Mike Winger of the BibleThinker ministry has decried Micah Turnbo, a controversial prophetic figure in the Vineyard movement, as “a false prophet.”

Speaking on a May 3 episode of his podcast, Winger said: “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.”

Micah Turnbo, founder of Behold Wonder, is a self-proclaimed seer who lays claim to a plethora of ‘spiritual’ encounters with the divine. “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. He also asserts that Jesus entered the video game Final Fantasy VII as a character and that an angel gave him tips on how to win Street Fighter.

Turnbo insists that he once sat on the Father God’s lap and toyed with his sparkly beard, that while the Father likes ‘spicy food,’ Jesus has a ‘sweet tooth,’ and that an angel appeared to him while he was on the toilet and spoke about the spiritual meaning of his bowel movements. Turnbo also claims that he’s met Abraham Lincoln, has time-traveled with God, and witnessed the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib, among other extraordinary ‘visions.’

Turnbo professes he was delivered from homosexuality a decade ago and has frequently insisted that Jesus wants both men and women to kiss him on the lips in their devotions. Most controversially, Turnbo has published what has been described as homoerotic fantasies about giving Jesus a naked massage.

In a post about this so-called encounter, Turnbo begins by warning believers that “This post is going to make you uncomfortable” and goes on to describe details of the ‘vision’:

“My door opened gently to Jesus, wearing a simple white robe tied loosely in the front…his hair is in a low bun, and he carries a glass of fragrant frankincense and Myrrh oil…Jesus was offering me a level of trust that I wasn’t sure was a good idea…Jesus knelt before me humbly and asked “Please do this for me…Can you trust me as I reveal my body to you?”

As reported by Protestia, in his December 24, 2024 post, Micah says he was trembling, that Jesus took off his robe, that he asked Micah to undress, and that Micah rubbed oil all over Jesus’ naked body.

In response to Mike Winger’s calling out of Turnbo as a false prophet, Luke Haselmayer, Senior Pastor of the Vineyard Church Northwest in Cincinnati, Ohio, defended the seer. In a post on Facebook, shared on Monday and since deleted, Haselmayer highlighted points of agreement and disagreement with Winger:

“Where Mike and I agreed — and where Micah and I also agree — is that he could’ve been more theologically careful in some recent podcasts. Mike also flagged a few instances where Micah’s descriptions seemed to contradict scripture. Micah readily admits that he does not always have a full understanding of some of the things he experiences and may even, at times, partially misinterpret them or take them too far. And at times, like any human being, misremember some details.”

“However,” Haselmayer continued, “Mike and I disagreed on much more. He told me I was too charitable in how I receive Micah’s revelations — something that stems from my personal relationship with Micah and firsthand knowledge of his theology of scripture. In fact, just days before Mike’s video, Micah publicly reaffirmed that he always subordinates his prophetic experiences to scripture. I’d encourage anyone who wants to genuinely understand Micah’s views on this to check that video out. I had hoped my perspective might affect Mike’s judgment, but it didn’t.”

“Micah Turnbo is not a liar; Micah Turnbo is not delusional,” Haselmayer asserted. “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. 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.”

Protestia reports that the removal of Senior Pastor Haselmayer’s rebuttal to Winger suggests they might not be as supportive of their controversial prophet as they initially let on.

In an update on X, Mike Winger posted that he reached out to Vineyard’s denominational leaders to address his concerns about Turnbo. Winger reports that Vineyard leadership says they are actively investigating the matter, and he encouraged the public to allow the church time to assess their support of the controversial pastor thoroughly.

Winger warned, “We have to judge things. We have to test things. We do have to consider these things. And the charismatic church, in particular, needs to reenact the gift of discernment, or we’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”

The Charismatic Church leans heavily into subjective experiences of the divine, which supporters see as a strength and detractors see as a weakness. For those like Mike Winger, who is passionate about grounded, biblical teaching and practice, Micah Turnbo’s controversial claims and beliefs serve as an example of what happens when Christians embrace divine experience but lack intellectual rigor, theological soundness, and spiritual discernment.