MRFF Demand Leads Army IG to Open Investigative Inquiry into 3-Star Pentagon General’s Disturbing Ties to New Apostolic Reformation
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: September 1, 2014
Publisher Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Publication: Freethought Newswire
Original Link: research@militaryreligiousfreedom.org
Publication Date: September 25, 2024
Organization: Military Religious Freedom Foundation
Organization Description: The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is dedicated to ensuring that all members of the United States Armed Forces fully receive the Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom to which they and all Americans are entitled by virtue of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Over 89,000 active duty, veteran, and civilian personnel of the United States Armed Forces, including individuals involved in High School JROTC around the nation, have come to our foundation for redress and assistance in resolving or alerting the public to their civil rights grievances, with hundreds more contacting MRFF each day. 95% of them are Christians themselves.
| Wednesday Afternoon, September 25, 2024 |
| MRFF DEMAND LEADS TOP LEVEL ARMY IGTO OPEN INVESTIGATIVE INQUIRY INTO 3-STAR PENTAGON GENERAL’S DISTURBINGTIES TO NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION As previously reported, on the weekend of August 29-31, 2024, U.S. Army Lt. General Brian Eifler, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel of the United States Army, was photographed giving a presentation – in uniform – at New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) Apostle Cindy Jacobs’s annual Reformation Prayer Network gathering in D.C. During the Eiflers’ three years in Alaska, from 2021 until this past summer, Lt. General Eifler’s wife, Sherry, became a member of “Alaska’s War Council,” part of the extensive network of prophets, apostles, and kingdom warriors known as the New Apostolic Reformation — a politically influential Christian dominionist movement that seeks to end democracy as we know it. Two days ago, MRFF received an e-mail from a Senior Investigator with the Department of the Army Inspector General Agency – Investigations Division, informing us that his office has opened an “investigative inquiry” into Lt. General Eifler’s NAR activities. An Inspector General’s “investigative inquiry” is comparable to a grand jury in the civilian world looking at the evidence to determine if that evidence is damning enough to indict someone. If this investigative inquiry by the Army’s highest level IG office finds the requisite evidence (which MRFF intends to supply on a silver platter), a full-blown IG investigation would be the expected next step of the several actions that could be taken against Lt. General Eifler. |
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| U.S. Army Lt. General Brian Eifler speaking in uniform at New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) Apostle Cindy Jacobs’s annual Reformation Prayer Network gathering, held in Washington, D.C., from August 29-31, 2024 |
| MRFF OP-ED ONDAILY KOS Trending story on Daily Kos Army IG opens investigative inquiry into 3-star general’s ties to the New Apostolic Reformation! By: MRFF Senior Research Director Chris Rodda Wednesday, September 25, 2024 |
 A little less than two weeks ago, on Friday, September 13, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) sent a letter to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks demanding an immediate investigation of U.S. Army Lieutenant General Brian Eifler, who, in August. delivered a presentation, in uniform, at a major New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) event.The event was NAR Apostle Cindy Jacobs’s annual Reformation Prayer Network gathering in Washington, D.C., at which NAR prophets, apostles, and other assorted kingdom warriors from all 50 states come together to strategize about how they’re going to seize dominion over the world, which, for us here in America, means ending democracy as we know it. This is not hyperbole. The NAR is a dangerous, politically influential movement, whose annual Reformation Prayer Network gathering, held a stone’s throw from the Capitol Building, includes legislative briefings with like-minded members of Congress. No member of the United States military, let alone a 3-star Pentagon general, has any business being involved in any way with this subversive conglomerate of Christian dominionists, but there was Lt. General Eifler, whose wife Sherry is a member of the NAR’s “Alaska’s War Council,” delivering a presentation — again, in full uniform — at their major annual gathering (a presentation that, for some reason, involved a map of the Asia-Pacific region). Well, two days ago, MRFF received an e-mail from a Senior Investigator with the Department of the Army Inspector General Agency – Investigations Division, complete with his IG credentials signed by Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, informing