Voice of Reformation

Newsletter

Martin Luther

In 1517 an obscure German monk by the name of Martin Luther nailed his 96 Theses (objections) to the door of the Wittenburg Church.  His  reputation was ruined, he was excommunicated, and his life was threatened.  But his act of confronting the errors and excesses of his day sparked the Protestant Reformation, lighting Holy fires that burned around the globe, removing errors and destroying man-made religious traditions and structures.  In the same manner, we must again nail the scriptures and sound doctrine back on the church door of our day, rebuking the errors and excesses that are so common, and call on God to forgive us, cleanse us, renew us, and revive us again that we may proclaim the Gospel of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to a lost and dying humanity. 

Sowing Seeds for a Reformation of 

Charismatic and Word of Faith Christianity

Rev. Mel C. Montgomery, Editor

 April 2009 Issue

 Over 1 Million Hits!

     On March 24th, we reached another milestone for this ministry.  Namely, we  surpassed 1 million hits from people in 107 countries and territories.  Thank You Lord Jesus!  And thank you to our many prayer and financial partners.  This is fruit that abounds to your spiritual account also.

 Two Radio Interviews:

Brother Mel was the guest on two Christian radio programs in March:

"Tru News Radio Broadcast"

hosted by Rick Wiles

West Palm Beach, FL. 

Rick Wiles Interview of Brother Mel:

The interview was heard throughout North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.  To hear more from Rick Wiles, visit his website at www.trunews.com.

And

"Watchmen Radio"

hosted by Richard Keltner

Long Island, NY.

Richard Keltner's Interview of Brother Mel:

Broadcast throughout the USA and Canada on 3-21-09.  To hear more from Richard Keltner, visit his website at:  Watchmen Radio

New Goodwin Recording:

     For a long time we have had recordings of the Goodwins teaching on all nine gifts of the Spirit except the "Gifts of Healings."  Now a copy of this teaching has been located, and it has been uploaded to my website.  Here is the Link:

Rev. and Mrs. J.R. Goodwin

Copyrighted Recording

Length:  51 Mintues 

Live Stream

Annual Meeting:

Helping Inspire Ministries (H.I.M)

The most common question ministers ask me in e-mails is:

     "Brother Mel, do you know a ministry association I can join that actually cares about me, is sound in their teachigns, has integrity, and is passionate for the things of God?"

     My answer is:

     "Yes.  That organization is H.I.M."

     After being a member of a major international Word of Faith ministry association for 14 years, and never having a phone call returned, I allowed my ordination papers to lapse through that organization and joined Elizabeth Sloan's H.I.M.  I've been a member for two years, and I have found my spiritual home.  And you know what?   When I have a question or am facing a challenge in ministry, in H.I.M I can actually get a phone call returned.  Any time I've contacted Elizabeth, I've always gotten a helpful response, and wise advice.  Whenever I've visited Elizabeth's Holy Ghost meetings, she and Roger have always reached out to me and made me feel like part of their spiritual family.
 
     If you are seeking an association to affiliate with, you may wish to consider joining H.I.M.  You will be a member of a group that cares about you, and that you can turn to for adivce and fellowship.  At this time, H.I.M. membership is around 55 people, concentrated mostly in the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Michigan, and Minnesota. with a few members also in New York and Florida.
 
     H.I.M. will be having its annual ministers meeting April 24-26, 2009 at A Glorious Church in Collinsville, OK, which is a suburb north of Tulsa.  The meetings are open to the public.  I would encourage you to attend and to get a feel for the organization.  There is still time to make your plans and reservation.    
 
     Meeting Location:
 
     A Glorious Church
     915 North 19th Street
     Collinsville, OK
 

     Meeting Times:
 
     Friday April 24th:

     10:00 am - Noon--Will be hearing from the H.I.M. leadership.
     Noon --Lunch and Fellowship served by H.I.M. Everyone welcome.  No charge.
     2 PM --Speaker Pastor Jerry Lawrence from Twin Oaks, OK.
     7 PM --Speaker Elizabeth Sloan
 
     Saturday April 25th:

     10:00 AM--Ladies meeting
     Men's outing at the Lake
 
     Sunday April 26th:

     10:00 am--Pastors Lee & Jan Morgans and Elizabeth Sloan will be ministering

                          by laying on of hands for H.I.M. members.
 
