A Statement and Appeal Regarding Lakeland

Dutch Sheets

August 21, 2008

It has now been a couple of weeks since I heard about Todd Bentley’s plans for separation and divorce. Like everyone, I have had a variety of emotions including anger, sadness, and grief. Every time I see this scenario repeated, I grieve: for the husband and wife involved; for the family that will be scarred in so many ways; because of the incredible reproach it brings to Christ; and the distortion it gives concerning God’s heart and ways. I am praying for Todd and his family.

I was asked numerous times to write my position on Lakeland while it was happening, but always felt checked by the Lord—the waters were too muddy and emotions too high. I now feel strongly that the Lord wants me to do so. It will be arguably one of the greatest risks of my ministry to date, but one I feel must be taken. Fathers, when given the voice to do so, bear the responsibility of giving correction and wisdom. I hope mine qualifies for the latter. I assure you I have spent many hours praying and thinking through the situation.

The risks are broad: with some of my dearest friends and co-laborers, I risk harming those relationships; with many in the charismatic body of Christ, I risk appearing to be an arrogant, “self-appointed” spokesperson for them; to the “I told you so” crowd, I risk the accusation of “spinning” the situation. (As far as the heresy hunters and revival police—not those who raised legitimate questions about Lakeland, but the attack dogs who make their living and build their ministries criticizing everyone else—I lost respect for them long ago and couldn’t care less what they think.) My purpose and sincere prayer in writing this statement, however, is three-fold: to see healing begin for the body of Christ; to initiate a process that can remove the reproach brought to Christ and the Church; and to do these things while preserving and honoring my current relationships. I pray that these desires, along with my heart, come through loudly. And I hope I’m writing this with true humility—who among us clearly sees all hidden in our own hearts?

Let me also preface this statement by saying that what needs to be said cannot be done quickly or carelessly. I do not want my heart to be missed and am not willing to run that risk for the sake of brevity, so please bear with the length. (Incidentally, I think it will be obvious no one involved in the Lakeland situation has asked me to write this; and for the sake of integrity on my part, none have been consulted concerning what I’m stating.)

Mistakes at Lakeland

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.

Did I endorse the Lakeland meetings? No, I did not, nor did I condemn them. I acknowledged that healings were occurring and some were being saved, which I still believe and rejoice over. I realized and stated that the thousands of people attending were hungry and sincere, as were those involved in leading the meetings. The worship was regularly good. But looking past some of the immediate and positive results, I, like many, also looked ahead to the possible fruit from questionable doctrine and experiences, exaggeration and hype, youthful pride, character issues and the frightening potential of a 32 year “young” man leading a movement that could shape the future of the Church. These things were frightening, very frightening, to others and me.

When something has the potential of setting precedent, birthing a movement and being reproduced as a prototype, we are no longer simply endorsing good brothers, good intentions and miracles. Doctrine and foundations will be built on these events. Teachings and paradigms for future ministries will be formed—in short, the next generation of the church and the move of God in the earth could be greatly impacted. This is why I stopped short of endorsing everything at Lakeland. Just as importantly, I could not ignore the “check”, the uneasiness, the sickening feeling deep in my spirit telling me something else was wrong—terribly wrong—in this situation. Like other leaders I tried to push past my uneasiness with the showmanship, the “bams,” the head butts and kneeing, along with certain experiences and doctrines, all in order to embrace the good. Like many of my friends I tried to be—and believe I was— gracious, accepting, ready to think “out of the box”, etc. But try as I may, the uneasiness in my spirit just wouldn’t leave.

Did I voice my concerns to the appropriate people? Yes, including stating my concerns for Todd’s marriage to the Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team. Did they listen? Some did, some didn’t. But I want to state emphatically, this is not an “I told you so” statement. In fact, much of what I want to address goes back several years into our charismatic Christian history. And I assure you that concerning our present weaknesses in the charismatic church, there is plenty of blame to go around. Personally, I’ve been right at times with my discernment and decisions, wrong at others. It would be worse than hypocritical for me to point the finger of accusation—I have no stones of judgment to throw. Nonetheless, mistakes were made and must be acknowledged and learned from in order for us to heal, grow and move forward.

