Gord's Notebook : The New Apostolic Reformation & Theocracy

UPDATE: 3:45 PM, March 3, 2010.

The New Apostolic Reformation

The movement has emerged from the largest single block of Protestant Christianity on the globe -- sometimes called charismatic, neo-charismatic or neo-Pentecostal -- one often overlooked since its adherents do not comprise a single denomination, and often belong to churches characterized as "non-denominational."

Charismatic Christians are born-again believers who have a secondary conversion experience, one they claim gives them supernatural gifts, such as speaking in tongues, casting out demons, faith healing, and other "signs and wonders" they believe will help to evangelize the world in preparation for the end times. Charismatics are typically Protestant, but there is also a movement of charismatic Catholics.

Above quote taken from : Heads Up: Prayer Warriors and Sarah Palin Are Organizing Spiritual Warfare to Take Over America
The New Apostolic Reformation, the largest religious movement you've never heard of, aims to take control of communities through 'prayer warriors.'by Bill Berkowitz at AlterNet.org ,March 1, 2010

And from Harvest Evangelicals.org it is proclaimed that Christians are called upon in "the Great Commission" to evangelize to the Nations and not merely individuals. What matters is that whole nations and the entire world are to be targeted so that the Bible and the teachings of Jesus are to become the basis upon which nations govern themselves and how they relate to other nations. Social problems would be resolved by having those in authority and the rich and powerful acting according to Biblical laws and principles. So these "True Believers" feel emboldened when the Christian Evangelicals including members of the ruling government in Uganda are able to pass anti-Gay legislation . They also are in tune with much of what is preached under the rubric of "The Prosperity Gospel" which teaches that the more one prays and preaches God's word then the greater the chances are that one will be rewarded materially-a new car, big screen tv , reaping the rewards of stock market investments etc. So their view of Jesus and the Bible is that those without wealth are also those without faith in Jesus and the Bible.

(Note: there are a number of similarities between these groups and the missionary group in Washington "The Family" who evangelize to the leaders and the rich & powerful of each nation to thereby quicken the conversion of an entire nation to Christianity as they understand it.And they seem unconcerned if these Born Again leaders deny equal rights or even incarcerate non-believers or mass murder those of a different religion or ideology.)

Biblical Paradigms and Principles

* We are called to disciple nations, not just individuals. (Matt. 28:18-20)
* The Marketplace, which is the heart of the nation, has been redeemed and now needs to be reclaimed. (Luke 19:10)
* Every Christian is a minister, and labor is worship. (1 Tim. 2:1-8; Acts 20:34-35)
* We are called to take the kingdom of God to where the gates of hell are for Jesus to build His Church. (Matt. 16:18)
* Nation transformation must be tangible and the premier social indicator is the elimination of systemic poverty. (Gal. 2:10)

* Bless: Speak peace to the people and the systems. (v. 5)
* Fellowship: Listen. (v. 7)
* Minister: Address the felt needs in the name of the Lord. (v. 9a)
* Proclaim: Let it be known that the kingdom of God is nearby. (v. 9b)

* To lift up Jesus in the entire nation (Jn. 12:32)
* For Satan to fall down and all his demons to become subject to the Church (Lk. 10:17ff; Mt. 16:18)
* So that the world that has already been redeemed will be reclaimed, and sinners will force their way into the kingdom of God. (Lk. 19:10; Lk. 16:16)

These politicized Evangelicals are against abortion, are anti-Gay, ant-Islam, anti-Obama, anti-sex education and believe as do other conservatives that America must return to its religious roots in Christianity and the Bible by having another Great Awakening in America to defeat the liberals, secular humanists or progressives . They are also in favor of dismantling most of the US government's bureaucracy which they believe goes against Biblical principles of the Bible. For instance King Solomon wasn't elected into office but was made leader by the will of God. They do insist that the laws of America and in all the nations should be Bible based.
Some of their ideology is borrowed directly from Dominionist theology or has over the decades seeped in or trickled down from the leadership who have been influenced by Dominionist Theology.

