‘Prophetic art’ – Belfast church teaching people to paint your prophecy

There are some bizarre events led by churches within the charismaniac movement, but one that was held at Christian Fellowship Church Belfast (or CFC Belfast) on Saturday past will take some beating in that regard.

This church, which is based on the Belmont Road in east Belfast, played host to a ‘Prophetic Art Conference’.

What exactly prophetic art is we are really rather unsure, though we have visited a few online pages showing some pictures, including someone who had written down ‘Be still and know that I am God’ and coloured in the individual letters.

This was, apparently, prophetic.

The website Prophecy Through Art tries to justify such nonsense by saying that “Our Father is a creative God” because He made the world.

Well, yes, of course He did but it is scarcely equivalent to writing out a Bible quote or drawing a picture of a heart and somehow labelling it prophetic.

Throughout the entirety of the prophetic books, of which there are rather a lot, and the various prophesies in other books of the Bible, of which there are rather a lot as well, there is a notable absence of prophets pulling out an easel and doing a watercolour to explain the situation in the land.

We don’t have Elijah delivering a picture of dried up rivers to Ahab at the start of 1 Kings 17 or Ezekiel sculpting his impression of the vision of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37.

Of course, were they to have done so, they were prophesying of future events, whereas the examples of prophetic art are simply drawings people take to mean something to them, an artistic version of a fortune cookie or horoscope.

The event at CFC Belfast was ran by a group called Acts Ministries International (AMI) who claim it “equips you in hearing the voice of God through art”.

Acts Ministries International was born out of Phoenix Vineyard Church, and certainly the Vineyard Church name is a leading figure on both sides of the Atlantic in all manner of charismatic nonsense.

Andrew Montgomery (pictured, top) is a leader of AMI Ireland, a local branch of this charismatic organisation which, like so many others, is obsessed with “signs and wonders”.

He is also an Associate Pastor of another charismatic church, called Destination Church Belfast, based in the Newtownabbey area in the north of the city.

Andrew Montgomery apparently gave an “introduction to prophecy” at the event, while another member of his church, a Diane Latimer, helped lead one of the workshops, which we will elaborate upon shortly.

Another session was led by a Jill McKee (pictured, below), who is the Clerk of Session at First Presbyterian Church, Ballynahinch in County Down.

She ought not to hold the position she does, of course.

1 Timothy 3:1-2, 12 says: “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.”

First Presbyterian Church, Ballynahinch is certainly not a church which anyone should wish to associate themselves with.

It is currently taking part in an Alpha Course initiative, that leaven-filled scheme which is ran by that Rome lover Nicky Gumbel and also recently held a line dance in its church hall in yet another example of worldly pleasures being introduced to the church.

As an aside, the Methodist and Baptist churches in Ballynahinch are also taking part in that Alpha Course.

While, generally speaking, Methodist churches are to be studiously avoided, the Baptist Church is a rather mixed bag in Ulster.

It would appear Ballynahinch Baptist Church is one to be wary of.

Lynsey Grierson of Cadence House of Prayer, an inter-denominational grouping in Bangor, County Down, was also leading a workshop.

While we had not previously heard of Cadence House of Prayer, their website states it was set up by a husband and wife duo (the charismatics do love those) called Denise and Frederick Hayward, who met apparently “when they were both in full-time ministry as part of a worship and healing dance team”.

Of course they were. We believe that says it all.

Also helping lead sessions were a Victor Mitchell of the Journey Community Church in Antrim, who enthusiastically promoted the disgraceful, heretical Bethel Supernatural Ministries earlier this year, an Erin Charteris of another CFC branch in Strandtown, also Belfast, and a Claire Fair of King’s Church in Bangor.

The pastor of King’s Church is a character we have featured previously, Glen Mitchell (pictured, above), due to his rejection of the Biblical account of creation in favour of the Christ denying blasphemy known as the Big Bang Theory (his endorsement of this heresy is pictured, below), as well as his expression of disappointment when a vote to light up the town hall in his nearby town of Newtownards in honour of sodomy was overturned by local councillors.

So there certainly was an encouraging pattern to follow for those in attendance.

Indeed, rather ironically, it was something of a painting by numbers collection of charismatics and Christ deniers posing as religious leaders.

The workshops within the ‘Prophetic Art Conference’ certainly were unusual.

