Tony Miano

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Cross Encounters Radio Addresses the False Teachings of Bethel “Church”

Kris VallotonOn Cross Encounters Radio, we have been setting up special broadcasts to address the false teachings of the Bethel “church” in Redding, California. Today, Tony Miano took to task the false gospel statements of senior associate pastor Chris Valloton. I highly recommend you check out the article Tony wrote in association with this broadcast, both of which can be found below:

“This article is the second in an ongoing series of articles looking at the false teaching and false practices of Bethel Church, in Redding, CA. In this article I will address the false gospel of false prophet and teacher, Kris Vallotton, Senior Associate Pastor at Bethel Church.

Here is Vallotton’s biography, posted on the Bethel Church website:
“Kris Vallotton is a noted prophetic voice in Northern California, and has trained prophetic teams in this region. He is a sought after speaker with a vision for equipping an “Elijah generation” for the end-time harvest. Kathy’s practical wisdom and prophetic insight combine to give her a unique and profound ministry as both an instructor and the school’s administrator. Kathy is also an anointed worship leader,assisting with the training of the worship teams at the school. Both Kris and his wife Kathy have a vision to raise up a company of warriors to impact this generation for Christ. Their goal is to see the fulfillment of Isaiah 61 with their own eyes. This prophecy begins with individual people getting delivered and healed–it ends with the ruined cities being restored. Kris says it is time for the fire of God to burn up His enemies and warm the hearts of the lost. This mandate has become their mission. God has instructed them to gather together warriors with like hearts, then train and equip them, and send them into the Harvest. Holy Spirit fortifications must be established in the midst of the darkest places of the planet earth. Kris is currently Senior Associate Pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California and Kris and his wife Kathy are Overseers at Bethel’s School of Supernatural Ministry. They have four children and five grandchildren.”

Read the article here: Bethel Church: The False Gospel of Kris Vallotton

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American Evangelist Arrested in Europe – A Taste of Things to Come

The following video was posted by my good friend Tony Miano. He has been maintaining a video log of his participation in the evangelism outreach going on at the Wimbledon games in the UK. The reason I am sharing this is I am asking our readers to be aware of what is currently going in Europe, for you can be sure that one day it will be happening here. The question is Christians, are you ready for this? When the time comes, and it is coming, are you prepared to be persecuted for your faith?

UPDATE: The video of Tony’ s open air sermon is now available to view.

SECOND UPDATE: The transcripts of Tony’ s interrogation have been available. It can be read at the Cross Encounters blog at the following link:

http://www.crossencounters.us/2013/07/police-interrogation-of-tony-miano.html?m=1

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Cross Encounters Radio: How Can a Person Know They are Saved?

20121217-090608.jpg I was blessed to be able to sit in as host to Cross Encounters Radio this week. In preparation for the show, we had asked listeners to let us know what topics they would like to hear discussed. One topic came up repeatedly, how can a person know they are truly saved, and conversely, what are the marks of a false convert. I pray that this discussion during the first hour of the show brings glory to God and is edifying to the saints. If you do find it is blessing, would you consider sharing this with others, for I believe this is a vitally important topic for Christians to understand. Thank you.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cross-encounters/2013/05/06/cross-encounters–how-can-a-person-know-they-are-saved

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Forgiveness For Mothers Who Murder Their Children

I am asking our readers who care about the lives of unborn children to watch the video below. Tony Miano just released a video which I believe rightly strikes the balance between compassionately calling abortion what it is, murder, and proclaiming that there is forgiveness for murderers in Jesus Christ. Please take fifteen minutes of your day to watch this and then share it with everyone you know.

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Check Out the Street Preacher Section on CARM!

