Beware the health and wealth gospel

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Though we have learned as a denomination to appreciate regional and cultural differences in the way we worship God, that does not mean that we believe that “anything goes.” We draw the line at behavior that leads people away from a right relationship with God.

As I travel around the world, I take note of questions from our pastors and members. Their questions often arise from what they heard a popular preacher say on television. They ask me: “Have you read their book?” “What do you think of their teaching?” My answers typically advise caution, for sound theology often is lacking in what televangelists offer. I don’t mean to paint them all with the same broad brush, but the unfortunate fact is that many of them teach what is known as the health and wealth gospel. It’s also known as the word of faith, positive confession or seed-faith teaching. Some give it more pejorative names like name it and claim it or blab it and grab it. Perhaps calling it the health and stealth gospel would be the most accurate, for this false teaching has the potential to lead people away from the true gospel.

Missionary experts have noted how many people who embrace the health and wealth gospel are caught up in it for three to five years before they realize that the only ones prospering are the televangelists. When they realize they have been duped, some look for another church where they can recover from the false teaching. Sadly, others stop attending church altogether.

Health and wealth teachers abandon sound principles of biblical interpretation and teaching and utilize sensational, often bizarre theatrics to keep their audiences stirred up. Their message is that physical health and wealth is the evidence of God’s saving grace. But that teaching is nonsense—it is grounded in several exegetical, hermeneutical and theological errors.

One error is the belief that you can release the power of heaven through your words. This is quite a departure from the examples of prayer in Scripture. It is akin to occult or magical practices where spirits, powers and forces must do your bidding if you know the right words (incantation) to say. This approach makes God out to be some sort of cosmic vending machine!

Another error is the belief that you need special, private revelation from God to understand the teaching, because it is not made clear in the Bible. Here is an illustrative quote from a popular word of faith televangelist: “The Bible can’t even find any way to explain this. Not really. That’s why you’ve got to get it by revelation. There are no words to explain what I’m telling you. I’ve got to just trust God that he’s putting it into your spirit like he put it into mine.” Really? The apostle Paul warned in Galatians 1:6-9 about claims to special, private revelations and interpretations. Be on your guard!

The reason the health and wealth gospel is spiritually harmful is that it presents a relationship with God as a transaction: If you don’t do your part, you won’t be blessed. But if you speak the right words, with just the right attitude (what they erroneously refer to as “faith”), then God must give you the asked-for benefit.

God is not interested in a transactional relationship with us. His covenant is not a contract—not an if you, then I proposition. God gives to us freely out of his own goodness, love and sheer generosity in accordance with the promises he freely has made toward his people and creation. Relating to God in a transactional way is a form of pagan religion—a form of idolatry—that denies God’s grace and distrusts his gracious character. It is the very thing that Jesus condemned in the Jewish religious leaders of his day. The idea of conducting a transaction with God is doomed from the beginning for we can never perfectly “do our part.” But, thankfully, God never wanted or expected that we would. Rather he invites and enables us to receive his blessings by trusting him to be true to his promises—true to his word—indeed, true to himself.

In and through Jesus and by the Holy Spirit, our heavenly Father has given us the greatest blessing of all. Its focus is not physical health or wealth. Jesus did not heal everyone in his ministry. No one got wealthy, including Jesus himself. Some, in fact, gave up all their worldly possessions! The miracles Jesus performed were limited and temporary (even those he raised from the dead eventually died again!). These miracles were signs that pointed to the greatest blessing of all: redemption and reconciliation to God in Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ priority was to reconcile people to God so they would put their entire trust in him and lead lives reflecting his character. Paul refers to this Christ-likeness as “the fruit of the Spirit,” which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NRSV). Paul exulted in “the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God” (Romans 11:33) and proclaimed, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). That is the “health” and “wealth” that we are to seek and to receive by faith.

