It has to in order to get more goats to show up each week. … Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?” In other words, look at someone’s life for the evidence. A believer grows in the Lord by Bible study and as a member of a local body of believers. Some fundamentalists began to preach God as a means, not an end, forgetting that it’s not what God can do for the believer but what the believer can do for God. Now before I lose anyone else, I should probably add that I don’t actually blame the preachers of mega church’s for this phenomenon. 149.). Burnout of megachurch pastors probably saves souls. Although they remained true to other fundamental Bible principles, they had started down the road to further heresy and apostasy. American churches take the first step into pragmatic religion Which is one of the reasons they keep growing larger.” – Carey Nieuwhof. I feel like overturning some tables—or at least some padded chairs. “[After attending services in some churches when out of town] I always leave the worship service feeling like I need to take a shower.… I feel like I have been to a high school pep rally, and I need to find a place to worship as an adult. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Lu. Somebody actually wrote this. If you visit most megachurches, you won’t find blind sheep. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. The words of Professor Edmund Schlink on the condition of religion in pre-Hitler Germany might be transferred without amendment or alteration to popular religion of the present in America: “‘… people had grown accustomed to regard God primarily as the protector of ordered family life, a help in the education of children and a friend in the events of life such as leaving school, marriage and death. These men “point to Scripture,’ produce ‘miracles,’ and operate under the banner of ‘Jesus is Lord’” (Ibid., p. 39). Some for the fame and notoriety but at the end of the day they are just as carnal as you or I. Jerald Finney Using the King James Version creates an unnecessary cultural barrier…. Secular music started to seep into worship and eventually newer worship music abandoned any sense of biblical accuracy. After all, it’s a pretty insulting accusation. 22.20). 81-82, 86; See also, James Sundquist, “Christian Meditation—Concerning Prayer: Is It Christian?” at www.abrahamic-faith.com/James/Part%20XI%20Christian%20Meditation-Centering%20Prayer.html). Jung promoted all things occult, including astrology, alchemy, the I-Ching, mysticism, necromancy, visualization, dream interpretation, the active imagination, yoga, meditation, etc.” (T. A. McMahon, “Psychology and Doctrines of Devils,” p. 4). They may have read Bernie Siegel. “[T]he spiritual foundation of this whole Purpose-Driven Movement [can] be found in the writings and teachings of Robert Schuller’s 50-year ministry” (Warren Smith, Deceived on Purpose, (Magalia, CA: Mountain Stream Press, 2004), p. 171; see also, John S. Torell, “The Destruction of the Southern Baptist Convention,” The Flaming Sword,” Volume 3, 2007, available at http://www.eaec.org.). If you’re against church growth, you’re against the basic mission of the church: to reach people. 13.5-13; Lu. 3; 2 Pe. When promising the Holy Spirit for believers Jesus did not say He would lead you into all love. Period. Most or all cults, for example, do not believe that Jesus was the only Son of God or that the Son of God was also God. At the request of one of our readers, we have been asked to investigate whether 168-169). 52, 147, 100, 183, 237 (Text), 88 (Manual)). The Mega-Church I’m thinking of has over 45,000 people every weekend. The shift to more of an entertainment base is accompanied by the loss of authentic worship. ”Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us…. Or do you keep your churches smaller on purpose and multiply (by the way, that’s now called multi-site)? The seven mountains mandate heresy would secure the older generation as the apostate church actively seeks and worships the state. They preached inerrancy of Scripture, the depravity of man, the holiness of God, repentance from sin, and salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The theology of the megachurches and ultra-churches of the Church Growth Movement purports to be biblical. Rick Warren has gone “further and said that if something is working, then it is of God” (Ibid., p. That will make you arrogant! “[The ECM] approach attempts to accommodate Jesus and the Scriptures (actually ‘another Jesus’ and a corrupted and emasculated Word) to our postmodern culture. As a result of his error, the chickens have come home to roost at the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana (referred to hereinafter as “First Baptist”). Law Review Articles: 501(c)(3), 1st Amendment History, etc. The Christian who loves the Lord needs to worship God, not be entertained. 