An Antifascist Analysis of Christian Dominionism and the New Apostolic Reformation

A critical analysis of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and Christian Dominionism from Philly Fash Watch.

The purpose of this text is to provide anti-fascists with the necessary background to understand the beliefs, organizing model and radiant influence of The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), as well as the particular threat it poses as an emerging center of gravity for the developing American fascist movement.

There are many denominations and movements cultivating authoritarian political beliefs amongst Christian Americans, but the New Apostolic Reformation is unique in terms of its inherently authoritarian politics, theological flexibility, networked organizational structure and ability to influence Christians from different traditions.

Furthermore, the NAR was the first Christian group to promote Trump, and have taken on the role of his spiritual advisors and links to the Evangelical community. This was originally a controversial move, but was justified by comparing the obviously godless Trump to King Cyrus of Persia, the virtuous pagan who ended the Babylonian captivity and allowed the Jews to return to Palestine. This rather impressive theological bullshit has paid back in dividends as more and more Christians have accepted the idea that modern Prophets are guiding the Christians of America.

Christian Dominionism is defined as the belief that Christians should take control of the State. While the term has entered the mainstream of many parts of the American Left, many antifascists tend to see it as just another incarnation of  evangelical politics, if a more totalitarian one, and not particularly worthy of much attention when compared to the deluge of white supremacist shooters and would be terrorists currently threatening our communities.

While neo-Nazis represent the most advanced terrorist threat within the far-Right, the New Apostolic Reformation is the most advanced social threat. By this we mean that they have an extraordinary power to shape the very experience of reality of massive communities of American Christians. Most neo-Nazis are skeptical of mass politics, due to the long history of federal infiltration of their movements. The New Apostolic Reformation is devoted to mass politics; their faith revolves around the concept of revival, or mass conversion to their cause.

Currently, the NAR is dedicated to winning power via the legitimization of the American political process. They have already had a good deal of success on this front. Representatives Lauren Bobert and Marjorie Taylor Green are deeply affiliated with the movement, as is the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito are also connected, in addition to scores of state and local level office holders.

When Donald Trump, contrary to the prophecies of the movement, lost re-election, networks of “Prophets” and “Apostles” were some of the main forces in galvanizing the January 6th Capitol riot. This act demonstrated the movement’s willingness to seize power by non-democratic means and should be understood as a sign of things to come.  The New Apostolic Reformation is changing America, and if we want to prevent them from achieving the power they desire, we have to understand them on their own terms.

To call the NAR a denomination would be inaccurate, as it specifically emerged from the world of non-denominational charismatic Christianity. It would also ignore the vectors by which they are able to push their political theology into other Christian groups, Charismatic and otherwise.

Charismatic Christianity is an outgrowth of Evangelicism, particularly the Pentecostal Tradition, best known for its spectacular practices of snake handling and speaking in tongues. To be a Charismatic Christian is to seek a kind of constant mystical experience of reality, to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to see God’s divine plan manifest in everyday life. It is a rather extraordinary tradition, because organized religion tends to put careful guardrails around mystic practices, and carefully guide mystics to incorporate their work into the pre-established orthodoxy of their religion. When this doesn’t happen, mystics and their followers have a tendency of being destabilizing forces in society.

The roots of the NAR traces back to the work of a C Peter Wagner at Fuller seminary in southern California. Wagner was the student of John Wimber, of Grapevine ministries. Wimber brought the practices of independent non-denominational Charismatics to the more mainstream audience of Fuller, and Wagner was his student and successor. These were literal courses in miracles, and helped spread the Charismatic idea that belief Jesus and the presence of the holy spirit gave Christians supernatural powers.

Around the same time Wagner did graduate work in sociology studying Church growth. The Study of Church growth is a very involved discipline, and Wagner was focusing on Church Governance as a factor. In his later writings he proposed a new structure. He rejected denominational rules and bylaws, democratic structures and individual autocracy in favor of a networked ecosystem of Churches ruled by Charismatic leaders. Now many of these leaders who came into Wagner’s emerging network had already begun to call themselves Apostles and Prophets.

