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THE FALSE BROWNSVILLE REVIVAL

http://www.scribd.com/doc/211818062/

SEE ALSO GREAT EXPOSES OF WOLVES IN SHEEPS CLOTHING
http://theexposes.weebly.com/index.html



THE FLUFF AND STUFF

Just because some have perverted prosperity I am not going to lump them
all together and throw it out. The Bible does teach that God wants to
prosper us and healing is available to us that believe. You have extremes in
all doctrine and in every camp/denomination etc. That is not true that
health and wealth ends with man, and signs and wonders with Jesus. I have
seen more extremes and fruit loops in the signs and wonders camp then
anywhere else. Chasing non biblical signs and wonders that have nothing to
do with Jesus. I hear more of Jesus being preached and sound biblical
teaching from Word of Faith then the others. When gold dust, gold teeth and
so called angel feathers are chased (and I have seen people crawling around
on the floor looking for gold dust, gems etc) over an encounter with the
Lord something is wrong. There is more preaching about the fluff and stuff
then Jesus! Time and time again people have been caught planting such
foolishness. So this camp is no better where exalting Jesus is concerned
then those that do pollute the prosperity message. I am all about the glory
of God and His presence, but a lot of the foolishness going on with the signs
and wonders camp are no better than the extremes of some in Word of
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Faith. The Bible tells us what signs believers are to expect and they are to
follow us, not us chase after them!

Now, consider the so-called "miracles" emerging from the "Brownsville
Revival". I have either witnessed all of the following myself (in person or on
video tape), or heard reports of the following from eye-witnesses. People
fall over (this is called "slain in the Spirit" or "prostration"), people laugh,
people belch, people jerk, people bow at the waist, people vomit, people
crawl on their hands and knees and bark like dogs, people scream and
shriek, people dance, people jump off of platforms into an imaginary "river"
flowing just off the platform, people tuck their hands under their armpits,
flap their arms, and cluck like chickens, and so on ad infinitum. The
overarching defining quality of the "Brownsville miracle" is this: things
happen that can be duplicated by mere human effort. Note that in virtually
all cases there is no practical reason for the supernatural event. Rather,
people are pursuing experiences for the sheer sake of the experience. Next I
contend that not only should these demonstrations not be called "miracles,"
but they should not even be called "manifestations" of the Spirit.


THE GREEN RIVER OF BROWNSVILLE
LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND NOT-SO
FAMOUS

A lot of things get counted at the Brownsville Assembly of God. It is the site of some
fantastic claims and what has been called the largest local church revival in the
history of America.

Since the inception of the so-called Pensacola Outpouring on Fathers Day 1995,
grandiose claims have been made about the revival services hosted four nights a
week, 48 weeks a year for the past three years. More than 2.5 million people
reportedly have attended these services. The number of decisions for Christ is
claimed to top 133,000.

All sorts of figures abound as a result of this purported last days revival and
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But these figures are quite selective and ambiguous. For
example, the attendance total and number of decisions, in many cases, reflect the
same person making repeated visits and decisions.

What is more disturbing is what is not being reported. Throughout the revivals public
relations campaign, little, if any, coverage has been devoted to the large amount of
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cash being funneled into the churchs coffers and into the key leaders independent
ministries through donations and by way of the sale of videotapes, literature and
revival paraphernalia. Once Pensacolas local newspaper got involved, the public
learned how lucrative the revival business is.

Beginning in the fall 1997, following several months of exceptional investigative work,
the Pensacola News Journal released a series of award-winning articles challenging the
questionable practices of the leadership of the Brownsville Assembly of God church.
The paper revealed a carefully planned and orchestrated revival by the churchs
leadership the antithesis of the claimed spontaneous move of God and has
shown how some claims have been fabricated to enhance the revivals reputation.

The Brownsville leaderships financial benefits have become a focal point for the
newspapers ongoing reports. PFO has long contended that the revival was more
commodities and merchandising than biblical sanctification. (See The Murky River of
Brownsville, The Quarterly Journal, April-June 1997.) The News Journal information
only sustained in greater detail what PFO had already discerned.

For 1997, the newspaper estimated the total revival revenue was between $4.3
million and $5.4 million for that one year. These figures were based upon on-site
donations and contributions, sales of books, tapes and other literature, and funds from
two ministers conferences sponsored by the revival.

Offerings from the Friday night revival services are given directly to evangelist Stephen
Hill. According to tax records secured by the newspaper, the Friday weekly evening
offering averaged in excess of $20,000, and in 1996 (the first full year of the revival)
these donations gave Hills ministry, Together in the Harvest, nearly $1 million. Some
pastors do not receive $20,000 a year, let alone $20,000 a week! A representative for
the church estimated that the average collection during each of the weeks other three
services is $12,500 nightly.

Indeed, revival has been very, very profitable for the men overseeing this purported
move of the Holy Spirit. Three of the revivals principal leaders have all acquired large
tracts of land by way of their independent ministries and have built or are currently
building opulent homes.

The newspaper disclosed that Feast of Fire, the ministry of church pastor John
Kilpatrick, bought 16 acres in Seminole, Ala., and constructed a combination bus barn,
guest house and office. The barn was built to accommodate the $310,000 deluxe
motor coach (literally an apartment on wheels) to chauffeur the pastor on his revival-
related travels. Also on the property, Kilpatrick has built a $340,000 luxury home. All of
this comes despite the pastors hollow declaration that: I have always strived to set
an example by not living above the means of my people. Kilpatricks salary from his
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ministry in 1996 was $100,000 (for which the newspaper claimed he worked 20 hours
a week) and he received a $73,600 annual salary from the church.

Evangelist Hills ministry has also flourished since the revivals inception. Together in
the Harvest reported an increase in its land assets from no property in 1994 to over a
half million dollars worth two years later. In 1996, it bought 40 acres of land in Lillian,
Ala., and, according to the newspapers account, has subsequently paid to refurbish a
house for Hill and his family, remodel an existing barn into living quarters and build a
distribution center, duplex house and an office building on the property just across
the Florida state line. The cost of the Alabama parcel was listed at $887,931.

While Hills ministry did use nearly 10 percent of its 1996 income for specific
assistance to individuals, a sizable percentage went to those directly connected with
the revival or with Hill, including Kilpatrick, theologian Michael Brown, singer Charity
James and others.

Hill has also told revival attendees about an orphanage in rural Argentina that
Together in the Harvest has supported. Following assistance from the U.S. Embassy
in Buenos Aires, the Pensacola newspaper located the orphanage. The paper stated,
A spokesperson at the orphanage said Hill had been in a mission group that helped
build the orphanage in the 1980s. But she also said the orphanage had not heard from
Hill for about 10 years, and she asked the News Journal for Hills address so the
director could write Hill and ask for a donation.

Michael Brown, theologian for the revival and president of the Brownsville Revival
School Ministry, has followed the lead of Kilpatrick and Hill and is also moving west.
Browns organization, ICN Ministries Inc., recently purchased an 11-acre tract in
Alabama. The paper reported that Brown and his wife are building a house, which
their building permit estimates at $727,360 construction cost, on a portion of the land
that his ministry ICN purchased. Brown was quick to point out that ICN is not paying
for construction of any house anywhere, the newspaper said. Brown, in a letter to the
editor, challenged the papers report and said that My wife and I are not building a
home valued at $727,000. ... Actually, the official appraisal sets the value of the house
and its three surrounding acres of property at less than $425,000, equal to the value
of our home in Pace [Fla.].

Browns home in Pace was purchased in 1996 for $419,000 and is located at a gated
subdivision on a golf course. Reporters from the newspaper told PFO that they stand
by their original figures for Browns new home.

Despite the News Journals exposure of the dramatic upsurge of the revival
leaderships lifestyles, a lack of financial accountability remains. After three full years,
the revival leaders still have not gained certification from the Evangelical Council for
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Financial Accountability (ECFA), although two of the three, Kilpatrick and Hill, have
formally applied, Brown has not.

The vigorous pleas for donations continue unabated. Let us give joyfully, for the need
is so great is an anthem heard as revival leaders sometimes spend as much as 20
minutes of the services asking for donations. The appeal for funds has also gone
beyond the church walls. Hills Together in the Harvest ministry made a recent
solicitation by way of a mass mailing from names acquired at the revival. The
newspaper said that Hill tells his letter recipients that Jesus has informed him that He
is coming back in the near future, and He wont tolerate sinners.

Hill even pretends to have God speaking: Let them know My warm season of grace
and mercy will soon turn to a chilling winter of judgment and wrath. ... The warm days
of My wooing will be exchanged for the fiery days of My vengeance, he wrote in his
funds appeal letter. To encourage the need for donations and their urgency, his
accompanying newsletter said that the cost of saving souls was mounting. Evidently,
so is property and its upkeep in Alabama.

As the fiscal fortunes realized in the past few months set the future standard for these
men and their ministries, more time and energy will be devoted to the raising of funds.
They will soon find, if they have not done so already, the ministry, its needs, and their
lifestyle will take on an existence of its own. Expenses will be the machine that
relentlessly drives them. During dialogue about the large sums of money being
invested into the personal fortunes of these men, one Brownsville staff member
recently asked PFO director G. Richard Fisher, Does that offend you? You bet it does,
and it does because of the following.

The mounting greed has perhaps caused these men to be blinded to what they are
doing to people and if it is not their desire for fortune, then it may well be born out
of an appetite for fame and power. Reports are now being heard that people have
come to the revival services with dead babies hoping and praying for the
resurrection of the deceased children. The men responsible for the revival have long
contended that the day is coming when raisings from the dead will be commonplace
within the Church. And they have even claimed reports of resurrections. How
appropriate Peters words apply here: In their greed these [false] teachers will exploit
you with stories they have made up (2 Peter 2:3).

Peter also advised that elders not be in ministry for gain (1 Peter 5:2-3). Brownsville
leaders are setting their faithful, gullible and desperate followers up for even bigger
disappointments and horrendous grief.

Perhaps the money lust has inured the Brownsville leaders to the bizarre and pathetic.
In July, they were featuring David Hogan, who claimed 300 raisings from the dead in
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Mexico. Of course, no evidence was offered and details were sketchy. An e-mail
message to Brownsville from PFO produced no documentation, just a fax number for
David Hogan. Brownsville leaders did not seem to want to stand by what goes out
from their pulpit. They would offer no documentation or names and places for Hogans
claims.

Two requests were sent to Hogans fax number asking for his credentials for ministry
and the names and locations for the raisings. PFOs request for the specifics have also
gone unanswered by Hogan or his ministry.

Even more regrettable is how all of this has taken the revival even further away from
the moorings of Scripture. The apostle Paul, in establishing the qualifications for
Church elders and overseers, states that he should not be a lover of money and not
pursuing dishonest gain (1 Timothy 3:3, 8). Temperance must be held by the Church
leader in many areas of life, including his finances and material possessions. The
Evangelical Commentary on the Bible notes: The overseer must be respected for his
behavior. He must open his life to others and be able to communicate Gods truth
(pg. 1105). No doubt the communication spoke of by the Commentary addresses not
only oral expressions, but also a lifestyle which testifies to the Gospel.

Paul further writes to Timothy that an elder must also have a good reputation with
outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devils trap (1 Timothy
3:7). According to statements from the Pensacola News Journals writers to PFO, the
reputation of the Brownsville leadership regretfully lacks the good standing in the
community that Paul insisted on. They are viewed as money changers in the temple.

The revival leaders charged the newspapers reports contain factual errors and
distortions. In spite of their reaction (laced with measures of intimidation), the News
Journal cannot be so easily dismissed. A good degree of responsibility and a desire for
change must be demonstrated by the Brownsville leaders. Certainly they cannot give
an unequivocal silver and gold have I none.

