CULTIC TREND ALERT: May 23, 2008

A Report from the Front Lines in Russia

Dear friends,

Controversy and confusion, division and disillusionment--these are among the most obvious fruits of the "Word-Faith" movement, also known as the "health-and-wealth gospel." It has spread to virtually every corner of the globe, with disastrous results.

This week I'm in St. Petersburg, meeting with the teams from CFAR Russia and CFAR Ukraine. Senior researcher Dima Rozet files this report on trends in the "Word-Faith" movement in the former Soviet Union:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It seems as if the Word-Faith movement in Russia is mutating into something new.
 
In sharp contrast to the old-fashioned, U.S.-inspired "faith movement" of Kenneth Hagin, this new strain goes much farther than traditional "name it and claim it" and "seed-faith" slogans. It actually sends its constituents to go and make themselves rich by launching business ventures and investing money--and this is justified by the claim that one cannot give an adequate witness for Jesus without being materially successful and prosperous.

Thus, many followers of Word-Faith 2.0 engage in a variety of commercial schemes (such as selling Nuga-Best "healing massage beds" with "miraculous" qualities). Sometimes excessive Christian imagery and terminology are used in their promotional campaigns.

Unlike the old "faith movement," the latest Russian version doesn't demonstrate as strong an attachment to the doctrines and influences of U.S. televangelists like Kenneth Copeland; instead, it promotes its own peculiar pantheon of apostles and prophets, most of whom hail from the former Soviet Union or Africa (the latter illustrated best by Ukraine's megachurch pastor, Sunday Adelaja, who oversees the 30,000-member Embassy of God church in Kiev and is opening Bible schools across Europe and even the U.S.).

The new-generation Faith churches also make extensive use of the highly controversial G12 discipleship and church-growth system--especially "Encounter" techniques to stimulate rapid growth and increased congregational commitment. I have a feeling that they are increasingly employing secular psychological techniques at the expense of their already-meager biblical teaching (for example, using seminars and conferences as vehicles for offering "training sessions" to stimulate "personal growth" and "business skills").
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

But CFAR is taking a strong stand against the errors of the Word-Faith movement and G12 in the former Soviet Union. We've translated and adapted Robert M. Bowman's classic book The Word-Faith Controversy into Russian, with a special appendix on the false teachings of Sunday Adelaja. And this month we're publishing an original investigation on G12 (by CFAR Latin America director Ricardo Becerra) in Vestnik, our quarterly bulletin for Russian-speaking pastors.

Pray for us this week as we pray and strategize for the next 12 months of equipping the church in the former Soviet Union for discernment and the defense of the faith!

In Christ our Hope,

Paul Carden
Executive director

P.S. We have a limited number of copies of the Russian-language book on Word-Faith and Sunday Adelaja available at CFAR USA. If you'd like to obtain a copy, please e-mail us at info@thecenters.org.