God is descending on the city of Minneapolis – in the shape of invisible spliffs and imaginary lines of coke. The “Drunken Glory” movement – spawned by events like the Florida Outpouring and Toronto Blessing in the 90s, at which people appeared to be inebriated and high purely off the power of God – is on the rise, as godly YouTube channels find innovative ways of reaching their younger audience.
One of those channels, Red Letter Ministries, is run by ex-meth addict Brandon Barthrop. We headed to Brandon’s snowy home city of Minneapolis, which boasts the largest concentration of drug addicts and churches in America, to try to get high on the glory of God.
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Brandon and his posse of waifs, strays and ex-addicts spend their days sniffing “diamond oil” and tripping out to the sound of Brandon’s YouTube preaching. Christian EDM DJs down the road are going to raves and attempting to “heal” clubbers high on drugs, and mega-churches run by rehab charities like Teen Challenge are preaching the drunken glory to thousands.
We also spend time with Drunken Glory superstar John Crowder, in a three-day “mystic school” in Chelmsford, and encounter a one-man protest outside who believes Crowder’s work is that of the “devil”.
Welcome to the innovative and bizarre world of digital Christianity. Welcome to the world of Drunken Glory.
The full film premieres on VICE.com next week.
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