False Prophets Among Us: A Critical Analysis of the New Apostolic Reformation

by Kent Allan Philpott, Katie L.C. Philpott (Editor)

Kent Philpott, former charismatic/Pentecostal pastor, presents a compelling evaluation of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Those aligned with the NAR hold that God is doing a “new thing” in these last days just prior to the Kingdom of God being established in the world. This viewpoint was earlier known as post-millennialism and more recently as dominionism. The NAR is not an organization but a relational alignment of churches and groups that voluntarily connect with recognized apostles and prophets. Philpott critiques many NAR leaders and their own books, although he was an acquaintance during the late 1980s of the apparent founder of the movement, C. Peter Wagner, former professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, now deceased, who began using the title in 2000 or 2001. A partial listing of leaders typically associated with the NAR is Che Ahn, John and Carol Arnott, Heidi (and Roland) Baker, Mike Bickle of IHOP in Kansas City, Stacey Campbell, Randy Clark, James Goll, Cindy Jacobs, Rick Joyner of Morningstar in South Carolina, Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton of the Bethel Church in Redding, California, Patricia King, Chuck D. Pierce, Dutch and Tim Sheets, and Brian Simmons (the Passion Translation). A major aspect of this so-called reformation is the establishment of the “Five fold ministry” as we find it in Ephesians 4:11—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. However, the NAR emphasizes apostles and prophets, the prophets declaring what God is doing and the apostles making it work out in real time. Perhaps the most alarming aspect to the NAR is the development of a “we-they,” almost cultic mindset. Some prophets have announced a "Christian civil war" now being waged, spiritual in nature but potentially physical. Philpott also unhappily has to warn about the dangers of these prophets’ and apostles’ methods for obtaining revelations, supposedly directly from the trance state, which is fraught with potential for demonic invasion.

314 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 5, 2017

About the author

Kent Philpott, pastor of Miller Avenue Baptist Church in Mill Valley, California, which is a small church in a small town, dually aligned with American Baptists and Southern Baptists. Owner of Earthen Vessel Media, involved in both publishing and long-running community TV shows, with chief editor Katie Philpott, his wife. Published author since 1974. Long time volunteer at San Quentin State Prison for 30 years, 17 of these as manager of the baseball team. Long time high school baseball coach in Marin County. The original Hippie preacher in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury District, 1967-1972. Graduate of Sacramento State University (BA in Psychology); Golden Gate Theological Seminary in Mill Valley (MDiv); San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo (DMin). Five children, eight grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Politically moderate, theologically Reformed since 1995, about a 4.5 pointer on the Calvin scale. He is a San Francisco Giants, Oakland As, and San Francisco 49ers football fan. Essentially, Kent is a Gospel preacher and Bible teacher. He will never retire from the pastorate at Miller Avenue and loves publishing and writing books on all manner of topics.

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A STRONG CRITIQUE OF THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION

Author Ken Philpott wrote in the Preface of this 2017 book, “During the thirty-three years that I have led Miller Avenue Baptist Church… I have become increasingly aware of the dangers posed by what is widely known as The New Apostolic Reformation… I realized the need to speak out against it directly and wrote a few essays about certain practices… Recently, a member of our congregation asked what I thought about a book written by Bill Johnson, one of the top names in the movement… I knew it was now time to tend to the sheep’s safety… Mainstream media has largely ignored the antics of the NAR folk, though a few reports of weird happenings get out, and the bizarre nature of the events and claims are interesting enough to spark more interest… And then Christians and Christianity will look more foolish than is already the case in the minds of many.” (Pg. ix-x)

He recounts, “my involvement in the Jesus People movement from 1967 to 1972… I was plunged fully into the charismatic/Pentecostal movement… Despite my being a faithful Southern Baptist, I became rather ‘wild-eyed,’ as we used to say... My Jesus People ministry … established house churches, bookstores, high school and college ministries… While mid-point in a DMin degree program at San Francisco Theological Seminary, my major professor told me the church I pastored was unhealthy, which shocked me beyond words… It was a ‘dark night of the soul’ experience… In 1980 I resigned my position as pastor of the church in San Rafael… I went to law school, figured out a way to make a living, partially lost my family, declared bankruptcy, and nearly walked away from anything involving Christianity… The point here is that I had thought it was entirely suitable to ask God to ‘give me a word’ and then prophesy over people… [We] had no idea that we were manipulating people---thus our faulty, cultic methodology… For the first time I recognized that I needed recovery every bit as much as any addict…. Later on, when I was once again a pastor at Miller Avenue Baptist Church, I developed a program designed to help people recover from their involvement in cultic groups…” (Pg. xi-xiii)

He asserts, “One source of concern is [Mike Bickle’s reliance on Teresa of Avila’s life and writings to support strange manifestations. This woman was notorious for engaging in very questionable practices that some thought to be of a demonic nature.” (Pg. 39)

He observes, “Here now is one of the central theses of the book: hidden within much of what is termed New Age, Eastern mysticism, and the occult are teachings and practice previously rejected as demonic by Bible-based peoples, but in reality are truths of God that need to be recovered today… The Passion [Bible] version, as it does to very often is used to back up the theology of NAR concepts and worldview…” (Pg. 46)

He turns to what he calls ‘The Rise of Quantum Mysticism’: “This is a … worldview that is becoming increasingly popular. It avoids connections with any and all of the world’s religions, including Christianity. It is both godless and godly at the same time. It does open the door to the new move God is doing now, however, and in a form that is much more acceptable to those who bristle at the basic Gospel message.” (Pg. 60-61)

