Bill Johnson (1) (1951–)

Stumbled across this and decided to take a look at what megachurches are teaching. Not much it seems. Every answer is tepid and vague. There are big whiffs of the nasty prosperity gospel as you might expect and a general shrug for the "hard question" of what he does when the prayers don't work. Just believe anyway (and don't forget to open your pocket book).

Merged review:

Stumbled across this and decided to take a look at what megachurches are teaching. Not much it seems. Every answer is show more tepid and vague. There are big whiffs of the nasty prosperity gospel as you might expect and a general shrug for the "hard question" of what he does when the prayers don't work. Just believe anyway (and don't forget to open your pocket book). show less

If you are looking for a book to not read this year, I would suggest you start with "The Power That Changes the World" by Bill Johnson.

At first blush the thesis of the book seems legitimate, even noble. Each and every believer is called to become an agent of change in the world so that God's kingdom can be advanced.

I had my suspicions about the actual goal of the author when I started the book, not knowing anything about Bill Johnson but was determined to read it with an open mind. That show more lasted about two chapters.

With one small book (only 159 pages!) Bill seeks to undermine or demolish every orthodox truth that the church (I Tim 3:15) has spent the last 2,000 years establishing.

The antithesis? Forget about it. The fact that God's kingdom is not carnal but spiritual? You must be dreaming!

Bill Johnson is hoping to establish the kingdom of God here on this earth, and is optimistic that the first city that can be "conquered" is his own home city of Redding, CA. Bill Johnson should read Luke 17:20, "And when (Jesus) was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation." In other words, stop waiting for Redding, CA to become home base for the Kingdom of God.

Actually, I wish to correct my opening paragraph. There is a group of individuals that should read it. It should be read by all first year seminary students to give them a clear illustration of eisegesis.

I now know that Bill Johnson belongs in the same camp as his mentor, Benny Hinn. In this too they can be real, live, breathing examples of those ministers referred to in 2 Peter 2:1 "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." show less

Stumbled across this and decided to take a look at what megachurches are teaching. Not much it seems. Every answer is tepid and vague. There are big whiffs of the nasty prosperity gospel as you might expect and a general shrug for the "hard question" of what he does when the prayers don't work. Just believe anyway (and don't forget to open your pocket book).

This book was one of the prescribed texts for a course that I undertook during 2017.

On the surface, the book is both easy to read and difficult to read. Whilst the language used is fairly straightforward, trying to understand the meaning or message sometimes requires working through a lot of waffle.

A few pages in I was struck with some of the ways Johnson appeared to misrepresent scripture quotation(s). Reading the verses(s), context and in some cases commentaries led to an entirely show more different conclusion being drawn to the one Johnson was using to support his view.

On a more serious note, a number of areas of areas of theology and doctrine presented by Johnson are highly questionable and border on heresy. To give but one example, Johnson clearly supports the kenotic heresy throughout the book. This is clearly to support his view regarding miracles, signs and wonders. He is also clearly an adherent to the Word Of Faith doctrine based on his writing.

I could not recommend this book. If one was to read it, I'd recommend referring back to the word of God (the bible) frequently, not to suspend one's critical thinking (just because of the celebrity or fame of the author) and to exercise one's spiritual gift of discernment. But don't take my word for it, compare it to God's word. show less