As much as I try to live without fear of what could happen, there are also times when I think fear is absolutely appropriate if it results in living differently. Sometimes fear is the perfect motivator and the best weapon to use against apathy. If you are not afraid of what is going on in our country, let me give you some reasons to be afraid. My goal is that your perhaps-newfound -fear would spur you into activity and activism.
My disclosure before I begin is that I am not a Republican. As a pastor, because churches are non-profit organizations, I am prohibited from telling people how to vote. Rest assured, I will not tell you how to vote in this article. What I will tell you has to do with waking up and recognizing the potential harm of an entire movement. Think of me as your “Early Warning System” before a storm. While you go on with your daily life, a storm is brewing, the likes of which we have never seen in my lifetime. When Rick Perry joined the race for the Republican nomination for President, the storm blew much closer to home. Rick Perry has made no attempt to hide his connection – the fact that he is the chosen one – to the New Apostolic Reformation movement. What frightens me most about this movement is how many people, particularly liberal and progressive people, do not take it seriously. Trust me, this is a movement to take very seriously and it is a worldwide movement. Below is some information about the movement written by Rachel Tabachnick on Alternet.org.
“Ideology of the New Apostolic Reformation
The leaders of the movement claim this is the most significant change in Protestantism since Martin Luther and the Reformation. NAR’s stated goal is to eradicate denominations and to form a single unified church that will fight and be victorious against “evil” in the end times. Like many American fundamentalists, the apostles teach that the end times are imminent, but unlike most fundamentalists, the apostles see this as a time of great triumph for the church.
Instead of escaping to heaven in the Rapture prior to the battles of the end times, the apostles teach that believers will remain on earth. And instead of watching from the grandstands of heaven as Jesus and his warriors destroy evil, the apostles believe they and their followers will fight and purge the earth of evil themselves.
This includes taking “dominion” over all sectors of society and government, which, in turn, will lead to a “Kingdom” on earth, a Christian utopia ruled from Jerusalem. The end times narrative of the apostles is similar to that of the Latter Rain movement of the late 1940s and 1950s, which was considered heretical by traditional Pentecostal denominations.
Prerequisites to bringing about the Kingdom on earth are: the restructuring of all Charismatic evangelical believers under the authority of their network of apostles and prophets; the eradication or unification of Christian denominations; and the total elimination of competing religions and philosophies. Their mandate to take control over institutions of society and government is similar to the dominionism of Christian Reconstructionism, founded by the late Rousas Rushdoony, but NAR’s version has been wrapped in a much more appealing package and marketed as activism to “transform” communities.
The apostles have a number of sophisticated promotional tools used to market their agenda for taking control over society, including the Transformations movies, Transformation organizations in communities around the country, and the Seven Mountains campaign. The latter is about taking control over the mountains or “power centers” of arts and entertainment, business, education, family, government, media and religion. The apostles who lead in areas outside of church are called Workplace or Marketplace Apostles.
The apostles teach that the obstacles to their envisioned Kingdom on earth are demonic beings who hold control over geographic territory and specific “people groups.” They claim these demons are the reason why people of other religions refuse to become evangelized. These demons, which the apostles address by name, are also claimed to be the source of crime, corruption, illness, poverty, and homosexuality. The eradication of social ills, as claimed in the Transformations media, can only take place through mass evangelization; not through other human efforts to cure societal ills. This message was repeated throughout Perry’s prayer event, although it may not have been apparent to those unfamiliar with the movement’s lingo and narratives.”
Just in case you are still not sure why it’s a big deal, let me highlight a few points. The “demonic beings” to which they refer are people like me. As an openly lesbian pastor, I would need to be exorcised of my demon or put to death. Rabbis and Imams who would refuse to convert to the apostolic brand of Christianity would also be considered demonic and in need of exorcism. The fact that a candidate for President of the US would align with a movement like this is absolutely terrifying. There are many good people who are Republicans who do not understand the force or the specifics of this movement. Somehow they are very visible to those in the know but people who do not know about the movement are missing the connections (for example those from this movement who have been seen standing next to Rick Perry at his events). A frighteningly large number of people in our country still do not understand the connection between religion and politics. We need to speak out and educate people as to the connection, particularly in relationship to the New Apostolic Reformation movement. If you were appalled by the Ugandan Bill calling for the death penalty for gay people, you can thank the New Apostolic Reformation (commonly called “The Apostles”) for their influence. In fact, the Ugandan politician who introduced the bill is himself an “Apostle.”
Wake up, United States of America. Wake up, churches and synagogues and mosques and meetings. There is an effort underway to nationalize a religion that would catapult us back to the Middle Ages in terms of human rights, women’s rights, and religious and political freedom. I am so tired of the right wing rhetoric against immigrants and muslims. The people we have most to fear are people like Rick Perry who are white, privileged, and ready to take over the world. What are you willing to do about it? Will you help get the word out? The storm is coming…