If our focus is on temporal, physical rewards, Christ becomes merely a means—a tool—to gain our own ends. A transactional gospel ignores Jesus’ warning about getting caught up in “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth” (Matthew 13:22) that choke out the development of genuine, mature faith in our gracious God.

I could cite other scriptures, but I think I’ve made the point. GCI does not support or promote the health and wealth gospel. We believe that it distorts Scripture, conflicts with Jesus’ message of the gospel and threatens a right relationship with God. Please remind those who are tempted to embrace it of Paul’s warning that, “The grace of God… teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12, emphasis added). Also remind them of Jesus’ warning: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

With love, in Christ’s service,

Joseph Tkach

Mark Mounts

Mark Mounts, pastor of Community Christian Fellowship in Houston Texas, grew up in Quinter, Kansas, population 900. He became interested in WCG at age 17 and then attended Ambassador College where he met his wife, Debra. They celebrated their 29th anniversary in May. “We have been blessed with two children, Ryan and Courtney. They are adopted and are biological brother and sister. That’s rare and their story would be a book in itself. They have been a light in our lives; I can’t imagine them not being around.”

Mark’s life story centers around several key events. “I have one sister named Tamara. She was born with moderate cerebral palsy. Because of this we had to travel over an hour to a specialist for her weekly treatments until I was around nine years old. I believe this made me somewhat sensitive to the needs of others. I saw how my sister struggled and in spite of her physical deficits made the best of what life dealt her.”

Another event that transformed Mark was the separation of his parents when he was in seventh grade. “My parents had been having trouble for some time, but due to my age and the fact that we didn’t talk much, this was a traumatic shock. It was then that I unfortunately became familiar with emotions such as fear, hatred, anger and resentment. I felt that if my parents didn’t care (which wasn’t true), neither did I. So, I went off ‘the deep end’ at age 11. That lifestyle lasted until I was 14 when I realized that the only one I was hurting was myself, so I came clean. A few months later my parents got back together and we moved to a different town.”

During this time of turmoil, Mark’s sister started “living a lifestyle that was disruptive to our family. Because of this, I withdrew, feeling I had to take care of myself in the middle of all this chaos. She spent 35 years in that lifestyle and has been sober for six years. It’s a miracle that she’s alive and it’s great to have her back. Through all of this I knew that I wanted to work with people. So at 14 I decided I’d become a therapist. But God had a different idea.”

Mark’s life wasn’t all turmoil. During his young years, he became interested in shooting. “My father had lost his left eye at a young age in a tragic incident. Because of this he never played catch with me. But there was one thing he could do well: shoot. So, at the age of five he placed a single-shot 22 in my hands. I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Mark’s father had been reading WCG/GCI literature for years. “When we moved closer to a town with a WCG church, he and my mother started attending but didn’t force me to. One day I asked my dad what this new church’s idea was regarding heaven and hell. My reason for asking was because of things I had done during my teenage years, I honestly didn’t have much confidence that I had any chance of making it to heaven. He explained to me that there was more than one resurrection (according to our old beliefs). Ironically, that changed my life. For the first time I perceived God as merciful and the rest is history. I’ve been attending ever since.”

After graduating from Ambassador College in 1984, Mark took a job in business. “I am so glad I had a chance to see the heart and core of the business world; it was eye-opening to say the least. Everyone thought that I would be hired into the ministry straight out of college. I’m glad I wasn’t. God’s timing is perfect.”

Mark was hired as an associate pastor in 1987. “Full-time pastoral ministry has given me the opportunity to work with thousands of people and to pursue the desires of my heart. Later I had the opportunity to obtain a graduate degree in professional counseling. I have been given the opportunity to do what I truly wanted to do since my teenage years: work with people. I am constantly blown away as I see God work in deeply intimate ways in people’s lives. Through the experience he has given me, I feel I now am able to appreciate even the smallest of things and no longer take anything for granted.”

