tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68691107563742995062024-03-12T16:50:57.894-07:00The Autonomy of the BelieverContact at autonomybeliever@gmail.comGWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-27527305093898862782011-11-08T10:31:00.000-08:002011-11-08T10:36:17.794-08:00Join Us<a href="http://www.joinusthemovie.com/">http://www.joinusthemovie.com/</a><br />
<br />
I recently stumbled upon a documentary by Ondi Timoner called Join Us. It follows four families as they leave an abusive church in South Carolina.<br />
Sound familiar?<br />
A link to the film's website is above.GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-26088988523499853432011-01-07T20:29:00.000-08:002011-01-07T20:29:14.043-08:00Grassley Investigation Ends with No Penalty for Televangelists | Politics | Christianity Today<a href="http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctpolitics/2011/01/grassley_invest.html?sms_ss=blogger&at_xt=4d27e7f4538c65b5%2C0">Grassley Investigation Ends with No Penalty for Televangelists | Politics | Christianity Today</a>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-19835356741647131982010-06-09T20:02:00.000-07:002010-06-09T20:04:58.238-07:00No. Seriously. You Can Stop "Leading" Now.by Brant Hansen<br /><br />morningswithbrant.com<br /><br /><br />If I had some free time, I might start a 12-step group. For preachers.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Some of these guys can't quit.<br /><br /> <br /><br />------ <br /><br /> <br /><br />Take Ted Haggard, for sad instance. He's fixin' to "lead" again, starting another church, after he said he wouldn't, and so forth. Thing is, before you write him off as exceptionally strange, please know: He's not. Growing up in the church as a preacher's kid, working as a youth pastor, working with hundreds of churches in different ways, I can tell you: There are a LOT of guys like this. <br /><br /> <br /><br />They're talented, smart, know the Bible thoroughly, usually funny, charming, and they really, really need attention. Bad. And the pulpit is the vehicle for it. <br /><br /> <br /><br />Before you say, "Hey, there are a lot of great guys serving churches who aren't like this, and -- " I know. You're absolutely right. And those guys -- the good ones -- are concerned about this, too. They'll have my back on this. They'll acknowledge that for many of their brethren, attention is like sweet nectar. For the addict, seeing a crowd gather is no different than a chain-smoker eyeing a fresh cigarette and a lighter. They've just gotta use it. <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br />The good guys will tell you this, because they know how genuinely hard it is to serve people -- actual, individual people -- compared to being a charming speaker.<br /><br /> <br /><br />It's a cliche, sure, but it really is time for some guys, guys addicted to "leading" "their" church, to do something heretofore unthinkable: <br /><br /> <br /><br />Get a job.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Seriously. A job. Out there, in the big world. Here's the snag, though: Whatever job they get, for them, it'll be a demotion. They won't step into other positions where they get the attention of hundreds of people each week -- including lots of women -- and they won't step into a CEO position, similar to what they've enjoyed for years. Think about it: How many jobs can a guy walk out of grad school, and "take the helm" of an organization of dozens or hundreds of people?<br /><br /> <br /><br />Most schoolteachers will tell you: Being a teacher is either the hardest job in the world, if you care about each kid, or the easiest, if you don't. Same thing with paid pastor-hood. Care about individual sheep, about actually shepherding (pastoring), and it's really, really hard. Heartbreaking, often thankless, and devoid of glamor. <br /><br /> <br /><br />You servant-leaders? You are worth their weight in gold. Thank you for pastoring. Great is your reward. <br /><br /> <br /><br />------ <br /><br /> <br /><br />Doing "great things", in front of a crowd, has its own reward. Have an honest conversation with any man who regularly speaks publicly, cut through the baloney, and you'll hear this: Yes, it DOES play with a man's head a bit to have people regard him as an authority. Yes, there IS some charge to having women, including other men's wives, see you each week and think, "Ah, what a wonderful man." <br /><br /> <br /><br />You're on a stage, after all. And God never told us to do this, this way, by the way. We did that. <br /><br /> <br /><br />(Preaching, in the New Testament, is almost an entirely out-in-public phenomenon. Apostles preached in public squares, outside and in Jewish synagogues -- wherever they could proclaim the Good News to the lost.) We're the ones who made this system, this one-leader-guy-speaks-to-the-same-crowd-every-week system. So be it. Doesn't make it evil, of course. But we're the ones, in many cases, who are enabling addicts. <br /><br /> <br /><br />And this particular addiction has an even darker side: It's often justified with the use, and misuse, of scripture. Jesus says you have only one Master, and we are all brothers, all equals. (Matthew 23) An attention-needing pastor will say, without saying it, perhaps, that Jesus didn't really mean that. Jesus really meant you need talented pulpit speakers.<br /><br /> <br /><br />We all -- singers, speakers, teachers, radio hosts (!), and anyone, actually -- can be addicted to attention. We all can become addicted to the idea that people, and God, need us to be the authority, to lead the little people. Most, thankfully, can't attempt to justify their fix with the Bible. <br /><br /> <br /><br />------ <br /><br /> <br /><br />A sad secret is that many men, many good men, would quit their paid church positions if they thought they *could* get another job. But, at 17, they decided to get a degree in Bible or ministry, and now they feel trapped. They'd love to breathe free. They'd love to serve the Lord as volunteers, to experience the rush of body-life as "just another member" of the body, and their wives would like the break, too. <br /><br /> <br /><br />They don't need the adoration. But this is their career. They honestly suspect they can't get another job. I'm not guessing about this. I've talked to many of them. I feel for them. For awhile, I was them.<br /><br /> <br /><br />And then there are those who just can't quit. They're addicted. Or they have this. Doesn't matter what they've done, whom they've used, or how muddled their own spiritual lives have become with personal ambition -- they've simply got to have attention and authority. They can't just be one of us. They want to be called "Teacher". They love the recognition. And boy, they can sure snow a congregation... but they can't put one over on God. <br /><br /> <br /><br />And God loves them, desperately, which may be why he asked us -- the church -- to help with this problem. Don't call anyone "Teacher" except Jesus, alone, Jesus said. <br /><br /> <br /><br />There are men who love to be seen as the authority, Jesus warned. Don't listen to them, He said. You have but one Teacher, He said. Don't act like those guys are big shots. Don't do it. Don't do it to the Sunday morning speaker, don't do it to radio hosts. Don't do it to anyone, Jesus says. Jesus is our Master. We are all brothers. No part of the body is more important than any other. Ever. Even if someone's on a stage.