And now a sermon from Lou Engles as he uses a little race baiting to lend some credibility to being anti-abortion. He and others in the anti-abortion movement are now arguing that Planned Parenthood & much of the leadership of the Pro-choice movement are in part motivated by racism .

They argue African-Americans and Hispanic Americans are being targeted by the abortionists in order to reduce their numbers by using abortion and birth control and anti-aids hysteria. This is blatantly false and is just a new tactic being used by the anti-abortionists but it appears to be catching on. And yet they have the gall to invoke Martin Luther King Jr. in their fight against abortion. The anti-abortionists as we have seen over the the last three decades or so are also against any form of sex education or the use of birth control , the pill or even condoms. They preach abstinence only. For instance the AIDS rate was falling in Uganda until these abstinence freaks spread their message against any form of birth control so now the country has had a steady increase in AIDS . But these characters are only interested in spreading the Gospel as they interpret it and have little interest in the health issues involved. In other words it is better to die of AIDS or to die in child birth than to give into these secular-humanists by using birth control or condoms etc.

Houston, We Have a Problem

Bound4Life's channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Bound4LIF... The second largest abortion clinic in the world is being built at this present moment in Houston, Texas. This six-story Planned Parenthood abortion "Super Center" is right in the middle of four (4) minority neighborhoods. Three average to 85% Latino in population and the other is 85% Black American. Planned Parenthood is targeting these minority pro-family communities, both for their finances and the restriction of their populations. But, there is a voice rising out of Houston and out of Texas, declaring, "We don't want this in our neighborhoods!"

On Martin Luther King Jr.'s holiday, January 18th, 2010, thousands are gathering to march against this Goliath to pray, fast, and peacefully siege this massive injustice in the spirit of that great liberator Martin Luther King Jr. This is a great hour for the Hispanic pro-LIFE people, Catholic and Evangelical, to raise their voices against abortion and for adoption. Public opinion over abortion is shifting radically in America to pro-LIFE at the same time this facility is exalting itself above the humble and oppressed.

Example of unbiblical warfare principles

spiritual mapping? big claims are are made in this movement, are they true? is it biblical
many ministries maybe not under the auspices of the Nar group are practicing the very same, taken from a clip in 1993

"Heads Up: Prayer Warriors and Sarah Palin Are Organizing Spiritual Warfare to Take Over America" by Bill Berkowitz at AlterNet.org ,March 1, 2010

The New Apostolic Reformation, the largest religious movement you've never heard of, aims to take control of communities through 'prayer warriors.'

The movement has emerged from the largest single block of Protestant Christianity on the globe -- sometimes called charismatic, neo-charismatic or neo-Pentecostal -- one often overlooked since its adherents do not comprise a single denomination, and often belong to churches characterized as "non-denominational."

Charismatic Christians are born-again believers who have a secondary conversion experience, one they claim gives them supernatural gifts, such as speaking in tongues, casting out demons, faith healing, and other "signs and wonders" they believe will help to evangelize the world in preparation for the end times. Charismatics are typically Protestant, but there is also a movement of charismatic Catholics.

...During the 1990s, in a frenzied effort to evangelize the world before 2000, Wagner proposed that instead of winning souls one by one, entire geographic areas and "people groups" could be targeted, therefore speeding up the process.

These new strategies include "Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare" and "spiritual mapping," designed to win territory. This is accomplished by doing battle with demons or principalities that they believe cause entire ethnicities, religions, and geographic areas to resist conversion. After expelling the demons, the evangelized population can take "dominion" over local government and culture. Then the community supposedly experiences a foretaste of "God's Kingdom on earth." These mini-utopias are advertised as having reduced poverty, corruption, disease, and even healing the environment. This is the ultimate faith-based initiative: remove the demons and society will be healed.

Spiritual mapping is the reconnaissance mission for spiritual warfare and involves the literal mapping of neighborhoods and cities to determine where the demons are. This includes generational curses, or those things in a city's history that allowed demons to take hold of the entire populis. Spiritual mapping is the ideological foundation for the now popular "prayer walking" and the formation of many city-wide prayer groups.

