With more than 50 years of faithful preaching of the Scriptures and zero public scandals, Pastor Begg had certainly earned my unofficial designation as a “solid” celebrity pastor. However, his recent handling of a cultural matter countered a Biblical worldview, and this was not at all consistent with the reputation that has long preceded him.
Which begs the question that many have raised in recent weeks: What are we, as Believers, now to do with Alistair Begg?
Since publishing the original SITMAC series in 2018, I’ve received several requests to write another installment. Admittedly, I didn’t believe one would be necessary because, as my logic went, by exposing the up and coming protégés of the old guard (see Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, Kenneth Copeland, etc), it should be easy to sniff out other false and extremely problematic preachers and pastors by association. Those birds all seemed to flock together, so writing about yet another member of their coop felt redundant.
What I didn’t consider at the time, however, was the role social media was beginning to play in platforming charlatans who don’t necessarily have ties to the old guard. I also didn’t consider how, thanks to social media, false teachers and problematic brothers (and sisters) no longer need a pulpit or a local church to sow error and confusion before a mass of God’s people.
Prior to episode 902 of the Relatable Podcast with Allie Beth Stuckey, I had extremely little knowledge of Kat Von D.
I’ve certainly heard her name in passing as I’ve consumed pop culture news over the years. In recent weeks, for example, I’d seen various headlines reporting on her recent baptism into Christianity. So, indeed, I’ve definitely heard of her.
Yet, I’m embarrassed to admit that I was so unfamiliar with her claims to fame and professional résumé that I initially confused her with the burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese. In my defense, both women do have “Von” in their names; they’re both undeniably gorgeous, fair-skinned brunettes who often rock a bold, red lip; and they are both closely associated with Marilyn Manson.
In the premiere episode of Season 4 of Truth + Fire: The Podcast, host Veritéetfeu tackles "married single motherhood", a parenting phenomenon where married mothers take on the sole responsibility to care for their children. But is this practically beneficial for the mother, the father or their children? More importantly, is it Biblical?
While browsing through Twitter the other day, I happened upon an interesting post from one of my favorite Christian writers, Samuel Sey.
In it, he declared:
“If a woman doesn’t want to be a mother, she shouldn’t be a wife. My dude, stay away from her.”
Founder and blogger at slowtowrite.com and contributing writer for various other outlets, Sam has done well to pen prolific thought pieces on the state of our culture, and he always endeavors to do so through a Biblical worldview. We also share a platform at Pyrolithos Foundation, where we each publish articles that address cultural issues from a Biblically-conservative perspective. In other words, Sam and I are on the same team; he is indeed my brother in the Lord; and, in most instances, I agree with his commentary.
Yet, admittedly, I found his tweet to be a bit provocative and potentially discouraging.
In her piece, “How to Be a Safe Space for the Same-Sex Attracted,” writer Rachel Gilson issues a guidance to Christians to help us respond to church members who disclose they are same-sex attracted. Gilson presents this matter as a high priority issue because she believes the same-sex attracted are actually more prevalent in the church than we know. Yet, for fear of “ugly assumptions...misunderstanding….and suspicion,” she says these individuals are often forced to remain in the shadows.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing about T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, and a host of other false teachers in their generation, is they’ve been scheming Believers and blaspheming the truth of God for 20+ years - and they show no signs of repenting. They don’t flinch or stutter when they preach lies, heresy and the doctrines of demons. Indeed, they are false teachers through and through. The preponderance of the evidence is stacked so highly against them that this fact isn’t even debatable!
But there is a new generation of false teachers following in their footsteps, some of whom they’ve influenced, mentored and even raised from birth. But if it is possible, I pray this new generation will see their error and repent as soon as possible. Like their elders, this rising class of the uncalled are capturing the hearts of professed Believers the world over, especially among millennials, and they’re leading countless souls astray. These preachers are young, funny, charming, wise (according to men), well-dressed, successful, physically attractive - and wholly unqualified to teach the people of God. Their doctrines are dangerous, their speech is destructive, and their errors are damnable. They withhold the Gospel, fail to teach the full counsel of God, and they readily compromise the truth.
Roberts launched One Church of LA in 2002, but he recently joined it to The Potter’s House brand in August 2017. Now officially linked to T.D. Jakes’ business and theological influence, Roberts is contractually obligated to preach false doctrine for as long as he pastors his church. This isn’t to say Roberts wasn’t already a purveyor of compromise and Biblical error in his own right, of course. In fact, Roberts made headlines - secular and faith-based - in 2013 when he called Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland to the pulpit and repented to Destiny’s Child on behalf of Body of Christ!
