Todd Bentley and Ministry Burn Out

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Fresh Fire Ministries announced that Todd Bentley and his wife Shonnah are separating. God T.V. said that it would stop broadcasting the Florida Outpouring. They asked all their partners to pray for Todd. Fresh Fire Ministries has sent out an e-mail stating that Todd was stepping down from the ministry.

I have been asked by a number of people what I thought about the controversial Florida Outpouring with Evangelist Todd Bentley. I never cease to be amazed at how some Christians and ministers are so quick to make judgments and criticize any revival or move of God. They become obsessed with trying to find fault with the vessels God chooses to use. Like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, they feel like they are God’s F.B.I. agents in charge of policing evangelists, revivals, and moves of God.

When I first watched the Revival on God T.V. and saw Todd Bentley, I will admit it was a bit of a shock to me to see this young man with tattoos all over his arms and neck with a diamond stud on his lower lip. I’m sure I was looking at it through the eyes of an older generation.

But as I watched the hunger in the people and Todd Bentley, I recognized a genuine outpouring as it was broadcast by God T.V. to over 200 nations. This may have been the first time that many people witnessed a miracle on live T.V. and the internet as it went out to the world.

As I watched this the Lord reminded me that I prophesied in 1971 that through satellite, T.V. would broadcast miracles live around the world. This prophetic word was published in Miracle Magazine.

The Florida Outpouring started in Ignited Church in Lakeland, Florida where Stephen Strader is the pastor. Lakeland has had 3 outpourings over the last 50 years. The first one was when Karl Strader brought in Evangelist Richard Vineyard for a revival. Richard Vineyard was a part of the Healing Revival that started in 1946. This was a time in America when a great Healing Revival swept across our nation. God raised up such men as William Branham, Oral Roberts, Jack Coe, T.L. Osborn, A.A. Allen, and about 200 others that made up the Voice of Healing. As a child and teenager I attended many of these revivals then in 1958 I started working with A.A. Allen and still continue that ministry today. A.A. Allen discipled me and imparted his anointing to me and like Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah, I picked up the mantle of A.A. Allen.

In 1962, at the age of 22, I was arrested for integrating my revival service in Charleston, SC. In 1971 I was told that I was the first healing evangelist to go to the new Madison Square Garden, where 22,000 people filled it up and 7,000 souls came to Christ and powerful miracles took place. It was called Compassion Explosion. The media attention I received was incredible. It included the Associated Press, and Rolling Stone Magazine as well as other newspapers.

I was only 31 years old at that time. From there I started speaking to the nations of the world -- Brazil, England, Africa. In the Philippines the crowd was reported to be 500,000 people.

By 1971 I had already been on the field for 13 years, most of that time with A.A. Allen. For the next 10 years I went non-stop. Night and day, many time preaching 3 times a day. I had such a passion for souls and the miracle working power of God. After 23 years I burnt out as a result. I went through a divorce in 1983.

I am telling you all of this to say that Todd Bentley is only 32 years old. He started his ministry when he was at a young age and for the last 10 years he has given of himself night and day in the ministry of the supernatural.

My son, Brendon Stewart, went to the Lakeland, Florida Revival in May and spent a week there and received a powerful impartation. I began to pray for the revival in Lakeland and for Todd Bentley because I knew that he was going to have a lot of pressure on him and receive persecution from some religious people as well as the media.

I did not know Todd. I had never heard of him until Brendon brought him to my attention on God T.V. God spoke to me and gave me a word for Todd. I contacted a number of people. I called his assistants, his office, sent e-mails to ask if I could have 5 minutes of his time to give him this word. I didn’t get any response at all. But I flew to Lakeland anyway and spent 3 days there trying my best to get the word God gave me to him. A number of people recognized me and tried to help, to no avail.

I will not tell you what God told me to tell him. But I will tell you this: I was able to identify with him because he became a highly visible evangelist very quickly as I did years ago. Todd became famous because of his exposure on God T.V. as well as the powerful anointing that was on him. The word God gave me for him had to do with the media, his family, and burnout.

I am not critical of Todd for not responding. He probably did not even know about it. I know that after I received all the media exposure that I received when I went to New York’s Madison Square Garden I was living in a glass house. There were probably people who tried to get in touch with me that couldn’t, so I understand. I’m sure that he had all kinds of people who were trying to give him advice or a word. I heard him a number of times quote the Scripture that in the last days God would turn the hearts of the father to the sons and the sons to the father. (Malachi 4:6)

The only thing though that bothered me was an attitude by some staff and workers. I could see it was the same attitude that hindered the Healing Revival of the 40’s and 50’s: the lack of recognition that God has many streams that He is flowing in. When a revival or movement starts feeling they are the chosen one and fail to recognize that God has many streams in the body of Christ. My experience has been that when you take on this attitude that it starts to self-destruct because they don’t discern the Lord’s Body (1 Cor. 11:29).

I don’t know if it would have made any difference had I been given the chance to speak into Todd’s life or not. Would he have received it? I do know that God gave me the word and I did what I could to get it to him. There is something about being in a miracle prophetic ministry for 50 years seeing many different ministries and movements, dealing with a lot of the same issues that Todd has had to deal with that I believe could have helped him.

I pray for him and believe that he will be back stronger than ever because he and his gifts are needed. I did not come out of the prophetic stream of Toronto and Brownsville which were powerful moves of God. My spiritual heritage is the Latter Rain movement and the Healing Revivals of the 40’s and 50’s.

Each of us are influenced and molded by whatever stream of anointing we were birthed in. We also see them from both a cultural and generational influence in our lives.

The Bible says, “Every scribe brings forth both new and old.” (Matt. 13:52)

I will tell you that I received a Fresh Fire Impartation when I was in Lakeland those 3 days at the first of June. I am grateful for Todd’s ministry and the price he paid to bring it to us. My prayer and faith is that Todd will be back stronger than ever.

The Florida Outpouring continues at Ignited Church. I can assure you it’s in good hands with Pastor Stephen Strader who has a powerful anointing on his life with signs, wonders, and miracles. He is a very gracious man that I am happy to call friend.

Over the 140 days of revival in Lakeland a number of men and women of God ministered in the Revival such as Bob Jones, Karl Strader, Rick Joyner, Patricia King, and Bill Johnson.

Is Todd Bentley going through burn out? Tell me what you think. Just click on the Comment area below, register with Google (this is free) and post your comments.