When the Pressure Comes, Will You Bear the Weight?

This past week or so, in the midst of the Church scandals, I have found myself scrutinizing my own life. Have I, too willingly, accepted God's Grace and Favor, while measuring my obedience to Him according to man's acceptable standards? We have seen, over the last week, how easy it is to convince ourselves that human acceptability is enough to satisfy God's heart. But here's the thing ... God is very precise, intentional, and deliberate about the work He is doing in us. And there is no room for compromise in the value of His Nature, nor the quality of our character. He judges the thoughts and intentions of our hearts to see if He recognizes His own in the way we carry His Name.

There have been good public discussions among the Body of Christ about the failures of Leaders in the Church to abide in their callings as Shepherds and Protectors of the Flock. It has been called to our attention, their efforts to protect themselves and their platforms and reputations. Sadly, some whom we assumed ministered in Divine Gifts, now appear to have been wolves in sheep's clothing. Others that had authentic hearts for God, chose Mercy over Justice, and added more trauma to members of the flock who were left feeling betrayed.

But in the end, Sin is sin. I don't believe God gives us a pass if our sin seems less harmful than another's. What matters is our response to our sin. God is ready to forgive us and begin our restoration, if we declare and show true repentance. No one exemplifies this better than King David. I alluded to this point in my last post ... David was an adulterer; a perpetrator and accomplice to murder; and a man who failed to become all God purposed him to be. His family was a mess, and his desire to build a House of God was denied him by God, Himself. 

But David was still called by God as "a man after His own heart". God acknowledged David's sin, but also recognized that David sought to align his heart with God's; he chased after God's will in his own life, and committed himself to being obedient while demonstrating honest and real repentance. You see, God was deliberate in the work He was going to do in David when He appointed him the ruler over the nation of Israel and its people. And that's one big difference between David and some of the Leaders in our Church today. It was God who appointed David! Too often, our Church Leaders today are either self-appointed, or man-appointed, due to their ability to entertain, or speak in compelling and powerful ways. It must be pointed out that the Spirit of the Lord was evident in David's life as He fulfilled His purpose to lead David in writing the Psalms, and bringing attention to Jesus, David's Savior and ours.

Yes, David had flaws, like all of us. He sinned like all of us. But because he genuinely repented and sought to align his heart with God's, God was not through with him. He could continue His work in David and see the fruit produced by David's obedient faith. It is yet to be seen if the fallen Pastors will rise to the level of repentance and obedience of King David. Their sins cannot be mixed in with their reputations [and diminished], nor can they be glossed over. They must be dealt with according to God's standards before He can continue His work in them. It must be determined if their faith is legitimate; if their obedience is steadfast, and if they have the humility to withstand the pressure God has assigned while He works in them to restore them to His service. 

The simple truth is this: If we call ourselves a child of God, there will be consequences when we sin. David shows us that even great men of faith fall in sin. And that sin damages our relationships; with those we love in this life, and with our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. But our confession of sin, in honesty and humility, will bring our restoration when accompanied by true repentance. It is then that we can see the fullness of God's forgiveness --  His Mercy, Compassion and Justice. When our sins and trespasses have caused harm to another person or Believer, we must expect that God will dispense all three attributes of His Nature if it is necessary to return us to wholeness.

So, as I wrap up my time of discerning what God desires to do in the midst of this latest crisis in the Church, I am left with these final thoughts ... we should work [with and through the Lord] to leave a legacy in this life; a spiritual impact that affects eternity. We are all imperfect people, but when we sin, we can let God work in our lives to encourage others that they, too, can bear the weight of their sin, as they deliberately return to God and trust Him in all their ways. We can be like David -- chasing after God's heart; praising Him in the midst of our troubles and sin; seeking His Presence; living in fearless faith; and trusting God to deliver us out of our darkness into His Light. 

And perhaps most importantly, let us forgive others their sins, trespasses, and iniquities, as God forgives ours when we approach Him with a humble and repentant heart. Let us hold ourselves accountable as we expect the Church and its Leaders to do the same. Remember, we may experience the pressure of God's cleansing and restoring work in us, but we will gain our freedom from sin by growth and endurance [in our faith]. Jesus will not leave us to bear the weight by ourselves. He will bear it along with us. Amen!  

1 Corinthians 10:13     No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.   

   

When Church Leaders Sin

 I want to begin by stating that this post is my opinion (only), and I am not asking anyone to agree with me, nor am I asking anyone to endorse or recommend my thoughts. I am listening to the Lord and Holy Spirit and asking God to lead me to the fullness of His Truth in this matter. Therefore, as more information becomes available, I may find Holy Spirit giving me new revelations, at which time I will be open to new understandings of this situation.

