When Respected Leaders Fail - The Prophetic Grift

When Respected Leaders Fail - The Prophetic Grift

"if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it" Mathew 24:26 - All Quotes ESV

What a busy couple of months it has been for us. We moved into a fixer-upper and have been busy renovating and renewing this Mid-Century Modern 1981 bungalow. I’ve tried to write a few times, but there are just too many unfinished projects, and it’s cluttering my brain.

Right now I’m fresh off a week in the Mexican sun, and there’s a surge of creativity and drive to write… so let’s go!

I may have been silent, but the world hasn’t—and in the Church, the consistent Holy Spirit-driven exposure of cover-up culture has continued. In recent months Mike Winger has thoroughly exposed some of the biggest abusers in the modern Church. Of course, my short article isn’t going to hold a candle to Mike Winger’s 6-hour, thoroughly vetted, quadruple-checked, incredibly detailed work on this subject… and that’s okay. Mike Winger is called to do what Mike Winger is called to do. I just want to be faithful in the things I know.

My article today was inspired by Mike’s videos as well as the recent interview with Mark Slezinger from IHOPKC—the man whose story began the exposure of Mike Bickle’s abusive past and the culture of abuse lurking under the surface in Kansas City and its larger prophetic community. Mark spoke of how the prophetic was used to manipulate people—but he still believes strongly in it, having experienced it in real ways that positively impacted his life.

The “Prophetic Grift”

One of the most consistent threads in these Church abuse stories is what I call the “Prophetic Grift”… a play on “Prophetic Gift.” I’m referring to the use of prophecy and “words from the Lord” to steer policy, direction, support, allegiance, or unity.

Of course, as I write this, some Christians will place themselves in the cessationist camp—that there are no words from God today since the Bible. Then there are those who hold such words in even deeper value than Scripture itself.

As for me, I’m not a cessationist. I firmly believe prophecy exists today… I’ve experienced it myself. That said, I’ve also experienced false prophetic words, and looking back, I can see times when I believed God was speaking when it was just my own imagination. Therein lies the problem: in an age of deception, groups like Bethel and others insist we must hear from God in the literal sense. They promote “practicing” the gift of prophecy and grace for mistakes and getting it wrong—to the degree that greater emphasis lands on prophetic words than on Scripture itself.

But how do we know when we’re being deceived? If we know we’re deceived, we’re no longer deceived—but either living in rebellion to Christ or moving on from that deception to embrace real truth. That’s the challenge with Church cultures that heavily endorse and promote listening prayer, words of knowledge, and prophetic words. When the prophetic becomes the focus, Scripture takes a back seat… not intentionally, but by default, since the prophetic relies on emotional connection—experience—rather than logic or understanding.

Looking back, I can see where the prophetic genuinely drew me deeper into relationship with Christ—and also where I got hooked on seeking that high instead of simply trusting God through His Word. I can see how my quest for emotional connection to God sometimes deceived me into thinking I was close when, in reality, I had allowed my heart to be deceived because the Bible took a back seat to the experience.

I never got pulled deep into IHOP culture, though I did listen to a lot of their worship. I found Mike a bit pretentious personally. That said, I’ve been pulled in by several prosperity and Word of Faith teachers in the past. It’s taken me well over a decade of intensive reading and studying to reach where I stand today. Teachers like Creflo, Copeland, Osteen, Julie Meyer, Paula White, Oral Roberts, Benny Hinn, Jesse Duplantis—and more recently Bill Johnson, Mike Bickle, Peter Wagner, and others—love using the prophetic to rile up and engage crowds. Some teachers have recently been accused/exposed in reports as alleged grifters… using social media posts to appear to gain special knowledge ahead of events so they could wow the crowds..

The prophetic can become a grift more than a gift in some cases. It’s sometimes used to fleece the Church, drive abusive cover-up cultures where narcissistic leaders gratify themselves off the pain of those seeking Christ.. In recent years many have faced public allegations and controversies regarding alleged abuse or misuse of finances—including Mike Bickle, Ravi Zacharias, Robert Morris, Shawn Bolz, Benny Hinn, Brian Houston, Todd White, Steve Lawson, Joni Lamb, Chris Reed, Steven Furtick, Carl Lentz, Bill Hybels, Creflo Dollar, and Jesse Duplantis—and yet many Christians, desiring to hear from God or experience a miraculous “touch” from God, continue to pour cash and support into many of their “ministries.”

Avoiding the Grift

So the question is—how can we avoid getting pulled into the spiritual grift? If, as I said earlier, the prophetic has a legitimate place—how do we keep from elevating leaders in unhealthy ways, losing our capacity for reasoning and logic, and becoming deceived by our own thoughts?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Prophecy must be 100% right 100% of the time. This means there is no “practicing to get it right.” This is evidenced by

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (ESV)

“But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.”

2. Test every word by the authority of Scripture. This is evidenced by


1 John 4:1
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”


1 Corinthians 14:29
Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.


Acts 17:11
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

3. Pursue Holiness - Not spiritual highs. Holiness is a repeated command for all believers; prophecy is a gift for some, secondary to love and building up the church.


Hebrews 12:14 — Pursue … holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
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1 Peter 1:15-16 — Be holy in all your conduct, for “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
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2 Corinthians 7:1 — Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
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1 Thessalonians 4:7 — God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

4. Elevate Love more than Prophecy.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (ESV)
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.


1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV)
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

5. If God wants to speak to you verbally—He will. Don’t sweat it… He’s already given you a 66-book love letter and the Holy Spirit… those “gifts” are all meant to build up the church—not yourself or to enrich or gratify some spiritual grifter.


1 Corinthians 14:12 (ESV)
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

6. In a nutshell… if a pastor or spiritual leader is elevated because they “appear” to have some higher level of connection to God—use caution. If they are ever wrong… elevate that caution by a million. See point number one. A true prophet can’t be wrong. They may get it right occasionally and may sometimes help people—but if they are wrong once, there is likely a trail of bodies behind them.

We can be comforted that nothing today is surprising regarding Church leaders in it for the wrong reasons. Paul spent a bunch of time talking about spiritual grifters:

Philippians 1:15-18 (ESV)

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (ESV)

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Galatians 1:6-7 (ESV) (context of false teachers distorting the gospel)

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

For now… I am thankful for men and women exposing the fraudsters, false teachers, and the spiritually “grifted.”

7. If they constant focus on money and personal gain, make a show of giving publicly… run!

1 Timothy 6:5 ESV: “…imagining that godliness is a means of gain.”

1 Timothy 6:6 ESV: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

1 Timothy 6:9-10 ESV: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.”

8. A pastor that avoids accountability is not qualified for service.

Proverbs 28:13 ESV: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

John 3:20 ESV: “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”

Let’s leave those teachers behind and dive into the Bible. The One who is the “Word” in John 1—who created all things and by whom everything that exists was created—has left us a book filled with His words and deeds. He will meet us there… and yes—sometimes we will experience Him—but that experience will come out of a biblically founded relationship, not from the weirdo on TV or on the stage using Facebook to data-mine, manipulated rhythms or tones, or promising wealth if you just….

In Hebrews 12:1-2 we read that Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. These verses call us to lay aside every weight—and the sin that entangles us—and to run the race with patience (also insert endurance)… fixing our eyes on Jesus alone!

I’m in on that - and I hope there is an army of sold out followers of Christ who will leave behind the grift and dive into the real person of Jesus Christ!

For additional readings see my article on listening prayer as well.