I often wonder: How many followers of Jesus actually think
about the totality and complexity of the teachings in the Bible? For example a
few things always get me thinking. There
are the references to "become like a child," "the body of
Christ," "running the race," "wrestling...," then the
one that got me thinking this morning, "fishers of men."
Matthew 4:19 ~ And He
said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Over the years I have loved the opportunities I have had to
fish, especially when having the rare chance to go deep sea fishing. I loved
fishing on a regular basis when we owned our home on Lake
Oolagah in Oklahoma. I learned quickly in my fishing
experiences in life, if I wanted to catch fish, I needed to learn to fish, you
see, fishing entails far more than putting bait on a hook and throwing that
bait into the water. I never liked waiting as opposed to fishing, I liked
catching fish, so instead of quitting, I learned how to fish.
I have become a decent fisherman. I have learned a lot about
fishing and about becoming a fisher of men. There are often those, who no
offense taken, really haven't learned how to fish. They throw a big line with a
big floater and a super heavy sinker on it into the water, often splashing it
with the tip of their pole, talking away, making all kinds of noise and using
the wrong kind of bait. They would be better off dropping a line into a
goldfish pond. You see when fishing, to have the best chance of catching fish,
you have to know what kind of line to use, the best kind of pole, unless casting
a net, (dynamite fishing excluded,) You have to know the kind of fish you are
fishing for, the habits of that fish, are they bottom dwellers, scavengers, top
fish, etc..., what are the best times of day to catch the fish, what are the best
water temperatures and conditions and far more. Bottom line is, if you want to
be effective in being fishers of men and women. One needs to make the efforts
to learn the appropriate ways to fish.
In the passage above it is important to remember who Jesus was speaking to. He
was speaking to experienced fishermen who understood how to fish. What Jesus
said was appealing enough that they threw their nets down right away followed Him.
They had if you will, a head start in understanding what it meant to fish.
The thing that got me to thinking about this was the number of posts on social
media by people with religious connotations. I couldn't help but think, what
was the purpose of the posts? It seemed to me that many were taking on the role
of prophet, pastor teacher and preaching to the choir, or talking to the church
about what the church needed to do. That is what it seemed like except when
looking to see the posters comments outside of the quoted passages were
specifically directed towards those that didn't know Jesus or were followers of
Jesus. It is one of those things that always confounds me, that is Christians
who expect non Christians to already be acting like Jesus. Then there is that
thing where it looks like people are trying to clean the fish before they catch
them but that is a whole other topic.
It seems to me, that posting and talking about faith related things should fall
under really only one of a few categories for followers of Jesus on social
media. By the way, while this can be effective, I know because of the time I
have been doing ministry on social media and my research on the topic, there is
still no replacement for face to face, or at the very least conversation to
conversation, (and I don't mean texting, pictures or anything, I mean at least
picking up the phone and conversing.) Anyway, the categories of which I think
one can safely assume as to why discuss faith related issues on social media.
1) To educate, train, and equip individuals who are
followers of Jesus on how to better carry out the work of God as illustrated
and directed through the Bible. This is first of all, a perfectly acceptable reason.
I do think one should make sure that they fall under the Biblical expectations
of leadership and teaching as outlined in the Bible, (a simple Google of
Biblical leadership will turn up an abundance of material.) Now this isn't to
say lay persons shouldn't teach. May that never be! Many a great teachers are
lay people, (those not actually pastors, preachers or those credentialed by the
church.) Remember the greatest qualification for Biblical teaching isn't
Seminary, it is that you have been to Calvary.
However, the Biblical expectations, of studying the Bible, how we teach and so
forth are to be practiced. Here is the sad truth, we as followers of Jesus are
directed to test the teachings we receive, we should be qualified to give an
answer and so forth. This does not mean that the teachings we don't like are
bad, maybe it is our individual theology that needs work.
In college I learned an incredibly important task that unfortunately many seem
to not practice, that is understanding the points of and practice of logic and
reason. We especially as followers of Jesus need not throw out these principles.