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Don't do it. It's not good for you, and it's horrible for him. We're not to enable this.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Brilliant, isn't it? But isn't Jesus, always? Amazing how the Lord can use US -- to help addicts.GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-65374850120397939602010-01-05T11:50:00.000-08:002010-01-05T17:41:03.929-08:00How to Judge "Year Prophecies" Part One<a href="http://rlv.zcache.com/happy_new_year_2010_mug-p1680142344999281612otmb_400.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 164px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/happy_new_year_2010_mug-p1680142344999281612otmb_400.jpg" /></a><br /><div>January 1: NewYear’s Day! And with a New Year comes a new rash of “ Year Prophecies.” During the 10 years that my family and I were in the Word of Faith movement, such prophecies became common at the beginning of each year. They ran the gamut from brief messages (anyone remember “1996: The Year of the Fix”?) to some that were several paragraphs long. So how does one know that a prophecy given about the New Year is really from God? Here are a few tips to see if your Man of God’s prophetic word passes muster.<br /><br /><strong>1. It is delivered at the start of the year<br /></strong>If someone gives a year prophecy in July, proceed with caution. That is not a year prophecy; it’s a half-year prophecy. However, giving a year prophecy at the Jewish New Year is okay.<br /><br /><strong>2. Rhyme Scheme</strong><br />A prophecy becomes all the catchier and memorable if it rhymes. Then the Praise and Worship team can set it to music (see article <em>Play That Funky Music</em> )<a href="http://theautonomyofthebeliever.blogspot.com/2009/03/play-that-funky-music.html">http://theautonomyofthebeliever.blogspot.com/2009/03/play-that-funky-music.html</a><br /><br /><strong>3. No Rhyme</strong><br />There is nothing written anywhere that says a Year Prophecy must rhyme. Don’t limit God by your unbelief or your iambic pentameter. The longer the prophecy, the harder it is to rhyme, although I have seen it done.<br /><br /><strong>4. Has Grammatical Errors Consistent with the Way Your Man of God Speaks</strong><br />If your prophet or pastor says for example, “dispazootions” instead of “dispensations”, “tooken” instead of “taken” or has a strong Midwestern or Southern accent, the prophecy will sound like that. It’s just God's way of letting you know that every time this man speaks, it’s God speaking through him.<br /><br /><strong>5. Lack of Specifics<br /></strong>Remember that book that gave 88 reasons Christ would return in 1988? If you do, then you realize that a Year Prophecy isn’t going to set any dates or name names or give too much specific information. It only needs to bear witness with your spirit. It’s not going to be really negative either, you can read Jeremiah if you need a rebuke. It will be something to the effect of “God has a blessing for you, and it might get tough for some of you this year but hang in there and we will all be blessed before it’s over with.” </div>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-66747636844002311762009-11-16T10:58:00.000-08:002009-11-16T17:58:03.095-08:00They Think They Are Inviting Me To Church But In Reality, They Are Begging Me To Stay Home<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGhMABQahJOACSU7XNI3Iq7dibtIr5YvuDcfhcmCjv2OyDCvNJdIU40sUF38C-2ATRVFRvxsgF5pQcWROB9lNZF7xg7V5sYx5oWa6y65B48g53bCC2WgMkzkQSdI5spS9S_K8YupFLSgZ/s1600/COTH.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404793343591415970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGhMABQahJOACSU7XNI3Iq7dibtIr5YvuDcfhcmCjv2OyDCvNJdIU40sUF38C-2ATRVFRvxsgF5pQcWROB9lNZF7xg7V5sYx5oWa6y65B48g53bCC2WgMkzkQSdI5spS9S_K8YupFLSgZ/s400/COTH.bmp" /></a><br />It seems that-try as they might-to get me to go to their church, some people are continually giving me reason upon reason to never darken the door of a church again. The following is a short-list of just what I'm experiencing:<br /><br />1)Invite me to church telling me how wonderful certain people in the church are, who in fact I know personally to be some of the most untrustworthy people in the community.<br /><br />2)Walk into Booksamillion only to be so unfortunate as to over hear one dear fellow telling another, "...Honestly, we have probably the best worship band in the country..."<br /><br />3)Post "live action" photos of the praise and worship band on social networking sites.<br /><br />4)Rave to people, telling them they are "awesome" just because they get up on stage to sing. (I mean really, if the praise & worship team sat in the back of the sanctuary where no one could see them, would the same people volunteer? Come on!)<br /><br />5)My former fellow church members describing their new church in EXACTLY the same overly complimentary way they described our cult when we there.<br /><br />6)Fellow Christians HIGHLY ESTEEMING things of little or no value at all, and at the same time, seeming totally callous to things that are of most importance.<br /><br />7)Some of my former fellow church members assuming the very same roles they had in our word of faith church.(They see themselves as being to the local church what the Medici were to Florentine art.)<br /><br />8)Former church family forgetting my name when they invite me to church(because they never knew it in the 10 yrs. we were there).<br /><br />9)People placing such priority on the local church itself, they aren't able to actually HELP anybody. For example, "I heard that your car broke down on the side of the road on your way to church. I would've stopped to pick you up, but I had to be at the church early to entertain all the people's kids who were working in the morning service." Or, "I'm sorry to hear about the family crisis you had. I would've called, but I was just so busy getting ready for the women's conference...It was awesome, by the way!"<br /><br />These are just a few, but I'm sure I could add to the list in the future...<br /><br />-MarthaGWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-56626578363157558132009-11-03T14:29:00.000-08:002009-11-03T14:33:46.781-08:00Isaiah 1:13-17 (The Message)"Quit your worship charades. I can't stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings— meetings, meetings, meetings—I can't stand one more!<br /><br />Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out! I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning.<br /><br />When you put on your next prayer-performance, I'll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I'll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you've been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody. Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don't have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless. "GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-30112782627849768072009-11-01T08:06:00.000-08:002009-11-01T08:10:23.877-08:00Provender: Are you covering for a spiritually abusive pastor?Our friends at the blog <em>What Really Matters</em> had a link to this article recently and I wanted to post it here too.<br /><br />Although we were not inner circle people with our pastor, we did a pretty good job carrying the water for him from a distance!