Evangelization

[Pavel Mosko]

Megachurch pastors are wolves in sheep's clothing.

Well I'm a bit more open minded. Like Rick Warren of Saddle Back who started the "Purpose Driven" movement I believe is sincere, reading his first book "The Purpose Driven Church" way back in 97 or so.

There are lots of people, especially the Prosperity movement, "Health and Wealth" folks that I think would fit the EO or Russian Orthodox concept of "Prelest" aka spiritual delusion because they sort of think they can have their cake and eat it too when it comes to excesses of mammon. Ken Copeland probably being the worst offender.


Back before I turned 30 in the 90s I saw a lot of the buddies club type stuff mentioned in the Mega Church Money video. Not the notion of people sitting on each other's church board to approve large salaries, but a "if you wash my back I'll wash yours's" thing when it came to going to each other Charismatic Church Conferences, where they are paid big honorariums, wined and dined, put up at 5 star hotels, flown 1st class etc.

In the late 90s, I was a part time Divinity student. I was a former psychology grad student but had hiccups in my program, but really loved the subject. I stumbled on this Divinity program that was a kind of God send. I had a love of both theology and psychology and this program tied the two together as far as being a specialization in "Pastoral Care and Counseling". The interesting thing about it had similar requirements for being under supervision for the program as if you were working as a mental health professional.

But that program sort of was a catalyst on leaving that end of Christianity. Because I knew the two pastors at this large church, which was big but not quite a mega one, couldn't do that 40 supervised hours requirement (basically talk with a minister in whose church you are working, for an hour, as an office visit, lunch whatever where you can talk about your problems or difficulties of the job). They were always running around doing big meetings, like the ones advertised in Charisma magazine.


Besides that, I noticed some pastors of start up churches having problems, especially resenting their parishioners for financial struggles etc. because people can sometimes be stingy on giving. It reminds me a lot of issues I've gone through in life as sometimes being mad at God because I feel like I've been short changed on getting established in a good job and career even though I have "paid my dues" as far as studying, working hard etc. But in this case, these folks resent their congregation because they obviously have day dreamed of being a preacher as a full time job for a long long time (maybe going back to childhood), and technically should be able to do so based on the size of their congregation. But folks for whatever reason are not tithing or giving enough "love offerings" etc. to make that possible. So they begin beating the money tree, preaching that last chapter of Malachi, talking about "robbing God etc. It generally becomes pretty ugly.

Over the last twenty years or so, I have noticed lots of ministers of various kinds that need to have some kind of "tent making" gig like the Apostle Paul to make ends meet. People who are trying to start new congregations, but are not members of large denominations or church organization in the Protestant world, (especially the growing liturgical end of it where people get into Church Fathers, ancient liturgies, Orthodox theology etc. but don't join an ancient Communion / Apostolic See).


But the previous problem again, I think comes from the bad fruit of the Prosperity and Faith movement. God does bless people. But there are lots of other things also talked about in the Bible. Like these people have no concept of Kenosis and Theosis, that God frequently uses suffering to develop the fruit of the Spirit, Conform you into the image of Christ etc.