But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
In fairness to many, the usage of the term New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) can be quite confusing sometimes. The term NAR has grown and metastasized on the same level as the apostate church because they can be considered one in the same. Therein lies the problem for most heretics who cannot see that they are as wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked as the Church in Laodicea from Revelation. Jesus once warned that when you convince yourself that your darkness is light, how deep is that darkness! We must understand that there are obvious hucksters out there. People like Mike Murdoch or Jennifer LeClaire are obviously doing their schtick for the money. No one truly believes Benny Hinn actually believes the Holy Spirit enters his suit coat before he knocks over the crowd. The bible says however that many false teachers will continue on deceiving and being deceived themselves. Many in the NAR may truly believe they are doing the work of the Lord, even if none of it aligns with His word. Many may truly believe that if they could just get the world to come up for an altar call and say a seven-word prayer that everyone will be saved. That is what passes for evangelism these days. The reason why they may believe their own nonsense is because the bible is not at the forefront of their doctrine or efforts. This is actually a hallmark of the NAR by the way. When you rely upon experiential Christianity and the feelings of your own wickedly deceitful heart is it any wonder you cannot bring yourself to admit that you are part of the end times apostate church? That you believe and espouse NAR theology. The above linked article is from Daniel Kolenda who seems very upset that some have correctly labeled him a heretic or part of the NAR. All we need to know is he inherited the ministry of renowned heretic, Reinhard Bonnke and in his own bio, he claims to have led over 22 million people to Christ. That aside, Kolenda is just the latest in a long line of Charismatics who have tried to pretend that the NAR does not really exist. Just some food for thought. If you truly believed that then why did you take the time to try and debunk it to this extent? The visual in my head as I read through this is of Kolenda stamping his feet like a petulant child trying to convince you that he wasn't the one who drew on the walls with permanent marker. This is a long article and thus a long devotional, so please set aside the time to digest it all because it truly gives us a glimpse into how the apostate church will continue to try and marginalize true believers as the end times deepen. Let us reason together once more.
'Have you heard of the New Apostolic Reformation? Some people say it's a nefarious organization of heretical charismatics who are scheming to take over the entire world. The conspiracy theories surrounding the NAR range from mere speculations to full-blown Illuminati-type accusations. However, after talking with those accused of being a part of the NAR, I realized they had never even heard of the group and were shocked to find out they were among its "members." In fact, I now believe these theories point to nothing more than the discord between traditional evangelicals and charismatics that we've known about for years.
After hearing questions about the NAR come up multiple times from our listening audience, I took several months to research this subject to make certain I had the full picture. Then I decided to share what I discovered in a recent episode of my new podcast, Daniel Kolenda, Off the Record. During the podcast, I play audio recordings and published quotes from the accusers, addressing each of their accusations head-on. I will summarize my findings in this article, but for more detail, please listen to the podcast. My quest began when I received a question from one of my podcast listeners named Max, all the way from Germany. He had heard rumors about the NAR in his congregation and was shocked to hear I had been named as one of its members. Max wrote, "At some point, I read that Daniel Kolenda is a part of this movement and that he would believe [its teachings] himself. My first thought was, definitely not! After everything I've read and heard from you, I can't even imagine that you believe [like the NAR] even in part. But since statements from some of these 'members' find their way into our congregation, I would be very interested in what is this New Apostolic Reformation all about, and what exactly are the goals of this organization/movement."' - Daniel Kolenda
The first trick usually employed by those trying to dismiss the NAR is to mock the notion that it could exist. Kolenda tries that here with the term Illuminati. This notion however that those who are NAR feign ignorance is not uncommon. Neither is the presentation of the NAR as an organization, which it is not. The NAR is more like a collection of heretical doctrine that is widely accepted throughout the apostate church system. So, while it is correct to say Bethel Church is NAR it is more accurate to say that they teach NAR doctrine. It is interesting here that Kolenda floats the notion that this is really a discord between evangelicals and Charismatics. While the false signs and lying wonders of Charismania is certainly part of the NAR it falls well short of defining it. The discord however, is between sound doctrine and utter heresy. It is about churches that are leading millions of people down the broad path that leads only to destruction.
Significant Trend or Concerning Movement? Where did the term New Apostolic Reformation originate? C. Peter Wagner, a church growth expert and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, coined the phrase. Unfortunately, Wagner died in 2016, so we can't ask him to address the matter. However, he lived long enough to see the beginnings of the snowball effect he unintentionally started. He gave a public response, explaining the reasons he coined the terminology, in an article published on August 24, 2011, on Charisma News: "The NAR is not an organization. No one can join or carry a card. It has no leader. I have been called the 'founder,' but this is not the case. One reason I might be seen as an 'intellectual godfather' is that I might have been the first to observe the movement, give a name to it and describe its characteristics as I saw them. When this began to come together through my research in 1993, I was professor of church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, where I taught for 30 years." This means there is no organization, ministry or denomination called the NAR. Wagner simply coined a phrase to describe a real phenomenon he had seen happening all over the world for the past 50 years or so. He noticed the shift because, for most of church history, there were basically one or two main Christian denominations, but then thousands of nondenominational church movements began experiencing exponential growth. Some of these church movements grew so large they dwarfed the mainline denominations in some regions.
It is always hysterical when someone denying the existence of the NAR has to admit that it actually did originate with C. Peter Wagner. Wagner's heresy started much earlier than 2011 though. You see Wagner thought God was putting the band back together and he was one of the chosen apostles. Hence, the new apostolic reformation. Over the years however Wagner expanded on the NAR. He was also clear that his vision did not include a change to fundamental doctrine, but I still doubt that Kolenda might denounce what the NAR has become. Wagner saw instead the apostate church growing and would be organized through these new apostles. This culminated in 2008 when he had his apostles, including Bill Johnson from Bethel, come to Lakeland Florida to anoint Todd Bentley a prophet. And they did, oil poured over his head and everything. The very next day Bentley would fall from grace for an affair with his secretary. God will not be mocked and He waited so He could expose the entire NAR along with Bentley.