<br /><br /><a href="http://pureprovender.blogspot.com/2009/07/are-you-covering-for-spiritually.html">Provender: Are you covering for a spiritually abusive pastor?</a>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-43026319595804573972009-10-26T08:33:00.000-07:002009-10-27T08:08:45.515-07:00Complete Control<a href="http://atheism.about.com/od/jehovahswitnesses/a/SocietyControl.htm">http://atheism.about.com/od/jehovahswitnesses/a/SocietyControl.htm</a><br /><a href="http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5439utopia/images/jehovah_witnesses.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 314px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5439utopia/images/jehovah_witnesses.jpg" /></a><br />I found an article by an atheist explaining the methods in which Jehovah’s Witnesses are controlled buy their leadership. There are curious parallels to the WOF, such as an exalted "anointed" leadership, although the origins as well as the overall personality of the groups are quite different. For example, I have never seen any WOF church to be anywhere close to the well-oiled recruitment machine that the JWs organization is.<br /><br />One of my concerns is that such controlling methods have been filtering out into mainstream evangelicalism for a number of years via the Word of Faith movement. If a church is built up as one man's career vehicle, then the temptation to try to control people may be too hard to resist. It seems like a lot of guys leading mega-awesome mega-churches should just quit the ministry and be regular ol' CEOs instead of religious business philosophers.GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-50985517176804772732009-09-21T13:13:00.000-07:002009-10-26T10:53:28.673-07:00Who Are THEY and How Is It THEIRS To Give?<a href="http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/the_gulag_archipelago.large.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 196px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 306px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/the_gulag_archipelago.large.jpg" /></a><br /><div>I am re-reading <em>The Gulag Archipelago</em> by Solzhenitsyn, a book I have not read since high school (not surprisingly, as this is not a book most people read more than once. It's about the the Soviet prison system and how it was used to terrify and controll the population....not a cheery topic). In the first chapter, he points out that when people were arrested, they were submissive and never cried out. They were being arrested without cause but they just accepted it in hopes that it would all be straightened out. After all, they had done nothing wrong. It reminds me of my Word of Faith experience. Because we were so afraid of being blackballed as "Offended" that no one drew attention to questionable situations or cried out that they were being mistreated. </div><br /><div></div><div>So just a little reminder: If "they" are going to tell you that you're offended for asking questions or that you are disrespecting the man of God by doing so, how is it their right to set the rules? After all, anybody can say "God told me so." How is holding them accountable a right that they can give and take from you as they please? </div><div></div><br /><div>Why do you have to accept being controlled?</div><br /><div></div>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-20333615460695612012009-09-20T16:00:00.000-07:002009-10-26T10:55:59.093-07:00Unresolved Chicken Soup for the SoulBrant Hansen has a blog called <em>Letters from Kamp Krusty.</em><br /><br />I took this post from his blog: <a href="http://branthansen.typepad.com/letters_from_kamp_krusty/2007/08/theres-a-story-.html">http://branthansen.typepad.com/letters_from_kamp_krusty/2007/08/theres-a-story-.html</a><br /><br /><strong>Unresolved Chicken Soup for the Soul</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />There's a story about Bach -- or maybe it was Mozart -- and how, even as a little kid, he had to hear resolution. He was in bed, upstairs, and someone was playing the piano, and that someone got distracted and stopped, just before the last chord.<br /><br />J.S. -- or W.A.? -- couldn't stand it. He tromped downstairs, pounded out the resolving chord, and then went back up to bed again, without a word. He just had to hear it.<br /><br />We're all like that. I think about all the stories I've heard, and then all the ones I've lived, and there's the big difference: We get resolution in the former, but the other just...lay...out there, somewhere, and, much as we pretend, there are no finish lines, no final chords, no official victories, no ends-of-story. Not yet, anyway.<br /><br />I took the yellow bus home from our country school in St. Berniece, Indiana. One day, I sat with my best friend's brother, Eric. He was in second grade, I was in third. We talked and joked about my lunchbox and a puppet I played with. Then we got off at the bus stop in front of his house.<br /><br />I stepped to the right. But Eric ran alongside the bus, slipped, and fell under the wheel.<br />Two weeks later, my mom suggested I go over to my friend's house, to visit him and his little sister. She told me they probably hadn't had any visitors since Eric was killed, and may be lonely. So I got on my bike.<br /><br />Mark, my friend, and his little sister met me at the door, excited to see me -- or anyone, for that matter, I gathered. We laughed and played with a top on their hardwood floor. It was one of those that spins and makes noise and lights. I could see their mom in the back room, smoking a cigarette. Staring at me.<br /><br />We played for an hour, until she came in the room, and started screaming at me. She said something about how all I was doing was reminding them of what happened to Eric, and I should get out, like, now. Her kids were stunned, and started crying, and so did I, and I ran out the door and got on my bike bawling with guilt.<br /><br /><a href="http://softtoyssoftware.com/dbnet/images/puzzle_incomplete.gif"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 169px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 118px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://softtoyssoftware.com/dbnet/images/puzzle_incomplete.gif" /></a>I never went back. And we moved away. I don't know what happened to them. When I think about that day -- this is almost thirty years ago -- I still get a knot in my stomach. There's no ending to the story. So it's a story I've almost never told.<br /><br />Most examples aren't this painful, but almost all the "great stories" of my life are this way. When I speak to people, try to motivate them, try to teach them, I pull a bit of a sleight-of-hand, presenting stories that are edited just-so. They're not "untrue", they're just dishonest, in a pedestrian way, I suppose, presenting real-life stories like Aesop's Fables, with certain resolution, as though the story were over.<br /><br />(Maybe -- I don't know, I'm musing here -- this is a reason why Jesus's stories aren't specific "victory" testimonies, they're metaphors of the Kingdom. Maybe he didn't want a specific "Look-at-what-happened" story to ultimately get mis-used, or give the wrong impression.)<br />I tell about a smashing, eye-opening missions trip for some high schoolers, but I don't include the boring stories, or the stories where some kids just really weren't impacted, how that one inspiring kid wound up getting some girl pregnant two months later. I tell -- and hear -- "and then he became a believer!"