Podcast Interview with Marcia Montenegro About "Jesus Calling"

Christian Answers for the New Age home page for Marcia Montenegro's ministry

Some of Marcia Montenegro's articles that were mentioned in this podcast:

Contemplative Prayer article

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young: A False Jesus?

One Thousand Gifts article

Rob Bell article

Jesus Calling By Sarah Young: WUI (Writing Under The Influence)

New Thought article

Other articles on this topic:

Multiple Articles about Jesus Calling from the Berean Examiner

10 Serious Problems with Jesus Calling by Tim Challies

About That Jesus Calling-10 Things You Might Not Know by Warren Smith (with links to more articles)

"The Ministerial Vs Magisterial Use of Feelings"-Guest Post by Pastor Wolfmueller

Here's a really informative and helpful article from Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller:

The Ministerial Vs Magisterial Use of Feelings

On this same topic, here's an interview with Pastor Wolfmueller on Issues, Etc: 

The Proper Role of Emotions, 11/30/11 Issues, Etc.

Dr. Michael Brown on Mushy Carl Lentz: Clear As Mud

Pastor Carl Lentz of Hillsong NYC recently appeared on The View where he utterly failed to give a direct answer to Joy Behar's direct question about abortion. Interestingly enough, he was able to give a clear and direct answer to the immorality of racism just a moment later. This is an example of Lentz doing the thing he's very good at:

Maintaining the largest possible audience by stating the most popular position, while avoiding clear answers on unpopular positions. 

In response to the complete failure of Carl Lentz, Dr. Michael Brown did the thing he's proven himself very good at doing:

Providing cover for a fellow Christian celebrity, while simultaneously trying to sound like a balanced and neutral mediator.

As a side note, this happened two years ago regarding a questionable Hillsong "Silent Night" video: Follow Up to Sleazy Silent Night

PLEASE read (and share) this important article (with links to more articles) from Church Watch Central:

Brown Lends Lentz a Spine?

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Here's a great podcast from Matthew Garnett on this same topic: Carl Lentz Sells Out the Babies and the Evangelicals

For further research, here's another article about Carl Lentz NOT clearly proclaiming the Gospel while trying to increase his audience size: Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz Biffs It on Oprah's SuperSoul Sunday

Here's a great teaching video from "Bezel Triple 3:"

Here's a LOT more information about Brian Houston (Carl Lentz's mentor and senior Pastor) and his Hillsong church: "The Brian Houston & Hillsong Cornucopia of False Doctrine,  Abuse, Obfuscation & Money Generation"

For those of you who think it's mean and unloving to criticize Hillsong, Carl Lentz (or any other popular teacher) here's a list of Bible verses to consider: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.

If you're having a knee-jerk reaction to try and defend Carl Lentz or Hillsong, check out: Confirmation Bias: Why You Are Protecting Your False Beliefs.

Finally, here's an important article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.

The Kenneth Copeland Cornucopia of False Doctrine, Word of Faith Sorcery and Big Piles of Money

Kenneth Copeland is a Word of Faith (WOF) superstar and has been able to maintain an air of credibility for 50 years, in spite of having done and said some really crazy and heretical things in a very open format. He is the king of the "Prosperity Gospel" and is proud of it. 

Here are a few videos easily found on YouTube:

“The more you get to be like Me, the more they’re going to think that way of you. But I didn’t claim I was God; I just claimed I walked with Him and that He was in Me. Hallelujah. That’s what you’re doing.”

— Kenneth Copeland giving a "prophetic word" as Jesus in the Believer's Voice of Victory Magazine, February 1987

“The Spirit of God spoke to me and He said, ‘Son, realize this. Now follow me in this and don’t let your tradition trip you up.’ He said, ‘Think this way—a twice-born man whipped Satan in his own domain.’ And I threw my Bible down … like that. I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘A born-again man defeated Satan, the firstborn of many brethren defeated him.’ He said, ‘You are the very image, the very copy of that one.’ I said, ‘Well now you don’t mean, you couldn’t dare mean, that I could have done the same thing?’ He said, ‘Oh yeah, if you’d had the knowledge of the Word of God that He did, you could’ve done the same thing, ‘cause you’re a reborn man too.”

— Sourced from a tape: Substitution and Identification, 1989 Dated: 18th August 1999

“Because of his sinless life, Jesus walked in perfect dominion. God did whatever he asked, NOT because he was God’s son, but because he held the position of a righteous man. But that was Jesus, you say. But the Bible says that through our believing on Him, we have been given the same position of righteousness with God that Jesus has.”

— Kenneth Copeland in the Believer's Voice of Victory Magazine, September 1995

“By getting the Word deep into your spirit and speaking it boldly out your mouth, you release spiritual power to change things in the natural circumstances.”

— Kenneth Copeland in The Power of the Tongue, Published in 1996

Here are a few examples of the prosperity teaching from Kenneth Copeland in his own magazine:

A Kenneth Copeland Meme From Facebook

Whether or not he has taught heresy is simply a matter of watching him say heretical things in his own videos, books, recordings and interviews. What really needs to be understood is that a whole cluster of wrong assertions and assumptions are at the foundation of a "Copelandish" system: the Word of Faith belief system. Some essential Word of Faith beliefs are:

• The atonement of Christ doesn't "just" give us salvation, it also guarantees healing, wholeness and prosperity. This is the Health & Wealth gospel.
• Jesus lived His life as an example of a man totally submitted to God the Father (or "in right relationship") and when we live in total submission we will perform like Jesus. Jesus didn't die on the cross because we were unable to atone for our own sins so much as Jesus lived a life of victory that we can (and should) emulate.
• God spoke the universe into existence by using "the power of words." We, too, can create things using the power of words. (This ability to "speak things into being" is essentially a form of sorcery, but WOF people strongly disagree). 
• God is lowered and Man is elevated.

Before Bill Johnson, Brian Houston, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Todd White and most of today's WOF pastors and teachers, there was a series of people with specific new (and false) beliefs that took over a growing segment of the church. The most prominent of these people was Kenneth Hagin, who is usually considered the "father" of WOF teaching, although he actually plagiarized much of "his" teaching from E. W. Kenyon (See the book "A Different Gospel" by D. R. McConnell and the book "The Word Faith Controversy" by Robert M. Bowman Jr.). WOF people often refer to Hagin as "Dad Hagin." Since Hagin died in 2003, Kenneth Copeland has essentially taken over the role of senior leader of the WOF "movement" (which isn't exactly a movement because of how loosely it's organized, but it has to be called something).

Here is Kenneth Copeland explaining how he completely indoctrinated himself in the Word of Faith teachings of Kenneth Hagin:

This is from Kenneth Copeland's "Voice of Victory" Magazine

More about Kenneth Hagin: The Kenneth Hagin Festival of Demonic Idiocy

Some other prominent WOF teachers are Fred Price, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Robert Tilton, Marilyn Hickey, Rod Parsley, T. D. Jakes, Jim Bakker, John Avanzini, Pat Robertson, Morris Cerullo, Paula White, and the late Paul and Jan Crouch (founders of TBN). Not all of these people believe exactly the same things, but they share many core WOF beliefs. 

