What does Bill Johnson teach on the sovereignty of God? What does this tell us about the Charismatic movement who support him and his ministry? How should we view Bethel Church in Redding, California?
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Good afternoon (or evening or morning) Paul,
I’ve been listening to your podcast dealing with Bill Johnson re: his message on the Sovereignty of God. You read off several names of well-known pastors who endorsed Johnson’s book God is Good. Many of the people you read camp out within the Pentecostal and Charismatic wing of the church in the United States. Most of them sit within the Arminian stream regarding theology proper and soteriology. For example, Johnson church used to be apart of the Assemblies of God, but he broke away from them in disagreement over doctrine and practice.
Since about 1996/1997, Johnson and the leadership of his church have been apart of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). This is also true for Che Ahn, John Arnott, Chuck Pierce, Randy Clark, Lou Engle, the late Bob Jones, Paul Cain, etc. The founder of the NAR movement is also the one who coined the terminology. C. Peter Wagner is the “spiritual grandfather” for all of the persons that I listed. Johnson’s theology flows out of Wagner’s.
The best place to start for Wagner is his book called Dominion, which he published in 2008. In one of the chapters, he argues that the next generation of Spirit-filled apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers need to loose themselves from the shackles of classical theism in order to embrace an open view (in other words, open theism) of God’s sovereignty. For example, Randy Clark is on the record as being an open theist.
I’ve listened to many of Johnson’s messages on YouTube, but I haven’t heard him say, “I’m an open theist.” But when you listen to him speak, it seems hard to deny that Johnson expresses views that smell like open theism. I have only read one book by Johnson, and it is called When Heaven Invades Earth, published in 2003. He reissued an expanded edition in 2013 for its tenth anniversary, but I haven’t read it. Therefore, I don’t know if he revised or updated the content.
What you will find in When Heaven Invades Earth is an advocacy of an heretical form of the kenosis doctrine re: Christ’s incarnation. In fact, Johnson’s view of Christ’s incarnation seems to be the “accepted” one with those in the NAR. Lastly, this movement heavily promotes Wagner’s teaching regarding the seven mountains of culture or 7 Mountain Dominionism. Before my wife and I relocated from Pasadena, CA to Louisville, KY, it was commonplace to see the immense influence of the NAR and its teachings in many Southern California churches.
Sincerely,
Matthew
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ll be sure to look them up.