from The Florida Courier:

FROM THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF: An Orlando-area rabbi, upset that Florida-based televangelist Paula White strongly denied participating in “scroll-wrapping” considered “repulsive and inappropriate”by some Jewish religious scholars, submitted a video that seemingly corroborates that such an act did occur. The video surfaced just hours after White’s attorney categorically and unconditionally denied, to the Florida Courier’s publisher, White’s involvement in any such act.

White’s ‘wrapping’ – allegedly symbolic of being “wrapped in the Word of God,” according to  Rabbi Ralph Messer on the video – is almost identical to Messer’s wrapping of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church’s Rev. Eddie Long during a controversial, widely ridiculed ceremony that went viral on YouTube.

Criticism of Long was swift and severe from Jewish religious scholars and the Anti-Defamation League, forcing Long to publicly apologize.

White is now pastor of New Destiny Christian Center, founded by the late Zachery Tims. New Destiny is one of Central Florida’s largest churches. She is also pastor of Without Walls International Church, one of Tampa’s largest churches.

How it all started

On Friday afternoon, Feb. 3, the West Orlando News Online reported “rumors that Messer will be in Orlando over the weekend to crown pastor Paula White, new leader of the New Destiny Christian Center (NDCC), queen.”

At 6 p.m. that Friday evening – just after the Florida Courier broke a story on the Internet addressing rumors of White’s possible ‘coronation’ – Messer became the focus of discussion on Orlando’s WEUS-AM 810, a local talk radio station.

Host Don Miller of “The Don Miller Show” harshly criticized both Long and Messer. One of the featured guests on the show was  Rabbi Ira Michaelson of the Beth Tefillah congregation in Clermont, just outside of Orlando.

About 10 minutes into the broadcast, Miller confirmed that he heard rumors that Messer was coming to Orlando “to do this” (another Eddie Long-style ‘coronation’) at another church.”

In response, Michaelson said, “He actually already did this to Paula White some years ago…this was after she was divorced from Randy White and before the scandal with Benny Hinn came out. He took her and wrapped her in a scroll and said the same thing – ‘I’m wrapping you in the Word of God.’”

For the remainder of the hour-long show, Miller and Michaelson continued to castigate Messer and Long. Keith Johnson, a minister, author, and former NFL Minnesota Vikings chaplain, spoke of his concern about Long’s New Birth congregation and the impact of Messer’s actions on the relationship between Black Christians and Jews.

(On Sunday, February 5, Johnson preached at an Orlando-area church about how Messer convinced Long’s New Birth congregation “to pronounce a curse on themselves. Click here for video.)

The Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney, an associate professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, spoke to Miller’s show by phone about how the New Birth ceremony was disrespectful of Jewish religious traditions.

Saturday morning call

In multiple phone calls and emails to Florida Courier Publisher Charles W. Cherry II, Daniel Beirute, Paula White’s attorney, unconditionally denied that White would be ‘coronated’ as was Long.

In response to Michealson’s quoted allegation that “He (Messer) actually already did this to Paula White some years ago…”, Beirute wrote in an email to Cherry as follows:

“I don’t know where Rabbi Michaelson gets his information, but my client categorically and unequivocally denies that that ever happened.”

No longer a story

Based on White’s unconditional denial of the Super Bowl ceremony, Florida Courier editors decided that there was no longer a story and posted a “Final Paul White update with links.” But that was not to be the last word.

Rabbi Michaelson, concerned that White’s denial damaged his reputation, emailed a video to Cherry that seems to corroborate his statement about White.

The video opens up with various instances in which an energetic White picks up or drops Bibles on the floor while preaching. About 36 seconds into the video, a caption appears: “Notice Bible on Floor.” There’s more video of White preaching, speaking ‘in tongues’, and dropping more Bibles.

About two minutes into the video, another caption appears. “If Paula had thrown the Koran to the floor, she would have faced certain death. The Jews rejected her from speaking at their 2007 “day of prayer” (sic) because of the following sacrilege to their sacred scrolls,” it states.

