Days after publicly defending his longtime friend and prophetic ministry pastor, Micah Turnbo, from allegations of being a false prophet, senior pastor of the Vineyard Church Northwest in Cincinnati, Ohio, Luke Haselmayer, has withdrawn his comments from social media.
When asked by The Christian Post on Thursday why he withdrew a statement he made on Monday defending Turnbo, Haselmayer did not immediately respond. However, a church representative told CP he planned to address the controversy with his congregants.
"Micah Turnbo is not a liar. Micah Turnbo is not delusional. God has supernaturally confirmed this man to me more times than I can count. Many of you have heard of the extraordinary dream I had in 2014 where God indisputably did so," Haselmayer insisted in the now-removed statement.
"I've been close friends with Micah for 11 years. I've seen his character in private and in public. I've seen him minister from stages and in living rooms. He has been consistent, trustworthy, full of good fruit, and always wholly committed to pointing people toward friendship with Jesus."
Mike Winger of the BibleThinker online ministry was the first to raise concerns over what he sees as Turnbo's incredible claims, such as frequent time travel with God, who also makes him visit Hell every Easter against his will.
"Every Easter, the Lord will take me to Hell. Not my choice. He wants to do it and I don't like it. The Lord allowed me to sit in front of demons and ask them questions," Turnbo claimed in a video clip shared by Winger in a May 3 episode of his podcast.
"He's a false prophet, [...] there's no way around it," Winger declared. "I don't know of a way around this. He's just so nice that it makes you feel mean to say it, but you're actually mean if you don't."
In his hour-long commentary on Turnbo, Winger said he was surprised that a Vineyard church would entertain someone like him in ministry and said he spoke with Haselmayer, who allegedly told him the church would look into his concerns.
Winger also shared in an update Wednesday that he spoke with denominational leaders of Vineyard Church, who told him they are reviewing the situation. He also urged members of the public, some of whom he said had been contacting Turnbo, to extend grace.
"I just think we should give them some time and be patient and let them work through this. This is a very challenging and difficult thing for their local church, a very difficult thing for all of them. I would like to try to extend as much grace, and compassion and kindness, towards Micah and others as possible while still holding firmly to the fact that he's dangerous to himself and others," Winger said.
In one clip criticized by Winger, Turnbo professed his love for God's beard while stating that Jesus has a "sweet tooth," while God the Father loves "spicy and salty food." He also claimed he talked with 18th-century American President Abraham Lincoln.
"I'm with God. You know, the Father, on his lap and my hands are, I love his beard. I love his beard. I put my hands in his beard. [...] God goes for walks. He walks around, you know. He has like favorite things. Like God loves spicy and salty food. Jesus has the sweet tooth," Turnbo claimed.
"You can touch God the Father. I know what He feels like. I know what His hands feel like. He has hands. He has feet. He took me back in time to where I watched him form Adam out of the dirt, and then He took the rib, and He formed [a] woman. I've talked to Abraham Lincoln before."
On Wednesday morning, as the controversy around his ministry erupted, Turnbo appeared unbothered by the chatter.
"Leaning on my beloved. He is radiant. He is chief among ten thousand. He comes leaping over the mountains, conquering every desire in my life that is not him. He is strong for me. He covers me with his banner of love. In him, I rejoice and weep. In him, I burn and shake with passion," he wrote on Facebook about his time in God's presence.
"In my encounter this morning, I watched him easily scale every mountain. With him came the morning light and the cool breeze. He comes for you, beloved. Worship Him."
