Yesterday we solely focused on the Kansas City clan, bringing Paul Cain and Bob Jones up to 1993. It was in part 2 where Randy Clark and Rodney Howard-Browne were left off, also in 1993.

So today we will pick up with Rodney Howard Browne and Randy Clark. As mentioned before Randy Clark, the burnt out pastor from Vineyard St. Louis and a friend of Wimber, went to Rodney’s revival at Hagin’s church seeking a fresh anointing from God. After a few days of revival RHB stated that all who showed up the next day would be personally prayed over by Rodney himself, this news was just what Clark was waiting for. The day he shows up and waits in the front of the line for RHB to pray over him. Rodney laid hands on him and Clark fell to the ground, the second time in his life this had ever happened (once in ‘84 at a Baptist church and again in ‘89 at a friends Vineyard church, both times he also shook, though he didn’t this time). After the initial slaying he was drunk in the spirit, another person near him oinking like a pig, causing him to begin laughing, but the laughter wouldn’t stop. He finally got up and stood in line again, taking off his glasses so RHB wouldn’t recognize him, again he fell to the ground. Two more times of the same thing, by this point Rodney’s brother encouraging him to stand in line for more, before Randy felt he had the anointing.

On the way home from the meeting Clark began discussing how to bring this anointing to his St. Louis Vineyard church. That Sunday those who went to the meeting told of all that happened and prayed for anyone who wanted the anointing, soon the entire church was filled with holy laughter and people being slain.

At the same time as RHB was gaining popularity a struggling church in Lakeland had just opened a multi-million dollar facility covering over 100 acres a few years before, now their bills and egos had caught up to them. The church was built at twice the size of the congregation; it seated 10,000 people even only around 5,000 people attended the church. The senior pastor did not hide the dreams of becoming a famous televangelist and even wanted an in-house studio for such goals. The church had formally been know as First Assembly of God of Lakeland but with the move to the new facility the name was changed to Carpenters Home Church.

Karl Strader saw the attention that RHB was getting and thought this would be a great way for the church to gain new hope and regain the position that it once held in the community. The church had just went through a large split four years before prior and more members were going to the new church, Victory Church of Lakeland. This was the second major split in less than 10 years for the church, causing the sanctuary that was at best only half full to be even less full. So Karl Strader, the senior pastor, asked Rodney to come lead a revival at the church. Within the first week of Rodney’ arrival the church was declaring it to be the “largest revival since Azusa” and declared that it would “reach the world.” Karl Strader and Rodney agreed to continue the revival after the first initial week. Karl contacted every television station he thought would be interested in the revival, but none would carry it. Karl dreamed of having the revival broadcast world wide each night and would tell those in attendance that this would happen. Carpenters weekly radio broadcast would play clips from the revival. Charisma magazines leader, Strang, was attending the revival and posting information on it in Charisma. Strader’s son and Strang had been long time friends and Strang had attended Carpenters off and on over the years, and had become friends with the entire Strader family.

By the end of the fourth week though Rodney had been approached by an elder of the church and shown proof that the leadership in the church, mostly led by Karls son Dan Strader, was illegally taking money from both the revival and from members themselves. The money that was supposed to be going to Rodney was being funneled into the churches building funds. Dan was also embezzling money from some of Carpenters oldest members (the following year he went to jail for this and has since written a book about it) and from the tithing plate itself. The local Assemblies of God office, also in Lakeland, refused to investigate the claims, as did the head office in Missouri, but the State of Florida did investigate and found Dan Strader to be guilty of over 230 felonies, mostly dealing with elderly members of the church who he had invest in false land or business deals. No others involved were instigated. Rodney left on bad terms after the 4^th week of the revival, due to these financial revelations to him.

About the same time as Rodney leaving the Carpenters Home revival in Lakeland, Randy Clark was helping lead a Vineyard convention half across the country. This was the Regional Meeting of the Midwestern Vineyard Churches meeting in Wisconsin in October of 93. At this meeting Randy Clark was asked to share to the gathering what had happened at his church, almost immediately after Clark began speaking those in attendance began experiencing the laughter and other manifestations that had happened at Clark’s church and at RHB’s meetings.

