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| Lakewood Church in Texas (Creative Commons) |
Megachurches across the US are preaching rejection of LGBTQ people a study has found.
January 1, 2018
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Please continue to the bottom of the article to read my personal commentary on the FALSE Teachings of these Mega Church Ministries. Thank you so much, Rainbow Pastor David
Church Clarity launched earlier this year to monitor the way that LGBTQ issues are taught about in churches across the US.
The organization looks at the teachings of individual churches, to break down a list of those that are welcoming to LGBTQ people and those that are not.
However, an analysis of the 100 largest churches in the US has led to a disturbing find.
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(Photo by Barry Williams/Getty Images) |
Of the 100 churches, 35 have clear policies that reject LGBTQ people.
0 of the churches were found to be affirming.
Southern Baptist megachurches were the most likely to actively preach rejection of LGBTQ people, with 62% found to do so.
47% of Independent Christian Churches also rejected LGBTQ people.
Religion News Service columnist Jonathan Merritt noted: “While progressive Christians often claim that same-sex issues have largely been settled, America’s mega-churches have apparently not received the memo.
“None of them have policies affirming same-sex people and relationships.
“This staggering statistic will doubtlessly provide firepower to conservative Christians who claim that LGBTQ+ affirmation is a slippery slope to liberalism and a congregation killer.”
Given the old-school conservatism, it is perhaps unsurprising that the largest churches were also overwhelmingly white and male.
93% of the megachurches were led by a white pastor, while 99% are led by a man.
Church Clarity’s co-founder Tim Schraeder said: “Part of the reason we chose to release this now is because the New Year is a time when people decide to reengage with religion by attending church.
“As people of faith commit to new resolutions, we wanted to set them up for success by helping them make the most informed decision.”
George Mekhail added: “We hope that increased clarity will inspire necessary questions and waves of change within the church.
“As we close out 2017, we’ll continue to verify church submissions to our database and score churches’ actively enforced policies that impact LGBTQ individuals,”
The lack of inclusion in megachurches does not mean that there are no LGBTQ-friendly churches, however.
Of the 537 churches that the website has published info on to date, 90 have been scored as affirming.
A popular Los Angeles megachurch pastor recently claimed that there is no such thing as gay people.
The claim came from Pastor John MacArthur of the Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, a 3,500-seat megachurch which is popular with evangelicals.
MacArthur insisted: “No one is gay. If you mean by that, that that’s some hard-wiring, no one is gay.”
He elaborated: “People commit adultery, they commit sins of homosexuality, they lie, they steal, they cheat.
“It’s like saying, ‘I keep robbing banks, but I’m a robber. I’m a bank robber. What am I gonna do? I’m a bank robber.’ That is not an excuse for what you do.
“Are there certain kind of impulses that lead people in that direction? Yes. But I think one of the really deadly aspects of this is to let people define themselves as gay.
“They are not gay any more than an adulterer is hardwired to be forced by his own nature to commit adultery. Those are all behavioral sins that are condemned in scripture.
“God didn’t hard wire anybody in such a way that they are not responsible for certain behaviors.
“And so we need to cancel that out of the sin list and welcome them into the kingdom of God, because you can’t do anything else?
“But I think we do no service to people who are caught in the vicious sins of homosexuality by letting them define themselves by that sin.”
MacArthur previously advised parents of gay children to disown them and “turn them over to Satan”.
Responding to a letter from a parent whose son had just come out, he said: “If they profess to be a Christian, you have to alienate them.
“You have to separate them. You can’t condone that. It’s inconsistent with Christ.
“So you isolate them, you don’t have a meal with them, you separate yourself from them.
“You turn them over to Satan as it were as scripture says.”
More articles from Pink News, here
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It is my duty as a Good Shepherd to give warnings to the people of God about the FALSE TEACHINGS of the MEGA CHURCH "SHOWBOATS" that are making GOD ILL!!!
01/01/2018
It is interesting to note that this articles is being presented with Lakewood Church in Texas images. Lakewood Church in Texas is the largest ran FAKE {FALSE as the BIBLE CALLS IT} Churches in the USA. Joel Osteen in NOT a MINISTER of the GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST.
Joel Osteen DENIES JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY & OPRAH WINFREY too says there are many different ways to God; which is against Jesus' own Words {Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6}. Again in 1 Timothy 2:5-6 we learn that there is only ONE GOD and one way to that GOD and that is through CHRIST JESUS ONLY!!!
Joel Osteen preaches "Practical Principles" more than the actual WORD of GOD, he never condemns anyone because he thinks everyone is going to Heaven {read Mark 1:14-15 to learn the TRUTH}; which is a Direct Confrontation with the Word of God. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23 that not everyone was going to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He even admits to it in an interview -
You even have Billy Graham and his son Franklin Graham teaching FALSE teachings and gathering unto themselves many followers who are on that wide road to hell because they follow their teachings. Listen to Billy Graham in this interview talking about all the different "Religions" of the world that he is "Friends" with and he believes in them.
