Continuing to expose the NAR charlatans in the pulpit today...

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Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. - Colossians 4:5-6 (ESV)

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"In a recent documentary, I discussed the rapid decline of America and the desperate need for serious prayer and fasting. To say that we are at a crossroads is an understatement"we are in the crosshairs. This is an urgent call to the pulpits of America. America's lukewarm temperature is caused by a lack of fire in the pulpit and apathy in the pew. Leonard Ravenhill once lamented, "We need more prophets in our pulpits and less puppets." That same cry goes out today. We simply cannot remain silent. CNN recently released an article quoting pastor Andy Stanley, who said "saving America is not the mission of the church." I don't know Pastor Stanley, nor do I know his heart, but he highlights a real dilemma in our nation"prophetic voices who lack humility. In short, many bold preachers don't weep before they whip (cf. John 2:13-16). But balancing love with anger over the condition of our nation, families and churches is a hard balance to find. People who say things such as "saving America is not the mission of the church" often use these phrases to justify their silence on important issues. Biblically speaking, it's impossible to be nonconfrontational to a culture hell-bent on rejecting God. We can't be "unhitched" from God's Word." - Shane Idleman

I want you to focus on the deranged mind of dominionist thinking. Consider it in relation to the call of the church to be salt and light and a shining city on a hill. Consider the clear instructions from God in the key verses. Walk in wisdom towards those who do not believe. Make the best use of the time. Let our speech towards them be seasoned with grace, so we know how to answer each person. Now realize what Shane Idleman is advocating for - the exact opposite! Only the devil can convince pastors that the enemy are those who need the gospel the most. Shane Idleman actually believes the bible teaches him it is impossible to be non-confrontational with the unsaved. Think about how staggeringly unbiblical and frankly stupid that statement is. The pastor is not called to correct culture. I hate to say it but Andy Stanley is right on this count. It is not the mission of the church to save America. It is the job of the pastor to preach the gospel, which is the only thing that has the power of God unto the salvation of men. The gospel divides. The gospel separates based upon who will place their faith in it. That role belongs to God, not Shane Idleman. The dominionist cares about the state of the nation while the preacher cares about the state of the soul. Make no mistake about it. When Shane Idleman decries the lack of fire in the pulpit he laments not having enough maniacs like Greg Locke and Mario Murillo, both of whom recently said anyone voting democratic were demonic and going to hell. Here is the problem with Idelman's dominionism. The word of God says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and that none pursue Him. None. Idleman, Murillo and Locke all preach that one political side is evil while the other is righteous. That is completely unhitched from God's word.

"Back to the question, "Is saving America the mission of the church?" Of course not; but shouldn't we desire godly leaders and laws that align with God's Word and not be shamed for it? Shouldn't we want to protect our borders and our children without being chastised? Shouldn't we be a voice to those who have no voice and stop the slaughtering of the innocent? The dilemma Pastor Stanley and others face is that they can't have their cake and eat it too. They can't avoid controversial topics in the hopes of not offending. Watering down difficult topics is exactly why America is drowning in a cesspool of moral relativism. CNN quotes Stanley because, in their eyes, he supports their narrative. You won't find secular news outlets quoting and supporting bold preachers. Why? Because bold, Christ-centered, truth-elevating preaching exposes and dismantles their agenda. If secular news outlets are on your side, are you sure that you're on the right side?" - Shane Idleman