Many of these pastors began telling their home churches of these happenings, as others kept quiet on the whole experience.

A pastor at a Vineyard church in Canada had been prophesying a revival of this sort for the past few years, but it always involved his own church. He decided to fly to Argentina and meet with Claudio Freidzon, whose Argentina revival was still going strong. (If you don’t recall Claudio was mentioned in Part 2, when he first met with Rodney Howard Brown and Benny Hinn to get the anointing and then took it back to Argentina). Still after this meeting the pastor’s Canadian church was not having the revival that had been prophesied for it.

It was at this time that this Vineyard pastor, John Arnott, contacted Randy Clark and invited him to his church. Randy came to the church, at that time known as Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Toronto, and within the first two days a major revival had broken out. The entire church was filled with the manifestations that Randy had experienced at Rodney Howard Brown’s revival at Hagin’s church.

Almost immediately after the revival began pastors and church leaders began going to it and attempting to bring it back to their home churches. Some of these ministries were the ones from the Wisconsin meeting who didn’t receive the anointing there; others were ministers who read about the revival in Renewal’s April edition. The revival soon spreads to other churches all across the globe, first brought to England by Eleanor Mumford of the South West London Vineyard Church. On her return from Toronto she held a meeting with other local church leaders telling them of her Toronto experience, many of them were prayed for by her and received similar experiences, one of those in attendance was Nicky Gumbel, the overseer of the Holy Trinity, Brompton group who soon began experiencing the same revival.

The Toronto revival welcomed the Kansas City Prophets with open arms. There are multiple documents of the entire Kansas City group visiting Toronto and speaking at it. One such visitor was a Bob Jones understudy by the name of Todd Bentley. Toronto also welcomed both Benny Hinn (who now rejects the Toronto manifestations) and Rodney Howard Brown.

By the following year pastors all across the globe wanted the Toronto Experience at their home churches. One such pastor was John Kilpatrick of Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida. He pleaded with his church to receive the Toronto anointing and took at least three trips to Toronto with his leadership and family with the solely purpose of bringing it back to Brownsville. He also brought in a new worship leader, who had the Toronto anointing, but still no revival in Pensacola. That was when he met Steve Hill.

Steve was struggling evangelist who had just had a very unsuccessful time in Russia. On his way home from Russia he stopped by Holy Trinity, Brompton in England to see the revival there first hand. It was here that he received the Toronto impartation.

Once he got back to the states he spoke at a few revivals, all being filled with this new anointing. Kilpatrick has Steve Hill come to his church on Fathers Day on 1994. Steve asked multiple times for people to come forward to receive the “impartation” and preached for almost two hours about how the revival should come to the church. (This can be viewed on their website to this day; it’s under the archives section, though all previous messages with Kilpatrick pleading with the church to just accept the revival have all been taken down) It was this Fathers Day that the Brownsville Revival broke out. It should be noted that Kilpatrick had invited Claudio Freidzon a year and half before Steve Hill came. He called people to the stage, anointing them with the spirit from the Argentina revival, though no Brownsville Revival came from it.

As quickly as it began the media was alerted of it, the church hiring photographers who would take pictures of the services (later on they had whole websites devoted to this, I personally followed Sister Wood’s) sending press releases and even writing publishing books on the revival. Within a few months the revival news had spread throughout the world.

Within six months the church had a line of Kansas City Prophets and Toronto leaders speaking at the church, including Todd Bently. Other speakers included Tommy Tenny, Marilyn Hickey, and Roosevelt Hunter. (On a personal side note it was a trip to Brownsville where God confirmed that Southeastern University was were I should attend college.)

The leadership of the revival was very concerned about it continuing. One way they preserved this spirit at the revival was to only allow those they deemed ‘anointed’ to pray over people. They would actually ask those in attendance to not lay hands or pray for those who needed prayer and let the leaders take care of those who need pray.

