What in the world has happened to our pastors and churches? How did we stray so unbelievably far from the example that Christ and His disciples set forth — examples and commands we find in God’s Word, which is not “outdated” or “irrelevant” but rather, essential for proper and orderly worship of God, reverence for our Creator and Sustainer and vital for making modern-day, Christ-following disciples?
Do those who stand up and preach even read the Bible anymore? And if they do, I have to wonder what version they’re reading, or how twisted some of their minds are to interpret Scripture in such a way that they preach the exact opposite of what the Bible says.
How can any institution calling itself a “church” proudly display the LGBTQ flag on their buildings? (That flag, by the way, is a blatant symbol of conquest, in case you haven’t realized it). How can anyone calling themselves a “pastor” promote fornication, adultery, homosexuality, transgenderism or abortion? How can pastors stand there with a straight face and tell entire congregations that they’re all going to heaven because they come to church and put money in the offering plate? And how did so much of today’s so-called “Christianity” become such an outright scam?
Things are not good, folks, and we’ll get into that shortly, but first, let me read to you the requirements of Shepherds and Elders, from 1st Peter 5: “The elders who are among you I exhort…Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
And 1st Timothy 3: “A bishop then must be blameless, above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle; not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence…not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
And there’s even more wisdom in Titus 1: “if a man is blameless, above reproach, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful Word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”
Sound doctrine. Indeed. That is so rare today. And yet those in the “churchianity” industry still don’t get it. They still use their carnal natures to try to devise ways of getting more people to follow them. It’s not unlike social media “influencers,” always seeking more followers of whatever nonsense they spew forth. They covet the praise and approval of men. That’s how they make their money.
Titus goes on: “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers…whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.”
One of the first Bible verses I learned as a child was 2nd Timothy 2:15, “Study, to show thyself approved, a workman who needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.” God’s Word has been preserved for all time, and many households in America have multiple copies of it. They say it’s still the best-selling book in history, yet so few ever bother to read it, much less study it.
Bear with me as we look at Ezekiel 34. “Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat, and you clothe yourselves with the wool, you kill them that are fed: but you feed not the flock. The diseased have you not strengthened, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought again that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost…And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd…”
Last year, 4,000 churches closed down completely in the US. Some of the denominations hit the hardest included the United Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian Church USA, and the ELCA Lutheran churches. What do these denominations have in common? They’ve all capitulated to our modern “woke” culture, endorsing and celebrating fornication, sodomy, the cult of “transgenderism,” and abortion. In short, they’ve all become apostate. These pastors love to dress the part, in their priestly robes and holy-looking garments, but make no mistake, they’re deceivers, liars, cowardly and unbelieving. They make a show of having a “form of godliness,” but they’re anything but Godly.
Many independent non-denominational churches have also gone off the rails. Pastors cater to unregenerate, unsaved sinners and their own carnal desires. Let me give you some examples. A couple years ago, at Crossroads Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, just before Super Bowl time, the stage was covered with AstroTurf. They featured play-by-play announcers, a referee and a color commentator. The “pastors” of the church wore football jerseys and after the coin flip, a “pastor” was asked, “Would you like to kick or receive the Bible?” The response was, “I will receive.” Then, one took a few steps back as another pastor squared up the Bible — which had a football-style book cover on it — before kicking the Bible off the stage and into the crowd.
At Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, their “pastor” first “trashed” the stage and then poured syrup and whipped cream all over a Bible and the communion elements. This was said to be an “illustration.”
A pastor of a church in Green Bay, Wisconsin frequently brags about his personal wealth…his many big screen TVs, his personal yacht, his lavish vacations. A friend of mine who attended one of his services reported that this pastor danced out on stage when it was time for his so-called “sermon,” showing off and boasting about his $1200 red shoes that were “bedazzled” with sequins and jewels.
Several years ago, our team visited Columbus, Ohio for street ministry. We began the morning interceding for preborn babies at an abortion center. As always happens at these killing centers, there were many pro-aborts doing their best to keep our message from going forth. They would bang on drums, blow horns, run noisy leaf blowers, blast loud, filthy rap music, and do other things to keep us from speaking to the women going in to kill their babies. One man was particularly hostile to us and obnoxious. But praise the Lord, because during our time there that day, one baby’s life was saved due to our efforts.
That same afternoon, we went to witness at the Columbus Pride Parade. Of course, we were assaulted there as well — and that same man followed us the entire time, being as disruptive as possible, so we couldn’t have meaningful conversations. It turned out that this man was an ELCA Lutheran “pastor.”
But a recent story from Canada is absolutely sickening. Gerlyn Henry is a Canadian Angelican priest who leads the Church of the Holy Wisdom in Toronto. But she’s probably most well known for her strong social media presence as a “content creator,” especially on TikTok, where many of her videos have gone “viral,” because they’re so outrageous.
This wicked and demonic woman — the leader of a church — has recently partnered with a local adult store to sell “sex toys.” If that’s not enough abomination for you, she’s donating the profits from selling sex toys to Planned Parenthood — the largest abortion provider here in the United States. According to her own statements, she is an advocate for “people of color,” “progressives” and “queer folk.”
These are just a few examples of the abomination taking place in our modern American churches today. I often get calls from frustrated readers of our newspaper from all over the country. They’re begging me, desperately, for some direction in finding a solid, Bible-teaching church in their area with a pastor who’s courageous enough to preach the whole counsel of God and instruct them biblically on the current events taking place in the world today. Unfortunately, with very, very few exceptions, I have no place to refer them to.
Don’t get me wrong, I do know a few pastors around the country — and in Canada — who are faithful servants of our Most High God. They’re true ministers, meaning they are servants of those entrusted by God to their care. They’re not afraid to speak the truth; not afraid to call out sin; they have true reverence for the King of kings and Lord of lords. They honestly don’t care what carnal, worldly unbelievers or apostate professing “Christians” have to say about them. Many have endured persecution. Many have gone to jail for their faith — yes, even here in America.
But men like this are few. My advice is, if you’re not able to find a body of true Christ-following believers that you can be a part of in your area, start a home Bible study and go from there. Even if it’s just your family and one or two others. You don’t need to be a “professional” to study God’s Word, and the Bible doesn’t require a seminary degree to understand it. In fact, I believe the enemy has infiltrated our seminaries and Bible colleges long ago, which is partially why we’re seeing such wickedness taking place in our so-called “churches” today.
Let me share with you Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Did you catch that? The “fearful” are first on the list. That means all the limp-wristed, people-pleasing circus clowns on stage who make a mockery of our Savior while fleecing the flock…never preaching the truth; or watering down the truth of God’s Word to make it more palatable; or avoiding certain subjects altogether because it might make someone uncomfortable. Cowards.
These professing “pastors” are also “unbelieving.” Because if they truly understood and believed the Word, if they were truly soundly saved, then they would have actual reverence and fear of the Lord they claim to serve. Instead, they serve themselves, they enjoy being well-liked and popular among the people. And to do that, they give the people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.
Church is meant to be a place of reverence, awe and worship for our God, our Lord and Savior. Those who go there are supposed to be trained up for the work of the ministry. It’s not to be a circus clown show. It’s not a rock concert or football game. It’s certainly not supposed to be a sex-toy store. It’s not meant for your entertainment, or your comfort, or your debauchery. God doesn’t use gimmicks. And make no mistake, He will not be mocked.
