With the early-bird discounted rate deadline for booking the 2016 Living Proof Live Simulcast fast approaching (November 15), I thought it might be helpful to have a streamline list of the voluminous amount of information regarding the issues surrounding Beth Moore’s ministry, issues that might affect ones decision about booking or not. This list is in no way exhaustive, but it does hit some major points.
Perhaps this list can be used to aid your personal decision or to share with a friend, women’s ministry team, or leader. I know there’s not a lot of time left, but there is some. And if it seems like too much information to carefully assess in such a short period of time, I pray that being scripturally dutiful and vetting teachers by the standard of the word of God takes precedent over financial savings. Even after the deadline, this list can still be used.
The information below was gathered carefully and prayerfully over time. This work was not done speedily, shallowly, or flippantly. To me, this is all quite serious. Making this list gives me no joy. My heart weighs heavy with concern. That is my motivation, not any dislike for or judgment against Mrs. Moore personally. She appears to be very likable. This is about her teachings. (Acts 17:11)
Many of the things below are not just recently occurring. They have been documented by different ministries and individuals in many different places online for years. Yet, for some reason, Mrs. Moore has gone unchecked by many. Everything on this list can be substantiated. Some items are from my own personal experience and research. Some are a preview of what will be covered in more depth in Part Two of my review of the recent simulcast. I will not have Part Two up by the 15th, so I am taking this opportunity to share some of it now. Other items are from the work of others. I’m deeply grateful for their efforts.
Mrs. Moore does teach some good things. I don’t think anyone that has reviewed her would deny that. I also know many women love her and say they have been helped by her. I am not doubting that. What I am addressing is certain troubling aspects of her work and asking some questions: If a teacher’s material can be demonstrated to contain considerable unsound or unbiblical elements, is it wise to remain under their tutelage? Is it spiritually healthy to do so? Does it honor God and allow us to walk as we should in all ways seeking to know him correctly and worship in truth? Are we not fearful to honor him first before anything or anyone? Should not a love for and obedience to his word constrain us to look elsewhere? I pray this list helps answer those questions.
Theology/Doctrine
Simulcast 2015 specific issues
● Romance with Jesus – Mrs. Moore’s theology is faulty because she teaches that a romance with Jesus is what we were created for, born for, and reborn for. She offered no biblical support for this. Romance, in the normal way we think of it, was the focus, not the usual way of loving God biblically.
● She preaches “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4) because she presents an unbiblical version of him. The Jesus she presents is someone who is longing for this romance to happen. She teaches that he wants to “woo” and “pursue” us. We just have to “let” him romance us.
● She teaches the concept of “falling in love with Jesus”. This is a subjective and conditional feeling that is not taught in scripture. It has nothing to do with the theologically rich concept of biblical, agape love.
● Her teaching that we should have a romance with Jesus has similarities with other troubling sources and the practice of contemplative prayer.
Other issues
● She legitimizes a “different gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:6-8) when she includes the Roman Catholic Church in the church. One place this can be seen is in a “vision” that God gave her. In the vision, he allegedly showed her a picture of the church. It included the Catholic Church denominationally in the body of Christ. While there are Catholics who are true believers, many doctrines of Catholicism cannot be reconciled with the scriptures. They have a “different gospel.” (See more about this in the Personal Revelation section below.)
● In lieu of a Statement of Faith, Living Proof Live has a Mission Statement. It is mostly a list of Bible verses with the confession that “we believe” them. It is not very revealing of her actual personal beliefs.
● Her position on salvation appears to be that we need to make a decision for Christ. We were invited to do that during both simulcasts that I watched. The implication behind it does not do justice to the sovereignty of God in salvation.
● At the simulcast of 2015, during her invitation to make a decision for Christ, she repeatedly spoke only of making Jesus our personal “Savior”. I didn’t hear “Lord” and Savior. Just something I noticed. I am not sure if that indicates a doctrinal position.
Bible Interpretation Errors
● Mrs. Moore has several problems in the area of Bible interpretation. The types that have been documented in different places are eisegesis, proof texting, allegorizing scripture, and teaching verses out of context. Damage is done to the word of God and her readers suffer loss. (some examples at The King’s Dale and CARM)
● Personally, I reviewed her mishandling of the scripture during last year’s simulcast in Beth Moore 2014 Simulcast Review Part Two: Bible Interpretation Issues. I have yet had a chance to write about this year’s issues. I will briefly give one example.
She took the word “fear” from Romans 8:15 to mean fear in general as opposed to what it means in context, the fear connected with the conviction of sin while under the law. Verse 15 has nothing to do with the general fears we might experience or the fear that will come upon man in the last days, but that is the kind of fear she connected it to. She spent considerable time on it. It was even tied to the theme song for the simulcast: “No Longer Slaves”. It was a great loss to have this verse mishandled. What wasn’t preached was the significance of the difference between those under the law and those who know no condemnation in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
Personal Revelations
Mrs. Moore claims to have received a number of personal revelations from God. It is not uncommon for her to say that she heard from God. Here are some personal revelations that have been documented. Some of the revelations contain startling information.
