Testimony of S.D. Dehart

           September 1984, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

"This is going to be a banner year!" exclaimed Kenneth
Hagin, Jr. in his opening message to the student body at
Rhema Bible Training Center.  "I have called and you have
listened. I have spoken and you have come. No, I have not
forsaken you. You have not missed my calling. You have not
missed my direction. But I have called and you have come...
Great shall be thy reward. Great shall be the increase to
the kingdom of God. Great shall be the rejoicing because I
have called and you have responded... This is your time, and
this is your year, and this is your hour. And I, saith the
Lord, will bring those who are faithful through to a victory
that they have not even dreamed of."

There I sat in the Rhema Church Auditorium listening to the
first of many prophetic words which would be spoken during
my two years at Rhema. I, along with 889 other new students
and 715 returning second year students, anxiously
anticipated the great revelations which lay ahead.

As a student, I was surprised at the ease with which one
could pass a class. I found it almost impossible to receive
a grade less than an A, and I finished my first year with a
4.0 grade average. The emphasis was less academic than I
expected but more on spirit leading.

The second year of classes was no different and without much
trouble the grades continued to be a breeze. This is not to
say I took my classes lightly, I was a very diligent student
and had great plans for the future. I wanted to be a man who
heard from God just as my example, Kenneth Hagin, the
prophet of Rhema.

"There's coming a move of the Spirit. There's coming a flow,
a river. A manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. We've
seen quite a bit. But, I'm prone to say we ain't seen
nothing yet," said Kenneth Hagin Sr. during the Fall Bible
Seminar in 1985. I was determined to be in the move, the
flow, the river of God's Spiritual gifts and Rhema taught me
everything I needed to know.

I graduated in May 1986 from Rhema Bible Training Center. I
was called to work on the staff of a Rhema Church in
Southern California. The experience of working in a Rhema
church gave me great insight into the value of the school's
theology. I was devastated by the arrogance of the church
leadership and by the unbiblical doctrines that they were
preaching. I was shocked by the lack of accountability to
other Christians.

 "I answer to God and no one else," I was told by the pastor
in this church. He had a vision for this generation and
nothing could convince him otherwise. I began to think that
the Rhema training, instead of producing godly men who
received direct revelations from God, was actually resulting
in Kenneth Hagin clones and negligent pastors.

This experience led me to pursue relationships with other
ministers who I felt
were genuinely concerned with the integrity of God's word,
and living a holy life.  In the fellowship of such ministers
I became aware that my theology was flawed, lacking, and
required immediate attention. As I pursued further studies
it was clear that my place was not to stay affiliated with
the Rhema organization, and I returned my license to preach.
The Rhema church was pleased to turn me out, as it found
that I was moving outside of their theological boundaries.

Rhema Ministerial Association was concerned that one
experience was not enough
and desperately tried to place me in another church, but I
declined.  At heart was my disagreement with their
ecclesiastic structure which refused to discipline ministers
or require any accountability from the graduates pastoring
Rhema churches. My suspicion was that there was a greater
problem than simply the structure, but I still was rather
blind to how destructive the theology of Rhema truly was (a
kenotic view of the incarnation, a view of the cross which
is ineffectual for atonement, and an impotent Christ
ascended to heaven).

I determined that my most prudent move was to stand back for
a time and study the Scriptures before returning to any
ministry. In the midst of much prayer and study, I
discovered the doctrines of grace as taught by the Church
fathers, the Reformers, and the Puritans. I sought an
opportunity to return to a traditional school for a true
education, and went on to receive a Bachelor Degree in
Theology. Presently, I am pursuing a Master of Arts degree
in Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, and have been
accepted to do Ph.D. studies in Oxford upon completion of
the Master degree.