Mark credits GCI for changing his life and soul at its core. “When we changed our doctrines, it forced me to ask myself why I would affiliate myself with a legalistic religious organization that was known as a cult by most of the world. That depth of soul-searching has been going on ever since. God has used his process of change to help me understand that change truly is my reality. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, not even in the next hour. But no matter what life may bring, I know to the depths of my soul that his will is being done for something much greater than just the way I feel about it. Grace set me free and continues to do so every day.”

When asked what he enjoys doing apart from pastoring, Mark said he loves to cook and exercise. “There is just something about food!!! First I love to eat it, and I really love to see how it can bring people together—it’s just cool.” He and Deb work out and cycle at a health club and ride bikes together fairly regularly.

Mark shared his most memorable moment as a pastor: “When I had been employed less than a year, I received a call from a member whose 16-year-old daughter had given birth to a profoundly premature little boy. I had to scrub up and put on gloves and a mask to enter the neonatal ICU. When I saw that incredibly small and frail little boy, I couldn’t believe it. I prayed for him and placed my fingers on two parts of his little body that weren’t covered with tubes or medical tape. That child died and the grandmother, who was a member, basically tore up the waiting room in grief. It was then I knew I could not do this job without relying totally on God. I would learn that even more deeply in the years to come.” As a result of learning that lesson, Mark shares that his passion has become developing a relationship with Father, Son and Spirit. “There is nothing else that matters.”

Asked when he feels closest to God, Mark said, “Honestly, when I’m at my worst. I have had to learn to trust that God shows me that side of myself on his timeline. Not so that I can shame or discredit myself, but so I can be thankful that he shows me that characteristic that I know I must surrender. It brings me closer to him. It has taken me years to finally understand this principle.”

Mark shared that he and Deb will be empty-nesters this fall. Deb is looking forward to getting even more involved with the congregation and their outreach.

Report on US camps

As we look back on the summer camp season of 2013, we rejoice in all that God did in and through our 17 US Generations Ministries camps. We are particularly grateful for the generosity and excellent ministry of about 800 teen and adult volunteer staffers.

Much fruit

Kingdom fruit resulted as campers and staffers experienced a profound encounter with Christ in our camps. Many were baptized, dozens of new young leaders emerged and new camps were started. Stephen Webb, director of The Rock camp, commented: “We have learned the value of multiplication—starting new camps out of existing ones by raising up and sending new leaders.”

GenMin camps are powerful “incubators” of young leaders who not only serve at camp—many are integrated into leadership roles in their home churches. At SEP SoCal, older teen campers participated in ministry training—choosing from multiple training tracks including worship, drama, photography, public speaking and audio/visual/tech. Arrangements have been made for teachers to mentor their students following camp.

Several camps partnered with various churches and community groups to sponsor camps and to reach out to communities near and far. SEP Montana brought together 41 organizations, including ten denominations. SEP SoCal reached out by gathering “gently-used” T-shirts to distribute overseas.

Standard curriculum

This year’s GenMin camp curriculum, titled It’s Time, helped campers embrace God’s “kairos time” on a six-step journey: behold, believe, belong, become, behave and begin. The curriculum, posted at http://genmin.gci.org/Web%20Documents/Curriculum%202013.pdf, may be used by churches (for a series of sermons or studies) and by other camps.

Camp reports

Following are brief reports from several of this year’s GenMin camps. A full list of camps and additional videos and pictures are posted at at http://genmin.gci.org/campministries.htm.

2013 was SEP So Cal’s 12th year. They had 174 campers and 100 staffers, age 2 to 82. This intergenerational group was also multi-ethnic and interracial with Filipinos, African-Americans, Hispanics, Middle Easterners and Caucasians. 31% of the campers were first-timers and 26% of the staffers formerly were campers. About 70% of the campers received some sort of scholarship to help them attend this year. Thanks to the generous donors!