I studied these concepts in my philosophy courses at East
Tennessee State
University and at Tabor College,
as well as over the years, on my own. Understanding the process of logic and
reason is a tool that will greatly benefit those who teach and debate. There is
a process of doing this, it is one I believe, if being a great or even just an
effective fisherman (or woman) will enable us to exceed our wildest
expectations in catching fish.
2) Now there is another reason to do these things online or
within social media, that is to reach those who do not have a relationship with
Jesus, or catching fish. Unfortunately, when Jesus says we should draw people
to him, we more times than not chase them away. I recently saw a great example
of this on the television show The Amazing Race where the contestants were
charged with corralling sheep. Most did what we do in our social media and
personal habits, we chase people away, (remember the Bible calls us sheep) and
remember what I said in that first paragraph about the complexity of the
illustrations in the Bible. We seemingly condemn, say we speak love but it
really mirrors hate, and wonder why we are not effective in developing
relationships with people where they are asking us about the person of Jesus
instead of us having to preach to them. A point of fact here is that we see
approximately 11 one on one conversations with non disciples or followers in
the Bible between individuals and Jesus. In 9 of those conversations, the other
person started the conversation. The unfortunate truth is, while we may want to
catch fish, our lack of knowledge on fishing prevents us from catching them and
instead we chase them away, scare them, even give them cause to stay away from
the messenger of the love of God as far as possible, often times, us.
There may be instances where a person has a sincere desire
and has learned some things about fishing, for example what kind of line to
use, how to cast, how to bait a line but they haven't learned how to fish for a
trout as opposed to a catfish, or even worse, fishing for a Snapper in a fresh
water stream. (now if you don't know what that means, look it up, it is about
time to learn something about fishing.) We should learn how to catch specific
fish. This is an area I get criticized for within many in the church. I fish
specifically for those who have been hurting and have experienced hurts and
hardships in their lives in an extreme way. I use specific tools to plant seeds
the Holy Spirit can work with, it may be a movie, music or other forms but I
doesn't always use the niceties that some followers of Jesus are so accustomed
to. It is the bait, the realities those I fish for understand though. The sad
part of this to me is that many write off the hurting, the abused, the
homosexual, the biker, the drug addict, the prostitute and others, they not
only don't like the methods of fishing God has instructed me with, the truth
is, they don't like those I fish for. They have a taste for trout while I fish
for catfish. Here is the sad truth, just like Paul and Peter as we read about
in Acts and Galatians among other places, they reached out to different crowds
and understood the call of God on their lives, it was those on the outside
looking in that had the issues. They both supported the work of the other yet
so many still judge without looking at the need to reach the lost. They want to
judge the method of fishing, (of which they really know little) and never look
at the streamer line with the fish you have caught and God has used to touch
and provide healing and knowledge. Often those telling you how to cast has
never actually cast themselves.
I am sure there are other reasons for sharing religious things
on social media but I believe these are
the primary two reasons we should be sharing. Do we take seriously what we
share? Do we understand what we are sharing and take seriously how we share it.
I want to be the best fisherman I can be and I will tell you, I am at times
honored that I am critiqued in the same way at times by the same types of
people who critiqued Jesus, that is the religious community who had more of a
focus on the law, (which Paul calls "The False Gospel") than they do
the grace, liberty and freedom given to us by Christ to reach those he died on
a cross to have relationship with. Despite the sin, despite the type of fish,
or sheep for that matter. Christ wants to have a relationship with each us, the
whosoever's if you will, hopefully, more of us consider these two things, our
purpose and methods so that we will in fact become fishers of the very people
Jesus loved and died for.
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First, a few Bible verses for you, now please read and take the time for this one, I have to get some things off my chest.
Your father is the devil, and you do exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies. – John 8:44
The LORD hates every liar, but he is the friend of all who can be trusted. – Proverbs 12:22
There are six or seven kinds of people the LORD doesn't like: Those who are too proud or tell lies or murder, - Proverbs 6: 16, 17
Let me yell out really loud, excuse me for this but here it goes, UHHMMMM UHHHMMMMM, I AM SICK OF CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE TO SELL THEIR PERCEIVED TRUTHS WITH LIES THAT COME FROM THE PITS OF HELL. CHRISTIANS, IF YOU ARE GOING TO TEACH, IF YOU ARE GOING TO OPEN YOUR MOUTH, MAKE SURE YOUR TEACHINGS AND BELIEFS ARE ROOTED IN TRUTH, AND MAKE SURE THAT YOUR INFLUENCES ARE PEOPLE OF CREDIBILITY. Now I still feel like yelling some so let me take a few moments to compose myself. In the meantime, go and take a break for about 5 minutes, get an ice cream or something and then come back.
