The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. - 1Timothy 3:1-7 (ESV)
Every now and again Charisma News runs a few shorter stories that deserve to be discerned but, in an effort, to save time, I combine them into a single devotional. Such is the case this weekend with the two stories linked above. The first story is a blatant attempt to provide cover for disgraced former Hillsong pastor, Brian Houston. It seems Houston is trying to come back and fleece some more sheep through a new online church scam. The second story is heretical pastor Ed Young trying to push back about recent criticism against mega-churches, from within the apostate church. It is nice to see Charisma take a few stories off from their onslaught of NAR dominionist articles perpetuating the carnal political goals of the CEO, Steven Strang and return to their roots of supporting good old-fashioned heretics. So let us reason once more together beloved.
"After a string of legal problems, mysterious accusations and the shocking ouster from his own church in Sydney, Australia, Brian Houston, founder of global megachurch Hillsong, along with his wife, Bobbie, is in the comeback process. In July, he launched a new online church called JesusFollowers.TV. Is Houston simply misunderstood? Did he make some errors in judgment while under immense stress over the burgeoning allegations related to his father's tenure? Can he be trusted in ministry leadership again? Despite the exercise of his faith and best intentions, will Houston's past define his future in ministry?" - Charisma News
Is Houston simply misunderstood? I know the answer to that one! No, he is not. Beloved, besides the fact that Houston was always a rank heretic preaching prosperity, word faith and hundreds of other false teachings, he also was legitimately disqualified from ministry based on personal behavior. Charisma tries their best to cast doubt on what Houston was credibly accused of. The only reason why there is "mystery" about the accusations is because Houston has not been transparent and forthcoming. Instead, he has relied on being purposefully vague. We know there were two separate instances of some kind of inappropriate behavior with women who were not his wife. So, the ouster from Hillsong was far from "shocking." Charisma uses this language to again try and provide cover for Houston, who actually resigned from Hillsong. This resignation followed investigations that revealed serious concerns about inappropriate behavior with the two women in question. The first incident Houston and Hillsong blamed on an addiction to sleeping medication and the second incident he blamed on overdosing on anti-anxiety medication. One month prior to his resignation, Houston was arrested for driving blackout drunk, with a blood alcohol level of 0.20%. So, what exactly is Charisma blubbering about when they say despite the exercise of his faith? What faith? The faith to send inappropriate texts to women other than his wife? The faith to wander into a different woman's hotel room and stay for twenty minutes without explaining why or what happened? The faith to blame these incidents on being addicted to several controlled substances? The faith to then drive in a condition so drunk that it is a miracle he did not kill anyone? Exactly what "faith" is Charisma citing? Who cares about his intentions? Did God provide a disclaimer in His listing of disqualifiers for ministry leadership in the key verses? Do they say, "well, if he doesn't intend on doing something, I guess it's ok?" Is Brian Houston above reproach? Not a drunkard? Sober-minded and self-controlled? Not a lover of money? Has he not already fallen into disgrace? Is this even close? So, will Houston's past define his future in ministry? Only if you follow what the bible says.
'"Don't ever write off a comeback. God is good at those," Houston posted earlier this year on X, soon after announcing his plan to launch the new online ministry. The return of Brian Houston to ministry comes at an interesting time. Within the past several months, several high-profile Christian ministers have fallen into scandals that ended with their departures from their churches. The list includes Mike Bickle, followed by T.D. Jakes, Tony Evans and Robert Morris, this latter three all located in Dallas, Texas, in what used to be known as the "Bible Belt." The age of the celebrity pastor may be over, especially as people"Christians and non-Christians alike"are skeptical of pastors who are more interested in their own celebrity, brand building and social media followers in the hundreds of thousands than in ministering Jesus to people and living righteously before the Lord. However, Houston may fit well in this blossoming post-celebrity pastor era because he has consistently focused his ministry on Jesus, and he has a track record of approaching challenges as a leader rather than an influencer seeking fame. He doesn't seem to be trying to build Hillsong 2.0. God is doing a new thing.' - Charisma News
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