Before he died in 2003, the revered father of the Word-Faith
movement corrected his spiritual sons for going to extremes with
their message of prosperity.
Charismatic Bible teacher Kenneth Hagin Sr. is considered the
father of the so-called prosperity gospel. The folksy, self-trained
“Dad Hagin” started a grass-roots movement in Oklahoma that
produced a Bible college and a crop of famous preachers
including Kenneth Copeland, Jerry Savelle, Charles Capps, Jesse
DuPlantis, Creflo Dollar and dozens of others-all of whom teach
that Christians who give generously should expect financial
rewards on this side of heaven.
Hagin taught that God was not glorified by poverty and that
preachers do not have to be poor. But before he died in 2003 and
left his Rhema Bible Training Center in the hands of his son,
Kenneth Hagin Jr., he summoned many of his colleagues to Tulsa
to rebuke them for distorting his message. He was not happy that
some of his followers were manipulating the Bible to support what
he viewed as greed and selfish indulgence. Those who were close
to Hagin Sr. say he was passionate about correcting these abuses
before he died. In fact, he wrote a brutally honest book to address
his concerns. The Midas Touch was published in 2000, a year
after the infamous Tulsa meeting.
Many Word-Faith ministers ignored the book. But in light of the
recent controversy over prosperity doctrines, it might be a good
idea to dust it off and read it again.
Here are a few of the points Hagin made in The Midas Touch:
1. Financial prosperity is not a sign of God’s blessing. Hagin wrote:
“If wealth alone were a sign of spirituality, then drug traffickers and
crime bosses would be spiritual giants. Material wealth can be
connected to the blessings of God or it can be totally disconnected
from the blessings of God.”
2. People should never give in order to get. Hagin was critical of
those who “try to make the offering plate some kind of heavenly
vending machine.” He denounced those who link giving to getting,
especially those who give cars to get new cars or who give suits
to get new suits. He wrote: “There is no spiritual formula to sow a
Ford and reap a Mercedes.”
3. It is not biblical to “name your seed” in an offering. Hagin was
horrified by this practice, which was popularized in faith
conferences during the 1980s. Faith preachers sometimes tell
donors that when they give in an offering they should claim a
specific benefit to get a blessing in return. Hagin rejected this idea
and said that focusing on what you are going to receive “corrupts
the very attitude of our giving nature.”
4. The “hundredfold return” is not a biblical concept. Hagin did the
math and figured out that if this bizarre notion were true, “we would
have Christians walking around with not billions or trillions of
dollars, but quadrillions of dollars!” He rejected the popular teaching
that a believer should claim a specific monetary payback rate.
5. Preachers who claim to have a “debt-breaking” anointing should
not be trusted. Hagin was perplexed by ministers who promise
“supernatural debt cancellation” to those who give in certain
offerings. He wrote in The Midas Touch: “There is not one bit of
Scripture I know about that validates such a practice. I’m afraid it
is simply a scheme to raise money for the preacher, and
ultimately it can turn out to be dangerous and destructive for all
involved.”
(Many evangelists who appear on Christian television today use
this bogus claim. Usually they insist that the miraculous debt
cancellation will occur only if a person “gives right now,” as if the
anointing for this miracle suddenly evaporates after the prime time
viewing hour. This manipulative claim is more akin to witchcraft
than Christian belief.)
Hagin condemned other hairbrained gimmicks designed to trick
audiences into emptying their wallets. He was especially incensed
when a preacher told his radio listeners that he would take their
prayer requests to Jesus’ empty tomb in Jerusalem and pray over
them there-if donors included a special love gift. “What that radio
preacher really wanted was more people to send in offerings,”
Hagin wrote.
Thanks to the recent resurgence in bizarre donation schemes
promoted by American charismatics, the prosperity gospel is back
under the nation’s microscope. It’s time to revisit Hagin’s concerns
and find a biblical balance.
Hagin told his followers: “Overemphasizing or adding to what the
Bible actually teaches invariably does more harm than good.” If the
man who pioneered the modern concept of biblical prosperity blew
the whistle on his own movement, wouldn’t it make sense for us to
listen to his admonition?
By J. Lee Grady
Friday, September 3, 2010
The Malachi Mandate: A Need for Spiritual Fathers and Mentors
By Jennifer LeClaire
There’s plenty of reflection among Christians about the spirit of Elijah. Doubtless, this Old Testament mouthpiece offers copious character traits that his New Testament counterparts would do well to model. However, for all the accurate prophetic decrees and miraculous moments that characterized Elijah’s ministry, it is his spiritual fatherhood that is perhaps most needed in the Body of Christ.
With companies of young prophets rising up and armies of prophetic believers awakening to the order to establish the Kingdom of God throughout all the earth, spiritual guidance is vital to a stable Church that the world will look to for answers.
Governments and other secular leaders won’t bow their ears to the utterances of super spiritual fruits, emotional flakes and hypocritical nuts. The governing church demands unwavering voices that refuse to compromise in the face of opposition, yet with a wisdom and grace that persuades even the hardest heart’s that God’s will is the only way.
The manifestation of the sons of God depends on spiritual fathers who will invest time and energy into their spiritual children. So as we consider Elijah and his miraculous ministry let us also consider this powerful prophet’s role in shaping the life and ministry of young Elisha, who went on to do far greater things than his spiritual mentor.
You don’t have to be an apostle to be a spiritual father or mother, but the apostolic reformation is surely ushering in a renewed focus on this relational dynamic that will prepare the Church for its Bridegroom. We are seeing the manifestation of the Malachi mandate that proclaims: “He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers...” (Malachi 4:6)
“There’s a revelation that’s beginning to come to the earth that’s obviously a part of the apostolic movement,” says Bishop Tony Miller, founder of Destiny World Outreach in Greenville, S.C. “In fact, this revelation of spiritual fathers is one of the major aspects of the Apostolic Movement – and it’s oftentimes overlooked. It’s the Malachi 4 model where God is restoring the hearts of the fathers back to their children and their children back to their fathers. It’s a two-way avenue.”
