The lyrics of that song will repeat over and over again in your mind. On the other hand, a song can be stuck in your head for days or weeks after hearing it despite your best attempts to forget it. My husband is a pastor, and I know that some people forget what he preached about before they even sit down for lunch on Sundays. Music shapes our beliefs and how we see the world. “Music bypasses all of the intellectual barriers, and when the anointing of God is on a song, people will begin to believe things they wouldn’t believe through teaching.” Bill Johnson (Bethel Church) That might sound like a conspiracy theory, but Bill Johnson, the Senior Leader (i.e., “apostle”) at Bethel Church in California, has given us a clear view of his plans with music. The songs are carefully written to softly introduce NAR ideas into churches with little to no pushback. These songs seems harmless, sound nice, and make us feel good. Pivec and Geivett claim NAR influenced music is a trojan horse in the church. The songs are catchy, radio-friendly, and they give people the feels. Popular songs in churches today come from Bethel, Hillsong, Jesus Culture, Elevation Church, etc. And they are getting just that in all kinds of churches. In fact, they would prefer the songs actually be from the radio, if possible. For a lot of churchgoers, the music needs to be a professional show with music that sounds like what they hear on the radio. Some influence is coming in through the backdoor, so to speak, and some is proudly marching into our communities making declarative prayers over everything and everyone.Ĭhurches that sing the tried-and-true hymns in worship are more difficult than ever to find. The NAR influence, however, is moving into churches quietly and loudly. If NAR was not influential, then there would be no need to have this conversation. Is The NAR Influence Big Enough To Be A Problem? If this topic interests you, please get this book, read it, and share it with everyone you know. Douglas Geivett do an excellent job breaking down the New Apostolic Reformation with respect and plenty of Scripture to back up their arguments. Lucky for you, there is a great book on NAR that I can’t recommend enough called “Counterfeit Kingdom: The Dangers of New Revelation, New Prophets, and New Age Practices in the Church.” Image courtesy of Holly Pivec on Twitter There is so much to say, but I am writing a blog post, not a book. Demons and spirits are a constant threat to members of NAR churches, and ridding the world of these spirits is all a part of the role of the Church in ushering in the Kingdom. Lastly, churches influenced by NAR will usually spend a disproportionate time focused on spiritual warfare. You see, according to NAR teachings, Jesus performing miracles was about us rather than being a display of His divinity. They teach He was 100% man and not divine while on Earth, and believers are supposed to emulate His miracles. The explanation for our god-like powers is an unbiblical understanding of Jesus as man. Specifically, there seems to be a lot of focus on healing and resurrection. You’re likely to hear messages about our ability to perform the same miracles as Jesus. NAR churches focus heavily on experience, mysticism, prophecy, and modern-days “apostles.” They have lean hard into the miraculous, and churches with a NAR influence will generally rely on signs and wonders to win people over to their church. (More on that later.) Despite the challenge, I’m going to try to give a very short overview of a basic NAR church, but I will dive deeper a little later in this post. Additionally, there is no particular denomination associated with NAR, therefore, these churches are often independent or tucked away unnoticed in a denomination.ĭefining the NAR influence can be tricky because each church governs itself and only answers to the apostles and prophets in leadership. They call it a “boogeyman” that conservative Christians made up to discredit particular churches. It’s difficult to pin down exactly what NAR is because, for starters, some people deny NAR is even a thing. NAR stands for New Apostolic Reformation. A persistent attack on the Church we are facing today is from a New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) influence, and Christians don’t seem to see it happening right in front of their eyes. The most dangerous threats to the Church, though, are coming from inside the Church itself. Some would even legislate our freedoms away if they had the votes. Of course, there are those who mock and belittle us. Thankfully, we are still blessed with the freedom to worship freely in our nation, but that doesn’t mean we are not also under a real attack. Believers around the world face persecution beyond anything we encounter in the United States.
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