This last year has been pretty life-changing for the Masseys when it comes to our faith-walk with Jesus and living true to His Word.
Although, we are not perfect by any means, we faced some deep convictions head on that had been building up for almost five years. A deep wound that was caused by deception in the Word of Faith/Prosperity Gospel/NAR movement couldn’t be fully healed until we cut all ties to it completely. We thank God for the film, American Gospel: In Christ Alone, Fighting for the Faith with Pirate Christian-Chris Roseborough, and men of God like John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Justin Peters, John Piper, and Steve Lawson. If it weren’t for these ministries and incredible exegetical teachers of God’s Word, navigating 2019 would have been much more difficult for us, and who knows how much longer it would have taken Paul to leave his job at Joyce Meyer Ministries.
Moving forward these last several months, we realized that we had a strong passion to expose the dangerous doctrines of these movements masquerading as “Christian” and pull others from the claws of these false teachings.
Although I (Emily) had been sharing various posts on social media and engaging in conversation with others regarding these movements on and off for a couple years, it wasn’t until a couple weeks ago that Paul and I “tore off the band-aid” and spoke out against a Word of Faith/prosperity gospel, mega-church ministry here in St. Louis that first-hand caused destruction in our faith and those whom we love.
This “ministry” was partly responsible for the first 20 years of Paul’s understanding of scripture and at least the first two years of he and I’s relationship.
So many verses in the Bible taken of context.
So much manipulation to give money in faith to receive a “harvest from God.”
So many spiritual gifts used unBiblically to manipulate people even further.
Although we had been gone from that church for almost 10 years at this point, and had truly forgiven all involved and moved onto other church bodies through the years, we could not in good conscience stay silent any longer and see this ministry continue to destroy lives and spread the cancer that is the prosperity gospel in our city any longer. We wanted to shout it from the rooftops.
So we spoke up. We spoke out. On Facebook- a large public forum of our day.
And a week later, providentially, so did our hero in the faith Chris Roseborough!
Some have asked us why we chose to go public and call out names on social media. These men and women’s teaching are public, so our response to them has been public.
Both the Apostle Paul and Jesus did this regarding false teachers.
In fact, the Bible talks very extensively about false teachers.
If we do not expose them by name, how are we supposed to warn others?
We by no means have experienced a level of persecution that our brothers and sisters in Christ encounter in other countries outside of America, but there has been backlash and anger to be sure. We have been blocked, unfriended, and mocked from people whom we had much history with, especially Paul who spent most of his childhood and teens with many of these people. One in particular introduced Paul and I and was one of my bridesmaid.
Yes, it stings when those whom you care deeply for treat you in that manner, but it hurts the heart even more knowing that they are dangerously deceived by this false gospel message of prosperity that does distorts one’s view of God and presents a superficial atonement with empty earthly promises.
But, there have also been brothers and sisters in Christ surrounding us and encouraging us to not give into the heat and to keep moving forward! Thank God for them!
Ultimately, for us, the reason we abhor the prosperity gospel is that it manipulates people and takes advantage of people by promising a better life here on earth, taking everyone’s eyes off of the beautiful promise of the forgiveness of sins through the cross and eternity with Christ.
Paul and I have no shame in speaking out against this false gospel message. In fact, we will be going even more public about this very soon on a much larger scale than we would ever be able to do our own. God’s providence in this matter completely blows me away.
Stay tuned, friends. We will be sharing more about this in the coming weeks. Let’s just say we will be ending 2019 on a high note and by God’s grace, entering 2020 with breath in our lungs, ready to continue our race. Until then, continue in studying God’s Word and seek Him first in all you say and do.
Soli Deo Gloria
Emily
This is great!!!! Just Watched you on Dorren V channel..found her channel back in May.. We too have been deceived by false gospel over ten yrs and 2019 has been a “scales off the eyes for us here” ( My husband and i grew up in secular homes… Seeking tv preachers was easy..yes big churches here too) Watched American gospel in June. Wow!! Our young generation needs to seek the truth scripture in context and yes shout from the roof tops.. God bless your home as you fight that good fight! Thanks for your web site..keeping it Real Truth.. Bible! Knowing I’m not alone in my bible research..breath of fresh air so to speak.
Sincerely,
Shaunda K.
( Michigan)
Thank you so much, Shaunda, for reaching out! Yes, we need to stand together and stand up for truth!
This post comes from an ex-charismatic, who has been utterly broken in spirit and in heart, by the false gospel and those who I counted brothers and sisters in Christ. Since, I am single female, with no family or children, these people were my only family. 20 years after being born again and a solid 7 years out of this movement, I find myself going through seasons of peace and seasons of extreme loneliness. Finding a church family has been almost impossible, with many basically solid bible teaching churches, as of today, are compromising with some form of post modernism, new age or WOF. My search has left me jaded and poor in spirit. I pray God’s forgiveness. And I plead for your prayers for all us out here who are still Solo and broken.
