Settling for Mud Pies

What's Missing?

Many of today's preachers make appeals that focus on fulfilling human desires -- especially health, wealth, and happiness.  But other things, too, like peace of mind, joy, satisfaction, self-esteem, power, and victory.  It's not that these things are always wrong in themselves.  Indeed, they are often gifts of God.  However, it is difficult to resist the impression that there are preachers who have set their sights too low.

C.S. Lewis gave us the following insight:

Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.

Many preachers, reflecting a common emphasis in modern evangelicalism generally, are settling for "mud pies" because they "cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday by the sea."  These preachers appeal to our selfish instincts, which may be momentarily satisfied by promises of success, unfailing happiness, and good times, when all the while our deepest needs, our truest needs -- for eternal love and acceptance in a world where performance is usually a prerequisite for acceptance, for certainty in the midst of doubt, and for purpose in a period of despair -- go untouched.

Our desires are too weak if we are simply making our own comfort and success our focus, while ignoring the larger issues.  Our desires should be broader, transcending our self-centredness.  We are far too easily pleased!  

Something is missing.  Let's discover the identity of that missing element.  The particular type of message many media preachers communicate has come to be known as the "Health and Wealth Gospel."  Prosperity teaching abounds on their television programs as well as in their written material.  One statement summarizes the technique used:  "God's got it, I can have it, and by faith I'm going to get it."  

We see additional examples in titles such as Kenneth E. Hagin's pamphlet, "How to Write Your Own Ticket with God" and Robert Tilton's magazine, Signs, Wonders, and Miracles of Faith, in which testimonials of financial and physical success abound.  Or in Kenneth Copeland's brochures "God's Will is Health" and "God's Will is Prosperity"  Oral Roberts promises people on his mailing list "Prosperity Miracles That Are Within Fingertip Reach of Your Faith," and his most recent book to date is titled How I Learned Jesus Was Not Poor.  Peter Popoff invites his followers to wash with an "anointed" sponge and then to send a monetary gift to his ministry.  This "will unlock heaven's storehouse of blessings for you."

We have seen responses to such teachings in Bruce Barron's The Health and Wealth Gospel and Gordon Fee's The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospel   Yet whether or not the Health and Wealth teachings are true, they do reduce life to a tragically narrow and trivial focus, meeting only surface needs.  They ignore a larger vision of reality.  Christians must know truth about all areas of life and must develop a character that is able to make commitments to people, the community, and the nation outside themselves.  These teachings promise a satisfaction of our desires.  But we need to ask, "Are these desires too weak?  Are they too trivial? Are we far too easily pleased?"

-- Art Lindsley


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

The Agony of Deceit - Part 3

Clearly, we are in perilous times.  We have paid the price of ignorance and shallowness, and our fall has been great.  Heretics have been tolerated as divinely-appointed messengers.  Nevertheless, God has proved Himself faithful in the trials of our own unfaithfulness.  Though we do not despair, we do call upon the body of Christ to repair its own system of beliefs and to bring its faith and life into line with sound biblical teaching without delay.  That reformation, as we see it, must take two forms:  first, it must be defensive.  Those who propagate heresy among us and refuse correction must be excommunicated by their local, regional, and national bodies.  Denial of the Trinity is, after all, more damnable than pornography.  Second, it must offensive.  We must put ourselves to the arduous -- but exciting -- task of feeding the sheep on the great themes of biblical faith.  The laity are begging for substance.  They are often more anxious to deepen their faith than their pastors are to help them deepen it.

Paul makes holding to "the deep truths of the faith" a prerequisite for holding the office of deacon or elder (I Tim. 3:9).  Those who lead our churches -- whether ordained or layperson -- are required to be educated in biblical and systematic theology.  They must not just assent to a series of simple fundamentals but must be trained in the "deep truths of the faith."  After all, said Paul, the church is "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (v.15).

We must heed a final caution from Peter:  "False prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies."  "In their greed," Peter said, "they will exploit you with false words" (II Peter 2: 1-3).  So, too, today, the "Word of Faith" movement in particular is a destructive heresy of "false words" and it is a growing movement.  Kenneth Copeland has gone from a weekend spot to a daily telecast -- and other "Word" ministries are increasing in popularity.

