Elim Christian Centre Belfast invites “One Fluitt out of the Eagle’s Nest”

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Just about this time last year [August 2008] the badly misnamed ‘Healing Revival’ in Lakeland, Florida was about to enter its death throes. The so-called anointed healer, Todd Bentley, would shortly be exposed as a drunken adulterer. Just a few weeks earlier on 23rd June 2008 a group of some 17 self-appointed ‘Apostles’ and ‘Prophets’ had made their way to Lakeland to take part in a ridiculous ‘commissioning service’ for both Mr Bentley and his soon to be forsaken and divorced wife Shonnah. A helpful account of this farcical event can be found on the web site of ‘Let Us Reason Ministries’ on http://letusreason.org/Latrain54.htm

One of the supposed ‘Prophets’ identified in this report was Dr Clarice Fluitt – this is what she said when it came her turn to ‘prophesy’ over Todd Bentley –

“Hallelujah! For the word of the Lord would say, Behold the vanguard. Behold the tugboat that is cutting through the ice of religious traditions–the cruel, hard things. The understanding of the mind of men will now bow to the reality of the revelation of the finished work of Calvary. Behold, sayeth God, you have been equipped with cutting power. You have been equipped to go through those traditions of the mind of man. Yea, sayeth God, and you are pulling the church into the realm of glory. Behind you is a great ship that is laden with healing and deliverance and prosperity. This is the word to you, oh man of God- arise, kill, and eat. No longer; no longer; no longer will men call unclean what I have called clean.”

Mike Oppenheimer of ‘Let Us Reason Ministries’ and who compiled this report then astutely commented –

“I don’t think there is any dispute that this prophesy is about as far off as one can get. If anyone can make an excuse for this or any of their statements (spoken as ‘apostles’ and ‘prophets’) then they need to check if they are in the faith”.

So just who is Dr Clarice Fluitt? Well a visit to her ministry web site on http://www.claricefluitt.org/index.html is certainly informative about both her and the ministry. From the section headed Résumé we learn a number of disquieting facts as follows –

1. We learn that Dr Fluitt is referred to as ‘Bishop’ Clarice Fluitt. Faithful and discerning Christians know that, according to the clear instruction contained in God’s Word, only men are sanctioned by God to occupy the important overseeing role of ‘Bishop’ or ‘Elder’ in Christ’s Church.

A portion from a short article on ‘Women Preachers’ that I have on file sums up the biblical prohibition quite succinctly as follows – It is clear that, in the 1st century, God placed certain restrictions upon women in many assembly and local church activities. But many brethren today are not content with 1st century proscriptions and want expanding roles for women in local churches in areas clearly designated as “Men Only”. The questions are (1) whether or not “we” or God have posted the “No Women Allowed” sign and (2) should these respective functions be respected or looked upon as curious instructions from another era that can be cast aside? The answer to these questions will depend upon whether one’s “hermeneutic” is objectively or subjectively based. From those restrictions set by God there should be no deviation and for them there should be no apology. And while it is true that some restrictions “we” have placed on women have more to do with tradition than Truth, let’s be careful that we do not rush impulsively into change and confuse the two.

Women in pulpits and as elders in local churches are as foreign to God’s design for the local congregation as priests from the tribe of Judah would have been during Moses’ day and for the same reason: God specified from which tribe he wanted the priests to come (Hebrews 7: 11-14) and he has also been specific regarding the gender from which he wants elders and preachers. Cultural changes and all of the hermeneutical manipulation we might engage in won’t change that a bit. If the principles in 1 Corinthians 14 do not apply today and restrict women from preaching and teaching in our assemblies, then are those in chapter 7 regarding marriage, divorce and remarriage likewise to be ignored? And if we can somehow circumvent 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 and Titus 1: 5-9 and allow women to serve as elders, why can’t we ignore Paul’s charge in 2 Timothy 4: 2 and preach whatever message we feel like?

From another article that I have on file the author writes –

‘Not only have men relinquished their God-given responsibilities in the home and other places, but also in the Church… Why did Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit of Christ, tell Timothy that he did not allow a woman to teach or have authority over a man, but to be in silence? [“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not [do not allow] a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over [dominate] the man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:11-12). And, “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church….The things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:34-37)]…

Why are the qualifications for overseers [episkopos], elders [presbuteros], and deacons [diakonos], as set forth in 1 Timothy and Titus, clearly those for men? … We do not realize how the prevalent and centuries-old apostasy has affected the thinking and the interpretation and application of scriptural truths even in conservative churches… Truth is truth even if nobody believes it; and error is error even if everybody believes it… The head of the man is Christ and the head of the woman is man—not Christ. Women are not to speak or teach in the church or exercise authority over a man.’