10.25-28). Rick Warren copies the type of music that draws the biggest crowds in the secular world and “proudly reports that Saddleback is known as ‘the flock that likes to rock’” (Davis, p. 120). Of course these preachers get burned out. In fact, that slide is already occurring. 54-64). The nineteenth century ended with “mass defections from the churches of Europe. A primary characteristic of cults in general is the practice of taking biblical texts out of context in order to develop pretexts for their theological perversions” (Ibid., p. 43). 2.14; etc. The “old pillars” usually leave when the membership of the church, in step four, is told what is happening. He might realize that if he ever picks up a Bible. Now first of all, I agree that people are still flocking to the mega church model. Let the cult of personality preacher-dude give you his condensed and highly paraphrased version of the Bible! However, for the most part, at least as pushed by the leaders of the movement, a spattering of biblical quotes from mainly perverted interpretations of the Bible are interspersed in a sea of business, humanistic, and New Age principles, some or all of which are being copied by untold numbers of churches throughout the nation and world. The book lists “five great benefits of living a purpose-driven life:” [k]nowing your purpose gives meaning to your life,” “simplifies your life,” “focuses your life,” ‘motivates your life,” and “prepares you for eternity” (Ibid., pp. … You simply HAVE to have dozens to hundreds of capable staff and thousands of capable volunteers. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Like the Willow Creek Leadership Summit, Nieuwhof mixes utterly carnal leadership practices with a breathtakingly poor understanding of scripture to promote the apostate church. With the theory of evolution which, if believed, eliminated the need for God, mankind is left only with “self” and must solve all his problems (Ibid.). Churches in America began to dishonor the Lord shortly after the ratification of the Constitution (and even before the ratification of the Constitution). Many of the churches in the Faith Movement are cults or cultic (Hanegraaff, pp. 87-97, for an analysis of false teachers quoted by Warren). Heresy has a very specific meaning in the Catholic Church and there are four elements which constitute formal heresy; a valid Christian baptism; a profession of still being a Christian; outright denial or positive doubt regarding a truth that the Catholic Church regards as … The thinking that sacrifices truth for unity and superficial peace is not biblical. 4.). 3-4). The Bible declares self to be evil and hopeless and says that man’s salvation can come only from God as it is received by faith in Jesus alone, who satisfied divine justice by His full payment for the sins of mankind, according to the Scriptures. Now, this may be true for some pastors who drank the purpose driven Kool Aid and have yet to find their mega destiny, but for others it is simply a matter of calling evil by its name. 17.9 and 23, 22.17; Ro. 9-22, and Sundquist, Rick Warren’s Global Peace Plan… pp. The Son, rather than being eternal God, was brought into existence. Americans have embraced the idea of religious tolerance and acceptance. I understand it is Nieuwhof’s job to try and sell it but the truth is that people go to mega churches so they can avoid the (overly religious and irrelevant) Gospel and, instead, be entertained in exchange for the promise of a heaven they will most likely never see. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (This quote is from Le. It feels sacrilegious to applaud worship leaders for worshipping God. Consequently, they will be in position to slide further down the slope to apostasy. They specialize in uniting people in “love” since doctrine divides. The church he founded in 2006, "Elevation Church," is one of the largest and fastest growing churches in the USA.Although he actually has a Masters of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, he preaches a "Word of Faith" type of Christianity and considers T.D. Now I agree that it is not logical to paint with a broad brush and say that every church with 2000 in weekly attendance must be bad. An unrepentant compromising church dishonors God, walks toward apostasy, and will be led by another who will further compromise biblical truth. Believers are to speak the truth in love. This is true even should they really get saved, as can be seen by looking at the membership of the average “Bible believing church.”