Then, in an undated broadcast that seems to be recorded from White’s TV show “Paula,” White agrees to allow Messer and another unidentified man to wrap White in what appears to be a Torah scroll. After saying the wrapping represents protection and being “hidden in the Word of God,” Messer tells White, “Out of something that was thrown off the tracks – like your life – God says, ‘I’m going to raise it up and people will read from it and quote it for generations.’”

Messer then says to White, “…The Lord says, ‘You are so sacred to the Body of Christ, I’m wrapping you in the Word of God.’” The scroll seemed to be torn in the process. White appears to be overcome with emotion, then happily shakes Messer’s hand.

Paula White ‘wrapped in the Word of God’ – click here for an abbreviated version posted on YouTube of the video submitted to the Florida Courier.

from The Atlanta Journal and Constitution:

“Bishop” Long Crowned King!

A ceremony held Sunday at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, in which Bishop Eddie Long was wrapped in a sacred Torah scroll and carried upon a throne, has the Internet abuzz and Jewish religious leaders offended and questioning its appropriateness.

“He’s a king. God has blessed him,” said Rabbi Ralph Messer before covering Long in a scroll “[that] may still have the dust of Auschwitz and Birkenau.” Messer referred to the Nazi extermination camps in Poland where millions of Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.

A Torah’s use in a ceremony ordaining Long as “a king” is  offensive to many Jews, said Bill Nigut, Southeast Regional Director of  the Anti-Defamation League.

The ceremony at Long’s Lithonia church, viewed more than 139,000 times on YouTube, “in no way represents any Jewish ritual that I’m familiar with,” Nigut said. “We do not proclaim individuals to be kings.”

Messer said his parchment, a handwritten copy of the holiest book within Judaism, was 312 years old. His mention of Auschwitz-Birkenau implied the scroll was one of those recovered from the death camps when they were liberated by the Allies toward the end of World War II.

It’s impossible to authenticate Messer’s claim without examining the texts up close, said Rabbi Joshua Heller of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs. While rare, Torahs can be easily purchased, even on eBay, he said.

“There are a fair number of Torah scrolls that survived the war,” said Heller, adding roughly 1,500 were rescued from Czechoslovakia alone.

More disturbing was the use of this particular Torah in an inappropriate setting, experts on religion say.

“The connection of the Torah scroll to the Holocaust and then to Eddie Long is incomprehensible to me,” said David P. Gushee, a professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University. Gushee is a scholar of the Holocaust and has visited Auschwitz several times.

“What was the point? Was it to signal that Eddie Long was suffering persecution like the Jews at Auschwitz?” Gushee asked.

Messer’s son, Minister Russell Messer of Simchat Torah Beit Midrash in Parker, Colo., said his father purchased the parchment and relied on the word of its seller regarding its provenance. “It came through that generation of Europe,” the younger Messer said.

Russell Messer said that in the next two days, his father — who has no formal rabbinical training — plans to post on his organization’s website the full video of his sermon along with additional comments regarding Sunday’s service.

When asked for comment about the event, New Birth emailed a statement Thursday in which Ralph Messer said critics misunderstood his intent.

“My message was about restoring a man and to encourage his walk in the Lord,” Messer said. “It was not to make Bishop Eddie L. Long a king.”

The YouTube video indicates otherwise, Heller told the AJC.

“We wouldn’t wrap a Jewish person in a Torah scroll and declare him king,” he said. “As a Jew, I find that use of symbols very off-putting.”

The messenger is as controversial as the message, Jewish leaders say.

Ralph Messer, according to a biography on his organization’s website, is “pioneering a work to bring the ‘Good News’ of Yeshua (Jesus Christ) in the Torah to the ends of the Earth.” He is active in the Messianic Judaism movement, which fuses evangelical Christian beliefs with elements of Jewish tradition.

“The Jewish community does not associate itself with the Messianic congregations,” Heller said. “We don’t feel like this does due justice to either the Jewish or Christian community.”

