Brent Detwiler on the Change to Sovereign Grace Ministries

A Fair Question I think:

"SGM is no longer a family of churches like it used to be and people aren’t connected to the mission like they use to be. During our first 20 years we did Celebration Conferences and live Mission Presentations in every geographical region. It gave us a wonderful opportunity to be with the people and among the people. There was a tremendous sense of camaraderie. C.J. ended these conferences over my strong objection ... There used to be a real sense of family and personal commitment to our collective call. That is largely gone. SGM is a corporation. Now we have a Chairman, President, Board of Directors, Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Ambassadors of Reconciliation. What happened to apostles, prophets, miracles, the restoration of the church and personal evangelism?".

Brent Detwiler - "Sovereign Grace Ministries Relocation Announcement" - SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012 AT 11:25PM

Dave Harvey on Mimicking Heroes

Very important advice for SGM - a family of churches that perhaps have been guilty in the past of particularly copying C J Mahaney's mannerisms, vocabulary, hair cut etc.

"A pastor is not called to be a template ... we have to be careful not to create a culture where people feel obligated to mimic their pastors or any leader in the church. In the past there has been some of that - certainly not explicitly taught by any pastors that I am aware of but has somehow been assumed".

Dave Harvey - "Answering Your Questions" - SGM Blog - 28th August 2011.

Dave Harvey on Apostles Today

An interesting quote from the acting President of SGM on apostles today;

"That is one reason why we have refrained from using the term "apostle" for those who serve as Sovereign Grace Ministries regional representatives to our churches - see, as our understanding of polity has matured, we have become cautious of conveying any type of authority to SGM leaders that no one has today - an authority that is reserved for the first generation apostles. See - authority is never in a man, it's in the Word of God".

Dave Harvey - "Answering Your Questions" - SGM Blog - August 28th 2011.

Brent Detweiler on Sin and Forgiveness

"It is easy to meet and forgive when sins are biblically expressed".

Brent Detweiler - "A Final Appeal" - 2011 - (p4).

Terry Virgo on Sovereign Grace Ministries

True?

"This is a loving group of churches - no one is here to beat anyone else up".

Terry Virgo - "Grace to Say No" - Celebration Mid-South 2001 - audiotape.

Sir Winston Churchill on Totalitarian Leadership

Sir Winston Churchill was making this statement against government - but it could just as easily apply to wrong and legalistic church leadership;

"The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist."

Sir Winston Churchill - "Quotes from Sir Winston Churchill" - Date: November 21, 1943

Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton on Sin Conciousness

"Religion rubs our noses in the past to keep us humble. Reviewing the sinfulness of our past in order to become humble is a perversion. It actually creates shame and shame is a poor counterfeit of humility. Shame is the fruit of humiliation that works against the truth. To maintain conciousness of our sinful past to help us become more humble is the cruelty of a religious spirit; it requires us to keep something in our minds that isn't in God's. In reality it is much more humbling to live in the liberty of unearned forgiveness. When we are forgiven the King gives us permission to live as though we had never sinned".

Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton - "The Supernatural Ways of Royalty - Discovering your rights and privilidges of being a son or daughter of God" - Destiny Image Publication (2006) - (p52).

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Institutionalism

"The second characteristic of false religion is that it is always very keen on what we must call "institutionalism". I mean something like this: these people in the Sanhedrin actually worship the temple ... they are putting temple worship against Christianity ... to these leaders the temple is everything, that is their whole trouble. The temple has become an idol. And that is always a characteristic of false religion.

God had allowed the people to build the temple - but as the record tells us - He had never asked them to do so ...

Men and women always want to institutionalize everything, they are never happier than when they are organizing and they do so supremely in the church by turning it into an institution. They harden, they petrify everything; they turn the spirit into stone and into buildings. They think this is marvellous and they tend to worship what they have made".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Authentic Christianity - Volume 5" - Banner of Truth, Edinburgh (2006) - p251.

A Prophecy from Che Ahn to Todd Bentley

"He has prepared you for such a time as this ... there is a Branham anointing on you and a double portion of it! The Lord is raising you up! And I feel I must say that I must decrease and You must increase!".

Che Ahn to Todd Bentley - "Lakeland Revival - Thursday 24th April 2008" - taken from God TV.