These extraordinary titles are literal. These people genuinely believe they are receiving messages from the divine and being told to enact divine will. Their claims are justified using a concept called five-fold ministry which is extrapolated from Ephesians 4:11-13, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” While for the vast majority of more Orthodox Christians the Prophets are a thing of the past and the Apostles passed on their authority to the Church (or the Bible, if you are Protestant), Prophesy and Apostleship are alive and well for the Charismatics of the NAR.

This is the most extreme development away from Christian Orthodoxy since Martin Luther split from the Catholic Church, it is also the fastest growing form of Christianity in America as well as world wide. Furthermore, there is evidence that ideas from the NAR are finding influence in more traditional Churches. A (unreplicated, so inconclusive) study by Paul Djupe from Dennison University suggests that the core of NAR theology (belief in modern Apostles and Prophets) is extremely contagious, influencing the theology of much more mainline churches. In fact he suggests that as many as 25% of the American Christians he polled believe it.

While the NAR was a highly organized project, the nature of the networked structure and its spiritual oligarchy has tended towards a denial of its unified nature. The influence of a church growth scholar doesn’t give the group legitimacy and the nature of Charismatic spirituality has a preference for the organic and spontaneous. Camouflaging themselves also allows for members of the NAR to recruit more traditional Christians slowly, rather than presenting their non-traditional nature for all to see. The American evangelical world is changing rapidly, and the NAR has set itself up to catch those who are looking for something new. This piece from writer Holly Pivec gives tips on how to find if churches are concealing their NAR affiliations.

Many progressives and leftists have told themselves that secularization is an inevitable process that will destroy the influence of the Christian-Right. The reality appears to be that as the number of Christians shrink, there is a growth in fanaticism and thirst for political dominance. The fact that the NAR puts so much stock in elections is due to their desire to be act in accordance with what they believe to be the divinely inspired principles of America. Their ultimate belief is that a precondition of the rapture is the triumph of the church over the earthly governments of the world. The failed insurrection at the capital demonstrated that if they cannot win at the ballot box, they will try by other means.

NAR leaders like Sean Fuecht (a harmless looking, guitar playing youth minister) have used Proud Boys as their personal security. They have deep connections to  “Christian” and “patriotic” militias around the country. Furthermore, they urge their constituents to arm themselves and train for war against secular Americans who they believe are out to get them.

The most famous of these is probably Matt Shea, the former Washington State Representative for Spokane. Shea was removed from office for distributing a text he wrote called “The Biblical Basis for War,” which contains the memorable line “Kill all males who do not submit.” Shea maintains extensive networks at extremist churches across Idaho, eastern Washington and beyond. The most important thing to remember about these networks is that many participants in them have been preparing for an American civil war for nearly 50 years. These are people who read the Turner Diaries but are more concerned with oppressing people for not being Christian rather than not being white, though racism is often a hidden part of Christian supremacism.

As capitalist crisis and the general dysfunction of the American political system accelerates, new powers will emerge to fill in the cracks. The NAR will be amongst them, and the rest of us need a plan to counter them. They have been able to grow to the point of having millions of members with powerful representation in government.

While effectively being a fascist organization, a church is not something that can be treated like a clique of boneheads. I would urge all antifascists to meet this threat with the utmost urgency and caution. No matter where you live in the US these people are making moves. The first course of action is to find out who locally is already mapping the Apostolic networks. This will likely mean working with liberals and even other Christians. We need these people as allies. There are theologians who’s work consists of preventing churches from being taken over by NAR theology. The old slogan of the Anti-Racist Action (ARA) network was expose, oppose and confront. We need to expose Apostolic networks, their relationships with those in government and business, and the threat to our communities that they constitute. When they try to take over school boards, we need that to be publicized. When groups like Moms for Liberty pull their stunts, we need people to understand exactly what they are confronting.

We are well past the point that small group action can have an effect on a group of this scale. As this piece is being written it looks like the Trump campaign is sinking before our eyes. This could mean that the NAR will attempt another extra-legal attempt at seizing power like January 6th. Even if they accept defeat, they will not do so forever. They are building durable institutions to take power, and we need a long term plan to stop them.

This article has been slightly edited for readability. Photo by Edwin Andrade on Unsplash