Whew, how was that ice cream? Now for those who may want to complain, understand the appropriate use of sarcasm, but also understand, that what I am about to share is something I feel deeply about and believe I am Biblically justified in my comments.
Now the situation that brought this all about; recently I had a friend who I had befriended, opened up my ministry to and had a lot of respect for. Even providing support and I believe Biblical advice to during a crisis where this person was having marital and legal problems. I won’t mention the persons name but will say, after being arrested, and confronting him with the need to step back from ministry and heal his marriage, his initial reaction was quick, judgmental, and confrontational. Despite this, I offered in love that this person was not nearly as important as the cause and ministry of Christ, and that he had an obligation to make things right in his marriage, and that any application of ministry until this took place would not bring integrity to the ministry of Jesus. This wasn’t that far in the past, and after a recent, harsh response for no justifiable reason, find concern for this person and their ministry. I suppose they will likely see this, take offense, and become judgmental and harsh once again. I am not writing this specific to them, but as a concern which you will see more about in the next paragraphs. It is my hope that this person evaluates their relationship with God, the influences on their ministry, and reevaluate why they become so defensive and find the need to read into comments the things they do. When having a temper that would have you strike your wife, react to another brother in such a quick and hurtful way, when someone presuppose to know a persons heart by reading words on a computer screen when they in reality are making judgments that have an effect on others. When they are obtaining their teaching and belief from false teachers, and are unwilling to explore the possibility of those false teachings they have other issues that must be addressed.
This was a person I considered a friend which was the reason for the advice, even when it was taken wrong (btw, I still hold to the premise that when you have been arrested of spousal abuse, even if innocent, you should step back from ministry until the marriage is resolved. A couple of months is not enough time.) This person also had another web site and he had encouraged me to join over the last year or two. I was reluctant simply because I didn’t have the time. After a period of time however, I recently decided to join the forums and web site. This person, who had been a guest on my radio program, who had posted on my forums, knew me, we had spoken on the phone numerous times, we had prayed for each other, I thought he knew I had an edge but decided to go ahead and join his web page and forum. After doing so it took me all of 4 posts to realize I needed to leave his group, as a result he gets mad, take things totally wrong and decides to confront me in what I perceive to be a hateful way. If that was not his intent, his follow up responses did not give clarity as he made assumptions, and presupposed to make a judgment of my heart. After going back and seeing my responses to him, all of them, I don’t know where he did this. As a result I had several people I am aware of who are gifted in the area of discernment evaluate my response to him, and they had no idea where he was coming from, and were all in agreement that I was correct in my assessment regarding prayer, and one said individual, Rebecca Brown, more on that later though. (BTW, none of those people are on MySpace and have no idea who the person is other than the comments and forum posts I showed them. Even here, the persons name was deleted as was the web site they run.)
Some ask, why even bring this up, well it has rekindeled a passion in me that really bothers me regarding how some Christians gravitate to false and bad teachings, even when confronted with the fallacies of those teachings. This will be longer than some posts of recent but read on. For the Christian, there is what I believe to be profound truth in the things I am about to say, and for the non Christian, there is an explanation and a hope that you also understand, not all Christians are the same, and some of us are willing to stand up to the untruths that come from other so called “Christians.”
It was four posts on this person’s web site forum, before I realized I was in the wrong house. One may ask regarding those posts, what were they? The four posts were quite simple, one, I introduced myself, two, I posted information regarding The Virtual Pew and postings regarding the Street Level Devotions I have been doing, and three and four, which created the controversy and subsequent rebuke were on prayer; did you hear that, they were on prayer?