CARMIf anyone has been reading my articles for any length of time, you are well aware of the fact that I am very much about calling the Christian church to be about the business of preaching the gospel. I have long said that not every Christian needs to be on a street corner preaching, but every believer needs to find someone to share the gospel with. That being said, I truly believe that one of the powerful forms of evangelism is Christians getting out into the community and proclaiming the gospel in the open air. A great many godly men have preached out in the open square, men like Whitfield, Wesley, Spurgeon, Knox and many others. Many people today may never darken the door of a church, others might only if the church caters entirely to their flesh. Yet, there hundreds, thousands, even millions of people coming and going throughout the communities in which we live. Short of going to each and every door in a community, another blessed and worthwhile evangelism effort, one of the perhaps most effective means of reaching the masses of people with which we abide is to proclaim the gospel where they are, in the open square.

Matt-TonyTo that end, several ministries are attempting to raise up a new generation of open air preachers who will boldly proclaim the good news. One such ministry is CARM, the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. Matt Slick and Tony Miano have worked together to establish a new Street Preaching section. I highly recommend all our readers take the time to go to this valuable resource and learn about preaching the gospel in the open air. Having been an evangelist and street preacher, I can personally say that there is no more humbling, yet powerful opportunity to share the gospel than to step up on a box, open your lips and speak the truth of the gospel to people who you may never meet again. Please, check out the link below and pray what God may have you do today.

CARM: Street Preaching

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Important Article Regarding Mark Cahill

Recently, CARM published an article regarding evangelist Mark Cahill. This article was authored by my friend and mentor, Tony Miano, who has had direct interaction with Mr. Cahill. The article was written as a public rebuke of Mr. Cahill’s uncharitable and derogatory treatment of Christians who believe in the Doctrines of Grace. Mr. Cahill has been spoken to privately and publicly on several occasions regarding his unbiblical behavior, however, he continues to publicly decry those who believe in reformed doctrine, going so far as to even refer to them as worshipping a false god. Because of his continued unbiblical behavior, this article been written to caution Christians in their dealings with him.

The article was not written in an effort to be judgmental of Mr. Cahill, nor to decry his Arminian beliefs, rather it was written to caution the brethren in supporting him until such a time as he repents of his mistreatment of other Christians. Part of the article reads as follows:

“Throughout my conversation with Mark, I asserted that I do not believe Calvinists and Arminians worship different gods or believe different gospels. I assured him that so long as we agree we are saved by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone (the Jesus of the Scriptures) we are brothers in Christ. I told Mark I would welcome the opportunity to evangelize the lost with him, and he was welcome atop my box to open-air preach, anytime. Sadly, by the end of our phone conversation, Mark would not affirm me as his brother in Christ. I repeatedly asked Mark if I was his brother in Christ. He refused to answer.

Sadly, Mark Cahill’s ongoing campaign to marginalize, vilify, and otherwise mistreat Calvinists has necessitated the writing of this article.

This article will document how, for more than two years, Mark Cahill has quietly and behind the scenes engaged in a campaign of misrepresentation, malignment, and malevolence toward Christians who ascribe to Calvinism and to those who associate with Calvinists. The timing of this article coincides with the recent publication of Mark Cahill’s new book, The Watchmen, in which he speaks disparagingly about Calvinism. It also coincides with the recent development of Mark speaking disparagingly about Calvinism during some of his recent public speaking engagements.”

I encourage the readers of this blog to go to the main article here and read it in it’s entirety.

I do wish to make the disclaimer now that this is not going to be an open forum to assault and argue the viewpoints of Calvinists and Arminians. This article is for the sole purpose of calling a Christian brother to repentance. Therefore, comments that are submitted which intend to do otherwise will not be allowed. Please read the CARM article and share it with others. And please be in prayer for Mark Cahill that he would repent of this behavior and be reconciled to his brethren. Thank you.

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Tony Miano: “Don’t Give Up on Society”

This last Sunday on Cross Encounters Radio, Tony Miano and I shared a recent sermon he preached in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, entitled “Don’t Give Up on Society.” The main points of the message are: 1) Christians must remember who they were before they came to faith in Christ; 2) Christians must remember who they are in Christ; and 3) Christians must remember what God has commanded them to do. This was a powerful sermon that I believe Christians should take the time to listen to.

