Charismatic Reform Journal












Link to another helpful site: www.safechurch.com "Error never shows itself in its naked reality, in order not to be discovered. On the contrary, it dresses elegantly, so that the unwary may be led to believe that it is more truthful than truth itself." -Irenaeus of Lyons Excerpts from Article 28 of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession (on Ecclesiastical Power): But if our opponents would only listen to the complaints of the churches and pious hearts! Our opponents valiantly defend their own position and wealth. Meanwhile they neglect the state of the churches, and they do not see to it that there is proper teaching...... In these evident questions they set for an edict written in blood, threatening men with horrible punishments unless they act in clear opposition to God's commands. But here you should see the tears of the sufferers and hear the pitiful complaints of many good men. God undoubtedly sees and hears them, and it is to him that you will some day have to give account of your stewardship. A bishop does not have the power of a tyrant to act without a definite law, nor that of a king to act above the law. But he has a definite command, a definite Word of God, which he out to teach and according to which he ought to exercise his jurisdiction. They also quote the statement (Heb. 13:17), Obey your leaders." This statement requires obedience to the Gospel; it does not create an authority for bishops apart from the Gospel. Bishops must not create traditions contrary to the Gospel, nor interpret their traditions in a manner contrary to the Gospel. When the do so, we are forbidden to obey them by the statement (Gal. 1:8), "If anyone preaches another Gospel, let him be accursed." We give the same response to the passage (Matt.23:3), "Observe whatever they tell you." Clearly it does not set down the universal commandment that we are to observe everything, for elsewhere (Acts 5:29) Scripture commands that we must obey God rather than men, To the extent that they teach wicked things, they should not be heard. Other Quotes: Since these monstrous errors obscure faith and the kingdom of Christ, they are under no circumstances to be ignored. The consequences demonstrate that they have been great plagues in the church. -Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope But authority seized by hands merely powerful or charismatic or fanatic or self-certain or loud or educated or elected: authority imposed by hands that can merely "take control" - that authority, though it can't destroy you (the living body of Christ), can damage you in your structures and trust. -Walter Wangerin In God's hands authority is the reign of perfect goodness. In humble hands (even as bold Moses was more 'meek than anyone else on earth) authority is the obedient communication of that goodness. -Walter Wangerin "The final lesson of history: Let's never go back there again!" - Friedrich Nietzsche It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. -Galatians 5:1 As in the physical world, so in the spiritual world, pain does not last forever. -Katherine Mansfield

The Hurt....

I could not even begin to number the amount of people that have crossed my path, who have in one way or another, been hurt by the current system in the Charismatic/Word of Faith movement. They have been silenced and isolated within the church, ousted out of the church, betrayed by friends, slandered, lied about and accused of all sorts of ungodly things. The have been hurt, deeply wounded and their faith has been sucked away. They have been physically threatened, called wolves in sheep clothing and had 'divine' prophecies made against them. They have been told that they are a shame to the body of Christ and treated like an unrepented sinner. This and much, much more all under the auspice of 'divine' guidance. And why? Because they questioned the doctrine, actions or fruit of a minister and then dared to step into the freedom that God has for them.

Meanwhile, when these poor souls are hurt, down and at their lowest point, the rest of the church gives them one more good kick in the side by telling them that it is their own fault. These victims are told, 'You shouldn't have stayed so long if the pastor is like that', and 'if you don't like how things are ran.... find the door!' and the best one yet (you know, the one where the messenger is the problem and not the message), 'everything was just fine until you said something about it'. This philosophy is typical to any abusive situation, to make a victim the reason for the abuse....after all it couldn't possibly be the 'man of God'.

Understanding the Hurt....

Let me give one reason why I believe these victims stay in abusive churches. Let's say that from the time my seven year old daughter was born, I have told her that yellow was actually blue. While all the other little children see a yellow balloon, my daughter would see a blue balloon. She would see the whole world differently than the rest of the children. She would see blue school buses & blue sunflowers. When she crosses the street at a stop light, she would see red, blue and green lights. She would paint a 'blue' sun on her pictures to bring home. Her outlook on life, though it might be similar to those children who know what yellow really is, would still be skewed and warped. Would this be her fault? Would you yell at her, 'why can't you understand what yellow truly is'? No, she only believed what she was taught by someone she trusted. The fault rests on the teacher.....not the student.