The Emerging Fathers
Many church leaders mourn the dearth of spiritual fathers in the Body of Christ today. Some, like Apostle John Eckhardt, founder of Crusader Ministries in Chicago, believes this parental drought is hindering the purposes of God in the apostolic revolution.
“I believe there are thousands of emerging apostles that have gifts within them and they are not being released because we don’t have fathers that understand the apostolic calling and the [need to] release them like we should,” Eckhardt argues. “I believe we do have many young ministers with apostolic callings who struggle to develop on their own because there is no one in their region that they are connected to that has a heart to train and disciple them into their gifting.”
One reason for the scarcity of spiritual fathers is the lack of a widespread fathering model in former generations. Many of today’s local church leaders were not fathered themselves, and subsequently do not know how to father others. The apostolic revolution is helping to break this vicious cycle with spiritual fathers and mothers and spiritual sons and daughters who are willing to learn and grow into their respective roles together for the sake of future generations.
Doug Stringer, founder and president of Turning Point Ministries International in Houston, Texas, is writing a book on the topic of spiritual fathers. His passion is to reach what he deems as a fatherless generation emer-ging as a prophetic generation in pursuit of spiritual fathers. In his travels, he frequently encounters young men and women with a deep craving for spiritual fathers.
“My generation was fatherless,” says Stringer, 50, author of the upcoming book Who’s Your Daddy Now? “We don’t know how to be fathers ourselves, but the emerging generation tells me they don’t expect us to know how to be fathers. They just want us to be willing to try, and to identify with them and offer a sense of connectedness.”
Anatomy of a Spiritual Father
Of course, the concept of spiritual fatherhood is not new to the apostolic. Long before the apostles were fully restored to the Church, Dr. Lester Sumrall raised up three strong spiritual sons. Sumrall passed away in 1996, but his ministry lives on, in part, through what he imparted to Rod Parsley, Ulf Ekman and Billy Joe Daugherty. Sumrall was known as a “pastor of pastors.” Sumrall, himself, was tutored by British evangelist Howard Carter and blessed by Smith Wigglesworth.
Parsley views his relationship with Sumrall as akin to the dynamics between Elijah and Elisha. In 1992, Sumrall passed his “sword of anointing” to Parsley, conferring on him the spiritual mantle of his ministry. “Dr. Lester Sumrall was not only my spiritual mentor and my pastor, but also he was, above all, my best friend. For more than 15 years he protected me, guided me, instructed me, corrected me and exhorted me. He encouraged and inspired me to a closer walk with God, and he increased my understanding of the spirit realm as no other human ever has,” Parsley wrote in his book Rod Parsley Presents Adventuring With Christ by Lester Sumrall.
Parsley described many of the characteristics of a spiritual father: protection, guidance, instruction, correction, exhortation, encouragement and inspiration. Miller agrees that these are some of the chief earmarks of a true spiritual father. A spiritual father, he says, is always willing to give his life for his sons. A spiritual father, he adds, will always anchor his sons to his character and purpose. A spiritual father, he continues, will always see gifts in his son that other people don’t see – and inspire him to put the gifts to work.
“In this apostolic move we’re moving into a season where I believe the emphasis of the Kingdom is not in doing but in being. That’s why fathers are arising on the scene,” Miller explains. Miller’s spiritual father is Tom Peters, pastor of Trinity Church International in Lake Worth, Fla. Miller describes him as man of godly character, yet not overly charismatic, who has made a tremendous impact on his life.
“My spiritual father recently said to me, ‘You don’t even need me anymore. You do far bigger things than I do’,” Miller shares. “I told him I would always need him. I need him because he was there when I had nothing. He understood the assignment on my life and he helped God forge character in my life. Then he told me that if I stay true to the character of God and walk humbly before the Lord, God will keep promoting me. It’s more important to him that I stay in a right relationship with God and posture myself according to character and the purpose of god than it is that I keep expanding my borders. I believe that that’s the heart of the true father.”
Breaking Down Resistance
For all the talk about spiritual fathers, we must not forget that without willing spiritual sons there cannot be the two-way avenue that Miller described. Spiritual sons should respect and honor their spiritual fathers, according to Peter Sumrall. That means serving the father’s vision and taking his advice concerning your own.
“My dad used to laugh because some guys would say ‘You are my spiritual father,’ but they were too busy to pick him up at the airport,” Sumrall recalls. “They didn’t understand the meaning of serving, or of receiving the spiritual insight and authority a father has to offer.”
It seems not much has changed today. An independent spirit often causes would-be sons to resist sonship, most notably the correction that come with the relationship. However, fathers who refuse to correct their sons will lose their sons as Eli lost his (1 Samuel 2:34; 4:11). And the Bible clearly states that those who will not receive correction will become bastards (Hebrews 12:8).
Miller puts it this way: Sonship is not visible by how someone receives encouragement; it’s visible by how they receive correction. A true son doesn’t make his father adjust the way he leads; a true son adjusts the way he follows. While ultimate accountability is surely before the Lord, spiritual sonship goes beyond accountability to a willingness to submit yourself to a father who can speak to the blind spots in your life so you can grow.
“I think many guys resist spiritual fathers because they don’t want to have to get permission from anybody to do what they want to do. It’s not about permission-giving. It’s about maturity. It’s about wisdom. You can enforce compliance, but submission can never be forced,” Miller explains. “Submission is an attitude of the heart. There are a lot of people out there who are keeping the rules but who are not submitting. They call you father until there is something they don’t agree with.”
Another reason some resist the father movement because they have seen what Miller calls rent-a-father, an abominable act where leaders attempt to merchandise believers. It sounds something like this, “Send me your tithes and I will be your father.” That tactic is not relational and does not fit God’s pattern for fathers – spiritual or natural. When a child is born, the father doesn’t tell him, “pay me and I’ll take care of you.” There is nothing wrong with honoring spiritual fathers with gifts, Miller asserts, but honor is far more than sending a check.