If there is not serious change and repentance, the revival and its leadership will drift
into even greater perversion. They may have fat bank accounts and fat wallets but in
the end that does not impress God. The leadership in Brownsville has forgotten the
words of the Savior: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. ... but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20). When a river turns green, it
means its polluted and in the end the green river of Brownsville may well be its
downfall. Christ came to make us right, not rich.

http://www.pfo.org/lifestyl.htm
BROWNSVILLE REVIVAL
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The "Pensacola Revival" is the directly linked to the TB (Toronto
Blessing i.e Toronto Curse) , as the fateful 1995 Father's Day
outbreak. Both Steve Hill and the leadership of the Brownsville
Assembly of God had gone to Toronto to receive the "anointing"
personally.
"Strange, unusual and wonderful things started happening after Brenda
Kilpatrick came back from the Vineyard church in Toronto, Canada . . .
signs of early revival started manifesting in the spring services . . . What
had been seen in Toronto started happening among the people of
Brownsville . . . Brenda explained how she had a drastic change in her
prayer life. 'I could never be the same again after I returned from Toronto."
(The Source of "The River" By Pastor Bill Randles)
Brenda then proceeds to tell one of these 'wonderful things' - being frozen
in one position for over two hours! This is the very same occurrence in RHB
at Carpenters Church in Florida.
"The time had come for God to allow His move at the Pensacola church.
[Brenda explains] 'We had a friend named Steve Hill . . . He called us about
his impartation that he had received from England. He was just on fire with
a new anointing of what God had given him. We were so excited and said,
'Maybe this will bring revival when Steve comes . . . '"
Pentecostal preacher Joseph Chambers wrote in The End Times Newsletter,
(March-April 1997, p. 8). "For several weeks leading up to this time [the
beginning of the manifestations in Pensacola], some changes had been
taking place, and some of the members of Brownsville AOG had been
traveling up to Toronto meetings, even taking carloads and vanloads of
members along. Mrs. Kilpatrick [the pastors wife] made two trips
accompanied by the wife of one of the church officers. Rev. Kilpatrick
[pastor of Brownsville AOG] started to drive up there one time, but his trip
was interrupted and he returned to Pensacola without making it to the
Toronto airport vineyard meeting. I saw no mention of this in his book.
When this series of meetings began in Pensacola, a lot of organization had
to be done in a hurry--namely, the formation of prayer teams and how to
deal with the people who came forward. The order of the day was: Thats
how they do it in Toronto" (Dr. Herb Babcock, former member of
Brownsville AOG, "Thats How They Do It in Toronto!"
"Our pastor's wife went to Toronto in February or March of 1994, I don't
remember when for sure, but when she got back...without even telling of
any of the manifestations she had seen...a few started that very Sunday
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she returned. She came back healed of things...so changed that Pastor was
jealous of the refreshing touch God had given her!
"Then Lindel Cooley became our new worship leader. Our other one was
anointed but Lindel brought something more....He, too, had visited Toronto
right before he came to Brownsville."
Kilpatrick showed the congregation a video of a Toronto Blessing service, in
which people fall to the floor, "slain in the spirit," as they feel the Holy Spirit
taking over them.
Kilpatrick had followers of evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne
attend a Brownsville service, where they functioned as an example
of highly expressive worship. Howard-Browne, a dramatically
energetic evangelist who calls himself the "Holy Ghost bartender,"
is known for promoting the "holy laughter" phenomenon in which
people succumb to hysterical convulsions. His followers did that at
Brownsville.
It was at HTB that Hill was to receive the "impartation" that he'd transmit to
the BAG church, which would become the basis for the "Pensacola Revival."
Hill had first read about HTB in an article in Time magazine titled Laughing
for the Lord, August 15, 1994.
Hill said in an interview with Don Nori in the Destiny Image Digest, "We've
received a lot from the Toronto church on how to pray with people and care
for folks. We model a lot of what's going on here from them."
Hill had been to Toronto to receive the "anointing." But sought another
anointing in a Anglican church in England, Holy Trinity Brompton.
Hill's recounts how he received the "impartation" at HTB. Reading the Time
magazine article titled Laughing for the Lord, August 15, 1994 lit something
in him. He asked his hosts, "Where is the Holy Ghost moving in England?"
His hosts were members of HTB and loaded him down with literature
concerning the "revival." Hill began to read, "testimony after testimony" of
lives changed and of faith renewed, his hunger increased, and he made an
appointment with the pastor of HTB, Sandy Millar.
Hill arrived at the church during the prayer meeting, amazed at the sight of
it: "I stepped over bodies to get to the pastor. When Sandy touched me, I
fell to the ground . . . I was like a kid at Toys-R-Us . . . Then, I got up and
ran to a couple and said, 'Pray for me, man, this is good!' They touched me
and WHAM! I went back down. Some of you, God is going to hit in a
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powerful way. If you are hungry, get prayed for a dozen times." (From the
Father's Day video, June, 1995.)
I guess if it doesn't work the first time be opened to eleven more. Pensacola
has become famous for its palsied "chicken walk," or shake, jerk and fall
manifestations. Even the prayer teams themselves were manifesting some
form of the jerks, twitches.
Brenda explains one of those 'wonderful things' - being frozen in one
position for over two hours! like Toronto they claim it was a spontaneous
outpouring, just like Toronto they are frozen (which all comes from Rodney
Browne). One is given the notion that, "Suddenly, like a rushing mighty
wind," the Spirit blew in on an unsuspecting Pentecostal church taking them
by surprise, hitting the pastor in the back of his legs and knocking him
over. But there was an anticipation that something was definitely going to
happen.
[Brenda explains] 'We had a friend named Steve Hill . . . He called us about
his impartation that he had received from England. He was just on fire with
a new anointing of what God had given him. We were so excited and said,
'Maybe this will bring revival when Steve comes . . . '"
Rev. Kilpatricks statements reveal the his understanding of this
move, "THIS IS NOT A PREACHING REVIVAL," (Rev. John Kilpatrick
Leadership Meeting Oct. 1996, Kerrville, Texas)
If not preaching then what? "So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the Word of God." (Rom. 10:17) Peter preached the Word, three
thousand were added that day. We are told to preach the word, we are sent
to preach, not to make them twitch and shake. But he is right it is not a
preaching revival in the same way Toronto was not either.
Evangelist Steve Hill, a Pensacola's Brownsville Assembly of God,
interviewed on TV's "20/20," explains his experience "I didn't believe in
God, but...out of desperation...I said, 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.' I just began to
say that name, and a power came through my body...." This same chant is
seen at the services invoking Jesus. This is how he was born again, a highly
unusual and non biblical way.
Well the church of Witness Lee (local church) does the same thing, just
chant Jesus. The more you say his name the more power of his presence is
there.
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Steve Hill enthusiastically moving from one seeker to another at
Brownesville touching the middle forehead yelling, "More, Lord!" this is
thee same same as Toronto The result is always the same-the spirit is
imparted and it causes seekers to shake, laugh, roar, fall out, etc. all the
same things at Toronto.
Hill chants the name," 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!' A peace, a warmth such
as I never felt before, flooded my body. This power rushed in like a river
and took command of everything. I kept crying out His name, louder and
louder: 'Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!' The more I said it, the greater was my
deliverance."( Hill, The Pursuit of Revival, 30. )
This is what the cults do to beckon the spirit to manifest. The repetition
of words over and over is a New Age occultic technique called a mantra. as
Hindu mantras "Aum" or "Hare Krishna"-invoke a spirit. The Gnostics said iii
eee oooo and other such syllables to invoke the power.
When a willing subject is found in a passive state and a mantra is repeated,
a demonic power overcomes the speaker. This is exactly how Hill describes
his conversion! Where in the Scripture does it instruct someone to do such
a thing?
Hill does the same , repeating "More, Lord!," and "Fire! Fire! Fire!," to
summon and pass on the spirit at the Brownsville "revival." For instance,
the Brownsville prayer team, the group that prays for people at Hill's altar
calls, is instructed to impart the spirit only by touch and the repetition of
words (cliche's). Dr. Herb Babcock, former prayer team member explains,
"While on the prayer team, we were instructed to NOT pray in Jesus' name.
We were told to NOT pray for the needs of people. The only thing we were
to do was touch people on their forehead and say, "More, Lord!" and keep
repeating that until there was an "impartation" of the spirit being promoted
in these meetings." Babcock continues, "If the person did not respond in a
reasonable time, move on to someone else. Any deviation from the limited
procedure would result in being removed from the prayer team, which did
happen to a few individuals." ( Dr. Herb Babcock, "That's How They Do It
In Toronto!," The End-Times and Victorious Living, Vol. 11, No. 2,
March/April 1997, 18.)
This is exactly what Rodney Browne states! Fill , fill, there it is , the fire
etc.. Coincidence, not really.
Hill has stated in rebuttal to his critics, "The second mark of a God mocker
is a fear of confrontation and change. They are so stuck in religious
tradition that they are closed to new revelation. ... (How anyone can come
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into a revival meeting in Brownsville and fail to feel Jesus is beyond me! I
can't imagine it.)" (Stephen Hill, The God Mockers, chapter 1)
This is similar again to what Browne states to his critics. "Pharisees,
Saducees. wouldn't sees."..."You can't understand what God is doing in
these meetings with an analytical mind,' he says. 'The only way you're
going to understand what God is doing is with your heart." (Holy Laughter,
Albert James Dager, 1996)
In 1996 Steve Gray of Smithon Missouri went with is wife to visit Pensacola.
He states he went not to get something but to see "as Moses went to o see
the burning bush." While he may admit he went not to get "it' he certainly
believed it was God he went to see, as the analogy tells all. After the revival
services he says that God spoke saying "he wanted you to have revival."
This again shows me that this is man centered, because God would never
say such a thing since it is by his spirit alone that revival comes from. He
never tells anyone to 'have a revival" but to repent and from this attitude
he may or may not send one.
Steve was depressed and couldn't fathom the thought But God told him,"I
didn't say I want you to be a revival. I said I want you to have a revival."
When he got back to his Church on the 2nd night God poured out his
power, healing and restoration on the entire congregation. he describes
"the air felt like a waterfall flowing with waves and waves of the glorious
river of God. So was born the Smithton outpouring. There have been over
200,000 people from all over the world that have visited since Mar. of 1996.
Now where is the tie in besides Toronto look at what Pastor Kilpatrick
says, "Brother Kenneth Hagin and Brother Kenneth Copeland have done
an excellent job along with others on teaching us about the authority of the
believer." (Glory on Your House , John Kilpatrick) Where does the source
come from? The common denominator is traced to the word faith
movement. Hagin, Copeland, Hinn.
Personally I would like to believe this is genuine but when one knows of the
trail that this all came from, how can something that came from Pensacola,
that came from Toronto and came from Copeland, Hagin, Rodney Browne
via Benny Hinn and even further back into the Latter Rain be authentic?
Well this has been quite a ride (though a short one) of tracking the spirit
manifestations from its infancy to its current teenage state. As it spreads
further it will mature into its real purpose.
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The teaching of anointed ones who dispense the "it". This spirit is localized
and transferable from Benny Hinn, Rodney Browne, and Toronto. Go to
Toronto, Brownsville to "receive a fresh touch from God." But you cannot
receive this spirit unless someone that already has received it, gives it to
you.
These are pilgrimages to "power centers" (anointing) where the spirit is in
manifesting is exactly what Jesus warned about in MT.24 "When they say
to you, 'Look here is Christ or there he is' go not after them . . . "(the
newest one is to TB Joshua in Nigeria)
It is not, "Look here is Jesus," but "Look here is Christ." The word "Christ"
means " anointed one." They go to Toronto or Pensacola for "the
anointing" from an anointed one, not for the teaching of Jesus. In fact
most of the people participating in these spiritual movements care little for
teaching- they are there for an experience.
There are testimonies of a experience but How does God authentically
change a life? The new model says that God changes people by "zapping
them" and they have an immediate experience, he operates on them, they
feel him. There is no such thing as this in Scripture except for the
immediate born again experience of salvation. And more often than not
people will not feel a thing.
Constantly the people are sent messages like "Some of you are going to
feel a heavy sensation in your arms and legs. That's God. You're going to
fall down, or you will feel numb and can't move. Others are going to feel
heat, or electricity and some of you will start to laugh or cry." This is
sensual feelings from the outside, true spiritual activity is from within if one
possesses the new nature. this is no different than what the gurus gave to
their devotees in shakti-pat.
We should be careful not to confuse the sensual with true spirituality.
Certainly there are times God can be felt but feelings are to be ruled by the
spirit of self control, which demonstrates true spirituality. One need not
wonder what needs to take place for the church to be removed from the
faith. Something must come to undermine the peoples objective
discernment by either replacing it or changing it. Feelings and experience
are a hard taskmaster to live by. Jude whose book is about contending for
the faith and apostates in the Church warns us of those who are " sensual
persons." they cause divisions (heresies) not having the Spirit. Those who
do not have the spirit or are not having him work by them will often do
gyrations to convince themselves and others they do!
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I watched a baptism conducted at Pensacola on video and some people go
wild, thrashing and fighting as they are dunked. They look like they need
deliverance instead of officiating a welcome into the body of Christ. I
thought baptism was to illustrate the old person is dead, in these they ( the
old nature) becomes more alive.
Hill has said, "I've come home with wounds and bruises all over my body,
friend. This is revival!" Power and activity = God, is a dangerous road to
travel on.
Today's revival is filled with dumbfoundedness, collapsing (slain),
stammering, slamming, paralysis all kinds of acts of violence and one can
act like a looney bird and blame it all on the Spirit. (just look at the Toronto
video of John Scotland drunk and singing I shot the Sheriff to see the hard
truth).
As of late Pensacola is now defunct as Steve Hill, Michael Browne and
Kilpatrick have gone each their own ways and not peaceably. I guess you
can sum it all up by the new wine turning to sour grapes
NOT INTEGRITY http://www.scribd.com/doc/57446225/