Let's deal with these one at a time. First of all, "borders" is a canned Republican Party talking point that has nothing to do with the cause of Christ and His gospel! Can you picture yourself standing before Christ explaining how you advocated separating children from their parents based on immigration status? Or how because Israel had borders you thought it best to leave those brown people in their own countries. There is nothing "Christian" in the response of many Christians. Just because you won the "where was I born" lottery does not give you special privileges to deny other people. Should you want godly leaders? Sure, but how do you know they are godly? Oh, that's right, you don't. Dennis Hastert swore he was a good Christian man until it was discovered he was molesting little boys for years upon years. Newt Gingrich and his affairs? Bob Livingston? Matt Gaetz? The immorality is on both sides. Do you know why? Because all have fallen short and none pursue God! Heck, we cannot even seem to expect it from those in the pulpit and we think we can expect it from those in Washington? It is amazing how you want to be the voice of the voiceless on one political subject but not others. I am not here to defend Andy Stanley who is a rank heretic that does not preach the gospel either. He is the same as you Shane, just with different opinions on dominionism. As for your cooked-up boogieman, the media, please stop embarrassing yourself. I see the media quoting so called "bold preachers" all the time. They just do not agree with them and if their disagreement exposes something unchristlike than their agenda is God's and who would say God would not use them? I saw an expose on prosperity preachers such as Kenneth Copeland once on the John Oliver comedy program. This expose revealed a woman who had cancer but just kept raising her tithe until she died, refusing to seek medical help because of the teaching of the Copelands. To Idleman, this is an example of the "secular media" targeting he church but in reality, it is God exposing charlatans in His church by using the secular media. To Shane everything is about sides and what side you are on but he keeps lining up with the world. My side is with the gospel, not the Republican party.

"My goal isn't to divide the body of Christ but to convict it. I don't have a beef against Pastor Stanley"I'm sure he's a great guy"but if a Christian leader says controversial things, can't we lovingly challenge his or her words? This isn't dividing the body; rather it's sharpening our iron (Prov. 27:17). Many of us are becoming weary of the silent pulpit that seems more comfortable slamming bold saints than confronting blatant sinners. Weak sermons from woke pastors won't convict the sinners who need redemption. A person who is considered "woke" prides himself or herself on being extra sensitive and aware of racial and social discrimination and injustice. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It all depends on the person's motives. If we repent of our skin color, dislike police officers, disdain America, and support sexual perversion by our silence, all under the banner of "wokeness," we are in deep trouble. If we won't preach the truth because some in our audience are on the other side of the political spectrum, we aren't pastors, we are appeasers." - Shane Idleman

It is not your job to convict anyone. That is the job of God through the Holy Spirit. Once again, Idleman complaints are right out of the GOP talking points. Wokeness is just another canned talking point designed to "otherize" your opponent. But fine, we will play along. No one seriously is suggesting repentance of skin color, just not a whitewashing of our history. It is not about disliking police but rather disliking the culture of thinking it is ok to kneel on someone's neck for ten minutes until you kill them. Do you think Jesus would be ok with that? It is not about disdain for America but rather a belief that we can do better. Shouldn't we want to? Silence is not support. The cause of the gospel take precedent over any pet political issues. Just look at the arrogance and misguidedness of the last line here. Shane makes no bones about the fact that this entire political discussion is pure carnality. He has chosen one side, the Republicans. Despite being assured by the bible that his side is just as evil, Shane confers a righteousness to them that they did not earn and do not deserve. The other side? They are just "woke." They hate cops and white people. They love perversion. Do you get that today? If you simply have the temerity to disagree with Shane Idleman and vote a different way than he does, then you are all of these things and far, far worse.

'Love of country shouldn't take precedence over love of people, but doesn't loving people also mean loving the country in which they live? What many are really saying is, "If you vote for a mean-tweeting president, care about God-given freedoms, and talk about hot-button issues, you don't love people." With all due respect, that simply is not true! Is it even possible for Christians to embrace a political party without hurting the feelings of the other party? No, it's not. This is the dilemma of Pastor Stanley and other leaders. Instead of asking, "How can we not offend others?" they should be asking, "Are we offending God?"' - Shane Idleman

No Shane, loving people does not mean you have to love the country they live in. Was that supposed to be a serious question? We love our brothers and sisters in Christ, struggling in the underground church in China but certainly do not love China. We love the same facing beheading in the Middle East but do not love those countries. But Shane, you can't be this dense. To try and minimize the thrice married, thrice unfaithful, grab them by the vagina president as simply having "mean tweets" is insulting to our collective intelligence. Once again however, look at the staggering arrogance of the position Idleman has staked out. This country sells you on the notion that there are two sides. One is right for everything and one is wrong, and you must choose. The church however is not in the business of choosing sinful sides and lesser evils. To Shane Idleman however you must choose a side and then examine if your choice has offended God. They both offend God! That is the point! When you alienate half the people based upon carnal politics, trust me, you are offending God!

