I have been in several ongoing debates over how I practice my faith. Some have said I should read this author or listen to that preacher. If I scan the TV dial, chances are I'll have no less then 10 preachers yaking at me through the screen. Even on the radio, they all have the divine message and all I have to do is listen to it. (and maybe send them a few bucks).
I was not long ago I met someone who thought they had most, if not all the answers. Certainly more then I as a Roman Catholic could possible have and this person believed God had called them to teach the rest of us. That thinking proved to be tragically wrong and I fear many people have been led astray.
The Devil comes in many disguises. Quite often, he comes dressed up as a minister of the Gospel. Sometimes it is difficult to spot him. He masquerades as a Pastor, looks so holy, so prosperous, so loving, so helpful. The Devil is also very good at using colorful Christian-sounding lingo. A person says "Praise Jesus!" a few times and we issue an all access pass to our very soul to person we don't even know.
Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, California, is the hip and trendy, twenty-first century model of Dr. Robert Schuller. In fact, Schuller just happens to be his mentor. Warren's bestselling book, The Purpose Driven Life, is vintage New Ageism. The selfish "me" generation loves it, because they are always trying to figure out their "purpose" in life. The Bible, of course, tells us our purpose: Our purpose is to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Jesus. But that won't make the best seller list.
Then there is Joel Osteen. He's got a book that's rocketed up to #1 on The New York Times bestseller list. He's filling up auditoriums. His happy times prosperity gospel church has even bought up a 60,000 seat stadium for Osteen to do his preaching at. And what does he preach? Well, Osteen, on CNN's The Larry King Show, said he doesn't get into controversial subjects like sin and judgment. False religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism don't concern him.
At his crusade in Queens, New York, Billy Graham talked about singer Madonna. Then he invited into the pulpit President Bill Clinton. Graham praised Bill Clinton, telling the audience in New York and around the world via TV that Clinton was a fine man who should become a Christian evangelist and preach crusades and Hillary should be back at the White House running the country!
The problem I run into by saying all this, is I am often accused of "attacking fellow Christians" and in turn making all Christians look bad. I'm not attacking anyone and I really don't care about looks. People are free to embrace whatever they like. I however will not lend my approval through silence to all the people running around offering the "truth" when they have no idea what truth really is.
The list of of these "leaders" goes on and on. John MacArthur, Ron Rhodes, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Richard Roberts, Tony Campolo, John Hagee, Jack Van Impe, T.D. Jakes, Robert Tilton, I could go on and on......
The high profile characters are easy to examine. It's these smaller churches across America that are led by people who have no bushiness being spiritual leaders and teachers that ought to be of greater concern to all of us. For it not what is done in the light but what is done in the dark that presents the greatest danger.
No comments:
Post a Comment