Rick Perry seems to be laying the groundwork for a religious crusade for the presidency by courting some Pentecostal self styled prophets and apostles leading the New Apostolic Reformation movement. What is the New Apostolic Reformation movement? This comes from what should be a must read article at the Texas Observer:
Rick Perry's Army of God
A little-known movement of radical Christians and self-proclaimed prophets wants to infiltrate government, and Rick Perry might be their man.
The pastors told Perry of God’s grand plan for Texas. A chain of powerful prophecies had proclaimed that Texas was “The Prophet State,” anointed by God to lead the United States into revival and Godly government. And the governor would have a special role.
Schlueter had prayed before his congregation: “Lord Jesus I bring to you today Gov. Perry. ... I am just bringing you his hand and I pray Lord that he will grasp ahold of it. For if he does you will use him mightily.”
And grasp ahold the governor did. At the end of their meeting, Perry asked the two pastors to pray over him. As the pastors would later recount, the Lord spoke prophetically as Schlueter laid his hands on Perry, their heads bowed before a painting of the Battle of the Alamo. Schlueter “declared over [Perry] that there was a leadership role beyond Texas and that Texas had a role beyond what people understand,” Long later told his congregation.
So you have to wonder: Is Rick Perry God’s man for president?
Schlueter, Long and other prayer warriors in a little-known but increasingly influential movement at the periphery of American Christianity seem to think so. The movement is called the New Apostolic Reformation. Believers fashion themselves modern-day prophets and apostles. They have taken Pentecostalism, with its emphasis on ecstatic worship and the supernatural, and given it an adrenaline shot.
The movement’s top prophets and apostles believe they have a direct line to God. Through them, they say, He communicates specific instructions and warnings
Rick Perry shows how completely he has embraced the message of the New Apostolic Reformation movement in a video on The Response website he made to promote his August 6th prayer gathering at Houston’s Reliant Stadium this: “With the economy in trouble, communities in crisis and people adrift in a sea of moral relativism, we need God's help. That's why I'm calling on Americans to pray and fast like Jesus did and as God called the Israelites to do in the Book of Joel.” The Bible's book of Joel is something that the New Apostolic Reformation movement puts a heavy emphasis on.
There are a number of other examples of how Perry has embraced the the New Apostolic Reformation movement's fringe dogma.
Listen closely to Perry’s recent public statements and you’ll occasionally hear him uttering New Apostle code words. In June, Perry defended himself against Texas critics on Fox News, telling host Neil Cavuto that “a prophet is generally not loved in their hometown.”
Perry sees himself as God's Prophet.
Perry's beliefs should come under some media scrutiny when Perry holds his August 6th event (unless an economic collapse is under way). Perry's embrace of the New Apostolic Reformation movement's doctrine should raise serious questions about Perry's merging of Church and Government. The specter of a man who sees himself as God's Prophet becoming President should be an alarming one to many Americans.