While I was initially shocked by the graphic violence he talks about as being inspired by the Holy Spirit, I ultimately did not feel threatened or disturbed by his claims. In the short video below, Bentley describes tackling, punching and even kicking the faces of people he alleges the Holy Spirit asked him to.
Though I personally don't believe the Holy Spirit is behind this new "movement", I don't have a lot of evidence to prove it is unholy. All I have in my defense is the record of what miracles the Spirit has taken part in as described by scriptures and my own gut feeling. Neither of those defenses are particularly strong when held under scrutiny because many of the miracles that were performed in Jesus' time and during the time of the early church were all without precedent. (I'm sure the whole speaking in tongues thing was pretty strange to those observing for the first time!)
But my comfort is found in Paul's exhortation that as mature Christians, "we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; (Ephesians 4:14)"
New fads of ministry will come and go. Whether they are legitimate or not, we needn't be swayed by what the current crop of popular Christians might be involved in.
Paul says to a young Timothy,
You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned {them,} and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
I don't know if the whole Todd Bentley thing is real or not (I suspect it is not) but it doesn't matter to me. According to what Paul says, I am to continue in the things I have learned... things that I am convinced of and have known since childhood. My theology is clear. The scripture that I know is adequate - I don't need a new add-on.
The new trends of the season may be legitimate additions to God's repertoire of ministry techniques, but if all I ever do is hold on to what I already know to be true, then I needn't worry about the latest fads. I don't have to worry I'm missing out on God's "new instructions". I already have His old instructions.
And those will work fine from now until He comes again.
Press on.
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