John Kilpatrick appeared on the Jim Bakker program. Two
frauds for the price of one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AliiQpg2Rk

Official Brownsville Response
To Pensacola News Journal Articles

Following is the official response from Brownsville A/G Church in Pensacola, FL
regarding the Gannett news stories in the Pensacola News Journal. It is apparent from
their response that some of the information reported by PNJ was inaccurate and
biased. However, it is also clear that Brownsville is still disseminating false information
of their own. We have highlighted the responses we feel are disingenuous, if not a
continuation of lies and deceit. We would like to remind the leaders of Brownsville A/G
Church of the verse in 2 Cor. 4:2 "Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful
ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary,
by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God." When a secular news organization gets some of its facts wrong or
uses deception that should not be a licence for Christians to respond in kind. We are
supposed to be the light and salt of the earth.

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NOVEMBER 22, THE RESPONSE
This is the response to News Journal and the Associated Press

THE FACTS OF THE BROWNSVILLE REVIVAL

STEVE HILLS TESTIMONY TRUE AND ACCURATE

CHURCHS FINANCES CONDUCTED WITH COMPLETE INTEGRITY

REVIVALS CLAIMS NOT EXAGGERATED

THE FACTS OF THE BROWNSVILLE REVIVAL

This past week, the Pensacola News Journal ran a five-part series alleging serious
financial irregularities and fabrications in the Brownsville Revival. While we do not
know the motivation of the Journal in running this series, we are troubled by their
misquotes, serious misrepresentation of facts, and misleading innuendoes. In order to
present an accurate picture of the revival, we have provided the following facts,
offering corrections to some of the Journals many reporting errors. While we do not
claim that the revival or its leaders are perfect, we are confident that the revival and
its related ministries have been conducted with complete integrity and high ethical
principles, and we welcome the careful scrutiny of the Christian and non-Christian
public. In the interest of the reputation of the gospel and the revival, we present the
following information, asking the reader to remember that this represents only a
sampling of the numerous corrections that could be made. To quote the Journal
(November, 20, 1997, 18A), "If you give people information, they can make up their
own minds."

FACT: John Kilpatricks salary and housing package from Brownsville Assembly of
God is $73,600, plus utilities, health insurance, and retirement contributions. Pastor
Kilpatrick would have been more forthcoming with the Journal regarding personal
finances if not for the accusatory attitude with which he was approached. 1
FACT: When Reverend David Wilkerson, the founder of Teen Challenge who has
known Steve Hill for more than 20 years, learned that the Journal was accusing Steve
Hill of being a phony who falsified his testimony, he immediately responded with this
letter dated November 19, 1997: "To Whom It May Concern: Steve Hill was a
debilitated, stoned addict when he first surrendered his life to Christ. He became an
active worker with our ministry, helping rescue other addicts and alcoholics. Though
many of his old friends had died, he related well to the street addicts, having been a
drug pusher and having spent time in jail. Steve graduated from our Bible school in
Texas. He has always been diligent and faithful. His story of deliverance from drug
addiction and crime is a true testimony to the power of the gospel of Christ. One thing
I know for sure Steve Hill is not a phony!"
15

FACT: Although Pastor Kilpatricks non-profit corporation, Feast of Fire Ministries,
received $798,000 in book sales, royalties (which are payable to the ministry, not
directly to Pastor Kilpatrick), and honorariums through October 9 of this year, by the
directive of the Feast of Fire board, he will not receive more than $100,000 in annual
income from that ministry.
FACT: Pastor Kilpatrick does not and has never owned a Rolex watch, contrary to
the Journals claims. The diamond ring he wears cost $382 and was purchased for him
by his wife Brenda as a gift for their 29th anniversary.
FACT: Rather than the church becoming rich through the revival or hoarding its
resources and neglecting missions, as suggested by the Journal, it has expended itself
sacrificially in order to host the revival and its guests including missionaries,
struggling pastors, and lost sinners from around the world. 2 The church staff has
expanded from 23 to 110; custodial supplies have gone from $600 a month to $3500
or more monthly; security, which in the past was unnecessary, now amounts to more
than $19,000 monthly all to watch over the cars and property of those attending the
revival. Whereas before the revival, there was no need for paid nursery workers during
the week, the nursery worker budget averages $10,000-12,000 a month all to take
care of the babies and small children of the guests of the revival. Such expenses could
be multiplied almost ad infinitum (e.g., just cleaning the church carpets now amounts
to $4,500 monthly), but this sampling is sufficient to indicate the enormous cost
involved in hosting this revival, a huge missions project in itself.
FACT: Neither the church nor any of the ministries were approached by the Journal
to supply detailed financial information before last month, although the Journal states
that it was investigating the revival for the past four and a half months. Facts and
figures that presented a positive picture of the churchs benevolent giving were either
overlooked or downplayed by the Journal.
FACT: Because Pastor Kilpatrick does not fly, Feast of Fire Ministries purchased a
1994 coach (with a Detroit Diesel engine capable of running one million miles) in which
he travels and works while speaking across the country. This coach cannot be used for
any personal travel or recreation, and it has already saved approximately $40,000 in
airfare since its purchase. Should the ministry cease to exist for any reason, this coach,
along with all other assets of Feast of Fire Ministries, will be given to the church, not
Pastor Kilpatrick or his family.
FACT: After living in the same house for 14 years, Pastor Kilpatrick moved to
Alabama for privacys sake. He would have stayed in his present home if not for
recurring invasions of his privacy. His new house, which should cost approximately
$270,000 upon completion, is being financed on the basis of his church and outside
ministry salary, and not a dime of the construction cost is being funded through the
nightly revival offerings. 3 Note also that the square footage of heated and air-
conditioned living space in his new home totals 3543 square feet, not the 5557 square
feet reported in the Journal, and contrary to any impression that may have been given
to the readers, Pastor Kilpatrick does not simultaneously own three houses.
FACT: Although offerings are received in the five weekly services in Brownsville,
16

there is not a suggested nightly donation, as repeatedly claimed by the Journal. The
only exception has come during the Friday night missions offering, when it has
sometimes been suggested that those who can contribute $100 to Together in the
Harvests missions projects would consider doing so (although this practice has
recently been discontinued). Those visiting the services know that very little emphasis
is put on money each week, and revival attendees are instructed not to put their
tithes, which belong in their home church, in the revival offerings.
FACT: Brownsville Assembly of God has never once made a financial appeal during
eleven years of weekly TV broadcasting. This is because fund-raising has never been
the churchs goal. Earlier this year, the revival was offered free air time on national
Christian TV, with a personal 800 number to be supplied as well, but this offer was
refused by the leaders despite the fact that it could have generated millions of dollars
in income.
FACT: At no time did Steve Hill falsify his testimony, nor did he ever admit to such a
claim. In point of fact, there are numerous witnesses (including Steves own mother
and family members) who have corroborated the details of his life story and
conversion. However, the Journal chose not to print any of the evidence presented to
them, including written corroborating testimony from the man who broke into the
Madison, Alabama pharmacy with Steve.
FACT: Stone Cold Heart is a 56 page mini-book containing a synopsis of 25 years of
Steve Hills life and is, quite obviously, not intended to be exhaustive. The only
"fictionalizing" of any kind in the book is that the names of some characters have been
changed to protect their identity and safeguard them from unwarranted intrusion and
embarrassment regarding the life they left behind over 20 years ago. This, of course,
is commonly done in biographical writing, and all details of the book are completely
true and accurate.
FACT: Contrary to the implication of the Journal, Steve Hill never claimed to have
been arrested 13 times in Huntsville, Alabama from 1972-1975 but rather said that he
was arrested a total of 13 times in different parts of the United States during those
years. Some of these arrests were with companions who have testified to the validity
of the accounts as given by Steve, but the Journal did not contact these sources. It
should also be noted that Federal Law ordered the destruction of arrest records for
various minor offenses for those born before 1955, a fact which the Journal also
ignored.
FACT: Although the Journal claimed that Steve Hill did not sponsor a table at the
Teen Challenge meeting in Pensacola this year, in point of fact, he sent $1000 to the
meeting (the equivalent of sponsoring eight tables), and contributes $1000 a month to
the local Teen Challenge branch.
FACT: As of November 18, 1997, Together in the Harvests year-to-date
contributions to Teen Challenge world wide amounted to $80,021 (and are verified by
receipts received from Teen Challenge), while additional foreign missions contributions
came to $203,656 and home missions and benevolence totaled an additional
$320,000, making a grand total of charitable contributions of more than $600,000,
17

equaling more than 25% of Together in the Harvests gross income. The reason some
of this data is not individually broken down and categorized on the IRS return is that
Together in the Harvests bookkeeper groups much of it together under charitable
giving, although Together in the Harvests financial records do, of course, detail each
and every one of these charitable and missions transactions.
FACT: Steve Hill immediately gave the Journal a complete financial disclosure on
October 4, 1997. A breakdown of his finances for the last twelve months indicates that
his ministrys charitable giving came to more than six times the amount of his personal
salary package, a fact not noted by the Journal. (His wife Jeri does not receive any
salary from the ministry, contrary to the implication of the Journal.)
FACT: Steve Hill offered to fly the Journals correspondents to his various missions
projects anywhere in the world for their personal inspection, but they declined the
offer. The one orphanage in Argentina contacted by the Journal was aided by Steves
ministry when it was founded but has long since become funded by the government.
FACT: Alleged discrepancies between the IRS filings and Steves financial disclosure
are simply due to the fact that the IRS figures are for the calendar year of 1996 (with
charitable giving totaling $298,085), while his disclosure to the Journal was for August,
1996 to August, 1997 (with charitable giving totaling $639,384). The Journals
presentation of these two reports side by side, without any clarification, was highly
misleading.
FACT: Those responding to the altar calls in the revival are urged to destroy any
pornographic magazines or videos they own, to flush their alcoholic beverages or illicit
drugs down the toilet, and to throw out articles of jewelry or memorabilia they were
given during adulterous or sinful relationships. They are not told to turn such items
into the church, as implied by the Journal, and the few articles of jewelry that have
been turned in will be sold and the funds put into the church building fund. 4
FACT: Before the revival, the Brownsville Assembly of God gave approximately 12%
of its income to missions and benevolence. Since the outbreak of the revival, the
church has continued to keep its previous missions commitments but has added a
weekly missions offering taken up for Together in the Harvest. (After this missions
offering is counted, it is regularly supplemented by Brownsville.) Thus, when the funds
given to Together in the Harvest are included, the church gave almost 18% to
outreach and missions in 1996 ($1,179,926 out of $6,563,783).
FACT: The Journal frequently lifted quotes completely out of context in order to give
a false impression to the readers. To give just one example out of many, Pastor Carey
Robertson is quoted as saying, "If you wonder where the money is going, then dont
give. . . . Once it becomes a gift, it is ours to use. It is nobodys business how we use
it." In context, he was explaining to the Journals correspondents that, whereas a
member of Brownsville has the right to examine the churchs financial books, the fact
that a visitor puts $25 in the offering does not therefore give him the right to examine
the churchs financial records. Also, as is the universal custom in churches around the
nation, when undesignated funds are put into an offering, it is up to the discretion of
the church to expend those funds responsibly, whether it be to pay nursery workers or
18