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. This was unwise at best, naïve at least and at its worst, foolish. And should the leaders involved have realized that those of us connected to them relationally, ministerially, and as movements—some even in alignment with them apostolically and as sons and daughters—would feel minimalized, if not betrayed, by the fact that they were in essence taking us onto the stage with them? Yes. These feelings were inevitable, especially when we had such uneasiness and asked them not to. Should there be an acknowledgment of these mistakes to the body of Christ for the sake of accountability and in order to rebuild trust? I believe so, and remain hopeful this will happen.

With such strong statements of disagreement, what is the affirmation toward my friends who led, participated in or endorsed this ceremony (and the meetings in general)? Simply stated, I know their hearts. It is not a contradiction of my criticisms toward some of their actions to, at the same time, defend and endorse their hearts and character. It is completely appropriate—when true—to defend a person’s heart and integrity while disagreeing with their actions. I think the blunder of that night was huge and very damaging to the body of Christ, but I also realize that in their hearts, those involved honestly felt they were doing the right things.

Again, while not defending the action taken, I would defend the character and integrity of Peter and Doris Wagner as vigorously as anyone I know, and do so with absolute confidence. There are no two people, and I mean that literally, who embody the qualities of humility, integrity, holiness (no compromise!), sacrifice, unselfish kingdom-thinking, the tireless giving of themselves to Christ’s cause and the body of Christ—and do I need to add risk-taking?—as much as Peter and Doris Wagner. It remains my great honor to be associated with them and call them a spiritual father and mother. And again, while not minimizing or “sweeping under the rug” any wrong decisions, I remain steadfast in my belief that similar affirmations could be made of others involved—either directly or indirectly—in the ceremony. And some of them still see their endorsing of Lakeland as an endorsement of revival generally, not of Todd personally.

The Bigger Picture

It may come as a surprise, however, that my real purpose in writing this is not to only state the above, as important as I believe saying it is. My primary purpose, and I believe my assignment from the Lord, is to identificationally repent on behalf of the leadership of the charismatic body of Christ (see Nehemiah 1:4- 7; Daniel 9:1-19). In doing so, I do not have a pompous, “no one else will, so I’ll do it” attitude, nor am I arrogant enough to think I have become the spokesperson for the charismatic church. But in the same way that I can identify with the racism of white predecessors and repent to blacks, Native Americans and other races, I can represent the leadership of the charismatic body of Christ and identificationally repent for our sins and weaknesses. I encourage leaders who find my statements true and appropriate to join me. Beyond the simple fact of it being appropriate, I firmly believe it is the only way to begin the process of rebuilding trust with those asked to follow us and to remove the cynicism of the world we ask to listen to us. As you know, regaining credibility is much more difficult than attaining credibility.

Concerning what I’m about to say, I don’t believe I have a critical spirit, nor do I want to diminish the sacrifices, faithfulness, and hard work done by so many in ministry. The fact remains, however, that we have failed the Lord and His people in many ways—not just with Lakeland but in countless other situations— and must repent if we are to be trusted in the future. And as you also know, no repentance is effective if watered down and couched in excuses, therefore, I intend to be brutally honest:

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. We assume a person’s credibility based on gifts, charisma, the size of their ministry or church, whether they can prophesy or work a miracle, etc. (Miracles and signs are intended to validate God and His message, not the messenger; sometimes they validate the assignment of an individual, but never the person’s character, lifestyle or spiritual maturity.) We leaders in the Church have become no different than the world around us in our standards for measuring success and greatness. This has contributed to the body of Christ giving millions of dollars to undeserving individuals; it has allowed people living in sin to become influential leaders—even to lead movement, allowing them influence all the way to the White House. Through our lack of discernment we built their stages and gave them their platforms. We have been gullible beyond words—gullible leaders producing gullible sheep.