Messer’s biography says he has ties with prominent evangelicals including the Rev. Kenneth Copeland of Lubbock, Texas, and Paula White, pastor of a charismatic mega-church based in Florida. It says he has made frequent appearances on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

In his statement Thursday, Ralph Messer said Sunday’s presentation “was simply a way of bringing  honor to a man who had given his life to the Lord and had given so much  to his church, the Atlanta metro area and throughout the world.”

“Lifting him on the chair was to acknowledge and honor him,” he said, adding it is consistent with rituals performed at Jewish weddings and Bar mitzvahs.

One worshipper present at the service said it was “so much more than the video.”

“If you actually attended the service you would know that Bishop Long was not ordained or considered a king in the worldly sense,” said New Birth member De’Yolanda Lowery. “I do know that Bishop Long is truly a man of God.”

Russell Messer said that his father and Long “just got to know each other in the last six months.”

Long was appointed New Birth’s pastor in 1987 when the church had only 300 members. By its 10th anniversary, New Birth reported a membership of roughly 18,000, peaking at 25,000.

But in September 2010, Long was sued by four former church members who  alleged he used his influence, trips, gifts and jobs to coerce  them into sexual relationships. The suit was settled in May. The church’s attendance has declined since the sexual coercion lawsuit was filed.

The bishop may have taken comfort in Messer’s message.

“You can’t attack [Long],” Messer said Sunday. “He’s sealed. Wherever he turns, the power of God is there. … It’s not him, it’s the king in him.”

As Long sat behind him, perched on a throne under a spotlight, Messer chanted repeatedly, “It’s a new birth,” eliciting cheers from the congregation.

Mercer’s Gushee said the  service  may have been an attempt to shore up Long’s standing in his ministry.

“A lot of things could have been done to shore that up, but this  particularly bizarre ritual was deeply disturbing,” Gushee said. “One  problem with Messianic Judaism, in which leaders attempt to fuse Jewish  and Christian traditions and symbols, is that it can easily stray into  profound insensitivity.”

Jamal-Dominique Hopkins, associate professor of Biblical studies at  Interdenominational Theological Center, said that on viewing the video, “My first impression was, ‘Who is this individual who has the authority to make Bishop Long a king?’

“It’s something I’ve never seen or read within the  Judeo-Christian tradition,” Hopkins said. “There’s nothing within Scripture that  supports such a practice of this ceremony. It really just stands outside  of the Christian faith.”

from The Orlando Sentinel:

A struggle for control of New Destiny Christian Church erupted today with the appointment by the church’s directors of Paula White to succeed Zachery Tims as the new pastor and a lawsuit filed by Riva Tims challenging the church leaders’ authority to do so.

In a press conference announcing her lawsuit, Tims compared the conflict over spiritual ownership of the church to the biblical story of the baby claimed by two mothers.

“I am here today to declare that as founder of New Destiny Christian Center that I am the real mother,” said Tims, who co-founded the church with Zachery in 1996.

Tims claims that, according to church by-laws, she is the rightful heir to the church following Zachery Tims’ death in August. The cause of his death at 42 has not be released.

The lawsuit was filed in Orange County Circuit Court shortly before the church announced White was taking over as senior pastor.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction against New Destiny, prohibiting it from naming White as pastor. The suit also alleges that members of the board of directors and White engaged in a conspiracy to “control, monopolize and manipulate” the selection of a new pastor to the exclusion of Riva Tims.

It claims White was $26 million in debt in 2006, and thus unfit and incompetent to run New Destiny, which has more than $4 million in assets.

Riva Tims contends she was wrongfully dismissed from the church following her divorce from Zachery in 2008, but remains favored by the congregation to succeed her ex-husband.

The church says the lawsuit is without merit.