us that his office has opened an “investigative inquiry” into Lt. General Eifler’s NAR activities. To borrow an analogy from MRFF’s fearless leader Mikey Weinstein, an Inspector General’s “investigative inquiry” is comparable to a grand jury in the civilian world looking at the evidence to determine if that evidence is damning enough to indict someone. If this investigative inquiry by the Army’s highest level IG office finds the requisite evidence (which MRFF intends to supply on a silver platter), a full-blown IG investigation would be the expected next step of the several actions that could be taken against Lt. General Eifler. The IG investigator has asked for MRFF’s participation in the investigative inquiry, to which the answer is “Hell yes!” Now, as often happens when MRFF exposes a bad actor in our military, we get contacted by people who, from personal experience, know things about that individual and their doings — things that we could not possibly find out on our own. And, that is exactly what has happened in this case. So, even with as much incriminating evidence and information about Lt. General Eifler and his “Alaska’s War Council” wife as was in my post from September 13 (which I am including in its entirety below for those who might have missed it), we’re gonna have a whole lot more for that IG investigative inquiry! So, stay tuned. I think this one is going to get very, very interesting. |
| Previous post from September 13 (Note: Some of the Facebook content linked to in this post was taken down shortly after the post was posted, but the links have been left in here as they appeared in the original post.) MRFF demands investigation of 3-Star Pentagon general’s disturbing ties to New Apostolic Reformation |
| On a September 4 Zoom call of “Alaska’s War Council,” Eleanor Roehl, co-founder of Kingdom Warriors Alaska, Kingdom Alliance Network and Alaskan Representative on Cindy Jacobs’s Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, opened the call by welcoming her fellow “War Council” members: |
“Good evening. Greetings to you from Anchorage, Alaska. We want to welcome of course the War Council on tonight. … And of course we have Sherry Eifler, living in Washington, D.C., who we just saw – her and of course her husband Brian in D.C. last weekend. … It is so great to have Sherry Eifler stationed in D.C. as a part of our War Council.” |
| And who is Sherry Eifler’s husband Brian, referred to so familiarly by Eleanor Roehl? Well, that would be U.S. Army Lieutenant General Brian Eifler, who recently got his third star and a new position as Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel of the United States Army, moving to D.C. after three years in Alaska as Commanding General, 11th Airborne Division. During the Eiflers’ three years in Alaska, Lt. General Eifler’s wife, Sherry Eifler, became a member of “Alaska’s War Council,” part of the extensive network of prophets and apostles and prayer warriors known as the New Apostolic Reformation. And what was the event in D.C. that Eleanor Roehl had just seen Sherry Eifler and her 3-star general husband Brian at? That would be the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) Apostle Cindy Jacobs’s annual Reformation Prayer Network gathering, held less than a month ago, from August 29-31, 2024. And it wasn’t as if Lt. General Eifler was just tagging along with his “Alaska’s War Council” wife and her New Apostolic Reformation pals to this NAR event. Oh no! This 3-star general was an active participant, giving a presentation (that, for some reason, involved a map of the Asia-Pacific region) to an audience that included Apostle Cindy Jacobs herself! And he even put on his 3-star Army general uniform for the occasion, as photos on the Indiana Canopy of Prayer’s Facebook page show. |
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| H/T to NAR researcher Kira Resistance for spotting the above photos and NAR expert Frederick Clarkson, a Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates, for passing them on to MRFF. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), as anybody who follows us knows, routinely goes after military personnel, especially high-ranking officers, who blatantly violate the Department of Defense and service branch regulations that strictly prohibit the wearing of military uniforms while participating in religious events. There’s no question that Lt. General Eifler violated these regulations when giving his presentation at NAR Apostle Cindy Jacobs’s Reformation Prayer Network gathering in uniform. But this is infinitely more serious than that, given that the NAR isn’t just a religious movement but also a powerful, dangerous, and growing political movement that seeks to end democracy as we know it. Apostle Cindy Jacobs, whose big NAR gathering Lt. General Eifler just participated in, was one of the Trump-supporting prayer leaders outside the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, saying at the beginning of the video in the tweet below, as the breach of the Capitol was getting underway, “And we’re right in front of the Capitol and the lord had given me a vision and he showed me that they would break through and go all the way to the top.” |