“A true father will cut away the flesh – that’s what circumcision is – that would impede the flow of life,” Miller says. “When a father takes his knife to shape the character of a son, it’s not to harm him. It’s to release a greater flow of life. That’s the reason I tell young men, ‘If your spiritual father doesn’t have a knife, go and buy him one.’ I don’t want my father not to carry a knife because I want him to deal with the areas of my life that cut off my productivity.”
The Qualities of Sonship
Beyond submitting to the counsel and correction – and receiving the encouragement and strength – from a spiritual father, true sons honor their father. But honor goes beyond gifts or even submission to include a measure of dependence. Young warriors are built for exploits, but older men who become spiritual fathers have a burden to impart before they depart. Fathers have an urgency to make a deposit in their sons’ lives so they win the battle.
just as we honor God by asking him to help us with our challenges, spiritual sons honor their spiritual fathers by asking them for insight. This concept is illustrated in 2 Kings 6 when the sons of the prophets came to Elisha looking for his blessing to go build a bigger dwelling by the river. The sons of the prophets, Stringer explains, wanted to build their own place, but they wanted their spiritual father to go with them in case they needed him. Indeed, when the young prophets lost their axe head in the river they turned to Elisha for some insight. Stringer sees that axe head as a symbol of strength, passion and the first love. Elisha was able to help the young prophets retrieve what was lost.
“Sometimes we need to be available to the emerging generation as apostolic fathers and help them find their passion, their creativity, their sense of destiny and purpose that God gave them,” Stringer says. “We need to give them wisdom, another shot in the arm so to speak, to keep them moving forward because they are full of vision and anointing. We just have to give them a compass.”
Apostolic fathers lay foundations. Rather than lording a title or office over a spiritual son, they get under them to push them to a higher dimension. Miller still remembers a recent trip to South Africa. A man there made a statement that still pierces his heart and reminds him of the mandate on his life. The man said, “Your success is my honor.” Miller tells his spiritual sons that the greatest thing they could do for him is to take what he’s imparted to them and use it to expand the Kingdom.
The apostolic is a multi-generational movement. The establishment of the Kingdom demands spiritual fathers who are willing to propel their spiritual sons to greater heights. Stringer puts it this way: “We will either be like Elizabeth rejoicing over the birthing of a forerunner generation or we will be like Rachael weeping over the loss of a whole generation. “It is up to us as the Church to carry the expression of Christ and to really represent the Father to a generation that has been deemed fatherless.”
There’s plenty of reflection among Christians about the spirit of Elijah. Doubtless, this Old Testament mouthpiece offers copious character traits that his New Testament counterparts would do well to model. However, for all the accurate prophetic decrees and miraculous moments that characterized Elijah’s ministry, it is his spiritual fatherhood that is perhaps most needed in the Body of Christ.
With companies of young prophets rising up and armies of prophetic believers awakening to the order to establish the Kingdom of God throughout all the earth, spiritual guidance is vital to a stable Church that the world will look to for answers.
Governments and other secular leaders won’t bow their ears to the utterances of super spiritual fruits, emotional flakes and hypocritical nuts. The governing church demands unwavering voices that refuse to compromise in the face of opposition, yet with a wisdom and grace that persuades even the hardest heart’s that God’s will is the only way.
The manifestation of the sons of God depends on spiritual fathers who will invest time and energy into their spiritual children. So as we consider Elijah and his miraculous ministry let us also consider this powerful prophet’s role in shaping the life and ministry of young Elisha, who went on to do far greater things than his spiritual mentor.
You don’t have to be an apostle to be a spiritual father or mother, but the apostolic reformation is surely ushering in a renewed focus on this relational dynamic that will prepare the Church for its Bridegroom. We are seeing the manifestation of the Malachi mandate that proclaims: “He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers...” (Malachi 4:6)
“There’s a revelation that’s beginning to come to the earth that’s obviously a part of the apostolic movement,” says Bishop Tony Miller, founder of Destiny World Outreach in Greenville, S.C. “In fact, this revelation of spiritual fathers is one of the major aspects of the Apostolic Movement – and it’s oftentimes overlooked. It’s the Malachi 4 model where God is restoring the hearts of the fathers back to their children and their children back to their fathers. It’s a two-way avenue.”
The Emerging Fathers
Many church leaders mourn the dearth of spiritual fathers in the Body of Christ today. Some, like Apostle John Eckhardt, founder of Crusader Ministries in Chicago, believes this parental drought is hindering the purposes of God in the apostolic revolution.
“I believe there are thousands of emerging apostles that have gifts within them and they are not being released because we don’t have fathers that understand the apostolic calling and the [need to] release them like we should,” Eckhardt argues. “I believe we do have many young ministers with apostolic callings who struggle to develop on their own because there is no one in their region that they are connected to that has a heart to train and disciple them into their gifting.”
One reason for the scarcity of spiritual fathers is the lack of a widespread fathering model in former generations. Many of today’s local church leaders were not fathered themselves, and subsequently do not know how to father others. The apostolic revolution is helping to break this vicious cycle with spiritual fathers and mothers and spiritual sons and daughters who are willing to learn and grow into their respective roles together for the sake of future generations.
Doug Stringer, founder and president of Turning Point Ministries International in Houston, Texas, is writing a book on the topic of spiritual fathers. His passion is to reach what he deems as a fatherless generation emer-ging as a prophetic generation in pursuit of spiritual fathers. In his travels, he frequently encounters young men and women with a deep craving for spiritual fathers.
“My generation was fatherless,” says Stringer, 50, author of the upcoming book Who’s Your Daddy Now? “We don’t know how to be fathers ourselves, but the emerging generation tells me they don’t expect us to know how to be fathers. They just want us to be willing to try, and to identify with them and offer a sense of connectedness.”
Anatomy of a Spiritual Father
Of course, the concept of spiritual fatherhood is not new to the apostolic. Long before the apostles were fully restored to the Church, Dr. Lester Sumrall raised up three strong spiritual sons. Sumrall passed away in 1996, but his ministry lives on, in part, through what he imparted to Rod Parsley, Ulf Ekman and Billy Joe Daugherty. Sumrall was known as a “pastor of pastors.” Sumrall, himself, was tutored by British evangelist Howard Carter and blessed by Smith Wigglesworth.