“In the wake of her divorce from Pastor Zachary Tims in 2009, Pastor Riva willingly signed legal documents releasing all claims over New Destiny Christian Center and left our church to begin her own ministry, literally just a few miles away,” said a statement released by the church. “So we are surprised to hear her now say, three years later, that she should become Senior Pastor of New Destiny Christian Center.”

Regardless of the lawsuit, New Destiny said White, 45, will assume her duties as senior pastor during the church’s New Year’s Eve services on Saturday.

“We believe Pastor Paula will continue to make New Destiny a church for all people, reaching out to the hurting and the lost by touching lives and helping individuals overcome the disabling challenges of life,” said Board Member Elder Marguerite Esannason in a statement released by the church.

White, senior pastor of Without Walls International in Tampa, identifies herself as Zachery Tims’ “spiritual mother.” She preached the first sermon in the church after his death, again at his funeral, and served on an advisory board during the search for his successor.

Members of New Destiny said they have nothing against White, but object to the exclusion of both Riva Tims and the congregation in deciding who is best to lead the church after Zachery.

“The people need to be respected,” said Demetrise Begic, 46, who joined New Destiny eight years ago. “We’re the tithers.”

from The Globe & Mail:

In increasingly secular Canada, how do you bring people to God? “Through parking and bathrooms,” says Scott Weatherford, lead pastor of Calgary’s First Alliance Church.

He’s only half joking. On Sundays, the evangelical church’s 1,350-spot parking lot is overflowing. The $25.7-million, six-year-old campus feels more like a convention centre than a cathedral. Weekend services are high-tech, multimedia spectacles. The church provides free fair-trade coffee, with cup holders in every one of the 1,704 seats in the sanctuary. Whether it’s the caffeine, the big-screen monitors or the rock band, no one appeared to be drifting off when Mr. Weatherford, equipped with a wireless microphone and an iPad, took the stage at a recent weekend service.

Deliberately dressed down in jeans and a sports jacket, the former college athlete delivered one of his trademark kick-in-the-pants sermons. One of his favourite phrases is “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me” – a get-it-done message that strikes the right note in entrepreneurial Calgary.

“It’s the church everyone looks to for leadership,” said Franklin Pyles, the Toronto-based president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, part of a global evangelical movement founded in 1887 by a Canadian iconoclast named Albert Simpson. (Today, the Alliance has attracted more than 4.5 million members in 81 countries, including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.)

This suburban megachurch is experiencing a 75-per-cent increase in weekend attendance at a time when membership in mainstream Canadian religious denominations is in a steady decline. It’s also the wealthiest Alliance church in Canada, drawing $4.7-million from its members in the last fiscal year.

“The financial resources of this church are vast and we have not tapped them all,” Mr. Weatherford said. “The good we could do if we compile and work together is staggering.”

“Doing the good that needs doing,” is another of First Alliance’s most appealing credos. Volunteers enable the church to offer a wide array of life-building programs, from addiction treatment and free oil changes in the church parking lot to the Discoveryland child-care complex that hosts 550 children on the weekends. It’s all about ensuring that no souls are left behind, but reaching out in the most practical way possible.

Mr. Weatherford came to Calgary to lead First Alliance in 2009, after being recruited from Texas with the tricky task of making sure the church continues its phenomenal growth while making sure it stays true to its core beliefs. He’s succeeded so well that he’s now overseeing a $7-million expansion to the campus, which will include more child-care spaces and additional parking.

“God causes a place to boom economically to do the good in the world that needs doing,” the 53-year-old said. “Most booms are accompanied by great selfishness. Calgary seems to lean into homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, poverty and immigration with a greater openness and generosity than I’ve experienced in other places.”

Technology, he said, is one way to ensure the church continues its forward momentum. Last month, First Alliance launched an Internet campus for people who don’t want to do church the traditional way. As a sign that this is not a break with tradition but rather a natural, ongoing evolution, faconlinetv.org is being led by 29-year-old pastor Brad Young, whose grandfather and father were both lead pastors at First Alliance.