Pastor David Cloud in his ‘Encyclopedia of the Bible and Christianity’ in the section headed ‘Women Preachers’ wrote the following on page 460 –

‘These facts are evidence of the apostasy of the hour. Men and women in the world, having rejected Bible truth, are confused about the most basic things… Sadly the church is always affected by society: thus the rebellion of women in the world is causing similar problems in the churches and we find women demanding leadership roles in many Christian groups. The Bible speaks too clearly on this subject for there to be any confusion… Men and women were made for different roles. The New Testament affirms that men are to be the leaders in the home, church and state. Women were not created to rule these divine institutions, men were… In the church, according to the Bible, no woman is qualified to be a pastor or deacon or in any other leadership position over men. Who says? God says! [1st Timothy 2:11-14; 1st Corinthians 14: 34-37]. How could a woman possibly be a pastor when she is forbidden to teach or to have any authority over men? Women can only be pastors if they openily disobey the Bible’s teaching’.

Some of the immeasurable damage that can be inflicted upon the cause of Christ by scripture-defying female ‘Bishops’ is well illustrated by these two examples.

1. Posted to our ‘You Tube’ Channel there is a debate on the subject of ‘Gay Christians’ between a local evangelical minister and a female, lesbian ‘Bishop’.

2. On this ‘[Bishop Sends Shockwave, Slaying the Sacred Cow of Individual Salvation [Includes an online comic]’. Incidentally, this lesbian ‘church leader’, Candace Chellow-Hodge, featured prominently in my article from a few years back called ‘Philip Yancey: turning the grace of God into lasciviousness’.

2. Then from the Résumé we learn that ‘Bishop Fluitt moves predominately and powerfully in the office of a prophet’. We have already learned that Mrs Fluitt has no biblical sanction to style herself as ‘Bishop’ and from God’s Word we can see clearly that today no one, whether male or female should term his or herself as being a ‘prophet’. Whilst in correspondence with someone last year on this very topic I wrote the following-

The foundation of the Christian church rests partly upon God’s revelation given through Old Testament Prophets and New Testament Apostles but supremely on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ – Paul wrote earlier in Ephesians 2:20 of “the household of God [that’s the Church] … built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone”. In a building you only have one foundation so today we no longer have apostles or prophets but pastors/evangelists/elders who preach and teach “the apostles’ doctrine” [see Acts 2:42].

A couple of articles that I found helpful on this whole subject of modern-day so-called ‘apostles’ and ‘prophets’ are located on

3. Finally from the Résumé we learn ‘she is fluent in all the gifts of the Holy Spirit… who continuously brings “revelation” from the throne room of God’. God’s ‘revelation’ ended with the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ and the completion of His inspired written Word [see Hebrews 1:1-2 and Revelation 22:18-19]. Any claim today to fresh ‘revelation from the throne room of God’ is a violation of the great Biblical principle of ‘Sola Scriptura’ that was rediscovered at the time of the Reformation. When speaking on cults and false religions, one of the common features that I identify with them is that they have ‘an authority in addition to or in place of the bible’ – just by way of simple examples, people like Joseph Smith [The Mormons] and Mary Baker Eddy [Christian Science] claimed to have received such divine ‘revelations’ and these ‘revelations’ were foundational to the establishing of these particular unscriptural cults.

Moving then to the History of C.E.O section of Mrs Fluitt’s website we learn some other interesting facts such as –

1. According to this section ‘In 1971, the late Kathryn Kuhlman laid hands and imparted a healing ministry to Bishop Clarice. Since that time incredible healings and supernatural power have been continually evidenced in her ministry’.

Any claimed contact with Kathryn Kuhlman should be a matter of great concern for discerning Christians.

The ‘conservative’ Pentecostal ministry in America of Pastor Joseph Chambers known as ‘Paw Creek Ministries’ has an enlightening and revealing article on –

http://www.pawcreek.org/articles/pna/THeCharismaticStrangeFire.htm

part of which reads

‘One of the most subtle actions of the Antichrist spirit has been the rise of the Charismatic movement. Only a few very discerning saints of God understood the “Charismatic renewal.” as they called it at its beginning. It appeared so harmless, even exciting, that the old line ministers and many Catholics were receiving the infilling of the Holy Ghost and revival was coming to multitudes of people. Being a Pentecostal since 1952, I attended some of their first Full Gospel Businessmen’s meetings. I wanted to be a part of anything God was doing. Never, not one time, did I sense a true move of God, but left every meeting where they claimed God was moving confused and troubled. The Spirit of God in me constantly witnessed that something was wrong, but I certainly did not understand what was wrong at that time… My experiences with the Charismatic world have been enough to prove to me the bankrupt foundations of this movement. The majority of the Pentecostal churches have been destroyed by this Antichrist movement within our midst. It apparently started with individuals like Kathryn Kuhlman. Our article entitled “Kathryn Kuhlman And Her Spirit Guide” proves beyond measure her foul influence. She was pro-Catholic to the core and started the slide within Pentecostal ranks in the direction of Rome. She was a guiding star to the compromises that later came to full bloom in Charismatic circles’.

