Four years have passed since Paul sat down with the pastor of our Word of Faith/Prosperity gospel church to vulnerably and lovingly share his heart on some deep convictions and concerns of error of what was being preached there and what he had believed his whole life.
God used His written Word and other Biblically sound teachers- Thank You, Jesus, for Justin Peters, John MacArthur, Paul Washer, and John Piper to name a few- to open our eyes to see the false teaching we had believed for many years- for me, since 2008, and for him, the first 25 years of his entire life. We could not in good conscious continue to serve in leadership nor attend that ministry any longer, and we sadly had to part ways. Special and dear relationships were greatly impacted because of this decision; We had experienced something similar to losing friendships several years prior when we decided to leave the church Paul grew up at and where we met and got married- it began to become very worldly and performance driven the bigger it grew. This megachurch now has several locations in our city and in another state; it is also associated with some of the biggest names in prosperity gospel theology.
I share this out of a heart of love because there are still so many whom we care about involved in this movement at different ministries and churches around St. Louis and in other cities, including pastors and leaders. We love them with a deep love, but we absolutely hate the deceptive teachings that twist scripture and confuse so many people all over the globe.
As I have shared recently, our journey to understanding what God’s Word really says and renewing our minds to replace lies we were believing with His truth has been difficult and painful and lonely. But it also has been one of best things that has happened to us. Our understanding of the gospel and God’s sovereignty has brought us such joy and comfort, especially during storms and painful loss we have walked through over the last year or so. To be sure, our children will only know of that teaching we believed for what it is…false. We pray God would use us to disciple them and anyone else who He places in our path.
We have not shared too many major details of our testimony, especially publicly. It is difficult to keep silent when you see false teaching and deception running rampant. I am very cautious as to what and when I speak out against this false teaching and movement on social media. To be completely honest, I want God to use me to see many, many people’s eyes open, but I know that when you begin “tipping over sacred cows,” people are going to get offended. Our heart is never to push those whom we love in this movement further away from us or build up walls; we want to be a bridge to reach as many as we can. I pray that is evident in anything that is said or done regarding all of this.
We have such an incredible burden to speak out about all of this, and we now ask God to use us to warn others of this dangerous movement and point them to the truth.
With all of this said, in God’s absolutely amazing providential timing, He is opening up some doors of opportunity for my husband and I to share our testimony of coming out of the deception of Word of Faith/Prosperity/NAR theology on some larger platforms that have the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of people.
I humbly ask, would you please join me in praying that God would give us boldness and wisdom on what exactly to say so that others would be helped and that God ultimately would be glorified? We greatly appreciate your prayers and support!
Thank you, friends!
Soli Deo Gloria
god bless you brother Paul and sister Emily.
Your testimony strikes a chord in recent leadings from my best friend… He has become increasingly concerned about what churches are teaching and doing to (attract greater attendence?)
and has warned me to be on the lookout for the very thing you are sharing about.
I was not raised in the gospel. I did committ myself to christ at a young age and then fell away. I returned to Jesus, 7 years ago was baptished and born again… thnak God and bless my friend who was the fist man ever to speak to me about Jesus and being saved.
I commend you both for your courage and am sharing your blog with my friend this very day.
This world is very confusing and many young (uneducated/new Christians) fall prey to the very message you are sharing. I to would listen to Joyce thinking yay abundance!
my friend warned me this is misleading and now I come across your message thru Doreen virtue …
A woman who changed her meta-physic ways and I changed mine after hearing her testimony… I think there are so many of us confused Christians …
I am into my bible and looking for guidance through prayer.
May our Loving Father bless you and surround your work with a hedge of protection that more may hear and change their ways
Well done and thank God for moving you out of a ministry you found to be false. My family and I recently left a deceptive and racist organisation claiming to have the truth of the Bible. May the Lord be praised as we worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
Im currently attending a church that is growing and spreading not only across America, but has recently opened a new church in Guatemala. My pastor is youngish(40s) and eager to grow his ministry. We have all kinds of props, screens, etc that cost THOUSANDS of dollars to acquire, so my question is…is it right to be spending tithes and offerings on such things to get God’s word out? Should we not be sure to give it ALL to the poor, minus the money needed for rent, mortgage and utilities that are necessities? Secondly, how do i know what to look for in his preaching, that he’s aligned with Jesus and God’s word. I do love worshipping jesus and spreading seeds, but I’m now scared I’m going to the wrong church. We are considered an evangelical Christian church. It always upsets me to see my church spending sooooo much money on props, etc., when people are starving and homeless. Please help me with this if you can.
Thank you and God bless.
Lyla
Southern Baptist, saved at eight years old, became charismatic in the 1970’s. But the Word of Faith movement began to bother me. I am now 80 years old, extremely close to Jesus. Have last days dreams, concerning Christians going to heaven. But the Lord showed me what a person feels as they descend into hell. Total hopelessness forever and ever. The baptist church taught me God’s word, and I began to embrace the gifts, and so forth as did my older sister. I revere the merciful Lord but also respect and fear his judgment. I weep for those who are mislead by their own desires I suppose. Attended a previous church yesterday, but came away saddened. Probably will attend a S. Baptist church again. This town, Lubbock, Texas, is fairly conservative. Many baptist folks are open to the Holy Spirit gifts but resist the “displays” so to say.
Father, give me grace to share testimonies at all times.
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Thank you for the report.
Best regards,
Thomassen Raahauge
There are many things to learn, so much info on it.
King regards,
Harrell Schneider