The church’s bold vision for 2012 doesn’t end there, and it parallels evangelical trends across the country. Over First Alliance’s 73-year history, it has become less focused on global missions and more involved in ministering to families at home, although it continues to be the largest funder of the Canadian Alliance’s work abroad.

“The buzz word right now, especially in the States, is missional,” said Mr. Young, stressing that the church realizes it has to meet the practical, as well as spiritual needs of an increasingly diverse community. . . . . .

read the full article here.

from The Root:

Early this morning, Bishop Eddie Long’s wife, Vanessa, announced that she’d filed for divorce from the embattled pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. She said the decision was made “after a great deal of deliberation and prayer.” But it seems the praying didn’t stop after the papers were filed against her husband, who’s been accused by four young men of coercing them into having sex with him. Early this afternoon, she announced that she’d had a change of heart and planned to withdraw the petition, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

“Upon prayerful reflection, I have reconsidered and plan to withdraw my petition for divorce from my husband, Bishop Eddie L. Long,” she said in an emailed statement bearing the New Birth logo. “I love my husband. I believe in him and admire his strength and courage.”

She went on to blame “years of attacks in the media” for her initial decision to seek a divorce.

Last fall, four young men accused Eddie Long of coercing them into having sex. Their lawsuits were settled in May, then dismissed.

The accusations made against Long by Anthony Flagg, Spencer LeGrande, Jamal Parris and Maurice Robinson alleged that the bishop used his influence, trips, gifts and jobs to coerce them into sexual relations.

Any guesses as to what — besides “prayerful reflection” — might be going on behind the scenes of the latest development in this mega-church scandal?

from MSNBC:

The wife of Bishop Eddie Long, the Georgia megachurch pastor once accused of coercing four young men into having sex, has told her lawyers to file for divorce, according to a statement issued Friday.

In the statement, Vanessa Long said she had decided to “terminate my marriage” after “a great deal of deliberation and prayer.”

“It is my sincere hope that this matter can be resolved expeditiously, harmoniously, and fairly,” she said in the statement.

“I ask that you respect my privacy and that of my family, as my attorneys and I have agreed that we will not try this case in the media, and I do not intend to make any further statements concerning this matter,” she added. “I also ask that the public pray for my entire family during this difficult period of transition.”

In May this year, Bishop Long settled lawsuits filed by the four men who once attended the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, in suburban Atlanta.

Days later the congregation cheered Long as he took the pulpit, while the choir opened the service with the hymn “Moving Forward,” which began: “I’m not going back, I’m moving ahead. Here to declare to you my past is over.”

Opposition to gay marriage

Long gained a reputation as a spiritual leader after turning his 150-member congregation into a following of 25,000 people and a televangelist empire, partly based on the idea that God would give wealth to the faithful.

He has been a vocal opponent of gay marriage.

The allegations by the men were not investigated criminally because Georgia’s age of consent is 16. The young men were 17 and 18 when the alleged sexual contact occurred.

After the out-of-court settlement, Jessica Gabel, a Georgia State University law professor who specializes in trial strategy, told The Associated Press, “Nobody wants their dirty laundry aired in court. Every day there would be fanfare. This is not something you want in the media.”

Gabel said that attorneys try to keep the terms of any agreement confidential, but added that it was noteworthy that Long was not required to apologize or acknowledge any wrongdoing.

The dismissal of the lawsuits was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It said the men alleged that the bishop used his influence, trips, gifts and jobs to coerce them into sexual relations.

from the Houston Chronicle:

More than 10 million people watch Joel Osteen’s television broadcast each week, and soon viewers will be able to see how the pastor of America’s largest church lives outside of Lakewood.

A new reality show will follow the Osteens’ ministry as they serve and inspire people across the U.S., Lakewood confirmed.

TMZ broke the news, with details from the show’s producer, Mark Burnett:

“Survivor” producer Mark Burnett is teaming up with Joel Osteen for a primetime network show in 2012, TMZ has learned.

