One of the Michigan organizations that has played a major role in preparations is Transformation Michigan, an affiliate of Rick Joyner's Oak Initiative.  At this writing, the Transformation Michigan website still has many of their conference calls online. (Links here and here.)    

These include calls with major NAR apostles and prophets, including Cindy Jacobs and John Benefiel, who are the apostolic authorities over prayer warrior networks in all fifty states (and endorsed Rick Perry's prayer event in August).  Also included in the conference calls was Bill Sudduth, head of the International Society of Deliverance Ministries, who has traveled around the country leading seminars on spiritual warfare against freemasonry and Islam.  Several Transformation Michigan conference calls featured Lou Engle. Others featured speakers included Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William "Jerry" Boykin and Kamel Saleem, well known for their role in the Islamophobia speaking circuit.

NAR Prophet Lou Engle is the leader of TheCall, which has been held in venues around the country and the world since 2000. .  Engle is based in Kansas City on the campus of the International House of Prayer (IHOP), founded by Mike Bickle.  IHOPs around the world live stream from the Kansas City base and distribute Bickle's prophecy and teachings.  Bickle has helped Engle to lead many TheCall events around the world.  On August 6 of this year, staff from TheCall and IHOP, and Mike Bickle, led Rick Perry's Houston prayer event titled "The Response."

Transformation Michigan Conference Calls

Following is a sample of what took place on these conference calls in 2010 and 2011.  As you read these short transcripts, keep in mind that the participants are talking about "spiritual warfare" through prayer.  However, they are simultaneously teaching that other human beings are demonic or controlled by demons and that therefore working for the enemy.  They are also teaching that these demons are the source of societal problems and the hardships experienced by others including poverty, corruption, illness, drought, unemployment, and more.

Bill  Sudduth is featured in a call in which he describes the reasons why the prayer warriors are attacking freemasonry as part of their spiritual warfare assault on Islam.  Sudduth describes the spiritual warfare.

"After the teachings we actually  do the prayer of release. There is a prayer of release for freemasonry ... but  there's also a prayer of release of Islam and the spirits behind it and we corporately break that as well.  And then we do Identificational Repentance and we have three specific categories.  We have a government official or state employee of Michigan actually repent for the state's involvement, we have a pastor repent for the churches involvement, and then we have an ex-mason or Eastern Star, someone who was personally involved in masonic repent for the damage it has done to families and then corporately we pray and we just literally pull it down over the state."

Note that "Identificational Repentance" is a "strategic level spiritual warfare" term used to describe a process in which the demons are supposedly pushed back from their control over a group.  This could be an ethnic, racial or religious group.  These ceremonies have been marketed to the public as racial reconciliation, as is being done with TheCall Detroit.

Later in the conference call, the head of Transformation Michigan, Rick Warzywak comments on the need for participants to go to the property of the mosques and Sudduth states that it is important to "take the ground" and "claim an area around the mosque." Warzywak responds,

"We go back and occupy and take the land, right?"

Sudduth answers,

Every advance in the kingdom of God is  met with resistance, and the problem is the church has not resisted the advance of the ememy. By us physically going to these Masonic lodges  like we did, physically going to these mosques like we're planning and these other altars, if you will, we are advancing the kingdom and pushing back the darkness.

Warzywak and Sudduth  are speaking in spiritual warfare terms, but it leaves no doubt that Islam and freemasonry are viewed as demonic and not to be tolerated. Toward the end of the conference call, the head of Transformation Michigan  explains that Lou Engle, leader of TheCall, and his team are to arrive 40 days before the event. Sudduth states,

"We are literally dropping in a Delta Force."

He adds,

"We are to be called a house of prayer.  When we had our meetings city-hopping across the state with Lou Engle last week, I have seen a phenomenal unity of the body even amongst races, and awareness of the Islamic threat that we have and the importance of praying and lifting up a house of prayer."

The Michigan state prayer leader on the call states,

"We need the harvest of the Muslim people.  We can't just sit by and let them continue the on the way they are, worshipping their false god."

Transformation Michigan's website states,  

"Detroit is ground zero for the spiritual war in our nation. Poverty, racism, and Islam are most powerfully rooted here - more than anywhere else in the nation."

John Benefiel was the featured speaker in a conference call with Transformation Michigan on September 9, 2010, speaking about  "Baal, Free Masonry and Islam."  In the call Benefiel described rituals that the state prayer warrior network was conducting at all the Masonic lodges across the state. Anita Christopher, head of the West Michigan Prayer Center in Grand Rapids, states,

"We need the harvest of the Muslim people.  We can't just sit by and let them continue the on the way they are, worshipping their false god."

Lou Engle spoke about the need to hold TheCall Detroit in an interview with Steve Strang for Ministry Today.  Strang is the owner and publisher of the major Charismatic magazines including Charisma.  In this conference call, Engle talked about Detroit and TheCall event on 11/11/11,

"It's the largest population of Muslims.  We believe that God wants to raise up a prayer fire in america that will open the heavens over the Muslims and instead of us fearing and trembling over the Muslims, they come under the canopy of the mass prayer army in the U.S. praying that God will convert Muslims through dreams."

Engle continued, speaking about the need to raise up black Nazirites.  Nazirites is the name that Engle and Bickle have given to the core group of super-believers who will have the "spiritual DNA" to  lead a counter cultural revolution in America.  See previous article on the 1940s and 1950s roots of the ideology of the NAR apostles and prophets. Also see a previous article on the books about spiritual DNA by Wendy Alec of God TV.  God TV works closely with IHOP, including, according to Bickle, donations of equipment to live stream from the KC IHOP to locations around the world.

Apostle Ellis Smith of Jubilee City Church spoke at New Song Church on October 9 about TheCall.  He describes himself as the "point man in the black community" for this event.  Note that is in the Partners in Harvest and Revival Alliance Network of leading apostle John Arnott.  (See video of Revival Alliance and major NAR apostles leading the commissioning of Todd Bentley.)

At about 46 minutes into the speech Apostle Ellis he describes the need for TheCall Detroit. Note that in this context, the "religious spirit" is a negative term that refers to the demons that keep evangelicals divided by denominations and prevent them from unifying.

I was talking to him [Lou Engle] and Francis Frangipane about Detroit and how pivotal this coming meeting is and why I believe it is by divine appointment.

Detroit is the most religious city in America... There is no other city in America that's even close. Because of that religious spirit, that's here, it was more akin to allowing Islam to have a root here. That's why there are more people of the Islamic religion in the Metro Detroit area than anyplace in the world except for the Middle East. Because it found a kindred spirit - a religion.

Islam is a false religion.  It doesn't move people in the things of God.  Islam is lame.  People are decrept, cripple, they can't move forward. It's a perverse religion....  What I'm saying to you is Detroit had to happen because we have to break these barriers that have hindered in so many ways  When Lou first came here... I ended up being the point person for this. I didn't ask for this... But somehow God sought  this fall in my lap  So I've been the key person talking to black leaders, bishops, apostle, elders, and none of them, not one had ever heard of Lou Engle or The Call - not one. I was hoping I would find one. none of them  I went to the largest churches in the city. Most of them are friends of mine."

Apostle Ellis continues, stating that all of the leaders who hear Engle are signing up to participate.

Other activites in preparation have included having Oak Initiative board members travel to Michigan to speak.  One of these is Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William "Jerry" Boykin who spoke to Transformation Michigan about applying his "Nine Principles of War" to spiritual warfare.

At about the 40 minute mark in the  video, Boykin states,

"Don't wait for the community to build a mosque and then go and walk that ground and pray against it. No, go around and look at empty lots.  Go around and look at places that where that can happen and just claim it in Jesus name.  Don't wait until you hear they've petitioned the city for it."

Boykin was also featured in a conference call with Transformation Michigan about the "Threat of Islam" on March 21, 2011.  

This is just the tip of the iceberg and a very small sample of the type of rhetoric and activities that have preceded TheCall Detroit. My fear is that many churches, ministries and individuals will be drawn to this event on the basis of the promotion of its' racial reconciliation message, not realizing that the purpose is to draw them into the world of the NAR apostles and prophets and their unique brand of scapegoating other human beings.

No matter what is actually said during the 24-hour event at Ford Field, much damage will be done if other churches, ministries, and individuals provide validity, support and outreach capability to TheCall Detroit's organizers and sponsors.

Also see the second installment in this series which includes quotes from conference calls with John Benefiel and Cindy Jacobs.