I was very young when the charismatic movement invaded my life. Not too young to be totally and completely committed to the Lord Jesus Christ. I believed the Scripture was the Word of God, that I was to obey it, and that Jesus was my Savior. My foundations were solid.
Around the same time, I was introduced to the “Toronto Blessing” and the teachings of Mike Bickle, from the International House of Prayer. In the following years, I drank a lot from various charismatic streams. Bethel, Rick Joyner, and many more.
It would be decades before I realized that from these streams, the “pure milk” of the Word of God I had drunk had been laced with poison. Like Colossians 2 says, I had been cheated, deceived by people puffed up with their extra-biblical revelations and experiences and addicted to efforts that are of no use against the indulgence of the flesh.
To come out, I have paid a price previously inconceivable to me. What I have lost to regain the simplicity of faith in Christ and His gospel would take years to describe. But it has been more than worth it.
Jesus Christ has delivered me, through truth. I found that every error, every heresy, every deception, has been carefully warned against in scriptures. But when I was held captive by the deceptions, those warnings held no sway with me. It never occurred to me that I should seek to apply them to what I was currently ingesting. They were far off and blurry, like the voice of the adults from the “Peanuts” cartoon.
I need to tell my story, and many other people’s stories. It will take some time to bear out my claims. I saw a lot, travelled a lot, heard a lot, and studied a lot. It may seem unfair how I lump different groups and categories together, but if you’ll bear with me, I’ll explain why. For starters, I’ll say, that anything that is not from faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). That God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 Jn. 1:5). That there is nothing new under the sun (Ecc. 1:9). And that those whom the Lord rejects on judgment day were crying out about the signs and wonders and prophecy that they had done in His name (Mat. 7:21-23).
The Scriptures says to beware false teachings and false prophets over and over and over again. Have you been? I was not. What a cost I paid. My hope is that my painful extraction out of falsehood, seeking of spiritual experiences, false teaching, and undue subjection to “prophets” and prophecy, can win others who are lost in the swirl back to simplicity and power of the plain, straightforward gospel of Jesus Christ.
Beth Cavete
bcavete@gmail.com
Note to readers: Beth Cavete is not my real name. I began writing under a pseudonym to shield people I love very much from as much pain and embarrassment as I could. I have never thought this was shameful or deceptive, and still don’t.
Thanks for your new blog, Beth!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. It is something I wonder at over and over: how purely simple and straightforward the truth is compared to the “swirl,” as you said, of charismania.
It’s not that I disregard the ‘mystery’ of the gospel. I don’t think we can completely understand all of God, His ways, or His works. But the desire to figure it all out through some sort of secret, hazy, “prophetic” process, has now been replaced with a simple trust. I don’t have to understand it all, but I leave it in His hands, and I feel very secure.
This is far from the idea promoted in the prophetic movement that everybody who isn’t on board with the movement, or NAR, or soaking, or the latest “prophet” or “apostle” are people who are devoid of the Spirit, or just don’t “get it.”
The teachers in the prophetic movement would have one think people who are not on board with them are settling for less, because we don’t “walk in signs and wonders.” But that is so far from the truth. I don’t think the miraculous power of God is a thing of the past. I just think it belongs to Him, not us.
Dear Untangling,
Thank you for your comment. I loved your blog’s evident mission of loving and helping people caught in deception. I resonate with your heart. How can I be above anyone caught in the swirl? So I once was.
As for walking in signs and wonders, the simple truth is that there is no wonder as miraculous, powerful, or cataclysmic as the transformation of a wretched sinner into the likeness of God’s perfect and beautiful Son, Jesus Christ.
For me, with my sinful heart, to have pure love instead of self-love, joy instead of hysteria, and peace instead of anxious drive…that would be the greatest sign the world had ever known. If only they had eyes to see.
Anyone who can see things as they are understand there could be nothing more glorious than justification and sanctification. And living in such a miracle, we find the grace and patience to wait for the glorification of our bodies at the END of this life.
But for those who are blind to their own sinful, wretched state (as I once was, zealous though I felt), this wonder is a small story for “testimony time,” and they are scanning the horizon for something more exciting, for present glorification and entrance into the spirit realm. Signs and wonders for their own titillation and to assuage their unbelief, rather than what it is actually for: to accompany the preaching of the true gospel to those who have not yet heard.
Thanks again for your comment, and your faith in Jesus,
Beth
HI Beth,
I am recently in process (though I have many friends still involved) of Bethel Church Redding, what a mess.
