at: http://www.harvestnet.org/lookback/godmanDec97.htm
as well as its ancillary article, Trouble In Prophet Land
at: http://www.harvestnet.org/lookback/troubleinprophetland.htm
RICK JOYNER AND CHARISMA MAGAZINE
First, read this quote from, The Place of Miracles
by Rick Joyner, Sept.4, 2000 which was published at:
http://www.morningstarministries.org/Articles/word/sept4_2000.htm
(not linked from this site due to Morningstar's frequent taking down or
rearranging of articles on their site)
"When the Lord fed the thousands with just a few fish and loaves, what made this miracle so great was that so much was done with so little. He receives more glory when we have less in our hands to do His works with. One of the greatest hindrances to our seeing the miracles of God is that we have too much.
When the Lord calls us to do a task we must resist looking to our resources for the ability to carry it out, but rather look to God’s resources. Having much may actually hinder us from doing great things for God. When the Lord set about to change the world, He did not start accumulating a large treasury for the task. He just looked for twelve men that He could anoint. Even the men that He chose were lacking in the natural gifts and abilities to carry out such a purpose. However, the Lord did not need their abilities. He only needed a few who would be willing vessels for the Holy Spirit.
Years ago the Lord said to me that money was my least valuable resource. It is a resource, and has some value, but it is the least of what we need to carry out His purposes. We need the Holy Spirit....We do not have to be perfect for Him to use us. We can actually be over-organized and over prepared for Him to be able to use us. The Lord is not against organization, but in our pitiful little human perspectives our organization is often the result of majoring on minors. We want to get things ready, but He wants to get us ready. Our readiness is not dependent on the material realm, but on a heart that loves Him, trusts Him, and obeys Him.
It was for this reason that the Lord of the Universe was born in a stable, the most humble, unlikely place He could have chosen. The only way that He could be found was by revelation. The same is still true of those things that are truly born of God. The Lord is not waiting until our building is big enough, or us to have enough money in the bank, or even for us to get a certain degree. He is waiting for us to have faith, not in ourselves, and not in our stuff, but in Him.
Then, from "Today's Charisma News", Sept. 12, 2000:
MORNINGSTAR MINISTRIES BACKS OUT OF PROPHETIC RETREAT CENTER PLAN
Rick Joyner’s MorningStar Ministries is backing out of plans to develop a prophetic retreat and conference center in Wilkes, N.C. The ministry bought more than 400 acres of mountain property with plans to start a 24-hour worship and prayer center, but has decided to move its operations back to its original home in Charlotte.
The reason for the switch is a court battle with local government officials who denied the group tax-exempt status, Joyner told “The Wilkes Journal-Patriot.” “We just can’t wait that long,” he told the newspaper. “We think this could be a constitutional thing and drag out for a long time. It could be ugly.”
The Wilkes move had been based on prophecy and called “The Moravian Falls Project,” said the newspaper. Now the ministry’s publishing efforts are returning to Charlotte, and its conference program will revert there in a year or so. Already the ministry has sold some of its land in the Wilkes area.
The dispute with Wilkes officials centers on the denial of property tax-exempt status. They say that more than half MorningStar’s annual gross income-around $88 million-comes from subscriptions and the sale of books and tapes, said the “Journal-Patriot.” Joyner said the ministry was considering taking civil rights action in the case. “The county is trying to set legal precedent. They are getting into defining what is a ministry.”
Joyner refutes his statements that were quoted in The Wilkes Journal Patriot (newspaper), which had in turn been quoted by Charisma news:
"On another note, if you saw the news report in Charisma Magazine stating that we were abandoning our base in Moravian Falls, please know that we have never even considered such a thing. We are in fact buying more land and expect to start more construction this spring. Charisma also reported that we have an annual income of 88 million, which was only off by about 81 million, but we hope they were prophesying on that part! We do not believe that there was any malice behind the Charisma report, but it did nevertheless hurt us financially. Even so, we also know that "God works all things together for the good for those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). You can believe that if you ever hear of a report that we are abandoning anything, it is probably a false report. When we possess something and dedicate it to the Lord's use, we do not believe in ever giving it back to the world. Even when we rent property, we seek to have Christians take it after we are through with it so that it remains as ground possessed for the kingdom."
