Todd White at the USA Capitol: Manifest Destiny & Salvation
The beginning of the video entitled “Todd White Sings in the Spirit, Prays for Supernatural Healing in the U.S. Capitol” documented Todd White and a group of young people, who I assume are a team of students from his ministry, Lifestyle Christianity University, walking into the U.S. Capitol rotunda. I assume that this occurred in September 2018, when Charisma magazine reported on it. This was the same month that John McCain’s body was lying in state in the rotunda, but this was likely some time before or after that event.
It appears in the video that White’s group was appreciating the sculptures and history lessons while walking through the capitol, but their main goal was to do healing and ministry. White initiated conversation and guesses of the health problems of the employees and tourists that he encountered. He offered to pray for three different people during the first part of the video. The watcher is made to believe that these people’s ailments lessened or were instantly healed. Personally, I cannot say that I am convinced and White’s “words of knowledge” appear to be good guesses based on reading others’ body language and posture.
White sang in the U.S. Capitol rotunda under the watchful eyes of artwork containing images and narratives of sexually exploited and genocided Native Americans. White seemed to wonder at the stories of the past laid out by the giant oil paintings in the rotunda. Instead of being horrified at the genocide and rape depicted or implied; White waxed sentimental in his seemingly spontaneous song praising Jesus for the forefathers and conquerors of the land which is now the United States of America. Whether he was aware or not, his brief song channels Reconstructionist language and the philosophy of Manifest Destiny, which he claimed was given to him by the Holy Spirit.
The words of the song are as follows:
“Oh Lord, bring this nation back to Jesus. Bring it back to the original foundation…bring it back to the gospel. One nation under God. Indivisible. Jesus you reign. Bring the nations back to Jesus. Yah-ee yeah.” The video cued to victorious marching music. White and his interns (?) left the rotunda while White waived his arms around and exclaimed about the celestial painting on the ceiling of the rotunda.
The rest of the video is dedicated to a sermon by one of White’s colleagues or mentors. It contains clips of the capitol tour and I noticed a couple where White was talking to a security guard or police officer. I wonder if he was confronted about his singing. But no worries, White appears to be a white man, so I am sure that it ended without consequence.
Let’s talk a little about the artwork in the rotunda that the videographer and White seemed so fascinated by. In the video I noticed several paintings containing Native Americans (including one with Pocahontas), Christian Cross imagery and a painting depicting the signers of the constitution. I briefly researched the paintings that are hung here and my impression of them is that they tell the conquerors side of the story. The artwork that caused White to be awestruck, I found disturbing. The genocide of the Native Americans through smallpox, rape and pillage are some of the many dark chapters in our nation’s history. I will link at the end to an informative article regarding this artwork.
I am guessing that White, instead, views the conquest of our nation from the Native Americans as God’s will and the primary way of bringing the Christian message to the Americas and enforcing their power and laws throughout the land. He declares his desire that America would “go back to Jesus”, “go back to the original foundation”, and “go back to the gospel”. Then he sings about bringing the nations to Jesus. To me this sounds like 7 Mountains Dominionism. I will link a previous article I wrote if you are interested in 7 Mountains Dominionism. Manifest Destiny is another concept that pops up for me as I hear White’s song.
Manifest Destiny was a phrase coined in 1845 which was the concept that the United States of America was destined to become a Christian nation under the approval of God and that expansion westward of White settlers and the “progress” of capitalism was inevitable and a God-given mandate. Manifest Destiny has since been demonized (rightfully so) for justifying genocide and slavery. However, there remain a swathe of Christian Reconstructionist and Dominionists that have repackaged Manifest Destiny to have a nicer outward appearance, but it still is White Supremacy at its core.
If you asked White what the goals of his ministry were he would probably answer: Salvation, Miracles and Deliverance, as he does in his Lifestyle Christian University (LCU) “About Us” video entitled “2019 in Review” which appears to have been released around December 2019.
LCU is a non-accredited discipleship program that costs participants just under $5000.00 an semester and does not provide housing on campus.
