You may have heard of Bill Johnson who founded the Bethel Church in Redding, CA. He and Kris Vallotton are the main leaders of it. They have several ministries:
- Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM)
- From their website: “Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM) is committed to the truth that God loves people, gave Himself for them and has given His Church supernatural power to bring individuals and nations into wholeness. The mission of BSSM is to equip and deploy revivalists who passionately pursue world-wide transformation in their God-given spheres of influence. Students are trained to continue in the ministry style of Jesus: to enjoy the presence of God, say what He is saying, and do what He is doing.”
- Nothing is said about bringing sinners to repentance and a full knowledge of the gospel in order to save their souls. They don’t seem to know what spiritual healing is unto salvation – instead they are concerned with supposed “wholeness” of physical healing. The quote by Lighthouse Trails below will explain more of the emphasis on healing that they are taught in this school.
- Alabaster Prayer House
- From their website: “The Alabaster Prayer House and surrounding gardens is a quiet and peaceful place to be in contemplative prayer and enjoy God’s presence. It is open 24 hours a day every day of the year for people to encounter the presence of God. All are welcome!”
- They are proponents of experiential theology and contemplative prayer and practices. What is contemplative prayer exactly? Here is an article that explains it well, but we will also try to have a simple post up within a week.
- Bethel Dance and Flag Ministry
- From their website: “Our goal would be that each individual encounters God through the utilization of dance or flags.”
- Where in Scripture does it teach that to encounter God we should do so through the utilization of dance or flags? Frankly, no where. It does give us examples in the Old Testament where dance was an expression of praise to God, such as in Exodus 15:20. But it is not used as a means of encountering God.
This is only three of their “ministries”, and they have lots more . . . but it should be enough to give you some idea of what goes on at Bethel Church – and especially their highly-publicized ministry of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.
But what actually comes out of this school and church? We will get to an eye-opening video in a moment. So hang in there. (Or scroll to the bottom of the page)
What does Bethel teach?
Lighthouse Trails has been warning of Bethel Church and here is an excerpt from one of their booklets. You can read the full booklet via web by clicking on the title.
Beware of Bethel: A Brief Summary of Bill Johnson’s Unbiblical Teachings
{excerpt} What would you think of a Bible school that sends young people out to literally prostrate themselves on the graves of deceased preachers so that the students can absorb “the anointing” that lingers on the graves? What about a church in which a mist containing feathers, gold, and jewel dust descends on the worshippers in the sanctuary? How about a church conference which features prophetic “tattoo readings” as one of the workshops?
What would you expect of a church which is a combination of the Word of Faith error and the prosperity gospel of Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagin, the signs and wonders of Oral Roberts and Benny Hinn, the false assumptions of the “spiritual warfare” and hyper-deliverance movement, the “prophetic movement,” and the gnostic mysticism of the Toronto Blessing?
You don’t have to wonder any longer, for there is such a “ministry” which is currently the most recognizable and influential face of the prophetic movement. I refer to Bill and Beni Johnson who co-pastor Bethel Church in Redding, California and its related ministries including “Jesus Culture” youth band and Bethel’s School of Supernatural Ministry. {click here to read full article}
To order the pamphlets in print, you can click here to be taken to Lighthouse Trails.
Pastor Gabriel Hughes wrote a post on Bethel Church in which he refers to an article by a reporter who spent an entire week at Bethel’s School of Supernatural Ministry. Her article is eye-opening as to what goes on, but she is not a Christian and so did not see what Spirit-filled believers would in a place like that. This article is Pastor Gabe’s thoughts on it:
Bethel Church Believes a Different Gospel
{excerpt} Johnson teaches about a different Jesus than the Jesus of the Bible. He and many other word-of-faith charismatic preachers believe that when the Bible says Jesus left His throne in heaven and “emptied Himself” (Philippians 2:7), He actually gave up being divine. The incarnate Christ was fully man but not at all God. When Jesus lived a life of sinless perfection, it wasn’t as our substitute but as a model. Any one of us are capable of the same perfection. Jesus didn’t do miracles because He was God. He did miracles to show us that we can do them, too, if we just believe that we can.
Here is Johnson in his own words (Justin Peters also mentioned a portion of this sermon in his DVD series Clouds Without Water): “Jesus was so emptied of divine capacity, eternally God but He chose to live with the restrictions as a man. Why? To set a model, to set something to follow, an example. His lifestyle, if He did all of His miracles as God, I’m still impressed but I’m not compelled to follow.{emphasis added} I just stand back and go, ‘Wow, that’s amazing. God, do some more. That’s awesome, do some more, God!’ {read full article by clicking here}
So what does come out of teaching like this? What are the fruits of it?
The video we are sharing with you is both sad and sickening. Yet it is real. It was taken outside of a Benny Hinn service where some concerned Christians met a group of college students from Bethel Church. Many times we warn of what the dangers are when we begin to let the false teachings of the contemplative practices and emergent church enter our own churches, little by little. It may be hard to believe something that appears good on the outside can be false and not of God. But this video is a shocking, yet much-needed, reminder of what will happen if we do not take a stand for the purity of the Gospel – the entire truth of it.
Let us pray for these students who think they are following the Jesus of the Bible, but have no idea they are headed on the path to destruction. It should make us both angry at the deception and advances of the devil . . . and yet ready to weep at the same time – for even the souls of these students are precious and eternal.
Newsletter readers, click here to see the video.
We believe in the inerrancy and sufficiency of the Scriptures. Jesus said, “Thy Word is truth.” And so we not only believe it, we also base our worldview upon it.