-type stories, but don't include, " -- and yeah, okay, he's still battling addictions."<br /><br />I read "look what our church is doing" accounts in newsletters, but don't hear the invariably messy follow-ups. We get the "victory" stories over sin and depravity, but no one publishes books called, Wups, I'm Totally Messed Again. Yet, that's where the stories of my actual life are. We don't like our stories open-ended. So we clean up our stories, and act like they're finished.<br /><br />They're not.<br /><br />I used to be a youth minister, and the conventions would feature one impressive guy after another, with remarkable stories about what happened in their youth groups. It was really amazing! Why was my youth group kind of a mess? Why wasn't I inspiring anyone like that? It was impressive!...until I realized I could pick and choose stories, make believe they were final, and, presto -- I'm awesome.<br /><br />And that inspiring day when Big Joe the Football Lineman cried and prayed? Well, that was the end of the story! But in reality, it wasn't.<br /><br />We like resolution. But we don't live in resolution-time. Forgive me for ever giving the impression otherwise, that I believe myself fully resolved, fully arrived, somehow finished. The story isn't over.<br /><br />Not everything makes sense, not everything gets explained, not every story is inspiring and ready for Tony Campolo to tell it. Talk about "inconvenient truth": We're living in the in-between.<br /><br />I think about Eric, his mom, or a thousand other people I've known, and I feel like I'm lying upstairs, and someone just left the piano bench, right before the C chord. I'd walk down and play it, if I could.GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-64787341694852885372009-09-16T17:59:00.000-07:002009-11-16T12:19:03.181-08:00Charles Capps Wouldn't Buy Any Green Bananas<a href="http://www.mejeme.com/dive/images/gbananas.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 314px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 368px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.mejeme.com/dive/images/gbananas.jpg" /></a><br /><div>It's funny the things that remind you of the past. I happened to notice some green bananas on a table of fruit in our house and was reminded of Charles Capps coming to our church in the late 1990's. He was preaching from his then-recent book <em>End Time Events.</em> I remember that although he said he didn't want to set dates on Christ's return, he wouldn't be buying any green bananas. It was meant to be a humorous comment, even though he all but said that the year 2000 could see the return of Jesus based some kind of mathematics involving the Jewish calender. There was much "year 2000" speculation amongst WOFers during 1999. Kenneth Copeland and Capps were on Believer's Voice of Victory at length discussing the topic. Everytime the topic was preached on, everyone would say "Now, we aren't setting dates here..." and then make reference to the book that gave reasons why Christ would return in 1988. After that disclaimer, they would go on to speculate on what big thing could be coming in 2000 (apart from Y2K hysteria).<br /><br />It makes me think of all the failed prophecies I heard in the WOF. Anyone remember Oral Robert's "Wake Up Call" discussed at length by the Copelands and Billye Brim on BVOV? Remember Jerry Savelle's interpretation of a prophecy given by Kenneth E. Hagin Sr. during a family holiday dinner regarding 1996 through 1999. It was the beginning of a trend of annoying rhyming prophecy slogans: "1996 The Year of the Fix, 1997 Will Be Like Heaven..." (He also said 2000 would see miracles like we've never seen. I thought 2000 was a big letdown.).<br /><br />I also remember a prophecy our pastor gave that was printed in the church bulletin the year we left. It was all glory and money and heaven, nothing real specific. Funny enough, the only spectacular thing that happened at our church that year was the exposing of a scandal that caused most of the congregation to leave and has resulted in one prison sentence (so far).<br /><br />So much for prophecy!</div>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-72108869268461792192009-08-08T12:55:00.000-07:002009-10-26T16:14:08.796-07:00Dad Ain't So Bad<a href="http://www.tvland.com/photogallery/photos/Cleavergather.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 314px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 328px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.tvland.com/photogallery/photos/Cleavergather.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-family:georgia;">For the past two years, I have heard one reoccurring theme regarding the "Father" of the Word of Faith movement, Bro. H. It is, "Dad H. never would have let anything happen in his family, ministry, or school that wasn't right." Or, "If Bro. H. were here, none of this[scandals in the Word of Faith] would have happened."<br /><br />I cannot assert that I have personal knowledge of all the affairs of any one's life or ministry. But I will not apologize for observing the fruit from one's personal and/or public life. As for "Dad H.", he has affected my life. There were two churches affiliated with his school, both within 35 minutes of my home. Both had money and sex scandals.<br /><br />I can look at his children and grandchildren and get some idea of what his family values really are. I can evaluate the ministries that have emerged from Bro. H.'s school. It is my hope that all those who call him "Dad" would also take an honest, unreserved look at what has followed this man.<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><em>A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. </em></span><span style="color:#000000;">-Jesus(Matthew 7:18-20)</span></span><br /><br />-MarthaGWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-87877722685587106282009-07-31T08:23:00.000-07:002009-10-26T16:15:59.228-07:00More Old Testament Zingers<a href="http://electricpulp.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/seal-1.gif"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 197px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 179px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://electricpulp.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/seal-1.gif" /></a><br /><div>In light of my Word of Faith experience, The Message's paraphrase of Old Testament writings is right on target. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>It's funny how well some of it matches not only the WOF but contemporary church as well. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>It's also very disturbing.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Amos 2:6-8</strong></div><div><br />(Speaking of Israel )<br />They buy and sell upstanding people.<br />People for them are only things—ways of making money.<br />They'd sell a poor man for a pair of shoes.<br />They'd sell their own grandmother!<br />They grind the penniless into the dirt,<br />shove the luckless into the ditch.<br /><br /><strong>Amos 6:1-7</strong> </div><div><br />Woe to you who think you live on easy street in Zion,<br />who think Mount Samaria is the good life.<br />You assume you're at the top of the heap,<br />voted the number-one best place to live.<br />Well, wake up and look around. Get off your pedestal.<br />Take a look at Calneh.