| Todd Bentley | |
|---|---|
Todd Bentley in April 2008 |
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| Born | January 10, 1976 Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Evangelist |
| Religion | Charismatic Christianity |
| Spouse | Shonnah Bentley (? – 2009)[1] Jessa Hasbrook Bentley (2009 – present)[2] |
Todd Bentley (born 10 January 1976) is a Canadian Christian evangelist. He was the key figure of the Lakeland Revival.[3] After a brief period of retirement connected with the breakdown of his marriage and subsequent re-marriage, he has returned to ministry.[4]
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Bentley was raised mainly in Gibsons, British Columbia, a small community on the western coast of Canada.[5] Bentley's parents divorced while he was a child and he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. At the age of 15, he was convicted of sexual assault,[6] and at age 17, Bentley was hospitalized after an overdose of amphetamines and hallucinogenic pills.[7]At age 18 Bentley changed his lifestyle completely, due to his conversion to Christ, and it was soon after this that he began his Christian ministry.[8][9]
Even though the criminal records of juvenile offenders in Canada are normally protected from public disclosure,[10] in 2001, the now-defunct Report Newsmagazine,[11] disclosed Bentley's teenage criminal activities, calling his behavior "heinous." Bentley later said that the Report Newsmagazine article was, in substance, true: "'They were sexual crimes,' Bentley admits. 'I was involved in a sexual assault ring. I turned around and did what happened to me. I was assaulted too.'"[6] This led to heated debate in the Christian media, asking whether Report NewsMagazine had acted correctly in publicizing Bentley's crimes, and whether this affected Bentley's position as an evangelist.[12][13]
In 1998, the Fresh Fire Ministry group[14] asked Bentley to give his testimony at one of their weekly meetings. Soon after, Bentley took over the leadership of the group, which became more of a revival movement. The religious services became focused on renewing the faith of believers and converting nonbelievers and began to highlight Bentley's vibrant preaching style, music, and dramatic descriptions of salvation and judgment. Bentley's talent for this kind of preaching made him popular as a guest evangelist and speaker. He traveled to India, Africa, and South America taking part in religious crusades and revivals.[15][16][17]
Beginning on April 2, 2008, Bentley was invited by Stephen Strader, pastor of Ignited Church, Lakeland, Florida, to lead a one-week revival.[15] The revival quickly became a religious and media phenomenon, attracting up to 10,000 attendees nightly with Bentley as the primary preacher.[9] In addition to showcasing Bentley's evangelism, the revival featured colorful light shows and power-chord Christian rock music.[18][19] The Ignited Church also took a multimedia approach to publicizing the event, posting webcasts online.[20] The revival streamed live via Ustream – which received over 1 million hits in the first five weeks of transmissions. After the initial weeks, GOD TV, a religious satellite channel, decided to pre-empt its primetime programming and broadcast the Lakeland meetings nightly.[15]
The revival brought in thousands, and with that many other revivalists. At one point, Bentley began to pray for and commission many of them to duplicate his model for modern day revival. Ryan Wyatt[21] was one. Another was Evangelist Hamilton Filmalter,[22] who was commissioned by Bentley to begin the Portland Outpouring. Filmalter teamed up with Reverend Aaron Winter the founder of Hearts of Fire International Ministries and they began to witness many of the same things that were taking place in Lakeland. However, by the time these other revivals turned up in other cities, Bentley had stepped down from Fresh Fire Ministries.