Recently, Copeland had a 50 year celebration of Word of Faith false teaching:

As a young adult, Copeland had a career as a professional pilot and, briefly, as a recording artist on Imperial Records where he had a minor hit record in 1957. In the fall of 1967, he enrolled in the then brand new Oral Roberts University, where he soon became the pilot and chauffeur for Oral Roberts (an early WOF superstar).

Here's a video that shows Kenneth Copeland teaching heresy in the past and very recently:

Here is WOF superstar, Benny Hinn, quoting Oral Roberts:

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland started their ministry (KCM) in 1967 and it's been continuing for 50 years.

The following articles show the true nature of Copeland's teachings and influence. These are from a number of different sources and perspectives, but they all agree that Kenneth Copeland is a False Teacher who should be avoided at all costs:

Word of Faith Superstar Kenneth Copeland Proven 100% WRONG (and Nobody Cares) from The Museum of Idolatry

Ken Copeland: God Gave Us Private Jets Because You Can't Talk to God in Coach from The Museum of Idolatry

Depraved Copeland Sets Satanic Snare for Christians from The Museum of Idolatry

Kenneth Copeland’s Living Legacy of Heresy by Costi Hinn

Wealth of Kenneth Copeland and Family Scrutinized from the The Ledger newspaper, July, 2008

Lifestyles of the Tele-Evangelist: Kenneth Copeland from InPlainSite.org

The Harmful Teachings of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland by Cedric Hohnstadt

Many Articles About Kenneth Copeland from Deception in the Church

Kenneth Copeland’s False Teachings and False Gospel Message from Berean Perspective Apologetics 

Our Experiences With Kenneth Copeland from Ex Word of Faith

Analysis: Copeland's Religious Empire Benefits His Family from USA Today

Just for fun...

-This article by Steven Kozar

5 Ways To NOT Celebrate The Reformation’s 500th Anniversary

Pastor Peter Burfeind

Here is a great article from pastor Peter Burfeind:

 5 Ways To Not Celebrate The Reformation’s Quincentenary This Year

"Pastor" David Hughes Gives Outrageous Parody Sermon But Everyone Still Believes Him!

"I really thought it would work this time but I was wrong. I mean, seriously, just listen to my vacant and pathetic rambling for ten or twenty minutes and you'll see that this is pure satire! Oh well, I guess I'll have to keep on trying," said famous parody "Pastor" David Hughes from Church by the Glades. He tried his best to give a ridiculous, over-the-top and exaggerated "Seeker-Friendly" speech as a form of instructive satire, but it appears that his audience failed to get the point, in spite of cringe-worthy statements like... 

• "Jesus leveraged popular culture, his presentation was remarkable!"
• "God wants to get all up in your stuff!"
• "Fun is cool! I don't apologize for fun, I think church should be fun, in Jesus name!"
• "Here's why we leverage popular culture, here's why we speak into culture, here's why we use things other churches won't use: It's Biblical."
•  "When we use pop culture in church we're just ripping off Jesus."

Hughes even went so far as to put the words CHURCH SHOULD BE FUN in bright lights on the two-story backdrop of his megachurch, hoping that the glaring idiocy would be too obvious to ignore. No one can blame him for making a valiant effort; he pummeled relentlessly for forty minutes in a bizarre collection of scripture-twisting, bad argumentation, a gross mischaracterization of Jesus being a crowd-pleasing communicator who attracted a large audience because he "wasn't boring," and even ending with a megachurch cliche: a manipulative story to try and justify his self-refuting spectacle. Yet, he was unable to get his point across about the dangers of the church becoming a parody of itself as it panders to the surrounding culture. "If I continue foisting these outrageous satires onto my church, I hope that eventually the people will notice that the true Jesus who died in our place to become the Savior of the world is clearly absent," said Hughes.

Although Hughes claimed to value "Jesus and the Bible" above everything else, he made his own ideas the focus of the entire speech instead of the Bible, and only referred to Jesus in little snippets, where he made it sound like Jesus was the Pop Star of his day. After Hughes did everything he could think of to be self-refuting, even using "I Heart (love) Pop" as the title of his sermon series, his parishioners still thought he was giving a biblical sermon. 

 "I was certain that jumping up and down on a gigantic couch would have done the trick last year, but this time I tried a different approach," said Hughes in an exclusive interview with Pirate Christian Media, "this time I went ahead and gave every stupid and far-fetched reason why an entertaining spectacle can be a viable substitute for an actual worship service. These people still think my thinly-disguised satire was real. I have to admit, I'm not too happy about this."

Hughes went on to say that he had more "sermons" to "preach" in this parody series, and he remained hopeful that his bombastic and ridiculous motivational speeches will eventually open the eyes of the nearly 10,000 listeners he reaches every week.   
 

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Visual Proof That Modern Churches Are (Much) Better

A Manifesto of Christian Discernment

The "Disney-fication" of the Church Youtube video by BezelT3

Pretending to Accomplish Something at (Yet Another) Useless Rally in Washington D.C.

Here's a little article from Charisma Magazine featuring a short video from the recent Awaken the Dawn rally: "Watch the Masses Drive Out Darkness in Washington"

Here are the "lyrics" to the "song" being sung (with my apologies to actual songs with actual lyrics):

"When I move my body, when I move my feet, when I open my mouth, then the darkness flees..." (repeat over and over and over, jump up and down, etc...)

Let's be honest, folks, nothing is really happening here. Many of these people are wearing t-shirts from the last "world-changing" conference or rally that they attended. This is sad, delusional and useless activity being passed off as a "revival." Do these people really believe that darkness has now been officially driven out because they gathered and clapped and stomped and chanted?

“For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”

— 2 Thessalonians 2: 11-12

To really "drive out the darkness," Ricky Skaggs and a bunch of people blew shofars (take that, darkness!):

Remember when they changed the world last year? This was supposed to be the most important event in our lifetime:

Of course, that giant rally came after this other giant rally, which was supposed to be the most important event in-you guessed it-our lifetime:

Francis Chan gave a talk at this Awaken the Dawn event; here's an article about Chan's apparent endorsement of this "NAR/Word of Faith" moment: Francis Chan and Todd White Headline Upcoming IHOP Festival of False Teaching

Here's an article that I wrote in February 2016 about all the upcoming events and how the false prophet Bob Jones was supposed to have predicted all of this: I Refuse to Believe Bob Jones-I'm Staying Home

These events always feature prominent false teachers like Lou Engle, Todd White, Shawn Bolz, Heidi Baker and that whole gang of professional speakers; these people need speaking gigs, so they always promote the next thing as "the best thing ever." This man-made "revival" is, at best, a distraction from the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. At worst it is leading people away from that true Gospel and is building a false religion based on unity for the sake of unity, a false gospel message, and emotionalism (that's why there's always manipulative music playing and people yelling from the stage).

Please don't get sucked into this stuff. Go to church. Be discipled in God's Word. Study the Bible so you can "hear the voice of God" for real. Finally, be free! You don't need to drive all over the place trying to find the latest and greatest "revival" that will ultimately let you down. Maybe this article will help: The Hyper-Charismatic House of Cards: Let It Fall and Be Free

Devastating Proof of Brian Houston Lying to the Royal Commision (and Everyone Else!)

