Showing posts with label Kenneth Copeland. Show all posts

Monday, October 30, 2017

What Santa Claus Has to Do With Kenneth Copeland, Lou Engle, Che Ahn and Mike Bickle - JESSILYN JUSTICE CHARISMA NEWS

Kenneth Copeland speaks at Kairos 2017. (Courtesy/Jono Hall)

What Santa Claus Has to Do With Kenneth Copeland, Lou Engle, Che Ahn and Mike Bickle

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As the legend of St. Nick begins to make the rounds ahead of Christmas, there's a deeper meaning in the man's life that united the who's who of the charismatic world hundreds of years later.

Kenneth Copeland, Mike Bickle, Che Ahn, Lou Engle, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo and John Arnott, to name a few, spent last week on their knees in Kansas City, Missouri, to celebrate major milestones in the international church. It was all part of Kairos 2017, a conference hosted by United in Christ.

Initially, the idea for the conference was birthed in Bari, Italy, where the Basilica di San Nicola holds some of Saint Nicholas' relics. The city represents a place of neutrality for the Catholic and Orthodox churches, which both consider the basilica worthy of pilgrimage.

As Matteo Calisi, the founder of United in Christ, bridged the gap between the Catholic church and charismatic leaders, he and others began to pray into the idea of renewal. For 2017, United in Christ wanted to honor the reconciliation between denominations with a time of prayer, fasting and celebration.

"We want to launch for the first time ever, Catholics and non-Catholics and Orthodox, Messianics and all other Christians, an assertive joint effort of prayer and fasting for the harvest for world evangelism," Bruno Ierullo, a pastor of a Catch the Fire church in Canada, as well as the vice president of United in Christ. "This is just like, amazing! There a lot of people just excited [for what's to come]."

This year contains multiple anniversaries:

40-year anniversary of the Ecumenical Charismatic Conference in Kansas City (1977)
50-year anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (1967)
50-year anniversary of the Messianic Movement (1967)
500-year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation (1517)

The event was held at Forerunner Christian Fellowship, International House of Prayer's conference center. Attendees also spent several hours in the 24/7 prayer room. The conference featured multiple panels, including lectures on diversity and unity in the church, marketplace ministry and more.

In addition to celebrating the past, prayerfully considered what the future may hold.

"We believe the journey of harvest will come," Ierullo says. "The body of Christ is in that hour. God is bringing His bride into almost like an Esther-like moment so to speak, into a beauty parlor kind of thing. He's adorning it, and she makes herself ready to meet the king, King Jesus, the bridegroom. We're in that stage where bride is perfecting herself, the bride is adorning herself in the beauty salon for that great day. We believe there is a bridal paradigm, and we're doing this, the body of Christ is readying itself. It's a lot of hard work to connect people, so we are here with that dream."

Ierullo says he believes the baton of previous revivals has now been passed to the next generation. The attendees agreed to intercede together for what's to come.

The key takeaway includes the "initiative for prayer and fasting together until the harvest," Ierullo says.

Attendees also sowed into United in Christ so the ministry could "win cities all across America, come to cities to help ministries and rally up troops for the harvest."

Jessilyn Justice @jessilynjustice is the director of online news for Charisma.

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Thursday, March 3, 2016

Kenneth Copeland Says God is Rebirthing America - STEVE STRANG CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Kenneth Copeland Says God is Rebirthing America

Kenneth Copeland (YouTube)

Strang Report, by Steven Strang, Founder of Charisma magazine

When I first met Kenneth Copeland in 1979 to interview him for a Charisma magazine story, his understanding of faith changed my life. Copeland believes faith is something a believer can use like a carpenter uses a tool. I've used that concept many times in the years since to believe God to build this media ministry, so it was good to reconnect with him at his beautiful ministry headquarters near Fort Worth, Texas.

In nearly 50 years of ministry, Copeland's aim has been to teach the church to walk in faith—or as his website elaborates, taking people from religion to reality, from milk to the meat of God's Word, becoming skillful in the Word of righteousness according to Hebrews 5:12-14.

In Texas, our conversation turned to the current political environment and the state of our nation. I know Copeland is concerned about America. We've been at some of the same leaders' meetings with political candidates, and he's had speakers at his conventions share about important political issues of the day. I was interested to hear what he had to say about where America stands now. This word should encourage the church.

At a time when many are saying America's best days are in the past and God is abandoning our country, Copeland is optimistic that God is "rebirthing America" and He has not abandoned us. The reason, he says, is that America is the only nation founded by men who loved God. Israel was founded because God loved Abraham, but America was founded by men who loved God "for the purpose of loving me"—words Copeland says God spoke to his spirit.