<br />Go and visit Great Hamath.<br />Look in on Gath of the Philistines.<br />Doesn't that take you off your high horse?<br />Compared to them, you're not much, are you?<br /><br />Woe to you who are rushing headlong to disaster!<br />Catastrophe is just around the corner!<br />Woe to those who live in luxury<br />and expect everyone else to serve them!<br />Woe to those who live only for today,<br />indifferent to the fate of others!<br />Woe to the playboys, the playgirls,<br />who think life is a party held just for them!<br />Woe to those addicted to feeling good—life without pain!<br />those obsessed with looking good—life without wrinkles!<br />They could not care less<br />about their country going to ruin.<br />But here's what's really coming:<br />a forced march into exile.<br />They'll leave the country whining,<br />a rag-tag bunch of good-for-nothings.<br /><br /><strong>Amos 6:13<br /></strong></div><div>And yet you've made a shambles of justice,<br />a bloated corpse of righteousness,<br />Bragging of your trivial pursuits,<br />beating up on the weak and crowing, "Look what I've done!" </div>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-49886470077250082582009-07-26T12:21:00.000-07:002009-10-26T16:17:46.648-07:00Amos 5:21-24 from the MessageI can't stand your religious meetings.<br />I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions.<br />I want nothing to do with your religion projects,<br />your pretentious slogans and goals.<br />I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes,<br />your public relations and image making.<br />I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.<br />When was the last time you sang to me?<br />Do you know what I want?<br />I want justice—oceans of it.<br />I want fairness—rivers of it.<br />That's what I want. That's all I want.<br />Amos 5:21-24GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-17383692437205251962009-07-25T08:24:00.000-07:002009-07-25T08:41:54.788-07:00Narcissistic Pastor in Action<a href="http://www.sarcasticartist.com/pics/Conspiracy.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 185px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 162px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.sarcasticartist.com/pics/Conspiracy.jpg" /></a>The <em>Where is Character</em> blog has a great article on the activities of a narcissistic pastor as he railed against a rival church.<br /><br /><br /><br />The narcissist pastor of the church my family attended spent time for many weeks talking about rival preachers stealing his congregants.<br /><br /><br /><br />Sounds like paranoia to me.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://whereischaracter.blogspot.com/2009/07/flesh-church.html">http://whereischaracter.blogspot.com/2009/07/flesh-church.html</a>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-6405634680097226492009-07-14T12:33:00.000-07:002009-07-14T12:53:38.571-07:00It's SimpleI was reading a Abu Dauod's blog who is a Christian of Arab background who lives in the Middle East (hope I have that right). He happened to bump into a mercenary named Steven and were discussing Steven's experiences as well as events in Iraq. As the conversation took on a more spiritual tone, he makes a simple and profound statement about Christianity.<br /><br />Stephen said <em>"he was in Nashville once, and had nothing to do, and the only book around the hotel was the Bible, so he started reading it and found many contradictions…<br /><br />I said, traditionally, I would ask you what those contradictions were and try to explain each of them away. But let me tell you that my experience is that Christianity works because I lived it out. When I became a Christian, I just did what I was taught: respect your parents, or, be kind to those whom no one else likes or respect—the unpopular kids at school. So I started trying to live out these Christians teachings, and saw that they really worked. So, it’s kind of like a puzzle—you don’t need to solve the whole puzzle before you can understand what it portrays."</em><br /><br />I think that says it all, doesn't it?<br /><br />http://islamdom.blogspot.com/2006/11/meeting-with-mercenary.htmlGWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-45816315816713540782009-07-14T09:18:00.000-07:002009-10-26T16:19:22.793-07:00Feedback Outside the U.S.<a href="http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/resources/typing-fingerchart.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 164px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 105px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/resources/typing-fingerchart.jpg" /></a> <div><div>Can those of you who read <em>The Autonomy of the Believer</em> outside the United States recommend any blogs that deal with similar topics originating in your country? Even if they are not written in English, I would like to know about them in order to network with others, as you can translate web pages into English.<br /><br />Also if there are bloggers in closed/restricted countries, I would love to know about them.<br /><br />On either account you can e-mail me at <a href="mailto:autonomybeliever@gmail.com">autonomybeliever@gmail.com</a> .</div></div>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-44602874939760032302009-07-05T13:27:00.000-07:002009-07-07T09:20:03.819-07:00Shepherds<a href="http://www.imemc.org/attachments/dec2007/shepherd.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 308px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 216px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.imemc.org/attachments/dec2007/shepherd.jpg" /></a><br /><div>At the Word of Faith church we attended for 10 years, we were regularly encouraged by our pastor to read Kenneth E. Hagin’s books. Our pastor closely imitated Kenneth Hagin and continually sought to increase his stature within Hagin’s organization. The Word of Faith is big on the philosophy “Be a good leader by being a good follower” so we followed our pastor as he followed Brother Hagin.<br /><br />We noticed early on that our pastor seldom mixed with the congregation. He had an engaging, folksy on-stage persona again similar to Hagin’s but was distant when it came to personal contact. I have commented before that my family had little contact with him during the 10 years we were there. The pastor even commented himself from the pulpit that people said he was aloof and untouchable. But he added that Hagin also endured such criticisms. The pastor usually drove up to the church either shortly before the service or had little contact with anyone if he was there early. And once his portion the service was over, he was out the back door with his usher escort and was gone in a flash.<br /><br />The pastor was also famous for his disdain of personal counseling. It seemed like anything that looked remotely like contact with the people he avoided and disliked.