What about my postings on prayer would lead to such problems? There was a post on prayer by someone else about praying over meals while in public. Now I have to be honest; I value, appreciate and respect people who do this; I even do it myself on occasion, but not on every occasion.I posted in my initial response that not even Jesus did this. As an illustration I shared the story of how he was confronted by the Pharisees for not washing his hands while picking grain and eating on the Sabbath. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the washing of the hands was a part of the prayer custom at the time. The bottom line is we can clearly see Jesus didn’t follow this custom all of the time. I also pointed out the passage of the two people praying in public and Jesus stated we should go into our closets to pray. I think both of these biblical references spoke to the issue. There was a reply to the issue which called into question my comments, saying something along the lines that praying allowed God to protect us from the food and so forth. I then offered the reply that at least one took offense at as I received a pm afterward.
It is important I say what I am going to say now, especially for those that don’t know me. I don’t take credit for anything that has happened to me. It is clear to me that the things that have happened have happened because of the work of God and his Holy Spirit, not me. I am also reminded that we live in a world where Christianity has little or no respect because of the lies, manipulation, and horrible examples of some. May we never forget Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, or the other indiscretions such as Ted Haggard that have occurred. The attitude of the non religious community towards followers of Jesus is not much different than during the time of Paul in the Bible. Paul addressed this in certain ways, which we are able to use if applicable. Paul made known his credentials prior to speaking to a public who was skeptical of faith. Many saw this as Paul having an attitude of pride or arrogance, but in reality, it was him sharing so that people would take his response seriously and know he wasn’t just some poor Joe, (no offense to Joe the Plumber,) but he was in fact one who Christ had used, and whom Christ had touched. Because I know of the skepticism of the unbeliever because I spend time with them, I often use this tactic.
I shared on the prayer topic that I had done a great deal of study on prayer, had presented it across the country and it was used around the globe. I had also been teaching a series on prayer. That said, I held to the convictions that it wasn’t always necessary to pray before a meal, and that natural or physical laws as established by God were in effect no matter how much we tried to get around them, including praying them away. I used the illustration that if you jump off a three story building you will learn about the laws of gravity. I also illustrated that washing hands, specifically under finger nails would reduce the spread of disease. I then asked the question, can someone provide me one scripture that says we should pray before we eat every time or if they could provide a single verse that countered the points I had made earlier. These things were not said in a skeptical way, but as a sincere question.
It was here I received a rebuke via email, which I have copied and saved for those who doubt. It was also in the exchange I came to the awareness of some of the teachings that drove the thought behind some of the “pastors” in this group discussion. It was in those discoveries that I draw my thoughts here, but more on that later.
After receiving the email from one of the “pastors” of the group, I responded with a simple reply, not implying controversy, not wanting to go there, I simply replied, “sorry, obviously taken wrong will resign from the group.” I won’t go into the detail about the confrontation of “arrogance” and more that occurred thereafter, but will say, again, for those who need verification, I have all of the correspondence, and while I will remove names, I will provide all correspondence from me and them for your inspection if need be. Some ask why I would be willing to do this or offer this, it is really quite simple, and it is due to the concept of integrity. I have stated for a long time, my life, my ministry, my failures, my all, is open for inspection. It is why I submit to the authority of a church, why I seek accountability from respected religious organizations, and submit to the leadership of a recognized church organization, denomination, and board of directors. I have learned a long time ago, while it is okay to be a lone ranger, it is more important that we who call ourselves Christians or followers of Jesus should present credibility. First before going to the next chapter, let me state, as is evidenced in my autobiography, I am not a novice to the Occult, Satanism and so forth. I was involved in it but don’t talk about it a great deal because of the false sensationalism that is promoted by many, and has been hyped by others in the realm of “Christianity.” I have done a great deal of study in the field since becoming a Christian and am amazed at the number of “Christians” who hold to these lies and mistruths promoted by many who attempt to profit off of the sensationalism of Satanism. I am even more amazed at those who hold to those teachings despite the massive amounts of proof that disprove, their claims, prove manipulation, lies, and more. While we are set free from guilt, condemnation and fear, many would have us live under a spirit and attitude of fear, I assure you, the spirit of fear is not of God.
