The Charismatic Industrial Complex is still in full CYA mode after many egregious sexual scandals in the past year alone. One of the chief defenders of everything NAR and Charismaniacal, is Dr. Michael Brown. One of his favorite tactics is to pretend there are two extremes and that he is just offering a reasonable middle ground. Can't we all just hold hands and sign Kumbaya? Except in creating these two extremes, he wields the very "unequal weights" that he often decries his critics for. So let us reason once more together to see what he is really trying do here, which is at all costs, protect the brand.
"When dealing with sin in the church, there are two ditches on either side of the road that we must avoid. On the one side is the ditch of greasy grace in which sin is minimized, overlooked and even covered up. On the other side is the ditch of haughty holiness in which the sinner is condemned without mercy. Both ditches must be avoided if we are to find spiritual health and vitality. This, however, is easier said than done. Greasy grace is incredibly destructive since it allows a deadly spiritual cancer to spread unchecked, putting a pretty Band-Aid on a lethal disease. In the words of the Lord through Jeremiah, "They superficially treat the fracture of My poor people, saying, 'All is well! All is well!' when nothing is well" (Jer. 6:14, my translation).
Greasy grace fails to confront sin or correct the sinner, and without any real evidence of true repentance and change, it sweeps everything under the rug." - Dr. Michael Brown
The bulk of the problems lie in the ditch he has labeled haughty holiness, which is a ridiculous argument. Just as an aside, the hyperlink he placed in the very first line, at "dealing with sin in the church" was to a piece on Robert Morris. Morris was not condemned without mercy and the issue was not merely sin but sexual crimes against a 12-year-old and then covering it up for forty years. He belongs in jail not living out his retirement on the 100 + millions of dollars he was able to fleece from the flock for those forty years. It is also noteworthy that Brown could have just linked to any number of Charisma articles on Morris, some of which were just straight reporting, but he chose the follow up article that alleged the victim had asked for two million dollars. This revelation was from an alleged transcript of a former IT person from Gateway who supposedly found this when transferring data ten years prior and for some reason kept it all this time and only released on conditions of anonymity. Nothing seems sketchy about that right? Brown chose this link because it painted the victim in a more negative light. The other hilarious thing here is to pretend to be against greasy grace, while defending Joseph Prince, the absolute king of greasy grace preaching. He is right that this is a cancer but Brown does not even bother with a band-aid. He is the one with the broom in his hand, doing the sweeping.
"Not only is this a stench in God's nostrils, making a mockery of the blood of Jesus, but it is also a terrible disservice to the offending party who, rather than receiving life-giving and life-saving correction, is given a pat on the back and a smile. This is anything but love. The dying person is given a bill of good health. As for those who have been sinned against, including those who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their spiritual leaders, the situation is even worse. They are simply told to get over it. "After all, who are we to point a finger?" the compromised leaders say. "Just forgive and move on. Plus, you don't want to hurt the ministry of this powerful man of God." In the worst and most extreme cases, a sexual predator is allowed to continue hurting others while the victims of abuse are now painted as the guilty parties for daring to bring an accusation against "God's anointed." This is downright evil, as the victims are discarded and discounted rather than being helped and healed." - Dr. Michael Brown
Once again, Dr. Brown called Joseph Prince as "good brother in the Lord with some holes in his theology." He said this to me, when I was on his radio show. This was anything but love by the way. It was not loving to Prince but more importantly to his victims. All Brown does in his debates and war against discernment ministries is demand that no one point their fingers at false teachers so this smacks as unbelievably tone-deaf and gaslighty. Do you know who has been infamous for the touch not God's anointed nonsense? Benny Hinn, whom Brown always defends. Overall, Brown is 100% correct about this "ditch" even if his prior positions do not line up with this seeming indignation. Let's see about this other "extreme" now.
"Unfortunately, it is human nature to go from one extreme to the other, in this case running from the perils of greasy grace into the arms of haughty holiness. With a self-righteous, unforgiving attitude, haughty holiness looks down on the guilty sinner, as if to say, "We would never have done what you did!" Consequently, those who fall short must be tarred and feathered. There is no place for true repentance, no place for restoration, no place for redemption. Once pronounced guilty, you are guilty for life, branded and marked and ostracized. There is no mercy. There is no compassion. There is no empathy. Only anger, judgment and condemnation. You are consigned to the doghouse for good, and you can never be rehabilitated. (I actually know of pastors who were removed from leadership because of alleged pride in their lives, then given the job of church custodian to teach them humility.)" - Dr. Michael Brown
