Dear Lighthouse Trails:
We are writing this letter to encourage others in their journey to find a Bible-believing church that values sound biblical doctrine and the authority of Scripture. We became aware of a significant shift in our C&MA [Christian & Missionary Alliance] church after they picked-up a new hip pastor from a California mega church. Some of the first things we noticed included the new lingo and dress-down look, the extensive use of The Message, the feel good TED Talks salted with a few out-of-context Scriptures, the kicking out of the old worship team and the bringing in of the very loud rock-band-style worship along with smoke and lights, the removal of mailboxes in order to bring in the Emerging pastor’s book table, removal of crosses and Bibles (one day, we led a couple to Christ and could not find one Bible in the church to give them), the embracement of native-related issues with an actual smudging ceremony performed in the sanctuary, the supporting of community organizations that embrace abortion and homosexuality, the social-gospel message, SHE conferencing, and the promotion of Yoga, etc. The list is endless and goes on and on, typical for a lot of mega churches (emerging/seeker sensitive/purpose driven).
The lack of sound biblical teaching has become the failure of these churches today, no mention of Hell, the blood of Christ, sin, or for that matter the rapture, eschatology, or the prophetic . No absolutes, but a lot of grey. All of this is intentionally done in an attempt to make people feel too comfortable in their seats. Thanks to your ministry’s excellent resources and the deep study of God’s Word, we became aware of this trend and left this mega church after 8 years. This was a very hurtful experience because we lost so many friends who just didn’t see it the same way we did despite the overwhelming evidence that this just wasn’t a New Testament model on which to build a church.
After six months and several other churches, we came upon this cute little Baptist Church (LBC). Naively, we thought we would be safe here but after searching their bulletin, we noticed a Bible study that was utilizing Andy Stanley’s (AS) material. Eventually, after several months, we approached the group leader and gave him some of your research material that exposes some of AS’s erroneous teaching. Sadly, it was not well received, and I was accused of slandering; the group leader (who we found out later was an actual elder) indicated that the material was taken out of context and that discernment ministries such as Lighthouse Trails only cause division and trouble. My wife and I talked to the pastor and other board leaders, again presenting material to support our claims about AS’s teaching.
Eventually, after two years and much dissemination of material and, of course, the continuation of AS’s Bible studies, we got called into a formal church meeting whereby the elders (2) and pastor indicated they wanted to work on the relationship and move forward. We indicated that this would be difficult given the continued usage of AS’s material and his erroneous teachings. We found out in the meeting that they were not open to discuss or for that matter listen to any further arguments despite our attempts to bring forth some really good info from various discernment ministries or other notables. We suggested to the elders that a suspension [of AS’s materials] would be in order while individuals with the gift of discernment could be recruited to review the material. They got offended at this suggestion and sadly doubled down increasing the usage of AS’s material in home groups and most recently in the Sunday School class.
This week I attended a church membership meeting hoping to discuss the issue with other members; however, when I asked to be placed on the agenda, this request was denied. While preparing for this meeting, I was able to download approximately over thirty articles exposing the erroneous teaching of AS. Sadly, this could not be presented to the church membership.
Further to this, I requested another meeting with the elders in an attempt to clear misunderstandings, and sadly, this meeting was also denied. One of elders noted in his e-mail that, “I was not having a willingness to submit to leadership and have made allegations, accusations and threats toward the leadership.” Clearly, presenting information and having discussions has now made us a problem to the leadership. This is a very common sentiment to those who expose or challenge false teaching. Same old song again—where are the Bereans?!
Thankfully, I was somewhat prepared after reading your journal articles where others have had tables turned on them when they expose false teaching that enters their churches. So, after being defamed, accused of slander and being evil, I guess we could soon be looking for another church that upholds the authority of Scripture. This time we are a little more experienced and will do our homework just like your article says.