     If you are considering joining H.I.M., you are also welcome to contact Rev. Elizabeth Sloan at:
 
     Helping Inspire Ministries
     PO Box 634
     Broken Arrow, OK  74013
     E-Mail:      pruitt-sloan@att.net

     H.I.M.'s website is:
 
     http://www.elizabethpruittministries.com
 

     Associated Hotel:

           The associated hotel is Best Western of Owasso, OK.  Their number is 918-272-2000.  Mention to the hotel that you will be attending the ministers conference for "A Glorious Church," and they will give you a discount on your room.  The hotel's website is: 
 
http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?propertyCode=37086
 

     If you attend:

     Please find me and introduce yourself.  It is a great joy to me to meet people who know me through the website.  I welcome any contacts from ministers wanting to know more.
 

Next Holy Ghost Meeting:

 New WFP Burton Recording:

"Evangelism and Money"

Rev. WFP Burton

Live Stream

     If you ever wondered what the Pentecostal giants of the generation of Wigglesworth, Frodsham, and Burton thought about money and ministry, here is you chance to have your curiosity satisfied.  The ridiculous extremes of the hyper-prosperity preachers of today would not have been tolerated in the meetings of these giants of the faith.  And frankly, Wigglesworth, Burton, Frodsham, and others would not have allowed to preach in most Charismatic and Word of Faith churches today.  Burton delivers stinging rebukes to the ministry and money mentality common today.

 Recommended Resource:

     One of the major shortcomings of most Christian churches today, Evangelical and Charismatic alike, is that many ministry leaders have no actual concept of leadership.  Many seem to believe that if they preach sound doctrine and walk in integrity, multitudes will automatically fall in line behind their leadership.  Such is not the case.  I've watched many Charismatic and Word of Faith churches fail primarily due to the Leadership failing to understand leadership principles.

     There are many motivational and leadership gurus out there, and I rarely get anything out of their materials.  But John Maxwell is different.  He served as a successful pastor for years, and then took the world the leadership principles he had discovered in serving in the Lord's work.  He makes the case that leadership involves basic common features whether the leadership is exercised in the educational, political, corporate, or church worlds.  This isn't just "Rah!  Rah!" motivational speaking.  Nor is it glorified "positive thinking."  What he offers are sound principles that will improve the skills of any leader.  I have read Maxwell's book, "The 21 Indisputable Laws of Leadership," and others by him.  It and the rest of his materials are excellent.

     Brother John recently handled a mistake he had made, that would have been a public relations nightmare for most leaders, with great wisdom.  He went public with his arrest saying basically, "This is what I did.  Here was my mistake.  This is what I learned."  He tells the story in, "Stupid is as Stupid Does." 

     The link to his blog is:

A Good Report:

     Don and Beverly Davis are two people to whom we all owe an enormous debt of gratitude.  They are the unsung heroes of the Goodwin Recordings. 

     Don and Bev. attended the Goodwins' church for years, and are referred to by Dad Goodwin on several of the recordings we feature on this site.  They ministered also with Mom Goodwin after Dad Goodwin's Homegoing.  Long after Mom Goodwin's passing, they tracked down where the Goodwin recordings were being stored, and obtained permission from Charles Goodwin to work with the recordings, taking them from reel to reel to CD.  The process took place over several years, involved thousands of dollars, and consumed countless hours of their time.  But their passion and persistence preserved the Goodwin recordings and brought them into a modern format that enables us to upload them to this website. 

     A little over two years ago, they contacted me and told me of the Goodwin recordings.  Their vision was that these recordings would be made available to the world over a website, by download, for free.  However, every time they tried to put together a website, there always seemed to be something that blocked their progress.  Eventually as the friendship grew between us, they included me in their vision by asking me if I would be interested in hosting the Goodwin recordings on my website.  After we consulted with Charles Goodwin and were sure we had his authorization, I told them I would be honored to host the recordings.  And you know the rest.

     Don and Beverly are semi-retired now, but they still hold meetings in the USA when invited, and they also minister regularly on short-term missionary trips with a missionary team they have known for years.  In fact, the two pictures above were taken on a missionary journey.  In February of this year, they ministered as a part of a team that went to Trujillo, Peru, and great were the results thereof:

Trujillo, PERU Conference (FEB-2009)
PARTIAL RESULTS

(with 23 Teams reporting out of 32 Teams)

• 95 Evangelistic Events were carried out
• 5,104 Heard the Gospel
• 1,865 Prayed to Receive Christ
• 14 Churches to start new believers classes
• 38 Houses to start new believers classes

Report Further States:

     "15 of the Trained Teachers from this Conference have grouped together to become 3 Teams of 5 Adult Trained Teachers each (in Trujillo, Chimbote and Cajamarca).  They have commited to do a minimum of 2 Training Conferences each during this year, up in the mountains to the east, gathering other Adult Children's teachers to be trained.  We will provide advice, leadership help and finances for their Trainings. We believe we are to disciple them and duplicate our ministry into their lives." 