These heretics, Peter continues, "indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.  Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord." (v v 10-11).  So, too, today many of the leading televangelists rave about their power over Satan and make sport of taunting and teasing the devil concerning their alleged authority over him.  "But these" said Peter, "like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed (v 12).

Throughout church history, periods of heresy, apathy, and ignorance have been both times of danger and of opportunity -- opportunity to set the record straight, to confront a new age with a old message, such a time is upon us.  Only through a renewing of our minds, a rededication of our hearts, and a reformation of our church can such a chapter of history have a happy ending, like so many chapters before it.

-- Michael Horton


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

The Agony of Deceit - Part 2

Some today would say, "well, sure, truth is important.  But what's really essential is that we know the Person,  not the propositions."  Not so, the Apostle James would say:  "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this:  Whoever turns a sinner away from his error will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." (James 5:19-20)  There is no such thing as a personal relationship with Christ apart from an understanding and acceptance of the nature, character, and mission of Christ.  Turning people from error is not a trivial concern.  It is bound up with the severest of consequences:  saving a soul from death.

Maybe we have the attitude we do because we no longer believe eternal questions are important and perhaps that means that we -- who should have been the last to do so -- have become so preoccupied with this world (success, power, fame, and fortune) that we have tolerated a creeping cynicism about the importance of the next.

The Apostle Paul understood that souls are saved and lost in the struggle over truth and heresy.  Paul said he was "innocent of the blood of all men" because he had "not hesitated to proclaim to [the people] the whole will of God."  Therefore, he issued his own warning to the leaders of the church at Ephesus:  "Guard yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.  Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with his own blood."  And then the Apostle anticipated apostasy:  I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  So be on your guard!  Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears."  (Acts 20:26-31)

With as many as 500 million viewers worldwide, the televangelists under critical examination in this book, have until recently been protected from censure.  After all, were they not successful evangelists?  But eventually there came an end to their privileged status.  What brought about their downfall?  Not that they were preaching "another gospel," though that was in fact what they were doing.  No, they were brought down when news of lavish expense accounts and sexual deviance reached the public and shocked the church -- shocked it more, apparently, than the televanglists' unabashed disregard for biblical truth.  Only when some televangelists were found to be frauds in general were Christians brave enough to confront them on theological grounds.

...many of us have had experiences with local churches or para-church ministries that gave evidence of giving method priority over message, quantity over quality, volume over clarity, comfort over confrontation.  "But they're winning souls!"  we are always told.  "Isn't that enough?"  Not really.  If success and growth be always a sign of God's favour, we should be elated with the spread of Mormonism, Islam, and Oriental mysticism.  But, of course, we are not.  We know that numerical growth can be caused by spectacular distortion of Scripture.  It is not necessarily the outcome of the preaching of a theologically sound message.  Put another way, an arena filled with persons shouting, "Praise the Lord!" is not necessarily a sign of God's blessing.

"In the last days," Paul warned "people will be lovers of themselves [so we tailor a self-esteem gospel]...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God [so we put together a gospel of health, wealth and happiness]."  Such people have "a form of godliness but [deny] its power," and Paul's command concerning them is urgent:  "Have nothing to do with them" (II Timothy 3:1-5).  But they are our brothers!  "Have nothing to do with them!"  But they love Jesus!  "Have nothing to do with them!"

Not only have we had a great deal to do with them, we have often been "them."  Though the Westminster Catechism asserted that man's chief purpose was "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever,"  the modern creed insist that we use God to glorify ourselves and enjoy ourselves forever.  Christianity must be fun, never demanding.  It was sweep the believer from one experience of  "victory" to another.  Talk of discipleship's rewards far outweighs talk of its cost.  In short, the modern gospel is marketed to consumers, not proclaimed to sinners.

In spite of all the present dangers, Jesus promised, "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" (Matt. 16:18).  Similarly, Paul warns Timothy (and all believers) that "the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine," he still challenges him to "keep [his] head."  For though men will "gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear" and will "turn aside to myths," there is hope for those who pursue an accurate proclamation of the faith (II Timothy 4:3-5).