Sadly, we have come to know many solid Christians in both churches who are just not aware of the false teaching of the emerging pastors of today. It would appear that unity in the church is more important than sound biblical doctrine, so now again WE ARE CHURCHLESS. Sadly, the little Baptist church pastor, despite attempts by us and others, has been convinced by the elders that things are taken out of context and to tow the party line despite him knowing the truth. Hopefully, he doesn’t find himself out on the street when he doesn’t get in line with the emerging agenda. Thanks for all you guys do in exposing error and preparing the Body of Christ for the fight of truth. Apostasy is now in the evangelical church of North America.
T and J
(Photo from Bigstockphoto.com; used with permission.)
Related Articles:
Beccie
April 22, 2023 at 10:38 am
Like many of you, my husband and I read God’s Word together at home as we pray for His direction in these end times. This is our 8th year to be reading the Bible through together… We would be so happy to be part of a true Christian group… but in our searching since leaving the church we were members of for years because of false teaching infiltrating our assembly, we have not been able to find a church that is not compromised.
I am thankful that as we gather in Jesus’ Name to read God’s Word and to worship Him in spirit and in truth, He is there in the midst of us.
God indeed has a remnant of true believers right here in America… and He is watching over us keeping us protected from the evil. Persecution is on the rise in America… but His grace is sufficient for whatever any of us may face prior to the Rapture, or that time when we face death… whichever comes first.
God is indeed blessing and keeping watch over that remnant of believers all over the world!!
My CM&A church went downhill fast when they adopted the world’s new way a few years ago. I became a member there when the preaching used to be very sound. I had to leave because sermons became no more than nice-sounding Jesus stories often with some psycho-babble tacked onto it. I refer to it as bad religious pablum. Fortunately, I found a Bible church that is very scriptural, teaches prophecy and the imminent pre-trib rapture. The only thing is that it is quite far away from me so I cannot be there every week but thankfully I can watch online.
61 years ago alliance was my mother’s milk. came out and became separate 20 years ago. started home church with 30 saints who know act 17.11. rev peter.
Yes, you are absolutely correct when you say “if those in the body become compromised with darkness and are now workers of iniquity, being in fellowship with those people is now dangerous to one’s soul”. Many people now sitting in the pews of organized churches are either unconverted and/or practicing yoga or mindfulness or you name it. Yoga is hard core occultism and many are ensnared by it now. You are also absolutely correct when you say that people just want a place to “hang out with other” over obeying the Lord and his Word. There are warnings in the Epistles and clear instructions in the New Testament about the last days, about the perilous times, and about Bible separation. I believe most people don’t know these precepts at all anymore. It is not an understatement to say what you have said in your comment. It is very close to the time when the organized churches will all be ripe for the strong delusion.
Why keep worrying about being “churchless” if this is the position you find yourself in… is not fellowship with the Father thru His Word not enough??? Sure maybe do a home bible study group if you know someone who is willing to open their home. I’m not so sure letting too many people know where you are living is such a good idea these days but some folks have no issue with that. Could always meet at a local diner or at a public park or whatever.
Yes, it would be ideal to be able to have fellowship with other believers as the New Testament teaches but in the last of the last days we are all faced with a choice…
That choice is: Which is more important? Being in fellowship with other believers OR being in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ?
One way much false doctrine grows is that people tend to want to hang out with each other more than they do the Lord. Yes, this is a Body but if those in the Body become compromised with darkness and are now workers of iniquity… being in fellowship with those kind of folks is dangerous to one’s soul.
All the churches in my area have been compromised with various levels of false doctrine, so I’m doing anonymous mails outs to those in the church I had been a member of to hopefully get a few of them to wake up. No, I’m not going to get in to any big arguments with these people which is why I am doing the mailings in an anonymous way.
Maybe they’ll just throw the mailings away I don’t know. That’s not my concern as I think the Lord is going to eventually be able to get thru to a few people who are hungry for the Lord and just don’t yet realize whassup.
My first mailout is Warren B Smith’s booklet “The Big Picture” so please pray for those that will be getting this booklet.
This sounds interesting. Who does the teaching? Is there a moderator to coordinate, so everyone doesn’t speak at once? I might benefit from a virtual church, since I am isolated and disabled. I can’t drive to neighboring areas, and all the churches within busing distance are currently in rebellion to the word of God, with totalitarian governance and a refusal to test the spirits.