As you remember in Part 1 of this expose, the experiences of Toronto and Brownsville had been officially rejected by the Assemblies of God in 1948, when Branham was doing them. So this new uprising of the same experiences caused quite a stir in the AG, at one time almost splitting it.

At this same time at a meeting in England where the Toronto outpouring was still happening a prophecy was laid out for a global Christian network on tv. Though the prophecy was given to another person in the meeting Rory and Wendy Alec took the charge of doing the television station. They soon were building this global station, first starting in Europe with a 7 hour a day broadcast, then moving the network to Israel (they weren’t able to ask for money while in Europe based on their license but with the network based in Israel and broadcast in Europe they were able too). This station was supported by many of the pastors found on it. One of the main supporters being Benny Hinn and the Kansas City Prophets, especially those near Bob Jones and Paul Cain.

By the mid 90’s the media began researching the actions of these leaders, aiming mostly at Benny Hinn (who also had visited Brownsville in the early stages). By 1996 Rodney Howard Brown settled down and opened a church and training school in Tampa, Florida. Less than 30 minutes from his Lakeland revival that gave him most of his fame. He uses the church for employ his family who also came over with him, both of his brothers get jobs at the church and school.

Wimber, who by this time was battling a brain tumor, began speaking out against the more bizarre actions of Toronto. Almost all of those who he originally supported now speak against him, non even attempt to heal him of the tumor. In the middle of 1996 Bickle takes the Kansas City Vineyard out of the Vineyard group, what started as the Kansas City Fellowship becomes Metro Christian Fellowship. By this time Toronto Fellowship had already been asked to leave the denomination over the animal like behaviors at the church. Wimber passes away the following year from the tumor, by his death most the Vineyard churches have rejected the Kansas City Prophets and refocused their churches, few have the manifestations they once did.

Brownsville goes on for quite a few years but an investigation by the local paper (very reminiscent of the way PTL fell a decade before) causes many to see all that has been going on behind the scenes of the revival. Soon numbers dwindle and Kilpatrick leaves, going on the road to become an evangelist. The investigation shows how the leadership lied about numerous healings, miracles, and even local crime data. It also showed how the leadership of the church took large salaries once the revival began, building huge homes and live well beyond where they were before the revival. All this while the church struggled to pay its bills; to this day the church is trying to pay off the massive debt the revival placed upon the church.

By the late 90’s Brownsville was dying down, along with the power that the KCP prophets had, by this time they had change the name to the Elijah List and now included Tommy Tenny, Cal Peirce, and Denny Cline, among others. All of these new prophets were powerful people within the charismatic circle. Paul Cain had worked with the Clinton Administration some, guiding them and being a prophet for them. He had also met with Saddam Hussein for the Clinton Administration. He was now a semi-major influence in Washington and in other nations, giving wisdom and advice to countless politicians including senators, congressman, and international world leaders.

The problem was that the Kansas City Prophets were being left behind by Paul Cain and with Brownsville dying, so was their influence. It was then in the late 90’s that Denny Cline asked one of Bob Jones associates, who trained directly under Jones, to come and speak at his church. This associate was named Todd Bentley. This speaking engagement turned into a small revival when Cal Peirce “brought an angel with him.” Cal had by this point opened a healing ministry at the campground of a Branham associate and was attempting to contact the angels and spirits this associate, John Lake, had used for his healings. Cal had many angelic visits himself, along with visits from those who had passed away, including Lake himself. This night at the meeting Cal ‘transferred’ an angel to Bentley. Strangely even after this angelic visit the revival didn’t really happen, though it had been prophesied to happen.

These style meetings go on the next few years, a small revival here or there. By this point though 20/20 was doing quite a few specials on these healing ministries and many people were becoming close minded to them.