buy bathroom supplies. This was also part of Pastor Robertsons intent. 5
Unfortunately, it does not appear that the Journals intent was to present a full and
clear picture, but rather to give the appearance of a scandal. Similar examples of other
misquotes or quotes taken completely out of context could be multiplied, and
numerous sources quoted by the Journal, including those involved with the revival and
those unrelated to the revival, have expressed to us their outrage, shock, and dismay
at the misrepresentation of their words in the Journal.
FACT: At no time did any of the revival ministries knowingly violate the relevant
state tax laws, as inferred by the Journal. To the contrary, in spite of extensive
investigation by accountants and legal representatives for the ministries, the
Department of Revenue of the State of Florida gave varying responses as to the
necessity of collecting sales tax on ministry items sold within the church. As soon as a
definitive ruling was passed on to each of the ministries, they immediately took steps
to begin collecting and paying the appropriate sales taxes and will pay all taxes
retroactively due.
FACT: Not one of the Brownsville revival leaders has received any financial
remuneration from Awake America for participating in these national conferences,
although it would have been completely appropriate for them to have done so.
However, because the cost of holding these rallies has been astronomical, the leaders
agreed to receive no honorariums from Awake America. While ministry books and
tapes have been sold at these events and travel expenses have been reimbursed, no
honorariums from Awake America have been taken by any of the leaders.
FACT: Since the revival began in the Brownsville Assembly of God, less than 150
previous members have cancelled or moved their membership, while 1530 new
members have been added. Of those members who were in the church for 25 or more
years, none of them have left because of the revival, and only 4 officials out of 27
have left the church since the revival began. Simply stated, there has not been a mass
exodus of members, contrary to allegations made by anonymous former members in
the Journal. 6
FACT: Dr. Michael L. Brown immediately provided the Journal with his salary and
benefits package when asked to do so on October 24th (they were informed that it
totaled well under $100,000). Contrary to the Journals claim that he would not provide
a financial statement, his office made extensive efforts to supply all information
requested, but the Journal went to press shortly before the financial reports were
reviewed by accountants and approved as accurate for release. To date, he has
received no salary from the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry, although he serves
as the schools President and as a faculty member, and all royalties from any of his
nine books are paid directly to ICN Ministries and do not accrue personally to him.
FACT: In spite of the fact that the tuition costs for the Brownsville Revival School of
Ministry are among the lowest nationally and its operating budget negligible (the figure
of $604,500 given by the Journal referred to the schools total income, not profit!), the
school also granted $65,000 in scholarships to needy students. As for the student
body, 170 of the schools 510 students are 25 or older (including 81 who are 30 or
19

older), while 66 have already earned college or graduate degrees. Approximately 140
students were saved through the revival, while 118 testify to being set free from life-
controlling addictions.
FACT: Of the four non-profit corporations allegedly formed since the revival began,
two of them (viz., Together in the Harvest and ICN) were already operating as
international ministries prior to the beginning of the revival. The other two (viz., MMI
and Feast of Fire) were formed so that profits from sales of books and tapes would not
accrue exclusively to the individual authors or song writers but rather would also
benefit a non-profit corporation for further ministry purposes. All four of these
ministries are in the process of filing with the Evangelical Council for Financial
Accountability and had ordered applications months before the Journal began its
investigation. 7
FACT: The revival has been subject to careful theological scrutiny, and its
soundness has been recognized by biblical scholars and theologians from leading
universities and seminaries. 8In fact, Professor Vinson Synan, a leading Pentecostal
historian and the Dean of the Regent University School of Divinity, has called it "the
largest local church revival in the history of America," writing that, "Brownsville, with
its emphasis on conversion and people weeping over conviction of sin, seems to be a
revival in the long tradition of American native revivals dating back to the preaching of
Jonathan Edwards. Theres heavy preaching on sin, repentance, conversion, and
holiness. And theres a lot more weeping and wailing over sin than there are the so-
called exotic manifestations." 9
FACT: At no time did the Journal raise the issue of so-called doctrinal improprieties
or unusual manifestations to any of the revival leaders, nor were any of the leaders
asked to respond to such questions, with the exception of one peripheral question put
to Pastor Kilpatrick by one reporter (although his response was not printed). Thus, the
Journal chose to give the general public no opportunity to hear a sound, biblical
refutation of the charges raised, although it can easily be demonstrated that the
emphasis of the revival conforms completely to biblical and historic norms. 10
FACT: Of the pastors and teachers cited in criticism of the revival, some of them
(e.g., Mr. Al Dager) have never attended a single meeting in the revival, while another,
Mr. Matt Costella, is a seminary student, as opposed to being a recognized authority,
biblical scholar, or theologian. For an exhaustive refutation of recent theological and
doctrinal criticisms of the revival, the interested reader may consult Dr. Michael L.
Browns recent volume, Let No One Deceive You: Confronting the Critics of Revival. 11
FACT: We first learned about the reduction in juvenile crime in Escambia County
from the Journal itself! On January 3, 1997, the Journal ran a front page article
compiled by staff writer Ginny Graybiel, proudly announcing that, whereas juvenile
crime over the previous fiscal year had risen state-wide by 1%, it dropped by 13% in
Escambia County, the first county-wide drop in five years. Now the Journal claims that
the juvenile crime rate rose, the exact opposite of its earlier, detailed report.
FACT: Mr. Nathan Epps from the Bureau of Data and Research for the Florida
Department of Juvenile Justice, provided revival leaders with the following crime
20

statistics, drawn from 700 pages of information: The 1993-94 juvenile crime rate in
Escambia County rose 5.15%; in 1994-95 it rose 17.43%; in 1995-96 it dropped
12.8%; in 1996-97 it dropped an additional 4.53%. Furthermore, using Apopka
County, Florida as a point of random comparison, it can be seen that the juvenile
crime rate in Apopka rose by .22% in 1995-96 and in 1996-97 dropped by .74%.
When one considers that attendance throughout Escambia County at See You At the
Pole, the early morning, student prayer gathering held in September of each year rose
from less than 500 in 1995 to more than 2100 in 1996 and 1997, such juvenile crime
reduction statistics are no surprise.
FACT: According to a broadcast aired by Ch. 3 News on September 23, 1997, the
overall crime rate in Escambia County dropped by 16% in the first six months of 1997
as compared with the same period in 1996.
FACT: When Rev. Ken Landon, a counselor at the Waterfront Rescue Mission and
New Hope Homes in Gulf Breeze, learned that some sources were questioning the
impact of the revival on local drug addicts and alcoholics, he informed us that his own
mission alone had baptized more than 120 of its clients in the revival over the last year
including former crack addicts, alcoholics, repeat offenders, homeless people, violent
bikers, and abused women and less than 10 of those 120 have fallen away.
FACT: Our primary source for the positive economic impact that the revival has had
on the community was the glowing article published by the Journal on Fathers Day,
1997, and it was the Journal article that we sometimes cited for this information. Now
the Journal claims that the revival has been more of an economic drain. Moreover, the
Journal chose to ignore data pointing to the positive impact the revival has had on real
estate transactions.
FACT: On July 11, 1997, the Journal printed a special, 40 page mini-paper on the
revival, paid for by area businesses, and filled with ads from local hotels, restaurants,
and vendors. 50,000 copies of this mini-paper were produced by the Journal and were
then given to Brownsville with the express request that they be handed out to revival
attendees waiting on line. In fact, in that report (p. 19), the Journal quoted Sheriff Jim
Lowman as seeing the revival as "nothing but a positive influence in the community,"
adding, "I just wish people who are going to break the law would go to the church
service instead."
FACT: According to the Journals own reporting in the just cited special 40 page
report (p. 19), "Although the revival has critics who describe uninhibited religious
demonstrations as mass manipulation, the loudest complaints come from area
businesses lamenting the loss of customers when the revival has taken a break for a
few days."
FACT: Rather than relocating to a more upscale neighborhood, Brownsville
Assembly of God chose many years ago to remain in the Brownsville area. At present,
it is investing considerable time and resources to reach out to the Brownsville
neighborhood in a tangible and loving way. (Contrary to the Journals claims, this
service was begun by Brownsville members and is financed by the church.) For
example, in the last six months, every home in the community north of Cervantes St.--
21

Mobile Hwy. received a personal visit from Brownsville workers (although some were
not at home at the time of the initial visit), and benevolence extended to various
families included food, clothing, house repairs, and cutting grass. Moreover, every
individual reached was given a ticket enabling them to attend the revival without
having to wait in line. 12
FACT: All real estate purchased by the Brownsville Assembly of God in the local
community has been purchased at a price above the appraised value in order to insure
that no one would feel that the church was taking advantage of them. In fact, the cost
of buying properties surrounding the church has escalated drastically, to the direct
benefit of the local property owners.
FACT: Steve Hills statement that Jesus was crucified naked thereby experiencing
humiliation on our behalf is supported by Scripture (see, e.g., John 19:23-25),
reflects the Roman custom of the day (according to the Jewish scholar, S. T. Lachs,
"The condemned were crucified naked, and the executioners were allowed to divide
their clothing and property among them"), is attested to by the second-century Church
Father Melito of Sardis ("The Master has been treated in unseemly fashion, his body
naked, and not even deemed worthy of a covering that [his nakedness] might not be
seen"), and represents the majority view of scholars. Thus, Steve is completely correct
in stating that "most theologians believe that Jesus was crucified naked." Even the
beloved commentator Matthew Henry drew attention to, "The shame they put upon
our Lord Jesus, in stripping him of his garments before they crucified him. The shame
of nakedness came in with sin. He therefore who was made sin for us bore that
shame, to roll away our reproach. He was stripped, that we might be clothed with
white raiment (Rev. 3:18), and that when we are unclothed we may not be found
naked." It should be noted, however, that Steves preaching emphasis is on the fact
that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, not on the fact that He was
crucified naked. 13 It is the critics who majored on that.
FACT: While sexual sin is explicitly preached against in the revival following the
example of Scripture (see, e.g, Prov. 5:1-32; 7:1-27; Matt. 5:27-30; Eph. 5:1-6)
there is no sexual fixation of any kind in the meetings, as unfortunately stated in the
Journal. Rather, the emphasis is on holiness. Anyone questioning this can readily view
or listen to hundreds of hours of preaching and teaching in the revival services as
recorded on video or audio tape. 14
FACT: The ministry practices of Brownsville are consistently misrepresented. To cite
just two examples, prayer team members use the name of Jesus every night (as
opposed to the Journals odd allegation that they are forbidden to pray in Jesus
name), while these lay workers are specifically instructed not to call out, "Fire! Fire!"
while praying, although the Journal stated the exact opposite. 15
FACT: While we recognize that Christians hold to many varied views concerning
divine healing, and while we have not made physical healing a major emphasis in the
revival, 16on numerous occasions revival attendees have publicly testified to being
miraculously healed by God during the meetings, sometimes holding x-rays and other
medical documentation to verify their stories. While we are aware that many godly
22