Burnett tells TMZ, the premise of the show is that ordinary people will give up several days or longer to go on a mission with Joel Osteen, one of the most popular pastors in the world. All of the missions will be in the confines of US soil to “start fixing things.”

Over the years, “just about every studio in Hollywood” has pitched show ideas to the Osteens, but they’ve always turned them down, until now, said Don Iloff, Lakewood spokesman.

The Osteens have been friends with Burnett and his wife Roma Downey, who are Christians and have visited Lakewood in the past, and they trust Burnett’s vision and expertise in the reality TV medium.

The program is in its early planning stages and has not secured a network to air it or even a name yet. The Osteen ministry team hopes it provides uplifting, positive programming that will bring families together to watch.

“When you talk reality TV, on one end there’s Extreme Home Makeover, and on the other end, there’s Jersey Shore. We’re on the Home Makeover end,” Iloff said.

Each episode will center around “people helping people,” following service projects, such as the ones the Osteens have organized in Washington D.C. through a program called Generation Hope.

“We do these projects without the cameras rolling,” said Iloff. “But Jesus said, ‘Let your light shine. Don’t hide it under a bushel.’”

Osteen recently appeared on Dr. OZ and network TV superstar Oprah visited his congregation earlier this month.

Within the realm of reality TV, viewers are also getting a dose of religion, with TLC programs like All-American Muslim, Sister Wives and 19 Kids and Counting all focusing on a faith and family angle.

From Hollywood’s perspective, it’s not necessarily about the content, but the marketability and profitability of such programs, said Richard Flory, an expert in American Christianity at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California.

“It’s a different twist on this kind of short-term mission trip evangelicals have done for a long time,” said Flory of the proposed Osteen show. “It turns it into an entertainment model, where you feel good watching it, people feel good doing it and Joel Osteen gets exposure.”

from Charisma:

Jesus just wasn’t into titles. We shouldn’t be either.

I am often asked if I have a title, and my answer doesn’t satisfy some people. I travel a lot, so I don’t consider myself a pastor. All kinds of labels have been pinned on me: Reverend, prophet, apostle … even bishop. Once I was introduced to a church as “Dr. Grady” and I almost crawled under my seat. I only have a college degree. There are no letters after my name.

I tell people: “You can call me Lee. Or if you want to sound formal, you can say, ‘Brother Grady.’”

Today it seems we’ve developed a title fetish. For a while everyone in charismatic circles was becoming a bishop (and some were installed into this office with rings, robes and funny-looking hats). Then the same guys with the pointy hats started calling themselves apostles. Then the prophets got jealous and started calling themselves apostles too! I knew one lady who, not to be outdone, required people to call her “Exalted Prophetess.”

Now the latest fad is requiring church folks to address certain people as apostles. (As in, “When Apostle Holy Moly arrives, please only address him as, ‘Apostle,’ and then make sure he is seated in a private room while his two adjutants, wearing dark glasses, guard his door.”) They’ve even  invented an elaborate theology to go along with this ridiculous rule. It suggests that you can’t receive the true anointing from a man of God if you  don’t honor him with the right title.

Sounds so very ooo-ooh spiritual to the naive. But it’s garbage. Jesus didn’t play this religious game, especially when he was around the Grand Poobahs of His day—the long-robed scribes and Pharisees. After accusing them of loving the best seats in the synagogues, He pointed out that they loved to be called “Rabbi” by men (see Matt. 23:7).

Then He warned them: “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. … the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (v. 8-12, NASB).

People have quibbled over these words for centuries, insisting that ecclesiastical titles are not the problem; pride is what Jesus was rebuking. I would agree that Jesus was going to the root sin. But He was also asking these title-crazy guys if they’d be willing to ditch their labels and act like normal people.

When I was in China several years ago, I met some amazing leaders who had planted thousands of congregations. They had also spent a lot of time in jail for their faith, and they’d been beaten with iron rods for preaching the gospel. They were the bravest apostles I’ve ever met. But when  I asked them if they used “apostle” as a title, one guy said: “We believe in those roles in the church. But we prefer to call each other ‘brother’ or “sister.’”