Parsley views his relationship with Sumrall as akin to the dynamics between Elijah and Elisha. In 1992, Sumrall passed his “sword of anointing” to Parsley, conferring on him the spiritual mantle of his ministry. “Dr. Lester Sumrall was not only my spiritual mentor and my pastor, but also he was, above all, my best friend. For more than 15 years he protected me, guided me, instructed me, corrected me and exhorted me. He encouraged and inspired me to a closer walk with God, and he increased my understanding of the spirit realm as no other human ever has,” Parsley wrote in his book Rod Parsley Presents Adventuring With Christ by Lester Sumrall.
Parsley described many of the characteristics of a spiritual father: protection, guidance, instruction, correction, exhortation, encouragement and inspiration. Miller agrees that these are some of the chief earmarks of a true spiritual father. A spiritual father, he says, is always willing to give his life for his sons. A spiritual father, he adds, will always anchor his sons to his character and purpose. A spiritual father, he continues, will always see gifts in his son that other people don’t see – and inspire him to put the gifts to work.
“In this apostolic move we’re moving into a season where I believe the emphasis of the Kingdom is not in doing but in being. That’s why fathers are arising on the scene,” Miller explains. Miller’s spiritual father is Tom Peters, pastor of Trinity Church International in Lake Worth, Fla. Miller describes him as man of godly character, yet not overly charismatic, who has made a tremendous impact on his life.
“My spiritual father recently said to me, ‘You don’t even need me anymore. You do far bigger things than I do’,” Miller shares. “I told him I would always need him. I need him because he was there when I had nothing. He understood the assignment on my life and he helped God forge character in my life. Then he told me that if I stay true to the character of God and walk humbly before the Lord, God will keep promoting me. It’s more important to him that I stay in a right relationship with God and posture myself according to character and the purpose of god than it is that I keep expanding my borders. I believe that that’s the heart of the true father.”
Breaking Down Resistance
For all the talk about spiritual fathers, we must not forget that without willing spiritual sons there cannot be the two-way avenue that Miller described. Spiritual sons should respect and honor their spiritual fathers, according to Peter Sumrall. That means serving the father’s vision and taking his advice concerning your own.
“My dad used to laugh because some guys would say ‘You are my spiritual father,’ but they were too busy to pick him up at the airport,” Sumrall recalls. “They didn’t understand the meaning of serving, or of receiving the spiritual insight and authority a father has to offer.”
It seems not much has changed today. An independent spirit often causes would-be sons to resist sonship, most notably the correction that come with the relationship. However, fathers who refuse to correct their sons will lose their sons as Eli lost his (1 Samuel 2:34; 4:11). And the Bible clearly states that those who will not receive correction will become bastards (Hebrews 12:8).
Miller puts it this way: Sonship is not visible by how someone receives encouragement; it’s visible by how they receive correction. A true son doesn’t make his father adjust the way he leads; a true son adjusts the way he follows. While ultimate accountability is surely before the Lord, spiritual sonship goes beyond accountability to a willingness to submit yourself to a father who can speak to the blind spots in your life so you can grow.
“I think many guys resist spiritual fathers because they don’t want to have to get permission from anybody to do what they want to do. It’s not about permission-giving. It’s about maturity. It’s about wisdom. You can enforce compliance, but submission can never be forced,” Miller explains. “Submission is an attitude of the heart. There are a lot of people out there who are keeping the rules but who are not submitting. They call you father until there is something they don’t agree with.”
Another reason some resist the father movement because they have seen what Miller calls rent-a-father, an abominable act where leaders attempt to merchandise believers. It sounds something like this, “Send me your tithes and I will be your father.” That tactic is not relational and does not fit God’s pattern for fathers – spiritual or natural. When a child is born, the father doesn’t tell him, “pay me and I’ll take care of you.” There is nothing wrong with honoring spiritual fathers with gifts, Miller asserts, but honor is far more than sending a check.
“A true father will cut away the flesh – that’s what circumcision is – that would impede the flow of life,” Miller says. “When a father takes his knife to shape the character of a son, it’s not to harm him. It’s to release a greater flow of life. That’s the reason I tell young men, ‘If your spiritual father doesn’t have a knife, go and buy him one.’ I don’t want my father not to carry a knife because I want him to deal with the areas of my life that cut off my productivity.”
The Qualities of Sonship
Beyond submitting to the counsel and correction – and receiving the encouragement and strength – from a spiritual father, true sons honor their father. But honor goes beyond gifts or even submission to include a measure of dependence. Young warriors are built for exploits, but older men who become spiritual fathers have a burden to impart before they depart. Fathers have an urgency to make a deposit in their sons’ lives so they win the battle.
just as we honor God by asking him to help us with our challenges, spiritual sons honor their spiritual fathers by asking them for insight. This concept is illustrated in 2 Kings 6 when the sons of the prophets came to Elisha looking for his blessing to go build a bigger dwelling by the river. The sons of the prophets, Stringer explains, wanted to build their own place, but they wanted their spiritual father to go with them in case they needed him. Indeed, when the young prophets lost their axe head in the river they turned to Elisha for some insight. Stringer sees that axe head as a symbol of strength, passion and the first love. Elisha was able to help the young prophets retrieve what was lost.
“Sometimes we need to be available to the emerging generation as apostolic fathers and help them find their passion, their creativity, their sense of destiny and purpose that God gave them,” Stringer says. “We need to give them wisdom, another shot in the arm so to speak, to keep them moving forward because they are full of vision and anointing. We just have to give them a compass.”
Apostolic fathers lay foundations. Rather than lording a title or office over a spiritual son, they get under them to push them to a higher dimension. Miller still remembers a recent trip to South Africa. A man there made a statement that still pierces his heart and reminds him of the mandate on his life. The man said, “Your success is my honor.” Miller tells his spiritual sons that the greatest thing they could do for him is to take what he’s imparted to them and use it to expand the Kingdom.