Brian Houston glossed over the pedophilia that his father, Frank Houston, confessed to in 1999. In his seventies, Frank admitted to Brian that he had committed child molestation. This is the "Hillsong Day of Infamy." Instead of turning his father over the proper authorities, like he was supposed to do, Brian swept this very disturbing information under the rug. It appears that protecting the Hillsong brand name (and Houston family name) has always been more important than protecting children.

Brian Houston repeatedly claimed (under oath to the Royal Commission!) that he forced his father into immediate retirement from ministry, but in reality, Frank Houston continued preaching right up until his death in 2004. 

Here are a number of times that Brian Houston lied to the Australian Royal Commission in 2014:

“But from a perspective of my responsibility, I saw my responsibility mainly as being the now, the present. And the present was that Frank was an ordained Assemblies of God pastor; he was a former pastor of Sydney Christian Life Centre; he was now an itinerant pastor attached to Sydney Christian Life Centre, and I saw my main responsibility, in terms of Frank, as addressing that, and, in my mind, he would never preach again, and he never did.”

— Brian Houston quote, Royal Commission Case Study 18, Transcript Day 88, page 77

“Again, from the moment I first confronted my father, I knew, as his overseeing pastor at Hillsong, he would never preach publicly again, and he never did.”

— Brian Houston quote, Royal Commission Case Study 18, Transcript Day 88, page 96

“I suspended him there and then. I ensured that from that day on, he never preached again in his life, anywhere…”

— Brian Houston quote, Royal Commission Case Study 18, Transcript Day 89, page 16

“That he “would be” stood down is a misinterpretation. He was stood down instantly. As a matter of fact, I will reinforce it again: he never, ever preached again anywhere after I confronted him in my office in mid to late November 1999.”

— Brian Houston quote, Royal Commission Case Study 18, Transcript Day 89, page 27

“I knew that he would never preach again and that he would not be in active ministry again, and he never was.”

— Brian Houston quote, Royal Commission Case Study 18, Transcript Day 89, page 36

Here's Brian Houston on television with the (fake) story of how he stopped his father from preaching ever again:

But here's Frank Houston in a rambling and pointless "sermon" in September of 2004. Frank makes it very clear when this happened; he makes repeated references to the death of his wife, Hazel, which took place in early 2004, and he makes repeated remarks about his own age at the time. Frank also makes a number of (uncomfortable) comments about the good-looking children in the audience that day. If you want to waste 55 minutes of your life, listen to the true founder of Hillsong:

At the end of the "sermon" Frank Houston can be heard "speaking in tongues" like a babbling idiot. Listen to this if you want to get in the mood for Halloween:

Even Heidi Baker wants to know "what's the deal, Brian?"

Here is a more detailed article from our Australian friends at ChurchWatch Central:

Breaking News: Brian Houston exposed lying to Royal Commission – pedophile father STILL preaching months before death

Here's an amazing article with more details from our friends at Churchwatch Central: Brian Houston Leverages Off Father's Reputation & Hides Paedophilia to Promote Himself & Hillsong

And another HUGE article, full of detailed research: Timeline & Source Material: Related to Frank Houston’s Pedophilia Coverup

To research more about Brian Houston and Hillsong Church: The Brian Houston and Hillsong Cornucopia of False Doctrine, Abuse, Obfuscation & Money Generation

Another related article: Questioning Brian Houston’s testimony about his pedophile father’s ‘sickness’.

For those who think it's mean, judgmental and un-loving to criticize Frank or Brian Houston (or any other popular teacher) here's something just for you: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.

If you're having a knee-jerk reaction to try and defend Hillsong, check out: Confirmation Bias: Why You Are Protecting Your False Beliefs.

Finally, here's an article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.

Kenneth Copeland Reveals His TRUE Identity!

After decades of portraying a filthy-rich televangelist who bamboozles people out of their money, Kenneth Copeland has begun a new acting role: He's now portraying a scary, domineering, power-hungry, gangster instead of portraying his usual character: a scary, domineering, power-hungry, preacher.

Some entertainment critics are complaining that he's portraying the exact same character, except that the new character has a drug-lord/Cuban-type of accent instead of his former Texan-type accent, where the letter "s" is always pronounced as "sh." The important thing to understand is that no matter which character he plays, he is first and foremost an actor.

Watch this trailer to see him in his exciting new acting role:

The director for this new movie, Charles Flickburger, said that Copeland proved himself to be a versatile and competent actor. One problem that Flickburger noted, however, was the copious amount of makeup needed to cover up Copeland's cavernous, almost reptilian face. "We had a pretty good budget for pancake makeup," said Flickburger, "but we went three times over that budget in the first two weeks! But Ken's great acting skills were worth every trip I had to make back to the drug store."

At the time of this report, it remains to be seen if Copeland will return to the small screen to continue his portrayal of the heretical, greedy egomaniac that has been the focal point of his production company, humorously called "Kenneth Copeland Ministries." According to his long-time agent, Floyd Pinc, "Mr. Copeland shows no sign of slowing down. Even though he's eighty years old, he has the spunk of a much younger man, and with a good makeup artist at his disposal, he plans to continue playing these roles for as long as his loyal fans continue to pay money to watch him perform." 

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The Kenneth Copeland Cornucopia of False Doctrine, Word of Faith Sorcery and Big Piles of Money

Word of Faith Superstar Kenneth Copeland Proven 100% WRONG (and Nobody Cares)

Seriously now, for a lot more information about the Word of Faith movement please check out: The Word of Faith Cornucopia of False Doctrine. 

CCM Song Critique: "Hard Love" by Need to Breath

Here's another CCM Song Critique by Jorge Rodriguez at Faithful Stewardship. Please, please, please keep in mind that these articles are examining the meaning and theology of the lyrics-NOT critiquing the intentions or sincerity of the songwriters/performers:

"Hard Love" Song Critique by Faithful Stewardship Blog

Dr. Michael Brown Refutes "Weather Warriors" (Like Lance Wallnau) But Still Supports Jennifer "Sneaky Squid" LeClaire

Well this is interesting.

Dr. Michael Brown has no problem believing in the "Sneaky Squid Spirit" because his senior editor at Charisma Magazine, Jennifer LeClaire, claims that this demonic creature exists. Brown believes that the Reformation principle of "Sola Scriptura" (Scripture Alone) means that we should listen to new prophetic words that aren't in the Bible. I know, I know, that makes no sense at all, but let's just keep going here...

