In the realm of charismatic Christian ministry, Shawn Bolz is a name that often comes adorned with an aura of divine insight. He claims a direct line to God and a prophetic vision that unveils the formerly unrevealed. His proclaimed ability to peer into the mysteries of individual lives and divine will has earned him a seat among modern-day “Christian” oracles. However, a closer inspection reveals a tableau not of divine prophecy, but a mimicry of practices well-known in the secular and occult domains of psychic mediums, cold readers, and fortune tellers.

Bolz has partnered with Hillsong’s born-and-bred, Christine Caine, in an unholy alliance of two charlatans, orchestrating an event designed to mislead people under the guise of divine prophecy and revelation. Their event, dubbed “Unstuck,” promises attendees a “spiritual awakening,” a step into a life “unburdened by the shackles of uncertainty and fear.” Scheduled for October 27th, this two-hour event seemingly aims to awaken the “dormant faith” of believers, urging them to step out into the unknown with the assurance of divine favor. But a closer examination reveals a facade of empty promises and misleading prophecies.

The event’s title, “Unstuck,” appears to echo Caine’s “Unstuck Series” which claims to empower believers to live with unshakeable hope, step out in faith, and claim their true identity as children of God. However, this joint venture appears to be nothing more than a calculated move to profit off the desperation and hope of those seeking divine intervention in their lives. The event seems to be less about genuine spiritual empowerment and more about enlarging their following and filling their coffers. The grandiose promises and theatrics on display are designed to appeal to the emotions, providing a false sense of hope and divine insight. False teachers, like Caine and Bolz, have made a fortune off fortune-telling, no pun intended.

As we all know, cold reading is a well-honed tool in the arsenal of psychic mediums and other practitioners of divination. Bolz, like his psychic counterparts, appears to be adept in this technique, offering generalized statements dressed as prophecy, awaiting the reactions of his subjects to refine and retune his next line of supposed revelation. His initial vagueness provides a broad canvas for the listener to unwittingly paint the specifics, a phenomenon known as the Forer effect. As Bolz prunes his prophecies based on real-time reactions, he steps into a dance of deception commonly choreographed by fortune tellers.

Bolz is also the author of a book titled God Secrets, a book that promises to deepen your relationship with God through divination. Bolz says God will tell you personal, private secrets about people and that will help you grow closer to the Lord.

In the description of the book on Bolz’ website, he says,

God loves to tell us specific information about people that we wouldn’t naturally know on our own! God has been known to reveal birthdates, anniversaries, family nicknames, pet names, and even bank account numbers at times! The sharing of these personal details help to develop trust and strong connection to the Lord.

Digging deeper, we find that these supposed prophetic insights offered lack any semblance of verifiability. The absence of concrete, falsifiable statements replaces truth with a quagmire of ambiguity. This lack of verifiable information mirrors the elusive practices of fortune tellers who shroud their statements in a veil of vagueness, only to be interpreted in hindsight.

At the heart of this masquerade lies emotional manipulation, a potent tool wielded by psychic mediums and…by Shawn Bolz. By tapping into the hopes, fears, and vulnerabilities of vulnerable or often traumatized people, Bolz crafts an emotional narrative that binds the listener to his every word just like like a psychic medium casting a spell of false hope.

The spectacle does not end here. The public performance aspect of Bolz’s ministry, adorned with stage, audience, and spotlight, lends itself more to the theatrics of a psychic show than a Christian ministry. The drama, the anticipation, and the delivery all follow a script well-rehearsed in the halls of divination.

We also cannot overlook the commercial underbelly of this charade. The sale of books, courses, and event tickets not only fills the coffers but aligns Bolz’s motivations with those of fortune tellers and psychic mediums, who too trade lies about God, teach what they ought not to teach, all for monetary gain.

And the absence of accountability in Bolz’s ministry forms a stark contrast to the communal discernment encouraged in traditional Christian settings. The autonomy with which Bolz operates mirrors the unaccountable and often elusive practices of witchcraft.

The facade crumbles under scrutiny, revealing not a vessel of God’s word and will, but a charlatan of the highest order, a practitioner of cold reading, a performer in a well-scripted show, a merchant in the marketplace of false hope, a temple prostitute selling himself to anyone who’s vulnerable enough to buy his trash.