DRAMATIC READING: Bethel's Statement RE: ChristAlignment

And now, a dramatic reading of the Bethel Statement regarding Christ-alignment. There have been some recent concern about the ministry of Christ-alignment and their supposed use of Christian tarot cards, in ministering to people at New Age festivals.

While the leaders of this ministry, Ken and Jenny Hodge, are connected with several members of our community, not totally connected or anything, including being the parents to our much-loved brother, Evangelist Ben Fitzgerald.

Christ-alignment is not formally affiliated with Bethel. Not formally affiliated. We do, however, have a value for what they are seeking to accomplish. And what is that exactly? When all of this came to our attention, we reached out to the Hodges to make sure we understood what they were doing and how they were trying to accomplish it.

We've included a letter from them about their way of inviting people to encounter God in the context of festivals. Of course, as we rightly assumed, they are not using Christian tarot cards. Nor telling the future with cards.

Oh, they're not going to tell the future. They're just going to use cards to basically have Jesus encounters. Oh, it's so different. They stand in agreement with the scriptures that all occult practices, like tarot cards, have no place in the kingdom and should not be used.

But they were using them. We understand that the cards have the look of something that Christians don't value and find dangerous. Namely, tarot cards. There are times when the way a message is presented is so off-putting that it actually drowns out the intended message.

Well, if you don't proclaim Christ and him crucified, what message are you really sending in the first place? At those times, it is appropriate to speak up and ask questions. And perhaps that is what people are attempting to do.

It is our hope that people would direct these questions to the Hodges themselves.

Don't talk to us! We don't know anything!

We're not responsible for these people that we're loosely affiliated with that we're trying to put some distance between. Not at all! Reaching people where they are with the truth and love of God is our job as believers.

Many people will not come to our churches, yet they are in great need of a personal encounter with Jesus. You know, it's really interesting. They keep using the word encounter like it means something.

But they haven't defined it. And until you've defined the word, it really means nothing. For all we know, it could be an encounter like one you would have where you would accidentally bump into your ex at the grocery store.

Or maybe an alien abduction. Or maybe an encounter with your parole officer. I don't know! They haven't defined it. I literally have no way of knowing what to do with this. The Hodges feel called to share the gospel with a people group that most of us would feel unsure of how to approach.

I don't know, maybe with an extra set of clothes and maybe some gluten. We value their efforts to minister to unbelievers in the ways they can more easily receive it and in places they are going, like New Age festivals.

The Hodges are attempting to contextualize the gospel and bring people to the realization that God is looking for them and loves them no matter where they are. Just like the Apostle Paul often did. Wow, I'm really going to need to have a chapter and verse.

Oh wait, they provided something. In Acts 17, 22 -34. Oh my, more than one verse? Huh, impressive. Let's see what they do with this. Paul spoke to a group of religious people who didn't yet know God and lived in a city full of altars, idols, and various religions.

In that moment, Paul referred to a single altar in their city that had an inscription of the unknown God. And he used this familiar object.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, flag on the play.

Did they put their own parentheses in there and fill it with their own heretical garbage? Oh my gosh, they did. I can't believe this. You know, they're trying to spoon feed their audience like they're some sort of toddler or two year old.

Now listen very carefully from Bethel. You need to learn things that we are going to say to you. Alright, let's read this again, but we're going to do it revised. Paul spoke to a group of religious people who didn't yet know God and lived in a city full of altars, idols, and various religions.

In that moment, Paul referred to a single altar in their city that had the inscription to the unknown God. And he used this familiar object. Something they understood and valued. As a starting point to connect them with the God of all creation.

He wasn't worried that they would get a wrong idea that that God is merely one of many gods or that idols are appropriate. Because he would soon be introducing them to the true God. Wait, that's not the end of the passage.

It said 22 through 34. That's not 34. You completely skipped over the bit where Paul was telling them about Jesus. They completely skipped it. And in the same way that when they do the Christian tarot card readings, they don't talk about Jesus at all.

Oh my goodness, Bethel is lying directly to your faces. Its own audience is not going to pick up on it because God forbid they ever had to open a Bible and actually read anything in context. Because if they did that, they'd realize that they're being lied to.

Okay, that's it. After twisting scripture that badly, is it even worth reading the rest of this? Alright, fine. I'll read it to you guys, but I'm going to condense it real easy. So basically, this entire statement from Bethel boils down to, Hey guys, check it out.

We don't know anything about this. You can't hold us responsible. They're good people. We know their hearts. And they're not Christian tarot cards. We swear. We swear they're not Christian tarot cards.

Please, please stop making comparisons that are very easy to make.