<br /><br />You can imagine our dismay when we read Hagin’s <em>He Gave Gift Unto Men</em>. In this book, Hagin explains various aspects of the “Five-fold ministry gifts” (well, four out of five: apostles, prophets, pastors and teachers). In chapter 12 Hagin discusses “the office of the pastor.” In the WOF ministers are held in great reverence. Yet, in this chapter, Hagin discusses at length how shepherds (pastors) needed to be among the sheep (congregants) and know them. He gave an example of how one pastor would leave church building just as soon as his services were over and would not spend time with his people. That sounded exactly like our pastor! Over a period of time, we would re-read that chapter and we’d listen to the pastor and observe his behaviour from our distant vantage point…and we couldn't explain it away. Our exalted pastor was not in line with the modern-day prophet Hagin! What would we do? Well, for a while....we did nothing. But this was where we began to entertain thoughts that maybe, just maybe the pastor was the problem with our church.<br /><br />Once the extent of manipulation and sin that had taken place over the years at our church was exposed, there was much reading of the prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel in Ezekiel 34, as our "Pastor" was no shepherd.<br /><br /><br />Ezekiel 34</div><br /><div><br />1 Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, </div><br /><div><br />2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>3 "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. </div><br /><div><br />4 "Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. </div><br /><div><br />5 "They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became (I)food for every beast of the field and were scattered. </div><br /><div><br />6 "My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them."</div><br /><div><br />7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:<br /></div><br /><div>8 "As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; </div><br /><div><br />9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: </div><br /><div><br />10 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them."'"<br />The Restoration of Israel </div><br /><div><br />11 For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. </div><br /><div><br />12 "As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. </div><br /><div><br />13 "I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. </div><br /><div><br />14 "I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. </div><br /><div><br />15 "I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest," declares the Lord GOD. </div><br /><div><br />16 "I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy I will feed them with judgment. </div><br /><div><br />17 "As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. </div><br /><div><br />18 'Is it too slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet? </div><br /><div><br />19 'As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you foul with your feet!'"</div><br /><div><br />20 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them, "Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. </div><br /><div><br />21 "Because you push with side and with shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns until you have scattered them abroad, </div><br /><div><br />22 therefore, I will deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another. </div><br /><div><br />23 "Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. </div><br /><div><br />24 "And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken.<br /></div><br /><div>25 "I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. </div><br /><div><br />26 "I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing.</div><br /><div><br />27 "Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. </div><br /><div><br />28 "They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid. </div><br /><div><br />29 "I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not (endure the insults of the nations anymore. </div><br /><div><br />30 "Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people," declares the Lord GOD. </div><br /><div><br />31 "As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God," declares the Lord GOD. </div>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-65184134991654003892009-06-28T08:46:00.000-07:002009-06-28T09:15:09.548-07:00Church Should Be A Safe Place<a href="http://pof.reonline.org.uk/pics_g_lib/communion_of_the_apostles.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 239px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 197px" alt="" src="http://pof.reonline.org.uk/pics_g_lib/communion_of_the_apostles.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div></div><div>My family and I went this morning to the church we occasionally attend. It's part of a well-known denomination and they meet in an office space with about 25 people. This Sunday they had Communion. I haven't taken Communion in about a year. It was nice. No fanfare, no <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">pre</span>-offering sermon, no personal stories about the Richard Petty racing experience, hunting trips to the Yukon, McDonald's Fillet-O-Fish sandwiches or references to an airplane that the speaker did not actually own. There was just a sermon from Psalm 24 about God's holiness, our sin and God's mercy toward us.<br /><br />I came out of the service today reminded how church is supposed to be a safe place, not a place to be preyed upon. At my old Word of Faith church they used to say "It's a matter of life and death where you go church." It's true. Because of the narcissistic and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">exploitative</span> leadership, the sins that went on and the disturbing culture that was developed in the church, it was death to many people in many ways. </div></div>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-75203454462044615052009-06-07T09:12:00.000-07:002009-07-14T08:32:19.423-07:00No, Really, It's a Great Church: WOF Social Blunders and Church Culture<a href="http://timstvshowcase.com/twilightzone.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 181px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 233px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://timstvshowcase.com/twilightzone.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Anytime friends or family came to visit our WOF church it was always a disaster. It bordered on comical the way it ALWAYS worked out to be a negative experience for the visitor. For example, my sister-in-law came to church with us and lo and behold, there was a mean former co-worker of hers. This person didn’t just go to church with us but she had a coveted ‘servant’ position in the church caste system. This would be awkward enough as it is, but the mean former co-worker could only work up a brisk “Hi” as they passed by. Nice church P.R. move.<br /><br />Then my wife’s parents came to visit. My father-in-law got a friendly reception from the man who tried to shaft him in business deals. The shifty businessman was far up in our church’s caste system, which explains why he never spoke a word to my wife or me the whole time we attended church together. I guess he saw potential dollar signs over my father-in-law’s head. But the fact that this man was looked up to at our church didn’t exactly leave a good impression on my father-in-law. He was already suspicious of the whole Word of faith movement as it was.