These humanistic views of many ways to God are leading multi millions of people down a wide path to hell. The Word of God says,
Matthew 7:13-14 {Amp}
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it."
Matthew 7:13-14 {MSG}
"Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention."
Matthew 7:13-14 {Amp}
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it."
Matthew 7:13-14 {MSG}
"Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention."
Osteen's wife, Victoria stands up with him on Sunday Morning blaspheming [the act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things] God -
These two are NOT TRUE MINISTERS of GOD - They are what the Word of God calls FALSE PROPHETS in Matthew 7:15-20 and ignorant windbags who only care about money in 1 Timothy 6:3-5
"When we obey God, we’re not doing it for God...we’re doing it for our self. Because God takes pleasure when we’re happy. Do good ‘cause God wants you to be happy. When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God, really. You’re doing it for yourself because that’s what makes God happy."
"God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24
Then the Lord said, “Because this nation approaches [Me only] with their words and honors Me [only] with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me is a tradition that is learned by rote [without any regard for its meaning],Therefore, listen carefully, I will again do marvelous and amazing things with this people, wonderful and astonishing things; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the understanding of their discerning men will be hidden.” Woe (judgment is coming) to those who [try to] deeply hide their plans from the Lord, Whose deeds are done in a dark place, And who say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”
In 2 Kings 17:38-39 we are commanded to obey God then He will in turn meet our need.
In Psalm 100 we are told to SHOUT JOYFULLY and in Revelation 14:7 we are to FEAR God with awe and reverence and give Him glory, honor and praise in WORSHIP!!!
I will have to say I respect the "Opinion" of Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community
Church in Los Angeles who believes there is no such thing as being gay. I am a Gay Born Again, Spirit Filled, Tongue Talking, Prayer Warrior, Servant of God as a Good Shepherd to the LGBTQI+ Community and the rest of the World through the Grace of Jesus Christ who died for ALL our sins. Jesus made it a point that EVERYONE who comes to HIM will be SAVED. Any Pastor who tells you that you can not be saved because of who you love is defying the Word of God because of their personal feelings and beliefs. They are NOT teaching the Love and Grace of a God who sent JESUS CHRIST to bring us back to GOD.
Please read my this blog post about my life with GOD and being GAY -
Be the YOU God created YOU to BE
Be the YOU God created YOU to BE
Amazing how good it feels to LEARN the TRUTH of GOD'S WORD so you can know when SATAN is using people as his PREACHERS and TEACHERS and PROPHETS to lead you astray.
To learn more about FALSE PROPHETS and TEACHERS please check out my blog posts:
3. Watchman - Good Shepherd
May God continue to open your heart, mind and spirit to the TRUTH of HIS LOVE and GRACE for ALL HIS CREATION.
Blessings and Peace,
Rainbow Pastor David
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Scriptures
used above for further study
Therefore I urge
you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies
[dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and
well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act
of worship. And do not be conformed to this world [any
longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and
progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind
[focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for
yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and
perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]. Romans
12:1-2 {AMP}
If we give up and turn our backs on all
we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate
Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty
fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the Law of Moses is
physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on
the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This
is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us
pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing”
and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me.
Hebrews
10:9 {MSG}
Be wary of false
preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they
are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma;
look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they
say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook.
These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and
burned. Matthew
7:15-20 {MSG}
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My
Father who is in heaven. Many will say to
Me on that day
[when I judge them], ‘Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name,
and done many miracles in Your name?’ And then I will declare to
them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who
act wickedly
[disregarding My commands].’ Matthew
7:21-23 {AMP}
These are the
things I want you to teach and preach. If you have leaders there who teach
otherwise, who refuse the solid words of our Master Jesus and this godly
instruction, tag them for what they are: ignorant windbags who infect the air
with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing, suspicious rumors. Eventually
there’s an epidemic of backstabbing, and truth is but a distant memory. They
think religion is a way to make a fast buck. 1Timothy
6:3-5 {MSG}
Repeat these
basic essentials over and over to God’s people. Warn them before God against
pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out.
Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying
out the truth plain and simple. Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk.
Words are not mere words, you know. If they’re not backed by a godly life, they
accumulate as poison in the soul. Hymenaeus and Philetus are examples, throwing
believers off stride and missing the truth by a mile by saying the resurrection
is over and done with. 2
Timothy 2:14-18 {MSG}
Remind the
people of these facts, and solemnly charge them in the presence of
God to avoid petty controversy over words, which does no good, and [upsets and
undermines and] ruins [the faith of] those who listen. Study
and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested
by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and
skillfully teaching the word of truth. But avoid
all irreverent babble and godless chatter [with its profane, empty words], for
it will lead to further ungodliness, and their
teaching will spread like gangrene. So it is with Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have deviated from the truth. They claim that the
resurrection has already taken place, and they undermine the faith of some.