The only thing that comforts me is, Christ suffered alone, outside the camp of His people and faced the ultimate rejection. I too suffer His sufferings. In this I fellowship with Him, knowing He knows the depth of sorrows and loneliness. But, being a sinner, I find myself filling the void with some worldly not so Godly actions, of which are not blatant hedonism, but certainly need some attention and prayer. Basically, I find my heart is growing cold and sometimes indifferent. This is a cry for help…please, please pray for us. We need encouragement and real connections with churches that are uncompromising and solid; not just Internet connections. We need to see the love of Christ in the eyes of like minded brothers and sisters.
The two of you have a unique opportunity to minister to many of us who are without a church family and who can not find one. There are increasingly so many of us! We need a network of known solid brick and morter churches, that we can attend. It has been like finding a needle in a haystack out hear, trust me in this!
Example, I thought I found one….it is an hour and half away. Great solid preaching, but the pastor encourages Beth Moore teaching for the ladies. I still go from time to time, but I can’t be a solid part of this church. I gave him a copy of the American Gospel dvd, last time I visited. I hope he watches it and discerns the teachings of Beth Moore and how she has comprised the true gospel by mixing with known false teachings. I seriously don’t think he has ever listen to her teach, because men are not suppose to sit under the teachings of women, but he should in order to critique her. When pastors don’t watch every door, the enemy will get in and begin perverting the gospel and causing subtle divisions. I have seen this happen for years. This church is a Baptist Bible Missions church in upper Alabama. Please pray for him to discern.
Sorry to ramble on…but I was so blessed and was encouraged by your interview with Doreen. I pray the future in ministry is purely guided by God the Father. Know that ya’ll are blessed to have each other. Don’t take each other for granted. Stay strong in Christ, because you will be tested beyond anything you can handle. Love and the joy of the Lord, which is our salvation, to you both! Ann B.
Ann, your post has me weeping at my keyboard. It’s because we have heard from so many just like you who are so hungry to find a good, sound church, and fellowship that can help sharpen and encourage. There are errors in our church that we believe the Lord will use us to address soon. I will be praying for you specifically along with all the others we have received messages from these last 2 weeks. I know I am just an internet connection, but know you are NOT alone on this journey. I know it is painful and confusing and frustrating and sometimes fearful. It can cause great anxiety and great numbness. We have experienced it all and still do even almost 5 years down this path of coming out of deception and replacing lies with truth. We are going to compile a resource page (in fact, I was getting ready to work on it and found a flood of comments waiting for me…which I AM NOT USED TO AT ALL even as a blogger for 10 plus years!) Clearly, there was a need to voice our story even if it was to let others know the way out of this trap and shout that there is healing to be found from all of this. Do you mind if I share some of what you wrote here? I truly want to capture the heart cry of many of you. We are praying the Lord would continue to open more doors for us. Also, have you check 9marks.org? They have a church search on their website…hopefully you can find a sound church in your area. Stay in touch, sis. You can email us at [email protected] God bless you, sis! -Emily
Emily and Paul,
Thanks for waking up! My wife and I read each morning and often have reflected on Gods word vs what we see in the daily activities of the “church”.
We pray for your strength and ability to reveal the truth. We love Proverbs 3:5-6 as it hangs on our wall and is a daily reminder for trust and submission.
God bless you!
Daniel and Patricia
**********************************************************************
Below is a survey of Paul’s comments to Timothy and Titus:
“…stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work–which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but htey do not know what they are talking about our what they so confidently affirm.” (1 Tim. 1:3-7)
“Some have rejected these [faith and good conscience] and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymanaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:19b-20).
Deacons “must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience” (1 Tim. 3:9).
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 4:1-2).
“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch you life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim. 4:15-16).
“If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain” (1 Tim. 6:3-5).
“Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim. 6:10b).
“What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entruted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us” (2 Tim. 1:13-14).
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2:16-18).
“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:23-26).
“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres oppose the truth–men of depraved minds, who, as fas as the faith is concerned, are rejected” (2 Tim. 3:1-8).
“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it…” (2 Tim. 3:12-14).
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep you head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:2-5).
Elders “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of teh circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach–and that for the sake of dishonest gain” (Titus 1:11).
“Rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth” (Titus 1:13-14).
“You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1a).
Is the Apostle Paul a lover of controversy? Does he go out of his way to find a heresy under every rock?
Would he find a comfortable home in our assemblies? Would our “tone” and “emphasis” in the ministry match the apostle’s? Or, would Paul likely be cast off as “unteachable,” “hard-hearted,” and unkind?
How much attention should the pastor give to false teaching? How “worked up” ought we to be about error?