| At the time of the Jan. 6 insurrection, Lt. General Eifler, then a 1-star general, was stationed at the Pentagon as the Army’s Chief Legislative Liaison. Don’t know much about the NAR? You’re not alone. But if you’re familiar with the now-iconic White House photo of people laying their hands on Trump, who they believe was anointed president by God, that’s as good as any place to start. |
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| The blond woman next to Trump is Apostle Paula White (now Paula White-Cain since she married her third husband, Jonathan Cain of the band Journey), Trump’s spiritual advisor. And here is a must-watch video, preserved for posterity by PFAW’s Right Wing Watch, of Paula White on November 4, 2020, leading a prayer service to secure Trump’s reelection. (I have no idea what the guy nonchalantly walking back and forth behind her reading something is doing.) |
| Now, I probably know a bit more about the NAR than most people because of the kind of work I do, but I’m the first to admit that what I know barely scratches the surface of this seemingly endless web of prophets and apostles and networks and churches. Fortunately for us, there are people who have been closely following and reporting on the NAR for decades, among them Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates Frederick Clarkson and Rachel Tabachnick, a former associate fellow at Political Research Associates and now an independent researcher, writer, and speaker. So, before getting back to Lt. General Eifler, his “Alaska’s War Council” wife, and his participation in uniform at NAR Apostle Cindy Jacobs’s annual Reformation Prayer Network gathering in D.C. in August, let’s take a few minutes to turn to the experts and become better acquainted with this nefarious network. A November 17, 2020, Religion Dispatches article by Frederick Clarkson titled “Beneath the ‘Wacky’ Paula White Video is a Dark and Deeply Undemocratic World Propping Up the President” included the following quotes from Rachel Tabachnick, that do a good job of concisely conveying the growth and dominionist ambitions of the NAR (emphasis added): |
“The apostolic and prophetic networks that now dominate organized Christian Zionism have transitioned from more passive narratives of events to take place in the afterlife toward narratives requiring dominion over the world in this life. The political implications of this transcend the role of the U.S. alone, and engages many “nationalisms” around the world, as millions are taught an increasingly politicized interpretation of the prerequisites required for the return of Jesus and the end of the natural world.” |
| and … |
“White and many other prosperity doctrine evangelists have adopted the church governance models of the New Apostolic Reformation. White began 2012 with a sermon titled ‘Season of Apostolic Reformation,’ telling her congregation that they must align with this new order. ‘God is a theocracy, not a democracy,’ White stated, and warned congregants to ‘get in, get out, or get run over.’” |
| Similarly, in the second part of his “Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation,” titled “When it Comes to Societal Dominion, the Details Matter: A Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation, Part II,” Frederick Clarkson writes (emphasis added): |
“The NAR doesn’t merit our considered attention because some of the leaders may sound nutty to those outside the movement, but because it’s driven by theocratic notions of total societal dominion, including the end of democracy as we’ve known it; and it deserves our attention because it’s developed the political capacities to make these ambitions a lot less of a pipe dream than they seemed even five years ago.” |
| For those who really want to learn all about the NAR, an excellent resource, already mentioned, is Frederick Clarkson’s “A Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation,” co-authored by Canadian scholar André Gagné, whose recent book American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times is featured in the Salon article “Meet the New Apostolic Reformation, cutting edge of the Christian right” by Paul Rosenberg. The NAR are Christian dominionists, meaning, for those unfamiliar with the term, they believe that fulfilling the “7 Mountains Mandate” — conquering the seven spheres of influence, or “mountains,” (family, religion, government, education, business, arts/entertainment, and media) — is a prerequisite for Jesus to return. On the “Alaska’s War Council” September 19, 2023, Zoom call, Lt. General Eifler’s wife shared a “vision” the lord had given her about the seven mountains: |
