Archive for the ‘The City Church’ Category
Friday, September 12th, 2008
In the wake of my post called “Eat the Meat, Spit out the Bones” Pastor Wendell Smith came out with a blog post called “Scandal and Restoration” regarding the Lakeland Revival and the falling of Todd Bently. The base argument of his post is to not get bitter or disillusioned by the fall of a leader.
My only response is if you don’t exalt men so high in the church (senior pastors), but exalt Jesus, when men fall they won’t leave or get bitter because Jesus will never fall. Also, don’t be so flippant and lazy on false doctrine…especially in your own church.
John Piper, on the other hand, also came out with a blog post talking about the issue. I believe his response is a good warning of the false doctrine, including the ones prevalent in the prosperity gospel and word of faith.
Read Wendell’s Blog
Read John Piper’s Blog
Tags: Pastor Wendell Smith, Prosperity Gospel, Wendell Smith
Monday, June 2nd, 2008
Clifton forwarded me an article titled “The Bankruptcy of the Prosperity Gospel:An Exercise in Biblical and Theological Ethics” by David Jones M.Div.; Ph.D. The article outlines 6 major systematic flaws of the prosperity gospel as preached at The City Church and other rapidly growing prosperity churches.
The six major areas he covers are:
- The Theology of the Prosperity Gospel
- Prosperity Theology and the Abrahamic Covenant
- Prosperity Theology and the Atonement
- Prosperity Theology and Giving
- Prosperity Theology and Faith
- The Biblical Interpretation of the Prosperity Gospel
As you can see, these are not minor areas of misuse or error…these are the very foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being messed with, let there be no mistake about it. Below is the section regarding the Abrahamic covenant (see my article on the subject):
Prosperity Theology and the Abrahamic Covenant
The theological basis of the prosperity gospel is the Abrahamic covenant. While this is good in that prosperity theologians recognize that much of Scripture is the record of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, it is bad in that they do not maintain an orthodox view of this covenant. Prosperity theologians hold an incorrect view of the inception of the Abrahamic covenant; what is more germane to the present study, however, they hold to an erroneous view concerning the application of the covenant.
Researcher Edward Pousson best stated the prosperity view on the application of the Abrahamic covenant when he wrote, “Christians are Abraham’s spiritual children and heirs to the blessings of faith…. This Abrahamic inheritance is unpacked primarily in terms of material entitlements.” In other words, according to the prosperity gospel, the primary purpose of the Abrahamic covenant was for God to bless Abraham materially. Since believers are now “Abraham’s spiritual children,” they consequently have inherited these financial blessings of the covenant.
Prosperity teacher Kenneth Copeland wrote, “Since God’s Covenant has been established and prosperity is a provision of this covenant, you need to realize that prosperity belongs to you now!” Referring to the prosperity theology of Kenneth Hagin, author Harvey Cox wrote, “Through the crucifixion of Christ, Christians have inherited all the promises made to Abraham, and these include both spiritual and material well-being.†To support this claim, prosperity teachers such as Copeland and Hagin appeal to Gal. 3:14, which says “that the blessings of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus. . . .” While it is not an understatement to say that the problems with this argument are legion, two glaring problems need to be addressed. First, in their appeal to Gal. 3:14, prosperity teachers ignore the second half of the verse, which reads, “That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” In this verse Paul clearly was reminding the Galatians of the spiritual blessing of salvation, not the material blessing of wealth.
Second, prosperity teachers claim that the conduit through which believers receive Abraham’s blessings is faith. This completely ignores the orthodox understanding that the Abrahamic covenant was an unconditional covenant. That is, the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant were not contingent upon one man’s obedience. Therefore, even if the Abrahamic covenant did apply to Christians, all believers would already be experiencing the material blessings regardless of prosperity theology.
Read the whole article here… It is well worth the read.
UPDATE 6/3/2008: The link was broken, but now it is fixed.
Hat tip: Clifton
Tags: Prosperity Gospel
Thursday, April 10th, 2008
Below is an article written by Cameron. He was an intern a few years ago and asked me to post this letter that talks about his conclusions of Generation Interns. I would love it if current or past interns would post their opinions on the article in the comments section.
I have never been an intern at the City Church, but I am married to one. I think I speak for Cameron, but our goal is not that the leaders at The City Church are slandered, harmed, or evil spoken of. We just earnestly desire that God be exalted and to see Him worshiped in Spirit and Truth.