Php 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment;
Php 1:10 so that ye may approve the things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and void of offence unto the day of Christ;
Php 1:11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
In our love we are to abound in more knowledge and ALL DISCERNMENT … to approve excellent things…and be void of offence….filled with the fruit of righteousness …unto the ….praise of God.
Discernment is a loving act it is a fruit of the spirit it is to the glory and praise of God. lacking and disrespecting discernment cannot bring approval from or glory to God. Discernment is a gift given by God. To squash it is to both quench the Spirit and grieve the Holy spirit.
The religious leaders who did not want to hear the truth from John the baptist or from Jesus sought to demean them by asking them, ” From where do you get your authority’? Is this not exactly what church leaders are doing today? Rather than listening and learning from their own flock they demean us. They too,”thinking more highly of themselves than they ought” dismiss us because they look down on us , for our lack of positional authority in THEIR congregation. The humble relieve wise council but the foolish receive it not. God used a blind man, without authority, to confound the Sanhedrin, John 9: 30-34
I, too, am “churchless” due to objecting to teaching which contradicts Scripture, and finding myself abused. I recently read this post (https://herescope.blogspot.com/search?q=mark+driscoll), which shows even more tactics from the world being used by some leadership to justify mistreating people. I hope Jesus comes soon. I am very sad and lonely, even as I have fellowship with Him.
Interesting that you mention the Brethren. I know there are divisions here too, but my husband I tried that in our town, (not sure if “closed” or “open”) and while the preaching was good the teaching was always centered (in the Bible study) around the head covering for the women. Also, we found out that the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren (which had just come out at that time) was appearing in members’ homes. It can be that the direct teachings are not going to be coming from the pulpit, but it will still affect the peoples’ lives. It doesn’t seem possible that this leaven will not affect everyone in some say, and the Brethren seemed oblivious to the fact that they needed to warn their members publicly about these false teachings and teachers. We tried to tell an elder that, and he seemed to be either ignorant of it or simply unconcerned that it could even have any affect whatsoever on their fellowship. But the Bible tells us of our adversary that “we are not ignorant of his devices”. We are truly living in perilous times.
Since we left our C&MA, we have been just the two of us, my husband and I. We pray daily, and sing hymns and pray and read the Bible on Sunday mornings.
The slide into acceptance of false teaching was precipitated by seeker friendly marketing stunts.
There is an old saying that predicts this outcome.
” Loaves and fishes make followers, the cross makes disciples”.
Those who prefer a church full of followers more than true disciples best not expect, ” Well done my good and faithful servant”.
Dear Rista, do you have one friend, one family you can invite to your house for a meal? Then afterwards take time to ‘remember’ together our Lord Jesus in his death. If it is impossible then remember him in your heart, as often as you can. He is not going to be affronted.
Many of us are in the same situation. I know the sadness of it all but let us not say we are ‘churchless’. The term ‘one body’ is used many times in the epistles. 1 Cor 12: 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Because I no longer go to that building on a Sunday and Wednesday, it does not mean I left the body of Christ! I remain part of THE church. And there are still many of that body that we can love and care for and minister to. And still millions waiting to hear the good news for the first time, both in western countries and in remote hard to reach places. Many waiting to come in to the joy of being part of that body, one in Christ.
Find one person, one family and fulfill Jesus commission sharing the gospel and teaching and discipling them.
Sorry to hear about your experience. You’re not alone. We also recently left our church (of almost 20 years), due to our new dogmatic Calvinist pastor. And since I always felt our church (before the Calvinism) was the best in the area, theologically speaking, it’s really hard to find another one we want to attend. It’s either smaller ones that compromise the Word or mega-churches that water it down so much it’s nearly pointless. For now, we stay at home watching godly sermons online. Maybe someday we’ll start a home church. I think all we really need sometimes is to be in fellowship with a few other believers, praying together, encouraging each other, and building each other up with God’s Word.