That settled it for me. A few years later I met Iftakhar, a Pakistani apostle who has oversight of 900 churches. He also has two scars on his arm from gunshots fired by Muslim extremists who have put a price on his head. When I asked him how I should address him, he smiled and said, “Iftakhar.”

If these two giants of the faith—and true apostles—don’t require to be addressed with titles, then Your Worshipful Grand Master Rev. Dr. Bishop Jones (who claims oversight of maybe four churches) shouldn’t wear his ministry role around his neck like a tacky neon name badge.

If people can’t see the anointing on your life through your character, then don’t cheapen the gospel by wearing a title you don’t deserve.

I’m not saying people shouldn’t use reverend, minister or even bishop to identify their roles in the church. But can we please dispense with the  insecurity, and the childish “I’m more important than you” appellations, and get back to the simplicity of the gospel? Let’s get over ourselves!

Jesus is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Son of David, the Prince of Peace and the Apostle of our Confession. Yet when He came into this world He laid aside His heavenly glory and took on the lowly name of Jesus. He wore no fancy robes. He demanded no titles. He did not come to be ministered to, but to minister. If we want to serve Him honorably, we must forsake our need for fame and cast our crowns at His feet.

Many pastors have used examples from pop culture as sermon illustrations, but Pastor Troy Gramling is taking it to an all-new level with a Wizard of Oz-themed series of sermons, which he will present throughout the month of September at Potential Church in Florida.

“W,” as the series is being called, is a sort of simplified, hybrid title for fans of both the “Wizard of Oz” and “Wicked,” and the series will feature everything from the serious to the silly.

On one hand, Gramling will be tackling many important spiritual, emotional and relationship issues, examining characters in both the famous film and play as the starting point for helping his congregation to really examine themselves. On the other hand, worship services will include some fun and theatrics, including a musical performance of Kanye West’s hit-single “Heartless” by the Tin Man.

Heredes Ribeiro, the creative pastor at Potential Church, told The Christian Post on Wednesday that everyone has, at some point in their lives, probably been able to relate to one of the characters that will be discussed in the “W” series.

“Our pastor, Troy Gramling, has always looked for ways to present the good news of the Gospel in ways that are both inviting to our community, but also memorable for our potential church members,” he said.

In preparation for “W,” the church facility has undergone dramatic visual changes in order to get members and visitors excited about the series. Cars in the parking lot have giant W’s on them, and some things within the church (the bathrooms, lights and even the coffee creamer that they use) have been colored green.

The church has good reason to work so hard to change the scenery, too. Ribeiro says that this weekend is typically the Potential Church’s third-highest attendance weekend of the year. They only do major scenery changes three times a year: Christmas, Easter, and their fall ministry kickoff (which is this upcominng weekend).

Since Gramling took over as lead pastor of Potential Church, its attendance has grown from 2,000 to over 13,000 people per weekend. The church currently has several campuses in Florida, in the cities of Miami, Pensacola, Cooper City and Hallandale Beach. It has one campus in Lima, Peru, and its services can also be viewed online.

“In the series entitled ‘W,’ we will journey down the yellow brick road with the Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man to discover relationships filled with courage, romance and passion,” Gramling says. “Sometimes what we are looking for is closer than what we realize.”

Perry’s “The Response” is over and now some pro-family and evangelical leaders that were involved in this unbiblical rally are trying to convince Christians that those who warned against the event were wrong. If I was wrong then the Bible is wrong and I can promise you the Bible is not wrong!

The New Apostolic Reformation, International House of Prayer, and Word of Faith false teachers were involved in the event and that is what made the entire event unbiblical.(2 Corinthians 6:14, 2 John 9-11). People can claim Jesus was exalted but Jesus is never exalted when people disobey His Word and give credibility to false teachers.