“The lord gave me a concept that was so much bigger than I was able to fully describe so I began to draw it out and it started with mountains. And then the question I asked God was, ‘What is creative ministry?’ And I had a strong impression it was ministry that’s aligned with our unique identity in Christ lived out in our authority in Christ in the seven mountains of influence. And those seven mountains of influence, if you’re not familiar, are family – everybody’s in the family mountain, right? – religion – everyone’s in the religion mountain – government, because at least in the United States we all have a right to vote – business, education, entertainment, media arts. Those are our mountains. All of these mountains have been established by God for his people to be ministers in. Yes, ministers. Using our God-designed and purposed gifts in all of the mountains that we are in. He has placed us each uniquely in these mountains. Then I saw rivers and streams going down the mountains into the sea, followed by a flash of the throne room of God. The lord is releasing new kingdom creativity to align and partner with bringing his kingdom from heaven to earth. He is calling us to minister in the seven mountains of influence in a new way, remembering that his power, authority, creativity, and purpose flow from his throne room to us, his people. It flows to us and through us. So, in this release of this new creativity, he is calling his children to align with and stand in the authority of their kingdom identity, as royal sons and daughters of the king of kings and as the royal priesthood that he has called us to.” |
| Yes, visions. NAR people have visions, like this one that the founder of the Indiana Canopy of Prayer, the group that posted the photos of Lt. General Eifler at Apostle Cindy Jacobs’s event, had: |
“As I was driving into Indianapolis on I-70E, I had an open vision. The Capitol building in Washington D.C. was picked up and set down in the middle of our capitol [sic] city, Indianapolis. The Lord spoke to me and said, ‘This isn’t a natural governing building, it is a spiritual governing building, but I wanted you to see the importance and the power that I was setting down.’ Next, I saw lines like ribbons going from the top of the building in all directions. They went up and then curved down in all different directions. They went up and then curved down to the ground in many locations. Where they landed, there were big golden stars. The Lord said, ‘These stars represent 24/7 Houses of Prayer that I will raise up.’ Then He said, ‘I want a CANOPY of Prayer over the State of Indiana.’” |
| Now, setting aside the danger of having visions while driving, the above is very typical of the kind of visions these people reportedly have. Then there are the “declarations” and “decrees,” which are defined in the very useful “A Glossary of New Apostolic Reformation Terms” as follows: |
19. Decree & Declare – this is a fruit of word of faith (WoF) theology, the idea being that our words carry some form of inherent power, and are causative. So instead of obeying scripture – “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil 4:6) NARites believe they need to exercise their faith, speak to their mountain, and enforce their dominion in a given situation. They attempt to “speak life” into the dead, dispel hurricanes, quench fires, and restore finances with their decrees and declarations. This “little god” behavior fails every time, because only God can decree or declare. Another form of this is called “speaking into a situation.” |
| On the February 28, 2024, Zoom call of “Alaska’s War Council,” Sherry Eifler “released” this declaration: |
“We declare the military will be God’s righteous warriors of the kingdom of God in partnership with the Lord’s angel army.” |
| Well, ain’t that special. The wife of a 3-star general — a 3-star general who gave a presentation at a major NAR event — “declaring” that the military will partner with the “Lord’s angel army.” Needless to say, this is extremely troubling, particularly since some NAR leaders teach that believers can command angels, “activating” or “releasing” them for a particular assignment. You might be thinking that this is Lt. General Eifler’s wife saying these things and not Eifler himself, but don’t forget that he himself was at Apostle Cindy Jacobs’s big NAR event in August giving a presentation. Even if Lt. General Eifler isn’t as deeply immersed in NAR theology as his wife clearly is — and we have no way of knowing whether he is or not since, like many high-ranking military officers that MRFF has encountered, he plays it safe by confining his social media presence to military-related posts. He does describe himself on Twitter as “Man of Faith, Servant Leader, Sheep Dog,” and a few of his tweets promote evangelical speakers coming to his base, like Victor Marx, whose website says he “explains what manhood and Christianity should look like in our day,” and whose latest book’s foreword is written by Charlie Kirk, who has called the separation of church and state a “fabrication” and whose Turning Point USA organization bused Trump-supporters to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. |
