Yesterday, I watched the opening session of the 2013 Voice of Apostles conference in Orlando, Florida, sponsored by Global Awakening. Here are some of my initial impressions.Third Day kicked off the event with a lengthy time of worship. It felt surreal hearing songs I really like--and that have moved me spiritually over the years--being performed on the stage at a New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) event. It's still hard for me to believe that Third Day didn't have the discernment to distance themselves from this movement or, worse yet, they knowingly wanted to lend their credibility to NAR apostles.

• The people in the live chat room during Third Day's performance were, sadly, clueless to the existence of the movement they are part of. When I brought up the NAR movement, they all claimed they had never heard of it and that the people organizing the event are only about Jesus, love, and worship.
• Apostle Che Ahn gave a talk before the offering plates were passed. The essence of his talk could be boiled down to this: if you give money tonight, then I will break the "spirit of poverty" that is on you and your "bloodline" (a.k.a. your family). I thought his talk was manipulative and it disgusted me--but it did not surprise me in the slightest given the heavy-handed tactics apostles frequently use to get people to give them their money.
• Bill Johnson--the keynote speaker for Day One--left me feeling disturbed, as he promoted a different Jesus than the one found in the Bible. I don't have time to go into his teaching in-depth now and plan to do so later. But, in short, Johnson claimed that Jesus didn't have any divine powers when he came to earth and gained powers only through encounters with God in worship experiences--setting a pattern for us to follow by gaining divine powers through worship experiences.

-- By Holly Pivec