<br /><br />My parents had politely made it known that they did not agree with Word of Faith doctrine, as my dad was a pastor himself. Once my mother came to church with us (to see us, by the way, not to enjoy the “good teaching” that was supposedly taking place). She arrived shortly before the start of the service and was able to find a parking space right next to our church complex. However a parking attendant was going to have her move because the spot had been reserved for paid staff members. After he noticed she had a Tennesse license plate on her car, he told her it would be okay since she had driven a long way. My mother told me she thought it was a bit odd that they asked her to move since churches typically try to accommodate visitors as much as they can in order to make them feel welcome.<br /><br />A friend of my wife’s visited one Sunday. She made the mistake of entering the domain of the always-crabby church bookstore lady. Our friend was promptly chewed out for entering through the exit of the tiny bookstore. A couple of other friends that visited with us were spared the worst of the typical gaffes that the others experienced. They were able to get through the entire visit without being spoken to. Then there were the times that friends or relatives got zinged by highly abrasive comments from the pulpit about particular doctrines or opinions.<br /><br />If you add a few experiences like this to what I have already mentioned in the post called “<a href="http://theautonomyofthebeliever.blogspot.com/2009/01/it-flows-from-head.html">It flows from the head</a>” it gives you an idea of what kind of church culture the Word of Faith creates. I recall one of our upper caste member’s one and only conversations with my wife was “How long have you been going to church here?” The answer was “Two years.” Yeah, we went 3 times a week during those 2 years in a congregation of about 700 or so. And worked in "Helps Ministry."</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I have made the point that the WOF creates an unhealthy church culture and brings out a lot of bad in people. But as I have has some contact with some former church people, I am wondering about some of the people the faith and prosperity message attracts in the first place. Some of the ones I’ve bumped into are just as unfriendly as they were in our old church. I think there is truth in what some have pointed out, that a “life enhancement” message will populate churches with people who are not actually saved. Also, a “life enhancement” gospel message can create “Christians” who are not actually saved because we are not putting emphasis on people’s need for a savior because of sin.<br /></div><br /><div>It’s all so weird…to quote Someone I Once Looked Up To “It would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.”</div>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-44724837471086118992009-05-10T18:14:00.000-07:002009-05-10T18:19:15.471-07:00Dynasty<a href="http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/155241/560/370"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 489px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 370px" alt="" src="http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/155241/560/370" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div>It’s not unheard of to have a family that has several members who go in the ministry. Sometimes it takes place over several generations. But it seems over the last several years that some ministers view what they do as “the family business.” I have been involved with ministries that engage in nepotism, which is defined as “favoritism (as in appointment to a job) based on kinship.” In other words, they appoint their adult children or other relatives to positions in the church that that will secure the pastor’s power and cash flow in the organization. I can think of many Word of Faith ministries that are quick to show off how their whole family is in the ministry (this is not limited to WOF, by the way). Apparently one of the ways preachers measure their success in the current culture is establishing a ministry dynasty. Never mind that Junior or Sis have no fruit in their Christian lives whatsoever, just put them over the Youth, Children’s church or the Music, pay them a disproportionately large salary for a rookie minister and a preaching dynasty is created! In the controlling Word of Faith church we attended for 10 years, the behavior of the pastor’s adult kids got so bad that it was a major factor in destroying the church (along with the pastor’s cover-up of their behavior).<br /><br />I recall that Paul’s advice was to avoid putting novices in positions within the church. Pastors, if your kid is inexperienced, they are a novice. If you’ll swallow your pride about it, it will help you in the long run. I know your kid has a good heart, but let them preach in prison for a while first. Let them work with people who have nothing to offer anyone except b.o.. Let them prove themselves before you start putting them on salary. I say this because I know of so many young men and women got into sin that had no place being in the ministry except that daddy had a church or a ministry that they were appointed into. Contrary to popular mythology, the kids are not anointed just because everybody thinks dad or mom is. But pride and preacher worship dictates that that a mighty man of God must have a preaching dynasty descending from him.<br /><br />I hope some of you preachers out there will take heed of this admonition: ELI! Does anyone remember Samuel’s childhood prophecy Eli? </div><div></div><div>“Then the LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, FOR THE INIQUITY THAT HE KNEW, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever." </div><div><br />Eli’s refusal to do anything to restrain or correct his sons didn’t just crash his “ministry” and damage him in the media. It killed him and his family. It can kill Christianity too. </div>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-81933817806554402752009-04-24T18:52:00.000-07:002009-10-26T16:21:05.455-07:00I Wrote the Vision<a href="http://fieldsofgarlic.com/lj/600x400_l9w_ancient_ruins.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 448px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 259px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://fieldsofgarlic.com/lj/600x400_l9w_ancient_ruins.jpg" /></a><br />Every new year at our church, our pastor would preach a sermon called, "Write the Vision". He read from Habakkuk chapter 2, encouraging each person to write down a list of goals or things he/she wanted to see happen in his/her life.<br /><br />From the very first days at my Word of Faith church, I took to heart much of what I was learning and had a growing vision for my family that included homeschool, missions, and ministry in general. I was building my life on the hope that that vision would become a reality. Church wasn't just church for me. It was a new way of life and the start of my family embarking on God's calling on our lives. I had such confidence in the direction we were going. I felt such optimism. I believed that our lives were actually going to count and that not only could we raise children that would come to personally know Jesus as savior, but also that we could impact the world and change the course of history.<br /><br />Of course, the plan majored on my children. I had an intense desire to homeschool them to be independent thinkers and have stellar character. This plan to homeschool was dependent upon the church to be our social outlet.<br /><br />Another component of this vision was ministry, specifically missions. The plan was not just me and/or my husband but the entire family taking the Gospel to a lost and dying world. We would bring living bread to dying souls. The children could see how the rest of the world lives outside of the pop culture bubble that is America. It was a call my husband and I heard very clearly-on more than one occasion.