Perhaps a fresh appreciation of Paul’s instructions in the pastorals would be helpful in our day of polite-above-all attitudes. Though Paul warns the pastor not to be quarrelsome, in the same breath he says refute error. And it’s clear from the various kinds of effects false teaching has on the people of God that failure to refuse error and teach sound doctrine is simply dereliction of pastoral duty. It’s cruel neglect. No pastor should find solace in appeals to charity or tolerance or grace when facing false teaching. Be charitable, tolerant, and gracious–but reject the error! We have it on divine authority that this is the pastor’s duty.
Thank you so much for the encouragement and great reminders found in the Word! God bless!
God Bless you Emily @ Paul I will keep you in my prayers as you move forward on your New Journey with God as your leader. It’s sad that Joyce and the others have been color coating God’s word for fame and fortune 😞 It’s sad because I have watched a few of these people and I was given all of Joyce’s books and movies when a friend died.. It’s sad because they are good at what they do and that’s why they have gotten away with it for so many years. I have been a Christian since 2009 I was almost 600lbs and I was the only one saved in my family and it was hard being the only one trying to follow Jesus. So I was sitting on the fence but God had other plans in December 2009 I was on my way to the hospital my lips were blue I knew I was going to die But Jesus was with me and I took His had and I have not let it go. I started my Journey with Jesus and I have learned to truly lay everything at the Cross and Stop allowing the devils lies control me and I turned my addiction over and I have lost 300lbs and still losing. I’m not perfect but none of us are and I know I never have to do this life alone and I will have to turn my addiction over to God everyday because we live in a world that is so full of temptations and I’m human..But God is Bigger than anything that comes my way. I know because I wouldn’t be hear today sharing my testimony if I had not taken His Hand. The Best Part Is Loving That Person Looking Back At Me In The Mirror With The Love He Placed In My Heart 💞💞💞
Diane, thank you so much for your encouragement and for sharing your story! Wow, we are so proud of you, sister! Keep up all the good work with your weightloss journey as well as your spiritual journey. Both of those things you do not have to walk alone. God is with you and He also will send people alongside of you hold up your arms when you get tired and to cheer you on. Praising God for your awesome testimony! God bless!
You two stick together in Christ and I wish you all the best. I came out of this mess in 2016. Lost my husband (divorce) over false religion. It’s okay; though, because I now get to live in the Truth and am free to let God have His Way with my life. God Bless you guys.
Thank you for your encouragement! Our sincerest apologies of all the pain you have endured. We came out of this movement beginning in 2015 and eventually were convicted enough for Paul to leave JMM in February 2019. It has definitely be a process, but the Lord has been near. God bless!
Tv7 in Finland invites some people who are telling unbiblically examp.what Jeesus said, I am a Way Truth and Life. There was explanation that Way means how you can go forward in this World.
In bible John 14 , He clearaly means Way to Heaven. It is not prosperity.
Dear Emily and Paul,
My husband and I found you through your interview with Doreen. You opened our eyes to what many of these evangelists on TV are doing with false teaching. We were already aware of some but it saddens me to realize some that I truly loved watching or have done bible studies through are also part of this.
I want to thank you and encourage you both to keep speakung the truth. I am sorry you have lost dear friends and been treated so harshly by those you were close to. I pray God continues to use you both to open the eyes of his followers who are being deceived and that those who you were close to will come to see the truth.
We have thankfully found a good solid church that we love.
May God bless you both.
Thank you so much, Nancy! Your encouragement truly means a lot to us!
Hi guys , I think Gods opening my eyes to all this false teaching lately. I started Bethel school of the Supernatural and that’s when the warnings took place. Then I googled and you guys care up as well. This is just so sad scary and heart breaking. I grew up watching TBN , my family still watches today , and to think I’ve been taught a false gospel my whole life is simply heart breaking. I hear the whispers in my head that there’s no God (from the enemy himself ) but I know it’s the mercy of my father thru Christ Jesus that loves me to much to be deceived. I even have been having dreams about the world living in great deception and I’m just awed. Why is all this happening? All these lost and deceived souls have no idea?? How heart breaking. I’m not even sure which church teaches biblical truth anymore. Please pray for me. Pray for all of us. That we will be lead by truth and nothing but the truth so help us God.
I totally understand all the confusion about the prosperity gospel, nat first I was really intreagued and also the name it claim it gospel. I truly believe in these times we need to sincerely pray for discernment. These so called preachers and teachers have gotten really good at what they do and it can be really scary. I’m not totally convinced that they started out to deceive people but we’re warned in the scriptures to be very careful because satan roams around like a roaring lion seekwhom he can devour. Only God knows the intents of a mans heart. It’s all about discerning. There are people out here really desiring the truth and wanting to please God. We need to search for Him with all of our heart, soul and strength and if we faint not we will find Him, the truth because Jesus is the way the truth and the life. God bless all of you truth seekers. May God have mercy on us and those who have fallen into error