The article mentioned “Kathryn Kuhlman and her spirit guide” is well worth a visit as it gives fascinating detail on the ecumenism and occultism that heavily marked the ‘ministry’ of Kathryn Kuhlman. It can be accessed on http://www.pawcreek.org/end-times/kathryn-kuhlman

As a ‘non-Pentecostal’ I would not see ‘eye to eye’ with everything that Pastor Chambers writes but I do acknowledge him as a brother in Christ who has exercised helpful public discernment, not only with Kathryn Kuhlman, but also on matters such as the so-called ‘Toronto Blessing’ and ‘Pensacola Revival’ deceptions.

Pastor Chambers has also been very helpful in exposing the dangers and deceptions associated with Benny Hinn and of course he, Benny Hinn, also claimed occultic/posthumous contact with Kathryn Kuhlman whilst visiting her grave. Details of this bizarre claim can be read in the article on the following link http://www.pfo.org/bhnecro.htm

Several years ago Benny Hinn visited Belfast and in an email from a member of the public I was informed, although I have not personally verified this, that Pastor Brian Madden of the Elim Christian Centre in Belfast, who are hosting this visit by Mrs Fluitt, was apparently active in encouraging people to attend the Benny Hinn meeting – in the light of all this interconnectedness [Fluitt/Kuhlman/Hinn] that probable promotion of Benny Hinn by Pastor Madden really wouldn’t seem very surprising. A large number of helpful articles about Benny Hinn can be accessed on http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/bhinn.html

This claimed connection to Kathryn Kuhlman should serve as a warning to avoid Clarice Fluitt!

2. Then according to the History of C.E.O section of Mrs Fluitt’s website we learn that ‘Bishop Clarice was ordained in 1982 through World Ministry Fellowship in which Kenneth Copeland and Hilton Sutton prophesied God’s favour and power over her’.

Any claimed contact with Kenneth Copeland should be a matter of great concern for discerning Christians.

A large selection of helpful articles identifying the false teachings and heresies of Kenneth Copeland and others associated with the ‘Word of Faith’ movement can be accessed on http://www.cephasministry.com/index_word_of_faith.html

However, what particularly struck me about this portion from the History of C.E.O section was the expression of how ‘Kenneth Copeland… prophesied God’s favour and power over her’. In the mid 1990’s when I was researching and speaking on the so-called ‘Toronto Blessing/Laughing Revival’ one of the main ‘players’ in that diabolical deception was Rodney Howard Browne – and guess who, in the run-up to that deception, ‘prophesied God’s favour and power over him’ – none other than Kenneth Copeland!

This claimed connection to Kathryn Kuhlman should serve as a warning to avoid Clarice Fluitt!

By way of conclusion I want to refer back to the Todd Bentley influence that I mentioned at the beginning of this article. I have already mentioned Pastor Brian Madden who is in charge of the Elim Christian Centre that plans to host this visit by Mrs Fluitt. Pastor Madden personally visited the Todd Bentley happenings in Lakeland, Florida and subsequently invited one of the associate Pastors connected with those events, Bobby Sullivan, to come to Belfast to the Elim Christian Centre to ‘minister’ there. Pastor Madden was also personally and directly involved in claims that in a hospital in Belfast, a young man, a relation of one of the members of his church, had been ‘resurrected’ from the dead in the wake of a serious car accident.

I wrote extensively about these events and that article can be accessed on Healing Revival Radio Debate

Finally, perhaps you’re puzzled by the phrase in the title of this article that reads –

  • “One Fluitt out of the Eagle’s Nest”

This is a parody of a movie title from some years back that read ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’. My reason for incorporating it into the title of my article is based on this portion from the Résumé section of Mrs Fluitt’s website where we read –

‘Bishop Clarice Fluitt and her husband George are co-founders and co-pastors of the Eagle’s Nest World Prayer and Training Center of Monroe, Louisiana.’

At the very end of this article I have also copied a current promotion from Mrs Fluitt’s website that again mentions the ‘Eagle’s Nest’ connection.

The movie, ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ dealt with the bizarre and sometimes humorous goings-on in a mental asylum. The likelihood of bizarre goings on, as happened in the movie, happening also when Clarice Fluitt starts to ‘minister’ in Belfast should not be discounted, but for sure, they will not be in the least bit humorous, as they will do nothing to glorify the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ – these will be meetings most definitely to avoid!

Cecil Andrews – ‘Take Heed’ Ministries – 31st July 2009