I have spent the last several days contemplating the devastating and disturbing news surrounding Shawn Bolz and his association with Bethel Church and its Senior Leadership. Over the last 20 years or so, the advent of social media has been a vehicle for the promotion of various popular ministries in the Church, especially the employment of the Spiritual Gifts among the Charismatic segment of Christianity. To be clear, Spiritual Gifts are special abilities, talents or capacities given to Christians by the Holy Spirit, with the goal of serving God and the members of the Church. We find those gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12, and among them are the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits [discernment], speaking in different kinds of tongues, and also the interpretation of those tongues.   

Interest in the Spiritual Gifts has been like a magnet, drawing the young and un-churched to those in the ministry who could offer something new and exciting for the edification and growth of the Church. In truth and honesty, I am a believer that those Spiritual Gifts are still available to Believers today. But because of the sinful nature of man, Social Media has been a path to gaining millions of followers, money, and celebrity-like status among some of these ministers. And this coincides with what the Bible tells us (in 2 Timothy 3:1-9) will be the condition of the Church "in the last days" ... the Church will find itself in times of difficulty ... people will be (among many things), lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient, ungrateful, unholy, lacking self-control, reckless, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions; men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. Sadly, these traits have led unrighteous men to immense influence in the Modern Church.

From the recent disclosures about his behaviors and how he operated his ministries, Shawn Bolz has been a classic picture of 2 Timothy 3:1-9. He began his ministry in the early 2000s and quickly became a darling of the Charismatic Church, garnering huge followings for his prophetic "words of knowledge". I will admit that I have always been skeptical of these "performance style" ministers whose prognostications have seemed too often, vague and general in nature. In addition, my spirit has been troubled by what has appeared to be "swarms" of people within the Church [beyond the Charismatic community], eager to gain the same kind of reputation and stature within their Christian denominations. I am quite aware that the Bible warns that in the last days, "many false prophets will arise and deceive many people" (Matthew 24:11).

And then along comes Mike Winger's exposé of Bolz's alleged misconduct. Mike Winger is an evangelical theologian and Christian apologist; a YouTube personality who is well-known for exposing spiritual abuse and sexual misconduct in Christian circles, along with critiquing Christian ministries that he doesn't agree with. So, could there be bias in his reporting of Bolz's alleged sins? Of course! While he chose to reveal his accusations against Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor of Bethel Church in Redding California, along with Senior Leaders in that Church, he neglected to bare the alleged negligence of Greg Laurie, founder of Harvest Christian Fellowship, to supervise a former pastor, Paul Havsgaard, who allegedly sexually abused children at a shelter in Romania. Like, the leadership of Bethel, Laurie and church leaders ignored the reports of abuse, and did not take appropriate action, allowing Havsgaard to continue to have contact with the children. Why expose one sin, and not the other?  

Here is a simplified summary of Winger's accusations against Shawn Bolz and Bethel Church: rather than receiving divine revelation when prophesying words of knowledge over individuals, Shawn Bolz was leading a ministry of fraud and deception. Specifically, it is alleged that he data-mined social media sites, such as Facebook, for relevant information that he could manipulate to appear as if he heard from the Holy Spirit. Not only was this fraudulent and deceitful, but there are alleged instances where his "word of knowledge" led to physical and spiritual abuse of those seeking God's truth. In addition, there are many victims of alleged sexual abuse by Bolz himself against his own staff. Men have come forth with explicit reports of alleged deviant behavior towards themselves; behavior, that if true, is without question, unholy and obscene. 

While I am unaware of legal investigations [at this time] into these claims, they have now been elevated due to the involvement of one of the best-known movements within contemporary Charismatic Christianity, Bethel Church. Bill Johnson is its Senior Pastor, and is a man who is simultaneously one of the most well-respected, as well as vilified, pastors in the American Church. He often finds himself pitted against the rigid, legalistic and religious segment of the Church, who do not believe in the supernatural acts of God [or the Spiritual Gifts] in today's world. In full disclosure, I have perceived Bill Johnson as an excellent teacher on the Kingdom of God; a man of God who actually does Kingdom work for the Lord. He is a fair, loving and compassionate man. But he admittedly does not like conflict and tends to err on the side of mercy, rather than correction, when it comes to the failures of people under his purview. And that has landed him in this tumultuous, ugly, and very public indictment of him and his Church.