Listen online

Download Message

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Will You Support the Proclamation of the Gospel?

20120911-202149.jpg “Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.” (3 John 1:5-8 ESV)

Anyone who has read my articles knows that I consider the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ of paramount importance. In the American evangelical church, there are literally thousands of ideas that are promoted for church growth, very few of them are biblical. In fact, the one truly biblical church growth method – prayer, bible study, preaching the gospel and trusting solely in the work of the Holy Spirit – is often, if not almost exclusively, ignored in the modern church. We have covered a lot pragmatic, seeker sensitive, unbiblical efforts leveled at “church growth” here on Defending Contending, and why those efforts are not actual evangelism, so I will not belabor the point here. What I really want to talk about today are those dedicated evangelists here in America who are giving their all to preach the gospel to everyone they meet.

So often, we get so tied up in identifying the false teachers and heretical teachings that we can sometimes feel like Elijah, thinking that we are the only ones left who truly worship God. Then God reveals that he has a remnant of brethren who have not bowed the knee at the altar of the modern evangelical gospel. And when He has done so, I believe it is a good thing for us to dwell on what God has accomplished through these brethren, to be encouraged by the work they have done and to partner with them in the proclamation of the gospel.

Most often when we think of partnering and support those preaching in the field, we think of foreign missions. And trust me when I say those those ministries sorely need the financial assistance and prayers that Christians regularly provide. But there are also missionaries in our own backyards. Brethren who have committed the entirety of their lives to the daily preaching of the gospel here on the streets of America. They have left the American dream of making their livelihood and wealth in the daily grind of business and entrusted the entirety of their existence to God through His provision so that they might daily preach the gospel any and everywhere they go. And these are not brethren who are out in the field, “Lone Ranger” style, who are accountable only to themselves. I am speaking of committed brethren who are under the authority of their local churches, ready and willing to be held accountable for all they say and do in the name of the Lord. It is my hope and desire that by highlighting just a few of these ministries that the readers of this blog might considering partnering with them, just as John spoke of in the passage above.

Tony Miano is a committed evangelist, a mentor and a dear friend. Some might think I am playing favorites by mentioning him in this article, but trust me I am not. I truly believe that his daily efforts to preach the gospel in California are a direct result of his deep commitment to the Lord and his intense desire to see the lost come to repentance and faith. From 2008 to mid-2012, Tony served as Living Waters’ Director of the Ambassadors’Alliance, as well as the Director of Conferences and Special Projects. Tony’s service with Living Waters included the supervision of 20 Ambassador’s Academies (the ministry’s 3 1/2-day evangelism training program), conferences, State Representative system, and large-scale evangelism projects. Tony also wrote and co-hosted almost 400 episodes of Living Waters’ live, web-based program, “On the Box, with Ray Comfort.” Tony is the author of the book, “Take Up The Shield” (Genesis Publishing Group, 2005). Further information on him can be found at www.tmiano.com.

Bobby McCreery is a fellow graduate of the Living Waters based training program, the Ambassadors Academy. Around October 2008, Bobby was going through the motions of “church” when God shocked him by calling to go on a mission trip to Bolivia. He wondered why God would send him anywhere for His name when he was living the life of a hypocrite. By God’s providence, the mission team leader used a training method for the team that was not endorsed by the church. The Way of the Master training and teachings such as “True and False Conversion” were used by God to reveal to Bobby that he was unrepentant and hell bound, living in a perpetual state of sin. In January 2009, just days before leaving for Bolivia, God granted him the gift of repentance and faith in Christ alone. Bobby is also grateful to God for the mentoring he has received from experienced evangelists in the Atlanta area. Bobby is the veteran of three Super Bowl Outreaches, including two as a team leader and speaker. He is the founder of To the End of the Earth ministries and left his secular job to respond to the Lord’s call to full-time evangelism in January 2011. Further information on Bobby and his ministry can be found at www.totheendoftheearth.org.