Note: I have made changes per Cameron’s request on 2/3/2009
<Cameron’s Article>
I want to talk briefly about Generation Interns. From 2003-2004 I did Interns and it helped me in many ways. As an ignorant and young Christian, I didn’t even know what the synoptic gospels were, namely, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and they they gave a historical account of Jesus’ life and ministry! I hadn’t done much bible reading up to Interns, and the basic doctrine class was very helpful for me in starting out as a new learner of the Word.
We learned about many great topics such as the nature of God, the canonization of the Bible, doctrine of angels and demons, the Trinity, etc. Every Christian needs to be familiar with these things, and there is no price too great for such knowledge. The ministry activities were also some of the best experiences of my life. I built relationships with people who I’m still very close with. Thanks Facebook!
Now, if I may say, I think I may have liked it if 2 other basic things would have been emphasized in the program. 1. That we are required to uphold God’s holy moral law perfectly and, 2. That we are to be under God’s own eternal wrath if we fail to do so.
If these would have been more emphasized, not just by TCC and Interns, but even by the majority of churches who call themselves Christian, then I think I may have understood more sooner why it is that 3. I am saved by grace. I would have realized that I was saved from God, by God. In other words, that what God (Christ the Judge) demands from me, Christ (the Savior) supplies. I really do wish that all churches, and all Christian teaching programs made sure that these gospel 101 points were emphasized. Simply because, then grace could really be grace. I think that is really the therapy we are all looking for.
In the words of Forrest Gump, “that’s all I have to say about that”.
Humbly and respectfully,
Cameron
Does anyone else out there think these points should be taught and emphasized by Christian churches? Does anyone disagree?
Tags: City Church Kirkland, Interns
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
I was sitting in my living room visiting with a friend who is a member of the City Church when we got to talking about prosperity and healing in the Bible. I would bring up scripture showing a biblical view of money and the sovereignty of God in healing, but the response I got was that God is a good God and wants to take care of us like an earthly father takes care of his children. I realized this is the theology of Pastor Wendell, Pastor Judah and the City Church. I coined this theology the “Earthly Father Paradigm”. They read the Bible and view God with their “Earthly Father Paradigm” glasses on.
During pastor Wendell’s sermons he often says things like “what earthly father would put sickness on his children to teach them a lesson” or “what earthly father wouldn’t buy good gifts for their children”. He says this in support of their view that God wants to please us.
I have a few questions for the prosperity idea of the “Earthly Father Paradigm”…what earthly father would allow:
- Satan to take away all of Jobs things, put boils on him, kill his children and then torment him with some lippy friends?
- What earthly father would send snakes to bite and kill his children who disobey in the desert, or open the earth to swallow them up?
- What earthly father would tell the neighbor boy to come beat up his kid, destroy all his toys and take him captive for a while to learn a lesson (Israel in Babylon)?
- What earthly father would kill 2 of his children for lying to him about money?
- What earthly father would curse his children to die for only disobeying once (garden of eden)?
- What earthly father would send his own son to die and take unimaginable wrath for deserved criminals (Jesus Christ)?
- What earthly father would stand by and watch 11 of his son’s 12 friends get killed for being a friend of his son?
God did all these things. God’s goal in our life is not to please us and make us healthy and rich, His purpose in our life is to shape and mold us in the image of His Son and to present to His Son a spotless bride. The “Earthly Father Paradigm” shapes and molds God in the image of man and displays a god who is serving mankind…not vice-versa.
As even earthly parents send their kids to chicken-pox parties so their kids will get sick, I believe God allows sickness, poverty and other bad things in our lives to build up our immunization against sin and our flesh. God is not sadistic, but all things work for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes. The more trouble and sin there is in this would, the more we should have our eyes on eternity and the return of Christ. Unfortunately, the “Earthly Father Paradigm” puts our eyes on ourselves and this life. How can I get blesses, how can I get healed, how can I…
I think the “Earthly Father Paradigm” is a self-serving representation of what some wish God would be for them. God has our eternal best interest in mind, not necessarily our temporal best interest.
I am thankful to God for taking me out of the atmosphere of scurrying around looking to “position myself for blessing” or looking for “the next breakthrough” and rummaging through the bible looking for promises I can lay hold of. I can finally rest in the salvation given to me freely by God through Jesus Christ. The only promise I really care about, I pray God help me to fix my gaze to heaven and not earth.
It causes me to wonder what ways I have tried to mold God in my own image, or to my own liking…I pray for humility to recognize and love God as He has revealed Himself, not how I want Him to be.
