Reviewing two short article from Charisma trying to prop up Houston and Young...

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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)

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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

Let me see if I have this straight. Charisma News does not consider the guy who led one of the largest worldwide ministries a celebrity pastor. The guy who wrote 16 books, including "You Need More Money"; was only focused on Jesus? The same guy who drove blackout drunk in the middle of his scandals for inappropriate contact with women, has a track record of approaching challenges as a leader? The guy who marketed Hillsong into an international brand that shames the most shameless hucksters is not into "brand building?" He does not seem to be building Hillsong 2.0? Based upon what? The first thing he did was beg for money so, spare me the prop-job on Houston. God is not doing a new thing through this disgraced charlatan. Instead of encouraging repentance in his personal life, Charisma is trying to get the money-maker back into the Charismaniacal, Purpose Driven Industrial Complex. Hopefully, people will not fall for the new scam. The second story linked above, deals with Pastor Ed Young.

'Texas-based Pastor Ed Young believes those who think megachurches are "just too big" are hypocrites. The founder and senior pastor of the multi-site Fellowship Church in Grapevine issued the bold statement in a video shared to his Facebook page. Young's church, for context, reported a weekly attendance of 24,000 in 2020. The preacher noted in his video many have told him his congregation "is just too big," but asserted it's unfair to criticize the sizes of churches in places with large populations. "'Your church is just too big,'" Young said, quoting what he's heard from critics of Fellowship Church. "I've heard people tell me that a lot: 'It's too big. It's a megachurch.' Well, that's got to be one of the most hypocritical statements someone can make, because the person making the statement goes to massive concerts. They would go to a game " a football game. They would go to a massive mall, and they never really say that about those entities."' - Charisma News

Do I really have to point out the lunacy of this comparison? Why in the world would an alleged pastor compare the church to carnal concerts or sporting events? They should be completely incompatible. The real criticism of a church with 24,000 people is that every single mega church ends up compromising the gospel in order to keep that many people. The bible says that narrow is the way and few are those who find it. There is a reason why 24,000 people show up to hear Ed Young and it is NOT because he preaches the gospel. Ed Young has abused people by ordering them to not come back to his church unless they tithe. He has berated believers who just want good theological teaching from their church. Understand however, that the issue is not the size of the mega church but what you have to do in order to get to those levels. Concerts and football games are not pretending to follow the bible. It is an interesting insight into how Ed Young views church however. Just another large business with a lot of clients.

"According to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, a megachurch is a church averaging 2,000 or more weekly attenders. There were roughly 1,170 megachurches in the U.S. in 2023, a decrease from the 1,750 megachurches reported by the Hartford Institute in 2020. Young went on to boldly assert, "Hey, if you think the church is too big, then you're not going to like Heaven, because Heaven is going to be a big place. If a church is around a lot of people, it should be big in the context of being big." In 2020, a Lifeway Research study found the average church in the U.S. seats roughly 200 people, but the median weekly attendance is 65 worshipers. Megachurches, it should be noted, only make up about 0.5% of churches across the country, serving about 4 million weekly congregants." - Charisma News

It is not bold to declare things about heaven you do not know or understand. Also, how unseemly is it to compare the church you run, to heaven, which God runs? Beloved, I think we miss the mark when we focus on the size of the church. The issue is the heresies offered at that church that draw so many people. It is very difficult at best to preach the whole gospel and keep 24,000 people attending. This is the end result of the purpose driven church model. These cult of personality pastors have compromised so much over the years to draw the crowds they get. This story and the previous one about Brian Houston brilliantly display the real ulterior motives of Charisma News, which is always interested in protecting the brand at all costs. Ed Young and Brian Houston should be low hanging fruit to discern. As I have said, mark and avoid Charisma News beloved.

Reverend Anthony Wade - September 7, 2024

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.