Recently Dr. Brown had a short conversation with the "Museum Boy," Chris Rice, about whether or not Christians could command hurricanes and control the weather. To his credit, Dr. Brown basically said the same thing that we've been saying: "No, God is sovereign. We can certainly ask for God to be merciful, but we cannot command the weather." Here's the audio of that conversation (note that Dr. Brown makes yet another attempt to push his charismatic "Signs and Wonders" views into the dialogue):

Now, for contrast, here's Lance "Commander of the Millibars" Wallnau saying the exact opposite of Dr. Brown:

Kat Kerr, who commanded the hurricane to go into the Atlantic and dissipate, used the same bad Dominionism theology as Lance Wallnau (and failed miserably but took credit for somehow saving Florida):

This is pretty confusing. Dr. Michael Brown does not believe Christians can command the weather, but Lance Wallnau (and many other hyper-charismatics like him) believes we can be just like Jesus and command the weather. Doesn't it seem strange that these two guys are so far apart on such a basic issue? After all, they are both charismatic leaders who work together at times. Wallnau was just on Dr. Brown's radio show:

Here's Lance Wallnau promoting Dr. Brown on his website:

Think about this: Dr. Michael Brown has clearly and repeatedly supported Jennifer LeClaire and her ridiculous and unbiblical "Sneaky Squid Spirit," but he doesn't believe in the Word of Faith teaching that Christians can command hurricanes.

Hyper-charismatics often make great claims about how much closer they are to God and how the Holy Spirit gives them the "special knowledge" that non-charismatic Christians don't get. But in this situation, it seems very strange that in all of their "speaking in tongues," "prophetic words" and "declaring and decreeing," they have not only failed to control the weather, they've failed to have agreement on such a fundamental issue as our ability to command storms and "do greater things than Jesus did." 

How can someone as intelligent as Dr. Michael Brown give such a reasonable and biblical answer about our inability to duplicate Jesus and command the weather, but still have such difficulty admitting that his senior editor, Jennifer LeClaire, doesn't speak for God when she invents crazy stuff like the "Sneaky Squid Spirit??"

Here's an article about Word of Faith "Superstar" Kenneth Copeland claiming authority over the hurricanes (and failing completely, just like everyone else): Word of Faith Superstar Kenneth Copeland Proven 100% WRONG (and Nobody Cares)

Even more difficult to understand is how Dr. Brown can give his wholehearted endorsement of Bill (and his wife Benni) Johnson and Heidi (and her husband Rolland) Bakker. Watch the following disturbing video of these four people saying and doing some extremely creepy things (Dr. Michael Brown refuses to watch this because he is too important and too busy):

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Here are a number of episodes of Fighting for the Faith that discuss Dr. Michael Brown and the Sneaky Squid Spirit: Fighting for the Faith

Here's an extensive article with more links about Dr. Brown and the Sneaky Squid: Michael Brown Can't Defend "Sneaky Squid Spirit"-Repeatedly Changes the Subject

Here's a related article from the Museum of Idolatry: Delusion on Parade: Word of Faith "Weather Warriors" Ignore Reality

Proof That Dr. Michael Brown Has a Gullible Audience

• Brown claims that he is not a part of the New Apostolic Reformation, but the clear, obvious and overwhelming evidence says otherwise. (Read: Michael Brown: More Proof He's Part of the (So-Called) New Apostolic Reformation) He is The Apostle of Obfuscation in the NAR. Listen to this clip of Fighting for the Faith where Brown pretends he knows nothing about the NAR in 2017 but is very knowledgeable in 2010: 

• Brown always tells people that he has no time to research any of the false teachers he associates with, but he claims to be a great scholar/expert who can be trusted because of all the important research he does and all the knowledge he has.
• Brown claims that he has no time to research Benny Hinn, but he wrote an entire book that refuted "Strange Fire" by John MacArthur, which has tons of documentation of Benny Hinn's false teaching. Did Brown not even read the book that he tried to refute? How can anyone actually fall for this?
• Brown claims that "he'll look into it" whenever a caller gets through to him and provides information about the false teachers he associates with, but then he never does anything. Ever.
• Brown claims that he follows the vital Reformation principle of Sola Scriptura (Latin for "Only the Bible" or "Scripture Alone"), yet he constantly points to the need for new prophetic words. If we need new words from God doesn't that mean that the Bible Alone isn't good enough?
• Brown claims that he is following the practice of Sola Scripture when he allows, supports and encourages ridiculous "words from the Lord" from people like Jennifer LeClaire, Bill Johnson, etc. Brown claims that these "words from the Lord" are actually from God, but they're not "the word of God." Huh? Is there really a new category called "sort of" God's Word??
• Brown teaches that when a "prophet" gets a "word from Lord" that is totally wrong, it doesn't mean they're a false prophet, it means "they're a prophet who prophesied falsely." 
• When confronted with the fact that he supports false teachers he never compares the teachings of those people to scripture, instead he attacks the person supplying him with information, or he quickly changes the subject to cessationism.
• Brown eventually ends up saying something like "You're wrong about these people I associate with. I know them and they love the Lord. They aren't false teachers because I say so." What he's really saying is that everyone should simply trust him and not look to God's Word as our final authority.
• Brown deletes comments from people who provide specific evidence of false teachers like Benny Hinn, Bill Johnson and Jennifer LeClaire, but then he says that these "heresy hunters" provide no evidence! As long as Dr. Brown's fans stay within his tightly controlled fantasy world they can continue believing that false teachers like Benny Hinn, Bill Johnson and Jennifer LeClaire are not a problem. This is delusional thinking being perpetuated by a dominating and controlling leader. 
• Brown spends a lot of time on Facebook and Twitter telling people over and over and over that he has no time to look into the false teachings of people like Benny Hinn, Bill Johnson, Jennifer LeClaire, etc... But he obviously does have time! He uses all of that time telling people that he has no time! A person has to be very gullible to fall for that silly argument.
• Brown often makes the claim that the bloggers who criticize him are anonymous people with no accountability, so they can be ignored. People like me, Steven Kozar. Or @Aspree. Or Phil Johnson. Or Anthony Wade. Or Chris Rosebrough. Or Marsha West. Or Chris Rice... you know, "anonymous."
• Brown tells people that he has no time to answer questions in detail (because he's so important and so busy), so he recommends that people call his radio show, but once a person gets on his show with tough questions he interrupts and dominates the conversation. Anyone who thinks he has fair and open dialogue with his guests is truly gullible. Just take out a stopwatch and compare much time Brown talks (and interrupts) compared to how much time a guest can speak (before getting cut off).
• Here's audio of Dr. Michael Brown talking over Chris Rosebrough like the bully that he often is: Chris from Grand Forks calls Michael Brown about the Sneaky Squid Spirit
• Here's an article (with audio) about Dr. Brown cutting off Anthony Wade, a guest that was invited on the Line of Fire only to be bullied by Dr. Brown: Dr Brown’s lack of discernment exposed by a discerning former AOG Pastor. 
• Brown makes it look like he's fair and equitable on his Facebook page, but he deletes comments that make him look bad. We have a lot of screenshots that prove this: 

These comments were deleted by Dr. Brown, and then the entire post was deleted

These challenging comments were deleted by Dr. Brown.

These challenging comments were deleted by Dr. Michael Brown, then the entire post was deleted

After Dr. Brown deletes comments he says he had to delete them because they were so libelous, angry or somehow out-of-line. Nobody will know what these people actually said because he deleted them!

Dr. Brown Made This Comment But Then Later Deleted the entire Post.

