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“Preachers of L.A.,” move over. (We’re talking the new Oxygen Channel reality TV series.) With all your Bentleys and bling, you’ve got competition. Your economic excesses, bragging rights to materialism in the name of God, and questionable lifestyles are being upstaged by a German Priest. Sure, you brag about living in Malibu and tell your critics to buzz off. (“The conversation should no longer be about whether it’s of God and all this kind of stuff and whether God is going to pass judgment – no no no.” – Deitrick Haddon, one of the show’s stars.) Sorry to tell you that you’ve been upstaged by a German Bishop who just remodeled his house for $42 million, at the expense of the Catholic Church. That earned him a suspension from none other than Pope Francis. The priest, Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, filled his new abode with priceless artwork and a $20,000 bathtub. In Franz’s case, the money came from the Catholics of Germany who are required by law to pay up to 10% of their income to support the Church. In case of the LA Preachers, there’s no such extortion, and no Pope to yank their chain and call a halt to the madness.

Now I’ve admittedly only seen one episode, which sickened me enough to avoid watching again. Do we really need cameras behind the scenes as these self-indulgent preachers lay bare their personal problems, including the inability to sustain relationships and promiscuous dalliances leading to illegitimate children? One outspoken black pastor, Michael Fisher of the Greater Zion Church Family of Compton California, put it this way: “They are giving the world ammunition to shoot back at the church and not accept the message that it is trying to convey. They’ve sold out. It will call for pastors all over the country to have to defend their integrity because these men have decided to chase their dream of being in the public eye.”

The architect for the German Bishop’s residence says he was told by the potentate priest, “Create a house of God that will still be full of dignity in a century — no limits on spending.” That’s the same attitude on the “Preachers of LA,” that they are somehow entitled to live high and loose without criticism. No one begrudges them living well for working hard. The “laborer is worthy of his hire” (Luke 10:7); but there is a point beyond which it’s distasteful for a preacher on national TV to brag about his “Bentleys and bling” as if he deserved it for being a pastor. You and I are not the ultimate judges of the priest in Germany and the preachers in Los Angeles, but in an age when an economic collapse has devastated the financial dreams of so many, some moderation seems in order. Too bad there isn’t a Protestant Pope to take action. In the words of a publication known as The Log Angeles Wave,” This is a hit on the church, an institution that is in “rehab.” The church is trying to rehabilitate itself from the very type of imagery that this show projects, of the jack-leg, over-materialistic, skirt-chasing, prosperity-preaching con men that television evangelism has projected for three decades. Well, “Preachers of L.A.” just brought it back. Preachers fighting and arguing on television, in between getting in their Bentleys and Benzes, is not the depiction the struggling church wants to project.”

An encouraging word: THE BIBLE AND EVOLUTION
Psalm 8:3 declares, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place…” You probably know the rest of the passage about David standing in awe at the wonders of the universe and of man as God’s creation. Focus on this first part that declares God made the heavenly bodies with purpose and wonder. David realized that God was sovereign over his life because He is the source of all that exists. There was no evolutionary ascendancy of man from something lower to something higher. Man was created higher to begin with. As verse five of this chapter says, “You made him [man] a little lower than the heavenly beings [angels].”

Bob Larson has trained healing and deliverance teams all over the world to set the captives free and Do What Jesus Did (Luke 4:18).  You can partner with Bob and support this vision to demonstrate God’s power in action by calling 303-980-1511 or clicking here to donate online.

Bob Larson has trained healing and deliverance teams all over the world to set the captives free and Do What Jesus Did (Luke 4:18).  You can partner with Bob and support this vision to demonstrate God’s power in action by calling 303-980-1511 or clicking here to donate online.

A recent news article says it all with the headline: Growing demand for exorcist priests in Ireland: Specially trained priests now available to cast out spirits. The admission that exorcism priests are in need and being trained is the good news; the bad news is that the photo above is not an abstract, artsy view of the clergy. This picture is purposeful to hide the identity of the priests doing exorcisms. Exorcism is still deemed by the Church to be something kept clandestine and out of public view. The report accompanying this photo says that “At least three practicing clergymen have been taught how to perform the ancient ritual on people who believe they have been possessed by demonic spirits.” Three? That’s not exactly a cause for celebration in a Catholic nation of nearly five million people. Our average DWJD (Do What Jesus Did) deliverance team (we have 600 worldwide and 100 in North America) certainly has more than three people able to cast out demons. I’m not making light of this positive step forward by Catholics in Ireland, but the desperate need for those trained should be more like 300 priests.

That’s why our International School of Exorcism was started, to raise up an army of spiritually educated individuals who have learned the crucial elements of confronting evil spirits. Training Christians in spiritual warfare is crucial to the survival of Christianity in the face of growing political and cultural hostility. Our instruction isn’t just about casting out demons. It’s also focused on preparing ordinary lay people to help friends and family members who are bound by spiritual oppression. Everyone reading this knows someone, in or out of your immediate bloodline, who needs deliverance. The signs are there: addictions which can’t be overcome by rehab alone; abusive and self-destructive behavior which repeats itself generation after generation; sickness, disease and death stalking far more family members than statistical averages would explain away.

If you’re not enrolled in our School of Exorcism, a Bible College of Spiritual Warfare, call today for details regarding our new, temporary scholarship program. You’ll be amazed at how affordable enrollment can be. Exorcism and deliverance are not difficult. I’ve spent decades learning it the hard way, without anyone to mentor me, so I can now teach you how easy it is to set free those you love. The Lord has given us the command; He has given us the power in His name. This is something everyone can do and should do. If you doubt that, call today 303-980-1511 and speak to one of our enrollment specialists today. Let’s stop hiding the face of exorcism and bring it into the open and shame Satan into retreat.

An encouraging word: DWJD TEAM SPOTLIGHT – NASHVILLE

You are a part of helping those in need in Northern Ireland! Donna Varno, of Freedom Keepers (our “Do What Jesus Did” team in Nashville, TN), recently traveled to Belfast to spend eight days ministering to survivors and victims of the institutional abuse that happened in children’s homes across Ireland. What stood out the most in meeting with the survivors is that the majority were not aware that they could find an end to the torment that they have suffered for decades.  As the truth of deliverance becomes more well known, there will be a greater need for trained exorcists in that area. (Even though Donna has been ministering deliverance for 12 years, she is enrolled in the inaugural year of the International School of Exorcism in order to become as proficient as her mentor, Rev. Bob Larson.)  For more more on what the Lord is doing in Nashville through DWJD in Nashville, see http://freedomkeepers.net

Bob Larson has trained healing and deliverance teams all over the world to set the captives free and Do What Jesus Did (Luke 4:18).  You can partner with Bob and support this vision to demonstrate God’s power in action by calling 303-980-1511 or clicking here to donate online.