(MorningStar Ministries Ministry Support Team membership advertisement letter, dated January 15, 2001, delivered February 28, 2001. Page 3, 3rd full paragraph)
Then, Lee Grady of
Charisma
magazine contacted us regarding his intention of quoting from our article
more commonly known as the Open Rebuke to
Rick Joyner. The CHARISMA NEWS SERVICE Vol. 2 No. 262, which was
published at following URL: http://www.charismanews.com/news.cgi?a=548&t=news.html,
reported that their story on Rick Joyner would be in the April edition
of Charisma magazine:
======================================================================
CHARISMA NEWS SERVICE Thu,
Mar 15, 2001 Vol. 2 No. 262
======================================================================
A Daily News Update from the editors of Charisma magazine
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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TODAY'S NEWS:
* Lead Story: 'Volatile' Prophetic Writings Stir Controversy
'Volatile' Prophetic Writings Set to Stir Further Controversy
Supporters applaud Rick Joyner's forthrightness, critics question his legitimacy
A man considered by many to be a New Testament prophet is preparing to deliver the latest of his sometimes controversial messages to his widest audience ever -- but says that he hopes only a select group will listen.
After a series of best-selling books detailing his spiritual insights, Rick Joyner's new "Shadows of Things to Come" is to be released by one of the country's largest evangelical publishers next month, taking his prophecies and predictions to the mainstream shelves of the likes of Barnes & Noble and Waldenbooks.
"I believe there are some volatile things that could be used for good or evil," he says. "I think some of the most volatile things I've ever said prophetically are going to be in this book. I hope only the most mature people read it."
Since he emerged in the 1980s, Joyner has written 26 books available in 32 languages. Sales of his tapes, worship recordings and quarterly "Morning Star Journal" have made his North Carolina-based ministry a $5 million-a-year operation.
Speaker and writer Francis Frangipane, who serves on Joyner's advisory board, says that the 51-year-old is "a significant voice that God has raised up to speak to many in the church today." Many supporters agree -- but Joyner also has critics, some of whom have labeled him a false prophet.
They have questioned his support of a 1997 prophecy by a ministry colleague, which warned that an earthquake and other disasters would ravage Southern California. Some people considered moving out of the area, although none of the events came to pass. Joyner said later that the message had been misinterpreted.
Joyner says that he is accountable to his board and a "roundtable" of church leaders with whom he meets annually, but does not listen "to people I think aren't legitimate leaders in the body of Christ." He also has made it clear in his writings that he does not consider his visions and prophecies to be on the same level with Scripture, which alone should be "considered infallible."
Concern also has been expressed about Joyner's association with the Knights of Malta, a charitable organization said to have its roots in medieval chivalry. A former Morning Star staff member said he had been troubled by Joyner's involvement with "a secret society."
Joyner has run into problems with local government officials, too. His plan to build a ministry center in Moravian Falls, N.C., was stalled last year when they denied the ministry tax exemption, arguing that the ministry's publishing operations were taxable.
Despite what can be an intimidating presence, Joyner says that his message is about humility. "I really believe you see so much humility in my writings because I need so much of it. If you want to know what God is saying almost to anybody, listen to their own messages," he says. "I've always considered myself so arrogant and proud that God has to keep hammering me with it."
A full profile of Rick Joyner can be read in the April issue of "Charisma"
magazine, out today.
"God's Lightning Rod" in their April, 2001, edition of Charisma magazine, (was once published on-line at http://online.charismamag.com/0801/april.html but is now reproduced here due to lack of availability).
There were quite a number of quotes which we presume were from the research and documents on our site (since as far as we know, they are not readily available elsewhere. Some of R. Joyner's own prophetic bulletin announcements have not been up on his website for years. In addition, the letter to Joyner refuting his facts in his book "Courage That Changed The World" by Guy Stair Sainty is published on our site, by permission. There was a mention of our open rebuke published on the internet, though no URL or ministry name or author name was given.
The Open Rebuke Charisma magazine mentioned
is published at: http://www.harvestnet.org/lookback/godmanDec97.htm
It's ancillary article, Trouble
in Prophet Land is published at: http://www.harvestnet.org/lookback/troubleinprophetland.htm
Rick Joyner then attacked Charisma's journalistic integrity on his
website, which was once published as:
RESPONSE TO THE CHARISMA ARTICLE
by Rick Joyner (was at http://www.morningstarministries.org/Articles/questions/answers2001/response_to_the_charisma_article.htm
but is now reproduced here due to lack of availability).
CHARISMA then published Prophets and Accountability: A Response to Rick Joyner by J. Lee Grady, editor of "Charisma" magazine July 16, 2001 (was at: http://online.charismamag.com/0801/joyner.html - but this too is now reproduced here due to lack of availability).
