All of this! I had to go on a long journey of knock down & build up in my walk with Jesus. You’re so right, we often walk blindly to what we’ve been taught and when the veil comes off and you really look into things… your relationship with Jesus changes and at first, it hurts and can often be confusing. Keep sharing, I’m cheering you on x.
Oh, Christina, you didn't even have to describe or tell us the story in its fullness for me to feel the ache. There is so much pain in these spaces and at times it is so hard to deconstruct what was actually taking place there. Your quote, "We were told that our flesh is inherently evil and our spirit inherently good without a further definition of what is meant by the terms 'flesh' and 'spirit'; so we took it to mean that our instincts must always be sinful and wrong," resonates SO deeply with me. This beating down on the human spirit that some churches undertake, trying to paint humanity as so evil we are beyond good can have serious repercussions to our sense of self and ability to trust our senses and the actions taken by members influenced by this theology. Thank you for your vulnerability and honesty as always, it is beautiful to witness!
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I'm glad you all and your house are okay.
I'm going through a similar process, though I refer to it as a refining of my faith. Like you, I've never lost my basic Christian beliefs. What I have discarded (and am still in the process of discarding) are those beliefs that are wrong - either due to lack of understanding, poor teaching, and to be honest, my laziness in studying the Word of God. I, too, have been angry at the wolves who mislead the Church. The heresies they preach harm and even destroy others. I spent a significant part of my childhood in a Word of Faith church, and though I rejected some its teaching after leaving the WoF church, there were still some beliefs that stayed with me. Only recently have I realized how many of those beliefs I carried with me. My family and I currently attend a church with expository teaching, meaning they go through the Bible pretty much verse-by-verse. They also teach us to treasure Christ by preaching the Gospel every week. That simple phrase - "Treasure Christ" - has significantly impacted my faith as it has pointed me to what matters most in my walk with Christ.
I'm honestly overwhelmed by the love of God and His patience with me as I learn more about Him. He is a gracious and patient Teacher who lovingly leads His children to Truth. I'm also grateful that "He who began a good work" in us will never stop working on us, but will "bring it to completion at the day of Christ," (Philippians 1:6).
Praying you will continue growing closer to God as He heals you from your past wounds.
Joanna thank you so much for sharing all of this with me so candidly. I am loving the redemption you're seeing in your story. Do you mind if I ask what a Word of Faith Church is? I've never heard of that before?
Christina - thank you for your reply. I believe as Christ-followers it's important to share our faith journey to not only encourage other believers but to be a witness to the story of redemption God has written, and continues to write, into our lives.
So, a Word of Faith church teaches the prosperity gospel. They teach that it's God's will for you to be wealthy and healthy, and if you aren't, then it's your fault because you don't have enough faith. I'd like to stop here and point out how the Apostles lived and died. One just needs to read Paul's list of sufferings found in 2 Corinthians 11 to see how wrong the wealth and health theology is. I seriously doubt these things happened to Paul because he lacked faith, but I digress. They also teach that in order to receive your blessing, you must sow into their ministry, no matter how destitute you may be, as this is an act of faith.
Another belief of the WoF church is that we we are "little gods," meaning we have the same level of divinity that the LORD has. This belief leads to the belief that we have the power to use our words and our faith to speak things into existence as God did (and still does).
Some WoF pastors also teach that Jesus, though He was still God, gave up ALL of His divine power when He walked the earth. If He gave up all of his divine power, then how would He still be God? Wouldn't that just make Him God in name only? Does that mean the Trinity ceased to exist when He had His earthly ministry?
These are just a few of the beliefs. When one looks at all of the beliefs together, it creates a "gospel" centered on man, and not on God. I have seen how destructive this "gospel" is and how it can affect or even destroy one's faith in God. With the few beliefs I've listed here, you can see how it burdens believers. It also oppresses and takes advantage of the poor and desperate, two groups we are supposed to minister to and take care of as Christians.
Hopefully this helps explain a little bit about the WoF movement. I'm more than happy to discuss it further, if you'd like. I've also written about my experience on my own page. The post is titled "Beware the Wolves" (In all honesty, I'm not trying to promote my page here. I even debated mentioning my post, but I have written a bit more about my experience in the WoF church that would be too long to post here. If I've overstepped, please let me know).
Oh Joanna! No you’ve not overstepped at all! I love getting to discover other writers and their work. I’m grateful that you shared. Feel free to post a link too if you want!
Thank you for taking the time to share all of that with me. I’m super familiar with all of the theology that you described, but I didn’t know it all fell under a specific church name.
I don’t suppose Kenneth Copeland is WoF? Because I learned a LOT about prosperity gospel from my grandparents following him.
I’m so sorry that you were under the influence of that kind of theology for so long. I can completely see how damaging it would be. Praise God that He has remained faithful and your relationship with Him has grown beyond the walls of your old church upbringing!
This is such a good description of deconstruction. Unfortunately, these days I’m seeing so many people who have become comfortable living in the ruins of their faith, believing a sort of poverty gospel when it comes to their relationship with Jesus. Thank you for the reminder that He wants to bring us home.
All of this! I had to go on a long journey of knock down & build up in my walk with Jesus. You’re so right, we often walk blindly to what we’ve been taught and when the veil comes off and you really look into things… your relationship with Jesus changes and at first, it hurts and can often be confusing. Keep sharing, I’m cheering you on x.