First among these was entitled ‘Art Reach’ – this taught attendees “how God communicates through art for reaching to your community”.

That really does sound illuminating. The individuals running that workshop were a Kadie Hooley and Brianna Robinson of Youth With A Mission (YWAM). What that mission is, going by that workshop synopsis, is anyone’s guess.

Workshop two was entitled ‘Painting His Heart’ and was brought by Jill McKee of First Presbyterian Church, Ballynahinch. This workshop taught you “how to grow in intimacy with God connecting with Him for others”.

Again, answers on a postcard from anyone who knows what that means.

The third workshop is perhaps the most outrageous and ludicrous of the lot.

It was entitled ‘Corporate Prophetic Art’ which allowed attendees to “be equipped to spontaneously draw and clearly communicate the prophetic gift in a worship setting”.

This truly is nonsense.

Lynsey Grierson of Cadence House of Prayer, Diane Latimer of Destination Church Belfast and Victor Mitchell of Journey Community Church in Antrim were responsible for that exercise.

And the fourth, and, on the face of it, least ludicrous workshop was called ‘The Secret Place’, in which you could “experience how art and writing can deepen your personal relationship with God through journaling”. Claire Fair of King’s Church Bangor and Erin Charteris of CFC Strandtown led the way on that one.

After these four sessions, there was then a cup of tea before engaging in worship and ministry, which would apparently include “opportunities to engage in prophetic art”.

This truly is a sad event, tricking those in attendance into thinking they have some prophetic gift, when all they are doing is drawing little pictures.

It most emphatically meets the bar of that which is warned against in 2 Timothy 4:4, which says: “And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

The idea that someone drawing a heart, as we have seen on some websites we have viewed discussing so-called ‘prophetic art’, could possibly be construed as prophetic is, in fact, pathetic.

As we have said before when discussing the outrageous so-called prophecies of the likes of Bethel Supernatural Ministries’ Havilah Cunnington, such vague generalities are not the currency that prophets dealt in in the Bible.

Look at the prophecy Jeremiah disclosed to King Zedekiah in the closing days of his reign.

Jeremiah 37:17 says: “Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

Did Jeremiah speak obtusely or abstractly? Did he sketch a drawing which Zedekiah was free to interpret whichever way he saw fit? Or did he clearly set forth the actual message of God?

Of course, this was a negative prophecy for Zedekiah which Jeremiah gave, and that is certainly not the sort of “prophecy” you would get from people taking part in these events.

It always seems to be a mindlessly positive prophecy, replete with the amazing plans God has for their life and the wonderful way in which He is going to use them.

If we look at what might be termed a positive prophecy from the Scripture, we will see once more that it was spoken plainly.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 says: “For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.”

Here is a prophecy of the deliverance of the children of Israel from oppression and that they would return to their own land after 70 years of captivity.

Is this the sort of thing that these people are prophesying of? Of course it isn’t.

They couldn’t prophesy an event happening next week, never mind in 70 years.

Dear reader, do not be taken in by such an outrageous event, but rather be steadfast in your opposition to such gimmicks and nonsense.

Also, be careful not to associate yourself with churches involved in this outrage, such as First Presbyterian Church, Ballynahinch, Destination Church Belfast, King’s Church, Bangor, Journey Community Church, Antrim as well as any church promoting the Alpha Course.

Let us be even bold as Jeremiah was in the prophecy above to Zedekiah, when he said “thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon”.

Speaking to a man who had the power to put him to death, Jeremiah told him the one thing which he wanted to hear the least.

Those in these churches and in the wider charismatic or ecumenical movement hate to hear what the Bible has to say on their unscriptural antics.

However, to be faithful, we are bound by God to say these things.

And let us strive to put the pleasing of God above the pleasing of man.

Acts 5:29: “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”

‘Sozo’ prayer brainwashing at charismaniac Open Skies Festival

2 Peter 2:1-2: “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. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”

The summer months are a popular time for various ‘religious’ festivals to be held throughout the country.

While we are not able to focus on every single one of them, one which took place last weekend is of particular note.

That is the Open Skies Festival which was held in Shane’s Castle in Antrim town from Friday, 9 to Sunday, 11 August.

It is not just because of the heavy involvement of Bethel and Hillsong musicians.

It is not just because of the heavy involvement of the Belfast based Crown Jesus Ministries supremo known only by the matey moniker of ‘Mitch’ (pictured, top).