Bentley was criticized in mainstream media and on internet blogs for occasional violence done to participants,[23][24][25] in the tradition of Smith Wigglesworth.[26][27] Todd Bentley was known to forcefully kick, hit, smack or knock over participants. In one incident, a man was knocked over and lost a tooth. In another, an elderly woman was intentionally kicked in the face. Bentley held that the Holy Spirit led him to such actions,[24][25] saying that those incidents were taken out of context and adding that miracles were happening simultaneously.[23]
On 9 July 2008 ABC News' Nightline broadcast an investigative report on Bentley focusing on his faith healing claims, finances, and criminal past.[28] Following the report, Bentley took time off from the revival but returned on 18 July 2008.[28] Five days later, Bentley and Strader announced that Bentley would be leaving the revival permanently and that his last day would be 23 August 2008.[29]
An important aspect of many of the meetings that Bentley has led, involves prayer for miraculous healing. The New Testament records many incidents of Jesus healing the sick; belief in its contemporary practice is important for Pentecostal and charismatic Christians. Healing testimonies were common at the Lakeland meetings.[19][30] The hope of supernatural healing explains some of its popularity, as there were many first-person accounts of miracles.[30][31] The lack of medical corroboration of the healings was questioned by mainstream media; the Nightline report concluded that "not a single miracle could be verified."[18][28]
Bentley announced his separation from his wife, Shonnah, in August 2008,[1][32] and resigned from the Board of Fresh Fire.[33] A statement released by the remaining Board members said "Todd Bentley has entered into an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff", and that he would 'refrain from all public ministry for a season to receive counsel in his personal life'.[34][35]
Some of Bentley's Christian contemporaries called for Bentley to step down in the wake of the scandal, stating that Christian leadership is incompatible with marital unfaithfulness.[36][37] In response, a committee made up of Rick Joyner, Jack Deere, and Bill Johnson was formed to oversee the process of spiritually restoring Bentley's family.[38] In November 2008, the Board of Fresh Fire announced that Bentley was not submitting to the process.[39][40] On March 9, 2009, Rick Joyner announced that Bentley had remarried.[2][41][42]
A 2009 Charisma magazine interview with Rick Joyner refuted adultery claims while characterizing the relationship as wrong and premature. Joyner told Charisma that the new couple was committed to their marriage and would “continue to serve the Lord in the best way that they can.”[40]
Bentley highlights scriptural passages in his sermons. He emphasizes that spiritual or supernatural encounters in an individual's life are gifts from the Holy Spirit.[8][43] He has stated that his priority is to help people experience the presence of God. He wants the "Holy Spirit to manifest His glory in such a way that people can't deny the presence of a living God and they have a true born-again experience".[8] He also says: "Miracles and healings are evidence [...] they are signs of the Kingdom, and if we don't have signs then all we have is a bunch of theology."[19]
Bentley's testimony includes an account of visiting Heaven and meeting with Paul the Apostle.[8][18] He has also preached about an encounter with an angel he called 'Emma' at an Assemblies of God church in 2001. The female angel gave him a vision of gold coins, and Bentley states this was a sign of his future financial stability.[30] In response to criticism about the Biblical inspiration of a female angel, Bentley wrote that it was God's choice, and not his own, that an angel appeared to him in that manner.[44]
Pastor Strader of Ignited Church who invited Bentley to Lakeland said: "We watch over everything. Everything that happens on the platform is scriptural [...] The nightly message has been totally 100 percent nothing but Jesus. People are saved, people are healed, and Jesus is being glorified. [...] Even some of my so-called friends are questioning my integrity, but they never come to the services. It's not fair just to watch [them] on TV."[45]
Bentley has sponsored an internship program called 'Joel's Army' in addition to having the words "Joel's Army" tattooed across his sternum with military dog tags[46][47] demonstrating a level of commitment to the Latter Rain doctrine of the Manifest Sons of God, (or Man-Child Generation) as preached by William M. Branham and George Warnock.[48] The program's doctrine was associated to an interpretation of Revelation 12 that in the last age before Jesus returns, there will be a generation of especially endowed Christians who will be able to do many miracles, and will usher in the reign of God.[47][49] This is in the tradition of William M. Branham and the healing revivals of the 50s, overlapping with Latter Rain Movement theology.[50] Bentley's association with Paul Cain, an associate of Branham and himself a healing evangelist of the 50s, is a further connection to the movement.[51] Joel's Army has been connected to Dominion Theology and Fivefold ministry thinking,[47] and has been described as a "rapidly growing apocalyptic movement" prophesied to become an "Armageddon-ready military force of young people with a divine mandate to physically impose Christian "dominion" on non-believers.[47]
Bentley's physical appearance has been noted for being very unconventional for that of an evangelist.[8][18] He has dozens of tattoos, multiple facial piercings, and a preference for t-shirts over ties.[3][52][53][54] Bentley's preaching style is also flamboyant, known for mannerisms like shouting 'Bam!' during his delivery.[30]