. Norman Vincent Peale pioneered the merger of theology and psychology. “It is a reincarnation of the old-time liberalism that infiltrated evangelical ranks a hundred years ago” (Davis, p. 110). Let me break this down for you. Wallhausen taught that human reason was totally dependable and insisted that the Bible could not be trusted (Ibid.). Letters from pastors regarding Hyles/Schaap and other articles, Order infomration for books by Jerald Finney, An Abridged History of the First Amendment, Paris Reidhead, “Ten Shekels and a Shirt,” January 1, 1980, Humanism, or liberalism, affected even many fundamental churches. “Psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, the son of a Protestant pastor who seriously doubted his professed faith, was more popular among professing Christians than was Sigmund Freud (an atheist) because of his perceived affinity for religion and things spiritual. In one way they said, “Our goal will not be only the glory of God; an additional goal will be the happiness of man.” Churches decided to be practical, to do that which was right in their own eyes. Some titles: Psychotherapy, The End of Christian “Psychology;” Psychobabble: the Failure of Modern Psychology;, Hypnosis: Medical, Scientific or Occultic; Four Temperaments: Astrology & Personality Testing; Competent to Minister: The Biblical Care of Souls; 12 Steps to Destruction: Codependency Recovery Heresy; James Dobson’s Gospel of Self-Esteem & Psychology.). Camp meetings and revivalists worked through the area year after year, converting & reconverting, without giving clear and careful guidance to newborn men & women as to how to continue their pilgrimage in responsible churchmanship (Ibid., p. 86). Since the birth of religious liberalism, which developed the idea that rationalism is superior to revelation, in the mid-nineteenth century, “the contest between those polarities grows hotter, suggesting that this contest may be the final battle of human history” (Dave Breese, 7 Men who Rule the World from the Grave (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1990), pp. The object was no longer to save people but rather to “church” them. The news article didn’t specify if the women were members of his church (which has a regular average attendance of over 6000). 13.44, p. 1016). Jung’s teachings are doctrines of demons, gleaned directly from seducing spirits…. I may not agree in totality but the vast majority of mega churches compromise the Gospel and thus present a false christ who cannot actually save anyone. Then what? 159-160). I cannot speak to the ones that survived, although I am sure the Newspring Congregants were glad to see Perry Noble shuffle off into obscurity. The Christ Commission Fellowship or the CCF is a thriving church of approximately 30+ outreaches in the Philippines and abroad. 3.1, 2). That breaks down entirely once your church is larger than a thousand in attendance. American churches take the first step into pragmatic religion. This is an entire new field that has grown out of the purpose driven church storm. It is only fitting that Nieuwhof finishes on a point he simply does not understand. The emergence of the Church Growth Movement and megachurches is carrying the techniques and principles of religious liberalism plus more to the extreme. That would result in offending some who would refrain from coming to “church.” Pragmatism opens the door to all kinds of satanic infiltration including the New Age. Although the “Purpose-Driven Christ is a shadowy figure, undefined and unexplained,” “that does not stop Warren from leading readers to commit their lives to Jesus and then assure them that they are eternally saved” (Ibid., pp. It is how they became a mega church, how they compromise the Gospel, and what they teach that is unbiblical. Satan, through his false teachers, says to Christians seeking to solve their mental, emotional, and behavioral problems, “Yea, hath God said?” and then points out that the “science of psychology” will show him how to love himself and overcome those problems. Without any real truth, reality is turned into theater, and life into a show” (Ibid., p. 121 quoting Udo W. Middelmann, The Market-Driven Church (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), p. 145). “Leaders” are attracted to mega churches for the money. They are the reason Jesus asked, why do you call me Lord and not do what I say? And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. 