“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist and a magician with the same delight.” CS Lewis
American’s Got Talent is one of my favorite shows. I enjoy being surprised by unusual talent. I smile at the lady on a unicycle balancing spinning plates on tall rods. I admire the groups that combine music and dancing while integrating pyrotechnics. I love the personal stories of the contestants and have enjoyed watching them go on to become celebrities, such as Teri Fator, an unparalleled ventriloquist.
Then, there are the requisite strong men performances. The Ramadhani Brothers were amazing.
There were all kinds of unexpected incredible talents. Some would never have occurred to me. I watched as Alex Magala performed his startling sword-swallowing act.
I have watched every AGT show, finding it to be a delightful diversion from my usual diet of talking heads and crime shows. I am amazed at a God who created so many people with spectacular aptitudes. However…I have never once mistaken AGT or similar shows as a church service or Christian conference. It is entertainment.
The Stronger Men’s Conference is simply a mini version of America’s Got Talent.
Here is the link to the coming 2025 Conference. Take a minute and look at the pictures on the front page:” football, motorcycles, bull riding, and a big old tank! Then, there are pictures of a few speakers with no indication of their backgrounds or what they’ll teach. Just smiling faces amongst the tanks. This is not a conference. It is an entertainment show with a little Bible Lite thrown in to pretend it is spiritual. The mistake that the planners made is the assumption that this is a place where they will teach men “to be strong for the families.
They provided top-notch acts that are well-known outside of the “evangelical set.” Neither Magdala nor the Ramadhani Brothers did anything out of the ordinary. They performed their acts by removing their shirts due to the sweat that was produced. Magdala licked his sword since saliva aids in the sword insertion. There is a pole to demonstrate how he can climb and keep a sword in his throat without dying. The Ramadhani Brothers have used poles to add oomph to the act. This. Is. Normal. Except Mark Driscoll, once a darling of the new Calvinists, has ditched that act for a new one that involves demons, etc., hoping that’ll get the attention of the pew sitters.
In my opinion, this whole thing was one of the worst examples of a Christian gathering that I have ever seen. Those guys are entertainers. They were paid to do their act, and Driscoll, seeing an opportunity, decided to turn entertainment into a treatise for demon spirits. Old Marky has gone ARC on us and hopes to sell us all on his “resurrection” from Mars Hill. Driscoll is a problem and should never be allowed a platform again, even one in a show like “Stronger Men” that revels in Bible Lite. I wonder just how much money this conference makes for the Lindell Brothers, or is it James River Church, an Assemblies of God church?
Magdala spoke out about Driscoll’s apparent linkage of his act to the Jezebel spirit.
Although the Ramadhani Brothers were present and shirtless, it appears Driscoll set his sites on Magdala.
I wish Magdala hadn’t said a word. He is an excellent performer and that is why he was hired. Unfortunately, Christian Post wrote Alex Magala hits back at Mark Driscoll, says he’s Christian, sword performance was meant to inspire.
Magdala used to perform in strip clubs, gay bars, etc. He claims to have become a Christian, but Driscoll fans are having a ball proving he isn’t their sort of Christian. This irritates the heck out of me. When I look back on my Christian life, I think of the early days and wish I had done things differently. But Jesus and the church stuck with me, and I have grown through the years. I cannot imagine how difficult it is for Magdalla, and I wish him well on his faith journey.
“Pastor Mark Driscoll’s remarks about my act failed to recognize the difference between a male strip tease and a stunt performance rooted in art and sport,” Magala said in a statement posted on his Instagram page Wednesday.
“Only an uninformed person would draw a comparison between my act and an inappropriate performance. I feel that this danger act is perfect for the Stronger Men’s Conference. It provides inspiration to the audience and permission for them to reach new heights of what’s possible in their lives.”
The real problem was a conference that didn’t have its roots in careful Christian teaching. It was a show, and Mark Driscoll took advantage of it. I think it was a setup to tout his new book. I also wonder if the Lindell brothers are egging him on. Exciting controversy means a good show, which means more proceeds are at the box office.
Jezebel and Mark Driscoll: a lovely combination of bad theology, hubris, and a book deal.
The Christian Post wrote Mark Driscoll slams Jezebel spirit after megachurch hosts sword swallower Alex Magala. I believe that Driscoll came to the conference to pump his book, which Amazon won’t sell but is. More on that shortly.
A viral video clip of Alex Magala’s sword-swallowing performance, which made him famous on family-friendly shows like “America’s Got Talent” and “Britain’s Got Talent,” followed by Driscoll’s response to it, has already sparked a wave of comments on social media and headlines in a variety of publications like USA Today, which Driscoll insisted on Monday misinterpreted what he means by the Jezebel spirit.
“Merriam-Webster defines a jezebel as ‘an impudent, shameless, or morally unrestrained woman.’ It’s a derogatory word akin to ‘tramp,’ and, according to the Jim Crow Museum, has ties to racism and anti-black imagery,” USA Today reported.
It looks like the Calvinist thing wasn’t too exciting for him. With the help of folks like Robert Morris, he’s got a new gig, and people love to talk about demons. It sure beats focusing on my Christian walk with Jesus. Jezebel is far more exciting.
“The Jezebel spirit is not a synonym for ‘tramp,’ and it’s got nothing to do with racism. The Jezebel spirit is a demon that has worked through men and women for centuries, from Queen Jezebel in 1st Kings to Jesus’s rebuke of the church in Thyatira in Revelation 2,” he wrote on X. “This demon seeks to control and dominate, most often through seductive women but oftentimes through overbearing, domineering men. I literally wrote the book on this. I want to give it away absolutely free. I get nothing out of it, I just want men and women to learn more about the spiritual war behind the war we see.”
