Sugar-coated Christianity

‘Neil’ was a troubled young man. He had withdrawn into himself so much, that talking to him was trying to get blood out of a stone. He had hung around on the fringes of a church for many years – never truly accepted by the congregation, but patronised and patted on the head like a good dog for attending on a regular basis. The pastoral team and ministry team deep down viewed he and his homeless friends as a burden to be tolerated, or as nameless figures to add to their church growth and cross-cultural charts and social statistics rather than as wounded brothers to be healed and housed and loved. They had prayed for him a few times (with a metaphorical clothes peg on their nose) and a few of the older church ‘mother-hens’ took Neil under the wings to practice their counselling skills on from time after time after returning from their latest conference – then Neil was quickly dropped and ‘forgotten’ about til the next conference or video/DVD came out. So that was Neil.

One day God spoke to Neil through the prophetic word. God did not patronise Neil. He did not give him lots of trendy counselling talk. He got straight to the point. It went something to the effect of – (this is not verbatim and neither is it supposed to reflect the advice for a ministry session for everybody, it was what was relevant to Neil at that moment of time under the power of the Holy Spirit) -

‘You’re putting up barriers to my love,’ God said to Neil. ‘You stop me coming into your life and you stop others coming in also. I see you hiding like a wounded animal in your cave, licking your war wounds. Stop hiding, leave your scabs alone and come out of your cave into the light and let me love you.’ The word spoke very powerfully to Neil. I could see the Holy Spirit powerfully upon him and also the conviction and realisation dawning upon him as he knew for the first time what it took for him to be made whole. He had a choice to make and Jesus Christ was saying ‘Come to me.’ Neil knew it, I knew it and many of the other Christians in the room knew it and we praised God. Neil had been in a foetal type position, and was covering his face with his hands. He knew that he had a choice to make and for a split second we saw as the light dawned and his hands started lowering as his face started rising heavenwards and he made himself ready to open himself. I saw him dare to tentatively put the first steps forward and his barriers started to come down….. For the first time the onus was on Neil to make a decision – to come out of hiding. It was obviously hard for him but it was crucial. There were tears but they were tears of healing, tears of release.

Then Satan came to steal to kill and to destroy.

‘Don’t worry about doing it ……God loves you for you, just where you are at and says its ok to be where you are!’ his mother-hen pastor/counseller piped up. I could also see she felt threatened and her authority somehow usurped by God stepping in in such a way. How dare the Holy Spirit interrupt her Christian counselling sessions! I could see she felt threatened by me and the prophetic. I could see this was the true motive behind what she had said. As she snapped out her statement, so the moment was broken and Neil scuttled deep inside his cave. He’d been given the excuse to hide again – he was ok as he was. His counsellor/pastor told him so.

This woman perhaps thought she was being kind or nice to Neil. She was not. She was sugar-coating things and ultimately helping nobody and serving nothing but her own agenda. To my knowledge Neil never came out of his ‘cave’ again as he was never challenged to again in such a way – although his pastor-counsellor gave him lots of positive affirmation scriptures to remind himself with, ‘I am loved’, ‘I am special’ …. He was never healed because the fact he needed to be accountable to God for his own actions and ‘to repent’ was undermined on that night and simply glossed over.

I was furious. ‘God does not love where Neil is! God loves and accepts Neil for who he is, warts and all, but he does not like where Neil is at. Neil is in a place of misery and has been for many years and God is saying to Neil to come out of there and be healed. However in order to be healed, Neil has a choice to do something and to realise his own responsibility in the process. He knows this is God’s way of saying to repent so he may be healed.’ For too many years the focus in his counselling/ministry sessions had been on licking his numerous wounds and blaming others for his pain. Now God was shifting the focus and saying, yes you are hurt and people have wrongly hurt you in the past. But this is not so much about them but about you. Whatever has been done to you in the past, you are the one currently responsibile for hiding away NOW, and this is hurting your life now, and you can make a choice now to stop this self-destructive behaviour and to come out into my arms of love and be healed…I will make it ok for you.’

Over the years since, I have seen and heard many similar stories, where people have sugar-coated the gospel or the ministry and it has hurt and hindered rather than helped. ‘Love your imperfections’ I have heard it preached, which could not be further from the truth. You may as well say, ‘Love sin! It is what makes you human!’ Never!

Just last week I saw where a pastor could not stand to have his pet-walking wounded ministered to in case it ’stirred things up’ even though the Holy Spirit had spoken to the woundee very strongly that night. The pastor trusted his man-centred counselling techniques (which were not working) much more than He trusted God. I have heard other pastors suggesting members of their congregation take anti-depressants rather than recieve deliverance (in obvious cases of demonic activity)…and all for the sake of a quiet life and less hassle and being thought better of. I see pastors get twitchy whenever the four letter word ‘hell’ is mentioned, in case their congregation gets angry. I have had pastors ask me not to speak about repentance in case anyone gets upset. Demons cannot be mentioned, least of all manifest on their way out, in case you frighten anybody. (Far be it for deliverance and healing to be a sign and wonder practiced on the street in full view of everyone!) I have seen pentecostal pastors shut down spontaneous healing and deliverance sessions in case the youth in their congregation are upset. (Far be it the youth learn the truth about the spiritual realm and wonder at God’s glory! So they are allowed to learn about Harry Potter from their peers, pastor, but you will not let them learn about the real thing?) These people help nobody! Sometimes a spade has to be called a spade whether people love you or hate you for it!

The path to hell is paved with good intentions.

I have talked in other posts of the sugar-coated gospel, and then the sugar-coated prophecies from false prophets running to tickle ears for a hefty fee or suggested donation (all major credit cards accepted). I have been accused of lacking love for daring to speak up about these men, yet the most loving man that ever lived, Jesus Christ, said some far more cutting words than I ever have against bad leaders. People forget the Jesus who turned over the tables of money changers (how ‘loving’ is that by 21st century standards)? and called the pharisees a ‘nest of vipers’ and the one who said He would spew the Laodicean church out its mouth for being lukewarm.

I have been told with hurt puppy dog eyes that many well-meaning and loving people are in these movements and believe this stuff. I am sure there are some lovely well-meaning people in there, I never said otherwise, (I once was), but it does not make them right. ‘Jezebel’, the spirit of deception and false prophecy can be lovely when she has her way. (Her name, in fact, means ‘loving kindness’). I know some lovely New Agers and even a rather kind white witch who looks just like Father Christmas and has a lovely twinkle in his eyes. He believes in the laws of karma and will not do anything to harm anyone and is extremely kind to animals. However sincere he is in his beliefs, I would not say he is right … quite the opposite in fact. Being ‘nice’ or being ’sincere’ does not make you right. It does not make you any less vulnerable to deception in the church either.

The 21st century church has (by and large) become so sugar-coated that people do not dare criticise, and if and when they do speak up they are labelled ‘rebellious’, ‘non submissive’, ‘divisive’ and ‘unloving’. None of which is nessarily true as the Bible tells us to test and weigh everything, kick out the false prophets, have nothing to do with bad shepherds, and to speak up about false doctrine. Love and criticism can co-habit apparently. They do in the Bible.