One of the more prominent leaders in the New Apostolic Reformation is holding a conference in June--with a United States Senator as one of the keynote speakers.
Rick Joyner of Morningstar Ministries, a major leader in this fascist version of Christianity, is holding a conference on June 2 at his headquarters in Fort Mill, South Carolina--20 minutes south of me. The event is One of the keynote speakers is Senator Jim DeMint. The event is cosponsored by Joyner's political activism organization, the Oak Initiative, and a religious-right outfit I previously haven't heard about, Freedom Congress. Indeed, DeMint is a frequent contributor to Freedom Congress' Website. Other scheduled speakers are Jerry Boykin and Oliver North.
For those who don't know, Joyner is reckoned as a "prophet" in the NAR. Don't be fooled by his grandfatherly image--he's as extreme as it gets. Joyner is a major proponent of the "Seven Mountains" strategy--the idea that in order to take back the world and bring about Jesus' return, Christians must take over the seven most influential sectors of society--government, family, media, business, education, arts and entertainment, and the church.
To get a true taste of what Joyner is all about, check out an article he wrote in 2007. He frankly admits that the regime they want to set up will "look a lot like totalitarianism" at first, but will gradually move toward increasing liberty. Sounds an awful lot that Oceania's mantra in 1984--"War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength."
PFAW's Right Wing Watch has a pretty long dossier of Joyner's more unhinged statements. Among them:
We already knew there was a lot of overlap between the tea party and the religious right. But this is one of the first instances I've seen where a high-profile teabagger (and yes, that description fits DeMint--he's one of the closest things to a simon-pure teabagger in the Senate) has spoken at a dominionist/NAR event.