"A.W. Tozer hit the nail on the head decades ago: "If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any now being used ... there must appear a new type of preacher."

Tozer continues, "The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting." He concludes, "Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath." God, give us more prophets and fewer puppets! Those who have been called to preach will confront compromise, condemn moral digression and powerfully denounce sin in the hope of reconciling man to God. The world despises them because they challenge the sin the world enjoys. Trying to please a Christ-rejecting world is an exercise in futility. Although ruffling feathers is not our goal, we will step on toes from time to time when we speak the truth. This can't always be avoided, nor should it be. Weak and woke won't turn America around, but neither will pride and arrogance. Speaking the heart of God flows from a reservoir of brokenness and time spent with Him. How are you doing in this area? Whether you're on the Right or the Left, you must be on the right side of God's Word. We need more men like the Old Testament prophet Micaiah, who said, "As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what the Lord tells me to say" (1 Kings 22:14, NLT)." - Shane Idleman

It is sadly ironic that Shane cannot see is own failings in the areas he claims so much revelation in. He is the one trying to please a Christ-rejecting world. At least he is trying to please half of it. It is equally sad that he chooses to invoke Micaiah, one of my favorite prophets from the Old Testament. Of course, the Lord did not tell Shane the nonsense contained in this article. The Lord does not want any to perish but all to come to salvation. His evangelism plan does not start by excluding half the people based upon their voting record nor does He automatically grant salvation to those who vote the other way. It just doesn't work like that. As for quotes, Idleman likes to quote different people such as Leonard Ravenhill. Maybe Idleman needs to not prooftext those he seeks to quote either. As Ravenhill was preparing to leave this earth, his biographer asked him if he had any regrets and his answer blows Shane Idleman's usage of Ravenhill quotes out of the proverbial water:

"If I had spent more time alone with God rather than preaching and planning how I was going to change the world, I would be a very different man." - Leonard Ravenhill

You get that Shane? The bible already tells us how to change the world and that is through the preaching of the gospel. Some will get saved and many will not. Either way it is better than trying to legislate your perceived morality, swear by evil people as good, and wantonly confront everyone who does not vote the way you think is best. That is not religion Shane, it is politics. I am going to close with a quote from AW Tozer, another man misrepresented here by Idleman. Perhaps if Shane had seen this quote he would have thought twice before lumping Tozer in with his carnal beliefs. This is about a good summary of politics and the Christian as I have seen. I pray it minsters to you as well.

"After more than forty years of experience, I am prepared to say that I have never heard or read anything of a political nature, by a preacher, that was any good. When a man of God speaks as a prophet, his message is freighted with wisdom and power. When he speaks for a party, God withdraws His power and lets His servant speak without wisdom. As a prophet, he may call to judgment kings and presidents. Let him obey God and stay by his commission, and he will be God's voice to all men and all parties. Let him seek to identify his prophetic office with politics, or place his power at the disposal of a party, and he violates his office and confuses his own face. Then he speaks as a discredited prophet, and not all his pretensions to omniscience can disguise the babel in his voice! Preachers have been known to go all-out for some newly-come politician because he spoke 'respectfully of God.' Later events made them wish they had ... allowed their man to prove his piety before they fastened themselves on his coattail. Christ is not a member of any political party. He stands outside of and above every party. His kingdom was not of this world." - AW Tozer

Reverend Anthony Wade - June 8, 2022

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.