He notes, “Many of the NAR prophets commonly admit that only 20-40% of the prophets’ predictions are accurate or even close. It is said that to learn to prophesy, mistakes and failures must be accepted. What about the person who receives false words from God, of all things? What is the point of telling people about what they did or what will happen? Is this healthy, normal, and biblical? The psychics and mediums do this sort of thing for a living; are the NAR prophets in competition with these occultists?” (Pg. 81-82)

He reports, “The worship services at the Bethel Church in Redding, California, tend to be expressive. I personally have witnessed things that I found offensive, and this comes from a guy who once was a ‘wild-eyed’ Pentecostal. In many instances, I was convinced what I saw had nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. I would not call all I witnessed to be demonic necessarily, but it was not holy or honoring to God. People did the craziest things and yelled out the most outrageous silliness, yet it was all okay…” (Pg. 99-100)

He states, “In early 1995 Rick Joyner had an extraordinary dream of a major spiritual battle. ‘The Final Quest’ is the result of that dream… Though Rick uses plenty of biblically oriented language, there is little of anything that can be identified as Christian in the book. The question must come to mind---How is it possible that a mature Christian like Rick Joyner could become victim to demonic influences? The answer, in my opinion, is that it happened in the same way as for the shaman, the witch, or the Santerian priest or priestess-they were overwhelmingly convinced by what they encountered while in the trance state.” (Pg. 114-115)

He says, “Naturally, Tim [Sheets] needs to justify why people did not get on board with the shift from the ordinary local church to an ‘apostolic hub.’ … This… describes that has been happening in countless numbers of churches today. There are strong attractions to become an apostle or prophet or for the local church to come under the cover of an apostle or prophet. It is causing quite a divide as churches all over America face whether or not to go along.” (Pg. 145) He continues, “There is a strong political agenda here. Tim does not think American should be a democracy; he wants it to be a theocracy ruled over by God’s anointed apostles and prophets. This is old time postmillennialism or Dominionism dressed up in modern guise. One wonders if the members of his group are able to swallow this. America is at the center of the globe and the movement for many like Tim…” (Pg. 148) He laments, “there can be no doubt that Tim has abandoned Christianity and is now a sorcerer and a magician. I wish it were not so, and I am saddened to consider the many he is deceiving and leading astray.” (Pg. 153)

He points out, “A number of the apostles and prophets of the NAR endorse the TPT [The Passion Translation] and regularly use it in preaching and teaching… It becomes another mark of NAR orthodoxy and helps to create a division in the broad Christian community… Dr. [Brian] Simmons claims that his is a translation. He claims to render the text’s ‘emotional’ content… through his rendering of what he believes is the original language of the New Testament---Aramaic… The claim about Aramaic being the language of the original New Testament leads to Dr. Simmons’ resulting license to change as much Scripture as he wishes… Dr. Simmons began to experience what he called ‘downloads’… that would help him to do the work. This means that the TPT is given directly by God---to one person.” (Pg. 168-170)

He summarizes, “Not only are the falsely converted attracted to signs, wonders, and miracles, but so are those who struggle in their Christian lives… Trouble then arises, because seeing one miracle is not enough. It can become addictive. Faith that rests on signs and wonders is no faith at all… My sense is that when the NAR implodes, and it will implode, there will be many thousands of Christians who will sink down in despair and experience a loss very similar to someone who loses a loved one to death… The NAR will implode because literally hundreds of their major prophets predict thigs that have not and will not come to pass… because leaders fall away… and there are power struggles; and because when even tame-sounding prophecies fail to materialize, more bizarre prophecies are given out.” (Pg. 260)

He warns, “I have mentioned the possibility that what NAR-involved people are experiencing … might not be what they perceive it to be… Is it true and of God? Or, is it something else, something real enough, coming from spiritual entities, but are not Godly at all but are in fact demons from hell?... It is clear that not all Christians think a born-again follower of Jesus can be indwelt by the Holy Spirit and an unclean spirit at the same time… Here is what I think happens. With a combination of powerful music heavy on the bass guitar and drums, with ‘spiritual’ moving and grooving to the beat, the ecstatic dancing, maybe falling out, getting drunk in the spirit, lying under the power perhaps for hours or days, could an evil spirit take advantage? I say an emphatic YES…” (Pg. 280-281)

This book will be of great interest to Christians seeking critiques of the NAR.

[David Tacha · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is exposed

I was first in the Vineyard, then IHOP, and recently with a Bethel-like church. In the last 3 years, I began to see a lot of disturbing behavior and teachings. It took awhile, but I started seeing fake and psychosomatic healings, false doctrine, and blatant new age practices. The book ‘False Prophets Among Us’ really helped me to see what I had got myself into, and helped me process how to leave this movement I had followed over 35 years.

After reading this book, I knew I was not alone in my assessment. I liked that the author had spent time in the NAR movement himself, had visited churches and met with leaders, and was not opposed to the gifts or charismatic theology. It gave his story much credibility. The author did a comprehensive analysis on the NAR movement, its history, prophets and apostles; and yes he did name names! The author also exposed the depth of false doctrine, fake healing, and its new age teaching at Bethel church. It is disturbing what they teach and practice. My entire family is now out of the NAR movement forever. I found a beautiful bible teaching, family church. I highly recommend this book.