...The New Apostolic movement more closely resembles a political campaign than a denomination. PrayforNewark is a citywide prayer project in which every precinct has been mapped out and every street assigned to a volunteer. PrayforNewark is part of Ed Silvoso's International Transformation Network (ITN), the same operation that is "transforming" Uganda, and promoting the belief that homosexuals are possessed by literal demons. Silvoso's ITN is also active in numerous other locations in the U.S. and worldwide.

...Unsuspecting people are certainly becoming involved in New Apostolic activities without understanding its agenda. For example, the Global Day of Prayer sounds benign but was founded by Graham Power, head of the Africa division of Silvoso's International Transformation Network. Numerous citywide prayer efforts and pastors' networks are under the auspices of Wagner's apostles. Charities, social services, and "reconciliation" events appear to welcome all, but are designed as stealth evangelism to advance the "Kingdom."

...an ICA apostle and motivational speaker for the Seven Mountain campaign, spoke on stealth evangelism at Wasilla Assembly of God. In Guatemalan jails, according to Wallnau, New Apostolics teach prisoners a secularized version of "Kingdom" worldview for a full year before making any attempt to convert them to "born-again" Christianity. Wallnau encouraged the congregation to follow this example for infiltrating the seven spheres of society.

Peter Wagner's ideas have spread widely into mainstream of evangelicalism, to little public notice. Ted Haggard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, partnered with Wagner in founding the New Apostolic Reformation and building its early headquarters, the World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs. Despite the fact that Haggard has written books on New Apostolic strategies, his participation in promoting this radical reformation of both church and society is so little known, it could be described as "Haggard's other secret."

------ International Transformation Institute

History

ITN traces its roots to the vision and leadership of Ed Silvoso and the Harvest Evangelism team in reaching cities and impacting cities around the world. From among the thousands of practitioners and colleagues emerging from dozens of initiatives and conferences over two decades, the Apostolic Transformation Network was conceived in 2003 to bring pulpit and marketplace leaders together to walk arm in arm in “apostolic ? roles to impact cities and nations.

By the annual gathering in April 2006, the building of prototypes leading to nation transformation became the distinctive objective of the Network, and the name was changed to the International Transformation Network. The foundation was squarely laid on the Five Paradigms for Nation Transformation and the vision was expanded to form multiple chapters on every continent and eventually every nation in order to facilitate and accelerate the process.

...The Five Pivotal Paradigms for Nation Transformation

1. Believers are called to disciple nations, not just individuals. (Matthew 28:18-20)
2. The marketplace, which is the heart of the nation, has been redeemed but now it must be reclaimed. (Luke 19:10)
3. Every Christian is a minister, and labor is worship. (I Tim. 2:1-8; Col. 3:23)
4. Christians are called to take the kingdom of God to where the kingdom of darkness is still entrenched for people to turn from darkness to light and Jesus will build His Church. (Matt. 16:18; Acts 26:17-18)
5. Nation transformation must be tangible, with the premier social indicator being the elimination of systemic poverty. (1 John 3:8b)

The International Transformation Network
A Strategic Alliance of Marketplace and Pulpit Ministers building prototypes for Nation Transformation

The International Transformation Network (ITN) is a strategic alliance of Christians from the marketplace and the pulpit who are building prototypes for city and nation transformation that bring the presence and the power of God to meet the felt needs and the systemic challenges of our communities and countries.

As a result of a clear focus on five pivotal paradigms for transformation and the principles of prayer evangelism, real transformation is taking place in cities and nations around the world – in businesses, on campuses, in the halls of government, and within congregations. The regularly updated DVD series, Transformation in the Marketplace, presents compelling examples of the powerful models that are emerging.

If this passion to be used by the Lord to change your city, your nation and the nations of the world also resonates in your heart, we invite you to visit the newly-constructed ITN-Global.com website for complete information about the Network and how you can be a part of it.