Prophet Bob Hartley gives a “talk about a series of dreams about the Hope Healing Journey and the Yellow House.” YouTube
Heartbreaking allegations of sexual abuse at Bethel Church, a charismatic megachurch in Redding, California, has recently come to light. Bob Hartley, previously one of the core “prophets” at the International House of Prayer at Kansas City (IHOP-KC), used his spiritual authority to abuse young women, both at Bethel and IHOP-KC. A few weeks after the initial allegations came to light, new allegations surfaced alleging that one of the pastors sexually assaulted an intern who was also working as a nanny for his children.
When the church’s leadership learned of the assault, not only did they cover it up but they turned it into a feel-good story about God’s mercy and reconciliation, told in Danny Silk’s 2019 book Unpunishable. Instances of this kind of abuse in religious communities are relatively common, with experts often pointing to the presence of a contributing factor such as an independent governance structure, the elevated standing of clergy, or the desire to protect the institution above individual victims. With churches and parachurch organizations associated with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), we frequently find a perfect storm of all three, as is the case with Bethel.
according to researchers Holly Pivec and Doug Geivett, who have spent over two decades studying this movement from inside Christian scholarship, it represents a radical departure from historic Christianity that is reshaping churches, politics, and millions of lives worldwide.
I sat down with Holly and Doug on a recent episode of Cults, Culture & Coercion to discuss their latest book, Reckless Christianity: The Destructive New Teachings and Practices of Bill Johnson, Bethel Church, and the Global Movement of Apostles and Prophets. I’ve written about the New Apostolic Reformation in The Cult of Trump and interviewed researchers like André Gagné and Frederick Clarkson on these topics. Holly and Doug bring an essential angle: they are committed Christians sounding the alarm from within the faith, grounded in biblical scholarship and philosophy.
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
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