Martin Luther characterized the heretics of his day as "strutting peacocks" who "seek self-made, individualistic doctrine and manner of faith and life, apart from the commonly accepted ones."  Thus, a heretic is "one who is self-willed in matters pertaining to God, a queer fellow who knows of something better and chooses his own way to heaven, a way the ordinary Christian does not travel."  As for the "miraculous signs" that often accompany heretics, Luther made this chilling prediction..."for in those for those who have no love for the truth, the devil will be powerful and strong..."

The scenario Luther describes is not far from Christ's own description of the coming Judgment Day.  As many faith healers make their way to Jesus, surprised that they have been excluded from the very kingdom they insisted they were building, they plead, "Did we not prophecy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?"  And Jesus says, "I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.  Away from Me you evil doers!'" (Matt. 7:22-23)


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

The Agony of Deceit

Nobody likes a wise guy.

Critics often fall into that category.  Artists -- whether they be painters, writers, actors, directors, sculptors, or architects -- depend on satisfactory critical reviews for their bread and butter.  Unflattering reviews can end an artist's career.  So nobody likes a critic who is just a wise guy.  But a critic who protects the public from spending its money on "flops" -- that's another story.  He provides an essential and appreciated function.  The same goes for consumer advocates and for the various sports commissions.  They both help the pubic negotiate the promises and pitfalls of the marketplace.

In short, we have critics to help us identify false (or, at least, substandard) art, consumer advocates to help us recognize false advertising, and sports commissions to maintain the integrity of the game.  But where are the "laity advocates" who help folks spot false prophets.  Are we suggesting by our silence that our arts, products, and sports are worth more than our eternal souls?

As I said, nobody wants to sit next to the obnoxious fellow who finds his niche in the world by blowing the whistle on his brothers and sisters.  After all, none of us has all the answers.  But isn't there another extreme? One in which charlatans and outright heretics are allowed to pass for orthodox, evangelical spokesmen?

This book argues that there is indeed.

Trinity Broadcasting Network's president, Paul Crouch, has repeatedly mocked those who would confront false teachers.  During a "Praise-A-Thon," Crouch stated:

There are those who spend a lifetime --we call them apologists--they spend their whole lives apologizing for the Scripture.  They spend their whole lifetime defending the orthodoxy of the doctrines of the church and, as I said a while ago, what is orthodox to them is what is in agreement with their opinion of what the Bible says. . .You can spend a lifetime gazing at the orthodoxy of the church and let a world go straight to hell and never hear the message of Jesus Christ.

This book argues that the struggle for orthodoxy is the struggle for the authentic "message of Jesus Christ" that will, in fact, save those who place their confidence in it.  It argues that by ignoring the orthodoxy of the message being preached by those who call themselves Christians, we are, in fact, assisting in a delusion that results in the very loss about which Crouch and the "faith teachers" say they are concerned.

"But," says Earl Polk, defending himself, "a prophet is not to be judged.  And elsewhere one hears the warning, "Touch not the Lord's anointed!"

Is that really what God commands?  Consider the words of the book of Deuteronomy:  "if a prophet...appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder" and through it leads the people astray, "you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.  The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul."  As for the prophet?  "That prophet or dreamer must be put to death" (Deut. 13:1-5).

Throughout the Old Testament and not just the book of Deuteronomy, believers are called upon to test the prophets.  And in the New Testament Jesus warns, "watch out for false prophets" (Matt 7:15).  Elsewhere He cautions, "False Christs and false prophets will appear" (Matt 24:24).  John commands "dear friends, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).  Whenever someone claiming to be a prophet announces, "a prophet cannot be judged" warning lights should flash!

The contributors to this volume are concerned ultimately not with air-conditioned dog houses or sexual dalliances but with the real scandal:  heresy.  Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Tell me what a person believes and I'll tell you what he'll do."  Theology and ethics are inextricably bound together.  Yet under the supposed banner of unity, we have harboured enemy ships -- as long as they flew our flag.  That policy must change.  Tolerating enemies of the historic Christian faith as though they were our brethren is not love, but adultery.  The substance of the faith is the only basis for unity.

Those who embrace the apostolic substance of Christianity have a basis for unity.  Essentials serve as the common denominators.  When those foundational affirmations are eroded, the group loses its essential identity.  And when a group loses its identity, it ceases to offer a common core of commitment that inspires unity and brotherhood.  Give up the defense of the fundamentals and you give up any hope of real unity.