I wish I had been warned…though at the time I don’t know what I would have replied. I’m in process of warning my previous pastor – she wants to send her daughter to BSSM (that is Bethel church’s ministry school) Perhaps I will direct her to your blog!
Praise God. THANK YOU for sharing this publicly. It’s assuring to me to see that The Lord has taken many others out of these movements and corrected us and opened our eyes to the deception we were under. As an early believer I too was very influenced by Bethel, ihop, Jesus Culture, tbn, Seeking signs, prophetic words, experiences, feelings. The Christians I was around had absolutely no problem with any of it, highly supported it, or just didn’t even know about it. I was attributing things that I experienced then to God then later painfully realizing they were most likely not of God… and feelng afraid and confused among other things. I wasn’t involved with these things too long (by the grace of God) and I’m still a young believer I’ve been saved since about September 2010/February 2011, I’m not sure when I was actually regenerated. The Lord used my now husband to really cause me to take His Word VERY seriously and not believe anything that is the least bit contrary to it and I am so thankful. The Lord has used Him to help me weed out/investigate all these things going on in the church. I still struggle with it sometimes, but I have much much more clarity about it now. I just want to be balanced, I don’t want to close myself off completely from spiritual things/gifts/miracles ect. because they are in the Word but I have been struggling with that a lot. I am thankful that it is the Lord that works in us and He will finish the good work that He started and keep us from stumbling. He will teach us as we are continually in His Word. Stories like yours from other believers are very encouraging. It’s such a battle in the mind sometimes when I think about it. Are these people Christians that are just off (like I was) and they will repent too or are they false teachers? Am I being too judgemental? They say things that are true sometimes? How can they not be saved? They seem like they believe the gospel and so passionate and use the name of Jesus! At least from the outside looking in it can appear that way. Satan is definitely the father of lies and he comes as an angel of light. It is astounding how prevalent these false doctrines and many others are today and I want to be confident in what the Lord has/is opening my eyes to and expose these things so that others won’t be decieved. Thank you for making this blog, I’m glad I stumbled upon it!! Grace and Peace to you 🙂
This sounds exactly like my journey too. Thanks for your blog, it’s a real blessing.
Thank you Beth,
Glad I found a kindred sister in Christ. Couldn’t agree more. Blessings for so thoroughly exposing these heresies.
Your real name doesn’t matter. The truth you tell, well, that does. Thanks; I’m behind you 100%.
I’m so glad I discovered your blog! I was reading the announcements for R. Douglas Geivett and Holly Pivec’s upcoming books regarding the NAR. You left a comment to one of them so I followed your gravatar link from there. Once I found you, I couldn’t click the “follow” button fast enough. This is GOLD!
Beth, I sent you an email…. not sure if you got it. Please email me at wolvesamongthesheep@yahoo.com Thanks!
Thank you so much Beth, for the hard work of thinking through the steps that lead you on the path of deception and explaining them to us. My own story is very similar. I agreed with you that those taken in, or deceived need to humble themselves and find out what part of their own malformed character embraced the deception. I attended Bethel and got caught up in it going so far as to move to Redding, CA. When I understood the level of deception I was in I saw that my pride was the hook, on the line. Pride that my dreams were the center of the universe and God was obligated to make them come true. They only affirmed that I was “special” not that God was sovereign and that my task in life was to conform to His will and not vice versa.
I’m extremely grateful to discover others that came out of deception and found their stability in Christ. Charismania is a very de-stabilizing deception
I’m curious why you won’t tell your real name, where you’re from, and your credentials. Are you fearful of something? I’m not necessarily against what you are saying, I’m just wondering why you are hiding your identity?
Hi, Craig. Thanks for the comment. If you read through the blog, you’ll find my reasons for using a pseudonym are clearly stated. Mainly, it is to spare pain to the hundreds of friends, former ministry companions, and especially family members who are deeply involved in the movements that I write about. My identity is not hidden. If we were to correspond substantially, I would likely do it in my own name. I often do. But you also made me curious. What credentials do you think would qualify a person to write a blog like mine? And what do you mean, “Where you are from?” The ministries I highlight are in very specific locations. I think I state in the blog that I visited Toronto several times, lived in Kansas City, and have never personally been to Redding. So are you asking where I currently live? I am about as willing to disclose those things to a stranger as I would guess you are: over time, in the course of knowing someone, through relationship. Like I said, if there is a reason to correspond substantially, often these things are disclosed. Blessings to you.
Read: Losing My Religion by William Lobdell, if want to contact him he has williamlobdell.com site. Watch is 1 hour. Video on UTube.
You can post your items on Rick Ross Institute and have him investigate, he has been on Dr. Phil exposing.