Much of this attitude comes from the book published a number of years ago and written by Mike Warnke called The Satan Seller. Another book written by Cornerstone Publishing goes into detail to disprove much of Warnke’s claims. Warnke and I were a part of a group that existed early on in the Jesus Movement called The Fellowship of Contemporary Christian Ministries, (FCCM) . We have many mutual friends and I had the opportunity to personally, face to face, confront Mike a few years ago at a See You Around The Pole Rally in Hutchinson Kansas. I had sought out the advice from some at Jesus People USA where I had close friends who also knew Mike and were a part of writing the expose on the fabrications and untruths presented in The Satan Seller. Jon Trott one of the authors of the book, and Glen Kaiser, a dear friend who is one of the elders at Jesus People were the two primary people I communicated with. Glen and I actually kept in touch for some time talking about the need to confront Mike which I did.
Let me say here, my interaction with Mike was a personal experience. I will say this about that face to face meeting prior to his presentation; Mike admitted to me the reality of the fabrications, had asked for forgiveness, and was trying to move on in ministry focusing on Gods’ ability to change and his comedy. I firmly believe Mike was sincere in his comments to me and I left my meeting with him feeling better about his ministry. If however I would have been under the understanding that Mike was building his ministry based on the lies used in The Satan Seller I wouldn’t have had the same feelings. It appeared to me, and I believe, Mike had recognized where he had done wrong, and had sought forgiveness for his past actions and fabrications. With a tear in his eye as he approached me prior to leaving after the event, he asked me to ask some for his forgiveness, and he thanked me for my willingness to confront him and talk to him directly.
While this was may be the case with Mike Warnke, it is not the case to my knowledge with some who use the Christian sensationalism presented by others including for one, Rebecca Brown, AKA Ruth Bailey, who told the story of Elaine Moses, AKA Edna Elaine Knost, a professed ex Satanist who states she was married to Satan and had numerous sexual encounters with him and his demons. Much of the information presented in the books, He Came to Set The Captives Free and the follow up, Prepare for Waralong with subsequent audio tapes, books and articles, and morehave been proven to be based on lies and falsehoods by numerous reliable sources including The Cult Awareness and Information Center. It was the teachings of Brown that largely formed the opinions of the attitude regarding the responses I had received earlier via a pm and on the web site. I again, will provide the messages regarding this for those desiring with the names of the posters removed. To be blunt, I was accused of believing false lies about this person without recognizing the legitimate ministries they prefaced. On this point, I would simply say, Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus, that doesn’t make Satan a child of God or the writings of Anton Levay where he quotes the Bible the word of God.
On this point here is what bothers me, why do some Christians not look at where their false teachings are coming from, and why are they so reluctant to look at the facts. I challenge all people on this issue for a simple reason, Jesus don’t need liars to promote his message. In fact, there are numerous passages of Scripture that speaks to the issue of speaking truth. Why some feel the need to not adhere to these standards is beyond me. I challenge, a ministry foundation built in part on lies is not a foundation of God as the foundation of God’s truth is built on truth! I again reiterate, the use of Scripture does not validate truth, remember who the author of lies is, and then remember, he loves to quote the Bible. What are some of the things about Rebecca Brown that are well known and proven? Well some of the following are from her own words, from investigations of her ministry via reliable sources. Let me ask you this though, after reading the following, would you use this person as a reliable source of information when promoting concepts of your beliefs and ministry?
On October 2, 1984, the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana met to consider Ruth Bailey's license to practice medicine. She refused to attend the hearing and sent no one to act as her counsel or agent. After deliberations, this board lifted Bailey's license (#29402) for the following violations and irregularities:
Bailey misdiagnosed patients including, but not limited to Edna Elaine Moses a.k.a. Elaine Moses A.K.A. Elaine Bailey, Claudia Moses, Lucia Lively, Lucinda Sisson, Kelly Sisson and Cheryl Maynard of "leukemia, various blood disorders, gall bladder disease, brain tumors, and various other ailments and conditions, all of which the Respondent stated were allegedly caused by demons, devils, and other evil spirits." In fact, these "patients... were not suffering from the diagnosed ailments and conditions."