Even if John MacArthur, Alistair Begg, Jimmy DeYoung, Erwin Lutzer, and other great Bible teachers were speaking at The Response, it would have still been an unbiblical event. The reason respected Bible teachers were NOT in attendance is because I believe they understood that uniting with and giving credibility to false teachers is a clear violation of Scripture. Romans 16:17-18: 

Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. 

I believe many of our pro-family and “evangelical” leaders are indeed simpletons and were deceived by the “smooth words and flattering speech” of the New Apostolic Reformation and Word of Faith leaders.

The little word simple of the Hebrew language is real concrete, not abstract like Greek. Simple comes from a root word that means an open door. And a simple-minded person was somebody whose mind was always open… the simpleton was the person who had not enough discernment or discrimination or knowledge or understanding or wisdom to know what to accept and what to reject. And the Word of God will teach you how to close the door. It will teach you how to be wise. Wise is chakam in Hebrew, it means skilled in all aspects of living. 

On my radio program, I have been pointing out the “Emergence of the New Religious Right”. I call it the “emergence” because many of the Emergent Church ideas have come into the New Religious Right (NRR) and many in the New Religious Right are working openly with members of the Emergent Church, New Apostolic Reformation and Word of Faith movement. . . . . .

I also call this new generation of pro-family leaders the “New Religious Right” because I do not believe that many of the now deceased leaders of the religious right from the 1970s and 1980s would agree with the theological and doctrinal compromise of many of the leaders of today’s “New Religious Right”

In fact, on my radio program on August 3, 2011, Dr. Tommy Ice revealed how the religious right was formed during the presidency of Jimmy Carter with leaders like Jerry Falwell, Adrian Rogers, and Dr. D. James Kennedy. Tommy also revealed that his friend Jerry Falwell preached a sermon one month before his death on the dangers of the Emergent Church. On my radio program, Dr. Ice stated that at the conclusion of Falwell’s sermon he approached Falwell to thank him for his sermon. Dr. Ice reported that Falwell told him, and Mrs. Ice, that he was going to break ties with Pastor Rick Warren as he believed that Warren was embracing many of the ideas of the Emergent Church.

For this and other reasons, I believe that if Dr. D. James Kennedy, Jerry Falwell and Dr. Adrian Rogers were alive today, they would not enter into spiritual enterprises with members of the Emergent Church, the Word of Faith and the New Apostolic Reformation.

Even the secular media is noticing this emergence of the New Religious Right. On July 21, 2011, Business Insider reported

As mainstream evangelical influence wanes, however, the New Apostolic Reformation is gaining broader acceptance among conservative Christians. The Response, whose endorsers also include more mainstream fundamentalists, is evidence of the New Apostles’ emerging influence – and of its leaders growing appetite for political power. Here’s what you need to know about the fastest-growing religious movement you’ve never heard of.

I have many examples of the converging that is occurring between the religious right, the New Apostolic Reformation, the Word of Faith and the Emergent Church leaders that has resulted in the emergence of a New Religious Right. However, for this article, I am going to focus on one example of this convergence.

On the website of Governor Perry’s The Response, one of the honorary chairmen listed was Samuel Rodriquez. According to the website of “Come Let us Reason”, Rodriquez was part of the “Third Way’s” efforts to bring “evangelicals and progressives” together through the drafting of “Come Let us Reason Together: A Fresh Look at Shared Cultural Values Between Evangelicals and Progressives”.

 Where does the idea of “third way” originate? This idea derives from the belief system of philosophers such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and finds its contemporary manifestation in the “Third Way” movement of today’s progressives.  In the Third Way, capitalism, socialism, and communism merge to form a misanthropic combination of the three. This blending is now represented in the terms “the New World Order” and “the new enlightenment.”

 I doubt the leadership of the New Religious Right has even heard of the Hegelian Dialectic Process. Do you think they know that as far back as 1953, it was revealed in U.S. Congressional hearings that the socialists had infiltrated the churches and religious organizations in order to transform America from within? This tactic was also expressed by Saul “the red” Alinsky.  . . . . . .

read the full article here.