Tags: City Church, Earthly Father, God, Jesus Christ, Sickness, Wendell Smith
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
I have listened to several sermons by Pastor Wendell and their doctrine on healing has been pretty well laid out in the healing series. I agree with them that healing is for today and that God can miraculously heal today just as Jesus during His earthly ministry. I believe all healing comes from the Lord.
In listening to their sermons and it seems they feel a need to give God a PR job regarding healing. While giving their sermons they say God is a good God, and because He is good he wants to heal everyone in this life and because He is good He will never put sickness on anyone. It seems to me that they have said if God makes people sick, then He is not good. Also, if God does not desire to heal everyone in the here and now, then He is not good. Below are the reasons I think their definition of good needs to be conformed to the bible.
STATEMENT ONE: God will never, ever put sickness on anyone.
To see this is false, all we need to do is read a little bit of the Bible.
- What did God say the punishment for Israel was for not carefully observing His words?
“If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues great and prolonged plagues and serious and prolonged sicknesses. Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Deuteronomy 28:58-60
It sounds like God will make them sick.
- In Numbers, God sent a plague that killed 14,700 of the Israelite people for complaining against Moses and Aaron.
- In 2 Samuel 24 God sent a plague on Israel because David performed a census of the people that killed 70,000 people.
- God struck Uzziah with leprosy for burning incense in the temple in 2 Chronicles 26:19-21.
- In the New Testament we find Christians becoming sick because of the judgment of the Lord regarding communion. See 1 Corinthians 11:29-31. Paul says if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. The only judge I know of is God.
- In Acts 5 we read of Ananias and Sapphira (Christians) who are killed by the Lord for lying to the Spirit. I would rather catch a cold that be killed.
- In Acts 13:7-11 Paul struck blindness (through the power of the Holy Spirit) on a sorcerer.
It does not take much time to see that God does put sickness on people in His sovereignty. His ways are higher than our ways, and if we don’t like an attribute of God we should not make up things contrary to how God has revealed Himself to us. I think the 2nd commandment says something about making a god in another likeness.
One analogy they use is that ‘good earthly father’ analogy that goes something like this – “what father would put sickness on their children to teach them a lesson”. The obvious answer to this is – none. But if we think about it a little further, we see that God’s main purpose isn’t to make us comfortable, but to conform us to the image of His Son. Just as parents send their children to chicken pox parties to make them immune so later in life they won’t get the disease and perhaps die, why wouldn’t God let us get sick or injured if the end result is that we are more sanctified and made closer to the likeness of His Son? What is our main goal here? To live a pain-free life or to be more like Christ?
STATEMENT TWO: It is God’s will that everyone be healed.
The main contention I have with this is that the Bible does not say this plainly anywhere. Yes, God is the God who heals us, and yes God does heal today. The problem with the idea that it is God’s will to heal everyone is that not everyone is healed. Many Christians die of sickness and disease, so does that mean God is not powerful enough to heal them? That is absolutely not the case. The only other option we have then is that we are not doing something right to get healed (lack of faith).
I think the statement above is a sad one to make at a church. They do not think through the true ramifications of their doctrine and the faith of many become shipwrecked. Those who are not healed think they do not have enough faith to be healed…do they have enough faith to be saved?
I think the City Church answer to this is comical. They quote Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
They are saying that when Christians die of sickness that since we know it is God’s will to heal everyone that when God does not heal a Christian who is praying for healing that God made a “secret things” decision.
Let me translate what they are saying “IT IS NOT GODS WILL TO HEAL EVERYONE”. They just don’t want to say it. They want a feel good God who is looking out for our health and wealth, so they make contradictory statements to keep the god who pleases them. If God decides in the “secret things” to not heal someone…it is not His will to heal them.
What is our hope then?
Our hope is in the resurrection of the dead. This world is filled with sin, and sickness and death is the result of a sin filled world. There is not condemnation on the sick, they are just dealing with the outcome of sin in our world (disease and death). If we are sick or healthy we need to continually examine our life in the light of scripture to see if we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). If we are sick, we should pray for healing and go to the elders for prayer (James 5:14).
Jesus Christ will come again and abolish all sickness and death. We will have a new resurrected body not tainted by sin, disease and death. We should have our eyes on the prize, eternal life. I think Paul said it well:
Philippians 3:10-12
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Preaching that God wants to heal everyone is a good way to fill the pews and get people riled up, but it is not true to scripture.
