O. Davies says - I found the comments very interesting because I thought I was alone dealing with this. The health and wealth people are destroying my family. I am very glad that I found your blog. Keep up the fight, Brother.
R.G. Bastido says - I will be looking forward to seeing where you found your information. Being well-read about this subject means being able to see clearly when things don't seem right.
M.J. deLuca says- I don't know where you are getting your information but it cannot possibly be correct. I know that our pastor isn't out to take our money but rather we have the responsibility to make sure that he and his family have enough to live on. It is our duty as Christians to make sure that he has what he needs. You have no right to assume that they are not interested in saving souls.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: Having enough to live on is a far cry from living in the lap of luxury with multiple homes all around the world. If your pastor is preaching the "health and wealth" gospel to his congregants on a regular basis, he has a secret agenda of gaining personal wealth through the mininstry. Appearing to be interested in saving souls is an excellent cover for this agenda.
Carina Landis says - Thank you for sharing your story (Grand Poo-Bah). My husband and I have just realized that we are in a fringe church after finding out that our pastor is expecting a brand new high-end car for Christmas from our congregation and we were all asked to contribute $500 each for his gift. Our pastor doesn't teach all of the things that you have outlined in your blog; however, he does think that the Copelands are great spiritual leaders.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: Some churches do get together and buy their pastors a new car. There is nothing wrong with that in itself but the red flag had to go up when your pastor "asked" for the $500 gift. This is not done in regular churches. The other red flag is the Copelands or anybody on my list in the previous blog.
David Miller says - Well, it's great to see you are finally back. It is great to read the excerpts from the research that you are doing for this worthwhile cause. I am looking forward to hearing your insight into these charlatans.
B. Smith says - Having stumbled onto this blog, I am amazed at your insight. Hang in there. Your children will eventually see the error of their ways and get out of the Barrie Victory Centre. We got out of the one in Owen Sound and it was the best thing that we ever did.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: Good for you for seeing the light and getting out of Crossroads Victory Church in Owen Sound. I praise God for your freedom from the cult. If you attend Centre of Hope Victory Church in Kincardine, Gateway Victory Church in Wiarton, Mount Forest Victory Church or Victory Impact Centre in Newmarket; you need to exit these churches ASAP because they are all cults. Victory Churches International is a cult because they are involved in false teachings. The "health and wealth" gospel is false doctrine.
Douglas Brennan says - I think that you should leave your adult children to their own devices. All you can really do is pray and let God take care of it.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: So what you are saying is that if you knew for a fact, based on your research, that your adult children were involved in a cult, you would have nothing to say to them. It would be just fine with you. Praying and letting God take care of it is good but we, as Christians and parents, have a responsibility that we cannot set aside.
L. & C. Campbell says - I truly hope that your family sees the errors of their ways. What a disgusting and vile bunch of children you have; however, we will be praying that their eyes will be opened before it is too late as it was for our daughter. She committed suicide after realizing that she had given everything to this "health and wealth" garbage and ended up broke, alone and not able to see any way out. We wish we had found your information earlier. God Bless.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: I am sorry to hear of the death of your daughter. The things you talk about in your comments are the very things that I am concerned about for my own children. Thanks for sharing your story. Hopefully it will help someone else.
J. Ridgeway says - You have an interesting take on something that means so much to so many. I do not think that all of the people on your list are leading people astray. I think people make their own judgments based on experience and we can determine our own futures.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: They all teach the "health and wealth" gospel and therefore, they are all false teachers who are leading people astray -- no doubt about it.
Meghan McPhail says - Doesn't this cartoon just say it all! Have really enjoyed reading your blog. Hope your family soon sees the errors of their ways before it is too late and we are raptured away without them.
Lorianne del Guzman says -Thank you for taking the time. I know you are doing it for your family but it is helping mine.
Terry Greene says - None of these people know anything about the wonderful gifts of God that we receive from our pastors. They deserve to have the best of everything.. that's our responsibility as their followers.. to ensure that they have all that they need and desire. You really need to stop posting this drivel.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: Your comments make it very obvious that you have not read any books about what is wrong with the Faith Movement. There are many books available on the subject. I will be publishing a list of some of these books in the near future. You need to avail yourself of some of these materials so that you can speak from a position of knowledge rather than ignorance.
Lew Thomas says - How I wish that I had paid more attention to what was going on with my wife. Now it is much too late and she has passed away because she stopped taking her medication for diabetes. Her "minister" told her that God would heal her if she only stopped taking her insulin and had enough faith. Needless to say, between that and "The Master's Diet," she fell into a coma while I was at work. By the time I got home, it was too late. And I have no recourse against this minister. He and his family packed up and moved to another state where they have started another "cult" even more nutty than the last one.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: I was very sorry to hear about the passing of your wife. I was very disturbed to hear about the reasons that she passed. I have a diabetic son who attends Barrie Victory Centre and I am always concerned that they will encourage him to stop taking his insulin because having diabetes does not fit in with the "health and wealth" gospel. Please pray that my son, Glenn, will not do the same thing as your wife. I have limited knowledge about The Master's Diet but I have heard that it is dangerous.
C. & C. Blackweild says - After reading the comments, it is apparent that my family was not the only ones taken in by these charlatans. The $500 gift for the pastor must be a common thread in these organizations because we have been asked twice this year to "celebrate" something with the pastor. My husband wrote the first cheque and we found your blog very shortly thereafter. After reading a lot of the blog, we have sadly come to the realization that we are in a cult and are in the process of trying to extract ourselves. My husband is on the Board but it is a straw organization because nobody can question any decision our pastor makes. Please pray for us.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: These comments should sound familiar to my son, Darren, who is on the Board at the straw organization called Barrie Victory Centre. I hope, Darren, that you read this comment over a number of times and really absorb what the writer is saying. Oh, by the way, how much are all of you at Barrie Victory Centre donating to Pastor McCullough's Christmas gift?