Jakes-Roberts co-pastors One Church LA, one of the fastest growing churches in Los Angeles, alongside her husband, Touré Roberts. Much like her father, T.D. Jakes, Jakes-Roberts is a poised, articulate speaker who seems to possess a wealth of life wisdom. She appears pensive, and she speaks in paced patterns that suggest she is sincerely delving into the Word of God with great care and divine guidance. Yet, also like her father, she merely employs oratory techniques and leans a lot to her own understanding.
Cobbs-Leonard is not only a Grammy award-winning Gospel artist, she’s also a pastor and a prophet! As a Gospel artist, Cobbs-Leonard is a consistent talent with wonderfully powerful vocals. The messages in her songs can be hit or miss, however. For example, Break Every Chain is a beautiful worship song. It’s not lyrically or theologically dense, but it says enough to remind those who know better that Jesus Christ came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18)! Meanwhile, I’m Getting Ready, featuring Nicki Minaj, takes the focus off Christ and offers up more of a prosperity-focused message. I’ve previously discussed the doctrinal problems with this song as well as the issue with the collaboration.
I was first introduced to Jones-Pothier through Preachers of Atlanta, an Oxygen network reality show chronicling the lives and ministries of select Atlanta-based pastors. Around the time I watched the show I didn’t necessarily see much wrong with it outside of Leandria Johnson’s storyline and ministry and a lot of the things that Judah guy had to say. But by God’s grace, as I’ve grown in Christ since then, I can see how the show as a whole was problematic. And though I once loved me some “Real Talk Kim”, I also now see that her ministry is out of order and her teaching is riddled with error.
Franklin, famously wed to actress Meagan Good, is a Hollywood executive, author, and ordained minister. Getting his start in entertainment as an unpaid intern for Will Smith, Franklin has since climbed the ranks, building an extensive filmography along the way. His works include, but are not limited to, faith-based films such as Heaven is For Real, Not Easily Broken, Miracles from Heaven and, most recently, The Star Movie. In his latest book, The Hollywood Commandments: Spiritual Guide to Secular Success Franklin attributes his Hollywood success to his ability to find a happy middle ground between living by secular and spiritual principles. “Too often, some people are too spiritual and they don’t recognize the value of the secular, and some people are secular and don’t recognize the value of the spiritual. And what I realize is I believe success is a combination of both,” Franklin said in a recent interview with the Breakfast Club. Franklin also argues it is possible to be wildly successful in the secular world without losing one’s faith. In fact, he says God told him to write The Hollywood Commandments to teach the Body of Christ how to be successful. Telling a crowd during one of his preaching engagements, “After 20 years of tremendous favor, God said, ‘DeVon. I want you to teach what you’ve learned in Hollywood to My people.’”
An associate pastor at Lakewood Church, Gray has served under Joel Osteen's leadership for more than five years. However, it was recently announced that Gray will be relocating this year to begin his new role as senior pastor of Redemption Church in Greenville, South Carolina.
Gray’s personality is charming and unassuming. His preaching style is lively, often incorporating comedy, singing, dancing, and random references to popular secular music. He's so relevant and entertaining that, if you're not careful, you won't even notice he's uttering all manner of doctrinal errors and theological confusion. Gray, who tends to preach around the truth, will make mention of Jesus by name, and he may even speak of our need for the Gospel, but he never quite gets around to actually teaching it. He also offers up a wealth of spiritual platitudes and often inserts misapplied scriptures that his teaching actually sounds meaty to the undiscerning. But, ultimately, his speech is filled with empty words and his disturbingly odd (if not outright demonic) take on God's word.
Lentz is not your papa’s preacher. He's not a preacher of God's Word, either. Lentz repeatedly compromises for the culture, often shrouding the truth in confusion and ambiguity to placate (lukewarm) Believers and non-believers alike. To avoid stepping on toes with the truth, Lentz simply opts to tiptoe around it to remain in good graces with the cool kids. He is the “spiritual guide” to celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and more. His approach to pastoring isn’t to shepherd his flock per the requirements of 1 Timothy 3 or Titus 1 (especially Titus 1:9). Instead, Lentz is more of a well-groomed bro who will pray and take shots with you. Whenever asked his views on sin, Lentz is known to give a lukewarm response, failing to answer the question head on and claiming that it isn’t his job to call sin for what it is. Rather, he says, his focus is more on getting to know people personally that he might deal with those matters on a case-by-case basis, behind closed doors.
Furtick is charismatic in the pulpit, and he is eager to share his desire to reach the lost. But he seems to believe that once the lost are “found” his work is done. “If you know Jesus Christ, I’m sorry to break it to you, this church is not for you,” Furtick says. This applies even if you’ve only known Christ for as little as a week. “Last week was the last week that Elevation Church existed for you,” Furtick declares.