I think Cameron did a good job explaining the healing verses used by the pastors of the City Church in the following article, it debunks their use of 1 Peter 2:24 and it explains why healing is not guaranteed with communion.
Read The Lord’s Supper at Cameron’s Blog.
To end, I would like to say I do believe God still heals today and there are many miracles done by His hand. That is a statement to refute the claim Pastor Wendell makes that I am an “unbelieving believer”.
Tags: Healing, Sickness, The City Church, Wendell Smith
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
Worshiping At The Altar Of Success
by David Ravenhill
Though you may find it hard to believe, there is an addiction more subtle and more powerful than either drugs or pornography. It’s older than prostitution, more prevalent than alcohol, more addictive than cocaine. It doesn’t discriminate between male and female, black or white, young or old, rich or poor. Its strength is greater than all other addictions combined. It’s as rampant in the Church as it is in the world. It leaves the body unscathed but destroys the soul. The vast majority of people addicted have little if any understanding of its power or perils.
The history of the worship of success dates back to Lucifer, the rebellious archangel who wanted to relegate God to a subordinate role and take the top gun position for himself. This desire for success soon spread throughout the earth like a cancer, reaching its pinnacle with mankind seeking to build a tower and to make for themselves a name. What a contrast in attitudes we find between Genesis 11 and 12. Chapter 11 exposes man striving for recognition, while chapter 12 we find God promising humble Abraham that He would make his name great.
A clear picture of this obsession with success can be found in the story of King Ahaz. His numerous sins had brought judgment upon himself and the nation of Judah. This punishment came through the king of Aram who carried off a great number of his people as captives. Embarrassed and distressed over his glaring defeat, the Jewish king made the monumental mistake of attributing the Aramean victory to their gods. Whatever small faith he may have had in Jehovah was completely discarded in favor of idol worship. Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, he reasoned, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me. (II Chronicles 28:23) It seems that Ahaz was prepared to pay any price for success.
Lamentably, it seems that much of the American Church holds this same misguided logic. Pastors around the nation are flocking to follow the mega church pattern, believing that what worked somewhere else will work for them as well. We now have the mentality that success is purely numerical. Witness what the Barna Research Group stated as the result of a recent study:
The most discouraging study we ever conducted was one in which we attempted to identify churches in the U.S. that consistently and intelligently evaluate life transformation among the people to whom they minister. We found that very few churches – emphasis on very – measure anything beyond attendance, donations, square footage, number of programs and size of staff. None of that necessarily reflects life transformation. (Italics mine)
How tragic! Success is now measured by attendance, donations, square footage, etc. It’s time we stopped worshipping the gods of success and turned our gaze afresh upon the Lord, for beholding we will be changed. I think that is the definition of SUCCESS in the Kingdom of God.
Found a sermonindex.net
Tags: Prosperity Gospel, Ravenhill
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007
This post is in response to the many people who have left The City Church. I frequently receive messages from people who have left The City Church, or who have loved ones who are still attending…and I wanted to present some words of encouragement for you.
(more…)
Tags: The City Church
Friday, December 7th, 2007
You may have noticed the last post I wrote was on November 18th, almost 3 weeks ago. To keep my story short, I basically was shocked by the content of sermons I was hearing from TCC. First, I was taken aback at the personal nature of criticism of my blog from the pulpit and second, I was surprised by the arrogant attitude of some of the comments from the pulpit during the conference.
Below are a few of the comments:
- The poor are under a curse
- A pastor proclaimed “God told me He wants to make my name great”
- To find money, you just need to get in the presence of God
- If you don’t believe the prosperity gospel you are subject to doctrines of demons
This was the most discouraging series of sermons I have listened to because of the sheer disregard of scripture and self-exaltation.
Anyway, I’m back. I will be posting some more entries discussing the prosperity conference in the weeks to come! Stay tuned.
In the mean time, here is an excellent clip from Paul Washer…
Tags: Paul Washer, Prosperity With a Purpose
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
The first sermon I listed to for the prosperity conference was Where is the Money: Part1 (Wasting time with God) by Pastor Wendell Smith. (listen to the sermon here)
The sermon started off with Pastor Wendell using Galatians 3 to support the foundation of the prosperity gospel. See this article that points out the poor use of scripture needed to support this claim.
