relationship, though they were all grieving over Todd’s marital problems. (Who did he talk to? Bentley’s own Board of Directors admitted that there WAS an affair and that it was not the first one! Others from Bentley’s own camp called him a pathological liar.)

The problems Todd and his wife have had getting along have been public knowledge for several years. I don’t know enough of the details to blame anyone, but I know Todd quite well, and being married to him has got to be like being hand-cuffed to a hurricane. Todd is so intense he makes Mike Bickle and Bob Weiner seem laid back. I think he is very much like the Apostle Peter. What makes him capable of such extraordinary faith also makes him prone to extraordinary blunders. Todd is an extreme manifestation of an emerging extreme generation. His wife may deserve to sit at the right hand of the Lord in the kingdom, and anyone who has worked with him should be up there close somewhere too. (Ok, so on one side of his mouth he says that he does not know enough details to blame anyone but on the other side of his mouth he compares Todd to the Apostle Peter, the rock on whom the Church was built, and says that both Todd’s wife and any who have worked with Todd deserve to sit on the right hand of the father where Jesus sits.)

Like it or not, that is often the nature of those who accomplish some of the greatest spiritual exploits—they also make some of the biggest bloopers. Hearing about these problems did not surprise me at all. Since I have now heard about more details, I’m still not shocked. These are problems, and they need to be fixed, which includes repenting and turning around, but if we want the victories and breakthroughs we all hope and pray for, they usually come through people with the same kind of nature. (What kind of nature is that- the kind of nature that incites a man to run around on his wife?) Right after Jesus gave Peter one of the greatest commendations in Scripture for the receiving the greatest of all revelations, that Jesus is the Christ, and then gave him the keys to the kingdom, He had to give Peter one of the greatest rebukes in Scripture by calling him Satan! (Peter was not in immorality) (See Matthew 16:18-23)

However, the Lord did not take the keys back from Peter, even after he later denied the Lord, and even later in his life when the youngest apostle, Paul, had to publicly rebuke him (see Galatians 2:11-15). It seems that most of those who are given these keys to unlock the spiritual doors to the kingdom will also be prone to make major blunders. This type of person is simply not going to do anything small—they will have great victories, and when they have defeats, they will be great too. (In other words Todd is so anointed and so revolutionary that we should understand and overlook his “other issues”)

When I was in Lakeland a few months ago, I was told that Todd had been making a real effort to patch things up and heal their relationship, but in June she had left and refused any contact. Todd has now lost hope that it will be worked out, especially now that she has made it clear that she will not even see him. Todd is obviously frustrated and just wants to resolve this situation that has been so hard for so long. (Aaaah so it IS HIS WIFES FAULT- Joyner has just said he did not know enough details to blame anyone but here he is a few sentences later blaming Todd’s wife! He explains to us that Todd was trying to patch things up (by having affairs) and Shonnah would have none of it! What a wicked woman not wanting to put up with her husbands affairs- she should be stoned!)

A little farther down Joyner says the following:

So, should someone who is divorced be disqualified from ministry or from leadership in the church? How can we disqualify someone from ministry or leadership for something that would disqualify God? In Jeremiah 3, we are told that God gave Israel a certificate of divorce. God is divorced. Nearly half the people in our churches have been divorced. A good many Christians now stay away from the church because they have suffered a divorce, and they feel condemned by the church for it. This is an issue that we need to address for the church, not just Todd. (Who said anything about divorce- they are separated! Joyner obviously knows something we don’t. I guess he is preparing his readers in advance).

When God got a divorce, was it His fault? Of course not! He was the most perfect Husband there could ever be, (just like Todd) but He had a wayward wife (just like Todd) that He finally gave up on (just like Todd). That is what happened, and if you do not believe me, go read it yourself. There is a limit to what even God will put up with and rightly so. There are things that justify divorce. (Like Todd’s wife not putting up with his affairs) Even so, I think it is because the Lord Himself went through a divorce that He hates divorce so much. Divorce is always a tragedy and usually even more for the children than for the parents.

I am not at all saying this to justify Todd or condemn him. (Really? Do we look stupid?) At present, I still do not know enough about his situation to condemn or justify anyone. (Then why are you defending him and blaming his wife?) Unrighteous judges, who are often those who rush to judgment, are also condemned in Scripture. I am writing this to try to keep some from stumbling by jumping to conclusions. We have a brother, a sister, their children, and a ministry that is really hurting right now. I greatly appreciate Todd’s willingness to keep ministering and praying for the healing of those who are afflicted and hurting, but he, his family, and his ministry need much healing right now. One thing that would help them and the body of Christ, possibly more than anything else is to see some real Christian charity expressed in this situation and some righteous judges stand up, which is the duty of true elders in the church.

It would be one of the great tragedies to the body of Christ in our times to lose a ministry like Todd has. (Yes what the church really needs is more false doctrine)

I included the following – even though it is a bit off topic to illustrate another point. At Morningstar everything is a prophetic sign. 

 

What will be happening at MorningStar? I will address that in a bit more depth also, but we received a new commission on 8/8/08, and we are going higher, deeper, and further. We are close to the birth of something we were created for, that we believe will begin this fall, around September 21.  (Interesting how they always have their “important” dates on occult holy days- September 21^st is the Fall or Harvest Equinox- if you do not understand the significance of this look it up). We have been given that date like we were 8/8/08 and it is not a coincidence that this date is exactly six months after the Honoring the Father’s Conference we hosted with WhiteDove Ministries. Because of this, we moved our Harvest Conference to begin on September 18, and the Worship & Warfare Conference to begin on September 22, so September 21 will be the Sunday in-between. Come to either or both of these if you can, and you may be a part of history.
…..This one really could be historic, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 8,888 that come. (What if only 8887 come?) By the way, did you notice that this is Special Bulletin #8? I didn’t plan that, and I just noticed it myself. (Wow- that must be God- after all the odds are an astounding 1 in 8!!) This is just the year of eight for us. (The year of eight??) Even our NFL team, The Panthers, finished 8–8 last year. (You just said THIS year was the year of eight- that was their score last year)  For us that was a perfect season! (Naturally)