When a spiritual leader we’re connected with violates trust, is exposed for immorality or falls below other accepted standards of behavior, it does not exonerate us simply to say we don’t condone such behavior. Those we lead trust us to let them know whom to trust. We have failed them miserably in this regard. For this lack of discernment, and for employing and passing on inappropriate standards of judgment, I repent to the Lord and ask forgiveness of the body of Christ.

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. Enough of the spin—we’re no different than Washington, DC. Every time another embarrassing and disgraceful situation is exposed, the dancing begins. It seems that no one bears any real responsibility except the man or woman who actually commits sin. Incredibly, we even blame “revival” itself—the pressures, attacks, weariness, the “revival is messy” argument, etc., saying it is responsible for the failures. This is disgusting. Those of us on boards of fallen leaders, those who helped give them a voice, put them on TV, published and endorsed their books (yes, I have), etc., are not exonerated simply by saying we don’t condone the wrong behavior or that we didn’t know. We’re supposed to know.

I don’t believe anyone is expecting perfection from us—I know I’m not. We’re far too human for that. But we are expected to have enough humility to look the world and those who follow us in the eye when we miss it and say, “we were wrong and we are sorry.” Our careless accountability has caused the body of Christ to be spiritually raped and abused. It has produced disillusionment and brought immeasurable reproach to our God and cynicism to His message. Concerning Lakeland, what was called the “greatest revival since Azusa Street” has become possibly one of the greatest reproaches. We, the leaders of the charismatic church, are responsible. For not accepting and acknowledging our responsibility, for caring more about our own reputation than Christ’s, I repent to God and ask forgiveness of the body of Christ.

3) Our procedures and standards of accountability are incredibly inadequate. We have provided camaraderie, not biblical accountability. For those on Todd Bentley’s board who had previous knowledge of his marriage problems and said nothing, it was more than a mistake—it was reckless, foolish, and irresponsible. For those on the stage the night of his aligning and commissioning who knew and said nothing—ditto. For those there who didn’t know, my question is, “why didn’t you?” You were trusted to know. That is one of the purposes of public commissioning and the purpose behind the concept of endorsement. I’m not trying to point the finger; I’m endeavoring to get us to be honest about our failures—we have serious credibility issues. Have I ever laid hands on, commissioned or endorsed anyone without adequately checking them out? Yes, but you better believe I’ll be more careful next time!

And we must not single out Lakeland. We’re all guilty. What about the leader in my city who ran with some of the leading spiritual fathers in our nation—sincere and good men, I might add, and not all “charismatic” leaders—who sang his praises and helped build his stage—all while he was doing drugs and having sex with other men? But we shouldn’t blame only the high profile cases—what about those of us who unknowingly have had adulterers on our staffs or appointed elders that turned out to have compromise in their life? Sounding familiar yet?

This is so epidemic that every member of the body of Christ stands guilty—what pastor or leader did you follow that turned out to have sin issues? What ministry did you support that was unworthy? There is plenty of blame to go around. The big question becomes not “who do we blame” but “how do we fix this mess?”

Leaders can live in sin—adultery, homosexuality, financial wrongdoing, drugs, etc.—for years without it being realized. They can offer completely unacceptable lifestyles for the body of Christ to follow and still keep their TV programs and lavish lifestyles. In the name of grace, compassion and forgiveness we have lowered the standard so much that often there isn’t one. We have bought into the lie that true discipline is “shooting our wounded.” We have made a mockery of biblical restoration, making “ministry”—not healthy individuals, marriages and families—its ultimate goal. The fact is, integrity matters. No, we don’t need legalistic, pharisaical standards, but we must have standards. For this lack of biblical accountability, I repent to God and I ask forgiveness of the body of Christ.

4) We, the leaders of the charismatic church, have built on hype, sensation, innovation, programs, personality and charisma. This has produced: shallowness; false movements; novice leaders—gifted but immature and untested; a deficient understanding of God’s word; the building of man-centered rather than kingdom-centered churches and ministries; competition rather than cooperation; humanistic, selfcentered Christians who don’t understand sacrifice and commitment; Christians without discernment; superstar leaders; a perverted and powerless gospel; prayerless and anemic Christians; a replacement of the fear of the Lord with the fear of man; and a young generation that is cynical of it all. We are responsible, not the devil; he takes what we give him.

