An Open Letter To Todd White

     Todd White is a very well-well respected man of God, who dynamically preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom, and has a heart on fire with the Holy Spirit. Todd was a drug addict and atheist for 22 years—when in 2004—he was radically set free! Todd believes that redemption and righteousness are the foundational keys for living life as a new creation in Christ. Todd says on his Lifestyle Christianity website that his true joy is being able to reproduce a 24/7 kingdom lifestyle in every believer. His heart is to activate people in the simplicity of who they really are and confront the barriers that hold them back from being who God created them to be. But recently Todd has publically stated that Inner Healing is unnecessary and he is going to "talk about it and annihilate it". This is my response to what I have heard him say.

Dear Todd,

     After watching your recent videos stating your position on Inner Healing, I would like to respectfully respond. First of all, I want to say that I am a fan of your ministry and see great value in what you preach. You have great credibility with me, and I love your boldness. You have a right to your opinion on the Ministry of Inner Healing, but as someone whom the Lord brought this type of ministry to, I must answer some of the allegations you have made.
     To begin, I would like to apologize for whoever offended you. It is apparent from what you have recounted, that you felt your freedom in Christ questioned. I have heard your testimony and it is obvious that God performed a radical transformation in you. From a drug addict and atheist to a radical disciple of Christ is evidence of the power of God to save. And I have known others like you; people who walked in such depravity that when God touched them, they experienced such a comprehensive and profound transformation that they never looked back and their metamorphosis was thorough and complete. They were a new creation with no residue from their past.
     But Todd, not everyone has such a radical transformation. For others it is a process, and while they truly love the Lord and are seeking His righteousness, reading their Bible, and purposely working toward a relationship with God and the Holy Spirit, they are simultaneously battling attacks from the Enemy and are not experiencing the peace and joy they so desperately desire. Your advice to just focus on the finished work of the Cross to maintain your freedom [and overcome the Enemy in all things] simply does not work for everyone. I wish it did! Then every Christian who has confessed Jesus Christ as the Son of God and their personal Savior would not be in torment. I wish everyone could have your experience, but I have been witness to far too many Believers who can't get to where you are and God has provided another way, and it is through Inner Healing.
     If you don't mind, I'd like to quote some of your statements and then respond from a different perspective. You said, "I will not focus on your problem. I will focus on the Truth ... Jesus said "You are a new creation, the old things passed away and all things become new'. If all things became new, who are you to go back and visit things that are not there? All the stuff from your parents is in you, but when you get born again, you have a brand new Dad and its different. Jesus didn't come up with a formula [to do this or that ministry]. He shed His blood! We have to focus on the finished work of the Cross!"
     It has been my experience that there are many people who have confessed their faith in Jesus and know the redeeming work of the Cross. They intellectually know they are a born again creation. But they are not free. The Enemy is still whispering the lies. He doesn't just stop because you are born again. In fact, he may up his game! Being born again doesn't mean that everyone has had the traumatic, radical encounter with Jesus that you were fortunate to experience. For some those lies of the Enemy stay buried in the background of their soul and leak toxins, and the Christian is unaware they are listening [and believing] the lies and can't understand why they don't have the peace and joy in Christ that the Bible speaks about. Telling them to stay focused on the Cross is not going to assure an encounter with Jesus that frees them.
     But when I am able to invite the Holy Spirit and Jesus to be present and They show the Beloved  where the lie started and shatter its power, presenting Their Truth, it is an encounter in the spirit that shines the Light into the darkness. And I tell them to never entertain the lie again; to never go back, and to declare the Truth of the Word [from Scripture] and go forward in a fuller freedom. I can't explain why not everyone is able to obtain [and maintain] their freedom in Christ the way you do. I think some people need someone to walk with them to have that personal encounter with Jesus that dispels the lies.