The Medical Licensing Board appointed a psychiatrist to examine Bailey and the statements of her patients. This psychiatrist "diagnosed [Bailey] as suffering from acute personality disorders including demonic delusions and/or paranoid schizophrenia."
Much more available on her MD removal via online search:
After losing her medical license, Bailey adopted the name "Dr. Rebecca Brown" and continued to use the title "Doctor", despite the fact that since she had her license taken away she has never applied to be reinstated in any other state. "Brown" and her companion Elaine Moses began telling people of how Moses was a former high priestess of a Satanic cult and how "Dr Brown" had saved her from a hospital riddled with Satanic cult members who had infiltrated it. She eventually met up with Jack Chick of Chick Publications, who published two books authored by Bailey under her pseudonym "Dr. Rebecca Brown": He Came to Set the Captives Free and Prepare for War.
"Another area of witchcraft which Christians unwittingly use is in the area of herbs. Most of the herbalists and herb shop owners are involved in witchcraft. Incantations are done over the herbs, which is why they work so well... The same is true of a lot of health food stores. A large number of health food stores are owned and operated by Hindu gurus. Top yoga teachers openly tell us that their foods are prepared only by yogis who perform the necessary meditations so that the foods will carry the 'appropriate vibrations' to enhance the 'spirituality' of the eater. Beware, these 'appropriate vibrations' are demons." NOTE: The reason these herbs work is that they contain natural substances with medicinal properties: Many medicines that you can purchase at a pharmacy come from natural sources. "Once you have sought for and have received confirmation from the Lord that your child has been abused, you are faced with a number of decisions. The first decision is whether to notify the authorities. You must carefully seek the Lord's wisdom on this issue. We are most certainly in the last days and our country is almost totally corrupt. The Satanists have infiltrated all police departments, welfare departments, and especially all areas of psychology and psychiatry... Satanists are already planted in all the governmental agencies which get involved in such cases. You must realize that once you notify the authorities you have essentially lost control of your child."
A Superior Court of California document No: VCV 009038, Petition for Change of Name and a Continue Order to Show Cause. These documents the application and granting of the petition by Ruth Irene Bailey to legally change her name to Rebecca Brown back in April, 1986.
All the details check out. The Petitioner was born in Shelbyville, Indiana. Her reasons for requesting the name change is because she has, "become more known by the proposed name through use as a pen name and use of the name in ministry than her present name." "One evening at dusk I was driving from my office back to the hospital to see a patient who had taken a turn for the worse. I was alone in the car and was driving down a stretch of isolated country road where there were no houses or buildings within at least a one mile radius. Suddenly, about a block ahead of me a huge werewolf stepped out into the middle of the road. As I approached closer, he raised up and stood on his hind legs. I put my foot down hard on the accelerator intending to swerve around him but the car didn't respond. It glided to a stop, motor still running, despite all my prayers and attempts to make it go. I sat there staring in horror at the most incredibly ugly and fierce creature I had ever seen. I felt as if I was drowning in the pure evil power that radiated from him. He threw back his head and howled - a terrifying sound which I shall never forget.”
Then he looked straight into my eyes and told me, 'You can't go anywhere - see, I have stopped your car and there's nothing you can do about it. Now I'm going to enjoy ripping your throat out and drinking your blood. You have been interfering with Satan too long; I am going to punish you. You cannot stand against my power.'"
Brown writes that tattoos and hairstyles bring demonic curses and the former should be covered with oil and curses are to be broken at our command. Brown's generalizations further damage her credibility. Brown cautions others in similar ministries to avoid eating out: "the craft [witches and satanists by her definition] will place their people as employees in all the restaurants in your area. We have been severely poisoned more than once through fast-food restaurants. NEVER develop a routine! The safest restaurants to eat in are smorgasbords or buffets. It is impossible for craft employees to poison all the food on a buffet or salad bar" "The root of ALL mental illness is the sin of self-centeredness." "Mentally ill people choose to be mentally ill, for the most part.”