For this compromise in the way we build, for giving the Church watered down wine, commercial Christianity, a flashy but weak Church and hype disguised as anointing, I repent to God and ask forgiveness of the body of Christ.

Galatians 6:1-5 is an appropriate reference with which to end this statement: “Brethren, even if a man caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one shall bear his own load.” NAS

My passionate prayer is that God honors this repentance—I believe He led me to do it and therefore, will—and uses it to begin a process of cleansing and healing for all of us. In order for the coming great awakening to bear maximum fruit we must have both, as well as a course correction that sets us on a path of wisdom leading to life. There is no doubt that past moves of God have been aborted, ended prematurely and contained error or heresy that have wounded, if not destroyed, many. The healing revival of the 40’s and 50’s, the charismatic movement, discipleship movement and Jesus movement are all examples. My heart is to help shape a movement, the fruit of which will last for decades—better yet, forever. And I have great expectations for us—I am not a cynic.

My passionate prayer is also that Todd Bentley’s marriage survives and thrives…that he turns his heart fully toward Christ and toward those with whom he is aligned, and allows them, as God leads, to put him on a path of complete restoration. I thank God for those who were touched by the Holy Spirit at Lakeland and while watching it on God TV and the web. May we all move forward into all God has planned for us in this awesome season of endless possibility.

With great hope—Dutch Sheets

A Season Of Suddenlies

Dutch Sheets:

Get ready for September! It is so huge on God's timetable that it will mark one of the greatest shifts in the spiritual realm that our generation has ever seen:

• A season of suddenlies will begin.

• The confusion and deception ruling America (including within the Church) will begin to lift.

• The November elections will shift toward God's will.

• The coming "great awakening" to America will go to a new level.

• The "presence movement" will begin.

A Season of Suddenlies

I have heard of divine "suddenlies" all of my life and have no doubt experienced a few. However, I have never been in what I would call "a season of suddenlies." I'm in one now! And this new season is about to break forth in a significant way for those who have allowed God to prepare them for it.

I was already releasing this word when Chuck Pierce prophesied to me two weeks ago, "You will stand on the steps facing 'The Mall' (in Washington, D.C.) in September and decree: 'Suddenlies are coming!' Be prepared for I will begin to jar and to rearrange what needs to be rearranged."

This season will usher in many changes - get ready!

Confusion and Deception Broken

The level of confusion and deception I have seen over America in the last two years both in the Church and without has been unlike anything I have ever witnessed. The level of it, especially in the Body of Christ, has truly been shocking to me. The list of areas in which it has manifested is broad: presidential candidate endorsements and prophecies, doctrinal error, relational breakups, disagreements over what is true and false revival, etc.

Add to this list a general weariness, complacency (one well-known leader told me he doesn't think it matters anymore who is elected president - so much for shifting the Supreme Court!), disillusionment, disorientation, etc. - and it all adds up to incredible confusion and deception. I believe it is all linked to our war in Iraq, which is ancient Babylon. Babylon means "confusion." It was not difficult for us to defeat Iraq's physical army, but the principality - the spirit of Babylon - has been another story altogether.

Just a couple of weeks ago, however, I heard the Holy Spirit say very clearly to me, "I'm about to unravel the cords of confusion." When I heard this I had the sense that it would begin in September.

In 2 Chronicles 20, God used Israel's worship to "ambush" their enemies. The result was that these enemies destroyed one another! Expect the confusion to break off of the Church this fall and for God's enemies to be ambushed.

The November Elections

To say it has been troubling to listen to prominent Christian leaders endorse certain candidates and/or prophesy that it is God's will for those candidates to be president would be an understatement. Make no mistake about it, the turning of the Supreme Court and reversing the flow of death and anti-God laws that have flowed out of it is still God's number one governmental agenda for America.