After deleting an entire post full of challenging comments (some of which are shown above), Dr. Brown wrote this new post where he attacked "self-appointed heresy hunters" and then blocked more comments:

Here you can see that Dr. Brown blocked me after my initially comments

Dr. Brown adamantly supports some very dangerous false teachers. Here's a VERY disturbing video of Dr. Brown's close friends that he refuses to watch or acknowledge:

Dr. Michael Brown is buddies with Sid Roth, who has the credibility of Shaggy from Scooby Doo:

Dr. Michael Brown does NOT want you to look at this: Dr. Michael Brown Ruins His Credibility on His Own Facebook Wall, Then Deletes All the Evidence

For a more detailed analysis of Michael Brown (and his recent radio show about the New Apostolic Reformation), check out this discussion between Chris Rosebrough, @Aspree and Steven Kozar on Fighting For The Faith: Mutiny Against Dr. Michael Brown

The Dr. Michael Brown Checklist of Manipulation

Here's an article from Assemblies of God Minister Anthony Wade: Why Dr. Brown Has No Credibility

...and here's another: Gatekeeper of False Teachings-- Dr. Michael Brown

For those who think it's mean, judgmental and un-loving to criticize Dr. Michael Brown (or any other teacher, pastor or leader) here's something just for you: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.

If you're having a knee-jerk reaction to try and defend Dr. Michael Brown, check out: Confirmation Bias: Why You Are Protecting Your False Beliefs.

Finally, here's an article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.

Todd White Has a Gigantic Mansion, Now He Wants YOU to Buy Him This $19 Million Mega-Church!

 

Todd White wants to raise $19 million to buy a gigantic mega-church, complete with auditorium, football field, Christian school and cafe. Todd portrays himself as a "street preacher" who demonstrates the Power and Love of Jesus all day long, but he's really just another money-grubbing evangelist who has disguised the get-rich schemes of Kenneth Copeland and Robert Morris under his dreadlocks and blue jeans. Here's his promo video: 

Todd wants to convince everyone to send him money because the "Smart Phone Prophet" Shawn Bolz got a direct revelation from God about this new land acquisition. For perpetuating this scheme, Shawn can be assured of a very profitable and ongoing speaking gig if this deal goes through. 

In the video, Todd says, "God has told me to multiply my heart." Hmmm, I guess it would be too obvious if he said, "God told me to multiply my bank account and real estate holdings..."

Here's a photo of Todd White's obscenely large and extravagant mansion:

Wanna know how much money Todd White actually makes? In 2015 it was OVER $600,000!! 

Here's an article with details on Todd's obscene income: Todd White: How Much Money Does He Actually Make?

Todd White is learning how to make the really big bucks from the experts:

Todd White radically encountered the Holy Spirit at a Benny Hinn meeting, where he felt electricity "like he was plugged into a light socket," and the ushers on either side of Todd White were thrown "three feet in the air and about ten feet back."

Todd White says that he "can claim someone for God and there's no way for them to get out of it:"

2 Corinthians 2:17 “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.”

1 Thessalonians 2:5  “You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness.”

Acts 20:28-31  “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.”

1 Timothy 6:5  “...and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”

Matthew 6:24  “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

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Check out this giant compilation of articles about Todd White:

The Todd White Cornucopia of False Teaching

Todd White is part of a gigantic, shape-shifting, loosely-knit movement known as The New Apostolic Reformation

This article by Steven Kozar; check out his new and improved: The Messed Up Church website!

Crooked Televangelists Never Die, They Just Descend Further Down the Rabbit Hole of Deceit

Here's another informative (and funny!) video from YouTube teacher "BezelT3"

Jim Bakker End of the World Food Bucket Bee Gees Video

Brian Houston: Used Car Salesman Pushing the Hillsong Brand

On July 6th, 2017, Brian Houston wrote an article for an Australian News site. In this article, he shows himself to be a "used car salesman" who is just pushing his Hillsong brand under the guise of being a pastor who cares about the entire country of Australia. Let's take a look at what he wrote and analyze it; Houston's words are in bold, and my comments will be in italics and in parentheses. -Steven Kozar

THE census results that revealed a small drop in the number of people calling themselves “Christian”, and less people identifying themselves as being affiliated with any religion, should be a wake-up call for the Christian church across Australia.

While these results were not unexpected, the census also showed the changing social values our country is facing including a rise in the number of people following the Muslim faith.

Again, this is not surprising, as it is clear that Australia’s immigration policies are having an impact on the texture and makeup of our society. Yet as a Christian pastor it does concern me that what I see as the foundations of our community — the values that bring us together — are being diminished, and the faith that has shaped our nation for so long is declining.

While many Australians are not practising Christians and value, as I do, the many different cultures that form our country, I believe the vast majority also want a strong sense of national identity and don’t want to lose those features that make us unique. (This appears to be an attempt to say to the non-Christians in his audience: "Hey! We're really nice; not like those Muslims. If you won't become a Christian, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me continue growing this Hillsong monster across the country; it makes us unique!")

At the same time, Australians are concerned at the extremism they see overseas and are fearful that recent events in Australia make us vulnerable to a similar path.

The Christian church can — and should — play a significant role in reshaping our national identity and providing Australians with hope, love, peace and faith. I am convinced that, just as Christianity was the solution to the greatest human issues 2000 years ago, so it is to this day. (This is one of many examples where Houston turns the Christian Church into a vague and charitable entity for the purpose of increasing brand acceptance to his targeted demographic. How, specifically, is the Christian Church offering a solution to the greatest human issues? What is the solution he speaks of? Who knows? He never proclaims the actual Gospel message. )

The recent census figures show that many Australians are understandably disenchanted by church child abuse scandals (This is coming from the guy who protected his pedophile father, Frank Houston) and the perceived irrelevance of formalised religion. At the same time we are seeing an increasing demonising of Christianity for holding firm to 2000-year-old biblical perspectives on societal issues such as sexuality, marriage and the inherent value of human life.

But are we witnessing the demise of Christianity and the church in our country? I don’t believe so. Despite these census statistics there are life-giving churches all over the country that are growing, youthful, and clearly meeting the very real needs of people. (Here's where Brian Houston defines his brand: Life-giving. Growing. Youthful. Meeting the Very Real Needs of People. No Old People Allowed. Take Your Hymnals and Your Wheelchairs and Just Go Away.)

The gospel message is timeless and should not be tampered with; but for the church, the methods simply must change to keep pace with society’s desperate cry for authenticity and a deeper meaning in life. The Christian message is one of love and acceptance, and must replace the sense of hatred, fear and cynicism that the world is experiencing at the moment.  (It should surprise no one that Houston fails to articulate any Gospel message at all. "The gospel message is one of love and acceptance?" No Brian, that's the message of postmodern pop culture; that's the message of a spineless frontman trying to win the approval of the most gullible members of society. The Gospel is about how Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of mankind. If society is actually crying out for authenticity, as you claim, how is the Hillsong brand helping? By putting on even bigger spectacles in even larger auditoriums with even cooler "pastors," who have bad theology but dress like primping rock stars? THAT'S the Hillsong solution to society's deepest needs? Brian Houston IS the problem! Hillsong is a heavily-marketed corporate entity pretending to be a church, and hurting untold thousands of people with a false Gospel message.)

