Signs & Wonders Blog

As last week’s blog article stated, October is Clergy Appreciation Month. There’s also a Clergy Appreciation Day on the second Sunday in October (which happens to be today). Since the early 1990s, these unofficial holidays have reminded congregations to honor ministers and their families.   Sadly, too many Christians use the Internet to criticize preachers  they don’t like. How about they instead express gratitude for the ones who helped them grow in the Lord? Over the years, God has used ministers from various denominations to speak into my life. Some are pastors whom I previously wrote about in this list . This article will highlight others who weren’t mentioned: John Arnott - In 1994, a supernatural move of God began at Toronto Airport Vineyard. Changed lives resulted from what became known as “ The Toronto Blessing .” I first saw Pastor John during a 1995 meeting in Minneapolis. A few weeks later, I made the first of many visits to the church now known as Catch the Fir...

In his book “The Coming Revival”, Rodney Howard-Browne wrote, “If you're on fire for God and you’re full of the Holy Spirit, you can take the power of God wherever you go. But too many Christians are allowing the influence of the world to stop them or pull them down.” I’ve seen believers focus on negative things as a result of watching the news for hours or looking for the latest heresies spreading within the church. Recently a Facebook friend posted this on her page: “A worldwide revival is not prophesied in scripture. This is a NAR/WOF false teaching. The Bible teaches there will be apostasy—a great falling away. Believe the Bible!” NAR refers to the New Apostolic Reformation, a term used by the late Peter Wagner to describe a movement some have called “dominion theology.” That is a belief Christians will gradually take over all aspects of society. Although Jesus said in Luke 19:13 (KJV), “ Occupy till I come ” , the Bible also mentions the antichrist ruling the world during ...

Today is Super Bowl Sunday . The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs will battle against the San Francisco 49ers. Four years ago, those same two teams played for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. I rooted for the Chiefs because of a prophecy promising revival would occur when that team wins the big game. Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. That prompted many pastors to close down their churches. Around the time the Chiefs won the big game again last year, the Asbury Outpouring in Kentucky happened but got shut down after a couple of weeks. I’m still expecting a greater end-time harvest of souls to manifest before the Lord’s return. Since  the  Minnesota Vikings  ( my favorite team ) won’t be playing, I don’t care who wins Super Bowl LVIII. Often I don’t watch the game live, but catch the highlights later on YouTube. I prefer to avoid seeing all the pregame hype, commercials, and the halftime show. I’m also repelled by the increasing wokeness in professional sports. The NFL ...

Two nights ago at Rodney Howard-Browne ’s church, I attended a service where evangelist Jonathan Shuttlesworth was the guest speaker. At the end, he offered to pray for everyone. When Jonathan laid hands on me, I didn’t get slain in the spirit but noticed a tingling in my hands afterward. When I woke up the next morning, I felt a stirring in my spirit. Even as I write this, my hands are still tingling.  Christianity is not dependent on feelings such as Mormons urging potential converts to seek after a “burning in the bosom.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us,  “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”  Nevertheless, God has often manifested Himself to where I felt Him doing things in me. On the night on my conversion in 1991, my brother-in-law led me in a prayer to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I then felt a surge of electricity flow through my body. All the guilt I felt from the sins I committed suddenly left. One Monday night in 1995, following a street evangelism o...

Today is Clergy Appreciation Day. Sadly, many believers use the Internet to criticize preachers they don't like. Some think particular individuals shouldn’t be in the ministry. The truth is God calls the most unlikely people. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says,  “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” If someone told me over thirty years ago I would be an evangelist, I wouldn’t have believed them. I sought a career in the recording industry and also worked as a disc jockey. Becoming a minister was the furthest thing from my mind. My life radically changed after I got born again on March 19th, 1991. As a young Christian, God used some of my natural abilities to do His work, such as duplicating cassettes in my church’s tape ministry. Eventually, spiritual gifts developed as I stepped out and followed the Holy Spirit’s promptings. Consider these individuals God u...

Shortly after the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC Championship Game two weeks ago, Facebook friends posted a meme about the late Bob Jones who died in 2014. This prophet had ( according to Shawn Bolz ) predicted revival would come when the Chiefs win the Super Bowl. At first, I was skeptical of this prophecy. I recalled a similar one that surfaced four years earlier regarding the Carolina Panthers . They lost Super Bowl 50 to the Denver Broncos. Critics may look at all this and dismiss Bob Jones as a false prophet. However, I know of other prophecies given by him that were accurate. During the late 1980s, Bob prophesied: “The black panthers are coming to the lumberyard of Charlotte.” This was years before the Carolina Panthers entered the NFL as an expansion team. Their home stadium was ultimately built on land that used to be a lumberyard. 1 Corinthians 13:9 says, “For we know in part and we prophesy in part.” It’s possible for someone to receive a word from the Lord but then h...

A few weeks ago, reports surfaced of immoral behavior involving Canadian-born evangelist Todd Bentley. Three of his former associates who I’m friends with on Facebook issued public warnings about him. Todd has denied most of these accusations. Meanwhile, a tribunal has been set up to investigate the charges. At the time of this writing, I’ve not heard of any legal action taken against Todd.  Unless he is proven guilty, I’m choosing to believe the best about Todd Bentley (1 Corinthians 13:7). It was around 2002 when I started hearing about him. His name stood out to me because I had a junior high classmate also named Todd Bentley.  The first time I heard evangelist Todd Bentley minister was at The River at Tampa Bay church in 2004. He wasn’t the scheduled speaker but Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne invited him to come up to the pulpit for a few minutes. Because he’s from Canada, I was surprised to hear Todd preach like an American Pentecostal. Over the next few year...

Over twenty years ago I made the first of what would be many trips to the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida. My initial reaction wasn’t too favorable. Previously I hadn’t heard any sermons from Pastor John Kilpatrick or Evangelist Steve Hill and was taken aback by their in-your-face preaching styles. I would have preferred attending more renewal meetings in Toronto but the Lord kept sending me to Pensacola. Since then I have grown to appreciate the ministry that went forth from Brownsville Assembly of God . Their leadership’s passion for purity and holiness is greatly needed in our churches. Once I posted on Facebook a link to a Steve Hill article warning against heretical teachings invading the church. A fellow minister responded to that with mocking comments. He wrote, “I always cringe when people/prophets/fruitcakes say they have a word of rebuke from the LAWd. He is the God of ALL ENCOURAGEMENT.” Ironically, I spent time with this minister in Pensacola the year be...

With friends I met in 1996 Twenty-five years ago today, a supernatural move of God began at a church near the Toronto airport. When guest speaker Randy Clark prayed over congregation members that night, they started shaking, hollering, and doing other things religious folk would consider disruptive. However, there were changed lives as a result of what became known as “The Toronto Blessing” (or “The Father’s Blessing” as Pastor John Arnott prefers calling it). Soon people from all over the world flocked to Toronto Airport Vineyard to experience a fresh touch from God. By 1995, both pastors and lay people from my home church in Minnesota were making pilgrimages to Toronto. One woman who visited there invited a group of us to watch videos of services from Toronto Airport Vineyard. Initially, I wasn’t impressed because the preaching didn’t sound “charismatic” enough. The worship music gradually appealed to me because of its unique passionate sound not often heard in churches b...