"Do you think our Founding Fathers—George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and others—had any idea what this nation would look like in terms of its purpose and meaning?" he asked. "The answer is no. They had no frame of reference to know what was happening."

Copeland said the Lord told him the Christian community has no idea what God is doing to rebirth this nation. As he's prayed recently, Copeland has come to believe strongly that in spite of how things look, this is not the end of the United States. It's the end of what he calls a "Babylon system" trying to take over the country for the past 115 years. A Babylon system, as he explains it, is any system in which man tries to meet his needs without God. President Obama's actions are shining a light on this Babylonian system, and the church is waking up and rallying.

Copeland believes Christians must go back and confess the Word of God. This is one nation "under God," and we must get back to that, recalling the words of the late Smith Wigglesworth: "I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe."

When people talk about the economy and how bad things are, Copeland states flatly: "Who cares?" In 1 Peter 5:6-10, the Holy Spirit tells us to roll all your cares onto Him. It's one of God's marvelous promises.

What about this politician or that politician and how awful the state of our nation will become if they are elected? "Who cares?" Copeland says. "We roll that care over on the Lord. Mark 11: 22 says, 'Have faith in God.' No matter what, have faith in God! This nation belongs to God, and no one will take it down. People might say it's going down or it's God's judgment, but it's not going down."

Many of the bad things we see, such as the tragedies of 9/11, are the result of seedtime and harvest. Judgment is not until the end, and judgment is always brought by God for mercy. So what should Christians do? We vote and plant our ballot as a seed. Then we pray. God's choice will be elected.

Our culture tends to look at things from a secular point of view—without understanding or even considering the spiritual aspect. Since we are bombarded with that viewpoint in the media and with the people we interact with, it's easy to only look at things in the natural.

But remember, the most important aspect is the spiritual aspect. God has a plan and purpose that is higher than ours. So as the body of Christ, we must confess the Word, believe the Word and know that God is in control.

People who live by faith keep going. It may seem rough, but then haven't things always been rough? We keep going. We keep believing God. He's in control and He is not done with America.

Steve Strang is the founder of Charisma and CEO of Charisma Media. Follow him onTwitter or Facebook.

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Friday, November 6, 2015

Why Are Christians Throwing Stones at Bishop Juanita Bynum? - JENNIFER LECLAIRE CHARISMA NEWS

Juanita Bynum has been through hell and back—and now Global United Fellowship (GUF) is promoting the controversial prophetess to full-blown bishop status. (Facebook)

Why Are Christians Throwing Stones at Bishop Juanita Bynum?

Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

Juanita Bynum has been through hell and back—and now Global United Fellowship (GUF) is promoting the controversial prophetess to full-blown bishop status.

It's no great surprise that her spiritual elevation is stirring a Christian hornet's nest, but are believers being mean-spirited or just discerning?

In case you're not familiar with GUF, it's a Christian fellowship that embraces churches, ministries, fellowships and pastors who acknowledge, accept and submit to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. GUF believes there is more that unites Christians than divides them.

Ironically, Bynum's appointment is already driving division. Although the group's mission statement is to "foster biblical unity among believers as one body in Christ," some onlookers are gravely concerned about the appointment, given her history and what Paul wrote in 1 Tim. 3:2-5:

"An overseer then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach; not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money, but patient, not argumentative, not covetous; and one who manages his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to manage his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?"

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"Is there any doubt we are in the last days? The great falling away is happening before our eyes," one commenter wrote on a Christian news site. "Homosexuality has infiltrated the church. Between 50 to 90% of Christians (sic) men are watching porn. The wheat is being separated from the chaff."

Many of the comments were too harsh, accusatory or unhelpful to republish. Suffice it to say that a peppered history that includes homosexual encounters with women, speaking at an ordination service for a gay minister, alleged breaches of contract and divorce has some second-guessing Bynum's appointment as bishop.

Bynum divorced her second husband, Bishop Thomas Weeks, in 2008, about a month before their sixth wedding anniversary. It seems, though, she had good reason. Weeks earlier that year pled guilty to aggravated assault for pushing and kicking Bynum in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel.

Bynum has taken plenty of flak over the years. She's also been the subject of rap songs calling out prosperity preachers, along with Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, T.D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Paula White, Fred Price, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, and Eddie Long.

"Jesus is not a means to an end," Shai Linne raps in his song "Fal$e Teacher$". "The gospel is He came to redeem us from sin, and that is the message forever I'll yell. If you're living your best life now, you're heading for hell."