● 2003 – Revelation about “Sabbath moments” About the revelation: “Recently God spoke to me about capturing what He and I are calling “Sabbath moments”. The revelation: “My child, in between more intense rests, I want to teach you to take Sabbath moments.” Later that day, after a visit with a sick friend, she said Christ seemed to say, “Let’s go play”. She went to the zoo with God. She said “God and I had a blast.”
The Beloved Disciple: Following John to the Heart of Jesus (pg. 220)
● 2005 – Revelation about the church being paralyzed by unbelief: “He began to say to me, “I’m gonna tell you something right now, Beth; and boy, you write this one down. And you say it as often as I give you utterance to say it: ‘My Bride is paralyzed by unbelief. My Bride is paralyzed by unbelief.’” And He said, “Startin’ with you.”” Beth Moore, Believing God, [Nashville: LifeWay Christian Resources, 2005], DVD, Session 1 (video see: 1:45)
●Unknown Date/but posted in part on one website in 12/2011 – Vision – Mrs. Moore claims that God gave her a picture of the church as he sees it. She said it was as if she was raised up looking down and saw “the church as Jesus sees it in a particular dimension.” It included different denominations including the Roman Catholic Church. Doctrinally speaking, including the Catholic Church as a denomination in the church of Christ cannot be squared with the scriptures. There is a line, made more obvious by the Reformation, that Mrs. Moore does not appear to see.
YouTube Video starts at 30 sec. posted 3/2014
Appraising Ministries posted 12/2011
● 2014 – In a blog post at the beginning of 2014 Mrs. Moore wrote about a word that she got from God and a warning that she received in a dream. The word was “Stop sowing over and over in the exact same field.” Apparently the Lord meant to direct her into a new field of ministry. The warning was that God would take her voice if she did not obey.
A New Year, A New Time
● 2014 – A revelation about revelation: It was taught that God gives us plenty of revelation, but he wants us to respond to them. This is the word that Mrs. Moore felt God wanted her to say to us: “I am revealing myself plenty to you. I am looking for you to respond.” Simulcast 2014 (See my review for more information about this.)
● 2014 – A revelation was given about fear. We were told that God told Mrs. Moore: “I’m gonna set some people free from panicking.” Simulcast 2014
(See my review for more information about this.)
Predicted a Coming Awakening and Downpour
● 2014 – Mrs Moore predicted a “coming awakening” and a “downpour”. (see also Beth Moore Prophesies a Coming ‘Outpouring,’ Warns of ‘Scoffers’)
● 2015 – During the simulcast there were a number of references to “outpouring”. The idea was hyped. It may have been an attempt to make her audience receptive to the idea. Without making reference to her predictions, she encouraged them to participate in making it begin. She taught that we should pray for outpouring. I will cover this more in part two of my review.
Contemplative prayer
● 2006 – Mrs. Moore appears in the Be Still DVD. This DVD promotes contemplative prayer. I have watched it. (I wish every pastor who is planning on hosting the 2016 simulcast would watch this DVD first.) Besides the fact that it promotes a troubling and unbiblical practice, there were also a number of things said on it that were disturbing. I’ll just mention a few concerning Mrs. Moore.
● In it, she clearly supports contemplative prayer. She says, ““I wanna sit back and listen long enough that perhaps the God of all creation might just speak to me.”
● She also said we have to have stillness to know that God is God. We will “never truly know” he is God without it. In other words, without contemplative prayer, we can’t know that God is God. Apparently, the Bible and the testimony of the Holy Spirit are not enough.
● In the DVD, she introduces a section in which Roman Catholic mystics of the past are put forth as witnesses for contemplative prayer. Beliefs of the mystics employed run contrary to the Bible, yet she says this, “You know, one of the things that time gives us is that it erases the lines in between so many different sections of the people of God. Because many years later it doesn’t matter any longer that this person was of this practice in the Christian faith and this person of another. Time somehow blurs those lines and we are profoundly moved by the historical narratives of all their lives, of so great a cloud of witnesses; that we can look back on and see what kept them running the race, what kept them running toward the face of Christ at the end of that finish line.”
These words appear to erase the line of the Reformation and the distinction between the Roman Catholic Church and biblical Christianity. It is essentially ecumenicalism via contemplative prayer. Contemplative prayer has been growing in different quarters in the church. This is neither a small nor unimportant issue.
The Unity factor
● Unity is something Mrs. Moore is very open to. It is a unity that steps beyond sound fellowship. She has made a video with Joyce Meyer about unity. You may see it on YouTube here. They begin to talk about unity in the body of Christ at 13:22. In it, she refers to Mrs. Meyer as her sister and calls her a mighty, mighty woman of God. Mrs. Meyer has taught there was a point when Jesus was no longer the Son of God, that Jesus was the first person to be born again, has said that she is not a sinner, believes words are containers for power, and spoken about receiving a revelation from God, something that apparently even the Bible could not explain.