Here White describes the students that he wants to attract to his discipleship program and what he has to offer them: “People who were completely condemned, were guilty, ashamed, walking in fear, that are completely free 100% in love with Jesus. Not looking at their past anymore, but looking at their future and what God has for them….letting go and forgetting those things behind. Why? Because Jesus forgave those things and forgot your sins.” At this point in the video you see a person being baptized. “He would remember your sins and lawless deeds no more.” “Freedom from fear, freedom from condemnation and guilt. Freedom from shame. So that you can actually live the life God paid a price for you to have.”
In White’s interpretation of the gospel it seems like it is more important that the individual is rid of any negative emotions or feelings and is able to focus on how good and worthy he is to receive “what God has for them”. There is no talk of repentance or confession of one’s sin, but only that God will experience amnesia towards your past. It isn’t in either of these videos, but in some of White’s other videos he makes the claim that God wiped his slate clean and now he is able to live without sin, guilt or shame. This is a pretty hefty claim, but it is something that I have encountered before in Neo-Charismatic/Pentecostal circles. The focus on the positive and denial of the negative is a common feature on the Word of Faith Movement, which I am sure White ascribes to since he names Kenneth Copeland as one of his mentors.
White used a significant portion of his video describing the ministry at LCU that he calls “Belong”. It appears that it is a discipleship program for new believers. In his words: “People come in that are getting saved. 100% of people being baptized. They come in and they go down in the water and they come up out praying in the Holy Spirit, baptized in the Holy Spirit. We are seeing people from the area (DFW), because the students are having people get saved or are leading people to Jesus. They come in because of curiosity. They come into ‘Belong’. They get saved if they are not already saved. They get baptized. They get filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they get discipled. So we are having students work with people; pastors work with brand new believers. We are actually filling this place with brand new believers. Which is amazing because all they’ll know is God loves me. God is for me. He is not against me. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.”
This description is really confusing to me. I am going to guess that his program is largely composed of what he would probably call “baby Christians” or people who are new to the ways of Neo-Charismatic/Pentecostalism. There seems to be a big emphasis on water baptism and speaking in tongues. White describes it as if these things are happening at once. I have personally never witnessed this happening when I was in the Neo-Charismatic/Pentecostal movement. What I witnessed was that water baptism was usually distinct experiences from the baptism of tongues. In my experience, glossolalia was often coached by someone who had already experienced it. I remember that I was encouraged to read a book about it written by Kenneth Copeland. Either “God is moving in a different way” these days or White has a way of making the stories seem more dramatic than they actually are. I’m also curious about if White is encouraging his students that have experienced water baptism to repeat the experience. This practice is called re-baptism and is a familiar practice in church communities where the members follow a charismatic leader with nearly cult-like devotion. Baptism under these circumstances might signify belonging to the group and covenanting to follow the rules of the group, more than it being a work of salvation. I do not know what White’s school teaches about the baptism of water or tongues, but I am curious at how he describes his ministry.
White listed more LCU ministries including “Encounter” night, which sounds like a seeker friendly service that is open to the public. White says that his students and attendees can expect worship music, dancing, painting & the arts, along with a message. White’s motto for Encounter is “Come, Experience, Belong”. Based on the expectations of their students listed on the LCU website, I would guess that the students are the ones who provide much of the labor that goes into the “Encounter” services. White says that salvation, miracles, and deliverance are the goals of his ministries. “LC Dance” is another ministry offered by LCU and White says its purpose is for “training people in the prophetic dance to use their bodies as a weapon of righteousness for the Lord.”
There are more LCU ministries that White lists: a Christian school with kids ages 5th-12th grade and an international speaking ministry called “The Send”, where White preaches, with other famous Neo-Charismatic/ Pentecostal ministers, around the world. He lists the “Power and Love” schools, which look like conferences, and he’s done “121, so far”. White brags about his YouTube Channels… “our channels are expanding and exploding” and gives percentages of growth in views from 2014 to 2017.
I noticed in this video several “send money” pleas. If you are unfamiliar with the language of Neo-Charismatic/Pentecostals then you may have missed it. First there was the almost Multi-level Marketing appeal of: “It is actually an amazing opportunity right now.” Then he goes with the classic: “Sow a seed. It will go and bear fruit for the harvest.” Finally, because he knows this type of manipulation and guilt works, he finishes with: “Thanks for sowing the seed.”
Sources:
