Honk if You Love Jesus

It seems the new thing on Facebook is to put a post such as Jesus is my Savior.... and put like this or post this and lets see how many true Christians there are on facebook. Copy and past this on your facebook page.


I just think it is so easy to like something ... re post something ... quote a bible verse... or honk if you love Jesus.


I wonder how many true Christians would jump on the bandwagon if we posted something like.... love the person who stabbed you in the back at work and strive everyday to show them the love of God...... Love every Christian the same whether they believe the way you do or not.... Love you neighbor as yourself no matter who they are or what they do.... Love people and show them everyday no matter what they say or do..

I think that is not as popular because it involves crucifying your flesh and making yourself act loving toward others when your flesh is screaming...... but look what they did to me...

I just wonder how many people who are so quick to post a claim that they are a christian or that they love Jesus are walking the "love your enemy" walk ....or... "the do good to those who hate you " walk.

I'm not saying that LOVE JESUS posts are bad.... not that bible verse posts are bad.... I'm just saying that I haven't seen much "loving those who hate me" actions in my lifetime and without that .... all the posts and quoting are in vain.

Following the Leader

There is a great post today on the blog of "Former Leaders Journey" about validating or following a particular leader. There is a link to that blog on the side of my blog. Not necessarily the video but Former Leader's post really hit home with me. I am still sickened daily by the leadership that I followed and endorsed for more that a decade.

The Seven Deadly Sins

The pastor at the church I have visited a couple of times has started a series on the seven deadly sins. I just love it! It is the first time in years I have heard sin addressed so directly from the pulpit. Not only is it addressed, it is made clear that we are responsible for our actions and there are very real consequences for them. He also addresses the results that these sins have on our relationship with God,our relationships with others and on our spiritual health. All the teaching has been so practical and what is so refreshing is that at the end of each service there is not just an invitation to receive Christ as Lord and savior but also opportunities for repentance and dealing with areas in our lives as Christians where we need to repent and turn away from sin in our lives that hasn't been dealt with.

The first lesson was on envy. The Bible says in James 3:16 where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you have disorder and every evil practice. I have seen so much of this firsthand and in the church at that.

At one church that I attended we were taught to never be satisfied with what we had materially and that our faith would become stagnant if we were not constantly "raising our vision" to the next level of material things and "believing God for them" we were instructed to write a "vision list " and write down all the material things we wanted, how big of a house we wanted, what we wanted our salary to be, etc..... along with our spiritual goals of course. Sometimes when someone achieved a material goal, huge house, being left large sums of money, etc. they would be called upon to speak on what their faith had gotten them and the whole service would be devoted to that. Hands were laid on the chairs in the auditorium and they were prayed over in diligence and instructed to "grow millionaires".

Envy is insatiable, envy cripples our ability to examine ourselves - to see our motives, envy cripples our trust in God, envy never stops at that sin - it always grows into other sins, it causes one to take matters into their own hands to make what they want happen, envy cripples our relationships, envy cripples our ability to enjoy what we have, envy is a heart problem and begins in the heart, envy is not something that happens to us..... it is something that comes from us.... from our heart.

I believe that this constant pursuit of and pressure to achieve material things and money with "our faith" bred envy within the church, and as a result bred evil practices that changed innocent peoples' lives in horrendous ways.

Hocus Pocus

The other day I was reading some comments and someone commented on a sentence used in a pastors message. The quote was this..... "If you don't have a relationship with JESUS, if you don't believe it when you use His name, you might as well be saying hocus pocus". This struck a sore spot with me. Over the past years that seems to me, what the majority of using the name of Jesus is to many Christians, is hocus pocus.

In the past 18 years I have heard the name of Jesus used to call in the money, the vacations, change personal circumstances for comfort and want, keep people out of jail and twist the courts after they have committed horrible crimes, and almost every other selfish and self centered reason imaginable. Rarely have I heard it used in a way that a person was willing to sacrifice their life to Him in service. I have heard it used in prayers for others for healing but not nearly as much as for personal gain.

I wonder when Paul and Silas were in prison, why they didn't use the name of Jesus to get themselves out. The Bible says that they were "praying and singing praises to God" and an earthquake shook the doors of the jail and they were free. Funny how it doesn't say they USED the name of Jesus to get out or how they used their FAITH to get out. Unlike Christians of today they weren't miserable in their circumstances, even though their circumstances were that they were in jail. Even when God freed them they didn't even escape because they didn't want the heathen jailer to get into trouble. Wow!

How different from many Christians I know today who can't wait to USE the name of Jesus to get out of their circumstances. How different from many "faith" preachers of this day and time who would have used the incident to proclaim what they had gotten with THEIR faith and how they had USED the name of Jesus to get it.

Believing that the name of Jesus has power has nothing to do with having a relationship with Him. Doing what He says and practicing what He tells us to do is what a relationship with Him is about. Not using His name and knowing it has power.

In Luke 6:46, Jesus asked "Why do you call me Lord, Lord when you don't do what I say?" Matthew 7:15 -23 talks about those who stand before Jesus and say "Lord, Lord, didn't we cast out devils, heal the sick and perform miracles in Your name?" and He says he never knew them. Obviously they didn't have a relationship with Him yet they knew the power of His name. They used it and it worked for them. No different than saying "hocus pocus".

In the amplified version Jesus says to them "depart from Me, you who act wickedly, disregarding my commands". He didn't say, sin is no big deal as long as you know the power of My name and what My blood bought........ He dismissed those who "disregarded His commands"!!!! Now I haven't heard that preached in church in a very long time.

I was talking to a friend the other day and he told me that he would be surprised if it was many more years before Jesus returns. In the course of our conversation he said..... " folks just act any old way they want these days." When I asked him if he was talking about the world or Christians he was referring to Christians.

I think maybe the name of Jesus has been reduced to "hocus pocus" to many, many people and the blood that he shed has been reduced to a "get out of jail free" card that many think enables them not to be accountable for their actions.

Yes His name is powerful, and He did shed His precious blood and He deserves for us to take up our cross and follow Him every day and live a life of service and obedience, not a life chasing the health, wealth , prosperity and do whatever gospel.

Rocket Town

The other day I was downloading music and I came across an old song by Michael W. Smith. If you are familiar with the song then you would remember lyrics but if you are not.... it is about a bar called Rocket Town and how it was the most popular and happening place to be. But there was on there who stood out. One who wasn't there to party but to witness. One who didn't want to make sure he was treated right but turned the other cheek. There was something about him that made him stand out in the crowd. It was the presence of God in him. One who spent his weekend nights not thinking of himself but thinking of how he could bring others to Christ.

What happened to Christians like that and pastors who provoked their church members to be like that?

It seems like these days, many Christians and many pastors aren't any different than the world. Their focus is on themselves, having and achieving position and material things, using their faith mostly for believing for material things or events in their lives to propel them to their desires for themselves. Yes tons of Christians are in the bars but they are there to party not to witness. Many Christians think nothing of planning to get drunk with their friends, having sex without being married, cussing, lying, and manipulating and using others. Many Christians don't want to hear about sacrifice, holiness, accountability, responsibility, obedience or taking up their cross and following Jesus. There also seems to be few or hardly any pastors preaching about these things.

Most messages seem to be about what we can have, how we can get it and don't worry about what we do.

We don't seem to hear parents talking about forgiveness and turning the other cheek. Instead we hear "you don't mess with my family" Aren't we glad that God didn't have the don't mess with my family attitude or there would be no blood of Jesus to pay for our sins.

I can't remember when the last time I heard a message about how Jesus told us to forgive 70 times 7 .....was that each day???? Yes it was if someone asked you to forgive them. Now I'm not talking about being a doormat for someone but I am talking about forgiving them. I mean if someone hits you in the head with a bat you can forgive them, love them, help them without handing them another bat and standing there waiting to be hit again if they have done it several times before.

I certainly don't claim to have all the answers but I do believe that these are the things I should be seeking after instead of how to use my faith to get what I want or need. Didn't Jesus tell us to take no thought for these things that our Heavenly Father knows what we need and He will take care of us? Doesn't the Psalmist say that he was young and is now old and he had never seen the righteous forsaken or their seed begging for bread. Didn't Jesus tell us to seek first the kingdom of God and His RIGHTEOUSNESS and He will give us everything we need? I happened to notice that Jesus didn't say what we want or desire. How strange that was not what I was taught in church. Jesus also knew that when He died His blood would make us righteous and yet here he is telling us to SEEK after righteousness. I wasn't taught that in church either. One translation tells us that the heathen seek after these things. Wonder if a nice vacation falls into that category...... maybe so.

I may not know a lot but I do know that God is going to take care of me. It really doesn't matter where I live, what I wear, what I eat or what material things I posses. I am happy and content knowing Him and I have decided that I am going to put my focus on seeking first the kingdom of God, His way of doing things. I also know that through the blood of Jesus I am righteous but I also have decided to seek after His righteousness because that's what He told us to do.

You know once I heard a sermon about how when we look good we attract people to God. I think that that poor preacher needs some help with what attracts people to God. The Rocket Town christian not only attracts them but offers them a foundation other than money, things and looking good to build on.

I have two versions of Matthew 6:28-34 listed here if you would like to read them.

The Amplified Bible - Matthew 6:28-34
And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lillies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.

Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like on of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is
tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, where are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to wear?

For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.

But seek (aim and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.


The Message Translation Matthew 6:28-34

Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as and inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion - do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp of shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers - most of which are never even seen- don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with GETTING, so you can respond to God's GIVING. People who don't know God and the way he works full over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Give your ENTIRE attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen o=tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Birmingham News Religion Top Stories 2009

On December 26, 2009, on the front page of the Religion section of the Birmingham News the top 20 church stories in 2009. In the opening paragraph one of the four stories first mentioned was the "sentencing of a megachurch youth minister as a sex offender". This sad but true story ranked number 2 out of the top 20 stories of the year.

This story of perversion on such a twisted level managed to outrank several truly wonderful stories such as, Matt Pitt, the founder of the Basement who is actually changing the lives of youth in the city and turning them toward God instead of using them to satisfy a sick and perverse lust for young flesh. It also outranked a story of an anonymous donor who wrote a check for $720,000.00 to keep a beloved Methodist church camp open and running.

The number 2 story reads:

"Former Word of Life Christian Center Executive Pastor and Youth Pastor David Webb was sentenced on July 30 and reported to federal prison on Aug. 31 to begin serving a five year sentenced for transporting a minor girl across state lines for sex. David Webb, former executive pastor and youth minister for Word of Life Christian Center on Derby Parkway, was indicted in January and PLEADED GUILTY to having sex with an underage girl in his youth group. He's now serving a five-year sentence in federal prison. "

Many deny this ever happened and this man pled guilty to "save the church" which would mean he would have had to lie in open court to the judge. This would have meant that he would have also lied when the judge asked him point blank in open court if he did "eventually succeed in having sex with her" to which Webb replied "yes sir"

The Reaping

The other day I heard a person talking about a local church in our area that claims to be a faith church. The pastor there prides himself on being a faith teacher. Ninety percent of the messages on CD that I have heard from that church center around USING faith to get material things, money and what an individual wants for himself. I have spoken to and know so many that have come from churches like this that have been used, taken advantage of by the leadership, raped by staff members, shunned, lied to by the leadership, controlled by the leadership, manipulated by the leadership...... the list of abuses for leadership's selfish and self centered gain goes on and on.

The popular sing song rhyme for the new year at this church is:

IN 2010 THE REAPING WILL NEVER END!!!!!

I feel sorry for many of these pastors, their families, and many who have foolishly followed their example of the treatment of others in the body of Christ. If the reaping has begun for them and will never end they are going to need God to have mercy on them!

It almost reminds me of Pharaoh who spoke his own judgement out of his mouth.

The Beginning of Faith

This is the first passage in the New Testament where the word "faith" is mentioned. How fitting that it is mentioned by Jesus.

Matthew 6:20-35 (King James Version)
20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

It seems to me that in this passage, Jesus is telling us to "take no thought" for what we will eat, drink or wear. In the sentence where He mentions faith it is like if we think that we need to ask Him for these things then we don't have faith. Not that we should use our faith to ask for and attain these things. He is saying that God knows all our needs and if we seek first the kingdom of God then God will provide these things for us without us even thinking about them. He says that these things are what the Gentiles seek after.

The next passage where faith is mentioned again is by Jesus:

Matthew 8:5-11 (King James Version)
5And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus marveled at this man's faith. He didn't feel the need to confess repeatedly, ask again repeatedly or figure out how to receive. He KNEW that what Jesus said would be done and he knew it even without Jesus being there.

Matthew 8:24-27 (King James Version)

24And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
25And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
26And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

Here in this passage Jesus told the disciples that they had little faith. Maybe it was because they were so afraid of their circumstances and they didn't KNOW that He would take care of them. Whatever the reason, it had nothing to do with their material needs.

The next:

Matthew 9:2 (King James Version)
2And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

In this passage, the people NEVER asked Jesus for anything. He SAW their faith and healed the man. Could it be because He saw that they KNEW that He would heal the man if they just brought him to Jesus.

This is just the start for me. I doubt that I will comment on every place in the New Testament where faith is mentioned and yet I might. I know that this seems to be the beginning of the truth that what I have been taught about faith is definitely false teaching.

What is Faith

For the past fifteen years, I have been deceiving myself by listening to teachers and preachers teaching the faith message. I neglected my responsibility to prove out what I heard by the Word of God and listened to the false teaching that faith was for me to use to get things for myself.

Whether it was for circumstances to change to my advantage or for material things that I wanted or needed. I foolishly believed that if I got things using my "faith" that I actually had faith. I have come to believe that faith actually has nothing to do with material things or circumstances that I want.

The word "faith" is used in the King James Version of the New Testament 231 times. In glancing through the passages that contain the word "faith", I found that I could not find any passage where we were instructed to use our faith for money, houses, clothes, jobs, or any material thing. I can't find where we were instructed to use our faith for the necessities of life or to get what we want. I have come to the conclusion that our faith is for furthering the kingdom of God, to help us live holy lives, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation, and to love others with the love of God.

My blog posts may not be so controversial for a while but I am going to satisfy the questions I have about all I have been taught for the last fifteen years. I think faith should provoke us to want to DO something FOR God not GET something FROM Him. So I am going to go through and actually READ every passage IN CONTEXT where faith is mentioned in the New Testament and see for myself what it is. Maybe then I will get back to my "first love". I remember it and can feel it tugging at me. I am determined to rediscover it.

Faith in Action

James 2:14-18 New International Version (NIV)
Faith and Deeds
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

I remember in my former church the pastor proclaimed himself to be a faith teacher. He professed to have a great anointing in the faith area. On more that one occasion I heard him call his wonderful faith that he had perfected "BMW faith". He got all kinds of material things with his faith. His great BMW faith got him a BMW, houses, fine dinners, top of the line suits, top of the line shoes, jewelry for his wife, extravagant vacations, the best of everything. He encouraged and provoked his congregation to believe for the best of all material things. After all, he taught that if you had nice things, money and looked good that it would attract people to God and if you looked not so good that no one would be attracted to God. Of course there is not one place in the Bible that teaches this, but he was such a master manipulator that as he strung one scripture after another together, taken out of context, to form his wonderful faith doctrine , I bought it hook, line and sinker.

Never were we pushed or provoked to use our faith to reach out to the community, to reach the lost, to feed the hungry, or to help the needy. Our church did have a prison ministry but no outreach to the community unless there was gain in it for the church.

I went to Linn Park in downtown Birmingham last Sunday morning and I saw a man with GREAT FAITH for the first time. He arrived at the park before 7:00 a.m. and began to set up. He had a small trailer equipped to serve hot food. He pulled out his generator to power his speakers and sound system. He was not there to preach church. He was not there to teach faith. He was not there to take up and offering. He was there to tell people about the saving grace and the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus was not a part of his message. The name of Jesus was not thrown about as a way to get things. The message was Jesus and only Jesus. He came there for people who had nothing to give in return. He was there for the homeless, the forgotten, the ignored and the destitute. He came to tell them that Jesus loves them, that He died for them, that they are of value to God, that they were important. My former pastor referred to these type of people as "losers". This man looked on them as treasures. After he and the others who had chosen to come out in the cold on that Sunday morning had ministered to all who wanted to receive Jesus as their personal savior and all who wanted prayer, he opened up the window of his trailer and began to serve a hot meal to each individual.

I stood and watched with tears in my eyes and asked God to forgive me for all those wasted years that I allowed my selfishness and self centered thinking to put me in a position to believe a false doctrine that faith was all about getting things for myself and getting the good life for myself.

I could see this man in Heaven with a multitude coming up to him and thanking him for touching their lives for Jesus. I could see Jesus telling him that when he had done this unto the least of these, he had done it unto Jesus. I could see Jesus telling him, "Well done my good and faithful servant"

I don't think I will hear those words because I believed for a car, a house, a job, clothes or money. If I recall correctly I believe that Jesus told the multitudes to take no thought for these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and all these things would be added unto us. Maybe if all these things aren't being added unto us it has nothing to do with what we believe God for, maybe it has to do with us seeking after the wrong things.

Churches, Working Together or Dividing

In the church that I was a member for over a decade there was put forth and taught a mindset that I have never seen or heard of in any other church that I attended or visited. Members of this church were never to visit other churches unless they were out of town or attending something special with a family member at another church. If a member of my former church visited other churches because they wanted to and it was found out then they were looked upon as traitors. We were taught to look down on other churches because they were not as enlightened as our church and were not as excellent. The pastor professed to know all the truth and, according to him, was always right. Many times he pompously declared from the pulpit that he could wait till we all get to heaven so that Jesus could inform us all that he (the pastor) was right.

This church never joined itself with any other church in our area or city to help anyone or reach out to the community. At one time we had a luncheon with a speaker who was a self made multi-millionaire. The purpose of this guest speaker coming in was to help raise the vision of the people in the church so that they would all become more prosperous and hopefully rich. When a pastor of a neighboring church was invited to the luncheon by a church member the pastor of my former church wanted to know why this neighboring pastor had been invited because we were trying to build our church, not theirs. The pastor never had one good or encouraging thing to say about any other church in our city, on the contrary he constantly criticized other churches and pastors from the pulpit.

Recently, I was totally surprised at something that happened in the church that I have been attending lately. The regular drummer had to be out of town on Sunday morning. The drummer who usually fills in for him had to work. Sunday morning, as I sat in my seat, I recognized someone in the sanctuary that I know personally and I know is a regular attender of a church other than this church. As it became time for the service to begin this individual sat down behind the drums. He proceeded to play with the band and did an excellent job. When the music was over, he quietly made his way to the back of the church toward the door. The pastor stood up and recognized him for being such a blessing by filling in and playing the drums for us, thanked him for his willingness to help and wished him on his way as he went to attend the service at the church where he chooses to worship.

Who would have ever thought that this could happen! Members of the body of Christ, from two different churches in the same area, working together and helping each other with no jealousy, criticism or envy. What a blessing it was! Christians from different churches working together to further the cause of Christ and not their own importance or agenda.

The spirit of separation and division is not of God. He desires His children to work together and help each other. Not separate themselves from other Christians because they don't go to the same church.

A pastor who seeks to divide his congregation from the rest of the body of Christ is operating out of a spirit of fear, pride and selfishness. Fear is the opposite of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. God hates pride. A true christian is not selfish.

If you are in a church where the pastor promotes division from the members of the body of Christ who do not attend your church and not unity he is in direct contradiction of the Bible. Find a church where the pastor operates out of a heart of love and not selfishness. Find a true pastor after God's own heart, and quit listening to one who pulls you away from the heart of your Heavenly Father.

The Drunkard and the Glutton

In the King James version of the Bible the term "drunkard" is used 5 times. Twice it is used in the same sentence with the term "glutton" and once it is used in the same sentence with the term "fornicator". In all 3 of these sentences the glutton and the fornicator are equal to the drunkard.

In these verses that I mentioned, Deut. 21:20, Prov. 23:21, and1Cor. 5:11, the drunkard, the glutton and the fornicator are pointed to as someone who will come to poverty, should be stoned to death as a rebellious son, or someone believers should not even eat with.

In reading these verses the twisted mentality of the leadership of my former church appalls me.

I remember at one time when I was a youth worker a young adult was disqualified from participating in the youth band because he had been seen in a restaurant ordering an alcoholic drink with his dinner. He was not drunk nor was he a drunkard. Just because he was seen ordering and drinking this one drink he was instantly "unfit" for the "excellence" we put forth in ministry. Yet people who were extremely fat to the point of being obese were brought in to minister from the pulpit. There were extremely fat people who led praise and worship and who were youth workers and children's church workers. A man involved in fornication was left on staff until he left town and was still endorsed by the pastor of the church to minister to youth at a youth camp.

How can the leadership of a church pull out the sections of the Bible he wants to use and completely ignore the rest. He can do it when his church is a business to him. He can do it when he is not a pastor after God's own heart. He can do it when his parishioners represent dollar signs instead of the body of Christ. He can do it when he and his family are his number one priority and not the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In this instance a person who loved God was denied the use of his gift to serve God because the church leadership was more interested in an image that what was right. The Bible does not say there is anything wrong with a drink, it says it is wrong to be drunk.

In the other instance a man who was known to be involved in sexual sin was left in a ministry position and on staff. The Bible says not to even eat with a fornicator, much less leave him in ministry.

I'm not saying that I would never eat with a glutton, drunkard or a fornicator. I know that we live under grace and there is forgiveness and restoration for the repentant. The fact is that the qualification to be involved in any ministry area at my former church was that you support the pastor and his family one hundred percent. Right or wrong, whether you agreed with them or not, your total support was mandatory or they found a way to keep you in the rejected group till they found a way to get rid of you.

Beware of the red flags. Don't make excused for a pastor who is ignoring and twisting things in the Bible because he is a good speaker, supposedly "anointed", puts on a good image, or seems to have it all. If it seems too good to be true...... IT IS.

Never Leave Your Man of God

In my former church we were constantly taught that one of the most important things about our christian walk was to have a "man of God" to sit under and to "speak into our lives". Now it was very important also NEVER to LEAVE your "man of God" if you wanted to experience God's richest and best in your life.

In the New Testament, the phrase "man of God" is only mentioned two times. In second Timothy 3:16 the term "man of God" is referring to believers being equipped for every good work. In first Timothy 6:11, Paul is telling Timothy that as a man of God he should flee the things of the world and pursue righteousness.

Not one place in the New Testament is the church taught that they are to focus on ONE "man of God" to lead and guide them and speak into their lives. We have the Holy Spirit on the inside of us to lead and guide us into all truth. We are Jesus' sheep and we follow His voice.

This man made doctrine on "needing" a "man of God" to pledge our allegiance and support and financial gifts to has been put together by men who call themselves pastors and prophets in order to gain financial wealth, material gifts and keep their supporters under their control.

The body of Christ needs to wake up and realize who they are in Christ and realize that God speaks to each and every on of us. He is perfectly capable of leading, guiding, protecting and blessing us without a go-between to tell us what He wants or is saying.

We need to get out from under the control of these manipulative, greedy, materialistic imitations of pastors and find some true pastors with a pastor's heart to hook up with and DO the work of the ministry.

Are You a Tither???

I remember in my former church a common question asked by the pastor, his family, and his staff was, "Are you a tither?" and " Are they tithers?"

If someone asked for prayer for something, someone to agree with them, healing, a situation, or any need they may have the pastor or his family members first response was "are they tithers???" They also claimed what they wanted from God and demanded it because they were "tithers"

At times when invitations were received by staff or the pastor's family members they wanted to know if the one the invitation was from was a tither before they made a decision to go or send a gift.

Many times when people wanted an appointment for counseling, I was instructed to pull up their tithing record so a decision could be made if they could see the pastor or anyone for that matter.

The staff was REQUIRED to tithe in order to be employed by the church. If the pastor or one of his family members became suspicious that a staff member had fallen behind in their tithing, I was instructed to pull up their tithing record and the staff member who had fallen behind was called in for a correction conference.

In reading the new testament and the eye witness accounts of those who came in contact with Jesus I am amazed that he never once asked anyone if they were a tither!!! He only asked them if they believed! Multitudes came to Him.

Some asked Him to bless them.... tithing was not required for Him to give His blessing.
Some asked Him to heal them.... tithing was not required for Him to heal them.
Some asked Him to COME with them and heal or minister to their family members... He ALWAYS went willingly and tithing was not required for Him to go with them.

My former church wanted the congregation to believe that tithing was a requirement in order for you to receive anything from God. Maybe this was because of the luxurious lifestyle they were living as a result of their enormous salaries and the personal things that were paid by the church for them.

Sadly they neglected to put the emphasis on the BLOOD OF JESUS that purchased everything we will ever need from God. Tithing is not required for us to receive everything that God has for us but the blood is what was required.

We should give to God and His work out of a heart of love, not because it is extorted with fear and promises of riches and material things. A person who gives out of a willing heart and giving nature gives way beyond the tithe anyway.

You can't buy God with your tithes. The bible doesn't say that we overcome anything from tithing. It does say ... that we overcome by the "blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony".

That is the blood and believing...... not tithing.

The Flesh Church

I remember sitting in my former church before I knew the truth about all the sin going on for years behind the scenes and wondering why our church never grew. I also wondered why many wonderful ministers that had come in the past never came anymore. I wondered why members and staff members that left on what seemed to be good terms with a wonderful public sendoff never returned to visit even when they were in town. These things really bothered me. Of course the "pastor" always put a spin on how the church was growing and thriving, yet it never manifested. The numbers went down instead of up. The "pastor" would criticize the church down the street that was growing by leaps and bounds. He criticized the things that they implimented such as free coffe, free CDs and other things to be a blessing to their people. At that time my former church was charging 1.00 for an 8oz. cup of coffee and 7.00 for a CD that cost about .50 to make. He called it the "seeker friendly church". Then one of the few traveling "ministers" that still came to the church on a regular basis came up with the name "flesh church". This same "minister" called precious Christians that had left the church "bowel movements". Now these Christians didn't backslide or fall into sin, they just wanted to attend another church. Probably a church that focused on Jesus and people instead of pride in "our faith" and using it to get money and material things.

Now this "flesh church" actually had over 19,000 people come to hear the gospel on Easter weekend. My former church didn't have 600. My former church's vision was for members who PROSPERED and had material things. My former "pastor" said that we were God's garden and if we didn't LOOK GOOD that it reflected badly on God. One important thing on the "flesh church's" vision was to start a medical clinic to help the community and be a blessing to those who could not afford medical care.

I recently had an opportunity to experience the effect of the flesh church's impact on the community when I accompanied someone to their new Medical Clinic. A visit to this clinic is 30.00 if you do not have insurance and 0.00 if you do. They do their best to prescribe medications that are on the Wal Mart 4.00 list of medications. The staff is friendly and caring. They have quality doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and office staff. The facility is immaculate and remodeled. Everything I experienced was excellent.

The pastor of this "flesh church" doesn't stand in the pulpit and boast about his airplane, fancy suits, his anointing, his great gift of teaching or his BMW faith. He is too busy doing the work of the ministry, carrying out the great commission and doing something to help and impact the community. When you go to the clinic, the doctor doesn't even ask you if you are a tither before he prays for you.

It is a good thing that there are "flesh churches" that are doing something for Jesus. My former church is too busy trying to keep the former executive pastor from spending 10 to 20 years behind bars for the impact he had on the community.

That's Not Grace!!!

The other morning I heard a message by a wonderful pastor that I love and respect very much. The message was about Elijah and some of the miracles that God had performed in his life. As I was listening to the message, I began to think back on many of the messages that I heard at my former church. Many of these messages were about what I had to do in order to get God to move on my behalf. I was instructed to "Sow a seed if I had a need". We were always hearing about what we were supposed to do in order to move the hand of God. If we needed a financial miracle, we were to sow a huge financial gift into the church, if we needed a personal miracle in our lives we were to serve and serve in the church, and things like that.

In the course of this message, the pastor brought out the fact that God performed miracles and provided supernaturally for Elijah even when he was not moving in faith. God didn't look at Elijah and say, "Well if he does this then I will provide a way for him", that God moving on our behalf is not contingent on whether we tithe or not or whether we "do" something to earn it or qualify for it. That's not grace!!!

The dictionary defines grace as the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. This grace comes to us not because of any thing we can do but because of the blood that Jesus freely and willingly chose to shed for us when He chose to make the ultimate sacrifice and gave Himself for us. Grace does not mean.... "if you do this, then I will do this"!

Since the time that I left my former church, God has done so many awesome miracles in my life and blessed me so abundantly it is almost beyond belief. Yet I did not do one thing to merit or deserve any of these miracles or blessings. I actually made it a point NOT to do anything that I had been taught I was supposed to do in order to be blessed by God because I needed to remember the God that I knew before I allowed myself to be manipulated into trying to be some kind of "faith giant" in order to receive from God. He does it because I am His, because He loves me, because I know Him and because my savior, Jesus, purchased it for me with His blood. I asked Him to forgive me for ever belittling what was purchased by His blood by thinking that I could get something from God because of what "I" could do. Thank goodness I realized that I don't have to perform my way through life, I can just look to Him and live a life more wonderful than I could have ever hoped or imagined.

Dentist Drama

Today I was remembering an incident at my former church where a staff member gave a testimony that occurred at the dentist office. This person went to the dentist and was so consumed with the realization that they had a "pastor" that they began to cry in the dentist chair. The testimony centered around how awesome the pastor was and how they were moved to uncontrollable tears at this realization. This person cried so much that the dentist ( unable to do any work on this person at this time) had to wait till the deluge of tears subsided before they could continue the appointment. All this over the realization that they had a pastor?????? I found myself wondering if they had ever had to delay a dentist appointment due to tears over the realization that they had a SAVIOR?????

I began to think back on how twisted the priorities at mfc were. There were many services that centered completely around the pastor! Not Jesus! The pastor's, achievements, anointing, family problems, successes, desires and agenda. There were many services that people walked away having never heard anything about Jesus, just about the pastor.

Many church members now sport bumper stickers on their cars supporting the pastor. Not one of these has a bumper sticker supporting JESUS! WHEN DID THE PASTOR BECOME MORE IMPORTANT THAN JESUS?

It sickens me to realize that I was drawn into such a farce and allowed myself to be so monumentally deceived! I have my focus on track now and Jesus and righteousness are number one! If you are in a church that "promotes and pushes the pastor" get out. The church should be promoting one thing, JESUS!

Does It Ever End

In the past seventeen months, since I have realized the truth about what had gone on, was going on, and is going on in my former church, my life has changed enormously. Once all the control, lies, deception, sin, greed, corruption, and crime began to surface and continued to surface, a very rude awakening began for me. Not only did I realize a pastor and his family that I had served faithfully and sacrificially, were nothing of who they portrayed themselves to be, I discovered that they would stop at nothing to perpetuate their family ministry no matter what level of degradation and sin they had fallen to and been involved in. Along with this stark realization came the earth shattering revelation of the vast number of loved ones in my life that had been used, abused, violated and scarred for life as a result of this ministry.

Since this realization of the atrocities that have gone on over the years has come to light, there is not one day that goes by that I do not think about all the loved ones that have been affected and the horror that they live with on a daily basis. I keep thinking that one day I will wake up and this will not fill my thoughts. I will admit that it has gotten better, however, that day has not arrived. Even now that the ones who committed the crimes have been arrested and it looks like justice will be served, for the victims, it will never end.

Since making the choice to stand up on the side of righteousness and refused to be controlled and ultimately leaving my former church, God has shown Himself stronger to me than He ever has in my entire walk with Him. He has brought me through day after day and blessed me so abundantly above and beyond anything I could have ever hoped or imagined in so many ways. Even in the midst of all the twisted and deranged things I have been told and all the questions I still have I have about how people like this can be allowed to commit such atrocities and continue to do so even after being exposed, I have made a conscious decision to move on with my life and focus on the wonderful blessings that God has put in my life and trust Him to somehow help me to one day live free of the constant thoughts of the nightmare I have seen my loved ones live through.

On that note, I want to say that there are wonderful churches out there that are truly consumed with a desire to actually minister the love of God in action to a lost and hurting world. There are churches where the pastor is interested in all people, not just the tithers. There are churches whose members don't sever lifelong friendships because someone left the church. There are churches that address and handle correctly rampant sin in the church and church leadership instead of trying to cover it up, excuse it and lie about it.


I am currently attending a church that the main goal is to love people and minister the love of God to them regardless of where they go to church or if they tithe or not. The desire of this church is to minister to the community as a whole, and to love people with the true love of God. I thank Him for this opportunity to do something for the kingdom of God after so many wasted years in a church that did more harm to people than anything else.

No, I don't know that it will ever end but I do know that there is hope, purpose, joy and happiness after the nightmare of a controlling, manipulative and abusive church. Thanks to the love, grace and mercy of an ever loving and faithful God!

Attention to Evidence

In my former church there were some things in the New Testament, that were basic teachings to the new church, that were completely ignored the last couple of years that I attended there. One thing that really bothered me was that no one could get baptized at the church. It was just not important to the pastor. OH, he may say it was or is important to him, but what is important to you, you give attention to. Let me tell you, there was never a service that the TITHE wasn't paid attention to. But baptism was not mentioned in over two years.

In the New Testament, everyone that got saved got baptized. Jesus was baptized. Not only could you not get baptized at this church, if you were someone who was unschooled in the Bible or had no knowledge of Christianity, you could have attended this church for over a year and you would have no knowledge that there was even such a thing or what it was, much less why it is done or what it symbolizes.

In looking back to when there were baptism services at this church I remember that there were very few people baptised at the last couple of services.

I realized that without baptism services there is no evidence of how few people are being saved and making a real commitment to Christ at the church. I remember it got to where there were so few people being saved in the services and of the few that came forward hardly any ever came back more than once or twice. I realized that the absence of baptism services kept the evidence of this from being apparent to the congregation.

When the service closes and the pastor gives an invitation it is usually for more than just to get saved and give your life to Christ. There may be several other invitations, healing, recommitting your life, being filled with the Holy Spirit and other things. In this way, people in the congregation just see people come forward and then when they are told that so many people are being saved they just believe it and with the absence of baptism services there is no evidence of the truth.

There was also no evidence of the poor being helped by the church, widows being helped by the church, people being taught to live holy lives, or peoples' individual needs being ministered to.
A healthy, New Testament church should have EVIDENCE of these things.

James 2:14-18 (Amplified Bible)
14What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save [his soul]?
15If a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day,
16And one of you says to him, Good-bye! Keep [yourself] warm and well fed, without giving him the necessities for the body, what good does that do?
17So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).
18But someone will say [to you then], You [say you] have faith, and I have [good] works. Now you show me your [alleged] faith apart from any [good] works [if you can], and I by [good] works [of obedience] will show you my faith.

If you are attending a church and your pastor claims to teach FAITH, claims to live by faith, hear from God by faith, claims he is the one to teach you faith, then look at his WORKS. Not his works of standing in a pulpit and claiming to know it all but his works in the community, his works among the congregation, his works SHOWING his faith. There should be EVIDENCE. Evidence of his faith by his works, his actions, evidence of what the church is doing and accomplishing.

Pay attention to the evidence. If you can't see any, then you are being deceived. You need to find a church that it is evident what they are and what fruit they are producing.

Its All About The Word

In my former church, we were always told, "It's all about the word", meaning it was all about the Word of God. We were taught that...

-we were not supposed to listen to peoples problems.... when they began talking about them we were to just "tell them the word"

-attacks came against the church because that church was the only church that preached the word the right way and the devil was trying to destroy it

-we were to speak the word all the time and not give voice to illnesses, situations, or anything that did not line up with the word

-the preaching of the word, the way the pastor interpreted it was more important than anything.. even people

In reading the gospels, and looking at the ministry of Jesus, it is obvious that the most important thing to Him was people. The Bible says that Jesus was the Word of God in the flesh. Yet, He did not teach and preach that He was the most important thing. He was not here to promote Himself, He promoted doing the will of the Father and loving PEOPLE.

Yes the word is important. It is alive and powerful. It is the good news to all men. It is the answer to every problem. It is the standard we live by. It is truth. But the most important thing to God is people.

Jesus spent His life here on earth serving people, healing them, showing them love, helping them, putting them first until He made the choice to die for them. Yet we have pastors now that won't give the people in their congregation the time of day. Won't attend their funerals. Have no interest in helping them with their problems, answering their questions, or listening to them when they need someone to talk to. Need to see their tithing record before deciding whether to attend something they have received an invitation to.

Preachers today need to wake up. It is not all about the preaching of the word with whatever twist or "new revelation" they want to push! It is about taking the gospel of Jesus to a lost and hurting world. Feeding the hungry, giving to the poor, ministering to the needy and the hurting, and genuinely loving people.Its about using the word to do this, not using it to get what they want. It is about using the word to teach others how to live, how to love,how to serve and how to live holy lives. It is not there for people in the ministry to use it to excuse whatever sins they choose to engage in and then keep them in ministry positions no matter how atrocious their lifestyles are.

In careful consideration I have comet to the conclusion that it is not ALL about the Word, it is ALL about people.