The Whiskey Priest is the hero of Graham Greene’s powerful novel, “The Power and the Glory.” The Mexican government in the state of Tabasco outlaws Catholicism. But as this weak, sick, despairing, alcoholic priest with an illegitimate daughter, goes from village to village at the risk of his life, taking communion to those who believe it is indeed the body and blood of Jesus and yearn for it, something happens. The power and the glory of God insistently breaks out, and the desperate villagers see it.
We saw a modern Whiskey Priest recently in Todd Bentley who worked creative miracles at his crusades attended by several thousands.
The vicars in the church I was then attending, St. Aldate’s, Oxford, Charlie Cleverly, Simon Ponsonby and Gordon Hickson flew to Florida to listen and learn.
They came back all excited. Monkey see, monkey do. The leaders lined up on either side of the aisle, and the congregation ran through it, and each of them blessed and prayed for us. It’s called “a fire tunnel,” and the procedure is called prophetic impartation, or activation.
Well, I went through it too, and it was a powerful experience, as if electricity coursed through me. I was shaking. Was it mere psychosomatic excitation on my part? At the time, I thought not. I have a writer’s temperament, and part of me stands apart and wryly observes things, even in times of great stress, sorrow, anger, or joy. So I noticed, amused and a bit annoyed, that all the wannebe leaders, and ecclesiastical social climbers joined the leaders to bless, rather than be blessed. Keenly observing, with some amusement and scepticism, the drama and histrionics in progress, I went through the tunnels. Not the right frame of mine for psychosomatic excitation, huh?
Anyway, there was no enduring change in myself as a result of that fire tunnel, which so reminded me of a child’s party game. (And if there was any positive change in the church, it was invisible to the naked eye J.) If however, we had been sincerely blessed and prayed for by several dozen people, we would have been blessed. Perhaps all the drama of the fire tunnels, and its histrionic thaumaturgic potential interfered with simple prayer. (Shut up, Anita; stop being cynical!)
* * *
And meanwhile in Florida (the perfect locale for a revival: the beaches, the sunsets, the Mouse; I remember youngsters going to Pensacola from my church in Williamsburg for the Pensacola Revival, and coming back, short-term on fire, long-term, unchanged), meanwhile in Florida, the Lakeland revival continued.
I heard John Mumford (father of Marcus Mumford and Sons!) say at a St. Aldate’s retreat that a friend of his in New York was healed just watching it on GodTV!
And the young Todd Bentley gradually became wilder, weirder and wackier. He said he saw (or indeed saw?) an angel called Emma who scattered showers of gold dust.
He brought in so much money that the church who hosted him had him work 7 days a week. At the start of the revival, he sensibly spent his mornings in prayer and Bible study. Later on, he went drinking with the interns, drunk too much, had an affair with his nanny, eventually divorced his wife, married the nanny.
But all through this, through all this, the miracles continued.
* * *
Why should God work like that through a whiskey priest like Todd Bentley?
Well, why shouldn’t he?
What unlocks the power of God in our lives? Firstly, his sovereign decision: I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,Romans 9:15. And secondly, our humility and faith.
And perhaps, in the sight of God, the open sin of Todd Bentley was no worse that the secret sin of other people. We rank sin. Sexual sin is the worst, followed by drugs, and alcohol. Evangelists love catches with glamorous testimonies—drugs, drinking, promiscuity, overdoses, suicide attempts. I once was wild, but now am tame; was cool, but now I’m not.
But, for all we know, it’s the dreadful churchly sins–the subtle judging and exclusion; the ranking of people by wealth or social status or church status; the gossip, the looking through, the mean little judgements—that makes God cringe more than the golden glories of a passion-driven tumble beneath the sheets, or glorious wine. (Perhaps. David, the repentant adulterer, was known as a man after God’s own heart. Haven’t read many of the Chief Priests and Pharisees Psalms recently.)
And so perhaps a whiskey priest is no worse than the ambitious clergyman who gauges his congregation for what they can do for him, in terms of money or willing labour, or adding lustre to his reputation, and looks through those who have nothing he can use, as through the invisible.
And perhaps the visible sin in Lakeland, Florida, was less displeasing to God than secret, vicious and hypocritical sin in wannabe Lakeland churches. And that’s why God chose to show up in Lakeland.
* * *
Yes, I am convinced that this is why “the wicked” prosper: Because in the eyes of God, they are no more or less wicked, than those who wring their hands at their wickedness.
In the eyes of God, it’s the heart matters, whether we lust in our heart or limbs, whether we murder with words or weapons (Matthew 5:28-29).
In the eyes of God, it’s the heart matters, whether we lust in our heart or limbs, whether we murder with words or weapons (Matthew 5:28-29).
The sin of the wicked is obvious. And obvious sin is more acceptable to God than the petty hidden little sin and hypocrisies of the chosen frozen, the merciless, pitiless, judgemental little “men and women of God.”
Who went home justified before God? Not the pompous small group leader, who fasts and prays and tithes, but the sinner who knew he was a sinner, and beat his breast and prayed, “Lord be merciful to me a sinner.”
And so perhaps Christ, who stands watching in the aisles of the temple, ensures he prospers. We are dealing with God, you know, and he has the most annoyingly egalitarian habits. He makes the sun shine and the rain fall on the good and evil alike, and is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
* * *
Bill Johnson and John Arnott became part of a committee of restoration for Todd Bentley. Bentley apparently had faith, he took God at his word, he worked miracles. He sinned like David did. Why shouldn’t be restored as David was?
Is blowing it the worst thing for a Christian? Nope, not at all.