How ironic it is then, that only five decades after the "Modernist-Fundamentalist" controversy evangelical and fundamentalist churches find themselves in the position of harbouring -- or tolerating -- outright denial of orthodoxy.  They are doing that because they have mistaken outward tokens for essential unity.  So long as the preacher waves his Bible under the bright lights, or has an altar call, they do not object to what he says, even if he preaches doctrines as dangerous to the soul as those propagated by the "liberals" he so cheerfully mocks.

One consequence of this tolerance is to leave the way open for an inaccurate understanding of Christianity to be spread abroad.  The world sees televangelists as the spokesmen for the evangelical movement.  It does not distinguish between those who preach the gospel "once for all given to the saints" and those who preach a fraudulent gospel.  So when the world examines televangelism -- its programming, its triumphs, its failures -- and concludes from looking at some, but not all, televangelists that televangelism is materialistic, exploitative, power-hungry, and success -and-numbers oriented -- in short, is just as worldly as the world itself -- it condemns the whole evangelical movement -- and Christianity -- not just fraudulent televangelists.

Does the world realize that televangelism does not necessary represent the evangelical movement?  Does it know that the evangelical movement is concerned with truth?  Do those who occasionally view televangelists programming know that evangelical Christianity offers an intelligent interpretation of and hope for human existence?  Does the average unbeliever come away from an ordinary telecast with a better grasp of the substance of the Christian faith?

Unless the ordinary evangelical is willing to stand up and be counted, the answer will be no.  If the answer is no, that may well mean that evangelical commentators, reflecting the movement generally, have not been as interested in truth as in success.  After all, the incarnation is not as interesting as "Body Builders for Jesus."  Or is it?  The celebrated mystery-novelist, Dorothy Sayers, once asserted, "Doctrine is not boring!  Dogma is the drama!"  She was right.  The drama lies not in the crying and the shouting but in the great truth of the Gospel.

The Apostle Peter understood the responsibility an orthodox Christian has and addressed the subject of doctrine directly.  He was well aware that his Master had given him the charge, "Feed my sheep" --and had emphasized it (John 21:15-18).  That command weighed heavily on Peter's conscience as he reminded the members of the ancient church that though they had once been "like sheep gone astray," they were now "returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls" (1 Peter 2:25).  They needed, Peter said, to "make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with [Christ]" (2 Peter 3:14) -- and to pay attention to doctrine.  Not to do so was to bring condemnation upon themselves.  The letters of  "our dear brother Paul," Peter said, "contains some things that are hard to understand," but  the "ignorant and unstable" who distort them, "as they do the other Scriptures," do so "to their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:15-16).

Notice the elements of Peter's warning.  There is the recognition that the Bible contains a number of truths that are easily reshaped by the subtlest distortion.  And there is the assertion that such distortions are caused by those who are "ignorant and unstable."  That is an important clue as to the sort of person we must suspect.  Ignorance among many associated with televangelism is no less prized than it was among the ranters who eschewed thought in favour of an objectless fascination with feeling during the frontier revivals of the last century.  It was in that setting that many of the cults were born.  "No creed but Christ," the evangelist cheered and instability has been characteristic of many religious celebrities in the past and in the present.

By Michael Horton


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

Reference Library

CHRISTIANITY IN CRISIS by Hank Hannegraaff


A DIFFERENT GOSPEL by D. R. McConnell


CHARISMATIC CHAOS by John F. MacArthur Jr.


THE KINGDOM OF THE CULTS by Walter Martin


TWISTED SCRIPTURES by Mary Alice Chrnalogar


THE FACTS ON THE FAITH MOVEMENT by John Ankerberg & John Weldon


TOXIC FAITH by Stephen Arterburn & Jack Felton


COUNTERFEIT REVIVAL by Hank Hanegraaf


CHURCHES THAT ABUSE by Ronald M. Enroth


THE POWER OF SUFFERING by John MacArthur, Jr.