To keep this post short, the sermon was a lot of preaching of in defense of critics of the prosperity gospel…with an exhortation to seek the money (hence the title “Where is the Money”). In this sermon we are told the money is (drum-roll please) in the PRESENCE OF GOD!
Honestly, I never thought I would hear this out of Pastor Wendell’s mouth directly. In a nutshell, he was saying if we stay in the presence of God enough and pray enough we will get money. If I am not mistaken, he is saying godliness is a means of gain …spend time with God (godliness) and you will get prosperity (gain).
This scripture comes to mind:
useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. 1 Timothy 6:5
I cannot begin to put into words what a travesty this is for a “man of God” to say to his congregation. Basically one of the motivations we should have for seeking God is to get worldly prosperity. This is the opposite of what Jesus did in the Gospel of John Chapter 6. Jesus realized the people were following him for bread (prosperity) and gave them a sermon that drove them all away, all except who followed Him because He gives us eternal life.
Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. John 6:26-27
Then Jesus went into one of my favorite sermons about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, and to see not the bread that perishes (prosperity), but the bread from heaven (eternal life).
From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. John 6:66
This fits well with the following scripture:
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 1 Timothy 6:6-7
And…
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3
If you are seeking the presence of God to receive prosperity, you are seeking the manna that perishes, and the things of the earth that will rot. You are not seeking God for who and what He is, but being carnally minded on the things of this earth. I really don’t know how more simple it can be.
What is amazing (prophetic) about Pastor Wendell’s title “Wasting time with God” is if you don’t come to him with the right motivation, the time you spend will be a waste.
Tags: False Gospel, Prosperity With a Purpose, The City Church, Wendell Smith
Friday, November 9th, 2007
I had the time to listen to a few prosperity “with a purpose” conference sermons. What caught my attention is how much time Wendell spent talking about the critics. I think this blog may be what he was talking about, unless I have an inflated view of my blog and he doesn’t know it exists…but I just don’t hear any other critics out there speaking up against the City Church’s false teachings about prosperity.
Wendell’s Straw Man
Pastor Wendell said those who oppose their teaching of prosperity “with a purpose” are really questioning their motives.
That is simply just not true (well, ignore the quotes above…I couldn’t resist). On my blog, I haven’t questioned their motives. I believe they are sincerely deceived, and they think they are doing God’s work. My contentions have to do with doctrine and scripture.
The Mormons are sincerely deceived and think they will become little gods when they die (well if you are a man that is). Many Jewish people are sincerely deceived and think by rejecting Jesus they are honoring God. Doing things sincerely does not make your doctrine correct.
Just like with Mormons, the prosperity gospel comes down to scripture, not motives. The bedrock of the prosperity gospel is Galatians 3:29. It is quoted often times by Pastor Wendell as a reason we should expect the promises of Abraham.
And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
According to Pastor Wendell, this means you can put your name in the place of Abraham and receive all the promises given to him by God.
Unfortunately for Pastor Wendell’s theology, Paul thought of that interpretation and headed it off earlier in the same chapter.
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:14
As partakers of the promise we get the Holy Spirit from God’s covenant with Abraham (not to mention a much better covenant with Christ). Notice how Paul said we might receive the PROMISE (singular). Not all the promises to Abraham.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16
Paul makes it abundantly clear that the PROMISES (plural) here are not to the seeds (us) but for one Christ. Paul is telling us that Christ received all the promises that were promised to Abraham, and we should not expect them because they were promised to one (JESUS CHRIST) and not many (US). We were not promised the stars in the sky, we are the stars in the sky promised to Jesus Christ.
When Pastor Wendell says to insert our name in the place of Abraham, we should be inserting the name above all names. We can’t take what belongs to Jesus.
Pretty simple little bible study.
Now, Pastor Wendell Smith and the City Church can do whatever they want with their money. I really don’t care (unless they want to give some to me).
Another straw man argument he used:
1. Critics think Christians should be poor. I don’t think that…I just think we should be content, not clamoring to “positioning ourselves for prosperity”.
2. We lack faith in a big God – I don’t lack faith, I think I can show more faith by doing what Jesus said and not seek after prosperity. Those are the things the heathen do according to Jesus.
So, if you wish to support your doctrine, it is better to do so with scripture and not straw man arguments. Straw man arguments by definition are deceptive. They are presented to deceive those who you wish to convince. If you can’t answer the questions posed by critics honestly, it is better to not be deceptive and ignore the critics altogether.
Tags: Abrahamic Covenant, Prosperity Gospel, Straw Man, Wendell Smith
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