Now, you might say, 'but they have the Word to help them understand'. True, but when you have been taught that a verse in the Bible means one thing, you don't know - without much study - that what you are being taught is wrong. Would my daughter know that she shouldn't believe that what she considered blue was actually yellow? No. She wouldn't even think that she should have questioned it at all. To her, it is blue. To make matters even worse, what if my daughter questioned me about the validity of blue being yellow, and my response was to scold her for questioning me (after all, I am mom, I know what I am talking about, right?), then allude to the many children that I have thrown out of my house for such offenses. My daughter loves and respects me and would never want to offend or hurt my feelings. Not to mention that she also loves her brothers and sisters, she would never want to have to leave the only world that she has ever known or that she feels truly loves and cares about her.

I know this story has been long, but it needed to be. I want you to see the parallel in this story to the subject at hand -- abuse in church leadership. This type of activity goes on everyday in the church...in all denominations....across the world. But I believe that it is more prevalent in the Charismatic/Word of Faith movement than anywhere else today. When a person starts to question the minister about the validity of a 'truth' that they have been taught (when held to the standard of the Word of God) or question the wrong or sinful actions of the minister, they are labeled as dissenters and discarded as meaningless. Let me say before proceeding with ministering to the hurt, we are encouraged to question everything! The Bereans questioned everything they were taught by Paul and Barnabas to make sure that what the apostles were teaching was in Scripture....oh that we were all so noble (Acts 17:11). Please read the 'Defending Divine Truth' article for more information on this subject.

Help is on the Way....

If this is you.., if you fit into one or more of these situations.....remember that God is close to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18 & Matt. 5:4).   Please know that you are FAR from being alone.....on the contrary, you have a great host of brothers and sister who are standing with you.

You have allowed the Holy Spirit to open your eyes!!! Though this process is anything but easy, it will bring true freedom. You will find that the longer that you are away from that whole atmosphere the more that your eyes will be opened. As your eyes are opened to more and more of the abusive behavior that you were subjected to, allow God to heal you every step of the way...which is why He opens your eyes to see it. He wants to expose the bondage, heal the heart, and this enables us to walk in freedom.....real Freedom. Then we are able to comfort others, who are suffering from the same hurt that we have come through, with the same comfort that He has given us (2 Cor. 1:4).

There will be times when you feel anger, times when you hurt and times when you feel abandoned. There will be times when you want to address the abuse and times when you want to forget the abuse. Let God be with you every step of the way. Whatever you do, DO NOT TURN FROM GOD!!! This horrible system is not of the God that you serve. He would never treat you the way that these people have. He is the good Shepard that would leave the ninety-nine to come and look for you (Matt. 18:12 & Luke 15:4). When you need to cry, cry at His feet. When you need to yell and scream, He will listen. When you need to question....He will not excommunicate you, He will give you understanding. He wants to be the One to comfort you and to give you the grace, wisdom and strength that you need to get through this. On the other side of this trying time, you will be stronger than ever, and on top of that.....you will be free!

It has been told to many who have been through this system, that to speak against the Lord's 'anointed' is wrong. But my encouragement to you is to talk about it. First of all, it is not wrong to question any teaching or teacher. Also, we are to judge the wrong and sinful actions of Christians and to handle them according to Scripture (1 Timothy 5:19; John 7:24; 1 Thess. 5:21-22; 1 Cor 5 ). In talking about your feelings, and allowing others to deal with their feelings as well, this will help the healing process. This process will not come over night. It may even seem long in coming. There will be times when you (or even a group of people who have faced this tragedy) will feel healed and be moving on and then.....wham!...something happens that sends all of those old emotions reeling back through you. Time to go to God again for help and to talk things through with friends for support. Or when everything seems real calm, another abandoned orphan shows up on your doorstep....and the process has to start all over, from the beginning. So be patient. Don't grow weary of doing good and helping others. In doing so, you are taking a stand against this abusive system.

This is not an easy road...and it may seem so very difficult to trust. But we have a good God who is helping us through this.....He has brought us this far and He will bring us through it completely. Keep pressing on!

Founder and Editor of Charismatic Reform Journal
© 2000, Charismatic Reform Journal