Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! -- Isaiah 5:20 (ESV)
I have likened the Dr. Michael Brown investigation into Todd Bentley as a Scooby-Doo investigation. This is to purposefully draw attention to the insanity of it and so people stop giving it the level of seriousness it does not deserve. What Bentley stands accused of recently is serious; do not get me wrong. Sexting with your interns details and pictures of your wife, I am pretty sure violates some biblical standards for preachers. If this was the only accusation, I would wholeheartedly support the investigation. The problem with this one is that it turns a blind eye to the fact that Todd Bentley never should have been allowed back in ministry to begin with. He should never have had the NAR anoint him a prophet. He should never have had Bill Johnson pray over him. He should never had Rick Joyner excuse him and declare he was restored. The above link is to an article by a member of those meddling kids, Joseph Mattera. Here he is defending the indefensible. Not that he excuses the 2019 version of Todd Bentley but that he approves of the 2008-2012 version. That is what makes the 2019 investigation nothing more than a cartoon caricature. They are investigating if a man who used to kick and punch people to "impart" healing, claims a relationship with an angel named Emma and had an affair on his first wife with his nanny is qualified for ministry due to other allegations occurring ten years later. Ruh-roh Shaggy! Let us reason once more.
'"I have recently heard from several of my friends that they believe 2020 will be a year when God starts reforming His church. I believe this to be true. Part of this reformation will be the revelation of the hearts of leaders as well as highlighting some of the modern distortions of the gospel. Soon I will deal with six areas for church reformation but for now I will just focus on the first area of reformation I believe God is orchestrating in His church. Biblical Standards for Christian Leadership This first point is something I am participating in right now as I have agreed to serve on a panel that rendered an opinion this past week that stated--among other things--that evangelist Todd Bentley should lose his ordination and step down from all ministry because of an avalanche of allegations against him related to immoral behavior. (Dr. Michael Brown released the official statement by our panel on major Christian news outlets such as Charisma magazine, The Christian Post and beyond.) Of course--echoing the voice of the panel--all of us desire Todd's full restoration, first to God and eventually to some form of ministry. We all have to take heed to the admonition of Paul related to restoring a fallen believer: Galatians 6:1 says, "Brothers, if a man is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, watching yourselves, lest you also be tempted."' -- Joseph Mattera
In his zeal to be "someone" in the Charismaniacal world, Mattera has simply lost more and more credibility as time has worn on. A full-throated NAR dominionist, Mattera has seen his profile at Charisma news rise as he has taken a vocal mantle to prop up what the NAR wants. He does so however with a certain faux-biblical arrogance that many of his false peers do not bother with. Sure Kris Vallotton or Jennifer LeClaire will throw a verse around here or there for the appearance of piety but Mattera uses the bible to pretend that he alone is righteous in his most unbiblical causes. What we see before us is just a microcosm of this. Galatians 6:1 has nothing to do with fallen ministers -- nothing. It has to do with a brother or sister who falls into repeated sin. Yes Bentley certainly counts in that group but not for what Dr. Michael Brown's Scooby-Doo investigation purpose was. Brown insists that their role was to determine if Bentley should be allowed to continue in ministry -- not to restore him. If Mattera and Brown were genuinely concerned about Galatians 6:1 then this process never would have been public and instead would solely be focused on the walk of Todd Bentley -- not his cash cow ministry.
Mattera gives up the truth however right in the opening paragraph because he cannot see past his own arrogance. All of us desire Todd Bentley's full restoration to some form of ministry? No sir we do not. You see Joseph, discerning Christians dismiss Bentley as a fraud and a huckster based upon his ministry in 2008. The reveal of the affair was just God forcing your hand but shouldn't the manner of his ministry have mattered to you as a minister of the Gospel? Just from this opening paragraph, Joseph Mattera has come out in support of assault and battery as a healing technique. He has affirmed kicking old ladies in the face with steel tipped boots, as Bentley once bragged about. You think God is charging you with writing about church reformation but He has not told you that punching someone with stage four pancreatic cancer is not from the Holy Spirit? Yeah, that dog don't hunt.
"On the other hand, I have actually been thankful that this has angered many people in the church and for some of the public attacks against me and the rest of the panel members because their attack just reveals their lack of biblical standards, their own distorted view of the grace of God, and is subsequently serving as a red flag to the rest of the body as to who else (besides Todd) belongs to his camp. (Truly, a person is not only known by his friends but equally by his opponents and for this I praise God!)" -- Joseph Mattera
Really. Let me explain the hole in Scooby's investigation. Mattera and Brown proceeded from the standpoint that the new allegations against Bentley had the seriousness to possibly discredit his ministry and bring shame unto the Gospel. While this is obvious when we are talking about Bentley admitting to sexting with his interns pictures of his wife, it carries an implicit endorsement of his ministry as a whole. What Mattera essentially supports is the previous infidelity with his nanny, then the divorce from his wife to marry his nanny. While I am glad that he apparently draws a line in the sand over sexting pictures of his former nanny/current wife to people he has power and influence over in ministry, I think the grand moral stand has left the barn. Not to mention that Mattera thinks that rightful criticism of the efforts of these meddlesome kids should be a red flag but not physically assaulting people in the name of God and blaming it on the Holy Spirit! So yeah Joseph, you are now well known by your opponents who hold the actual bible up and not mere verse fragments that serve an absurd starting point that verifies Todd Bentley's demonic outpouring as a legitimate move of God.