DOES GOD STILL DO MIRACLES by Dr. Brad Burke


THE HEALING PROMISE by Richard Mayhue


CULT PROOFING YOUR KIDS by Dr. Paul R. Martin


FAST FACTS ON FALSE TEACHINGS by Ron Carlson & Ed Decker


UNHOLY DEVOTION - WHY CULTS LURE CHRISTIANS by Harold L. Bussell


RECKLESS FAITH by John F. MacArthur, Jr.


KNOW THE MARKS OF CULTS by Dave Breese


THE HEALTH AND WEALTH GOSPEL by Bruce Barron


SATAN'S TEN MOST BELIEVABLE LIES  by Dave Breese


COMBATTING CULT MIND CONTROL by Steven Hassan


THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES by John P. Kildahl


THE LURE OF THE CULTS & NEW RELIGIONS by Ronald Enroth


SCRIPTURE TWISTING by James W. Sire


CULTS & CONSEQUENCES by Rachel Andres / James R. Lane


THE AGONY OF DECEIT by Michael Horton


THE DISEASE OF THE HEALTH AND WEALTH GOSPEL by Gordon Fee


All of the above books are available at Amazon.

One More Thing (actually three):

If you only read one of these books, you should read "Christianity in Crisis" by Hank Hanegraaff.  The Faith (Word of Faith) Movement is the single greatest threat to true Christianity in existence today.  That makes Hank's book a must read.

Information on this subject is not limited to the books listed above.  Each of these books has an extensive bibliography contained within them.  That is an enormous amount of information available to seekers or people who may already be involved with the Faith Movement. Victory Churches International is the Canadian arm of the Faith Movement.

The information in the above books goes way beyond opinion.  All of these authors are learned scholars and apologists for true Christianity.  If what you believe comes down to your opinion versus my opinion, where is truth?   The information in these books goes way beyond your opinion and mine.


. . . AND THE REST IS UP TO YOU, LORD.

Happy Father's Day!

The Darkness of Gibberish Churches

Gibberish churches are very "dark" places.  I've been there when they start doing the gibberish and an evil darkness comes over the place when this happens.  You can sense the presence of Satan in the room.  It overwhelms you and if you are not participating in the gibberish, you have a strong desire that you need to get out of there because it is not safe.  Others that I was with felt the same way and were relieved when we got outside the church door.

The darkness of gibberish churches is intoxicating like a drug.  It becomes something that you cannot get through the week without.  It is addictive behaviour which you must keep coming back to for survival.  It has nothing to do with Christianity because real languages were the tongues that were spoken in the Bible.  Gibberish is dangerous because it affects your mind to the point where you cannot control yourself; you cannot make rational decisions; and you are unable to sense the danger that you are in by participating in this evil activity.  You become incapable of rational thought and unable to decide anything for yourself.  This would explain why offerings are taken at the end of very long services.  The participant's resistance to giving is totally worn down and hence some people nearly bankrupt themselves because they don't actually know what they are doing in these meetings.  Their minds are out-to-lunch.  Why else would someone give 50% of their income to one of these churches putting their family and their futures in serious jeopardy and at terrible risk.  Freedom of religion has now become freedom to commit financial suicide. There is only one reason, they don't know what they are doing when they are participating in the gibberish.

Gibberish is not an indication of closeness to God.  You are really keeping company with demons.  Demons are capable of making you think that you are close to God when you are really not.  You just think you are close to God but that's the illusion that a gibberish church wants to create for you.  You are under the illusion that you are closer to God than other churches are but you really have been duped.  You are worshipping Satan.  He loves it when you are totally not focussed on God.  Your church is inhabited by "principalities and powers" - the forces of evil and darkness.  Your pastor is a master illusionist who brings Satan into your midst in every meeting.  The eleventh commandment should be "Thou shalt not speak gibberish and call it tongues."

Gibberish churches are led by "Christian" terrorists and they are in the process of turning all their adherents into the same.  If you doubt this statement, try confronting a gibberish-speaker and tell him that you think his gibberish is hogwash.  Watch to see his reaction!  He will get his face up in your face, inches from your nose, and scream and yell at the top of his lungs that you are an idiot and that you don't know what you are talking about!  I have experienced this first hand and know what I am talking about.  This is not how true Christians behave.  Gibberish-speakers think that if it's loud and they're yelling it, that makes it right.  They believe that if you speak with emotion, that makes it true.  Hogwash!  Gibberish is the tool that allows these Christian terrorists to control their followers and make them unable to challenge them in any way.  Gibberish-speakers are worshipping their pastor -- not God.