It is not just because of the heavy involvement of one of the Causeway Coast Vineyard lead pastors, Tre Sheppard (pictured, below) or indeed any of the other characters who were speaking at the festival.

While all those issues deserve highlighting individually and collectively, there is another, even more sinister and concerning aspect of this event.

That is a session which was held on the Saturday morning of the festival entitled, ‘Introduction to Sozo’.

No doubt, many will be asking, what is Sozo?

An article from the Christian Post, which plays, to use a cricketing analogy, with a straight bat throughout, giving both sides of the argument without taking any particular strong view, gives us some details, which we will reproduce at intervals throughout the article (you can read it in full by clicking here).

It says: “The Sozo ministry or Sozo prayer started in Redding, California, in 1997 by Bethel Church — a nondenominational charismatic megachurch. The idea was inspired after a healing evangelist, Randy Clark, held a prayer training at the church.”

Several alarm bells should be ringing already at this point.

Bethel Church, based in Redding, California, is a dreadful organisation replete with heresies, false teaching and extra biblical nonsense.

This is something we have already highlighted on ‘Protestant Revival’ and you can read about some of the heresies of Bethel, including attempted raisings from the dead and the disputed practice of ‘grave sucking’, by clicking here.

Another alarm bell should be attached to the name of Randy Clark, leader of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), which the likes of Open Skies and numerous churches we have featured are strongly influenced by.

He was a leader in what became known as the ‘Toronto Blessing’, the frightening movement which saw those falling under its spirit howling like dogs, laughing hysterically and rolling around the floor.

It is alleged by its practitioners that this is evidence of the Holy Spirit at work, but the spirit causing such dreadful manifestations is most certainly not holy.

Randy Clark, indeed, is said to have received his “anointing” in this ungodly delusion and deception by none other than the self-proclaimed Holy Ghost bartender Rodney Howard-Browne, a man whose heresy you can read of by clicking here.

The word ‘sozo’ is a Greek word, meaning ‘to save, keep safe and sound’. Using the language of the New Testament is another shallow effort by its creators to sound orthodox.

The Christian Post article continues: “The Bethel Sozo website describes Sozo ministry as ‘a unique inner healing and deliverance ministry aimed to get to the root of things hindering your personal connection with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’.”

What hinders our relationship with God is sin, whether we are saved or unsaved. Confessing of our sin and living a blameless life for Him is what gives us a closer relationship with God.

We don’t need some charismatic delusion or gimmick to bring us closer to God, we need to study His Word and commune with Him in prayer ourselves.

The Christian Post article speaks to one keen practitioner of this heresy, a Paula Noble who is apparently an “Assemblies of God pastor” (1 Timothy 2:12).

Explaining how she handles sozo “appointments”, the article says “the person seeking inner healing meets with no less than two leaders, one who leads the Sozo prayer and another who records what God says throughout the meeting.”

This individual writes down what God apparently says to the “sozoee” and, even more remarkably, the pastor then tells them which bits of what the sozoee believe God is saying to them God is actually saying to them.

This Paula Noble says: “There’s a learning process for leaders too. [We need] discernment to say ‘that doesn’t sound like how Jesus would talk’ to someone because the enemy would totally try to sideline them.

“He’s never demeaning, He’s never harsh, and what He says always aligns with His word. So if the enemy tries to sideline a person and throw something else out there, I’m very quick to identify it.”

It’s very good of her to step in and let people know what God is saying to them.

She’s basically jumping in and saying: “No no, God isn’t telling you this bit. That’s actually the enemy (who is this enemy? If it’s the devil why can’t you say the devil?) The bit before, God was saying that nice bit, but this bit sounds a bit harsh, that’s not God.”

It is so obviously a nonsense and such a shameful, confused mess.

The point this woman is missing is that the entire practice does not “align with His Word”.

Nowhere in the Bible are we instructed to consult a church leader of any sort to get them to tell us what God is telling us as we pray to Him.

We are told in God’s Word how to pray and how God hears us.

1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”.

Romans 8:26-27: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

The Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ help us as we pray, our mediator is Jesus Christ, not some self-appointed pastor and expert on a nonsense invented 20 years ago by a church which teaches all manner of heresy.