K. Hicks says - This is a sad fact with what is going on out there. Those TV evangelists have ruined many lives.
M. Whyteside says - Don't you think it's time you stopped this vile blog; you are attacking all the crazies who don't believe what God really wants for his people.
Stan Byrd says - Given how passionate you seem to be about this issue, maybe you should become a "travelling" preacher. You certainly couldn't do any worse than these nutbars like Benny Hinn.
Rob Richards says -It is so sad to read some of these stories. My granddaughter and her family have moved into a compound in Texas where their "cult leader" has insisted that the men live in one part and he lives with the women and children. Now what does that tell you! We are distraught and the worst part is that they started out in a seemingly normal church and ended up there because the emotional high needed to be fed. Keep up the work, Brother Pooh-Bah.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: Any church where an emotional high needs to be fed is not a normal church. The type of cult you describe in your comments can develop when a leader has complete control over all of his followers with no checks and balances in place. Sounds a lot like Barrie Victory Centre, don't you think, Jason, Darren & Glenn?
M & T. Way says - Grand perspective. Have really enjoyed reading your stuff over the last year or so. It is stunning to read what has happened to other families who have been suckered into these cults. We hope your family will see the error of their ways sooner rather than later.
Heather McKye says - WOW!! I am sad to read some of the comments. It's heartbreaking to the families and to you. My group will pray for all of you.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: Thank you for your prayers.
Anonymous says - When are you going to stop this drivel! Nobody in their right mind would believe any of this stuff. You cannot win.
The Grand Poo-Bah says: It's not about me. Truth always wins in the end. God gets the final word. If drivel is the only word you have at your disposal to describe these world-renowned Bible scholars, then you need to do a reality check. If you haven't read any good books lately, there are many available on what is wrong with the Faith Movement. Leaving the Faith Movement or Victory Churches International would make you a winner!
12 comments:
Boy, I am really glad that I have found your blog. The comments and the research that you have done make me realize how easy it is to get taken in by the "health and wealth" gospel teachers. I am sure that God will touch your boys and that they will see the hidden agenda of their pastor.
Some of these stories are tragic. So is mine.. I lost my sister to these "pasters" and I use the term loosely. I haven't seen her for over 9 years. Please pray for a safe return of Donna Smith.
It is sad to read some of these people's stories. My husband was dabbling in the "health & wealth" gospel (as a lay preacher) when God opened his eyes to what he was doing. Taking offerings from people who could ill afford to feed their families. He has now stopped doing any preaching but we are finding it very difficult to get out of our church without losing all of our friends.
What a terrible time to be in such a mess with your family. Our prayers will be with you. Do not lose hope.
Having lost my entire family to that Jakes guy, I feel your pain. There are days when it's almost impossible to go on. Your blog has made me realize that I am not alone but it does not make it any easier. Your family is in such crisis and doesn't want to see it. At least, you are not giving up on them like I did with mine. I should have tried harder instead of sticking my head in the sand.
We are very thankful that such a Godly man as you is fighting on behalf of those who are so taken in by these "cults." In our state, there are new ones springing up every month. Our children have gone from one bad one to another .. now it's the trust God for everything. They no longer go to doctors (prayer over the sick person only is allowed); and so on. Our children were raised in a Methodist Bible-believing church -- where did we go wrong?
How did Christianity become so perverted as being taught by the list of those pastors? We should be praying for all of them to see the light; even though some of them we have never heard of them. The scariest one of all is Joel Osteen - no Bible training whatsoever -- and have your best life now? Where does it say that in Scripture? IT DOESN'T! Keep pressing on, Brother, keep pressing on.
Having accidently finding your blog when I was looking up one of your "false" teachers, it was interesting to see the different perspectives from both you and your readers. I have huge concerns about the teachings of these people and was amazed to see how many of these TV evangelists are involved. Then I did some further investigation and learned about some of the lavish lifestyles. Appalling. Keep it up as sometimes it is the squeeky wheel that gets results.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is an amazing resource for our family. We have two nephews and their families who have gotten involved in one of these. We would not have known where to start getting information without the Grand Poo-Bah's blog. We are starting with Christianity in Crisis. Thank you!
We wish you all the best at this Christmas time. It took us many many years and thousands of dollars to have an intervention done which only lasted less than six months. We wish we had found you earlier.
Our daughter thought she was going to be given the husband of her dreams after attending a Joyce Meyer's Christian Women's Conference. She didn't think anything through but went blinding down a bad road (in the name of Christianity). The first guy she met at church - that was it! Needless to say, it has been a disaster. Somebody ought to get these people off T.V. because that's how Dora found her. We now have not seen our daughter for over five years but we understand that she has no mind of her own anymore. As others are adding their names for prayer, please add ours. Thank You.
I hope that your sons read some of the horror stories here. I could not even image some of these things happening inside a church. I guess I was lucky. I started attending a word of faith church in BC and the kicker for me was when everyone would go down to the front and end up flat on their backs moaning because the pastor touched them. I now know it was mass hysteria because we sang the same monotone songs over and over again until we lost touch with reality. If you didn't go to the front and fall down (they had catcher people), you were brought up on stage and ridiculed for not having enough faith. I never fell down and after the 2nd bout on the stage, I walked and never went back. I guess God had other plans for me and I am now attending a Bible-preaching church in Washington. Keep praying.. and remember that God is in control.
Post a Comment