This is the sad reality today, a worldwide trend. I live in South Africa and have been ‘churchless’ going on 8 years. At least we still have God’s Word and some commentaries to read and for that I cannot thank the Lord enough. My one concern is the Lords’ supper …. how do you approach that? I am so scared that I affront Jesus by not keeping this commandment of His?
My church is called higher ground calvary chaple and we are in riverside ca and my pasator[Harold Anderson} is preaching the whole word of God.I do not know where you are located but if you are close come on bye.
Just an addon. I recently mentioned about the Gay Pride parade here in the GTA and what a shame it was that their flag was hoisted along with the Canadian flag. One christian street preacher(David Lynn) was arrested for preaching the gospel in a Gay area. I mentioned we should support him. One of the church ladies was extremely upset with me for criticizing these poor people who have a “disease”. Really! if it is a disease then why is it celebrated and paraded down Yonge street as the morally superior lifestyle? So even in my ” Open Brethren” assembly we have christians who are this ignorant of their bibles. Hard to believe.
why not start your own in home church, like the early church? Two or three can be just you and your wife until you find a few like minded believers. That is actually how the church has survived and grown down through the ages.
apostasy everywhere. 44 percent of people 60 and up have no problem with a homosexual pastor. the younger ages are higher who agree with homosexual pastors. folks i hate to be negative but apostasy is here. no revival coming like the great awakenings in the past.1st time 4-1 a great falling away is here.keep praying. persecution is comming against the true believers.
I completely agree that it is almost impossible, if not completely impossible, to find a church with sound biblical teaching. I have attempted to find a church in my neighborhood that values sound biblical doctrine and the authority of the Scripture. I went to one church that said any belief can be processed in their church. I knew that wasn’t biblical. I went to another church where the pastor told me that anyone could be saved, but that if they turned their back on God before they died, they would not be saved. I knew that wasn’t biblical. I went to another church where “holy yoga” was being taught. I knew that wasn’t biblical. Right now, I have opted for reading my Bible and Lighthouse Trails and praying, praying, praying. I admire anybody who stands up for the Word of God. May God bless you and keep fighting the good fight.
Dear Lighthouse Trail, due to lack of a church in an area close to France, Switzerland and Germany, I was invited to participate via FaceTime and now Skype in a „virtual“ church. I really appreciate this because everyone of the brethren is asked to contribute some bible verse messages, propose a hymn or a prayer. I participate since 2013 and really enjoy the clear biblical teaching we all participate in. Now living back in Germany again, I still participate in our virtual church setting. E.g. Today about 20 believers participated via 12 Skype connections. We also connect individually with each other, to communicate on a more private basis. This is not perfect, but the exchanges are biblical.
My wife and I definitely understand what “T and J” are going through. We have had to leave two churches of which we were members because of the use of material from false teachers, e.g., Priscilla Shirer and Beth Moore. We primarily used booklets from Lighthouse Trails to present a case for what is wrong with the material they were using. Both times we were soundly rejected by the Pastors and Elders. They saw nothing wrong with what they were using. Two other times we were “uninvited” in churches we were checking out (not members) for the same reasons. We are presently in an independent church now where the pastor is very sound doctrinally. We are staying because of him and his need of support. The church itself is fractured with a mix of people that are sound along with many others that are not. This church has existed since 1924 but is now struggling to just keep the doors open. We pray that it does not fall by the wayside.
The United States of America is the last “free” country on the earth. If it falls, there is no place else to go. In the same way Lighthouse Trails is one of the few doctrinally sound discernment ministries out there. You have been a tremendous help in sifting out the wheat from the chaff. Lighthouse Trails is a principle daily “goto” for me. I must be praying more for Lighthouse Trails.
I work within a teaching and discernment ministry in Canada. This is a frequent scenario with many left churchless. We need to all pray that the Lord will find pasture for His flock
Amen. What a story, a story that I have lived and experienced and some of my dear friends also, and what a declension has set in, nay has taken over completely. What an utter perversion setting into the “churches”, a situation that has worsened exponentially since I saw it in my own C&MA 16 years ago. Thank you dear folks fellow believers in Christ Jesus for sharing this!