Think even of the Lord’s Prayer. Did Jesus say we ought to get a pastor or minister and a church elder to come in to the room with us and tell us what God is saying? Of course He didn’t.

Furthermore, this also creates the problem that the pastor advising the person praying has total control over them, having full authority over what that person believes is God’s will for their life.

And that brings us to the most frightening, sinister aspect of this whole thing – “divine editing”.

The Christian Post article says that Bethel has came up with six tools to make the sozo process more effective, one of which is divine editing.

This is what the article says: “Divine editing has also been linked to Dr. Aiko Hormann in relation to the Sozo prayer.

“‘If your childhood lacked nurturing, invite your Heavenly Father to fill in the voids created by lack of nurturing. He will ‘edit’ your memories — both ‘edit out’ painful memories and ‘edit in’ His nurturing,’ Hormann’s website describes.”

Brainwashing, then.

How else can you describe changing people’s memories?

What a frightening prospect.

You don’t like a memory from the past? Just wipe it out.

You want to put a happy spin on an unhappy memory? Just change it.

As well as brainwashing, it also sounds like hypnotism.

Another character interviewed who practices and leads sozo sessions said of her experience (a key word among the charismatic delusion):

“As the facilitator continued to prompt me with questions, I began to see the cross and Jesus with His hand out for me to grab.

“Eventually, Jesus wanted to take me up a staircase to see God but I was afraid. The facilitator prompted me to forgive my earthly father; I did. Then I was able to go up and see God, my daddy on the throne and even sit on His lap.”

Since then, she claims, she is able to “visit Jesus” as well as “snuggle and even dance” with God.

What on earth is this nonsense leading people into?

Where does it say in the Bible that we can sit on God’s knee for a cuddle or go for a dance with Him? The very notion is outrageous and blasphemous.

This nonsense ties in with the false, ungodly notion of so many alleged “Christians” today who view God as a sort of Santa Claus in the clouds.

Yet this is what the Open Skies Festival is encouraging every one of its attendees to get themselves tied up in.

May God have mercy on every single one of them and deliver them from such ungodliness.

Every single speaker at this festival ought to be ashamed of themselves and every single one is implicated in this wretched mess.

Those speakers were, in addition to Causeway Coast Vineyard’s Tre Sheppard and good old Mitch of Crown Jesus Ministries, Jonathan Martin of ‘The Table’ church in Oklahoma, American worship musicians Leeland Mooring and Jason Upton, Azman Khairuddin of Journey Community Church, Hillsong worship leader Benjamin Hastings and Dario Leal of 1st Ballynahinch Presbyterian Church.

To be part of a festival which introduces a form of prayer which is utterly unknown to the Word of God and includes brainwashing practices such as “divine editing” is repugnant.

We would urge everyone reading this to please share this widely to warn of this latest grave deception which no doubt will now be carried round many Pentecostal and non-denominational churches throughout Ulster.

Sozo has not made it round this neck of the woods yet, but this is the start of the latest lie which does harm to the cause of God in our land.

We are seeking to warn against it and urge you to do the same.

Let us not be silent or neutral in such a grave matter, but rather let us fervently and “earnestly contend for the faith” in this day in which we are called to live.

‘Grave sucking’ and dead raising – Journey Community Church hosts ‘supernatural’ Bethel movement

2 Timothy 4:2-4: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

The Bethel Ministries megachurch, based in Redding, California, is well known for its outrageous antics and Christ defying behaviour.

From promoting extra-biblical revelation to attempting to raise people from the dead, it really doesn’t take much discernment to know this church is filled to the brim with heresy.

Then there is the falling gold dust and feathers which appear at their meetings, apparently sent by God, as He often did that in the Bible. Oh no wait, He didn’t.

A “glory cloud” also apparently appears at meetings, similar to the pillar of cloud that guided Moses and the children of Israel. One would imagine they would deny a smoke machine is in any way utilised at meetings.

Add in to the mixture the rumours of ‘grave sucking’, denied in somewhat unconvincing terms by Bethel’s leader, Bill Johnson, and you have a truly frightening prospect.

However, all this doesn’t seem to be deterring Journey Community Church in Antrim from inviting this heretical mob to spread their lies and deceits in Northern Ireland.

Bethel Church were in Glenmachan Church of God, a rather licentious pentecostal church in east Belfast, for a conference, called the Kingdom Come Conference, which was organised by Journey Community Church in Antrim.