Prophecy Fulfilled:

     In the 1984 video we feature on this site, the Lord said through Kenneth Copeland to Mom Goodwin that the Goodwin ministry ". . . will never stop.  But it will go on, and on, and on, because you chose My way--the right way . . ."  That prophecy is being fulfilled still 25 years later through this website, but also through the ministry of Don and Beverly Davis as they travel the world ministering on spiritual operations as they learned them from the Goodwins.

     Through our many conversations, I have profited wonderfully from their insights and advice.  They have much to offer, particularly in the area of spiritual operations.  Don and Bev. flow in tongues and interpretation and other gifts similarly as did Mom and Dad Goodwin.  They do not promote or push their ministry, but instead allow the Lord to open doors wherever their ministry is desired.  I will include their contact information here for pastors to have:

     Rev. Don and Beverly Davis

     Doulos Foundation

     691 Upper Turtle Creek

     Kerrville, TX  78028

     E-mail:  doulos@ktc.com

New Stanley Frodsham Recordings:

"Abiding Under God's Shadow"

     Stanley Frodsham preached both of these messages at the Elim Campmeeting in Upstate New York, just two years before his Homegoing.  Donated to us by Jay Hearn from his collection.

  Meeting Announcements:

     Tenative plans are being considered for me to minister in one or two American cities before flying over to London and ministering in the UK for several days.  Also meetings are begin considered in several other states.  If you have thought of inviting me sometime, please go ahead and contact me so that there will be time to add in your church also.

Financial Support:

     Would you like to have the joy of helping to send these rare recordings and corrective articles to hungry hearts around the world?

     You can do so by donating through PayPal or through the mail:

 Click here to donate by PayPal or Credit Card. 

Happy Birthday!

     April 30th will be my 50th birthday.  There is a funny family story concerning my birth, and I would like to share it with you.

     Our doctor at the time was an African American man by the name of Dr. Haidika.  He was originally from the continent of Africa.  My Mother went into labor, and Dr. Haidika delivered me.  Hours later Mom was waking up in the recovery room.  Dr. Haidika walked in.  He leaned over the bed and said,

     "Mrs. Montgomery, you have a new baby boy."

     Looking up into the face of the African-American doctor, weak from the ordeal, and a little groggy from medications, my Mother replied:

     "That's nice. . . Is he black?"

     Dr. Haidika chuckled and replied,

     "No, you have a little pink baby."

     Mother told this story a number of times after my birth, and different women would laugh.  Well, my 10-year old sister couldn't understand what all the laughing was about.  She hadn't quite figured out where babies come from.  So the next time Mom told the story, my sister piped up and said,

     "Well????  . . . After all . . .Dr. Haidika is black!"

     She seemed to think that the color of the doctor could very well affect the color of the baby a woman delivered.

Word From Brother Mel:

Dear Ministry Partners,

    According to the news accounts I have read over the last few weeks, nearly all of the lawsuits that were filed against Richard and Lindsay Roberts have proven to be groundless, and have been dismissed, or have been adjudicated in their favor.  I encouraged everyone at the beginning of all of these legal difficulties to withhold judgment until all the facts were presented in a court of Law.  Every accusation should be judged based on facts, not on personal preferences or prejudices.  Now that the accusations have been proven groundless, were proven false, or were unprovable in the first place, it is time to acknowledge these facts, and to wish Richard Roberts the best as he presses forward in the ministry to which God has called him.  

     I make no secret of the fact that I do not agree with many things I've heard Brother Richard and Brother Oral preach over the years.  I respect their years in ministry, and I'm certainly thankful for much of what their ministries have done over the decades.  But I do not agree with the specifics of some of their teachings.  You can disagree with someone without personally attacking them, slandering them, or hating them.

     A part of what has stunned and grieved me about ministry is how many times you get criticized by people who do not know you, and who usually don't have their facts straight concerning you.  You should read some of the e-mails I've received!  I've had my words twisted and thrown back in my face more than once.  And you know what?  I've never received a vicious e-mail from a sinner.  Ugly e-mails, rare though they are--thank God--have come only from fellow Christians.  I've said it with a chuckle, but it is actually true--I've been cussed out publicly twice.  Both times by people who believed they were better Christians than me.  If they are holier than me, than why are they screaming obscenities in my face?  And in recent months, I've received two bitter e-mails from fellow ministers who have actually accused me of being the Anti-Christ!

     Moi?

