A Manifesto of Christian Discernment

Steven Kozar of Messed Up Church penned some guidelines aimed at Church leaders that deal with the monumental lack of spiritual discernment in the Church visibleIncluded in the Kozar manifesto are several video clips of celebrity “pastors” jumping, skipping and flouncing around on church stages in an effort to entertain parishioners who expect their pastor to deliver a fabulous show each and every Sunday. Also included is a photo of Word of Faith prosperity preacher T.D. Jakes’ “ridiculous and obscene mansion.”

Steve Kozar offers some no holds barred–and biblical–advice for Church leaders, plus this reminder: You’re a sinner that deserves God’s wrath, just like the rest of us. Jesus took the punishment we deserve upon Himself to set us free from sin and death; you didn’t do anything.

We will maintain a healthy skepticism towards all the big-name leaders in the church. No matter how famous a Christian celebrity might be, we refuse to be gullible just because someone has become a “brand name.”

We will check everything any pastor/teacher says against God’s Word, and when it comes to the most powerful, multimillionaire “Super Pastors,” we will assume the worst until convinced otherwise.

We refuse to be impressed or motivated by storytelling, drama and entertainment. God and His written Word is the only acceptable focus of a worship service-not the manipulations of men. We will not tolerate idiotic stunts in order to “bring the unsaved to church.” We will not tolerate false humility and claims of direct revelation from any pastor/teacher. Any pastor/teacher that claims to hear “something new” directly from God will be immediately disqualified. No second chances.

We don’t need you. We understand that you need a constant influx of new and gullible listeners, but we refuse to participate.

A pulpit and a microphone should only be used to direct attention to Christ, not towards a pastor who loves the attention of an audience. A large church platform does not give any pastor the right to amass power and enlarge their bank account. Pastors must tell the truth, all the time-not just when it advances their career.

  • Stop telling people “it’s all about Jesus” when you actually talk more about yourself and your ideas.
  • Stop bragging about how much you’re doing for God.
  • Stop bragging about how great your church is.
  • Stop bragging about how you started out with just a few people meeting in your living room and “now we have (x) number of people coming!”
  • Stop bragging about the guest speaker-he’s a sinner, too. (We know you just want to get invited to his church so you can make a pile of money.)
  • Stop bragging about your best-selling book.
  • Stop bragging about your celebrity friends.

Continue reading…view the video clips

 Take a look at our White Paper on Discernment

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One Response to A Manifesto of Christian Discernment

  1. Manny1962 March 15, 2017 at 2:33 pm #

    This is great!!!! I always say the most ripe field for evangelism is “church.”

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