Thank you so much! 🥹
Oh, Christina, you didn't even have to describe or tell us the story in its fullness for me to feel the ache. There is so much pain in these spaces and at times it is so hard to deconstruct what was actually taking place there. Your quote, "We were told that our flesh is inherently evil and our spirit inherently good without a further definition of what is meant by the terms 'flesh' and 'spirit'; so we took it to mean that our instincts must always be sinful and wrong," resonates SO deeply with me. This beating down on the human spirit that some churches undertake, trying to paint humanity as so evil we are beyond good can have serious repercussions to our sense of self and ability to trust our senses and the actions taken by members influenced by this theology. Thank you for your vulnerability and honesty as always, it is beautiful to witness!
Thank you so much as always, Madison. So grateful you're here, and glad that this piece resonates! I knew I wasn't the only one.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I'm glad you all and your house are okay.
I'm going through a similar process, though I refer to it as a refining of my faith. Like you, I've never lost my basic Christian beliefs. What I have discarded (and am still in the process of discarding) are those beliefs that are wrong - either due to lack of understanding, poor teaching, and to be honest, my laziness in studying the Word of God. I, too, have been angry at the wolves who mislead the Church. The heresies they preach harm and even destroy others. I spent a significant part of my childhood in a Word of Faith church, and though I rejected some its teaching after leaving the WoF church, there were still some beliefs that stayed with me. Only recently have I realized how many of those beliefs I carried with me. My family and I currently attend a church with expository teaching, meaning they go through the Bible pretty much verse-by-verse. They also teach us to treasure Christ by preaching the Gospel every week. That simple phrase - "Treasure Christ" - has significantly impacted my faith as it has pointed me to what matters most in my walk with Christ.
I'm honestly overwhelmed by the love of God and His patience with me as I learn more about Him. He is a gracious and patient Teacher who lovingly leads His children to Truth. I'm also grateful that "He who began a good work" in us will never stop working on us, but will "bring it to completion at the day of Christ," (Philippians 1:6).
Praying you will continue growing closer to God as He heals you from your past wounds.
Joanna thank you so much for sharing all of this with me so candidly. I am loving the redemption you're seeing in your story. Do you mind if I ask what a Word of Faith Church is? I've never heard of that before?
Christina - thank you for your reply. I believe as Christ-followers it's important to share our faith journey to not only encourage other believers but to be a witness to the story of redemption God has written, and continues to write, into our lives.
So, a Word of Faith church teaches the prosperity gospel. They teach that it's God's will for you to be wealthy and healthy, and if you aren't, then it's your fault because you don't have enough faith. I'd like to stop here and point out how the Apostles lived and died. One just needs to read Paul's list of sufferings found in 2 Corinthians 11 to see how wrong the wealth and health theology is. I seriously doubt these things happened to Paul because he lacked faith, but I digress. They also teach that in order to receive your blessing, you must sow into their ministry, no matter how destitute you may be, as this is an act of faith.
Another belief of the WoF church is that we we are "little gods," meaning we have the same level of divinity that the LORD has. This belief leads to the belief that we have the power to use our words and our faith to speak things into existence as God did (and still does).
Some WoF pastors also teach that Jesus, though He was still God, gave up ALL of His divine power when He walked the earth. If He gave up all of his divine power, then how would He still be God? Wouldn't that just make Him God in name only? Does that mean the Trinity ceased to exist when He had His earthly ministry?
These are just a few of the beliefs. When one looks at all of the beliefs together, it creates a "gospel" centered on man, and not on God. I have seen how destructive this "gospel" is and how it can affect or even destroy one's faith in God. With the few beliefs I've listed here, you can see how it burdens believers. It also oppresses and takes advantage of the poor and desperate, two groups we are supposed to minister to and take care of as Christians.
Hopefully this helps explain a little bit about the WoF movement. I'm more than happy to discuss it further, if you'd like. I've also written about my experience on my own page. The post is titled "Beware the Wolves" (In all honesty, I'm not trying to promote my page here. I even debated mentioning my post, but I have written a bit more about my experience in the WoF church that would be too long to post here. If I've overstepped, please let me know).
Oh Joanna! No you’ve not overstepped at all! I love getting to discover other writers and their work. I’m grateful that you shared. Feel free to post a link too if you want!
Thank you for taking the time to share all of that with me. I’m super familiar with all of the theology that you described, but I didn’t know it all fell under a specific church name.
I don’t suppose Kenneth Copeland is WoF? Because I learned a LOT about prosperity gospel from my grandparents following him.
I’m so sorry that you were under the influence of that kind of theology for so long. I can completely see how damaging it would be. Praise God that He has remained faithful and your relationship with Him has grown beyond the walls of your old church upbringing!
Yes, Kenneth Copeland is WoF. And yes, I'm completely grateful to the LORD for His faithfulness. God is good!
Post that link to your piece, girl!
Here you go! https://joannademers.substack.com/p/beware-the-wolves?r=c1s9e
Brilliant, Christina. As always. 🙂
Thank you so much, lovely!
Thank you for this. Your scary near-fire experience has given you a great metaphor!
Hasn't it just! Glad something good could come out of it.
This is beautiful. And like a healing balm to both my fresh scabs and my old scars.
This is such a good description of deconstruction. Unfortunately, these days I’m seeing so many people who have become comfortable living in the ruins of their faith, believing a sort of poverty gospel when it comes to their relationship with Jesus. Thank you for the reminder that He wants to bring us home.