12 (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/012/1.42.html), p. 4; see also, Davis, p. 27). Ditto with the church. 18-22 for a thorough biblical examination of Warren’s assertion). See pp. Read Matthew 7 and see how that turns out for the folks who are saying “Lord Lord.” The burnout of Perry Noble for example, clearly saved souls. 101-103). “2. “Rick Warren’s 30 million copies of The Purpose-Driven Life include Jungian concepts, such as Psychological ‘types.’ Saddleback Church’s ‘Celebrate Recovery’ program (See TBC Oct ’05), which has been exported to 4,500 churches and Prison Fellowship Ministries, is based on A.A.’s 12-Step principles. A false Christ is deceiving Warren and his followers who are being used to mislead the world for satanic purposes (See Smith, pp. Is Andy Stanley’s top assistant ready to take over the entire ministry? Since the teaching of the anti-biblical concept of tolerance “works,” it must be of God. Rock music, regardless of the words, dishonors God, appeals to the flesh, and adversely affects man. But with time, since the atmosphere was humanism, the goal of many fundamental churches became the happiness of man, not the glory of God. When everything can be worship nothing is definitely worship. In context of Scripture, Jesus was saying that although one is to love others, and although one loves himself, that love, compared to the love one is to have for God, is equal to hate. As one person said, “[Rick Warren takes] all the new so-called versions of the Bible and quote[s] from the one or ones when put together makes the scriptures say what he wants them to say” (See Hutchings., pp. As evidenced by his sermon, Brother Hoffmeister loves our Lord and preaches the truth on these matters in love. 8.20).’, “… All these diverse endeavors, while giving lip service to the Scriptures, … whether through ignorance, self-delusion, or planned deceit, critically subvert its teachings” (T. A. McMahon, “Weaning Evangelicals Off the Word—Part I,”. Of course, if any serious … Why? Smith’s book, cited herein, should be read for its extensive insights into the New Age teachings within Rick Warren’s writings. Knowledge makes you arrogant. 20-21, citing Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Great clarity could be wrought by liberals if they called their religion by another name than Christianity and set up shop on their own” (Ibid., p. 103). In the most live theological circles in America, however, even as early as 1962, there was growing up the realization that the 19th century had ended with the rise of the most terrible apostasy & mass defections experienced by Christendom since Islam swept through & captured the ancient strongholds of Christianity in North Africa (Ibid., p. 165). Anyone who says a large organization is a one-man show doesn’t understand what’s required to lead a large, complex, let alone multi-site organization. You don’t want to read the Bible! The Seeker-Friendly, Purpose-Driven Cornucopia of False Doctrine, The Andy Stanley Cornucopia of False Teaching, Fast Talking & Postmodern Ambiguity, Kris Vallotton LIES About the Bible (And Carey Nieuwhof Loves It), Encounter Gospel, Evangelical Train Wreck, Satire?, Seeker Friendly Nonsense, Snarky Verbiage, Chuck Pierce, Church by the Glades, Cindy Jacobs, Craig Groeschel, David Hughes, Ed Young Jr-, Elevation Church, Kris Vallotton, Stacey Campbell, Steven Furtick, Church History, John G. Lake, Charismania. BIG CHURCHES DON’T PRODUCE REAL DISCIPLES - Of all the criticism, this one stings me the most personally, mainly, because it’s just not true. The mega church compromises the Bible, Carey. 115-120 for more on Bruce Wilkinson’s teachings and book The Dream Giver). 3.3). 4.2-3; 1 Ti. ‘He had a profound influence on Rick,’ Kay says. In today’s American churches, as always, Satan is using the same technique he used to attack and draw people away from the Word of God in the Garden of Eden where he started the deception by saying, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden” (Ge. 158-159. 7.18; 2 Co. 3.14; Ja. Yet untold thousands of pastors and “Christian leaders” flock to his seminars and subscribe to some or all of his teachings. Jakes (a Trinity-denying … | … 4.3-4) gives way to what “seemeth right unto a man;” apostate teachers advance an experiential mode that appeals to fleshly lusts and promotes self-serving fables and myths; “these ‘deceitful workers’ and lying ‘ministers of righteousness (2 Co. 11.13-15)’ draw upon teachings of ‘seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;’ (1 Ti. 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