<br /><br />The calling was intertwined with our work in the church. We thought the mission opportunities would arise as we volunteered in various departments of ministry.<br /><br />I had confidence that I could believe that God would bring all these things to pass. Every time I began to sense the slightest worry about what would become of my children, I would go back to the things I had written down. I would quote scriptures and pray. I was so <strong>thankful </strong>to have a hope and a future for my kids. <em>But, gradually, my plans began to crumble</em>. <a href="http://www.aardvarkplus.co.uk/aardvark/resources/images/crumpled_paper2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 204px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.aardvarkplus.co.uk/aardvark/resources/images/crumpled_paper2.jpg" /></a><br /><br />The social network and support I had been counting never materialized. We didn't have a lot of money which meant the kids didn't "fit in". Camaraderie and emotional connections never grew. But, I thought, no worries! I'll try harder...but it was to no avail. <em>Then the final and most devastating blow came</em>.<br /><br />We found out that our "pastor" was a covetous liar, hungry for money and covering up the truth. We left our "church".<br /><br />We then set out on the intimidating task of finding a new church. After a year and a half, we think we have found one. The problem? It's tiny. There are no peers for my kids. So, I am going to have to abandon homeschooling and enroll them in public school.<br /><br />The point of this post is try to communicate to people how someone can become invested in something so twisted as the Word of Faith and why the aftermath can be so devastating. Our entire life's plans fell when we discovered the truth about our "pastor".<br /><br />-MWGWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-67296125330558037692009-04-23T18:17:00.000-07:002009-04-24T05:32:36.224-07:00It's Not Something You Just Get Over<a href="http://www.streetracersonline.com/articles/turbo/turbo4.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 172px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 132px" alt="" src="http://www.streetracersonline.com/articles/turbo/turbo4.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div>So you have left a controlling church after months or years of soul-searching. And maybe it's been a while since you left. I'll bet I know what people are telling you: it's time to move on, get over it. You talk to Christian friends, ministers you feel you can trust or family friends and it seems like everybody is ready for you to get over it. Let me assure you, if you don't feel like you are going to get over it anytime soon, you are.....normal!</div><div></div><br /><div>I have friends who have left controlling churches that have rebounded quickly. Others who were more deeply invested in our old church or in the faith movement had their lives turned upside down when they left and are still recovering.</div><div></div><br /><div>I personally am still in recovery mode after 18 months. This experience has caused me to deeply question the church's ability to be a social institution and yet remain ethical and faithful to God at this point in history. I am also taking my sweet time committing to any particular doctrinal stances. I definitely believe we can know truth...but me being able to wrap my brain around it is another thing. And I do not want to just accept what anybody says as correct doctrine just because they say so, no matter how orthodox it all seems. That's partially how I got into this mess in the first place! </div><div></div><br /><div>Despite it all, I am very glad to accept the responsibility of thinking for myself. I no longer feel like I have to see what Pastor So-and-so thinks...or Bishop Whats-his-face...or Rev. Dr. Dignified...or Brother Deep-fried.<br /></div><div>So if it takes a long time to feel like you have come out the other side of this situation, that's okay. Some if it we should never "get over" because we are dealing with people's spiritual lives, which is no small matter. I believe it's indicative of the times we live in. </div>GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-45555923538556179002009-04-22T05:23:00.000-07:002009-04-23T19:19:44.271-07:00A Word of WarningRomans 10:17 reads, <em>So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. </em><br /><br />This is true, but I would add a word of caution. Note that another truth is <em>brainwashing cometh by hearing and hearing. </em>Be sure that as you are endeavoring to listen and study the word of God, that you aren't actually being brainwashed by <em>men</em>.<br /><br />My husband and I have recently realized that we were <em>willingly and actively </em>being brainwashed by constantly listening to recorded sermons and also reading certain books over and over again. Imagine: No one came to our house and held us captive to brainwash us. We pursued the brainwashing!<br /><br />By all means possible, seek truth, but under no circumstances, believe what a man tells you just because of whom he says he is.<br /><br />-MWGWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6869110756374299506.post-35569427420079326882009-04-19T06:10:00.000-07:002009-04-23T19:23:17.922-07:00Jesus Said You Will Know Them By...<a href="http://www.emo-hairstyle.com/images/morrissey_emo.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 152px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 196px" alt="" src="http://www.emo-hairstyle.com/images/morrissey_emo.jpg" border="0" /></a> (The following post was written as a response to mega-church culture.)<br /><br />Jesus said you will know them by...<br /><br />...their awesome music ministry<br /><br />...how large their church is<br /><br />...how humble their pastor says he is<br /><br />...their conviction that <em>church is God</em><br /><br /><em>...</em>their performace art<br /><br />...their cool hair and clothes<br /><br />...their ability-in any context-to always direct attention to their lives to establish themselves as an example for others to follow<br /><br />...their knowledge of self-improvement<br /><br />...their ability to be follow the pack and implicitly trust everything they are investing themselves in<br /><br />...their deep, thorough understanding of church culture<br /><br />...their keen awareness of the world always applied in church to be relevant<br /><br /><br />This is just a short list of how Jesus said we'd know the greatest believers among us. Take note, and if your life doesn't mirror this list, you'd better evaluate your priorities. Church, it's time to take inventory of our lives. No more old fashioned church with the Sunday school classes and the archaic hymn books. No more senior citizens hanging about our churches, coming to services, trying to hold us back from going where God wants to take us! Because everyone knows he wants to take us places we've never been. There are careers paths we've never ventured into, houses we've never been successful enough to own, and coolness that we have never plumbed the depths of.<br /><br />-M.W.GWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16169267251097244133noreply@blogger.com1