I will also be honest in stating that I don't discern much about Shawn Bolz's actions that can be dismissed. And he continues to deny all allegations. In the case of Bill Johnson, Bill has reached out with a public message, acknowledging that his greatest strength, in this case, became his greatest weakness. "I believe in people when they don't deserve it. In this situation, it became unsanctified mercy. In my commitment to wanting to see Shawn in a place of health, I didn't see what I needed to. I didn't want to believe the accusations against Shawn were true, and it blinded me to reality in my loyalty to a friend, neglecting that there was a real issue that needed to be addressed. I could've chosen to see through the eyes of my team [who were willing to bring correction] and access their discernment, but chose not to. As a result of my inaction, which slowed this process down, more people were affected, and additional injuries in the prophetic, and trauma in Shawn's own team, took place." 

So, how will this all shake out? At the moment, it is very destructive and harmful to the Church. Church Leadership failed their flock. Fraudulent prophets were allowed to continue their deception and perverse activities. Even when Bill Johnson was convinced of Shawn Bolz's injurious sins, he chose to appear on a national broadcast program endorsing Bolz's latest book. You can imagine what that did to the soul and spirit of one of Shawn's victims who had come to Johnson in hopes that he could be trusted to end the victimization. Again, Johnson put his friendship ahead of righteous judgment and action.

While Bill Johnson and his senior team have announced their intentions to recommit themselves to "responsibility, truth, accountability, and transformation in Christ", great damage has been done to their reputations, character, and spiritual identities. Can they ever be trusted again? In the end, Bill Johnson has besmirched the name of Bethel Church, choosing to keep quiet, even when they finally came to agreement of the alleged sins of Shawn Bolz. They left their Church family, other ministries, and other associates of Shawn Bolz susceptible to his perversion and spiritual manipulation. I have no doubt they will humbly repent and change their ways of operation, but the question now becomes how do we, as the Body of Christ and the Church, move forward and recover from this betrayal?

Unfortunately, how God will respond is probably remarkably more holy and righteous than we humans will treat this debacle. The Bible says God desires these traits in the one who sins: humility, profession of sin, accountability, true repentance, transformation, and a purified heart. For those of us in the flock and Christian community, we are to offer prayer, grace, reconciliation, restoration, forgiveness, encouragement, and hope. Of course, each one of these traits must be approached in sincerity and trustworthiness. We must all understand that it is God who is the Author and Lord of Truth and Restoration. We must be willing to overcome our own judgmental natures and biases against opposing denominational differences, and move forward in the Spirit of Renewal and Restoration of the Church. At the same time, we must not compromise, ignore, or look away from those who have sinned. And it must all be done in humility and fear of the Lord. 

Yes, men have gravely sinned; men who were trusted and admired. But I would like to offer you this bit of what I consider great wisdom from an article, by an author who calls himself, The Biblical Man. He writes, "The Church has taught us to perform. Not Jesus. The Church. Jesus sat with tax collectors. Ate with prostitutes. Touched lepers. Called [to service] fishermen who stank like the sea. He never once asked for a résumé. He asked for honesty.... That's all He wanted. That's all He ever wants." 

"David committed adultery. Then murdered to cover it. Then kept the throne. Not because God approved. Because God wasn't finished. Nathan came with a story about a lamb and David broke wide open. I have sinned against the LORD. Six words. No excuse. No explanation. No spin. God called him a man after His own heart. Not a perfect man. A broken one who stopped pretending. Your pastor didn't tell you that part. He told you to be like David the warrior. David the worshiper. David the king. He skipped David the adulterer. David the murderer. David the man so broken he wrote psalms face down in the dirt. Because broken doesn't fill pews. Performance fills pews."

So, I fear the Modern Church has become all about performance... Who is more popular on Social Media ... Who can garner more attention and sell the most books ... Whose ministry is greater and whose reputation is broader ... Who has more to protect from scrutiny? All of which leads to those sins the Bible warns us about in these last days: the love of self, the love of money, pride, arrogance, abusiveness, unholiness, lacking self-control, being led by various unrighteous passions, and being corrupted in mind and soul, thereby being disqualified regarding the [protection of] the faith.

My prayer is that all involved -- from Shawn Bolz [the rebellious one] to Bill Johnson [who chose mercy over protecting his flock] to Mike Winger [who appears to pick and choose who he will publicly condemn] will break wide open and confess, I have sinned against my LORD! May we all remain humble, repent, and seek the Lord's Face for the times we have sinned against Him, and ask for His gracious forgiveness. I don't believe God is finished with Bill Johnson or Bethel Church, and I pray Shawn Bolz humbles himself and drops to his knees in repentance. Because, there for the Grace of God, go you or I.

Psalm 51:17    My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.