Christians remain sick or disabled, never receiving physical healing in this life, we
rejoice with those people Christian and non-Christian alike who have been healed,
and we hope that others too would also rejoice on their behalf.
FACT: Although the Journal strongly suggested that Steve Hill secretly planned on
sparking a long-term revival when he came to speak in Brownsville in June, 1995, he
was actually scheduled to hold major rallies in Belarus in the former Soviet Union later
that month and had gone through considerable effort in planning and promoting those
rallies. Because of the spontaneous outbreak of the revival, he was ultimately forced to
cancel the Belarus meetings, although two of his staff members were already there
preparing for the rallies and expecting his imminent arrival. 17
FACT: The Journals version of the events leading up to the revival is riddled with
inaccuracies and misstatements. For example, the practitioners of so-called holy
laughter who were at Brownsville about one year prior to the revival were expelled
from the church by Pastor Kilpatrick for disorderly and disruptive behavior after he
expressly forbade them from praying over any of the Brownsville
congregants.18Moreover, the group that was expelled was not part of Rodney
Howard-Brownes ministry. (To date, Howard-Browne has never visited the revival. 19)
Even Steve Hills quote, "Now if someone falls next to you, work with me, OK? Just
work with me,"20 indicates that nothing was pre-planned, since there were no
"catchers" waiting for people to fall, and Steve was saying, "Please help catch the
person next to you if they fall under the power of God!"
FACT: The heaven-sent nature of the revival is attested to by more than 1200
Brownsville congregants who were there on Fathers Day, 1995 and by multiplied tens
of thousands who have attended the meetings since. 21 Not one single aspect of the
revival was planned out in advance, nor could any facet of a revival of this magnitude
possibly have been orchestrated or staged. All credit for the revival must go to God,
who graciously answered more than two years of corporate prayer for revival by the
members of Brownsville Assembly of God.
FACT: While it is undoubtedly true that in the revival, just as in every local church,
some of the converts have fallen away, we have countless hundreds of testimonies on
file from the local area and around the world coming from pastors, church members,
and families of converted sinners, attesting to the radical changes that have taken
place in their congregations or individual lives through the revival. We give all the glory
to the Lord Jesus and believe that the best is yet to come. It is time for revival to
spread throughout the land! 22

Although we are grieved by the misinformation, poor reporting, and scurrilous nature
of the Pensacola News Journalsseries on the Brownsville Revival, we nonetheless want
to bless them, and we ask the Lord to pour out His grace on all the correspondents
who worked on this series of articles, wishing the Journal and its readers a blessed
holiday season and New Year. We also want to take this opportunity to thank the
greater Pensacola community for being such gracious hosts to the more than 1.9
million guests of the revival who have come for spiritual refreshing from more than
23

100 nations and from every state in the Union. We look forward to a wonderful year of
revival in 1998!

Here is our response to the Brownsville response to the PNJ articles.

1 - Church leaders should ALWAYS be forthcoming with the public on financial matters,
"accusatory" or not. This has not been a characteristic of some A/G churches and
should be. They should also be giving regular detailed financial reports to their
membership, as do most upstanding Christian denominations.

2 - When a church like Brownsville is taking in as much money as it is from non-
members, it should not complain about increased costs of running meetings and
facilities. It smells like an excuse to try to draw attention away from the fact that they
are raking in millions of dollars every year and not having to account for what they are
doing with it to anyone outside thier church board.

3 - This cannot be true, since Kilpatrick's salary comes from the church, so one hand
feeds the other. The fact of the matter is that Kilpatrick would not have been able to
build a nice new big house without the "revival" he told his church they were going to
have "or else".

4 - So they are, in fact, taking jewelry that they told people to get rid of and somehow
ended up in their possession, and consequently selling the items to bring in more
money for the church. This is exactly what PNJ said in the first place.

5 - Again, church finances should be open and honest to all, especially when they are
making money under a non-profit status. The fact that they are still not members of
the ECFA should tell people that they have something to hide. When the world thinks
the Christian church has something to hide, the truth is brought into disrepute and the
gospel message preached in vain. These "revivals", as well as many television
evangelist organizations, are lining their pockets at the expense of the saving gospel
message. Paul warned Timothy of these men when he said: "If anyone teaches false
doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to
godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest
in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil
suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed
of the truth and who think that godliness is A MEANS TO FINANCIAL GAIN." (1 Tim.
6:3-5)

6 - At the beginning of the "revival" when most of the "less than 150 previous
members" left, it could well have been categorized as a "mass exodus" taking into
account the number of people in membership at that time. We also understand that
this number included church leadership as well.
24


7 - This seems like a "day late and a dollar short". The "revival" has supposedly been
going on since Father's Day 1995. Why couldn't they have filed with the ECFA during
the two and a half years when they began to see large sums of money floating
around? But the real question is, with a fair sized church like Brownsville A/G, why
didn't they file with the ECFA years earlier? Will they do a "CNN/Benny Hinn" later and
fail to file with ECFA? Let's watch and see!

8 - Conveniently missing here is any mention of countless "biblical scholars and
theologians" from virtually every denomination and walk of life that have written piles
of articles and made many statements to the fact that the Brownsville "Revival" is a
counterfeit revival that is continuing to foster a false anointing handed down from the
Toronto "Blessing", Rodney Howard-Browne, Benny Hinn and many other widely
recognized false teachers.

9 - Preaching of the whole gospel, especially including the elements of the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, and our justification by his death and blood alone which
paid the death penalty of sin that we live under, is rarely heard. Steve Hill's "gospel" is
a "repent, say 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus', and come running to the 'Mercy Seat' to receive
the 'anointing'". This is not the classic gospel message of Scripture and therefore
cannot save those who beleive it. Also, if you have ever watched a full service from
Brownsville A/G (not recommended for the squeemish) you will see clearly that, along
with some weeping, there are PLENTY of weird manifestations as well as weird noises.
Jonathan Edwards would have been appalled at what he saw at Brownsville A/G today!

10 - It is not the job of a secular newspaper to bring up theological issues, nor are
they qualified to discuss them. However, to say that it "can easily be demonstrated
that the emphasis of the revival conforms completely to biblical and historic norms"
regarding the bizzare and unbiblical "manifestations" rather demonstrates wishful
thinking on the part of Brownsville leadership. If they ever were willing to even listen
to what orthodox Christianity is saying about their "revival" or enter any real public
debate on the theological issues, instead of heaping curses and insults on anyone who
disagrees with them, they would find out that they are the one who are out of touch
with Biblical principles by a long shot!

11 - And to put this article in its proper light, you might want to read an article called
"Accusers of the Brethren or Good Bereans?" by Debra Bouey
at http://www.geocities.com/Bob_Hunter/accusers1.htmThis article details the many,
many slanderous accustations made by Brown in his booklet against ANYONE who
disagrees with what Brownsville is doing. Brown does this in the face of the Scriptural
mandate by Paul to be "good Bereans" as well as test the spirits. This article also
includes the same kinds of slanderous and lying accusation by Steve Hill from his gem
of a book "The God Mockers".
25


12 - I think this statement kind of says it all. Does the word "circus" come to mind?
Has Christianity degenerated into having to sell tickets to worship together as
Christians? This is another good example of why I am telling people not to go to these
big circus events anymore. Stay in your home community and church and do
evangelistic outreach there; witness to your neighbors and provide for the hurting and
the misfortunate. There is no need to travel to some "revival" and get a jolt from the
laying on of hands. If you are a Christian you already have the Holy Spirit indwelling,
and as you continue to be repentant and remain humble, serving the Lord, he will
bring "times of refreshing".

13 - The fact is, Steve Hill rarely mentions the death and resurrection of Christ in his
"gospel" message. Why is it that modern preachers in these "revivals" must find more
and more sensationalistic ways to present the "gospel"? Is it because they do not
realize that the power is not in the "slain in the spirit" experience or the "signs and
wonders" but that "the GOSPEL ... is the POWER of God for the salvation of everyone
who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."

14 - The true emphasis is on sensual experiential spirituality, as evidenced by watching
hours of video tape from Brownsville A/G that they produced. Comparisons to Hindu
kundalini rituals, whirling dervishes, Rajneeshees, and other occult groups are readily
apparent. This type of activity eventually leads to all kinds of fleshly sin problems, one
of which is sexual fixation. This has been evidenced over and over again in churches
and by leaders who make subjective experiences the yardstick by which they live their
life and formulate their doctrine.

15 - Why then does Steve Hill call out "Fire, Fire" when he is laying hands on people?
Yes, the name is Jesus is used, that is true. The fact is, it is used just like a mantra,
repeated over and over again until people get mind-numbed enough to accept the
"impartation". Other words are also used such as "holy ... more ... worthy ... Holy
Ghost" etc., in the same manner. Even the music is repeated endlessly.

16 - They say they have not made it an emphasis then in the next sentence they say
"on numerous occasions". It is hard to imagine that a meeting goes by without some
"miraculous" healing testimony. This statement is simply untrue.

17 - This statement is a clever way to get people's eyes off the truth. The truth still
remains that Steve Hill manipulated the "revival" from the outset, just like the Toronto
"Blessing" meetings are carefully crafted where Hill got his "impartation". With a lot of
manipulation and pleading from the stage, Steve Hill managed to get some people to
come forward and receive the "impartation" he was offering, even though it was
clearly evident from the video tape the many people in the church were somewhat
suspicious of what this traveling evangelist was bringing to their church. It wasn't long
26

before Steve Hill "took out" the head pastor, who lay on the floor for four hours, and
was free to lay hands on whomever he wanted in the church. This is what the video of
the first day of the "Brownsville Revival" shows.

18 - Why did he not expel his wife and Steve Hill, because they got their "impartation"
directly from the Toronto "Blessing". This ruse that Brownsville has nothing to do with
the Toronto "Blessing", when the Arnotts from Toronto have visited Brownsville on
many occasions, is really getting ridiculous. Brownsville has invited leaders from Word-
Faith, Toronto "Blessing", Kansas City Prophets, Rhema, and others to their meetings,
as well as sent their leaders to attend meetings and conferences together with these
other groups. You don't invite people to stand up and preach or testify in your church
unless you agree with them.

19 - This may be true, but Randy Clark has and he was given the "impartation" directly
from Rodney Howard-Browne and Clark passed it to John Arnott of the Toronto
"Blessing"; who in turn passed it to Sandy Millar of Holy Trinity Brompton, who in turn
passed it to Steve Hill.

20 - I believe that this is close to what he was saying to John Kilpatrick on the first day
of the "revival" before Kilpatrick received the "impartation". What I think was actually
said, as far as I can tell from the copy of the video tape I have is "I'm working here."
The implication I got was that Hill knew Kilpatrick had not received the "impartation"
yet and did not want him touching people on the foreheads with him because it might
inhibit the "anointing". Watch the tape for yourself and decide.

21 - Again, not mentioned here are those who did not see it that way at all, including
many who have viewed the tape but were not in attandance. There was no "rushing
wind" as testified to by Kilpatrick. There were no "thousand" people at the "altar" but
rather a few hundred. If this was a "move of God" then God has chosen to ignore His
Word and His testimony because true revival has never started this way -- the way of
the Third Wave.