The apostolic is a multi-generational movement. The establishment of the Kingdom demands spiritual fathers who are willing to propel their spiritual sons to greater heights. Stringer puts it this way: “We will either be like Elizabeth rejoicing over the birthing of a forerunner generation or we will be like Rachael weeping over the loss of a whole generation. “It is up to us as the Church to carry the expression of Christ and to really represent the Father to a generation that has been deemed fatherless.”
Rod Parsley Gets Culturally Incorrect and Sees America's Great Awakening
By Jonas Clark
Rod Parsley Gets “Culturally Incorrect” on controversial social topics from abortion to Islam to homosexuality and more.
At this pivotal moment in history, America wrestles with herself. The minds and hearts of this generation have become the theater of conflict. It is a war of competing, mutually exclusive ways of viewing the universe and man’s place in it. It is a clash of paradigms, of value systems, and of visions of the future.
So says Pastor Rod Parsley in his latest book, “Culturally Incorrect: How Clashing Worldviews Affect Your Future.” Parsley contends that a healthy society requires the participation of morally founded people to offer policies that positively impact commerce and government; science and technology; and arts, entertainment and the media.
Parsley is the founder and president of The Center for Moral Clarity (CMC). Launched in 2004, CMC seeks to bridge the gap in America’s eroding value system by affecting moral change through passionate and effective Christian leadership and service. Parsley also serves as the senior pastor of World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, and hosts “Breakthrough,” a daily and weekly television broadcast seen by millions across America and around the world. He is the bestselling author of “Silent No More.”
The Voice magazine caught up with Parsley to discuss his new book, the state of the Church, why Islam is making inroads into America, and many other ‘culturally incorrect’ topics.
Pastor Rod Parsley
The Voice: Why do you want people to read “Culturally Incorrect” and what do you hope they will learn?
Rod Parsley: The response to my previous book, “Silent No More,” showed me that we are a deeply divided people – politically and spiritually as well as morally. I wrote “Culturally Incorrect” to show why we are divided and how men and women of faith can engage in the war that is raging for the soul of our nation.
Through this book I want the culture at large to learn why the biblical worldview is superior to all others, and how false worldviews lead to disastrous results for our society. I also want the Church to understand its divine mandate to engage the culture. I truly believe this book can be the catalyst for a new Great Awakening in our nation, if the Church accepts its responsibility to make it happen.
The Voice: So you see another Great Awakening coming? How will it happen?
Rod Parsley: I absolutely see another Great Awakening coming to this nation in my lifetime, and the Word of God is calling this generation to its forefront. It’s incredible to imagine, but very realistic – God has used previous generations to effect massive cultural change before. The minds and hearts of this generation are the theater of conflict. Conflicting worldviews have led to competing, mutually exclusive ways of viewing the universe and man’s place in it. As the biblical worldview is shown to be superior – as it will, because absolute truth will not be denied – a new Great Awakening is not only possible, but inevitable.
The Voice: In the book you wrote, “We live in a generation of believers that has seemingly made the cross a gateway for self-help and converted the call to a life of Christian service into a quest for comfort and pleasure.” Whose fault is that? And how do we move out of a bless-me-only model of church that ultimately enables Christians to engage the culture around them?
Rod Parsley: I believe both church leaders and their followers share responsibility for our current state of lethargy, but would note that shepherds bear ultimate responsibility for their flocks. Today, we in the Church judge the effectiveness of a ministry by how many people are coming to worship services. I want us to return to a more telling measure of success, which is not how many people are coming but rather how many people are going into the culture to live transformed lives. I’m convinced that the Church’s failure to actively, vigorously and positively engage the culture has led to defeatism and isolation on our parts – and, as a result, we’re not heeding Jesus’ command to be salt and light.
The Voice: In “Culturally Incorrect” you write about withdrawal and isolation from society. Has there been too much focus on the rapture and not enough focus on advancing and establishing Christ’s Kingdom culture in our nation and the world?
Rod Parsley: It’s not a question of either-or. It’s a question of both-and. I don’t believe Christians can talk enough about our hope in the life to come – it is an essential component of the biblical worldview. I do believe the Church has ignored Christ’s mandate to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, and that necessarily involves engaging the culture, contending for the truth we’ve been given.
The Voice: What are the top three things that Christian leaders can do in their ministries to stop the onslaught of anti-Christ agendas?
Rod Parsley: It’s even more simple than that! The one most important thing our leadership can do is return to clear, biblical preaching of the cross. We have neglected to communicate biblical Christianity within our churches, and that has led to the current situation, in my judgment. Far too much of today’s preaching makes no mention of self-denial, which is entry-level Christianity.
While America’s liberal churches have abandoned the preaching of the cross because of its focus on sin and repentance, many conservative evangelical churches have shied away from it because of its unpopular call for self-denial and sacrifice. Many Christians have never been told that to save their life, they must lose it! Even our language suggests Christianity can be nothing more than a line on our resumes. We’re told to “accept Christ into our lives,” and that’s an attractive prospect for someone who already believes it’s all about them.
The Voice: What do you tell the person who says, “It may be your call from God to engage the culture, but not mine?”
Rod Parsley: If it’s a fellow Christian, I’d ask where in the Bible they found a personal exemption from Jesus’ command to be salt and light! I understand many believers are reluctant to come out of their sanctuaries and engage the culture. In the book I talk about “me and my comfort syndrome,” which is the product of an “easy believe” mentality in too much of the Church. I would only add that our divine appointment as ambassadors of our King requires us to witness our faith to a wayward culture. It’s not optional and it’s not flexible.
The Voice: Do you see progressive secularists in our nation pandering to those of Islamic faith while, at the same time, battling against the Christian faith? Or what is helping Islam make inroads in the United States?
Rod Parsley: The foundation of secular worldview is a rejection of the notion of absolute truth – that whatever is true for you may not be true for anyone else. This is a mindset that rejects Islam as well as Christianity, so I don’t think you’ll ever see secularists “pandering” to Muslims as such. I do believe, however, that the “anything goes” mentality of secularism has helped Islam make inroads in this nation. Man is continually looking to make sense of his surroundings, and Islam purports to do that. I noted in “Silent No More” that Islam is still growing rapidly in America, especially among blacks. As long as Bible believers fail to contend for the biblical worldview in the culture, something will fill the void in people’s hearts for something to believe in, and Muslims are, to say the least, aggressive about sharing their faith with others, to the point of imposing it.