Here’s the creepy thing he said that caused the dust to rise. I still believe it was a set-up to discuss his new book.
We’re going to talk about how to be an Elijah and how to deal with the average Jezebel. But let me do this,” Driscoll said, kneeling in a video of his critique of Magala’s performance at the conference posted on X.
“I’ve been up since 1 in the morning. The reason I’m hoarse is I’ve been praying for you, and my heart is very burdened for you. I want to be very careful with this, and it’s not what I want to say, but the Jezebel spirit has already been here. The Jezebel spirit opened our event. This is a rebuke and a correction of no one; this is an observation,” he explained.
“Before the word of God was open, there was a platform. It was a high place.On it was a pole, an Asherah. The same thing that’s used in a strip club for women who have the Jezebel spirit to seduce men. In front of that was a man who ripped his shirt off, like a woman does in front of a pole at a strip club,” he continued.
Driscoll’s book on demons that Amazon wouldn’t sell?
I love Amazon. I have multiple Kindles and buy lots of books. ChurchLeaders posted Mark Driscoll Claims New Book Was Banned From Amazon for ‘Offensive Content’
NEW DAYS, OLD DEMONS got me suspended from Amazon for ‘offensive content,’ yet these vile products are alive and well on the platform,” Driscoll tweeted on Sunday (July 2) alongside images of a “Transgender Affirmation” coloring book for children and other p*rnographically-themed material.
Driscoll added, “Like in the days of Elijah, they are trying to silence the word of God and faithful Bible teachers. New days, old demons, like I state in the book.”
“‘New Days, Old Demons’ is a prophetic study of sex, gender, woke politics, and how progressive Christianity is just a rebranding of ancient paganism,” the book’s description reads. “The same demons that were active in the days of Elijah are active today castrating the men, mutilating the children, closing the churches, and silencing the Bible teachers.”
…In promoting that series, Driscoll said it was “the most controversial, the most timely, the most prophetic sermon series I’ve ever done in my entire life.” He later added that the most pressing issue in the church today is “apostasy—we can call it wokeness—the worship of God being commingled with gender confusion and transgenderism and sexuality.”
Except Amazon does sell it.
James River Church is threatening to cut ties with Driscoll. You won’t believe, or maybe you will, what Driscoll is alleged have to done now.
I wish this were a “come to Jesus” moment, but it’s not. John Lindell is miffed at Driscoll. Never, ever diss a brother who is paying you in front of his paying audience. The Springfield News leaders posted James River Church threatens to cut ties with the controversial pastor if he ‘will not repent.’
James River Church pastor John Lindell threatened tocut ties with preacher Mark Driscollif he “will not repent” for his actions following the Stronger Men’s Conference this past weekend.
He discussed it inWednesday night’s prayer service.
…Lindell called Driscoll off the stage, but the two came together for a public discussion later on. Social media followers called the public discussion a reconciliation, something that Lindell refuted in his Wednesday evening prayer service, saying that Driscoll did not apologize for his actions.
You have to read these allegations by Pastor John Lindell. His two sons run the conference.
John Lindell also said that during phone calls with David Lindell, Driscoll accused his other son, Brandon Lindell, who also is a pastor at James River, “of a list of dark sins” and said “something evil was at work” at James River Church.
John Lindell said during the service that the church received so many violent threats and disturbing calls that they had to shut down their switchboard “for the first time ever.”
Driscoll is accused of being demonic and trying to cause friction between the Lindell brothers!
What Mark had done at this point was so egregious: Attempting to tear down the leader of the church, attempting to create friction between brothers, attempting to create discord between father and a son,” John Lindell said. “It seems demonic to me and honestly makes me very very concerned about Mark.”
According to The Roys Report in John Lindell Urges Mark Driscoll to ‘Repent’ for ‘Trying to Destroy’ His Church:
Now Lindell recounted a phone call that Driscoll had with David Lindell. According to the elder Lindell’s account, Driscoll said, “There is something evil at work in the church. There is a mixture of the sinful and the sacred.”
Driscoll allegedly urged David to “differentiate” from his brother, Brandon, whom Driscoll called “a broken man” and added, “Something is wrong with him,” according to John Lindell’s account.
The Roys Report confirmed that John Lindell, along with Robert Morris, supported Driscoll after the Mars Hill implosion. So he’s the one who helped set him up in Scottsdale and got him platformed!
He also confirmed past reporting by TRR regarding how Gateway Church Senior Pastor Robert Morris and marriage author Jimmy Evans have played in Driscoll’s comeback. Lindell described the two pastors as “spiritual overseers” who helped Driscoll and his wife “reestablish their ministry in Arizona, through the planting of Trinity Church.”
Final thoughts:
- The conference was a bunch of boys looking at Monster trucks and somehow learning to be good Christian men. I think it will fail in the sanctification department.
- I wonder how Driscoll feels about the dress code of sumo wrestlers.
- The entertainers performed their shows, just like they did at AGT. Driscoll’s criticism made him appear ill-informed about how these acts work.
- I believe Driscoll was looking for an opportunity to push his book.
- I believe a lot of this stuff about Asherah poles and demon spirits is bad theology.
- I wonder how long it took for Driscoll to give up Calvinism.
- Did Driscoll really believe in Calvinism, or did it appeal to his “I’m the authority” here manliness?
- Driscoll says he wrote “the” book on demons, so he appears to be the new expert on the matter. His theological development has been weak, in my opinion.
- Church and parachurch groups are quickly becoming entertainment venues, and then people get upset when they encounter real entertainers.
- Driscoll is beginning to sound unhinged to me.
- Lindell platformed him and bears the responsibility for his error in judgment.
- As for Asherah poles, take a look at this incredible pole dancer at AGT. It is not what you think. Mark-it’s called entertainment!
