The Dangers of Kathryn Krick and the New Apostolic Reformation

Over the last few months, social media has been circulating countless videos of Kathryn Krick’s teaching and “healing” videos. There are long-form and short-form videos of her healing people, leading some to believe that she is divinely anointed. In other videos, she claims to have direct prophetic revelation from God. 

Her content has caused great tension within the Christian community for various reasons. If you are unaware of who she is or what she teaches, Krick claims to be an apostle of Christ (someone commissioned by Jesus as He did during His earthly ministry) and seems to embrace a level of adoration from her followers that borders on worship. 

In the clip shown (and many others), people bow before her and exclaim how blessed they are to serve her, even calling her “mama.” She also claims to heal people and posts videos of her supposedly casting out evil spirits. 

I’ll leave it to you to judge whether these exorcisms appear authentic, but in my view, the acting leaves much to be desired. What she has been doing is actively creating damage to the Christian community. With much of the world already skeptical of the faith, people like Krick further muddy the waters of what is truly of Christ and what is for personal gain or done simply in delusion. And, unfortunately, she’s one of many in that regard.

What is the NAR? 

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is rooted in Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity and is not an organized denomination per se; rather, it is a loose movement formed by various independent leaders and local churches. As a matter of fact, most mainstream Pentecostal and Charismatic churches disavow the NAR completely and do not want any guilt by association since the NAR movement is considered a complete departure from biblical orthodoxy. 

The purpose of the NAR was to, for lack of better words, get churches to leave traditional denominations and come under the rule of apostles and prophets. Its creation also sought to establish something called the “Seven Mountain Mandate,” which instructs Christians to take dominion over seven core pillars: government, business, education, media, arts, family, and religion. 

C. Peter Wagner is considered the responsible party in naming the movement in the 1996 National Symposium on the Postdenominational Church. While he helped grow the movement, many others have since pushed it further, such as Paula Cain-White, President Trump’s personal spiritual advisor. 

There are also other major theological issues within the NAR, including the doctrine of open theism. Open theism is the belief that God cannot exactly know the future. While there is a version of open theism that can be argued biblically (voluntary nescience, where God chooses not to know the outcome rather than being unable to know it), it appears that the NAR believes the former rather than the latter. 

For a greater understanding of the movement, please read this article by Evan and R. Vivian Pietsch. They are former members of the NAR, and now theological experts on the movement.

A biblical warning and rebuttal to the NAR

Without mincing words, the NAR is at least dangerous, and at most, catastrophic to the Christian faith. Here, we will break down biblically why the NAR, particularly Kathryn Krick, needs to be completely condemned by evangelical Christianity. 

First, the office of Prophet and Apostle is a closed institution. 

John the Baptist was the last prophet (Matt. 11:9-11), with Paul as the last apostle. Some may ask, “Why is the prophetic institution closed? What about the spiritual gift of prophecy?” 

Simply put, the need for divinely appointed prophets no longer exists. The world has been given God’s Word as recorded in the Holy Scriptures. It is sufficient for all teaching, correction, training, etc. (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We have already been given God’s divine revelation, Scripture; thus, a prophet would serve no further purpose, as God has already given us all that we need to know. 

As to the spiritual gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 12:10), it differs from the office of a prophet. It is often assumed that prophecy demands “telling the future,” what we would call “foretelling.” But that is not the case. 

Prophecy, in the context of spiritual gifts, is given to encourage people in the faith and bring comfort (1 Cor. 14:3). This does not mean God does not give divine visions and glimpses into the future; He certainly does. But having the gift of prophecy does not give one the right to claim the office of prophet, which is a significant distinction. 

One cannot claim the office because it was never mankind’s to claim; rather, it was God’s to bestow. The claims of Kathryn Krick—and many others in the NAR movement—to the office of prophet and apostle fall completely outside of the scriptural narrative.

Second, we bow only to Christ. 

Seeing people bow down to self-proclaimed prophets and apostles is saddening to say the least. Krick should have corrected the people bowing to her immediately, but she did not. Rather, she accepts the praise and the adoration that should be reserved for Christ alone. We are told to have no other gods or mediators to God (Ex. 20:3-6). Nor are we to believe false Gospels. 

Acts 10:25-26 highlights Peter rejecting Cornelius’ bowing to him because Peter was not God but “a man.” Acts 14:11-15 depicts the people in Lystra trying to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas as gods, but they stop this and say that they are of the “same nature” as them. We do not see Kathryn Krick do this. Should even John the Baptist, John Wesley, or John the Apostle come back right now, we bow only to Christ.

Finally, when people make their fame off casting out demons and claiming apostleship—beware. 

2 Peter 2:1-3 (NIV) perfectly sums up the NAR, Cain-White, and Krick: 

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. 

Do not follow these people or their fabricated stories—their condemnation awaits them.

Conclusion

In the contemporary world, we must be constantly aware of what is trying to pull us away from Christ. God tells us through Peter, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, NIV). 

Can believers cast out demons because of Christ’s power? Yes, just as the disciples and apostles did (Matt. 10:1, 8; Lk. 10:17-19). I’m not denying the works of the Holy Spirit in believers, not at all. Rather, I’m calling believers to be alert and to submit to Christ’s authority, not to one who claims to be divinely appointed as an apostle by Christ. 

We can affirm the infallible and historical works of Christ without falling prey to false doctrine. It is Christ in us that makes us His children and witnesses unto all the earth, allowing us to cast out demons; this is the true authority, not a self-proclamation of one. But there will always be part of us that would prefer to trust a person we can see over a God we cannot, particularly when they blur the lines between that choice. 

Are there any areas of your life where that temptation is particularly prevalent today?