The Voice: Non-believers say that Christians should not shove their morality and belief system down their throats. How do you address the issue of which moral compass our nation should look to?
Rod Parsley: I am committed to talking about God in the public square, as many of our Founding Fathers did. It’s impossible to divorce worldview from public policy and law-making. Yet I am mindful to do so with respect and humility. Terrorists operate by coercion. Christians have a different way of doing things – by persuasion, not compulsion. As former Attorney General John Ashcroft has said, “It is against my religion to impose my religion.”
The Voice: You discuss holding a biblical worldview that is not influenced by Marxism, Postmodernist worldviews and Humanism, etc. There is a push throughout our colleges and universities to produce graduates that have a “worldview.” Their worldview is that of a global citizen that will one day look to be governed by international law through the United Nations, not the United States Constitution. What’s your take on this?
Rod Parsley: I am a global citizen. Through our Bridge of Hope missions outreach, we’ve been active in meeting people’s physical and spiritual needs around the world. I started working to relieve human suffering in Sudan long before it was trendy to do so. My own view is that it would be a bad idea for the citizens of this nation to cede their authority to govern themselves to an international body, either the United Nations or some other organization.
Rod Parsley Preaching
The Voice: With the introduction of new words, terms and definitions, like the U.S. Constitution being called a “living document,” are we being set up for further judicial changes?
Rod Parsley: The notion that the Constitution should change over time has been around for decades and, in fact, was a factor in the U.S. Supreme Court’s outrageous Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. I addressed this situation, which I call “judicial tyranny,” in “Silent No More.” There are certainly many judges who hold to this erroneous view of the law on the bench today, but I’m grateful for those who are faithful to the historic role of the judiciary – to interpret the law, rather than make new law from the bench. Using the courts to advance a public-policy agenda has been part of the liberal playbook for a long time; it’s the only way they can get approval for their ideas. So I’m sure we’ll be having this discussion for the foreseeable future in this nation.
The Voice: You wrote about the myth of the separation of church and state in your book “Silent No More”. Since the writing of that book what has changed?
Rod Parsley: In one respect, nothing has changed. The concept of “separation of church and state” still does not appear in the Constitution! What has changed is that liberals and opponents of religious freedom have become even more militant in enforcing this outmoded concept. Around the world you’re seeing the proclamation of the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality denounced and even prosecuted as “hate speech,” and in some circumstances it’s illegal to evangelize in public. If we’re not vigilant we’ll see the elimination of our religious freedoms – all on the basis of a fictitious concept. It’s a scary thought, but one that should motivate Christians to action.
The Voice: Why does it seem that homosexuality has become so acceptable in American society? How do we combat the homosexual agenda that continues to sponsor hate crime legislation that intends to stop people like you from saying that homosexuality is immoral and their push to redefine the family?
Rod Parsley: The only way Christians can authentically and authoritatively approach the issue of homosexuality is from a heart of compassion. Love, not animosity, must be our motivation. It grieves me, for example, that the median age of homosexual men at death is 42 and for the population at large, the median age at death is 75. For lesbians, the median age at death is 45; for heterosexual women, 79. How can we not have compassion and love for people who are dying decades before they should?
We’ve fallen into the trap of labeling those on the other side as crazy, stupid or evil. That’s no way to save souls! In many cases, we have to convince our adversaries that we’re not hateful or vengeful before we can contend for the truth we bring them. In “Culturally Incorrect,” I have made the case as persuasively as I can that Christians should assertively contend for the biblical worldview and accept the call of authentic Christianity for their own lives. We possess absolute truth – God is the ultimate reality – and we shouldn’t be afraid to say so.
The Voice: Millions of babies have been murdered through abortions. In your book you talk about not settling for a partial victory. What is the next battle?
Rod Parsley: We won a great battle in April, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. I was present when President Bush signed that bill into law, and it’s gratifying to know that it will be enforced. Through our grassroots organization, the Center for Moral Clarity, we are involved now in helping to provide ultrasound machines for pro-life women’s clinics around the nation. We know that nearly nine out of every 10 women considering abortion will change their mind and keep their babies once they see an ultrasound image of the life inside them. Ultimately, though, my goal is to see Roe v. Wade overturned; that would send the battle over legal abortion back to the states, where it belongs, and I look forward to advocating for life at the state level when that happens.
The Voice: How can the everyday disciple of Christ make a difference?
Rod Parsley: First, by realizing that each of us already possesses the ability to make a difference. Unfortunately, most of us don’t use the influence we have over others – and we each have spheres of influence in our families, workplaces and communities. It’s also vital for disciples of Christ to understand and commit to the biblical mandate to be salt and light in Matthew 5. The current generation of believers has failed to meet the culture in the marketplace of ideas and present a relevant, compelling Gospel. We must, as Peter says, always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us. Only biblical Christianity brings meaningful, coherent and tested answers to our most basic questions – so believe me, our non-Christian friends and neighbors need what we have to offer; it’s just a matter of whether we will be obedient to share what we know.
The Voice: How will Church be different 25 years from now?
Rod Parsley: Frankly, the state of the Church 25 years from now depends on what we do now. If the Church doesn’t wake up and fulfill the mission that God has laid out for us in His Word, just 4 percent of my daughter’s generation will be Bible-believing Christians. This compares to 35 percent of my generation and 65 percent of my parents’ generation accepting the Bible as the Word of God. So you’re talking about a tremendous decline in the Church’s influence within two generations if we don’t accept our duty to become assertive advocates for our faith and for a biblical worldview.
The Voice: How has writing this book changed Rod Parsley?