Here is a video showing SEP Rockies in session in the mountains of Colorado (view it on YouTube at http://youtu.be/R0J6m0C6s1A):

Pathways, held in Southern Ohio, had 104 campers and 67 staffers this summer (an increase of 14 staffers over last year). They have begun a junior staff mentoring program to enhance the camper-to-staffer development journey. Senior campers participated in life-equipping tracks including photography, drama, worship, American Sign Language (ASL) and leadership. Campers reached out to 20 disadvantaged children from the local community who were made campers for one day.

After two years of praying, dreaming, planning, sweating and sometimes weeping, this new camp was born in the Sauratown Mountains of central North Carolina. 90 campers and 55 staffers shared the many facets of camp life. After daily chapel services, campers participated in paintball, field sports, zip line, arts and crafts (including blacksmithing), archery, swimming and high ropes.

The final day of camp featured a formal banquet with white linen, fresh wildflowers and candles. Pastor Howard Blakeney spoke about the campers’ royal identity in Jesus. The evening ended with a dance.

One of The Rock’s staffers, who had no previous exposure to GCI, was recruited from a local university. She noted feeling “overwhelmed” in being made to feel “a part of the camp family” from the moment she arrived. She is planning to volunteer again next year. Camp director Stephen Webb commented: “Watching the staff’s love for one another and their unity in service was perhaps my greatest joy.”

Numerous GCI pastors served on The Rock’s staff as counselors, chaplains and dining hall managers. For a slideshow of the camp on FaceBook, see https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=637113198554&set=o.567982006575966&type=2&theater.

After operating locally for six years, SEP Montana became a GenMin camp this year. Held at Holter Lake near Helena, the camp had 107 campers and 47 staffers representing ten area churches.

Activities included tubing, jet skiing, Christian living, arts/crafts, paintball, sapphire mining, team building, wilderness skills, service projects and Montana animals in the wild sponsored by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. At a formal church service on Thursday night during camp, the campers were invited to Christ, invited to be prayed for and invited to write down their struggles and nail those to a 6-foot cross nearby. That service was followed the next day with a baptism service with parents present. Some of the campers will be baptized back home in their local churches. 24 kids and adults were baptized at the camp this year.

YES camp, held in Lousiana has two sessions—one for pre-teens and one for teens. There were 60 campers in each session—the highest attendance to date, served by 40 staffers each session. Three of the campers were baptized. You can see these camp sessions on YouTube (teen session at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtW388IVRMI and pre-teen session at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqM9C4xuKoE).

Prayer and evangelism

Here’s a short video with Ed Stetzer talking with Evangelical Free Church pastors about the connection between prayer and evangelism. Does your church include in its worship services prayers that non-believers will come to know Christ?

View on Vimeo at http://vimeo.com/72514971.

Death of Arthur Alvarez

We are saddened to learn of the death of Arthur Alvarez, who worked in security on the Ambassador College campus in Pasadena, California from 1993 until 2004. Art was born in 1932, and he was 81 years old when he died.

In his last years working on campus, he sometimes would wear a small cross pin on his shirt collar—the kind military chaplains wear. He was a paratrooper in the military and veterans would recognize what it stood for. When asked if he was a chaplain, he would say “no,” but if they wanted to talk about God, he was always ready. Art was a devoted Christian who was a joy to be around.

Art’s funeral was held on September 3 in Los Angeles.

Conference resources

Bret Miller of the GCI IT department has posted at http://churchtech.gci.org/ materials he presented at the Orlando International Denominational Conference in workshops on church websites and related technologies.

Akers’ grandson born

Terry and Nancy Akers, who both work at GCI headquarters, are pleased to announce the birth of their grandson Sebastian Soto. He was born on Aug 27 to Ismael and Ashley Soto; 19” long and 6 pounds 7 ounces. The whole family, including Sebastian’s sister Isabella and brother Alexander are doing well. The grandparents are ecstatic!

Burrows’ 60th

Belated congratulations to Perc and Shirley Burrows who a year ago celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary (on September 5th). For many years, Perc served GCI congregations in Canada as an elder. The couple now attend Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, one of GCI’s Toronto-area churches.