Stop pretending that you just didn't know. It is insulting to the intelligence of everyone. So, you went through all of these steps and referred to his entire prophetic ministry as false, but did not think you needed to warn the sheep at all? Realize that the picture Bethel is painting is that they did their due diligence. They distanced themselves, cast Bolz into the outer darkness away from Bethel and should not be criticized for anything because gosh darn it, they just couldn't know a thing that was right in their face. That might vaguely believable except they never truly distanced themselves from Bolz at all because at the end of the day it is always about the grift and Bolz meant money. In light of this absurd statement, perhaps Bethel can explain this video, from mid-2023 (shout out to Steve Kozar):
100% Proof: Bill Johnson Gladly Promotes Fake "Prophet" Shawn Bolz! - YouTube
When discussing Bolz's 2015 ridiculous book about "translating God," Johnson gushed about Shawn Bolz: "well the book by itself is incredible but knowing the life that backs it up, adds a power to it" Wait a second. The life that backs it up? The same guy that you forbade your workers from going on his podcast? The guy whose prophetic ministry was false? The guy, who if he worked directly for you, would have faced public rebuke? That guy? Beloved if Bethel was not an active partner in this grift, then why would Bill Johnson be appearing with Bolz and praising him on TBN less than two years ago?
"I Timothy 5:20 says to publicly rebuke elders "who continue in sin" (NASB20). We weren't entirely clear what was happening in the words of knowledge and unaware of the scope of his issues with his former team members, but believed he changed his behavior and the work environment going forward after our confrontations, so we did not make a public statement. In the past, we have only brought public admonishment to those outside of our organization in cases where no acknowledgment and change has taken place after correction." - Bethel Church
Wow, what an abuse of scripture. I have included this verse above as the key verse for today. The exhortation here is not designed to deny rebuke to someone unless they continue in sin. Either way though, how can you make an argument with a straight face that Shawn Bolz did not continue in this sin? These allegations were made over several years. Shawn Bolz has never admitted anything has happened nor repented. Yes, he changed his website, like a month ago. The notion that he has not continued in this sin for several years is absurdly unsupported. Make sure you follow this logic. Bolz is credibly accused by multiple leaders within the apostate church system they all work in. At least 12 instances of faking words from God by data mining social media are revealed. Then he is credibly accused of sexual harassment by a former ministry worker. Bethel confronts him and he says, "my bad," so we all sing Kumbaya as if nothing happened? Oh, and we tell the ministry worker to sue him if they want? Oh, and then we say absolutely nothing to our own sheep and the church at large? Oh, and then we continue to go on TV shows with him, praising his life? Are you serious right now?
"We empathize with those who are confused and disappointed over this situation; we feel the same"this is a tender, confusing, and complex situation. As it stands, our trust in Shawn is still unrepaired. Having privately admonished him, this letter is only intended to clarify the journey we were on, and the steps we have taken given that it is now a wider conversation. We receive and value the feedback that our actions may have been too subtle and difficult to decipher, and that it would have been more helpful to at least openly acknowledge that we were creating distance with Shawn due to our concerns. We acknowledge we have more to learn in handling situations outside of our staff environment with greater clarity and have been working for the last several months on standardized procedures for hearing and responding to concerns in order to create an even healthier church culture." - Bethel Church
Whatever. This is not a tender, confusing, or even complex situation. Shawn Bolz is a liar. He is an agent of Satan, who has deceived untold numbers of people by raiding their social media to fake words of knowledge from the creator of the entire universe. That is not too confusing at all. Your trust in Shawn remains unrepaired? Then why did Bill Johnson appear with him on TBN less than two years ago praising his life? The wider conversation was happening eight years ago. The texts from Vallotton reveal that Bethel was having this same conversation and it was not "tender" or "complex." It was an admission that he was a false prophet! Why are you still promoting a false prophet who likes to sexually harass his employees? Because he told you he wasn't going to do it anymore? The actions of Bethel Church are not subtle here or difficult to decipher. Vallotton spelled it out quite clearly. They chose to not publicly warn the church that a man they had spent years promoting and platforming was a false prophet because it might damage the international prophetic movement and there is a lot of money at stake, should that happen. You think this all produces a healthier church culture? Are you insane? Do you even own a bible? You had a rogue snake oil salesman lying to people about what God had said and almost got a woman killed. Now, after being fully exposed for your own complicity, you refuse to admit you did anything wrong and instead offer up a myriad of reasons why you didn't do anything. None of which are biblical and many of which directly contradict each other.
"Words of knowledge are a significant and important element of conveying the heart of God, demanding high levels of integrity, accountability and responsibility, and our work environments and team relationships must be full of holiness, respect, appropriate behavior, and safety, such that they reflect the joy and glory of God. We pray that the Holy Spirit brings wisdom, humility, comfort and instruction to each of us." - Bethel Church