Rod Parsley: Studying worldviews for “Culturally Incorrect” has helped me better understand the motivations for people’s actions in the public arena, especially those with whom I disagree. It’s important to understand what makes an abortion advocate or a same-sex marriage supporter believe what he or she believes. That’s the first step to persuading him or her to the rightness of my cause. I’ve also developed an even more profound sense of urgency about living an authentic Christian life, and leading those I influence to do the same.
Rod Parsley Gets “Culturally Incorrect” on controversial social topics from abortion to Islam to homosexuality and more.
At this pivotal moment in history, America wrestles with herself. The minds and hearts of this generation have become the theater of conflict. It is a war of competing, mutually exclusive ways of viewing the universe and man’s place in it. It is a clash of paradigms, of value systems, and of visions of the future.
So says Pastor Rod Parsley in his latest book, “Culturally Incorrect: How Clashing Worldviews Affect Your Future.” Parsley contends that a healthy society requires the participation of morally founded people to offer policies that positively impact commerce and government; science and technology; and arts, entertainment and the media.
Parsley is the founder and president of The Center for Moral Clarity (CMC). Launched in 2004, CMC seeks to bridge the gap in America’s eroding value system by affecting moral change through passionate and effective Christian leadership and service. Parsley also serves as the senior pastor of World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, and hosts “Breakthrough,” a daily and weekly television broadcast seen by millions across America and around the world. He is the bestselling author of “Silent No More.”
The Voice magazine caught up with Parsley to discuss his new book, the state of the Church, why Islam is making inroads into America, and many other ‘culturally incorrect’ topics.
Pastor Rod Parsley
The Voice: Why do you want people to read “Culturally Incorrect” and what do you hope they will learn?
Rod Parsley: The response to my previous book, “Silent No More,” showed me that we are a deeply divided people – politically and spiritually as well as morally. I wrote “Culturally Incorrect” to show why we are divided and how men and women of faith can engage in the war that is raging for the soul of our nation.
Through this book I want the culture at large to learn why the biblical worldview is superior to all others, and how false worldviews lead to disastrous results for our society. I also want the Church to understand its divine mandate to engage the culture. I truly believe this book can be the catalyst for a new Great Awakening in our nation, if the Church accepts its responsibility to make it happen.
The Voice: So you see another Great Awakening coming? How will it happen?
Rod Parsley: I absolutely see another Great Awakening coming to this nation in my lifetime, and the Word of God is calling this generation to its forefront. It’s incredible to imagine, but very realistic – God has used previous generations to effect massive cultural change before. The minds and hearts of this generation are the theater of conflict. Conflicting worldviews have led to competing, mutually exclusive ways of viewing the universe and man’s place in it. As the biblical worldview is shown to be superior – as it will, because absolute truth will not be denied – a new Great Awakening is not only possible, but inevitable.
The Voice: In the book you wrote, “We live in a generation of believers that has seemingly made the cross a gateway for self-help and converted the call to a life of Christian service into a quest for comfort and pleasure.” Whose fault is that? And how do we move out of a bless-me-only model of church that ultimately enables Christians to engage the culture around them?
Rod Parsley: I believe both church leaders and their followers share responsibility for our current state of lethargy, but would note that shepherds bear ultimate responsibility for their flocks. Today, we in the Church judge the effectiveness of a ministry by how many people are coming to worship services. I want us to return to a more telling measure of success, which is not how many people are coming but rather how many people are going into the culture to live transformed lives. I’m convinced that the Church’s failure to actively, vigorously and positively engage the culture has led to defeatism and isolation on our parts – and, as a result, we’re not heeding Jesus’ command to be salt and light.
The Voice: In “Culturally Incorrect” you write about withdrawal and isolation from society. Has there been too much focus on the rapture and not enough focus on advancing and establishing Christ’s Kingdom culture in our nation and the world?
Rod Parsley: It’s not a question of either-or. It’s a question of both-and. I don’t believe Christians can talk enough about our hope in the life to come – it is an essential component of the biblical worldview. I do believe the Church has ignored Christ’s mandate to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, and that necessarily involves engaging the culture, contending for the truth we’ve been given.
The Voice: What are the top three things that Christian leaders can do in their ministries to stop the onslaught of anti-Christ agendas?
Rod Parsley: It’s even more simple than that! The one most important thing our leadership can do is return to clear, biblical preaching of the cross. We have neglected to communicate biblical Christianity within our churches, and that has led to the current situation, in my judgment. Far too much of today’s preaching makes no mention of self-denial, which is entry-level Christianity.
While America’s liberal churches have abandoned the preaching of the cross because of its focus on sin and repentance, many conservative evangelical churches have shied away from it because of its unpopular call for self-denial and sacrifice. Many Christians have never been told that to save their life, they must lose it! Even our language suggests Christianity can be nothing more than a line on our resumes. We’re told to “accept Christ into our lives,” and that’s an attractive prospect for someone who already believes it’s all about them.
The Voice: What do you tell the person who says, “It may be your call from God to engage the culture, but not mine?”
Rod Parsley: If it’s a fellow Christian, I’d ask where in the Bible they found a personal exemption from Jesus’ command to be salt and light! I understand many believers are reluctant to come out of their sanctuaries and engage the culture. In the book I talk about “me and my comfort syndrome,” which is the product of an “easy believe” mentality in too much of the Church. I would only add that our divine appointment as ambassadors of our King requires us to witness our faith to a wayward culture. It’s not optional and it’s not flexible.
The Voice: Do you see progressive secularists in our nation pandering to those of Islamic faith while, at the same time, battling against the Christian faith? Or what is helping Islam make inroads in the United States?
Rod Parsley: The foundation of secular worldview is a rejection of the notion of absolute truth – that whatever is true for you may not be true for anyone else. This is a mindset that rejects Islam as well as Christianity, so I don’t think you’ll ever see secularists “pandering” to Muslims as such. I do believe, however, that the “anything goes” mentality of secularism has helped Islam make inroads in this nation. Man is continually looking to make sense of his surroundings, and Islam purports to do that. I noted in “Silent No More” that Islam is still growing rapidly in America, especially among blacks. As long as Bible believers fail to contend for the biblical worldview in the culture, something will fill the void in people’s hearts for something to believe in, and Muslims are, to say the least, aggressive about sharing their faith with others, to the point of imposing it.