In my experience, as I engage with everyday Australians in cafes, airports, or shopping malls, people at large are not anti-God; they are anti hypocrisy, irrelevance, and ‘tired’ old religion that has compromised on issues of morality and Christian distinctives. (This is the Hillsong pitch: "You don't like hypocrites? Neither does Hillsong! You don't like 'tired' old religion? Neither does Hillsong! Wow, it sounds like our church is perfect for you, doesn't it?! Now, what's it gonna take to get you to drive this church off the lot today?")

We, the church in Australia, are stewards of a message desperately needed in these complex days. The good news of Jesus Christ is a message of life and hope and the New Testament points to a God who is for us and not against us. In a world of extremism, tension, hatred, horror and sheer evil, the Australian church, no matter what the persuasion, is desperately needed in this country. But are we recognising societal needs and focusing on bringing life-giving answers? Sadly, often the answer is no. People need community and a real sense of belonging. People need hope. You can live a certain amount of time without food — a lot less time without water — but we were never designed to live without hope. (Once again, Houston mentions nothing of the redemption that Jesus provided by His death on the cross. Instead, he tells everyone about the need for hope that we all share. Yes, we all need hope, but Houston is not providing real hope, he's selling the Word of Faith and New Apostolic Reformation bucket of bolts that takes money from people and gives them nothing in return. The "community" of Hillsong is not based on the true fellowship that the Christian Church provides, because Hillsong is not a real Christian Church. Btw, yes I know, I know, there are some actual Christians involved in Hillsong...)

People are tired of religion with form but without substance, with ritual but without relevance — that is what people are shunning. People are scared because of the evil we constantly witness on the news — in the name of religion. (Hillsong, like every cool new Mega-Church, claims to be "real" and "relevant" but those are just catch-phrases, and a growing number of people are abandoning these "churches," as they figure out that this is a bait and switch sales pitch. This is a marketing gimmick, and it works for a while, just like any multi-level marketing organization. Hillsong constantly hypes itself, uses hyped-up rock bands with laser light shows and has hyped-up "pastors" preaching a positive-thinking/prosperity message that tickles itching ears. And of course, it always contrasts itself against crusty old "religion." You don't like religion? Neither does Hillsong!...)

The "Life-Giving" LASERS OF HILLSONG

No matter what the denomination or name above our doors, the Australian church that believes in Jesus Christ, must show more commitment to the real issues. We must help people to find a sense of belonging, meet physical and spiritual needs, and speak life-giving messages that connect with people’s everyday lives.  (So, Brian says that churches must "show more commitment to real issues." That's quite a sentence, coming from the master of hype, marketing and Prosperity Pimping. What does he leave out, again? The Gospel message. Jesus did not die on the cross to just help people "find a place of belonging," so we can "speak life-giving messages" of prosperity and earthly success. Oh wait, the Gospel message doesn't "connect with people's everyday lives," nevermind...)

With a 2017 worldview and a first-century message, the church in Australia will continue to be an active, effective, and dynamic part of the heart and fabric of this wonderful country. (This is a real audacious sales job; it's completely backward and upside down. This is putting a cheap, but shiney paint job on a broken-down rust bucket. A "2017 worldview?" What does that even mean? And he says that Hillsong has a "first-century message?" Really?? When did the first-century church use stadiums, rock bands with laser-light shows, TV shows and Word of Faith heretical teaching based on sorcery, selfishness and power-grabbing businessmen sporting perfectly groomed beard stubble in place of sacrificial and pastoral shepherding? When did the first-century church abandon the message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and replace it with a Naked Cowboy?

When did the first-century church go to bars with pop superstars to down shots and start to take off their clothes? When did the first-century church have "pastors" like these? (yes, these are Hillsong "pastors"):

Let’s keep our distinctive traditions, Eucharist or biblical values but recognise the times we now live in and bring to people the answers they desperately need.  (This sounds like a politician fumbling for words and desperately trying to come across as broadminded and knowledgeable while saying nothing of any substance. "Eucharist?" How does that even fit within that sentence?? Come on Brian, you can afford a good ghost-writer; I suggest you hire someone who can construct fully functional sentences.)

I’m a believer. The church in Australia has the perfect message for a deeply troubled world in 2017. We just cannot afford to make the methods more sacred than the message. (Translation: "We've got this giant Hillsong thing figured out, and I'm getting filthy rich as a result, so you better let us keep expanding like a giant blob of rancid bread dough across this great country.")

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Read and research more about Brian Houston and the Hillsong Brand: The Brian Houston & Hillsong Cornucopia of False Doctrine, Abuse, Obfuscation & Money Generation

Here are a whole bunch of episodes of Fighting for the Faith where Brian Houston's "sermons" are compared to true Christian doctrine from the Bible: Fighting for the Faith

Tired of Mega-Church Mobsters and the Evangelical Industrial Complex? Read A Manifesto of Christian Discernment

"Reading the Bible With Jesus in Mind"-Guest Post By Mitch Schultz

One of the most common errors in the Pop Evangelical Church is the elevation of man (with its constant emphasis on our supposed "Destiny") and the depreciation of Jesus Christ and the great work He accomplished for us on the cross. 

Here's a great little guest post from our Mitch Schultz of Fruitful Vine Ministry:

"There are two ways to read the Bible. To see what it says about us, or what it says about Jesus. Reading the Bible with you in mind leads to a self-centered, empty and meaningless pursuit. Some refer to this as narcissistic eisegesis. (Eisegesis reads yourself into the text while exegesis seeks to read what’s out of the text.) Reading the Bible with Jesus in mind is selfless and comes with unimaginable gain, Jesus Himself. Michael Horton claims that the Bible is not about us, it’s for us. The Bible is the story of Jesus, for us. God’s revelation of Himself through the pages of scripture is an invitation to know Him, and by knowing Him, discover ourselves. You discover yourself best when you seek to know Him first. The only way to truly discover yourself, sinful and in need of a savior, is to begin with Jesus. 

There are plenty of preachers, too many, who approach the Bible looking to see what it offers to make life better and easier.  Bryan Wolfmueller in his book, Has American Christianity Failed? refers to this as a moral reading of the Bible. Many take passages meant to relate a historic story, or serve as a type and shadow of Christ, and allegorize for today, thus promoting a theology for now never intended in the text. This is as futile as looking at a road map to try to understand what’s wrong with your car. We are not David, and Goliath is not our financial giant, easily knocked down by one stone called faith, or a second stone called prayer, a third stone call trust, a fourth named hope or that fifth called patience. (Yes, I actually heard it preached like that once.) The Bible was not written to help you lead a better, healthier more fulfilling life. It was written to know God, His commands, and by consequence to understand our problem, that we are hopelessly sinful and in need of a Savior. And in scripture God has revealed to us that Savior. 

A right view of self leads to an encounter with Jesus on every page of scripture. 

Several years ago I decided to read the Old Testament looking for Jesus in every story. The scriptures came alive. I’m not just permitted to do this, but instructed to. You remember Jesus walked with two men who seemed perplexed by all the events surrounding his resurrection. When their eyes were finally opened, Jesus took the rest of the journey, explaining to them how all scriptures prepared for and pointed to him. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27) Think about it. Every story and every event in the Old Testament either was about Jesus, or pointed to him. Consider, too, these words from John 5:39, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” (Note the contrast between using scripture for your own end – eternal life – instead of knowing him –bear witness about me.) 

