Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Jan Markell: What Happened To My Church?


Jan Markell: What Happened To My Church?



I began hearing from Olive Tree Ministries supporters as long ago as 2005 concerning church dilemmas and unsound doctrinal issues in the church. Over twenty years, they only skyrocketed. Sure, there have always been apostasy and unsound teaching in the church.

The Bible warns about doctrines of demons and wolves among the flock (I Timothy 4:1Acts 20:29). But two decades ago, things took a serious turn that many of us couldn’t ignore.

Here is a short list of what started to be front-and-center in today’s evangelical pulpit: creation care, Critical Race Theory, social justice, welcoming the stranger, tolerance, LGBTQ, and much more.

In 2010, a prominent evangelical pastor in the Twin Cities held a seminar instructing pastors how to cut their electric bill and how to diminish their carbon footprint. That got my attention more than anything as this evangelical leader was admired by many. His church, even today, is a prominent mega-church.

What have the above issues to do with the gospel of salvation? To further what appeared to be a leftist agenda, sound doctrine was being marginalized, and “what must I do to be saved?” was being diminished. Reminding sinners that they were on their way to hell must be offensive.

In 2012, I heard about the Evangelical Immigration Table. The organization was funded by George Soros and was dedicated to “welcoming the stranger”, as mentioned. Christian leaders and pastors who should know better signed on. It was not the catastrophe of Biden’s open border, but it was a set-up for it.

I learned that the Evangelical Environmental Network would come to my church and tell everyone how we can breathe clean air. Are you kidding?

The National Association of Evangelicals decried gun violence and encouraged pulpits to discuss the concern about America’s nukes. I guess the thinking was that North Korea would dismantle their nuclear capability if America would. I wish I were making this up.

Thou Shalt Not Offend

At the same time, the eleventh commandment seemed to work its way into the church: Thou shalt not offend. Pastors taking a stand diminished.

Talking about relevant issues vanished, such as Bible prophecy and teaching support for Israel. The signs of the times only scare people many were told, and some suggested that Jesus was a Palestinian. Who knew?

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Considerable number of church leaders especially within the Vatican along with the majority of media news anchors even down to the local level are nothing more than information prostitutes. They read news or read sermons that are prepared for them without questioning the motive. They earn their 30 pieces of silver all the while they give up their soul. Prostitution is not just a sin of the body. It is a sin of the mind. There is no need to suppress information or pay others to push a particular narrative unless the information is not the truth and the way.

Anonymous said...

Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Lord will build His church, it isn’t my or our church. He is the head of the church.