In 2013, Bynum—who was once a regular on TBN and has had gospel music hits and best-selling books—was arrested. I wrote about that in my column, Why Do So Many Televangelists Land Themselves in Jail?.

The case involved a judgment that ordered her to shell out $140,000 to ALW Entertainment. Apparently, she did not follow through on a commitment to perform in a play ALW was producing. She later said she was "wrongfully detained" and her accuser backed down.

Bynum has lived a stormy life, with ups and downs and downs and ups. Many will not let her live it down, but the GUF has embraced her.

How do we apply the truth in 1 Tim. 3:2-5 to situations like this? Is the blood of Jesus sufficient for a peppered past and all the scandals that went along with it? How do you judge true repentance? Is there a double standard for recovering from scandals for women in ministry? Should Christians really be throwing stones at Bynum?

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, co-founder of awakeningtv.com, on the leadership team of the New Breed Revival Network and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening;Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer onFacebook or follow her on Twitter. Jennifer's Periscope handle is @propheticbooks.

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Thursday, October 1, 2015

EXCLUSIVE: Kenneth Copeland Lays Hands and Prays Over Donald Trump - Jennifer LeClaire

Donald Trump receiving prayer

EXCLUSIVE: Kenneth Copeland Lays Hands and Prays Over Donald Trump

Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

Earlier this month, we reported how Paula White set up an invitation-only meeting between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and evangelical pastors.

That meeting happened this week—and plenty of Pentecostals were there to lay hands on the billionaire, make declarations over his life and pray.

Beyond Paula White, also present were Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Jentezen Franklin, David Jeremiah, Jan Crouch, Steve Munsey, Jews for Jesus Rabbi Kirt Schneider, Bishop George Bloomer, Bishop Darrell Scott and Clarence McClendon.

In this video, Kenneth Copeland is praying over Trump.

"No man can be successful as president of the United States without Your wisdom. And so we ask You today to give this man Your wisdom, boldly. Make sure and certain that he hears. Manifest Yourself to him," Copeland prayed. "And we thank You and praise You for a bold man, a strong man and an obedient man."

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As we have reported, Trump's campaign is pulling out all the stops to woo Christian voters. He recently told a rally his favorite book is the Bible, but later refused to share his favorite verse.

"During the meeting, he talked about his Christian faith," David Brody, CBN Newschief political correspondent, wrote. "At one point he admitted that he may not have read the Bible as much as the pastors in the room. As the conversation continued, a few of the ministers implored Trump to tone down some of his harsh rhetoric.

"As for additional subject matter, Trump told the religious leaders and pastors that he will be a strong supporter of Israel and that defeating ISIS would be a strong part of his agenda," Brody continued. "He also discussed trade, balancing the budget, eliminating the deficit and tax reform."

Will Pentecostals back Trump? Should we?

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Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Why Did Copeland, Robison Meet With Pope Francis? - Charisma News

Why Did Copeland, Robison Meet With Pope Francis?

Pope Francis with evangelicals (Life Outreach)

Two prominent Fort Worth-based Christian ministers led a delegation of Evangelical Christian leaders to Rome to meet privately with Pope Francis.

James and Betty Robison, co-hosts of the Life Today television program, and Kenneth Copeland, co-host of Believer's Voice of Victory, met the Roman Pontiff at the Vatican on Tuesday. The meeting lasted almost three hours and included a private luncheon with Pope Francis.

Mr. Robison told the Fort Worth Star Telegram, "This meeting was a miracle.... This is something God has done. God wants his arms around the world. And he wants Christians to put his arms around the world by working together."

Mr. Robison said he was impressed by Pope Francis' humility and courtesy to the visiting delegation of Evangelical Protestant Christian leaders.

In a written statement, Mr. Robison said he believes "the prayers of earnest Christians helped lead to the choice of Pope Francis." He described Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Argentine Archbishop chosen as Pope, as "a humble man...filled with such love for the poor, downtrodden..."

In addition to Mrs. Betty Robison, the high-profile Protestant delegation included Kenneth Copeland, co-founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Newark, TX; Reverend Geoff Tunnicliff, CEO of the World Evangelical Alliance; Rev. Brian Stiller and Rev. Thomas Schirrmacher, also from the World Evangelical Alliance; and Rev. John Arnott and his wife, Carol, co-founders of Partners for Harvest ministries in Toronto, Canada. Gloria Copeland did not travel to Rome because of a previously scheduled commitment.