● Besides Joyce Meyer, Mrs. Moore has other interesting affiliations such as Joel Osteen. She has donated to his church and appeared there. She has other questionable affiliations that I am currently looking into.
Money
● Mrs. Moore brings in a lot of money through her ministry. Latest public tax records of 2013 show assets totaling 13.8 million and gross revenue of 2.7 million for the year.
Teaching Men
● Mrs. Moore does teach to assemblies that include men. I know some do not have a problem with this, but others believe it runs contrary to 1 Timothy 2:12.
Some highlights of recent Simulcast teachings
● 2014 – It was taught that we are yearning for God to speak. The means was through personal revelation. In light of the fact that we have God’s word in the Bible, I see no need to yearn.
● 2014 – It was taught that “A woman’s joy is not the same without girl friends to share it with.” Within this part of the simulcast, we were told that Mrs. Moore had the following revelation over the weekend: “Our joy deficit is equal to our girlfriend deficit.” Girlfriends not God was the remedy. God as a source of joy was not mentioned.
● 2014 – It was taught that God wants us to respond to the personal revelations he gives us.
● 2015 – It was taught that we should enter into a supreme romance with Jesus.
Weird/Miscellaneous Department
From the 2015 simulcast
● We were told that fear is going to spread during the end times. Mrs. Moore said, “Fear is going to go viral”. We were told that we have a different virus to catch: the “Jesus virus”. We are going to catch the “virus of the Holy spirit of the Living God.” Why connect a term that typically means sickness and even death with God?
● Mrs. Moore has the tendency to repeat her own words a lot. She often tells her audience to repeat what she says too. Whether this is intentional or not, this is a practice that could strongly influence agreement with what’s being said. It promotes agreement by repetition and imitation. It can also limit analytical thinking because you are told to say things immediately after you hear them. There’s little time if any to process it and check if you actually agree.
● In prayer, Mrs. Moore asked God to “mess with our minds.”
● There were two physical things that happened that had an emotional ritualistic feel to them. I can’t put my finger on exactly what they remained me of.
1. Near the end of the simulcast we went through a visible demonstration of letting go of unforgiveness and receiving Jesus as our supreme romance. We were told to first hold our hands up to God, tell him what we were letting go, and then cross our open palms across our chest and receive him as our supreme romance.
2. At the end of the simulcast she led all the women in a commissioning. Apparently this is something she has done before. She excused the men because she said it was too touchy feely. Every woman was to pair off with another woman. If there was an odd woman out, she allowed a circle of three; but other than that we were told to break up into couples. The women were told it didn’t matter if they held hands, put their hands on each other’s shoulders, or didn’t touch it all. They then repeated things that she told them to “speak over” each other. It was a recap of her teachings of the day. At the end they were told to say this to each other, “Therefore, Sister, go! Do what you were called to do.” I am not sure where this formula comes from.
But I agree that we must do what we have been called to do…
“But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
“Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:13)
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)
As I wrote above, this list is not exhaustive; but even in light of only what is mentioned in this article, I cannot recommend Beth Moore as a Bible teacher. And though there is some good in her material, I also cannot support the idea of taking the good and ignoring the rest. “The rest” is too much and too serious a problem. It is interwoven into her work and renders the whole sum of her work untrustworthy.
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Ministering in the spirit of Titus 2:3-5 and encouraging women to contend for the faith.
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Absolutely creepy! Many are being deceived by her. May our great God rescue many from her grips.
I am hoping people will review what you, and others have researched so clearly, and call her out on her deceptions. I hope too, that she will listen.
I pray for you, and hope you moderate comments, because if this gets shared around the internet, sooner or later the “rabid” fans will find you and start cussing you out and calling you names, unfortunately. And I think that brings up another point of concern over her: How is it that her fans can be so rude, and value her over the Word of God? I’ll leave that rhetorical.
Also, one teaching that you didn’t mention (you can’t catch them all, and who would want to read all of her books anyway?) is that she teaches that people can fall under generational curses in Breaking Free.
Hi Lee, Thank you for your prayers and concern for me. I have seen examples of what you are referring to. I’m praying about it, and I will moderate comments if it happens.
Yes, there’s a lot to catch. I have read a bit about her teaching, but plan to do more. Thank you for the reminder.
My thoughts are that she fondling in dualism. It sounds like New Age thought and reminds me of Sarah Young’s book, Jesus Calling. For some reason during my spiritual journey, I never attended any of Moore’s bible studies especially since they were in Houston. I have never read any of her books or bible studies – not because I had any kind of issue with her teaching, but rather was just not interested. I don’t even know why…..However, I think it is at these times when ministers of God’s Word should do self examination. Although, it becomes difficult for them when there is no real accountability.
Yes, there are some similarities with Jesus Calling. I was never drawn to Mrs. Moore’s studies either. A woman introduced me to one years ago. I gathered from her that it was a fill in the blank, workbook approach. That is not how I approach studying the Bible, so I didn’t participate. I wish I had. I could have been aware of these things so much earlier and raised concerns sooner.