22 - God is sovereign. He brings revival when and where He will. It does not start with
wierd unbiblical "manifestations" and "impartations". The Bible is clear on how revival
starts, and has always started: "REPENT, then, and TURN TO GOD, so that your sins
may be wiped out, that TIMES OF REFRESHING may come from the Lord ..." (Ac 3:19)
John Kilpatrick prophesied: "I want to close by giving ten proclamations about how
things are going to be. Mr. Hanegraaff, AND ALL OTHER DEVILS, listen up. Number 1:
This revival - I'm making a proclamation. I'm speaking this not just to you, friends, to
impress you, but I'm saying this as a man of God from behind this holy desk in this
holy environment of a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And I'm not saying this to
you, but I'm saying this for the ears of God. And here's what I'm saying. This revival
shall not diminish and this REVIVAL shall turn into a national AWAKENING." (John
27

Kilpatrick, BAG, "Prophesy Against Hank Hanegraaff", April 6, 1997) It seems that
Kilpatrick got the cart before the horse. My Bible says that times of refreshing (revival)
can only come as a result of repentance (awakening). Is this "revival" then truly
orchestrated of God, since God has said in His Word that revival can only come about
as a result of repentance?

http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/breaking.html


Go Home
Brownsville Revival Report
by the Pensacola News Journal (1 of 4)
(Published 16th Nov 1997)
Leaders shield finances, make many false claims
By J. Lowe Davis
Assistant managing editor

PENSACOLA - The numbers are amazing: Millions of visitors, millions of dollars,
thousands of souls. The claims are heart-warming: crime curtailed, addiction
overcome, sickness healed. The leaders are captivating: An ex-convict-junkie
converted to evangelism; a visionary and prophet dedicated to revival.

But how true is it all? Is Pensacola's Brownsville Revival all that its leaders say it is?
Are the leaders who and what they say they are?

The News Journal sought to answer those questions in a four-month investigation into
the 2 1/2 year-old revival. The investigation focused on the revenue and the spending,
the leaders' backgrounds and lifestyles, the revival's methods and messages, and the
revival's claims about healings, crime reduction and charity.

Much about the Brownsville Revival is unquestionable: Millions of people from far and
near have attended the four-nights-a-week revival Many have had an emotionally and
spiritually stimulating experience there.Many have been baptized. Many have made a
commitment to change their ways and live closer to God.

But much about the revival, as a business and a community influence, is questionable,
and the answers cast it in a far different light.

Among the News Journal findings: --The revival did not begin the way Pastor John
Kilpatrick and evangelist Steve Hill say it did. They say it was a spontaneous and
overwhelming move of God and that everyone there felt it. But a videotape of the first
service, plus the accounts from members who were there, reveal otherwise and
indicate the revival was well-planned and orchestrated to become a large and long-
28

running enterprise.

Money is flowing, information is not. Brownsville leaders refuse to disclose revenue
and spending details, beyond an abbreviated, generalized financial statement that
shows the church taking in $6.6 million in 1996. Not even members of the
congregation are allowed to look at the books.
Revival leaders are generating fortunes. The top four ministers have set up their
own nonprofit corporations selling their own revival-related merchandise, such as
books, tapes, T-shirts and bumper stickers. The merchandise is sold both inside the
church and via mail order. Only one of the corporations is paying sales tax.
Hill's autobiography and oft-told stories about his outlaw past are contradicted by
facts and by police records. He admitted to the News Journal that he fictionalized parts
of his book for "impact."
Hill's claims that most of his ministry's revenue from the revival goes to missions
and charities is contradicted in his ministry's financial statement and Internal Revenue
Service return. His assertions that his financial books are open are untrue; he would
not share key information with the News Journal and sought to discourage questions.
Kilpatrick has retreated from close contact with his flock while rapidly moving up
into a luxurious lifestyle outside Pensacola. His new home, at an Alabama location he
tried to keep secret, has barbed wire, a security guard and a metal gate. Months
before an injury that kept him at home for weeks, Kilpatrick had ceased to keep office
hours and had delegated his pastoring duties to assistants.
Hill and Kilpatrick both have taken advantage of opportunities to conceal financial
information. Both put "$10 and other good and valuable consideration" on their deeds
as the price they paid for their new properties; Alabama allows people to do that if
they wish to avoid public disclosure of the purchase price.
The revival service's spiritual messages and methods have distressed many devout
Pentecostals and given rise to much criticism among theologians and Bible scholars.
Kilpatrick has sought to silence dissent and criticism by prophesying -- announcing
he is voicing God's own predictions -- that the critics would die or suffer.
The revival's benefits to the Pensacola community are either overstated or untrue.
For example: Top law enforcement officers cite data disputing the revival leaders'
statements that the revival has reduced crime. Social service agencies report having to
serve a large influx of impoverished people who were drawn to Pensacola for the
revival but who have been turned away by the church. Drug treatment centers report
drug problems are on the rise, not dropping. Mental health centers report treating
more out-of-town people than ever before, and most of them are people who came to
Pensacola for the revival. Residents and businesses in the impoverished parts of the
Brownsville community report that the church has done nothing for the area and
refuses requests for help.
The revival's claims about healing are unsubstantiated by medical documentation.
The revival touts cases in general but does not provide names or specifics. The News
Journal found people who said they had been cured and healed, but none had medical
29

proof from doctors.

Church budget is $6.6 million; 2% devoted
to assist missions
By Amie K. Streater
staff writer

The Brownsville Revival is known the world over for leading sinners to God. But the 2
1/2-year phenomenon is not only making Christians out of gang members and drug
users, it is making millions of dollars. But for whom?

Revival leaders talk at length about the souls they have saved, but they rarely talk
about the money they have made. They tell expansive stories about the impact of the
revival, but they downplay the expensive lifestyles the revival is underwriting.

A four-month News Journal investigation has revealed spending practices that sharply
differ from the activities worshipers are asked to finance. About 15 percent of the
church's $6.6 million budget -$1,019,406 - goes to salaries and benefits for 107 church
employees, according to a brief and nondetailed financial statement the Brownsville
Assembly of God released to the News Journal.

The church will not release specific information about the salaries and perquisites --
including housing allowances -- for the revival leaders. The revival leadership makes an
unabashed call for money: "Reach into your wallets and pull out the biggest thing you
can find," Associate Pastor Carey Robertson urges, suggesting that $100 is an
acceptable figure.

Robertson and other leaders assure the audience that most of the money goes to
missions -- organizations working to spread Christianity. Yet after evangelist Steve Hill
takes his share -- the Friday night offering each week goes to Hill's Together in the
Harvest Ministries -- the Brownsville church's donations to missions amounts to 2
percent of the church's annual budget. Church leaders call for money to cover the
"tremendous" expense of keeping the church and revival going. Yet 14 percent of the
budget goes to cover such costs.

By comparison, the revival pumps substantial money -- $1.2 million, or more than 18
percent of the budget --into activities that gross big returns: pastors' conferences,
videotapes and music tapes to sell to revival-goers.

The church tells the revival audience that "our finances are in order" and "everything is
open," but the leadership refuses to make full disclosure of the budget details.
30


"It's nobody's business but ours," Robertson said. "We are not accountable to the
people who come to revival because they are our guests. They are making a free-will
offering and therefore should not expect an audit or an accounting.

"If you wonder where the money is going, then don't give. Obviously, we can't spend
money the way people want us to, but once it becomes a gift, it is ours to use. It is
nobody's business how we use it."

That goes for the Brownsville flock as well. The church's membership gets an annual
one-page statement, listing revenues and expenditures in general categories.
Robertson and church treasurer R.L. Berry say detailed accountings are provided only
to the church's eight-member board of directors.

No other church member can get financial answers without getting a two-thirds
majority vote from the congregation authorizing release of the information. By
contrast, large churches in the other major denominations in the Pensacola community
make full financial disclosure. What is most clear about the Brownsville Revival money
picture is that the leaders have found many ways to keep the money coming in. For
example:

The church videotapes the four-nights-a-week revival services and sells tapes by the
thousands, at $15 and $10.
Each of the four major revival leaders started his own individual ministry corporation
to sell revival-generated materials and memorabilia.
The revival leaders have published autobiographies and other books sold through
the individual ministry's corporation.
The four top revival leaders have created an unofficial joint venture, Awake
America, along with the Brownsville church. Using it as the umbrella organization, they
go to big cities around the country to hold stadium revivals and share the proceeds. A
recent two-night revival at The Pyramid, a large arena in Memphis, grossed $123,500.
During the revival, sinners are coaxed to get rid of "articles of affection" --rings,
bracelets, watches and other jewelry they received in adulterous affairs. Church
leaders will not give specifics about how many such items show up in the offerings.
The revival has given birth to a Bible college that in one year has brought in about
$604,500. The church rents classroom space in a defunct Bible school on U.S. 98 in
west Pensacola and charges its 507 students an instructional fee of $975 a semester,
which includes books, but not room and board, for the 120 students who live on
campus.

The students are mainly young people who tell revival audiences that they were
floundering through life before they found salvation at the revival.

31

On the road: Pleas for money intensify
Revival leaders go big time with Awake
America
By Amie K. Streater
staff writer

MEMPHIS, Tenn - Within the dazzling steel walls of The Pyramid, the arena that
dominates the Memphis cityscape, evangelist Steve Hill was shining.

The 6,000 people who flocked each night to the Oct. 6-7 revival got the Hill they've
read and heard about, the fiery, feisty, flamboyant man who glistens with sweat as he
shouts, stomps and shakes his fist at their sin. Many came expecting nothing short of a
miracle.

Hill and the other leaders of the Pensacola Brownsville Revival are finding ways to
reach even more than the thousands every week at the Brownsville Assembly of God,
where the 2 1/2-year-old religious phenomenon is conducted four nights a week.

Memphis was the most recent stadium revival, or "outpouring," the Brownsville leaders
have produced in big cities under the name "Awake America." In the last year they
have gone to Anaheim, Calif.; Dallas; St. Louis; Toledo, Ohio; and Birmingham, Ala.
Hill says Awake America has barely been able to break even.

At The Pyramid, Hill told the audience: "I don't want to leave here with a deficit. It's
never happened before, and it's not going to happen here."

Hill and the Memphis pastor handling the collection, the Rev. Randel McCarty, cited
different figures at different times -- from $50,000 to $130,000 -- for the amount
needed to cover expenses.

McCarty, pastor of Cathedral of Praise, a Pentecostal church in Memphis and one of
the hosts, urged the first-night audience to give enough to raise the $50,000 cost of
the two-day Memphis event. He said that was the total needed for the Pyramid rental
fee and for the transportation and lodging for the revivalists.

The next night, Hill announced that $60,000 was needed, and he scolded the
audience, many of whom were return visitors, for being stingy the night before. "Last
night didn't cut it, folks," Hill said.
Filling the buckets

When Hill moved on to his message, which is his term for his sermon, ushers loaded
32

white buckets of money onto dollies and pushed them into a separate room, where
they began tallying the collection.

As Hill was wrapping up his sermon and gearing up for the altar call, he got the news:
The collection was not enough. He stopped everything and renewed his money plea.
The ushers moved into the audience again with the buckets. Hill began the anointings
as the second counting got under way. He was working his way through the audience,
laying on hands and praying for people when an usher gave him the word that the
collection had still fallen short of the goal. Hill stopped praying and anointing and
exhorted people to give again.

By the time the event was ending, McCarty reported that $130,000 was the amount
needed to cover expenses and the collection fell $6,500 short -- meaning they raised
$123,500 in two nights.

He did not explain why those figures differed from the $50,000 he stated the first night
and the $60,000 Hill stated on the second night. Hill says he does not have exact
figures, but he does not think the Memphis event was profitable.

"Memphis was so-so," Hill said in an interview a couple of weeks after the trip. Awake
Americas, they're not money-makers. There was a time, I think in Anaheim, we sold
$13,000 in books, which was wonderful, but there's not a whole lot of money to be
made."

Awake America is an informal joint venture, according to Hill's attorney, Walter
Chandler. It consists of Hill, Brownsville Assembly of God Pastor John Kilpatrick,
Brownsville School of Ministry President Michael Brown and Brownsville Music Minister
Lindell Cooley, plus the Brownsville church.

Kilpatrick's attorney, Larry Morris, said that before the ministers go out on another big-
city crusade, he wants to make sure they get incorporated.
Money is secret

Awake America's finances are handled by the crusade coordinator, Jeff Gardner, who
works in Steve Hill's office. Hill declined to release to the News Journal any financial
information about the crusades without consulting his attorney, and Chandler refused
without explanation.

