Now on to Todd's restoration into ministry.
I don't think we need to take as much time on this as we did on the previous item because the Bible gives us the standard that needs to be followed when it comes to leaders in the Church, and someone who leads an evangelistic ministry such as this, has to fall under the guidelines established in Timothy and Titus, specifically as it describes overseers.
I Timothy 3: 2-8, 12
Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.
Titus 1: 6-8
An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
For brevities sake, lets just take a look at key points from what has been highlighted in bold letters from the above passages:
'must be above reproach'; one definition of the word applies well here: to be a cause of blame or discredit to. Was Todd the cause of blame or discredit to... the Body of Christ? We have to look no further than Lakeland circa 2008 to get that answer. Thousands upon thousands went to this so-called revival for a healing from God and came away from it the same way they arrived. Here are some video clips of Justin Peters, who went down to the revival when it was at it's peak.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNc4_eQmedQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSNSmKKtMXA
'the husband of but one wife'; hard to understand how Todd qualifies to be back in ministry in the light of this.
'he must manage his own family well'; not sure how this gets accomplished when he is in the US and his family is in Canada.
'he must also have a good reputation with outsiders'; hard to see how he does based on just the Nightline piece that was done on him during the revival.
'not given to drunkenness'; now this one he may have overcome (though it was never discussed in the 'restoration' videos), and for Todd's eternal salvation, I pray that he has overcome the bottle, because the Bible is clear on the position of the drunkard visa vie the Kingdom. (I Corinthians 6: 9-10).
One constant from the videos was the talk of Todd's doctrine on marriage and divorce that has been forthcoming for many months now, but as of yet, has not seen the light of day. Many seem to put their decision on whether or not to follow Todd again on if this doctrine will hold up to Biblical scrutiny. You would think something so important would have to come before Todd were to re-enter the ministry, but somehow Rick Joyner believes that Todd can be released into local ministry while still being in the process of restoration.
http://morningstarministries.org/Groups/1000040651/MorningStar_Ministries/Media/VIDEO_Todd_Bentleys/VIDEO_Todd_Bentleys.aspx
To which I emailed Rick about this, as of this writing he has yet to respond:
Hello Rick,
So Todd has been restored to local ministry? Does the Bible make a distinction between local and national? I am assuming he has been restored to the Body of Christ, first and foremost, yet that has not been mentioned or addressed. Shouldn't one be FULLY restored to the Body before being allowed to minister to the Body?
Yes, we are to restore a brother who has fallen into sin (Galatians 6:1), but should he be restored to ministry? Restored to the Body and restored to ministry are two entirely different things. Are there not things that now disqualify Todd from ministry? If not, what to do with I Timothy 3 & Titus 1, or have you received revelation from God that contradicts what the Bible says?
I would be interested in hearing from you as there are those in my church family who believe they have been given direction from Todd's ministering at a recent conference at MorningStar, but I fail to see how it was from the LORD, when the Bible says that one such as Todd should not be leading any kind of ministry in the Body, which leads me to believe that it may not be GOD who is directing him, as was clearly the case in Lakeland.
If you disagree with my last statement, you have to ask yourself a question. If it was GOD through the Holy Spirit directing Todd in Lakeland, then who was it who exposed Todd? Your answer to this question is key to whether or not you are really of God as well. I will give you a hint; Patricia King got it wrong, and exposed herself as not being of the one true GOD. I will be looking forward to your answer.
Your Brother-in-Christ,
Michael T Peabody
Stratford, CT
No matter what the outcome to this is, the Bible makes it clear; Todd Bentley is no longer fit for ministry of any kind.
