way out west

Sarah Palin and Family Blog-it-all

http://sarahpalin.typepad.com/ Sarah Palin's (who, if you haven't heard yet, is a "Hockey Mom") Blog

NB.  I love satire... congrats to whoever got in quick and registered the typepad name!

Technorati Tags: Blogging: Culture: Humour: News

C Peter Wagner's update on Todd Bentley/Florida

I don't want to add much more comment to this sad situation, but when there are updates as significant as this I will post them...  C. Peter Wagner writes...

Todd Bentley now carries the label of a liar and a deceiver. I'm sorry to mention it, but I felt personally deceived in the same way when Ted Haggard's sin was exposed and he was immediately removed from ministry...

Suffice it to say that there is more than I am going to mention. First of all, Todd has been removed from public ministry until further notice. He has resigned from the ministry he founded, Fresh Fire, so he is no longer a part of that board. It has become clear that he indulged in periodic drunkenness. He has no intention at the moment of reconciling with Shonna, nor does she with him. Their marriage has been torn for years by his emotional attachment with at least one other female whose physical contact went beyond hugging and kissing and holding hands. Enough said-maybe more details will be revealed later-but it was clearly immoral. All of this was skillfully concealed by lying and by swearing close associates who had observed his behavior to secrecy.

... the latter part of this reminds me very much of the stories that emerge from situations that have turned Cultic, even if they began with good intentions and did some good stuff... (for example, in my own "tradition" the infamous case of the "Nine O'Clock Service")  Good work can be undone by poor accountability and an abusive and controlling character at the centre... this happens time and time again, why do some people ignore the warnings of others, why do we never seem to learn?  Note again though that in the full document (found here this has now been confirmed as a direct e-mail from Peter Wagner) no criticism is levelled at those (including Wagner himself!) who talked of holding Bentley in "Alignment" and accountability... quite the opposite in fact!

Wagner, unlike Arnott admits that he, and the "apostles" where well aware that "chaos and confusion had begin to invade the Outpouring" but he went against the warnings of the others...

I concluded that the best protocol was to do the alignment first, then deal with the issues that had been raised. My other friends disagreed and urged me to deal with Todd's problems first then do the alignment. I respected their point of view and I was very sorry that I had to follow God's leading for me personally instead of taking their advice. It was not a comfortable decision.

Typically then, he passes the blame for his mistakes on to God, rather than taking any personal responsibility (It's not my fault, God told me to!)... He goes on...

Stephen Strader, who has been keeping records, affirms that the evil that the prince of the power of the air had been subtly introducing into the Outpouring I started to be exposed and unraveled the day after the alignment, June 24!

Some questions then... if that is correct and accurate what then was the "Chaos and confusion" that so worried Strader that he felt he needed to bring in Wagner in the first place?  And what where the "problems" that Wagner and his friends where debating before the 24th June?  Hmmm there's a bucket full of contradiction there as far as I can see!

I'll be honest with you, there is so much inconsistency in the statements from all the "apostles" involved (Strade, Joyner, Arnott and Wagner in particularly!) I can't help but question what exactly went on.  Dutch Sheets, part of the Prophetic/Charismatic movement is worried about it too... he calls for more honesty from the leaders involved (statement found here) ....

Did leaders handling the Lakeland situation make mistakes? Yes- huge mistakes. Beyond the obvious fruit of salvations and healings, can good come from Lakeland, as some have suggested, even with the recent revelations concerning Todd Bentley? Yes, but only if there is complete honesty and transparency, the removal of all attempts at self-preservation, and absolute humility from all sides

Some of my closest friends endorsed and participated in the  Lakeland meetings. For them I have both criticism-all of us lose credibility at this point if we're not completely honest-and affirmation. Should they have been more discerning and have listened to the warnings they received? Obviously. Should those who "aligned" Todd with spiritual fathers (which was a good thing and positioned him to receive help if he chooses to accept it) have realized to do so publicly was a mistake and could be interpreted by those watching in no other way than as a complete endorsement? Yes, they should have, especially when the event became a commissioning ceremony, complete with decrees and prophecies of going to higher levels, predictions of Todd's increasing world-wide influence and leading a world-wide revival, emphatic and prolific endorsements of his character, etc. How could those watching believe the evening was anything but an aligning, endorsing and commissioning ceremony? It was. It really doesn't matter who laid their hands on Todd-all share responsibility.

Sheets goes on to make the following challenges to his peers...

1 - We, the leaders of the charismatic community, have operated in an extremely low level of discernment. Frankly, we often don't even try to discern.

2 - We, the leaders of the charismatic church, spin our involvement and fail to acknowledge our responsibility when other leaders fall- all of which stems from our self-preservation and pride.

3 - Our procedures and standards of accountability are incredibly inadequate. We have provided camaraderie, not biblical accountability.

4 - We, the leaders of the charismatic church, have built on hype, sensation, innovation, programs, personality and charisma.

I don't want anyone to play the "Blame game" but we what we do need is for all folk involved to be honest about the situation and humble enough to face up to the mistakes they made, innocent or otherwise... if they won't it will all happen again far too soon!

Technorati Tags: Florida: Todd Bentley

Off to Greenbelt

See you there if your going... look out for Safespace in the programme (see the right hand sidebar for our two "services").. if not have a great bank holiday, we hope the sun shines on you.