To elect a pro-abortion candidate that would appoint pro-abortion judges would be disastrous and could set us back 50 years. It doesn't matter who prophesies or states otherwise - don't be deceived by this. It is NOT God's will for us to have a liberal, pro-abortion president!

I listened to one of the presidential candidates make a speech four years ago and heard one of the strongest abilities for deceiving and moving the masses that I've ever witnessed. The strength of this "gift" was very scary. I knew then he would be a candidate for president in '08. The good news is that the deception surrounding him will begin to break in September and the momentum of the elections will be decided at that time - if the Church prays. Please pray diligently and don't be taken in by charisma and empty promises of change.

The Presence Movement and Upcoming Conference

The coming awakening will not be known as a prayer movement, apostolic movement, prophetic movement, teaching movement, miracle movement, gifts movement, glory movement, etc. It will include all of these, but the dominant emphasis and characteristic will be - His presence. He - not one of His manifestations or elements of gifting - will be the focal point.

Our ministry in Colorado Springs, along with many others I'm sure, has been privileged by God to help birth this. We were visited by the Holy Spirit on June 15 and asked to host His Presence 24/7 for 90 days, just as Obed-edom did with the Ark of the Covenant, which is also called "the Ark of His Presence" (see 2 Samuel 6:10-11).

We have suspended everything else to host Him. No classes, no preaching (even on Sundays), no programs - nothing but worship. It has wrecked us! His presence has been so overwhelming at times in our gatherings that none of us knows what to do. We are being ruined for "normal" Christianity.

It has become obvious to us that this assignment is on behalf of the entire nation. We are in the hidden, secret place with God, allowing the Holy Spirit to hover through our worship and birth a "presence movement." God has spoken to us prophetically that this movement characterized by His presence will begin to be released to the nation in September.

To facilitate this we are moving our hosting of Him to a larger venue for the last 3 days, September 11-13, and inviting many to join us. We are confident that what we, and I'm sure others, have been birthing will be imparted to hundreds - perhaps thousands at that time.

When God spoke to me to expand the last 3 days for the purpose of impartation, I was not thinking about the fact that this would begin on our 88th day, which also begins the 8th year after 9/11/01. Eight is the Biblical number for new beginnings. (Many of you are aware that Chuck Pierce prophesied that America would enter into a seven-year season of war, which began on 9/11/01.)

We did not plan this visitation and the consequent 90-day assignment to begin when it did, making the 88th day September 11, ending a seven-year war cycle and marking a new beginning...but God did! Come and help us decree the end of the old season and launch this "new beginning" of the presence movement!

These 3 days will probably be unlike anything you've been a part of - no preaching or teaching, just worship 24 hours each day. (We, of course, always make room for intercession and prophetic release as the Holy Spirit leads.) Some of us may bring a blanket and pillow and, like Joshua of old, stay in His presence all the time, except perhaps to freshen up once in awhile (see Exodus 33:11). (If you are coming to the event, please secure lodging if you're coming from out of town in order to have a place for your belongings, to clean up and to rest if necessary.) I am certain that those who come will carry His presence home with them.

Pastors and leaders, families, individuals, intercessors, worshippers...come. We are asking you to register in order to know how many to accommodate, but there is no registration fee. We simply ask you to bring a God-honoring offering to defray expenses. This will cost us approximately forty thousand dollars because of the building rental, chairs, P.A., bringing in worship teams, etc. (no worship leader will receive an honorarium. Their worship is an offering to Him, but we will cover their expenses). Klaus Kuehn, Rick Pino, Eddie James, Jeremy Burk and other worship leaders are coming to help us. It will be amazing!

You can register by going to www.usapostolicalliance.org

I'll see you September 11th as we gather at 9:00 A.M. to do our part in releasing perhaps the greatest outpouring of the Holy Sprit this nation has ever received. Don't miss it!

With anticipation,

Dutch Sheets

Dutch Sheets Ministries

Email: ministryinfo@dutchsheets.org