If the Bible is about Jesus, we should read it with him in mind, not us. If you read scripture as a way to live better, you’ll end up in a dark place, for the Bible paints a pretty dismal picture of man. If you really want to look for yourself in scripture, here’s what you find; “All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18). Clearly, to read the Bible looking for encouragement and personal affirmation, outside of Christ the Savior, is a pretty disappointing exercise. 

It’s tempting, for example, and on the surface, logical, to go to passages where barren women received the provisions of a miracle birth and take that to mean God will meet you in all your equally barren situations. However, God put those stories in the Old Testament to point us to the most amazing, unbelievable miracle of all history; the impossible birth of Jesus to a virgin. Those stories, where barren women get pregnant, were meant to point us to the birth of Jesus, not to promise us that each time life gives us a short end of the stick, he will deliver. (Pun intended).

Recently, a famous female speaker used the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 in Mark 6 and took every point of the narrative to show what God will do if we give him the little we have, like the boy gave Jesus all he had. This story, though, has nothing to do with that. The moment the attention shifted away from Jesus to the boy, his two fish and five loaves, the speaker stepped onto a narcissistic, self-indulging path, and the story bogged down completely in a muddy and sluggish trap where we, not Jesus, become what the story is about. It’s a pitiful place to walk. It completely misses the whole point of the story, which Jesus quite clearly explains as the narrative expands. 

A thorough and complete reading of this story tells us what this miracle was meant to teach, and it’s a story for us, not about us. Later in John 6:35 he explains that he is the bread of life.  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” The whole miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 was to teach that truth. Sandwiched in this story is another, often misunderstood and misapplied wonder work of Jesus. When the disciples left Jesus following the feeding, and were alone in a boat, a fierce and unexpected storm swept over them. In their panic they saw what they thought was a ghost, but it was in fact Jesus. That part of the story is not a place for us to turn when financial or health or relationship storms rock our world. This is a story about Jesus and his power over nature and his demand that we acknowledge him to be God, like Peter did. But it was also when the storm calmed that Jesus referred to the miracle of the feeding, pointing to their lack of faith in both instances. …for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”  And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded,  for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.” (Mark 6:50-53) So the miracle of the feeding did two things: showed them their hardness of heart, their sin, and revealed himself to them as the bread of life, the one who came to save them by offering eternal life.  This grand story was written to show his disciples that he is God, they are not – they are sinners – and that he came to offer eternal life. And his provision to the 5,000, and his great display of power over sin showed that he had the authority to offer that promise of eternal life. 

The point of both stories, the feeding and the storm, was to prove that Jesus is the bread of life who promises eternal life to those who take him in (eat his bread) and that he has the power over death (calming the storm.) 

The beauty of this approach is once we truly meet Jesus in this way, by making the Bible about him, not us, we get to bring ourselves, our problems and all life’s challenges to someone who is bigger than us, sovereign, just, good and fully in control. There is no guarantee he will resolve our current problem, but I didn’t go looking for that. I came looking for him and meeting him in the scriptures is enough. 

When my son Travis was dying of cancer I rushed often to the story of Jairus who in Mark 5 pleaded for Jesus to heal his daughter. Now, I did not run to Jairus with my need, I ran with Jairus to Jesus. Honestly, I never expected Jesus to heal Travis like he healed Jarius’s daughter. I simply went to this passage to meet again the same Jesus who looks with compassion on his children and whom I trust has the right authority, the appropriate power and who can sovereignly give me, what he wants and bring me to that place where whatever the outcome, I will love him all the more. And I do.

There is great value in reading the Bible with Jesus in mind. You might not get what you want for this life, but it’s the way to truly meet him." -Mitch Shultz 

Once it was the blessing, Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling, Now it is His Word.
Once His gifts I wanted, Now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone. -A.B. Simpson (1843-1919; founder of the Christian & Missionary Alliance)  

(Mitch wrote "Part One" to this article last year)

The User's Guide to Postmodern "Emergent" Christianity

     Step one is essential: "Get in the loop!" What does this mean, you ask? Well, this thought pattern is almost everything you'll need to stay clueless within the confines of Postmodern Christianity. Once you start thinking this way, you'll never get out of "the loop." It goes like this:

     "Mean, angry, narrow-minded and judgmental people are bad, and whatever they believe is instantly invalidated by the fact that they are judgmental, narrow-minded, angry and mean. I get to decide if, and when, they are mean, angry, narrow-minded and judgmental."

     Once you're safely in this loop you won't need to carefully consider the truth claims of another believer with their precious little Bible verses. And, thankfully, you'll never have to learn anything about the theology and creeds that have been passed down for almost two thousand years. Remember, there are still old-fashioned Christians who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, and they are mean, angry, narrow-minded and judgmental. These dinosaurs want to conduct church the same old way and cling to antiquated beliefs that are out of step with today's social climate. You can easily ignore these people if you're "in the loop." Before you know it, you will have completely dehumanized them and it won't even faze you that you've been the judgmental one all along! 

      To follow step two, say something like this: "That may be true for you, but it's not true for me." In days of old, this was only used for superficial matters, like one's preference of Mary Ann over Ginger. But nowadays this simplistic catch phrase serves a vital new purpose: it enables anyone to ignore God's Word with impunity. It used to be that a Christian couldn't just go around rearranging and reinterpreting the Bible, but now it's easy! You may substitute similar catch phrases like "I just feel like it's not wrong for me" or you can even quote that great Bible verse: "What is truth? asked Pilate..."

      Step three, in case you haven't already figured it out, is this: Don't take the Bible very serious at all, just give it lip-service. I know, I know, this sounds extreme, but remember this is Postmodern Christianity. Postmodernity is a belief system that says that no belief system is true. It's absolutely certain that nothing is absolutely certain. The Bible is full of absolute truth claims, that's why it's so exclusive, hateful and out-of-date. However, you will still need to make reference to it on occasion, so it's good to have some overly simplistic proof-texts handy. "Thou shall not judge" is the all-time most popular proof-text, so feel free to use it as often as you want. Just remember not to read the entire passage in the actual Bible, otherwise you'll see what Jesus really meant. You can even misquote it like this: "Who are we to judge?" or "Only God can judge-that's not my job!"

      The Bible has clear rules about what is right and wrong, so you will need to avoid all of that. Remember, people generally hate God's rules, so you need to stay on their side; instead, make those Bible thumping "traditional" Christians seem like the real problem, i.e. they're bad because they think they're better than anyone else. You must ignore the fact that true Bible-believing Christians don't think they're better than anyone else, they are simply pointing to the unchangeable truth of God's Word as the only ultimate authority. Furthermore, the Gospel itself is only "Good News" because Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins... and we couldn't even have sins unless we were guilty of breaking God's commandments... and since God Himself gave us His commandments we are clearly guilty and in need of a Savior.... do you see how this all falls apart if you start reading the Bible? You'll just turn into a regular Christian-ugh!

