A group of false prophets, most of them independent Pentecostals, have hijacked the evangelical movement.
Historian David Fea identifies this loosely affiliated group of prophets as Independent Network Charismatics. The false prophets have a theological mix foreign to most evangelicals. This group of preachers speaks in tongues, promotes the prosperity gospel, baptizes in the name of Jesus only, has anointed themselves as “prophets and apostles,” believes in prophecy and miracles, practices faith healing and believes God has called them to be God’s agents in ruling the world.
They are the strongest proponents of Christian nationalism, most often of Seven Mountains Dominionism. They also are known as part of the New Apostolic Reformation.
Rodney Kennedy
Secular media, attracted to spectacle, to emotions and to the outlandish, covers the religious/political scene in the United States by focusing on this small group of mostly independent preachers. But these preachers are not representative of evangelicals in general.
Once to the right of the “fringe” evangelical movement, these prophets have come in from the woods to the White House in their full-orbed commitment to Donald Trump.
Although they are commonly dismissed as a fringe group that is not representative of American Christianity, the overlap in religious rhetoric and political goals between it and members of the traditional evangelical movement is worthy of note. Evangelical leaders often distance themselves from Christian nationalists and dominionists, but they are imbibing more and more of this fringe rightwing movement.
Matthew Taylor — from the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies — observes: “You have all these pastors who would have been laughed out of the room 20 years ago. Now, they’re driving the dynamics.”
They are defining evangelicals.
Tim Alberta, author of The Kingdom, The Power and The Glory, observes: “Substantial numbers of evangelicals are fleeing their churches, and most of them are moving to ones further to the right.”
In short, evangelicals are becoming more political and less spiritual.
According to Brad Christerson and Richard Flory in The Rise of Network Christianity: How Independent Leaders Are Changing the Religious Landscape, the independent charismatics represent the fastest-growing Christian group in the world. Reversing the trend of Mainline churches losing members and power, the charismatic prophets have moved:
- From the fringe to the center
- From minority to majority
- From exclusion to privilege
- From witness to control
- From mission to status quo political power
Meet the prophets
Among the leaders of the false prophets of MAGA are Paula White-Cain, Lance Wallnau, Wayne T. Jackson, Che Ahn, Bill Johnson, Chuck Pierce, Cindy Jacobs, Lou Engle, Dutch Sheets and Greg Locke.
These are the preachers Paula White-Cain, the prosperity gospel televangelist, brought into the Trump organization back in 2015. She started introducing the prophets, apostles and charismatic megachurch pastors to Trump. After Trump’s Nov. 5 electoral win, White-Cain posted: “DON’T STOP PRAYING …. Transition to the White House takes a lot of work and a lot of wisdom.. PRAY for @realdonaldtrump and his team daily! And on Jan 21 the White House will look like this again, a place where the President wants and welcomes prayer, a place where the President wants and welcomes the American people to their house (the White House)!
After Trump lost the 2020 election, White-Cain offered a sermon filled with speaking in tongues and a strange prayer-sermon insisting angels were coming from the coasts of Africa and South America to save the election for Trump.
Lance Wallnau
Today, Lance Wallnau, the charismatic leader who predicted Trump’s 2016 victory, is more involved than ever. After Trump won last week, Wallnau said: “This is a reformation of America. It’s not done, it’s not over, it’s just starting. … We have enemies now that are like a bear robbed of her cubs. And so, Trump and the nation is gonna need the church to bind up those spirits.”
Wallnau also warned the movement would reform American universities: “The universities are the hotbed of resistance. Time to make them a priority of reformation. For real!”
Why the prophets are devoted to Trump
The devotion to Trump derives from the prophets seeing him as the messiah of their movement. They believe they have been anointed by God to serve as God’s instruments in ushering in a political kingdom. In Trump, they have found their “strong man” to be the means of accomplishing their goals.
To bring all society under their control, the prophets need a champion. They see Trump as the leader capable of helping them control all aspects of American life: family, government, arts and entertainment, media, business, education, religion. The goal is to place God’s anointed in charge so God can bring heaven to earth.
What the prophets fail to grasp is Trump has no intention of placing them in charge of any area of political significance. Posing for photo ops in the White House is a far cry from being a member of the president’s cabinet. In Trump’s first term, White-Cain served as his religious liaison and that was the extent of the visible power of the prophets.
Even as they drive the evangelical movement deeper into secular politics, they never will really be part of the inner circle.
If evangelicals want to reclaim their place as witnesses to the gospel, they need to disown the false prophets now defining evangelicals.
Instead of allowing these prophets of Baal to gather for photos and prayers in the Oval Office, true evangelical leaders need to refute the false prophets.
Rodney W. Kennedy is a pastor and writer in New York state. He is the author of 11 books, including his latest, Dancing with Metaphors in the Pulpit.
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