We were going to an NAR church when the pastor started showing clips from Roma Downey’s movie from The Bible series. He started basing his sermons on them.
When he said that Jesus came to change the world I knew that things were not right. So I started researching NAR as I didn’t know at the time what that was.
I took lots of printed materials that I had found online as well as all the verses from the Bible that said that Jesus came to save sinners, not to change the world. Well he was very flustered at first and didn’t know what to say and then finally regained his composure and started talking in circles. Being new to all of this I wasn’t even sure what he was getting at. At any rate he got annoyed with me and said, “Here we go again. Every time I start a new church someone has to come and complain about something. ” So nothing really worked to well, although he couldn’t deny the Scripture verses I gave him.
We went for a few more weeks to that church and then called it quits. Nothing changed and there was no follow up.
Then we went back to our old Baptist church. The pastor started into the spiritual disciplines and handing out books like The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryon Smith. Then he gave a list of books to read that were basically all Catholicism.
I approached him as well and learned he knew NOTHING about the New Age and how it is creeping into the churches. He was a scholar and so I didn’t have a chance with him as I couldn’t figure out was he was saying either. They talk circles around me. Then of all things he lent me his book by Dallas Willard. We didn’t stay long there either.
My advice is to really read and know your Bible as I felt I didn’t know my Bible well enough to really have a comeback for this pastor especially. And then research what your church is teaching and compare it to Scripture so that you can discern what is right and wrong.
Taking those first steps to share concerns with church leadership can be daunting. One helpful resource: How to talk to your church leaders about false teachers.
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