Technorati Tags: Greenbelt

Olympic protest

BBC News records protest in China

Technorati Tags: News: Olympics: Tibet

Olympics

I won't be blogging for the period of the Olympic games... from today until we return from Greenbelt... as a mark of respect for all those who have died, who endure torture, oppression, exile and cultural persecution in the country of Tibet from the invasion in the 1950's right up to the present day... including the 4000 Tibetans who have disappeared, and the 200 who where murdered in and since the Protests in March/April this year!

Technorati Tags: Blogging: News: Olympics: Tibet

Amazing maggots!

It's long been known that Maggots can not only clean infected wounds by dissolving and eating necrotic tissue... even wriggling off the wound themselves when it is is sterile... they also secrete a "cocktail" of chemicals that fight infection... antibiotics if you like... what has just been revealed is that that secretion is capable of fighting even the toughest infections including 12l strains of MSRA and C-Difficille!

From Medical news today

The antibiotic, named Seraticin™, is derived from the maggot secretions of the common green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata) and scientists hope to develop it into an injection, pill or ointment... Scientists from Swansea University... have purified Seraticin™ and undertaken the study of its structure and the mechanism by which it prevents infection. The next steps will be to complete the identification of the compound and develop a way to synthesise it. It can then be tested on human cells and eventually in clinical trials in order to determine its medical effectiveness and properties as a novel antibiotic.

MRSA infections cause suffering, amputations and death, not to mention the estimated £1 billion cost to the NHS. Between 2002 and 2006, 6,201 deaths in England and Wales involved MRSA and 15,683 deaths in England and Wales involved C. difficile. The rapid rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria means that scientists urgently need to find a solution.

Once again Creation proves to have the answer for man-made problems!

Technorati Tags: Culture: News

Scripture, Tradition, Reason

Gene Robinson, in the Guardian, captures something important about the interpretation of Scripture... there was a time when it was deemed right for only Clergy to interpret the Bible, most would agree that that time is over and that the freedom to read God's word and hear God's Word for ourselves... as an Anglican I have always believed that we need to hold the three tools in tension - Scripture, Tradition, Reason - and never rely solely one... to rely purely on the current translation of "Scripture" too often leads to legalism and fundamentalism... to rely purely on "tradition" leads to a human (even cultic) religion based on human power/charisma etc... to rely purely on "reason" leads down a Spong-ian path killing faith and denying the supernatural... for me, you need all three in tension - God is revealed in Scripture, in the wisdom/communion of the saints and in Creation (inc. us!)

God, of course, was not and is not changing - but our ability to apprehend and comprehend God's will for us is. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, the church was led to permit eating things proscribed by Leviticus, to oppose slavery (after centuries of using scripture to defend it), and to permit and bless remarriage after divorce (despite Jesus' calling it adultery). And now, by the leading of that same Spirit, we are beginning to welcome those who have heretofore been marginalised or excluded altogether: people of colour, women, the physically challenged, and God's children who happen to be gay.

This is the God I know in my life - who loves me, interacts with me, teaches and summons me closer and closer to God's truth. This God is alive and well and active in the church - not locked up in scripture 2,000 years ago, having said everything that needed to be said, but rather still interacting with us, calling us to love one another as he loves us. It is the brilliance of Anglicanism that we first and foremost read scripture, and then interpret it in light of church tradition and human reason. No one of us alone can be trusted to such a process because, left to our own devices, we recast God's will in our own image. But in the community of the church, together we are able to discern God's will for us - and sometimes that may mean reinterpreting and even changing old understandings of things thought settled long ago.

Technorati Tags: Church: News: theology

Has Banksy been revealed?

According to the Sunday Mail their 'investigation',

...has uncovered compelling evidence suggesting that the artist is former public schoolboy Robin Gunningham... The only concrete clue until now has been a photograph taken in Jamaica four years ago of a man with a bag of spray cans by his feet.  Gunningham’s former school pal Scott Nurse said: ‘He was one of three people in my year who were extremely talented at art. I am not at all surprised if he is Banksy.’  Records reveal Gunningham once lived with artist Luke Egan, who later exhibited with Banksy. Mr Egan initially denied knowing Gunningham but later admitted he had lived with him.

The 2004 Photo - Banksy?

However they also report that...

People who know Gunningham are now unable to say what has become of him. His father Peter, who lives in Kingsdown, Bristol, denied that the man in the photograph was his son, and his mother Pamela was surprised by the picture, then denied she even had a son, let alone one called Robin.

Even the Beeb are reporting the story... So... we're all wondering "Is it true?"... or more to the point "Does it matter?"

Technorati Tags: Art: Culture: News

Gene Robinson a Heroic Figure?

According to Daily Mail journalist and ex-Tory Spin Doctor, Amanda Platell on the Andrew Marr Show this morning... not sure that will go down with her readership!  And a bit of a volt-face for her as she was previously sacked from the other right wing red-top rag, the Daily Express for writing an "expose" of Peter Mandelson's sexual history!

Technorati Tags: Church: News: Television

The U.S. on Zimbabwe... an update

A while ago I asked why Bush was so quite on the question of Zimbabwe... well since the electoral crime last week the US have spoken out...

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, says he is pressing for the Security Council to impose sanctions against Zimbabwe.  The US is expected to present a draft resolution on Wednesday calling for an arms embargo and a freeze on the assets of key individuals and companies.  White House spokeswoman Dana Perino has suggested the US may impose unilateral diplomatic and economic sanctions.

I for one applaud the stand, and am sure that the US will not be alone.  From the BBC.

Technorati Tags: News