Now back to my thoughts, in other words, Mike Furches here. The above is a very small sampling of information regarding Rebecca Brown or from Rebecca Brown. There are a number of things you can do to gather the multitude of information about this person, simply do a Google of Rebecca Brown, Ruth Bailey, Elaine Moses, or Edna Elaine Knost. This does not even touch on the associations with the highly controversial Chick Publications and her husband. Now a note here about these individuals that needs to be understood. I am not saying there is the impossibility of some good being done by this ministry, what I am saying is that no ministry endorsed or supported by God is based on lies, and any ministry that presents the ministry of God has to make sure that as much as possible, their ministry does not rely on these lies to present Scriptural truth. To ignore the reality that this ministry is in large based on false premises is not only wrong; it is dangerous to those who adhere to the teachings of these types of ministries.
Now I want to be clear about something else, it is possible; even likely, that all ministries make mistakes and at times follow false teachings. It is important when this happens to repudiate those teachings and disassociate from those groups. If a group is unwilling to do this, then it is critical to disassociate from that ministry. To start with the attacks, to add the straw men arguments without addressing the real issue are not a Biblical approach. While some will quote and quote scripture I will again reiterate, even the Devil quoted scripture to the Son of God.
I am aware of the questions some may raise as to why I write this. I still spend time with those who struggle with Christianity, with Christians who struggle with teachings of certain legalistic groups, with those who are not Christian. I believe I try to follow a ministry and lifestyle resembling of Jesus. While I fall far short, he is the ultimate example and I know of his passion for The Lost, The Last, and The Least. I post this because some of us in the church have the responsibility to warn against legalistic, unbiblical teachings from groups whom promote themselves as Christian but in reality are based in part on false teachings and un Christ like attitudes.Am I saying those people who teach these things aren’t Christian? Absolutely not, but they still have a responsibility to represent the one who called himself Truth, with truth.When reading things like the above comments, which have been proven to be dangerous, (i.e. quotes on mental illness, not reporting child abuse, and many more not included here, including the over medication including lethal doses, and much more available on line) and lies, in other situations, then we are not presenting truth with truth, but truth with lies and those lies do irrefutable harm to the potential to reach some with absolute truth.
Some will take this posting as an attack on one or two ministries, I assure you, it is not.What this posting is is an attempt to encourage you to seek truth. While one may place their focus on a situation like should we pray before every meal or not, it is far more than that. When ones opinion is based on their belief that we pray because witches or Satanists have polluted the food and we need protection for it, as opposed to the real teachings of Christ, especially when those sources come from false testimony, I have to wonder if we are promoting a message of hope, freedom, forgiveness and liberation, or are we promoting a message of fear which we know is not of God. When that teaching contradicts scripture the answer becomes clear. It is amazing at how some will promote the use of Scripture, but when going against their most recent guru, no matter how unbiblical they are, and that person gets defensive as to which teaching to believe, the guru or the Bible, then I have to raise the question, will you follow the example of Jesus, or will you follow the example of the recent guru. I challenge, don’t follow my example, I am nothing more than a dumb poor street kid outside of the salvation provided through the blood of Jesus. Always, and I do mean, always, look at Jesus, and if need be, be like Paul, provide reason why we should listen to you. Then you measure that with the absolute truth of Scripture. If you can’t provide a Biblical basis to support the view of a charlatan, then question the charlatan, but hold to the truth of Scripture. If in doubt, get reliable individuals involved who know Scripture, who know God, and in some way is not only accountable to others, but ultimately accountable to the truth of Scripture.
