Questions and Concerns?

Hi, this is Brian here. Just as a reminder, read the blog from the bottom entry of the page to the top if you want to go in chronological order.

I am going to answer some commonly asked questions and thoughts about Bethel. I know that it wont completely answer everything but at least you can be comfortable knowing that I have carefully considered the issues I am about to discuss. These issues are also the top couple of things that will come up if you do a quick google search for "Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry" and start reading critics' articles.

Q: Is Bethel a cult?

My personal opinions about cults is that they promote isolation and "worship" of human figureheads. Bethel Church is the Leader of a partnership of many churches called Global Legacy that recognizes that "relationship is the foundation of God's government", as it says on their website. As such they are networked with many other churches and have a high level of accountability. They also passionately promote a culture of honor and empowerment in accordance with Biblical principles. Most accusations against Bethel use scripture out of context while completely ignoring other scriptures that give a clear precedent for why Bethel Church does what it does. You can read a lot of critiques that sound compelling at first and use a lot of scripture, but fall apart quickly upon deeper inspection. If you have questions about any specific article or website please email or message me here and Ill be happy to talk about it. 

Q: Why is "Supernatural" in their name? That sounds cooky…


God is, by nature, supernatural. That is the greatest hope we have... that there is something more than what we see. One of my favorite authors, John Elderedge, calls it "the rest of reality". If the word "supernatural" bothers you, you dont have questions about Bethel, you have questions about Christianity and God as a whole. It is logical for God to do supernatural things!


Q: Why do they act so wierd?


I would like to point out the multitude of absolutely "bizarre" occurrences in the Bible. God appears to Moses (and many others) in the form of a cloud, Samson's strength was dependent on his hair,  God speaks to people about the future (prophecy), God speaks through a donkey, numerous people see visions of all kinds, Elijah gets taken up into heaven by a whirlwind, God's angels carry out his word by fighting wars and influencing the lives of humanity, rivers are parted four times, Paul's apron heals demonized people at Ephesus, Phillip gets "translated" e.g. teleported over 30 miles away, Jesus rubs mud, spits, etc to heal blind people, multiplies food, resurrects dead people, casts demons out of screaming maniacs as they shake violently on the floor… this is just the tiniest fraction of out-of-the-ordinary things that God does (and still does). Wierdness neither qualifies nor disqualifies something as being from God. 




Q: Brian, where did this decision come from?!?!
All of this will be a big shock to many of you who may not have seen me much the past few years.  God has changed a lot of things in me, and the experiences I have gone through have ignited my passion for what is really important in life. I love Jesus. I love family and friends. I love seeing people's faith in God skyrocket. It is the experiences of the power of God to heal the sick, cast out demons, etc that has made the Bible come alive in my life and steer me in a new direction. Above all I believe God has called me and my family, that He has a plan for us, and that He is fulfilling His promises to us as we obey Him and trust Him.

Like I said earlier, if you have any questions that I haven't answered please email me!

Love,
Brian