Pyramid officials would not say how much Awake America paid to rent the arena, but
they did say that the starting rate is about $5,000 a night. The final rental figure
depends on how much extra service, such as ticket-takers, security, technicians and
other support staff The Pyramid has to provide.

33

The top figure, according to The Pyramid management office, could be about $11,000
for an event such as Awake America's. If the Brownsville team members failed to raise
the amount they wanted, it wasn't for lack of planning. In anticipation of the event,
they papered churches across the region with fliers and posters. For five days,
Memphis television stations carried commericals touting the event.
A moving event

Both nights, people from across the mid-South began filing in around 5 p.m. for the 7
p.m. services in the 20,000-seat arena. Many were already veterans of the revival in
Pensacola: They knew all the words to Cooley's toe-tapping tunes and knew just when
to shout during "The Happy Song."

The newcomers learned quickly. One young mother with an infant in her arms got so
caught up in the energetic, infectious music that she jumped up and down for several
minutes, heedless to her son's head bouncing up and down on her shoulder. When
another woman noticed and offered to hold the baby while the mother continued to
leap and shout, the baby jerked dizzily for a few moments, spit up with force, then
sobbed. His mother did not see that -- she had moved up to get closer to the stage,
leaving her baby in the arms of strangers.

After the music, after the money call, after Hill's message came the altar call. As he
does at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Hill asked the people in the front
rows to pick up their chairs and clear a large area.

The urgent lyrics of the altar-call anthem, "Mercy Seat," filled the arena as Hill
shouted: "Hurry! Hurry! Get down on your knees before God! Hurry!" Hundreds made
their way through the audience and knelt. Many more stood in the wings because their
chairs had been taken away. Teen-agers who had been sitting on the floor in front of
the stage just stayed put.

Hill and the ministry team moved around the arena floor and touched people on the
head and prayed for them by chanting "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Fire, Fire, Fire! Now, now
now!"
An overlooked believer

Hill promised to stay until everyone had been prayed for. "We didn't come here to
sleep," he said. Yet Hill left both nights around 11:30, while hundreds remained
waiting --some on their knees weeping.

On Monday night, one of those who waited in vain was Althea Catron, 41, of Memphis.
After reading about the flamboyant evangelist in Charisma magazine, she was hopeful
that Hill could help her son, Erkins Catron Jr., who has a brain tumor that prevents him
from walking or otherwise functioning normally. He is 14 but is the size of a 5-year-
34

old.

Believing that a touch from Hill would mean a touch from God -- and thus would bring
healing -- she sat through the message and struggled to the front after the altar call,
slowly steering her son's bulky wheelchair around crouched and sprawled bodies until
she was close to the stage.

For about an hour, she stood there silently, staring straight ahead and tightly grasping
the han dles of her son's wheelchair. Hill's ministers and prayer teams moved all
around her, passing her time and again but never making eye contact or touching her
or the boy. Several people nearby became upset that she was being ignored, and a
woman grabbed a member of the prayer team who was passing by, tugging him over
to the boy. He stopped and prayed and laid on hands. Hill never approached the boy.

Tuesday night, the mother and son were back. Hill passed her by again. She stood and
waited a half-hour, attracting considerable notice, until Hill's staffers pulled him over to
the wheelchair. Hill gave the boy an anointing touch and prayed for him.

Althea Catron was happy. Her son's condition did not
change, but she said the prayer gives her hope. "I expect a
miracle any time," she said.
Give at least $100, revival leaders urge: 'God knows how
much you have'
By Amie K. Streater
staff writer

PENSACOLA - The Brownsville Revival is famous for fiery sermons by evangelist Steve
Hill, who shouts to sinners to run to the altar, repent and beg for mercy.

But there is another message that's never videotaped, never photographed, never
shown on television: Before you come down to the altar to be saved, reach into your
wallet and give. Specifically, give $100.

That message is delivered so skillfully that Brownsville Assembly of God, with about
3,500 permanent members, has an annual revenue far exceeding any of Pensacola's
other large churches. The church took in more than $6.5 million in 1996. Of that
amount, $5.6 million, or 86 percent, came from the collection plate.

Among the givers are visiting pastors, who are urged to write big checks without
waiting for permission from their church boards. Husbands are told to give generously
and to forget about consulting with their wives. "You can get forgiveness a lot quicker
than you can get permission," Associate Pastor Carey Robertson tells the audience.
35


Robertson has taken over the nightly collection speech while Pastor John Kilpatrick
recovers from injuries he suffered in a fall. "God knows how much you have,"
Robertson says to the whole crowd in the plea, which can stretch for more than 20
minutes.

Every man, woman and child is asked to think about how much they've spent on a
television set, a car, a toy. They are reminded what a pair of Levis, a pair of Reeboks
cost. They are asked to think about what they pay when they go out to eat with the
family, and then give at least as much for the work of God.

Every Friday night, the collection goes to Hill for his ministry. The church makes a
point of this and notes that is the only night Hill takes anything.

On Fridays, Hill adds a passionate explanation to Robertson's remarks . In a speech
that extends at times to a half-hour, Hill cajoles the audience with descriptions of
desperate missions and orphanages he helps -- though he gives few documentable
details -- and he lavishes contempt on selfishness and stinginess.

"I've never been ashamed to give," he tells the audience. "I love giving. I love to give
to the Lord."

Some of the people crammed into the pews are struggling financially, but they reach
for their wallets without hesitation. A frail, aging widow who tries to get to the revival
several times a week, scratches out a $50 check. Again. She sits primly, wearing the
one good, navy-blue dress she owns, and says she is glad to give. In another pew, an
elderly woman gives the revival all the money she's set aside to pay for her
prescription medication. "God will provide," she says.

Some people see the offering as their chance to break away from sin: Heeding Hill's
call to give up "articles of affection," they hand over the rings, bracelets, watches they
received from their lovers in sinful or adulterous affairs.

Hill said his ministry has not received a lot of jewelry in the Friday night collections. It
ranges from a $2,500 diamond ring to a not-so-impressive thin gold bracelet. He is
willing to show the items to interviewers. He said he has not decided what his ministry
will do with them.

Brownsville church leaders would not allow the News Journal to see any jewelry the
church has found in the revival collections that go to the church. They would not give
any details about it. "We might have 10 pieces of jewelry," church treasurer R. L. Berry
said. "Most of it is not worth a dime. "You know, people get emotional," he said.

36

The church plans to sell any gold in the jewelry and put the
proceeds into the building fund for the new family life
center
Revival costly, but figures are vague
By Amie K. Streater
staff writer

PENSACOLA - The high cost of putting on the revival is always emphasized during the
nightly call for $100 donations at the Pensacola Brownsville Revival.

But church leaders refuse to say exactly what those costs are.

An abbreviated 1996 financial statement the church released to the News Journal lists
only $22,402 as revival expenses. It also lists a series of administrative costs that does
not indicate whether any of those are attributable to the revival or whether these costs
encompass any salaries:

Depreciation: $188,729.
Office: $168,345.
Utilities: $159,744
Maintenance: $149,217
Security: $112,291.
Janitorial: $42,609.
Building insurance: $27,522.
Distribution: $24,145.
Gasoline and travel: $12,033.
Advertising: $11,543.
Flowers: $8,586.
Photography and magazine: $8,004.
Lease: $8,001.
Kitchen: $4,983.
Building: $4,800.

Church officials just say the revival is costly. "It's unreal, the expenses," church
business administrative assistant Rose Compton said. Administrative expenses amount
to 14 percent of the Brownsville Assembly of God budget, and salaries and benefits
amount to 15 percent.

Associate Pastor Carey Robertson said he thinks Brownsville's expenditures for salaries
and administration are more conservative than what churches usually spend in these
areas.

37

"Normally, churches break a budget up into three parts, 33 percent of their budget
goes to operating expenses, which includes mortgage, utilites, maintenance, all those
things, 33 percent goes to ministry and 33 percent into salaries," he said. "That's
generally what the concept is.

Ministry fails to meet watchdog's guidelines
By J. Lowe Davis and Amie K. Streater
staff writers

PENSACOLA - Doctors, lawyers, teachers -- all have to pass tests to do their work.
Colleges, hospitals, restaurants -- all have to undergo scrutiny by accrediting or
inspecting agencies.

But who reviews religious organizations and evangelists? Who determines whether
they deserve the public's trust?

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a nationwide watchdog group
formed in 1979 by Billy Graham and several other evangelists, exists specifically to
oversee religious organizations' financial dealings. The ECFA coaches its 860
organization members into earning that trust by requiring that they follow a strict set
of guidelines for handling donors' money ethically.

Organizations voluntarily participate in ECFA and must abide by strict rules. Nine
organizations in the Pensacola area are in the ECFA: Globe Missionary Evangelism,
Waterfront Rescue Mission, Arise and Shine Evangelistic Association, Globe Europe,
Living Water Adopt-a-Child, Living Water Ministries, Manna Bible Institute, New Hope
Home of Waterfront Rescue Mission, and Rhema Bible Institute.

None of the organizations involved in Pensacola's Brownsville Revival are members.

Brownsville Revival evangelist Steve Hill's organization, Together in the Harvest
Ministries Inc., has a membership application pending. Paul Nelson, president of ECFA,
said that to be accepted, a religious organization must meet these requirements:

Adopt a written statement affirming its commitment to the Christian faith and operate
in a manner that reflects Biblical practices.

The statement Hill filed in Texas when he incorporated Together in the Harvest states
that the organization was formed "to promote and perpetuate the doctrines of
Christianity as a religion by going into all the world and preaching the Gospel of Jesus
Christ."

38

Set up a board of directors, the majority of which cannot be staff members or
relatives.

Hill's organization has four directors: Hill, who is president. Jeff Gardner, who works in
the Together in the Harvest office at Hill's home and handles Awake America, one of
Hill's joint ventures. Gary Brady, former pastor of Faith Assembly of God in
Tallahassee, where Hill also used to work. Ronald Ardt, a friend of Hill's who lives in
Dallas.

Submit to an annual audit from an independent certified public accountant.

Hill said his friend, Jody Fauss of Lindale, Texas, handles his ministry's finances. Fauss,
however, told the News Journal that he is not a certified public accountant, and that
he does not do the audit for Together in the Harvest.

Exercise financial control to ensure resources are used as intended.

An informal financial statement Hill released to the News Journal listed 32.15 percent
of the Together in the Harvest money goes to "other" and "uncategorized"
expenditures. Hill did not provide details about those expenditures.

Provide copies of audited financial statements on request. Hill's attorney, Walter
Chandler, refused to provide those. The ECFA would not tolerate that, according to
Nelson. "If they were a member, that wouldn't fly," he said.

Conflicts of interest should be avoided by fully disclosing on audited financial
statements any transactions between members.

Hill has not provided a list of Together in the Harvest staff. He has not provided an
audited statement. He has not specified what role his wife, Jeri Hill, plays in the
organization or how much she is paid. Her name appears with Steve Hill's on the
Together in the Harvest letterhead.

Comply with ECFA's 12 standards of fund-raising, which include accurately describing
the group's activities, avoiding giving potential donors any unrealistic expectations of
what their gifts will accomplish, truthfulness in communication and providing, on
request, detailed reports of a project for which it is soliciting gifts.

Hill provided an informal financial statement that said $900,000, or 75 percent, of his
share of the Brownsville Revival offering goes to missions. Elsewhere in the statement,
he indicates $789,000 goes for such giving. His lawyer's figure was $639,000 and Hill's
IRS return indicates his ministry gave $102,212.

39

Despite repeated requests from the News Journal, neither Hill nor his lawyer identified
specific missions and addresses, other than lists of countries and general identifications
such as "Misc. - Central and South America and various countries."

Neither Hill nor his lawyer would provide copies of the IRS returns for the nonprofit
organization, even though they are, by law, public information. The News Journal had
to obtain copies through the IRS.