Now to those that would make assumptions that this is about them, rest assured, if it was about you, I would have used your name. It is simply what it is, an article with the hope that those who are weak will carefully examine those they suppose to learn from, and those who would teach them and their foundational beliefs. It is also a hope that those who promote Jesus would make sure that those who they use for guidance would be rooted in truth, integrity and honesty. If a ministry is unwilling to do this, then I would encourage those seeking help to stay away from that ministry. My ministry has received recognition from well recognized religious leaders, various church denominations, local civic and social groups and more. Is this self promotion? No! It is providing you the opportunity to honestly evaluate this ministry. I ultimately realize this is not my ministry, but the ministry of Jesus Christ and he deserves honesty, integrity, and truth in the presentation. Any ministry unwilling, or unable to do this is a ministry to raise serious questions about. The cause of Jesus has been hurt enough without those who call themselves ministry doing more harm than good. Let me be blunt, promoting the ministry of Rebecca Brown, without refuting her teachings can not be of God because her so called ministry is based on lies! You can make all the accusations you want, but until the foundation of lies is removed from your ministry, little else you say has any validity. On a last note, specific to this ministry where all of this started or any other ministry that is in a similar situation I would say the following. If using a source for your ministry that has been proven to be liars and presenting unbiblical concepts, it is simple, repudiate those ministries. God can and will enter in and bless you if your heart is pure. While there may be some that are not held accountable because they don’t know, once one is presented with truth, then it is catamount that the one presented with truth, investigate and search for truth. Don’t take my word, don’t pass judgment on my caution, seek truth on your own, and I am convinced that if the search is legitimate, you will come to the same conclusions I have, at least on this one issue, regarding this one ministry in question of Rebecca Brown, apparently still selling Satan to make a profit.
Word of caution, as stated earlier, I was once involved in the Occult and Satanism. I would say don’t take this posting lightly, while I caution against this one ministry, I will hold true, Satan is real, he is an adversary we should be cautious of and never approach outside of the full power given by Christ. But neither should we give him more power than he has. Truth is still truth, and it is true, the truth of Scripture will stand forever.
The following are links to some articles pertaining to the ministry of Rebecca Brown. There are many others and a simple google will provide you with much more detail.
The Following is a video that touches on the lies of Satan and how he works, it is by a band called Samsong. Just click on the video and if the video don't appear, just click on the following link:
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I have become a decent fisherman. I have learned a lot about
fishing and about becoming a fisher of men. There are often those, who no
offense taken, really haven't learned how to fish. They throw a big line with a
big floater and a super heavy sinker on it into the water, often splashing it
with the tip of their pole, talking away, making all kinds of noise and using
the wrong kind of bait. They would be better off dropping a line into a
goldfish pond. You see when fishing, to have the best chance of catching fish,
you have to know what kind of line to use, the best kind of pole, unless casting
a net, (dynamite fishing excluded,) You have to know the kind of fish you are
fishing for, the habits of that fish, are they bottom dwellers, scavengers, top
fish, etc..., what are the best times of day to catch the fish, what are the best
water temperatures and conditions and far more. Bottom line is, if you want to
be effective in being fishers of men and women. One needs to make the efforts
to learn the appropriate ways to fish.
2) Now there is another reason to do these things online or
within social media, that is to reach those who do not have a relationship with
Jesus, or catching fish. Unfortunately, when Jesus says we should draw people
to him, we more times than not chase them away. I recently saw a great example
of this on the television show The Amazing Race where the contestants were
charged with corralling sheep. Most did what we do in our social media and
personal habits, we chase people away, (remember the Bible calls us sheep) and
remember what I said in that first paragraph about the complexity of the
illustrations in the Bible. We seemingly condemn, say we speak love but it
really mirrors hate, and wonder why we are not effective in developing
relationships with people where they are asking us about the person of Jesus
instead of us having to preach to them. A point of fact here is that we see
approximately 11 one on one conversations with non disciples or followers in
the Bible between individuals and Jesus. In 9 of those conversations, the other
person started the conversation. The unfortunate truth is, while we may want to
catch fish, our lack of knowledge on fishing prevents us from catching them and
instead we chase them away, scare them, even give them cause to stay away from
the messenger of the love of God as far as possible, often times, us.
I am sure there are other reasons for sharing religious things
on social media but I believe these are
the primary two reasons we should be sharing. Do we take seriously what we
share? Do we understand what we are sharing and take seriously how we share it.
I want to be the best fisherman I can be and I will tell you, I am at times
honored that I am critiqued in the same way at times by the same types of
people who critiqued Jesus, that is the religious community who had more of a
focus on the law, (which Paul calls "The False Gospel") than they do
the grace, liberty and freedom given to us by Christ to reach those he died on
a cross to have relationship with. Despite the sin, despite the type of fish,
or sheep for that matter. Christ wants to have a relationship with each us, the
whosoever's if you will, hopefully, more of us consider these two things, our
purpose and methods so that we will in fact become fishers of the very people
Jesus loved and died for.