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| He also tweeted a photo of himself with retired General Vince Brooks, calling Brooks “a great leader and a mentor” of his. While most people won’t recognize the name Vince Brook, We at MRFF certainly did. Brooks was one of the seven Pentagon officers found guilty by the Department of Defense Inspector General, in an investigation demanded by MRFF, of violating military regulations by appearing in uniform in a 2006 video filmed in the Pentagon promoting Campus Crusade for Christ’s Christian Embassy. |
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| Whether or not Lt. General Eifler believes everything his wife believes, the fact remains that he appeared at and gave a presentation in uniform at NAR Apostle Cindy Jacobs’s annual Reformation Prayer Network gathering, indicating that he supports and condones the objectives of this movement – a movement that seeks to destroy democracy as we know it. That really doesn’t “align,” to use a word from Sherry Eifler’s seven mountains vision, with the oath taken by Lt. General Eifler to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, now does it? And this is why MRFF is demanding an investigation of Lt. General Eifler, as you can read in MRFF Founder and President Mikey Weinstein’s letter to United States Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks. To wrap things up, I leave you with a few words from Lt. General Eifler’s friends and wife. |
| MRFF Recommended Readingabout the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) RAW STORY ‘Real peril’: Expert says growing religious group seeks world domination with Trump’s help By: Kathleen Culliton Tuesday, September 24, 2024 Salon’s Amanda Marcotte spoke with Dr. Matthew Taylor about the dark implications of “The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy” about the rise of the New Apostolic Reformation, a group even evangelicals find extreme. |
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| A pair of recent e-mails from two of the many, many Christians who support MRFF |
| “Thank you! From a Christian & Conservative” From: (Active Duty U.S. Army Soldier/MRFF Client’s e-mail address withheld)Subject: Thank you! From a Christian & ConservativeDate: September 24, 2024 at 6:28:49 PM EDTTo: “mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org“ Dear Mikey & MRFF Staff, I can’t begin to express to y’all how appreciative I am to finally have someone to believe in! You immediately understood how difficult it is to come forward. Especially as an Active Duty Soldier. When you first join, you believe in the system. You make an oath to the Constitution, but when you see senior military leaders abuse their positions of authority and be so unashamed about it, it can make you feel powerless. For your team to immediately reach back out to me within just minutes felt so reassuring. A big thing to note, I’m a Conservative and I’m a Christian. But I realized quickly that what these senior people were doing was so wrong. Using an organization that Americans are supposed to believe in, that is supposed to take our sons and daughters and prepare them for war, but instead it is fostering a radical fundamentalist Christian ideology upon young, impressionable Soldiers? All I had to do is ask myself, how would I feel if a General was pushing a radical theology from a different faith? Would that be right? Would I want to stand up against that? I’m sure it would be on the news 24/7. I don’t think what these people are doing is even what Christ would want. I won’t dive into theology, but how can using the State and military chain of command to push your particular radical brand of your Christian faith be anything close to what Jesus did? I only wish I knew about Mikey and his MRFF team before, I feel like I could’ve made a difference earlier. There’s a reason why there’s a massive recruiting and retention problem in the military right now. Best of luck on your current cases. Thanks again, y’all standing up for us means a lot to me and my family. (Active Duty U.S. Army Soldier/MRFF Client’s name, rank, MOS, military unit, and installation all withheld)Click to read in Inbox“Speaking truth to power” From: (U.S. Navy Christian Chaplain’s e-mail address withheld)Subject: Speaking truth to power.Date: September 20, 2024 at 7:07:22 PM MDTTo: Mikey Weinstein <mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org> Good evening I’m a christian navy chaplain on active duty orders and have just read the notes on former president Trump toward my Jewish friends. If any of us in uniform said anything of the sort that our former president said we would be relieved from duty. I am so grateful that MRFF is speaking up especially when we are forced to endure an unjust freedom of speech in uniform. Please continue the work that you are doing, speaking truth to power. You speak when we can’t. And indeed you are needed. Please and thank you. V/R, (name, rank, and title of U.S. Navy Christian Chaplain withheld) |
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