The Voice: Non-believers say that Christians should not shove their morality and belief system down their throats. How do you address the issue of which moral compass our nation should look to?
Rod Parsley: I am committed to talking about God in the public square, as many of our Founding Fathers did. It’s impossible to divorce worldview from public policy and law-making. Yet I am mindful to do so with respect and humility. Terrorists operate by coercion. Christians have a different way of doing things – by persuasion, not compulsion. As former Attorney General John Ashcroft has said, “It is against my religion to impose my religion.”
The Voice: You discuss holding a biblical worldview that is not influenced by Marxism, Postmodernist worldviews and Humanism, etc. There is a push throughout our colleges and universities to produce graduates that have a “worldview.” Their worldview is that of a global citizen that will one day look to be governed by international law through the United Nations, not the United States Constitution. What’s your take on this?
Rod Parsley: I am a global citizen. Through our Bridge of Hope missions outreach, we’ve been active in meeting people’s physical and spiritual needs around the world. I started working to relieve human suffering in Sudan long before it was trendy to do so. My own view is that it would be a bad idea for the citizens of this nation to cede their authority to govern themselves to an international body, either the United Nations or some other organization.
Rod Parsley Preaching
The Voice: With the introduction of new words, terms and definitions, like the U.S. Constitution being called a “living document,” are we being set up for further judicial changes?
Rod Parsley: The notion that the Constitution should change over time has been around for decades and, in fact, was a factor in the U.S. Supreme Court’s outrageous Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. I addressed this situation, which I call “judicial tyranny,” in “Silent No More.” There are certainly many judges who hold to this erroneous view of the law on the bench today, but I’m grateful for those who are faithful to the historic role of the judiciary – to interpret the law, rather than make new law from the bench. Using the courts to advance a public-policy agenda has been part of the liberal playbook for a long time; it’s the only way they can get approval for their ideas. So I’m sure we’ll be having this discussion for the foreseeable future in this nation.
The Voice: You wrote about the myth of the separation of church and state in your book “Silent No More”. Since the writing of that book what has changed?
Rod Parsley: In one respect, nothing has changed. The concept of “separation of church and state” still does not appear in the Constitution! What has changed is that liberals and opponents of religious freedom have become even more militant in enforcing this outmoded concept. Around the world you’re seeing the proclamation of the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality denounced and even prosecuted as “hate speech,” and in some circumstances it’s illegal to evangelize in public. If we’re not vigilant we’ll see the elimination of our religious freedoms – all on the basis of a fictitious concept. It’s a scary thought, but one that should motivate Christians to action.
The Voice: Why does it seem that homosexuality has become so acceptable in American society? How do we combat the homosexual agenda that continues to sponsor hate crime legislation that intends to stop people like you from saying that homosexuality is immoral and their push to redefine the family?
Rod Parsley: The only way Christians can authentically and authoritatively approach the issue of homosexuality is from a heart of compassion. Love, not animosity, must be our motivation. It grieves me, for example, that the median age of homosexual men at death is 42 and for the population at large, the median age at death is 75. For lesbians, the median age at death is 45; for heterosexual women, 79. How can we not have compassion and love for people who are dying decades before they should?
We’ve fallen into the trap of labeling those on the other side as crazy, stupid or evil. That’s no way to save souls! In many cases, we have to convince our adversaries that we’re not hateful or vengeful before we can contend for the truth we bring them. In “Culturally Incorrect,” I have made the case as persuasively as I can that Christians should assertively contend for the biblical worldview and accept the call of authentic Christianity for their own lives. We possess absolute truth – God is the ultimate reality – and we shouldn’t be afraid to say so.
The Voice: Millions of babies have been murdered through abortions. In your book you talk about not settling for a partial victory. What is the next battle?
Rod Parsley: We won a great battle in April, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. I was present when President Bush signed that bill into law, and it’s gratifying to know that it will be enforced. Through our grassroots organization, the Center for Moral Clarity, we are involved now in helping to provide ultrasound machines for pro-life women’s clinics around the nation. We know that nearly nine out of every 10 women considering abortion will change their mind and keep their babies once they see an ultrasound image of the life inside them. Ultimately, though, my goal is to see Roe v. Wade overturned; that would send the battle over legal abortion back to the states, where it belongs, and I look forward to advocating for life at the state level when that happens.
The Voice: How can the everyday disciple of Christ make a difference?
Rod Parsley: First, by realizing that each of us already possesses the ability to make a difference. Unfortunately, most of us don’t use the influence we have over others – and we each have spheres of influence in our families, workplaces and communities. It’s also vital for disciples of Christ to understand and commit to the biblical mandate to be salt and light in Matthew 5. The current generation of believers has failed to meet the culture in the marketplace of ideas and present a relevant, compelling Gospel. We must, as Peter says, always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us. Only biblical Christianity brings meaningful, coherent and tested answers to our most basic questions – so believe me, our non-Christian friends and neighbors need what we have to offer; it’s just a matter of whether we will be obedient to share what we know.
The Voice: How will Church be different 25 years from now?
Rod Parsley: Frankly, the state of the Church 25 years from now depends on what we do now. If the Church doesn’t wake up and fulfill the mission that God has laid out for us in His Word, just 4 percent of my daughter’s generation will be Bible-believing Christians. This compares to 35 percent of my generation and 65 percent of my parents’ generation accepting the Bible as the Word of God. So you’re talking about a tremendous decline in the Church’s influence within two generations if we don’t accept our duty to become assertive advocates for our faith and for a biblical worldview.
The Voice: How has writing this book changed Rod Parsley?
Rod Parsley: Studying worldviews for “Culturally Incorrect” has helped me better understand the motivations for people’s actions in the public arena, especially those with whom I disagree. It’s important to understand what makes an abortion advocate or a same-sex marriage supporter believe what he or she believes. That’s the first step to persuading him or her to the rightness of my cause. I’ve also developed an even more profound sense of urgency about living an authentic Christian life, and leading those I influence to do the same.
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