Well, I just finished reading an article on Christianity Today’s website. It can be found here. It is long but well worth the read.

This was just a heart-breaking article to read. It is basically about “pastors” who have taken Pentecostalism to the extreme and are taking advantage of the poor and hopeless in Africa. The article really made me sick to my stomach.

It is not surprising that we have arrived at this point. Ever since the Second Great Awakening, America has been embracing a more and more man-centered theology. The American church put God’s sovereignty on the shelf during this time, and man has continually taken a more center seat in determining his destiny. As man became the sole determining factor in his salvation, the next logical step was that he could determine his circumstances as well.

Couple this with a misinterpretation of Scripture that applies the material promises and blessings to the nation Israel to the present church, and you have yourself a terrible monster on your hands. The rise of man-centered theology went in like a bullet with a small hole and has exploded out the other side with horrific consequences.

The rise and spread of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement were a direct result of these 2 errors. The Church will be suffering the consequences of these movements for decades to come.

It is so sad to read that the Africans view America as the center of Christianity so they buy into anything we feed them. Furthermore, they equate the American lifestyle with Christian faith. As the article states TBN is widely available in Africa, so this is where the people are learning their theology. They are flocking to Pentecostal pastors who promise them material wealth and salvation from their circumstances instead of spiritual wealth and salvation from their sins. These people are turning the little money they have over to these churches as “seed” money.

Many, many people are hurt by this wrong theology. What happens when God does not heal? What happens when your loved one is martyred for their faith? What happens when you don’t become wealthy? What does this do to someone’s faith and trust in God? Please, show me 1 verse said by Jesus or 1 verse penned by Paul that supports this theology.

We may read the article in Christianity Today and scoff at it. We may say that those people should know better. Are we really any better? Didn’t they learn it from us?

A national Christian bookstore in my city recently moved to a new location. I was excited to check this out and see their bigger store. I was appalled at what I found. I told my wife that the only reason they moved was so they had an excuse to get rid of any book with substance.

In the new store, I found the Bibles conveniently moved to the back corner of the store. The theology section was virtually non-existent. It mainly consisted of some shallow commentaries and Bible studies. The front of the store contained the Christian Living section, Christian Fiction, and Charismatic Interest books. There were too many T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer, and Joel Osteen books to count. I only found 2 Chuck Swindoll books, 1 or 2 John Piper books (and these certainly were not prominently displayed).

What a sad, sad commentary on the present American church. This same bookstore named Joel Osteen’s book Your Best Life Now their book of the year a couple of years ago. This is a book written by a pastor who has no formal education and can not clearly state what he believes. The book is shallow longings for good parking spots, happiness, and the easy life.

You really have to wonder how things might be different today if we still had church councils that met and condemned wrong ideas as heresy and squashed movements. What if the weight of the Church would have come to bear of the initial proponents of man-centered theology and Pentecostalism? Instead, they are left to spread like a wildfire engulfing everything in its path.

I can do no better than to quote the Apostle Paul.

• Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. (Philippians 3:19, NIV)
• For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3, NIV)