Mike Stockwell and Robert Gray are full time evangelists and the founders of Cross Country Evangelism. Mike originally began the ministry after he felt the call of God to begin preaching the gospel full time. He literally packed his belongings in a car and drove from one state to the next, assisted by fellow evangelists who opened their home to him. Today, Mike and Robert are committed to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with people throughout America, Europe, Jamaica and wherever the Lord leads. Open air preaching and one to one conversations are the means by which Mike and Robert proclaim and explain salvation through Christ. Their ministry efforts can located at www.crosscountryevangelism.com.

These are but a few ministries manned by committed brethren who desire nothing more than to preach the gospel to the lost and to bring glory to their Lord and Savior. All I ask is that our readers look into these ministries and prayerfully consider if, and how, they might partner with them. Please understand, none of these ministries has asked Defending Contending for help. This is not an article written at their request. This is a plea from one meager blogger and evangelist to my readers to consider how they might help local ministries preach the gospel to the lost in our own nation. I am not asking you to give out of what you do not have, nor am I asking you to “sow a seed in faith.” I am only asking you as John did to his readers, to see how God might use you with these ministries to further the proclamation of the gospel. Thanks much for your time and patience with me in reading this. May God bless you and may His gospel continued to be preached till He returns.

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Tony Miano’s “Cross Encounters” is now on Blog Talk Radio

The confused looking man in the picture is your’s truly as I maintained the call screen switchboard for Tony Miano’s new Internet radio program, “Cross Encounters.” We have written about Mr. Miano, who authors a blog by the same “Cross Encounters” name, previously on this site, and I must say it is an honor and a privilege to work with him on this new endeavor.

I met Tony three years ago via Living Waters evangelism training program. We had previously talked online due to my seeking him out because of our mutual backgrounds and my desire to learn a truly biblical presentation of the gospel. Tony was instrumental in bringing me to the Ambassadors’ Academy, a three day intensive training program for street evangelists. And while that program is no longer in operation, many street evangelists can thank Tony Miano directly for his passion, his determination and his devotion to biblical evangelism which he has passed on to them. I count myself blessed to consider him a mentor and friend.

Recently, due to the poor economic times, Living Waters had to lay off several employees and Tony was one of those among them. While this was truly sad for all involved, Tony has not ceased his efforts to continue preaching the gospel and encouraging others to do the same. By God’s grace, Tony was able to be part of an evangelism effort in London during the Olympic Games, from which he just recently returned. Additionally, he has started an internet radio program called “Cross Encounters,” of which he says, “Cross Encounters Radio will air every Sunday evening, 6-8 PM (PST). The show will focus on the glorification of Christ and the proclamation of His gospel. We will tackle current events and ongoing social issues through the lens of a Christian worldview. We will have guests on the program: authors, bloggers, apologists, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and whoever else we think would help Christians to grow in their love for Christ and the knowledge of His Word. We won’t shy away from hot-button topics, whether they are social or theological. And false teachers will not find our program a safe place to hide. We won’t allow any elephants in the room.”

I was humbled and blessed, and a bit shocked, when Tony extended an invite (more like a very less than subtle hint) for me to join him as the official “sidekick” on this program. After about 5 seconds of thought (can you tell this was a difficult decision) I enthusiastically accepted. As I was not near my house when this happened, there was a bit of logistics involved (part of which involved borrowing my dad’s office for two hours). Additionally, I had to learn the switchboard so I could screen calls and monitor the chat room. Thankfully, Blog Talk Radio makes these fairly user friendly!

During our first program, Tony and fellow evangelist, Bobby McCreery, discussed the recent Olympics outreach, they played audio clips in which they talked with YWAM members in London who were not preaching a true gospel message, as well as one of Tony’s open air messages, and took calls from listeners. We had over two hundred listeners for our first program and are thrilled at some of the responses. I encourage you to listen in live, or even download the weekly podcasts to listen to and share. Please help us to make this program a blessing to the Lord and to reach people with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.