Donny Reagan
Donny Reagan is the pastor of the Happy Valley Church of Jesus Christ located at 2733 Elizabethton Highway in Johnson City, Tennessee. It is also one of the largest message churches in North America. Donny Reagan is known for his "screaming" style of preaching which brings to mind a story told of Winston Churchill. As the story goes, there was a section in the manuscript of one of his speeches which was underlined in red and in the margin he had written “Weak point. Speak louder.”
And while Donny Reagan screams about sin, it is interesting that he has failed to speak out about sin within the ranks of the message. He was scheduled to speak at a camp meeting in August 2013, sponsored by Cloverdale Bibleway, when he found out that the pastor had been accused of covering up the sexual abuse of a minor. Rather than deal with the issue, he cancelled his trip and has remained silent on the issue. While incessantly screaming of the terrible sins of the Roman Catholic church, he refuses to speak up about the sins within the ministers of the message.
A Response to Donny Reagan's Challenge
Donny Reagan's defense of the message
In response to ministers and other message followers abandoning the message, Donny Reagan screams that he knows people are leaving but he and his church will never abandon the message.
That's a reasonable point IF there is a clear rationale. We simply ask - "What is Donny Reagan's reasoning for staying in the message when confronted with the many problems with the message?"
The simple answer? He has no valid reasons for staying. He just screams that he won't abandon it. (weak point, speak louder)
Which Jesus does Donny Reagan follow?
Donny Reagan declares that those that are leaving want the nice Jesus of the Gospels but not the Jesus of the rest of the New Testament.
But that is complete nonsense and he has nothing to base his claim on. We stand for the whole Word of God.
He wants Jesus PLUS William Branham. But Jesus + Nothing = Everything. He simply cannot accept that. He has to add something to the Bible.
In fact, he exalts the message of William Branham above the Bible.
Has Donny Reagan responded to the issues we have raised?
Donny Reagan states that he has considered leaving the message. But we do not believe he has every clearly examined the issues we have raised.
How can we say that?
Because he has never addressed a single one in any kind of public forum.
Donny Reagan on Racial Purity
It must be understood that William Branham's followers believe that his word superseded the Bible. So when William Branham stated that mixed marriages are improper, his followers believe that the couple in a biracial marriage are clearly disobeying God.
Donny Reagan achieved notoriety for a rant in a sermon he spoke on April 24, 2013 that was focused on anti-racial marriages. Some of the video clips from his sermon that had been posted on Youtube were pulled after Pastor Reagan threatened legal action for copyright violation; however, this short clip remains:
Reagan addresses this in his sermon when he says that if Moses was here now, he would have to obey William Branham. This comment clearly shows that Donny Reagan does not believe the Bible but does hold William Branham as being above the Bible.
Reagan also states at one point that:
- There is a move in the message, of blacks marrying whites, whites marrying blacks. And folks think that is alright, but you know, my God still has nationalities outside the city.
With this statement Donny Reagan is insinuating that mixed-race children are destined to hell. This is because followers of William Branham's message believe that they are the Bride of Christ and will dwell in New Jerusalem while those Christians that are not in the elite group (anyone who does not follow William Branham) will be part of the nations outside the city.
The only other option is hell.
Quotes of Donny Reagan
December 22, 2019
So if you study Israel and you look at him and you'll see what they are naturally and you'll see where we are spiritually. So they've got their land back and of course happened in 1948 and then up to the 67 war then 1975 the war of Yom Kippur. Each one of those wars gave them land, but they would go in and they would take the land but all the time knowing when they would take it that they would not be able to keep it. But they would advance as far as they could advance in order to take as much as possible, knowing that when they would come to the peace table, they would have to trade off.
Now to me that's very sad. So they would move into Egypt. They would move into Syria. They would move into Lebanon. They would move in and conquer as much as they could within a 24-hour period but they know they're not going to be able to keep that land. But if you only get what you want initially then when you go to settling down at the peace table, you lose what you originally won. You understand that makes sense but that's only the military of thought of it.
So they would go in and take everything they could take, then when they would settle and they say, “Okay, okay, we will move back, we'll move back.” But then they've already determined we're not giving Jerusalem back. We're not giving this back, we're not giving that back. But by much pressure from the UN, they had to wind up giving much back that they didn't want to give back.
Now that is a great lesson that I believe we as the people of God can be able to understand... that Satan himself is trying to bring us to the bargaining table .
Well, let me tell you right now, don't you never sit down at the table with the devil. Never. Don't you never even get in your mind that you are obligated to do so. You don't have to sit down at no table, no table with no devil to be able to swear all and make a peace agreement. We are not at peace with hell
We are at war. So I'm not giving up my baptism of the Holy Ghost I'm not giving up my revelation of the Son of Man I'm not giving up my understanding that we needed a prophet. I thank God for a prophet and I'm going to keep on preaching the prophet's message.
Now. I know that there's folks that are leaving the message and are turning away from the message and I've contemplated it and I've looked at it and I've thought about it and I've considered it over and over again. And I've got some bad news today. But the bad news is for hell. Our church, as long as I'm the pastor and in my right mind... we are a church that believes the message of Malachi 4, we believe Luke 17:30, revelation 10, all the Scriptures that pertain to this hour.
We are not giving up our inheritance. We are not giving up our rights. We're holding on to our land
We're holding onto our message so just so hell knows where we stand. Here I stand.
I will not give up my rights. I will not give up my Jesus. I will not give up the message of Malachi 4. It is our inheritance.
January 12, 2020
We want our lives to be in harmony with the orchestra of God; with the sheet music of this day. So don’t think you’re gonna try to take me back to the four gospels. You see, this, folks, what they’re doing right now, it’s the same thing they’ve done for centuries, but it’s more emphasized. They’re wanting to go back to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which projects this person of the Lord Jesus.
But when it comes to Acts and the Pauline gospels, when it comes to the strict living and the, you know, doctrine and the declaration of the sacrifices and the deity of God all that and “oh no, no, no, no, I want the Jesus of Matthew”.
The Jesus of Matthew is wonderful, but it’s not the fullness of God. The Jesus of Mark is wonderful. The Jesus of Luke, and the Jesus of John, oh I love the Jesus of John, I love the Jesus of John. But myself, I also need the Jesus of Acts. I need the Jesus of Romans, and Philippians, and Galatians and Colossians and Philemon and Timothy and so on. And you see this is what folks that are leaving the Message “Oh well, I just want Jesus”. As our brother said, "Which one?"
- ...
I know, saints, you hear this preacher committing adultery, you hear this preacher falling for money, you hear this preacher falling for this, and that snf the other. And I know, I know...
I told the Lord the other day, I said, "Lord, my poor little sheep. I feel so sorry for them. Most of them wouldnever come up to me and tell me, "Bro. Donny, you're not next are you?"
Oh, but as humans we're suspicious and we look and we worry and... Well friends, if this message cannot produce preachers, you sheep might as well forget it.
You see one of the greatest signs to me that this message is from God is it will produce a ministry, first of all. That's what Jesus produced. Jesus didn't produce deacons first, trustees first, treasurer's, musicians. Who'd he call? Preachers. Out of them preachers then will begat more people.