Shownotes
You can tell a lot about a preacher by who he endorses. So what does it mean when Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in America, records a video congratulating Benny Hinn on 50 years of ministry and praying that God will "continue to use you in a great way"?
Justin Peters plays that endorsement alongside a who's who of charismatic leaders praising Hinn, including Andrew Womack, Bill Johnson and Joseph Prince. He then shows why Graham cannot plead ignorance. Documentaries from the 1990s and early 2000s show people declared healed of cancer who died within months, a planted polio "healing" nobody checked, hospital-issue wheelchairs brought in for the stage, and prayer requests left on the floor once the money was removed. Clips from 2023 show Hinn, despite repeated public repentance, again calling for $1,000 and $10,000 seeds and telling people not to let their minds rule their giving.
Peters, who wrote his master's thesis on Hinn, explains psychosomatic healings and why it is charismatics, not cessationists, who hold a low view of the Holy Spirit. Working through Romans 16:17-18, 2 John 9-11, Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 5:22, he argues that a pastor must refute false teachers, not bless them, and that Graham, who has also endorsed Paula White, has disqualified himself.
One of a pastor's most solemn duties is protecting the flock from wolves. This episode is a sobering reminder to be careful who you trust with the shepherding of your eternal soul.