One of the things I picked up on in my Bethel Deep Dive was concerning a tendency towards kenosis theory in Bill Johnson’s teaching. This is the belief that Jesus some how laid aside his divinity, or aspects of it in his incarnation. Johnson has argued that this is in order to set an example… Continue reading What does it mean to say that Jesus “emptied himself” … or how to avoid committing heresy
Category: Theology
Holding up the Bethel mirror
The other day, I shared a little e-book analysing the theological culture of the Bethel movement. If you missed it, you can download it here. I want to pick up on a couple of questions here before digging in to something that I think is significantly important. I appreciate that there will be some of… Continue reading Holding up the Bethel mirror
They’re only words (Banning Liebscher and Bethel’s understanding of rhema)
In his book, Rooted, Banning Liebscher says: Jesus made a tremendous promise in John 15:7. He said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” Asking what you desire and seeing God do it for you is called faith.… Continue reading They’re only words (Banning Liebscher and Bethel’s understanding of rhema)
Bethel: The Deep Dive
I’ve been sharing some articles looking at the theology and culture of the Bethel movement, both the church in Redding, California and the wider movement it has spawned. Here, I bring all the research together into one free e-book. My aim is that this should be freely available to help church leaders. Please share to… Continue reading Bethel: The Deep Dive
The Bethel baby and the bath water: To what extent can you benefit from Bethel?
We’re coming to the end of my series on Bethel. I’m going to be sharing everything together as an E-book tomorrow. What I wanted to do here was to pick up on one question that has come up. It’s whether there is good in Bethel. Can we throw out the bathwater without losing the baby?… Continue reading The Bethel baby and the bath water: To what extent can you benefit from Bethel?
My brother’s keeper? What has Bethel got to do with us?
When God speaks to Cain, asking him about his brother Abel in Genesis 4, Cain retorts, “Am I my brother’s keeper? Of course, the implicit and obvious answer is meant to be “Yes you are?” We’ve been conducting a deep dive into the theology and culture of Bethel, Redding, CA. It might be tempting to… Continue reading My brother’s keeper? What has Bethel got to do with us?
The Bethel enigma: How ambiguity leads to confusion
I want to pick up here on one of the challenges with critiquing Bethel’s teaching. It’s the challenge of being able to say with certainty what their position is on a number of points. I don’t think it is impossible but it can be tricky at times. Here I’m going to pick up on two… Continue reading The Bethel enigma: How ambiguity leads to confusion
Calling out the gold
One of the themes in Bethel’s approach to pastoral care is that you don’t so much respond to someone’s sin because that doesn’t truly reflect their identity. Instead you should seek to honour and name correctly who they are now, their new identity. This is sometimes referred to as “calling out the gold”. This very… Continue reading Calling out the gold
Prosperity, success, world changers and the dominion factor
Banning Liebscher opens his book, “Rooted” with this claim: “Deep inside every follower of Jesus is a desire to have a visible, lasting impact in the world.[1] Is this true? There are two parts to this. First, is that what everyone really wants, and second is it what we should want. Your first reaction might… Continue reading Prosperity, success, world changers and the dominion factor
Rumpelstiltskin: Bethel and Prosperity
I would like to pick up on a quote I shared from Danny Silk’s book, the Culture of Honour, in a previous article. “Success is built through the value we maintain for the prophetic voices in our environment, because our prosperity comes through our agreements with Heaven’s culture, and the prophets clarify the reality of… Continue reading Rumpelstiltskin: Bethel and Prosperity
Faithroots 