In fact, it may be just the opposite.
Publicly blowing it will slow down and impede your public ministry, but then you are forced to go underground, to be silent and still with God. And even while all excoriate you for how you blew it, you get strong, and you burrow into the secret places of God, and grow in grace and strength and wisdom. And God may choose to, again, show you visible, undisputable favour. What you touch may turn to gold—whether business ventures, or creative ventures, or ministry. Your prayers might be answered by miracles. The peace and joy which glimmers around you like gold dust may become evident.
We haven’t heard the last of Todd Bentley, I suspect. Stay tuned.
More from my site
The Best Thing You Can Do with your Life: Sign it Over. (Inspired by Bill Bright.)
Top Ten Posts in 2011 from Dreaming Beneath the Spires
The True Fairy Tale of the Life of Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
On Planting Secret Seeds for the Kingdom and for the Love of Jesus. And on a Role Model of Christian Leadership
My God, My God, Why did you Employ Me? The Perils of Children’s Church
Thanks, PLT. Very interesting. I was, obviously, in church on this occasion, and can testify that not the slightest hint of reservation was voiced from the pulpit. Quite the contrary. As I wrote, they wanted to transfer “the anointing” to the congregation in that “fire tunnel.”
In fact, within a few months, one of the 3 kings fired another; the PCC circulated a letter of protest against Charlie Cleverly, signed by many lay leaders; many of the best people left St. Aldate's; almost all the pastoral staff and many support staff have left in the following year or two; giving was down, so that there was a staff redundancy programme, in which the less supportive lost their jobs. In many ways, the chaos and pain at St. Aldate's, Oxford mirrored those at Lakeland.
But, thank goodness, God does work through a seriously flawed cloud of witnesses in Oxford as at Lakeland, or else who could stand?
Actually to be fair & accurate, Simon went because he was asked to go as he is wise, weighs things carefully & is a natural sceptic to boot! & they all went to check out what was going on. Simon wrote (& sent to me) a private very detailed document detailing all the reasons he was unhappy & had huge reservations about what was going on. He made exactly your point, however, that God was using Todd,despite Todd, despite everything else, God was responding to people's hunger, not Todd's flaws.
Edward,
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
I don't remember if Cleverly, Ponsonby and Hickson actually endorsed Bentley from the pulpit. I think they went to Florida to check him out. But they did feel they had received “an impartation,” and the “fire tunnel” was a way for them to lay hands on every member of the congregation for us to receive a “prophetic impartation,” too.
Whether some or all received it is, as I said, invisible to the naked eye. I am certainly growing in awareness and practice of the “prophetic.” I did go through another fire tunnel in 2010 in an Aldate's co-sponsored conference led by John Arnott etc. from Toronto. The conference certainly heightened my sensitivity to the Spirit.
Happy New Year,
Anita
I agree, very thought provoking… I think its difficult to say that peopel can have a short term experience but are unchanged long term, because as mere witnesses we just cannot say what God has done in their hearts, or what seeds have been planted for some future date. So many things can seem one thing but turn out to be something else and we just cannot know the mind of God.
I agree with the Todd Bentley thing I think that had more to do with how he was 'managed' that anything else – how is working 7 days a week, of God? no Sabbath rest? But I also believe that if God uses someone in a powerful way that the devil will be putting even more pressure on them and even more temptations their way. It stands to reason doesn't it? and in that respect TB was just a victim of temptation. He was used in a mighty way but he was and is still human. None of us are perfect and he just shows us that even when God has his hand on someone in a big way, they are not immune to attacks of temptation etc.
It is sad that he did give in because it just takes credilibility away from the amazing miracles that did happen there…
Personally I don't think that we can say one sin is worse than another (other than grieving the Holy Spirit which is biblical) and I am not sure it is even worse if it is hidden, we might think that, there is a certain vulneability to someone who admits or openly sins, but only God can say whether it is worse if is hidden surely?
I am not on any level with Todd Bentley but I know that God has slowed me down in order to spend more time with him, and it has
been and is amazing! I truly believe that prayer and time spent with God has to be the foundation of anything that we do in his name. How can we expect to know his will if we dont listen to him? Thats why what happened to Todd is such a shame, it sounds like in the beginning he had it right, spending time in prayer etc, perhaps if that had continued he wouldnt have fallen from grace in that way. Anything that takes our focus from God and his will, we should be wary of…
Really interesting post, have so many more questions… will ponder some more…
Very thought provoking.
I never felt comfortable with Todd Bentley and am not convinced by veracity of the spiritual phenomena or miracles that took place.
For me the greatest 'sin' of the revival was, much like the Toronto blessing (which I had many ecstatic experiences within), mistaking emotional response and (mass) hysteria for the work of the Holy Spirit.
Not that I am opposed to such experiences as part of faith, just the way they can be packaged and interpreted.
The other sin was the placing of one man (or woman) on such a pedestal that they could fall so far.
Todd's personal failings are minor in comparison to these wider structural sins.
I had no idea that such prominent Anglicans had embraced the movement. In doing so do they invalidate and call into question their own ministry?
But the comparison with the Whiskey Priest is fascinating. Because the difference there is that the Bread and Wine do become Christ's Body and Blood – an assured miracle that goes beyond any emotional experience. It strikes me that aspects of Christianity constantly yearn for assured miracles whilst ignoring one that the church believed in from the earliest days.
And whilst the Whiskey Priest was no saint, for catholic Christians we wait for people to die before we recognise their sainthood and through the Spirit seek to join our prayers with theirs. Here when the prayers of earth and heaven are in harmony remarkable miracles do indeed occur.