We are not sure why they didn’t host the event at their own premises, but perhaps it wasn’t big enough to cope with the numbers they expected to join in this rejection of any form of decent worship or preaching of God’s Word.

The main draw, as it were, of Bethel Ministries is the method employed by so many charismatic heretics throughout our land and further afield – Contemporary Christian Music (CCM).

Music thumping out which sounds just like a pop concert carried out by any worldly music act, singers flailing about on stage, whipping the attendees into a frenzy, characterises much of this nonsense.

Creating a racket is not an indication of nearness to God.

Amos 5:21-24 says: “I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”

All this worldliness makes it easier to introduce the heresies taught by this evil movement, giving its adherents a false assurance of salvation.

And this is what Journey Community Church is inflicting on its followers and the people of Antrim and Belfast and throughout Ulster.

John Ashe (pictured, top) is the leader of Journey Community Church and he is quoted promoting the conference online.

He has serious questions to answer in organising and promoting this absolutely outrageous event.

Does he agree that there is extra Biblical revelation?

Bethel Ministries does.

Its leader, Bill Johnson, says in his book, ‘When Heaven Invades Earth’, the following: “Those who feel safe because of their intellectual grasp of Scriptures enjoy a false sense of security. None of us has a full grasp of Scripture, but we all have the Holy Spirit. He is our common denominator who will always lead us into truth. But to follow Him, we must be willing to follow off the map—to go beyond what we know.”

So the Bible doesn’t quite cut it for Bethel Ministries; private revelation, allegedly by the Holy Spirit, is very much the thing.

The Bible, however, stands alone. It says in Revelation 22:18: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book”.

But Bethel Ministries, John Ashe and Journey Community Church know better, they think.

Does John Ashe believe that it is possible, today, to raise someone from the dead?

Bethel Ministries does.

Another senior figure in that movement, Kris Vallotton, wrote in the Charisma Magazine of 27 February, 2012: “Some of the students from the Supernatural School of Ministry decided to go down to the morgue and “practice” raising the dead! Crazy? Maybe, but I admire their faith and their guts. It wasn’t Bill or me who gave them the idea, they were actually inspired by reading the Bible. Evidently, they thought they should believe what Jesus said. They definitely have more faith and courage than I do. So far they haven’t raised anyone at the mortuary from the dead, but it hasn’t deterred them a bit. I have heard of some students from another school that started a DRT team. You guessed it, the letters stand for Dead Raising Team! I really don’t know if they have had any success yet. I do know of several Christians who have raised the dead.”

That truly is laughable, isn’t it? Or it would be if it weren’t so sad.

Does John Ashe believe it would be appropriate for members of Journey Community Church to head to a morgue, perhaps at Antrim Area Hospital, to try to raise people from the dead?

As for the grave sucking, as we mentioned above, it has been denied in rather unconvincing terms.

In his book, ‘The Physics of Heaven’, Bill Johnson says: “There are anointings, mantles, revelations and mysteries that have lain unclaimed, literally where they were left, because the generation that walked in them never passed them on. I believe it’s possible for us to recover realms of anointing, realms of insight, realms of God that have been untended for decades simply by choosing to reclaim them and perpetuate them for future generations.”

Does John Ashe believe that “anointings, mantles, revelations and mysteries have lain unclaimed” because the dead didn’t pass them on before they breathed their last?

But hey, we’ll ignore all that because Bethel play some catchy music, won’t we?

The chief musician helping make Bible rejection look attractive is Kristene Di Marco, while also in attendance is Eric Johnson, the senior pastor and presumably a relation of the leader, Bill Johnson. Chris Cruz, the Young Adults Pastor and Jordan Di Marco, the pastor of the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.

This is, of course, the school which boasts students who were trying to raise people from the dead.

The Kingdom Come conference was held over the past three days, from 4-6 April, and we would encourage readers to share this article widely to help warn of the dreadful heresies being promoted by Journey Community Church.

While the Antrim branch was hosting this event, there is also a branch in Downpatrick, County Down.

We would encourage all readers to speak out forthrightly and fearlessly against this church as it has entangled itself with the dreadful blasphemies of Bethel Ministries.

And to anyone who attended the conference, please consider this matter in the light of God’s Word and see whether such teachings as propagated by Bethel Ministries are in any way defensible.

1 John 4:1: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”