Bethel.

I don't agree with all of Bethel's theology. But I'm happy to sing their worship songs.

By Oliver Nicolson. 9 May 2022

Bethel Church in California has been criticised by conservative Christians for 

its teaching on miracles, with some worship leaders opting to no longer sing

 the megachurch's songs on a Sunday. Oliver Nicolson, who sympathises with

 the critics, explains why he believes its ok to carry on singing modern classics

 such as 'Living Hope' and 'Goodness of God' 

The much-discussed Bethel Church in Redding, California are responsible for recording, 

producing and releasing some wonderful worship songs, which are sung all over the English 

speaking world. But Bethel are – in part allegedly, in part indisputably – responsible for 

some seriously weird stuff as well. 

Among the criticisms levelled at them are:

• “Grave-sucking” (lying on a grave to “soak up” the anointing of the dead) – although 
• there’s no evidence that this is official teaching and it’s denied as gossip by one of their
•  pastors, Carrie Loyd
• Their teaching that God heals today isn't just disputed by cessasionists. Bill Johnson's 
• belief that it is always God's will to heal is controversial among many charismatics. 
• The church has endorsed The Passion translation of the Bible. Andrew Shead has
•  explored how the translator, Brian Simmons, has mishandled the text and written 
• the values and emotions of the Bethel movement into his translation, introducing 
• systematic error in the process.

Although they say some great stuff in their statement of faith, Bethel is not a place where 

I would want a young believer to spend long or accept teaching uncritically. I would be 

deeply concerned if they accepted 

The Passion translation as true scripture and built their worldview on it.

But does any of this mean I should delete 'Living Hope', 'The Lion and the Lamb' and 

'Goodness of God' from my Spotify playlists, or ban these songs from being sung at our 

church?

There are some potentially good reasons to do so. Royalties incurred every time we sing 

these songs go, in part, to fund and further Bethel's ministry. Plus, giving songs “airtime” 

#at our church could lead people into deeper contact with the Bethel's wider theology. We 

need to consider the impact not just on ourselves but also on “weaker brothers” (Romans 14).

We conservative evangelicals like clear cut, black-and-white decisions. But as my finger

 hovered over the 'delete' key, I paused for a moment. A friend pointed out that I have a 

TV licence, and the BBC promotes some seriously wrong stuff. Our church’s CCLI royalties

 go to all sorts of places (not just Bethel) and we have very little control over that process.

 Many good Anglican churches pay Parish Share, a fund which is often used to support

 other churches who might hold very different theological beliefs.  PC.

Blogger: two years ago, my wife, aka Mrs Blogger, did an in depth

 investigation of Bethel. The results of which were that - yes, they 

are odd. No, we would never attend. Yes, they displayed some 

dubious issues but all-in-all - they were a Christian group and not

 a cult. Many of the reports of weird behaviour were either distortions or

 consisted of 'over-egged pudding'.