     Instead of that, keep it simple and just say something like "I believe the way of Jesus is love" or "I believe God just wants everyone to be happy in their own way." Nobody's going to argue with that, right? For more ideas on how to misquote God's Word, just listen to any interview with Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones or any of the hip new emergent leaders. With a good dose of sincerity and direct eye contact (plus some emotional background music), you can say almost anything in the name of Jesus!

     Finally, when in doubt, always prefer ambiguity over certainty and truth. Ambiguity is the magic glue that holds Postmodern Christianity together. What does this mean? I don't know, what do you think it means? Is it possible that the ambiguity of uncertainty is really just the context from within which our sense of community can emerge? I don't know, I'm just asking the question, because the beauty of relationship reveals itself through the self-discovery process, as we all find personal meaning collectively and individually. I'm not saying that anyone's version of truth is right or wrong; I'm just asking questions so that a dialogue can be established. Maybe there's a better way, a way where all of our collective narratives can form a cohesive, yet multi-faceted story. Maybe this new meta-narrative can lead us to a place where fear and hatred will be replaced by mystery, beauty, and ongoing book sales. A place with well-attended conferences and substantial speaking fees, a place of extensive radio and T.V. interviews and, ultimately, a regular guest position with Oprah. We must dream. We must hope. We must never reach any conclusions.

(See how easy this is?)

Now get out there and confuse everyone! You can do it!! 

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Here's a great episode of Fighting for the Faith to help you understand Postmodernism better: A Beginner's Guide to Post-Modernity

Check out this article (with a TON of links) from the Berean Examiner: Postmodern Christianity's End Game?

For a serious look at the "Emerging/Postmodern" church, please watch this extensive video:

For an extensive and serious understanding of Postmodernism please listen to this audio book from Professor Stephen Hicks:

(Thanks to the folks at Pyromaniacs for the memes)

"Getting Wasted with the Holy Spirit" at Bethel Redding

Here's part three of a series of articles from Holly Pivec about her visit to Bill Johnson's Bethel Church:

"Getting Wasted with the Holy Spirit" at Bethel Redding

“There are only three rules in this class. Rule 1: Get drunk. Rule 2: Stay drunk. Rule 3: Get other people drunk.”

— Sunday School Teacher at Bethel Redding

This kind of teaching is common among New Apostolic Reformation false teachers. Here's Patricia King in a very disturbing video: "In Jesus Name, The Bar is Open!"

Patricia King and Bill Johnson have much in common. Here's a brand new advertisement from Patricia King's XP Media Company that is selling Bill Johnson's useless $59.00 "class:"

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For further reading and research on the very dangerous teachings of Bill Johnson:

The Bill Johnson Cornucopia of False Teaching, Bible-Twisting and General Absurdity

Rob Bell is No Victim by Marcia Montenegro

Here's a brief guest post by Marcia Montenegro:

An article by John Pavlovitz about Rob Bell criticizes Christian critics of Bell for being unloving towards Rob Bell. I agree we should not be “unloving” towards anyone, including Rob Bell. But I think this is a "straw man" argument and serves only to make light of Bell's steady drift from the historic Christian faith. The article describes it as this:

"He deviated. He dared to ask questions. He challenged the status quo. He moved against the grain."

Bell went much further than just “deviating” and "asking questions." That was not the problem. What Bell did was question the truth of God's word as well as some major doctrines. In fact, I think Christians were slow to recognize problems with Bell, starting with his book, "Velvet Elvis." It took a long time for voices to be heard and even then, it was not that many. Yet Pavlovitz's article makes Bell sound like a victim:

"As so often happens in the modern Church, he was intentionally and mercilessly pushed to the margins of the Christian community, just a few feet from irrelevance. There he would be left to languish for a few months before hopefully dissolving into obscurity."

I don't think Bell was treated “mercilessly.” What happened is that as Bell continued his drift from sound doctrine, many churches and conferences no longer wanted to book him. Well, that is a consequence of Bell's choices and ideas. It's on him.

The article denies that Bell is “softening the Gospel” or denying orthodox doctrine. Rather,

"Bell’s been doing something very brave. Something many pastors overseeing churches in this country would never do, but many in their congregations wish they would do. He’s admitting the real questions that surface in the excavation of deep faith. He’s looking to separate what in this religion is of God and what is of people. He’s asking why we believe what we believe, and asking believers to do the same."

Bell's words and actions indicate a rejection of the Christian faith as delivered one for all to the saints. This is not being "brave." I have tracked this since “Velvet Elvis” through NOOMA videos and his recent participation with uber New Ager Deepak Chopra.

Serious red flags appeared in Bell's first book, “Velvet Elvis." For example, Bell gives a positive recommendation of Ken Wilber and advises his readers to take 3 months to read Wilber's book, “A Theory of Everything” (which I've read). Wilber, an admitted Perennialist, is a nondualist and the architect of Integral Spirituality, which is mostly based in Eastern spirituality (especially Buddhism). What Christian would positively point anyone to Ken Wilber, whose beliefs have influenced many to his kind of anti-Christian worldview?

There were other red flags in the book, including misinterpretation of Scripture, but Bell's advocacy of Wilber was the most startling and most disturbing to me.

The article continues to bring Bell's critics to task for “destroying” Bell. Again, I repeat that I am against any harsh or unloving treatment of anyone, and I admit some may have been this way toward Bell. However, any articles I read critiquing Bell were not harsh towards Bell but rather expressed grave concerns about Bell's ever-changing theology that was spinning rapidly away from sound doctrine.

Not only that, Christians were and are concerned with Bell's influence on the church and on younger Christians, and that concern has been validated. The Emergent movement, of whom Bell was a spokesperson and leader, has considerably damaged the church in such a way that those influenced now question absolute truth, the Bible as God's word (Bell denied the Bible as God's word years ago), that we can know anything for certain, the doctrine of hell, how people are redeemed, the nature of Christ (which is rather panentheistic in “Love Wins”), and other core beliefs of the faith.

This attack on Bell's critics reminds me of William P. Young stating, with no evidence at all, that critics of his book "The Shack," did not read it. It's a way to deflect attention from the author's theological problems onto those pointing them out.       -Marcia Montenegro

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ROB BELL'S LOVE WINS: AN EVALUATION BY MARCIA MONTENEGRO

Please check out Marcia's extensive website for more information: Christian Answers for the New Age

Here's a GREAT video that carefully examines the "Postmodern/Emergent Church" movement:

Here's a fascinating interview between Marcia Montenegro & Steve Kozar: Marcia Montenegro: Astrologer Overtaken by the Love of God

Check out the review of Rob Bell's new book on the podcast In Layman's Terms

Just for fun...

"The User's Guide to Postmodern Christianity"

CCM Song Critique: "I Wanna Go Back" by David Dunn

Here's another CCM Song Critique by Jorge Rodriguez at Faithful Stewardship. Please, please, please keep in mind that these articles are examining the meaning and theology of the lyrics-NOT critiquing the intentions or sincerity of the songwriters/performers:

I Wanna Go Back by David Dunn Reviewed at Faithful Stewardship Blog