2
Timothy 2:14-18 {AMP}
For there is
[only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and mankind, the Man Christ
Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom [a
substitutionary sacrifice to atone] for all, the testimony given at the right and
proper time. 1Timothy
2:5-6 {AMP}
Now after John
[the Baptist] was arrested and taken into custody, Jesus went to
Galilee, preaching the good news of [the kingdom of] God, and saying, “The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God is at hand; repent
[change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your
life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in the good news [regarding salvation].” Mark
1:14-15 {AMP}
So repent
[change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return
[to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away
[blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the
presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day] Acts
3:19 {AMP}
And they
answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust
yourself to Him] and you will be saved, you and your household [if they also
believe].” Acts
16:31 {AMP}
And if anyone’s
name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of
fire. Revelation
20:15 {AMP}
He saved us, not
because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own
compassion and mercy, by the cleansing of the new birth (spiritual
transformation, regeneration) and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out richly upon us through Jesus Christ our
Savior, so that we would be justified [made free
of the guilt of sin] by His [compassionate, undeserved] grace, and that we
would be [acknowledged as acceptable to Him and] made heirs of eternal life
[actually experiencing it] according to our hope (His guarantee). Titus
3:5-7 {AMP}
Come to Him [the
risen Lord] as to a living Stone which men rejected and threw away, but
which is choice and precious in the sight of God. 1
Peter 2:4 {AMP}
Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error]. For many will come in My name [misusing it, and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, ‘I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ and they will mislead many “Then they will hand you over to [endure] tribulation, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will fall away [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another. Many false prophets will appear and mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold. But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved. This good news of the kingdom [the gospel] will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end [of the age] will come. Matthew 24:4-5, 9-14 {AMP}
So
what difference does it make who’s a Jew and who isn’t, who has been trained in
God’s ways and who hasn’t? As it turns out, it makes a lot of difference—but
not the difference so many have assumed. First, there’s the matter of being put
in charge of writing down and caring for God’s revelation, these Holy
Scriptures. So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews
abandoned their post? God didn’t abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness
cancels out His faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps His
word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the
same: Your words stand fast and true; Rejection doesn’t faze you. But if our
wrongdoing only underlines and confirms God’s right doing, shouldn’t we be
commended for helping out? Since our bad words don’t even make a dent in His
good words, isn’t it wrong of God to back us to the wall and hold us to our
word? These questions come up. The answer to such questions is no, a
most emphatic No! How else would things ever get straightened out if God
didn’t do the straightening? It’s simply perverse to say, “If my lies serve to
show off God’s truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I’m doing God a
favor.” Some people are actually trying to put such words in our mouths,
claiming that we go around saying, “The more evil we do, the more good God
does, so let’s just do it!” That’s pure slander, as I’m sure you’ll agree. So
where does that put us? Do we Jews get a better break than the others? Not
really. Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in
identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners.
Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There’s nobody living right, not even one, nobody
who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They’ve all taken the wrong turn; they’ve
all wandered down blind alleys. No one’s living right; I can’t find a single
one. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides. Every
word they speak is tinged with poison. They open their mouths and pollute the
air. They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with
heartbreak and ruin, don’t know the first thing about living with others. They
never give God the time of day. This makes it clear, doesn’t it, that whatever
is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to
us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place! And it’s
clear enough, isn’t it, that we’re sinners, every one of us, in the same
sinking boat with everybody else? Our involvement with God’s revelation doesn’t
put us right with God. What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone
else’s sin. But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the
prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The
God-setting-things-right that we read about has become
Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who
believes in Him; for there is no difference between us and them in this. Since
we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and
proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for
us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity He put us in right standing with
Himself; A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to
where He always wanted us to be. And He did it by means of Jesus Christ. God
sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having
faith in Him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full
view of the public—to set the world in the clear with Himself through the
sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins He had so patiently
endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history!
God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in His
rightness. So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and
counterclaims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we’ve learned is this: God does
not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We’ve
finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by
letting Him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.
And where does that leave our proud Jewish claim of having a corner on God?
Also canceled. God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews. How
could it be otherwise since there is only one God? God sets right all who
welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious
system and those who have never heard of our religion.But by
shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don’t we
cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at
all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its
proper place, we confirm it. Romans
3 {MSG}
The covenant that I have made with you,
you shall not forget; you shall not fear other gods. But the Lord your God you shall fear [and worship];
then He will rescue you from the hands of all your enemies.” 1
Kings 17:38-39 {AMP}
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with
gladness and delight; Come before His presence with joyful singing. Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, not
we ourselves [and we are His]. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving And
His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, bless and
praise His name. For the Lord is good;
His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting; His faithfulness [endures] to all generations. Psalm 100
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