Revival for sale through merchandise;
Top ministers cash in with own products
By Amie K. Streater
staff writer

PENSACOLA - Brownsville Revival music stirs people to jump up and dance, filling the
aisles and pews with swaying, clapping, bouncing, arm-waving, foot-pounding, head-
bobbing worshipers.

When they leave for home, they don't have to leave the music behind. For 200 feet up
and down the corridor that rings the main auditorium, tables are piled with music
cassettes and CDs and that's just a fraction of the merchandise available for purchase.

The Brownsville Revival has generated a multi-million dollar retail industry, conducted
within the walls of the church. Inside the church's double front doors, tapes, T-shirts
and similar revival-generated products are offered for sale all during the day and until
about an hour after the revival is under way at night.

The crowds that stand in line throughout the day to get good seats for the night-time
revival are a steady source of customers. Even as the revival service is under way,
people leave the pews to browse and buy. At times, the customers are so densely
packed that people have to suck in their stomachs and step sideways to pass one
another in the merchandise-laden corridor and lobby. The products are sold not only
by the church but also by individual corporations created by the revival leaders.

Most profit figures are unclear. Revival musician Lindell Cooley's ministry, Music
Missions International, has sold close to $500,000 in merchandise, mainly music tapes
and CDs, since he established the corporation in March, said general manager Larry
Day. The revival's evangelist, Steve Hill, told the News Journal that his books and
tapes, sold through his corporation, Together in the Harvest, earned $224,675.

The church itself, which as a church does not have to make its finances public or pay
taxes, says it lost money last year on revival merchandise, despite $625,166 in sales of
40

books, music and video tapes.

An abbreviated 1996 financial statement that the church released to the News Journal
indicates the church fell short $239,160 on the products.

Associate Pastor Carey Robertson, who oversees the church, blames that on an
overload of inventory at year-end. The church had bought more products than it could
sell before the end of its year, he said. The church's statement lists $864,324 in
merchandise expenses:

Music $474,549
Cassettes, manuals, books $196,382
Videotapes $143,307
Audio tapes $50,086

The statement lists $625,166 in merchandise revenues:

Music $336,369
Videotapes $185,820
Tapes $62,122
Cassettes, manuals, books $40,855

Some products, especially the videotapes of nearly every revival service, are sold
under the church's name. On the other hand, the popular revival music cassettes and
CDs are sold under the name of Music Missions International Inc., headed by revival
maestro Cooley. Many people buy two, three, even 10 videotapes, which cost $10 and
$15. They gladly spend the money, saying they want to sustain "the anointing" by
video viewing numerous different revival services.

They also load music cassettes, at $10 each, and CDs, at $15, into their shopping
bags. Cooley's music is a big seller, but so is the altar-call anthem, "Mercy Seat," which
is available on cassette and CD in three different keys advertised as "easy to sing"
back at home.

The Brownsville Revival has yet another product, sold under the name "The Vision
Speaks": kits containing materials to make one of the sequined, jewel-toned, multi-
colored banners displayed at the revival. The kits sell for $125 for a small banner, or
$200 for a large banner, the size Brownsville uses. The kit includes all the materials
except glue, scissors and pins. The banner kits are not listed anywhere on the church's
financial statement -- not as revenue, not as an expense.

Robertson's explanation: "We have a kit that tells people how to make banners, but we
don't sell banners." He would not say how the financial statement accounts for the
41

banner kits and he would not say how many have been sold. He also would not say
how The Vision Speaks is connected to the church.

Some corporations selling revival-related merchandise in the church are independent
of the church. They serve to market products for individual revival leaders. Buyers
cannot make their purchases at the door, they have to pay -- by cash, check or credit
card -- at the cash register set up to handle each minister's business.

Brownsville Assembly of God pastor John Kilpatrick sells his books and tapes through
his newly created ministry, Feast of Fire. He says that his book royalties go to his
ministry, but he refuses to disclose any information about the finances of his
organization. As a nonprofit corporation, its IRS return is open to the public. But under
IRS rules, nonprofits have five months and 15 days after the fiscal year to file, and
Feast of Fire has not reached its first filing deadline.

Michael Brown, who heads the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry as well as his
own nonprofit organization, ICN Ministries, does provide some figures about his
revenues: He estimates his books and tapes bring in $50,000 a month. That amounts
to $600,000 a year.

"I don't write the books to make money," Brown told the News Journal. "I have
publishers asking me to write. I have to write what I feel burdened to write. Ethically I
have a problem with personally getting rich through ministry. I'd be much more at
home just with an ample salary." He would not disclose how his ministry spends the
$600,000. The IRS said Brown's ministry has asked for two extensions and is not due
to file until late this month.

Steve Hill's Together in the Harvest Ministries gave the News Journal an informal
financial statement saying he took $30,000 in royalties, but it did not indicate what the
sales were. His corporation's most recent IRS return showed he took $34,000 in
royalties from sales of $141,592.

The News Journal asked the IRS for copies of the tax returns for all the ministers'
corporations because all are registered as nonprofit organizations and thus their
financial information and tax returns are public information. Hill's 1993, 1994 and 1996
returns were the only ones the IRS had on file.

3 top ministers fail to pay state sales tax
By J. Lowe Davis
staff writer

PENSACOLA - Florida taxpayers are getting almost no benefit from the millions of
42

dollars of Brownsville Revival-related merchandise. Three of the revival's four top
ministers are paying no sales tax to the state on the products they sell.

According to the Department of Revenue, the ministries of Steve Hill, John Kilpatrick
and Lindell Cooley are in violation of the law. Brownsville Assembly of God also pays
no tax on its large product line of videotapes, cassettes, T-shirts and other revival
products it sells. State law exempts churches from having to pay sales tax when they
buy products and supplies and from having to collect, and send to the state, county
and city any taxes on the products they sell.

But the rules are different for the individual ministers' own nonprofit corporations --
even though they are selling their merchandise inside a church, according to a
spokesman for the Department of Revenue. Unless they meet the state's narrow
definition of a church -- holding regular worship services at a specific location --
nonprofits need two numbers for the state:

Consumer Exemption Certificate: This exempts them from paying tax when they buy
things. But having this does not exempt them from the duty to collect sales tax when
they sell something. When they sell, they are "dealers" and must have:

Sales Tax Registration: This is for collecting sales tax on things they sell. They have to
send in the tax monies to the state.

Three of the nonprofit corporations handling revival merchandise do not have dealer
registrations. They are pastor John Kilpatrick's Feast of Fire Ministries, evangelist Steve
Hill's Together in the Harvest and Lindell Cooley's Music Missions International, Inc.

Chuck Springston, public information spokesman for the Department of Revenue, said
none of the three are in the department's records, either for a consumer exemption
certificate or dealer sales tax registration.

"Unless they registered under a name other than the one that is commonly known,
they aren't registered," he said. Kilpatrick will not disclose any details about his
ministry's sales.

He said in an interview with the News Journal three weeks ago that the ministry was
paying sales tax. Receipts for items purchased from his ministry, Feast of Fire, do not
show that sales tax was charged.

His attorney, Larry Morris said last week that he had just learned, via an opinion from
an accounting firm, Feast of Fire must collect and pay sales tax. He said he was going
to recommend to Kilpatrick that he "self-report" to the state and pay the taxes right
away. Hill's ministry, Together in the Harvest, reported in its most recent IRS return
43

that its sales totaled $141,592.

Hill said in an interview with the News Journal three weeks ago that the ministry was
paying sales tax. Receipts for items purchased from his ministry do not show that sales
tax was charged.

Lindell Cooley's MMI Ministries has not been charging tax on its products but has been
setting aside 7 percent of its sales revenue in anticipation that the taxes might be due,
said general manager Larry Day. He said that when the corporation formed, seven
months ago, he asked the state about the taxes and had been trying to get a
clarification ever since. On Nov. 7, Day said, he received an opinion from an
accountant that MMI does have to charge tax.

Michael Brown's ICN Ministries has a dealer number, indicating it is collecting sales tax,
Springston said. To protect taxpayer confidentiality, he said, he could not disclose how
much sales tax ICN has paid. Some items are never taxable, either when the
corporation buys them or sells them: Bibles, hymn books, prayer books, altar items,
sacramental items, ceremonial raiment and equipment. A book of sermons, tapes of
sermons and services and pastors' autobiographies do not fall within the state's
specific merchandise exemptions, Springston said.

http://www.banner.org.uk/brn/Pensa-News1.html

NOTE:
The ministries upgraded their financial management, moved the sales operations out
of the church to a trailer "store" on the parking lot (revenues plummeted by two-
thirds), commissioned public audits, and settled tax issues with the state. Two of the
four ministries, those of Mr. Hill and Pastor Kilpatrick, joined the Evangelical Council for
Financial Accountability and are now members in good standing.
FURTHER RECOMMENDED READINGS ON THE SUBJECT

http://www.joyfulministry.org/brownt.htm

http://www.culteducation.com/reference/brownsville/brownsville34.html

http://www.equip.org/articles/cri-statement-on-december-meetings-between-hank-
hanegraaff-and-brownsville-revival-leaders/

http://www.equip.org/articles/the-counterfeit-revival-part-three/

http://www.apostasywatch.com/Wolves/WolfReports/TheBrownsvilleRevival/tabid/80/
Default.aspx
44


http://www.frontlines.tv/steve-hill-passes/

http://misslink.org/chapel/askaminister/renewal/toronto.html

EXPOSING THE COUNTERFEIT
http://deceptionfree.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/exposing-the-counterfeit-
in-the-emergent-church/
RANDY AND PAULA WHITE PARASITES PROSTITUTES PIMPS
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35148151
Manasseh Jordan - Never Been Wrong Yet? How About Prophesies network
TV for Paula White and Lakeland property is good soil?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X81rDQCpTKU
Roy Aldrich, a retired school teacher, who was robbed of a $100,000 by Dan
and Karl Strader, knew that Pastor Karl Strader was an enemy of good men.
http://goo.gl/GjQJ3 http://www.scribd.com/doc/56459981/
RODNEY HOWARD BROWNE THE FLEECER http://www.scribd.com/doc/36546812
THE ARROGANT TBNS PAUL CROUCH http://www.scribd.com/doc/82784017
BILL JOHNSON IS THE DECEIVER http://www.scribd.com/doc/25418818
GRAVE SUCKING BILL JOHNSON http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1mT
ORAL AND RICHARD ROBERTS http://www.scribd.com/doc/17098294
Navigating Through The Minefield Of Signs And Wonders
http://www.enterhisrest.org/charismata/protect_deception.pdf
SUPERNATURAL SID
ROTH http://www.christianmediaresearch.com/sidroth.html
Pat King The Third Wave Sorceress http://tinyurl.com/2bcm9mn
PAT KING THE WITCH http://deceptionfree.wordpress.com/tag/is-patricia-
king-a-witch/
NATIONAL AWAKENING http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-sU
REVIVAL ALLIANCE AND TODD BENTLEY http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-ja
Todd Bentley marries woman he had affair with; Rick Joyner wants you to send
Bentley some money http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23332/todd-bentley-
9
45

HEY TODD BENTLEY DIVORCING YOUR WIFE TO MARRY YOUR MISTRESS IS
NOT SOMETHING GOD ENDORSES OR ALLOWS
http://www.scribd.com/doc/47784235/
An Open Heaven- Todd Bentley's Highway to Heaven
http://www.letusreason.org/Latrain45.htm
TODD BENTLEY IS NOT ONLY A FROG BUT A FRAUD WHO DEFRAUDS
http://tl.gd/ka0rvu
RICK JOYNER THE FOOL http://apprising.org/2012/06/07/the-colossians-
heresy-part-3/
NATIONAL AWAKENING http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-sU
SAM AND BENNY HINN THE SCOUNDRELS http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-Lf
THIRD WAVE OR CLOWNS FOR THE DEVIL http://wp.me/s2M7AJ-clowns
STACEY CAMPBELL THE WITCH http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-
VIR82MGqE
Pope to Copeland: Catholics and Charismatics must spiritually
unite http://goo.gl/wm07he


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