     You say, "Taking every thought captive is the key". I agree! But many Christians don't know how to do that or aren't taught in Church! In our Inner Healing Ministry, we give them tools and show them how to do that so that those thoughts are never a problem again... recognize the tactics of the Enemy (because that's been his pattern in the past) and the lie when it comes, and do what Jesus did in the wilderness... "As it is written ..." and fight back with the power of the Word. You rightly say that "lies will always come in, but they will not be crushed by rebuking them. They are crushed by taking them captive". And that sir, is exactly what we teach in our Inner Healing ministry.
     You say, "Jesus declared, 'It is finished!' and our lack of faith in believing [the sins of our past] are finished is the problem." And you say, "Intimacy with Jesus and knowing the truth is what keeps us free. The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Jesus is what is implemented in our spirits and makes it real". I totally agree with everything you said! But not everyone walks in the strength and level of faith that you do, Todd. Some are still being tormented because they don't believe Jesus's truth that He took it all. Just telling them to have more faith and take every thought captive doesn't help them if they don't know how. If a person cannot grasp what the Spirit is trying to reveal on their own and press into the intimacy with Jesus, they may need someone to walk through it with them and introduce them to a personal encounter with Jesus. Then His Truth becomes real to them!
     I loved it when you said, "It's the intensification of identity and the intensification of the Word that results in the lie having nowhere to go... God wants to take what He thinks about you and what has defiled you and make it completely clean.. Identity, Righteousness, and Power should be our identity". Todd, you have perfectly described what happens in an Inner Healing session with someone who comes for ministry. They leave with their divinely-appointed identity; encouraged to walk in righteousness; and knowing their power and authority to walk in freedom -- never to look backwards again.
     Before I end my letter, I want to address a misconception that I feel you stated. You said, "We have placed Inner Healing as a formula upon Christians to say they can't be free without it.... Inner Healing is psychological programming and only puts a band-aid on your brain". These are points upon which I must disagree. Not everyone needs deep Inner Healing, and I would never force it upon anyone, nor suggest that it is mandatory for everyone. Only you can determine if you are walking in freedom in Christ. You know whether or not you are experiencing the peace, righteousness and joy that comes from being a citizen of the Kingdom. Maybe you have had the radical experience that Todd has encountered, or maybe you have been able to recognize the lies of the Enemy on your own and successfully defeated them. But for those who don't have that level of discernment or are mired in unforgiveness and/or disbelief, God has provided a ministry to help propel them towards the freedom He desires for them.
     I respectfully refute the accusation that Inner Healing ministers are creating psychological co-dependents instead of teaching people to maintain their freedom. When we minister to someone, it is our heartfelt prayer that they never succumb to the lies again and we provide them with biblical principles and tools to keep the freedom they just received. I just ask that you consider the fact that our God is so big that He has ordained different ministries to meet different needs and different people in their different stages of sanctification. I urge you not to condemn a whole ministry because one man offended you. It grieves me when different ministers decide that they can be the arbiters of what God's will is for all of His people. I know you have suffered grave criticism for your ministry habits and style and substance, so I would hope that you could extend the same grace to those of us who are seeing much healing and joy and peace and freedom through being obedient to the Inner Healing ministry that God has called us to. Surely you don't condemn your friend and fellow minister, Bill Johnson and Bethel, for training SOZO ministers to, as they describe it "walk you through a process of freedom and wholeness through a unique inner healing and deliverance ministry aimed to get to the root of things hindering your personal connection with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. With a healed connection, you can walk in the destiny to which you have been called." Amen!
     I can see the hurt you received at the time of your offense and I will sincerely pray that you can find forgiveness for that pastor. And I pray that you will soften your rhetoric about "hating" Inner Healing ministries. We do a lot of good for the Kingdom of God here on earth. We need to encourage and support each other's ministries. We are all walking towards the same goal ... freedom in Christ.

Galatians 5:1    "Let me be clear, the Anointed One has set us free—not partially, but completely and wonderfully free! We must always cherish this truth and stubbornly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past."