In 2004 Paul Cain was asked to step down from leadership due to his homosexuality and alcoholism. At this point Bob Jones steps in to where Cain was, though an illness will have him not be able to take over completely. Around this same time Wendy Alec (of God TV) begins prophesying a global revival coming in the next few years. She has been prophet for many years now but this prophecy is played over and over on the station and is talked about by the Elijah List quite a bit.

Back in Lakeland Strader was about to lose his church. By this point they church was meeting in a classroom of the building, only a few hundred people left. A close friend to the family, Randy and Paula White, step in a take over the church giving Strader their old church building in return. They had attempted an earlier purchase but Strader felt it wasn’t enough money at the time, this time little money was involved. Strader’s son, Stephen, though takes the majority of the church and buys a old home improvement store just up the road from the original Carpenter Home, now being Without Walls Central. Stephen soon opens a new church, named Ignited, and links up with the local Assemblies of God branch.

On a almost weekly basis Stephen would bring in special guest speakers and hold revival services, none seemed to go over. (I personally would pass this church quite a bit, as the Wal-mart I went too was across the street, so I would personally see the announcements outside for the latest revival at the church, rarely would I see more than a few dozen cars in the parking lot though.)

Strader began quietly seeking a guest speaker to bring that revival to the area. That is when he meets Todd Bentley. Soon Todd hosts a one week revival at Stephen’s church. By day 3 Strader is claiming the revival is “the largest since Azusa Street” and that it will “reach the world!” (Sound familiar, it’s the same as what was claimed in the Lakeland revival of ‘93). Strader contacts his good friend Steven Strang to come and report on the revival, which Strang does.

Now with the revival growing due to the support by these individuals a few old friends were contacted. Now with news of the revival spreading, mostly due to on online blitz by associates of Strader and Bentley, the dream of the major revival was coming forth. Soon GodTV was contacted by some old friends of Bentley, some who had also financed the television station when it was first launched. At this point GodTV was on the edge not being able to pay its bills and needed a miracle itself, this was just that miracle. Soon GodTV began playing the revival 7 nights a week on its channel, broadcasting it literally around the globe. They also began asking for money to help pay for this broadcast and soon were able to begin paying down their mounting debt.

As the revival continued it seemed as though all the Kansas City Prophets, now the Elijah’s List as they were known, were all coming to Lakeland. Jones was soon at the forefront of the revival, bringing him back to pre-scandal days of prophetic fame. Cain also came to the revival, though it seemed as though his alcoholism and homosexual lifestyle had not been ‘fixed’ as he claimed. Even with this being known to the leaders of the revival Cain was able to preach at the revival and then asked to leave later on.

Bentley seems to do whatever Jones prophecies and is guided by Jones very closely. Bentley has also claimed that the angel transferred to him by Cal in the late 90’s was actually Jones’s angel and in turn is actually the angel that Branham was guided by. The angel is the one mentioned before, the one by the name of Emma or Emma-O. Emma-O seems to be a connecting point throughout these revivals. A study of mythology shows that Emma-O is actually a Japanese fallen angel is now the Lord of the underworld. She loves gold and wears a crown of jewels. She has also claimed to want to take over the earth.

The mention of the mythological angel may sound strange until you begin looking at those controlled by Emma-O today, including Bentley himself. Joel’s Army is now led by Bentley, though currently its only a training/equipping program by Bentley and other Elijah’s List prophets. There has been a rise of talk of a global war with the charismatic’s at the forefront by some EL prophets lately. Bentley has also said that what was started in 1948 will come to light through the Florida Outpouring; this seems to included the Manchild Company’s Joels Army vision of a militant Christian group.

The outpouring in Florida has also spread back to the Oregon church of Denny Cline, now those who had originally prophesied this to be a source of major revival are claiming that this second revival is that revival of global proportions.

There is no telling where the Lakeland revival will go, but I am certain that it will not end here. I am certain that it will only get bigger, more interesting, and more extreme as it continues. It is my opinion that the teachings of many in this movement of that of a modern day Gnosticism. I hope you have been informed and enjoyed this history lesson leading up to the Florida Outpouring. Please keep me informed on new information of the revival as you find it.