     You learn to live with criticism if you are in ministry.  Some critics are just plain nuts and can't be reasoned with.  I no longer engage in e-mail debates, but one time a couple of years ago, I entered into one with one of my critics.  I used the scriptures to convincingly refute every argument and accusation the man threw at me.  When he finally exausted all the phony arguments he could think of, rather than admitting he was wrong and changing his opinion, he e-mailed that he would "get back" with me when he could think of some other false arguments to present.

      There is an old saying about certain Christians:

     "Their minds are like concrete:  thorougly mixed and firmly set."

     This man was like that.  Facts and the scriptures had no affect on his opinion, becuase his opinion was built on personal interpretations and on bias, rather than on scripture and facts.      

     On this website, I call em' as I see em'.  I give people the benefit of the doubt.  I would rather be too merciful, than not merciful enough, and have to face my Lord one day and be given the same small measure of mercy from Him that I gave to others.  I do my very best to point out teachings or practices that I believe are unscriptural or unethical, avoiding mentioning any specific names of preachers if at all possible. 

     I also give credit where credit is due:

     I heard Richard Roberts tell the unvarnished truth recently on his TV program.  I want to acknowledge what he said, and commend him for it. 

     His critics will howl and give him no credit for what he said.  And fellow Word of Faith, Charismatic, and Pentecostal preachers may ignore or rebuke his comments.  But Richard has said something publicly that has been acknowledged privately for a long time by many ministers.  In daring to state the obvious, Brother Richard is a man after my own heart.

     On his TV program a few days ago, they were showing a video of the message Richard Roberts preached recently in Upsala Sweden.  He was preaching about the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  He said that many of our Charismatic and Pentecostal teachings on the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and on other subjects, are correct in essence, but are frequently expressed using theologically incorrect language.  He said the terminology we use frequently "borders on heresy."  Exact quote.

     Like it or not, he is correct.

     This is a great difficulty we have experienced for decades in Charismatic and Pentecostal circles.  The gist of our teachings are correct but the specific terminology and reasoning we use concening them are frequently theologically-incorrect.  In our history, God has sent us many men and women of faith, but few theologians.  Ministers such as Kenneth Hagin, Kathryn Kuhlman, E.W. Kenyon, and many others were people who had a great faith in God, and a great passion for Jesus Christ, but who lacked theological knowledge, and who consequently expressed many genuine Bible truths in entirely wrong theological language and reasoning.

     When for the first time we realize that a major minister we revere, who taught us much and who withstood vitriolic criticism was actually incorrect in a statement or teaching, we struggle with what to do.   Do we continue to teach something we actually know is incorrect?  Or do we admit that this was a remarkable man of God who was excellent on many subjects, but on the specifics of a particular teaching he was wrong?  The first time you step over that line and say, "I loved this minister.  He was so right on so many things, but he was dead wrong on the way he presented this particular teaching," you feel like a rat.  You feel like a Judas.  Sometimes your friends in ministry will criticize you.  Some may even send you ugly e-mails, like have been sent to me.  Some doors of ministry will close for you.  You will explain and explain, but some will never accept your explanations.  You will be accused of having an axe to grind against some famous minister.  Some friendships will end.  Some have effectively ended for me.

      But you know what?  The tide is beginning to turn.  We are beginning to realize that it is ok to embrace the teachings for which you can find clear scriptural support, and to separate from the teachings that are unsupportable by scripture.  That doesn't make you anti-Word of Faith, Anti-Charismatic, a Hagin-hater, or a Copeland-hater.   It just makes you a lover of God's word.

     I have waited in vain for the better part of 20 years for any national Charismatic or Word of Faith minister to say, "Hey, this teaching or these teachings at their core are scriptural, but the terminology we are using, or the reasoning we are using, are not theologically correct, and we need to back up and come back within scriptural boundaries again."  Finally, someone has admitted the obvious.  And now that the levee has broken, I believe others will find the courage to follow.  As we correct ourselves, there will be many setbacks, many misunderstandings, many strained and broken friendships and fellowships, but in the end, we will be the better for it.

     I commend Dr. Richard Roberts for his recent statement.

     Things continue to go well for me.  The favor of God seems to continue coming in on every wave.  I'm looking forward to the London meetings, and meetings that are coming up in the USA.  The Lord visited me recently.  I didn't see Him, but I felt His presence, and He pointed out to me a principle from His word that really encouraged me.  I hope to be able to minister it and share the recording with you soon.

     I hope all is well with all of you ministry partners.  I would like you to know that I pray for my ministry partners every day, asking God to prosper you, to heal you, to bless you, to draw you closer to Himself, and to visit you in whatever area of life in which you need His help. 

     Kind Regards,

     Brother Mel

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx