Aloha Ke Akua Ministries

Aloha Ke Akua Ministries:

Calling the Nations Into Compromise 2005: A Warning

By Steven Mitchell, Power To Stand Ministries

Aloha Ke Akua (“God is Love”) Ministries is calling Hawaii’s churches to rally around another heaping helping of unbiblical doctrine and practice at their upcoming conference:

A Call to the Nations: A Transformation Hawaii Gateway Conference

June 23-25, 2005

1st Assembly of God Moanalua,

Oahu

Riding on the waning waves of previous gatherings, this company of Third Wave/First Nations teachers are offering attendees a lethal dose of reconciliation rites, false teachings, and even “sacred chants”.

If we take the assertions of many of the featured speakers as any indication, it looks like Hawaii is in for a revisionist and, in some ways, even a neopaganist resurgence that’s going to be hazardous to many’s spiritual health. We have every reason to believe that this conference could serve as an epicenter for serious false doctrines on transformation and spiritual warfare. This is based on the statements made on the sponsoring organization’s (Aloha Ke Akua Ministries) website, the past and current teachings of its primary founders/ representatives, and the selection of speakers who are slated to appear at this years conference.

Who’s Behind This Ministry? Meet the Boiz:

Leon Siu – Leon is a founder of Aloha Ke Akua Ministries. Leon has won international awards as a composer/songwriter and has been recording Hawaiian music for over 30 years. Leon claims to be one of the most knowledgeable people in the area of Hawaiian history and the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and speaks frequently on these issues.

Daniel Kikawa – Daniel Kikawa, B.S., PhM, is a founder and the president of Aloha Ke Akua Ministries and a board member of the International Reconciliation Coalition (Headed by John Dawson, president of YWAM). Daniel has taught thousands of missionaries and his materials are being used in missionary schools, seminaries, churches and Bible colleges around the world. He’s best known for his book, Perpetuated in Righteousness (we’ll look at this a bit later).

Kahu David “Kawika” Kahiapo – David is a founder of Aloha Ke Akua Ministries. He is also the kahu(priest) of Ka Ohana O Ke Aloha, the Kaneohe Canoe Club, and an associate kahu at Kamehameha Schools, Kapalama Campus. Kawika plays Hawaiian worship music in secular settings about three times a week. His two solo CDs have been best sellers in the secular marketplace and many have come to Christ through his music. David and his group, Kaukahi, have opened for Jack Johnson at his sold out concert at the Waikiki Shell.

These are the main three men involved in founding Aloha Ke Akua and subsequently responsible for the content of their website and the materials put out by this organization.

As far as Kikawa is concerned, he is most notable for his book: Perpetuated in Righteousness. This is the groundbreaking collection of assertions that took Hawaii by storm and has been through several printings and is still promoted by many today as a foundational work in understanding indigenous ways of worship from this movement.. Many in YWAM have endorsed it as well as Ed Silvoso (An “apostle” under C. Peter Wagner) who calls it “One of the best books I have ever read.” Needless to say there are major problems with the content.

For an in-depth look at this frightening offering check out the book review on our site: Daniel Kikawa:Perpetuated in Righteousness or Perpetuating a Modern Myth, by Mike Oppenheimer. This article pretty much seals the case if there’s any lingering doubt that Kikawa and those who endorse this writing should be considered undiscerning.

Just a sample here as to the premise: Hawaiians used to worship the one true God whose name is I’o. They learned about salvation by reading the stars and were perhaps a “lost tribe” of Israel that God called to the Pacific! The book itself is actually based largely on “oral tradition” and has been decried as highly inaccurate.

Needless to say again, these and other notions are groundless and actually dangerously twisted. I quote Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum from his 10-page review of Kikawa’s book:

“To claim that the Polynesian peoples ‘may have been part of the nation of Israel for a time’ is one of the more horrendous assumptions in the book. There is absolutely no truth to this whatsoever.” (Quoted from Dr. Fructhenbaum’s review).

I concur with Dr. Fruchtenbaum with this one and lament the fact that Kikawa and Aloha ke Akua are pushing this stuff to the churches in Hawaii and beyond. Stay away, saints, far away…!

Leon Siu stands by Kikawa’s ridiculous and blasphemous conclusion that God’s name for the early Hawaiians was I’o, which is actually the name of the bird god! Siu has been known to pray to God in this name. He promotes the concepts in the book as well as sacred dance ritual and spiritual mapping practices.

The staggering lack of discernment in their own lives is reason enough to not participate with Mr. Siu and his cohorts. Here’s one example:

On April 15, 2001,, Mr. Siu actually received an award from heretic Sun Young Moon at a Honolulu gathering. At this very meeting, Moon spoke at length about family “love organs” and stated that

"Recently, many young couples don't care about lineage, they don't want children, just want to enjoy life. They are less than human… Wives who avoid having children are committing a sin…To have children was God's main purpose for humankind… Without children, that's not a family. You cannot enter the kingdom of God ... you enter as a family… Just by believing in Jesus doesn't mean you will enter the kingdom of heaven." http://www.wewillstand.org/news/news_0414.html

Mr. Siu and others said nothing in the wake of these words and he was even lauded when he should have been rebuked:

"Father and Mother Moon received a commission from Jesus to anoint families," said the Rev. Michael Jenkins, president of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the modern form of the Unification Church…Moon told the crowd, "I have spoken to God and Jesus, I know what to expect in the spirit world." http://starbulletin.com/2001/04/15/news/story5.html

Here’s what happened:

“Customary flowers were presented including the traditional Hawaiian Leis to Father and Mother Moon. Awards were then presented to the Family Home Evening Program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Mike Gabbard, founder of the Alliance for Traditional Marriage and Values; and Leon Siu, founder of Christian Voice.” http://www.wewillstand.org/news/news_0414.html (Emphasis Mine)

In the past, Moon has claimed to be the Messiah (among other false teachings) and this renders him a dangerous heretic. The Bible tells us we need to rebuke and avoid false teachers like Moon rather than receive awards or accolades from them. Leon Siu’s affiliation with him here definitely shows that he doesn’t have true discernment and renders his testimony shameful. If the leadership of Aloha Ke Akua is like this can we honestly, with clean conscience endorse or support their ministry endeavors?

Who’s on the Advisory Board for Aloha Ke Akua?

Be warned because YWAM features prominently in this department and happens to be a Third Wave/ New Apostolic collaborating organization spreading many false teachings worldwide on a massive scale through its missionary efforts. Young people and a huge number of adults are actively propagating the doctrines of the Third Wave and are also advocates of bizarre spiritual warfare practices like city-taking, spiritual mapping and identificational repentance. John Dawson is one of several YWAMers that endorse the ministry of Aloha Ke Akua (along with Loren Cunningham, Tom Hallas, and Donna Jordan). All one has to do is check out his reconciliation rituals and read his book Taking Our Cities For God to see that John Dawson goes far beyond the Bible in his beliefs and practices.

Terry Leblanc and Richard Twiss among others represent the Third Wave for First Nations Ministry. These advocate unbiblical practices and beliefs concerning the Great Spirit as well as have ties to the New Apostolic Reformation. Check out the article about Danny Lehmann’s (GLT leader in YWAM) “Word to the World” radio broadcast, which featured Twiss, Leblanc and Siu to see the false doctrines they’ve promoted here in Hawaii.

Local pastors Sam Webb and Francis Oda also back Aloha Ke Akua Ministries. These are notable as being pastors in churches, which have openly embraced Third Wave and even hyper Pentecostal Word Faith teachings. It seems that these types of teachers flock together and back each other up in order to see Hawaii transformed by these new revelations.

It’s obvious from this list that there are clearly connections with the Third Wave and the New Apostolic Reformation. With men and women like these on your advisory boards one can be certain that they embrace a third wave worldview of missions and evangelism and therefore shouldn’t be embraced by biblical discerning Christians.

The Bible says, “…In a multitude of counselors, there is safety” (Prov. 11:14b). Unfortunately, however, where false teachers are concerned, the growing number of supporters can only be characterized as dangerous.

That’s a brief listing of some involved but now lets look at a few points about Aloha Ke Akua’s mission statement:

What They Believe:

Aloha Ke Akua’s website tells us that

“Aloha Ke Akua Ministries has played a major role in changing the concept of the gospel among a majority of Hawaiians from being the “foreign enemy” to being “our Hawaiian gospel and source of hope.”

Sadly one must conclude that, if the things in Kikawa’s book are true then he brings a different gospel indeed. Here’s a few quotes from the mission statement. The goal of Aloha Ke Akua Ministries is to:

“…facilitate the reconciliation of indigenous peoples with whom they are in Christ: To let indigenous people know that God lovingly created them exactly as He wanted them; that He has been with them and loved them throughout their history, that He left many treasures and worthy traditions within their culture, and that He desires they freely worship Him with, and celebrate, the beautiful and unique cultural expressions that flow from them.”

“The Creator God of the Bible is not a foreign God. He loves indigenous people and has been a part of their history and culture from the beginning.” (http://akaministries.tripod.com/aloha/id1.html).

Kikawa tries to document God’s involvement with the first Hawaiians in his book but can’t quite prove a consistent premise. They go on about the goal of their ministry:

“To facilitate the reconciliation of indigenous peoples with the Body of Christ, His church: To repent of any atrocities that have been perpetrated by the church, “Christian” nations, or Christians; to teach Christians of the need to repent of these atrocities and to recognize, respect, appreciate, and celebrate the unique and indispensable gifts each people group brings to the Body of Christ so that indigenous peoples and the church can truly be in unity and become the many unique parts of the one Body of Christ.”(Ibid.).

This form of reconciliation and identificational repentance is popularized by John Dawson of YWAM among others and involves vicariously asking forgiveness for ancestral wrongdoing. Here we are told that Christians today must apologize for the sins of those from bygone eras in order to mystically set things right. This practice has no basis in Scripture and therefore should be confronted and rebuked. Unless I am personally guilty of racism or mistreating others, I need not “identify” with another person’s sins, yet it is implied that this apology is needed in order to fully reconcile indigenous people with the body of Christ.

Reconciliation takes place as a person believes in Christ for salvation:

“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” Rom. 5:10-11.

When Paul stated that we have all been given the ministry of reconciliation and are called to bring people to God (2 Cor. 5:17-20), he never once said we had to identify with other’s sins and apologize for past misdeeds as though we were guilty of those same things.

The ministry of reconciliation had to do with sharing the Gospel to the lost and seeing them come to Christ as the Spirit draws them. Siu, Kikawa, Dawson and others say there’s more to this scenario and that certain rituals must be done to atone for past rifts between cultures and individuals. We need to reject these false notions and let God bring others to himself as He sees fit.

http://akaministries.tripod.com/aloha/id2.html videos

Other Offerings:

In addition to Kikawa’s book, Aloha Ke Akua also offers a variety of other questionable books and videos from a Third Wave/First Nations perspective:

The Promise(Video)

The 4th World Christian Gathering on Indigenous People

An internationally award winning documentary as people from over 30 countries worship God and call on him to "heal their land". Great music, indigenous worship and dance. Powerful. http://akaministries.tripod.com/aloha/id2.html

I’ve seen footage of these events and what transpired could only be considered bizarre and unbiblical.

“The Promise” is an internationally award winning portrait of an event in Hilo Hawaii where indigenous believers from around the world gathered to call on God to fulfill his promise to “heal their land”. Based on 2nd chronicles 7:14, “The Promise” relives the journey that these believers undertook together to repent, seek God’s face, and call on him to inhabit the land.” (Ibid.).

This is an earmark practice of those in the reconciliation movement including those involved with Aloha Ke Akua. In viewing their websites, hearing them speak on radio programs and reading their material it is soon apparent that they twist and wrench God’s Word any way they please in order to support their faulty premises and misguided agendas. The above is just one example of how they use 2^nd Chron. 7:14 as referring to a “promise” that God somehow allegedly made to the Hawaiian people. In reality this verse is in reference to Israel and their promised land and can’t be used in the same way for any sovereign work God does with Hawaii.

Well, we’ve looked oh so briefly at some very questionable involvements and teachings, but now we need to get back to the upcoming Call to the Nations Conference and why we’re suggesting you don’t give your cash or attendance to it.

The teachers at this event are by and large involved in various levels with the Third Wave/New Apostolic movement. Speakers like YWAM president John Dawson have exhibited a frightening lack of discernment in past ministry and books they’ve written and continue to do so as is evident by a casual observation of what YWAM is currently teaching. At this conference, Dawson will be sharing his unbiblical reconciliation rituals and even how to integrate ministry with the new apostles and prophets! It’s shameful that high level YWAM leaders like Dawson, Loren Cunningham, and Hawaii’s own Danny Lehmann (Leader of YWAM Honolulu, Global Leadership Team head of evangelism) have all expressed and currently, in some cases, endorse and promote teachings like these. Danny Lehmann has featured Siu, Twiss, and Leblanc on his missionary radio program, Word To The World on KLHT Honolulu. No word as to whether he will be attending but since YWAM is a leading presence there I can’t imagine he will stay away especially since he is a co-GLT leader in YWAM with John Dawson.

Twiss and others in the First Nations groups will also be chipping in their ideas, which have proved to be pretty sketchy in the past as well. This whole thing is umbrellaed under an involvement with Cal Chinen’s Transformation Hawaii, which is a group that is working closely with another false teacher Ed Silvoso and his Apostolic Transformation Network. I mean how bad can this get?

So What, Brah?

In closing, I urge all ministers and churchgoers in this great state to stay away from this Call to the Nations Conference! We can’t expect any kind of true revival from groups that traffic in doctrines that are an affront to God and His Word. We need to exhort and warn our friends of this event and keep all involved in prayer

If anyone feels offended by what I’ve written, I want to assure you that I am not “anti-Hawaiian” and I’m certainly not opposed to bringing the Gospel to indigenous people or anyone on Earth that needs to be saved. But its time to consider these raised concerns as to the methodology and beliefs being promoted by many today. Its our prayer that repentance will take place and that these teachings will be discarded in favor of Biblical ones so that we can see God truly move among us.

Because of our love for Christ and His Word…Because of our love for these pastors and their flocks…Because of the seriousness of the Scripture’s command to discern and declare the truth…Because of our heartfelt concern for loved ones involved, we cannot but continue to warn of the dangers of any cooperation/collaboration/endorsement/practice or promotion of 3^rd Wave teachings.

We have no personal agendas or grievances with anyone mentioned. This is about the business of upholding sound doctrine. Paul told young Timothy:

“If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.” 1 Tim. 4:6

“These things command and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Til I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine…Take heed to your self and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in so doing, you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” 1 Tim. 4:11-13, 16

“O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and vain babblings and empty contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge…”1 Tim. 6:20

I ask that any and all who see the importance of these matters will stand for the truth of God’s Word and contend for the faith against the rising tide of apostasy.

I welcome your comments: Let’s dialogue!

________________________________________________________________________

Return to Hawaii Under Siege