The ecumenical meeting in Rome was organized by Episcopal Bishop Tony Palmer. Rev. Palmer is an ordained bishop in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, a break-away alliance of charismatic Anglican-Episcopal churches. Bishop Palmer is also the Director of The Ark Community, an international interdenominational Convergent Church online community, and is a member of the Roman Catholic Ecumenical Delegation for Christian Unity and Reconciliation.

Bishop Palmer developed a friendship with Pope Francis when the future Roman Pontiff was a Catholic official in Argentina. Prior to becoming a CEEC bishop, Rev. Palmer was the director of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries' office in South Africa. He is married to an Italian Roman Catholic woman. He later moved to Italy and began working to reconcile Roman Catholics and Protestants. Kenneth Copeland Ministries was one of Mr. Palmer's first financial contributors over 10 years ago in support of his ecumenical work in Italy.

Earlier this year, Pope Francis called Bishop Palmer to invite him to his residence in Vatican City. During the meeting, Bishop Palmer suggested that the Pope record a personal greeting on Mr. Palmer's iPhone to be delivered to Kenneth Copeland. Mr. Copeland showed the Papal video greeting to a conference of Protestant ministers who were meeting at Mr. Copeland's Eagle Mountain International Church near Fort Worth, Texas. In the video, Pope Francis expressed his desire for Christian unity with Protestants.

Later, James Robison telecasted the video on his daily TV program, Life Today. "The pope, in the video, expressed a desire for Protestants and Catholics to become what Jesus prayed for — that Christians would become family and not be divided," Mr. Robison said the response to the video was very positive, and that Pope Francis asked Bishop Palmer whether a meeting could be arranged with Evangelical Protestants seeking Christian unity in the world.

In his written statement released after the Papal meeting, Mr. Robison said he was "blessed to be part of perhaps an unprecedented moment between evangelicals and the Catholic Pope." He described the Protestant delegation's private meeting with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church as "an intimate circle of prayerful discussion and lunch to discuss not only seeing Jesus' prayer answered, but that every believer would become a bold, joy-filled witnesses for Christ.

In describing the ecumenical gathering as a miracle, Mr. Robison said, "This is something God has done. God wants his arms around the world. And he wants Christians to put his arms around the world by working together."

During the luncheon on Tuesday, Mr. Robison got a high-five from Pope Francis after the Pope and Protestant guests talked about the need for all people to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. According to the Life Today host, the Roman Pontiff did not know what a high-five was until Bishop Palmer explained it to him in Italian. Mr. Robison said, "The Pope made it very clear that he wanted every believer to become Spirit-filled, joy-filled witnesses."

Mr. Robison said Pope Francis had written recently, "Too many Catholics look like they've been to Lent with no Easter. It's a mistake for them to look like they've been to a funeral" as he challenged Catholics to witness and never try to control the Holy Spirit, but yield to Him.

Mr. Robison said he received a divine call from God to seek Christian unity while he was hospitalized several years ago with a serious staph infection following hip surgery. Robison recalled, "[I] was so weak I could not lift a cup of water to my lips...God got my full attention...He spoke to me through Isaiah 58:6-12 and I saw the importance of living in freedom, touching the suffering, the hungry, poor, and downtrodden. I recognized the promise that our prayers would be answered quickly and we would become a free-flowing stream and a well-watered garden, restoring the foundations upon which we must build. During that time God instructed me to focus my attention on Jesus' prayer and encouraging others to begin fulfilling it through us in our day."

During that time, he said, he was impressed by a prayer of Jesus in John 17:21, pleading that all Christian believers be one. "We've tried to focus on being an answer to Jesus' prayer," Robison said. "We want to see Jesus' prayer for unity answered in our day."

Aware that the meeting with the Pope will be troublesome among staunch Protestants, Mr. Robison said he and the other visiting Evangelical Christian leaders talked about diversity and their belief that Roman Catholics and Protestants could work together without compromising their beliefs.

"The world is suffering," said Robison. "We as Christians have too much love to share without fighting one another."

Mr. Robison said he and other "respected Evangelical leaders and Spirit-filled Catholics began meeting together to pray for God's will to be done and to bring true believers together in supernatural unity....We have been commanded to love God with all of our heart and our neighbors as ourselves. The enemy has kept many Christians from loving one another as Christ loves us and have failed to recognize the importance of supernatural unity even with all of the unique diversity."

Mr. Robison, whose ministry digs water wells and supplies food for impoverished people in third-world nations, recounted that he was christened as a fatherless boy in an Episcopal Church. As an adult, he joined the Southern Baptist Church. In the 1980s, he became one of the first prominent Southern Baptist ministers to openly proclaim he had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

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Monday, October 30, 2017