Not terrorists you say? Tongues are possessed by Satan.  Christians don't behave this way and if they do, they are aware that something is wrong.  Something is out of whack.  This is called discernment which true Christians are supposed to have.

Not terrorists you say?  Try leaving one of these gibberish churches and see what happens to you.  You can expect harassment, all your so-called friends will turn against you, and vandalism to personal property has become quite common in these circles, especially if you disagree or voice your opposition to gibberish.  Rejection in a gibberish church is not handled very well by its adherents.  Scratches on vehicles and damage to houses have been reported.

Could someone please tell me, what is the good of gibberish?  What does it accomplish for the participant except to make him look and sound like a fool?  Is he a better Christian or does he just become more and more angry at those who oppose and believe that Satan is the source of the gibberish?  If you have any doubt about doing the gibberish, why would you continue doing the gibberish?  Is it a requirement of being part of or a member of this particular group?  Non-gibberish speakers are not welcome when gibberish is being spoken.

Next time you feel the darkness descending on your "church service" if it can be called that, ask yourself, am I supposed to be doing this?  The Bible says tongues will cease. (That was centuries ago!)  When you are asked to give an account by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, what will you say?

The Shame of Being Pentecostal


Pentecostal churches are now becoming ashamed to be called "pentecostal".  They have become community churches, life centres, tabernacles, faith assemblies, etc.  It seems that the word "pentecostal" has come into disrepute.  These churches don't want you to know before you walk in the door that gibberish and Satan will be waiting for you.  Anything but the word "pentecostal" is being used on the name of many of these churches today.  This is deceitful and a direct result of the fact that Pentecostals basically misunderstand and misinterpret Scripture as evidenced by their use of gibberish to replace tongues, which no longer exist.  The gift of interpretation of tongues also no longer exists according to Scripture.

Christ threw the money-changers out of the temple.  Nowadays, the money-changers own the church and run it as a business.  How wrong is this?  If you own the church, it's clear that you can't be thrown out and furthermore, you are now in a position to teach anything that you wish to those who come to visit your establishment.  The Bible teaches that Christ is the head of the church, not the pastor.  He is only a servant of God.  Where do these people get off thinking that it is OK to turn the church into a business and run it for profit?  Believe you me, that's what it's all about!  These charlatans are smiling all the way to the bank and their followers are willing participants.  How do you think that happens?  Gibberish is the key.

How can you make your business more profitable if you own a church?  One way is to zero in on those in the group who are not receiving the gifts (tongues, slain in the spirit).  These individuals really pay off for the pastor.  In his position of power over them, he can tell them to give more money, and promise them that God will give the gifts to them.  What do you think the person having difficulty getting the gifts will do?  They will figure out a way to somehow give more money to the money-sucking pastor so they can receive the gifts and be accepted by the peer group.  This is how many people are ending up in financial ruin.

If you are involved in a gibberish church, the message should be very clear.  You need to exit this church immediately.  Never return and if you run into the gibberish in another church, leave that one too.  Stop serving Satan and start serving God.  

In your search for truth, you need to look for a church that is receiving no negative publicity of any kind.  Gibberish churches do not fall into this category.  Where is truth, you say?  Truth is where pastors are properly trained in the knowledge of Scripture and the pastor does not have complete autonomy.  Truth is found where lies, falsehoods and misinterpreted Scripture can be exposed.  This does not happen in gibberish churches.  Look for a church with a learned, educated pastor who was trained at a reputable institution.    Gibberish churches cannot make this claim.  Sermons are not prepared.  The pastor flies by the seat of his pants and makes it up as he goes.  There is no meat for the listeners to think about to improve their Christian walk.  They live in the moment.  At the gibberish church, the gibberish-speaker is there to show the pastor and all those in attendance, that he is SO spiritual.  How does he do this?  He speaks gibberish.  This allows the gibberish-speaker to say to himself  "I am so spiritual that it's unbelievable.  I am so proud of myself."  GOD IS NOT PROUD OF YOU.  You should be ashamed of yourself.  Shun gibberish churches like the plague.  Leave now!  No regrets!