Steven Furtick to Join Bill Johnson & Kris Vallotton for Bethel Conference

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Steven Furtick, who is somehow still considered part of the Southern Baptist Convention, will be a speaker at (yet another) conference from the heretical, Montanist, NAR mega-church: Bethel Church, Redding. This conference promises to "bring heaven" (if you buy an expensive ticket) just like all of their other conferences: 

Tickets cost between $129 to $189... but for an additional $60 surcharge you can sit closer to the NARpostles and have a Q&A session with the very cool (and very famous) Bethel musicians!

 

This should not seem too shocking since Furtick has already declared his great love and devotion to the Modalist heretic T. D. Jakes. Over the years, Steven Furtick has even adopted the dramatic and emotionally manipulative speaking style of T. D. Jakes. But now we see the attempt to merge two massive audiences: the NAR/Signs and Wonders/Hyper-Charismatic audience of Bill Johnson and his Bethel co-pastor, Kris Vallotton, with the more Word of Faith/Positive Thinking/Seeker-Friendly audience of Steven Furtick.

These men are all highly paid public speakers, and they wish to find as many new customers as possible. We can expect them to have brand new books to sell in time for this conference as well.

Here are some of the other false teachers that Steven Furtick has gladly shared the stage with:

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Steven Furtick "Ministries" is hardly a ministry:  

  • It is NOT listed in the IRS database.
  • It is NOT registered as a non-profit in North Carolina or South Carolina.
  • It does NOT file a Form 990 with the IRS.

For more information:

The Steven Furtick Cornucopia of False Teaching, Egomania and Hair Gel

10 Reasons Why You Should RUN AWAY From Bethel Redding

Here's a very informative new video about Steven Furtick from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

Are you sick and tired of seeing these false-teaching egomaniacs getting rich in the name of God??

Read the Manifesto of Christian Discernment:

 

 

Furtick's Ego Survives Entire Sermon Without Crowd Triggered Endorphin Rush?

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Did Steven Furtick’s ego and central nervous system survive an entire sermon without an audience triggered endorphin rush?

Before preaching on Coming Out of the Drought, Steven Furtick said he wanted to commit to teaching, and not engage in any hollering or wild stuff during his sermon. Could his ego survive a calm audience? How would his central nervous system react to an audience not pumping his system full of endorphins every two minutes? Did Furtick even live up to his commitment? Take a look below and decide for yourself. (We think, perhaps, this is just another method of whipping his adoring fans into another Sunday morning frenzy...)

Training Creative Goat Herders - C3 Conference 2017

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It's that time of year for C3 (Creative Church Conference), or maybe better described as "Training for Creative Goat Herders". Their promotional videos gives us a sense of the unsavory flavor they're about to release. Note the Word of Faith declaring and decreeing (really just shouting) by Steven Furtick:

Some quotes from the video.

"Church should be the most creative entity in the universe."

"Hearing from God, allowing God to use your uniqueness in your context, to communicate His glorious Gospel."

What does the emphasis on creativity and uniqueness confess?

Relying on "creativity" and "uniqueness" (buzzwords for stagecraft) is an outright confession that the word and sacraments that God gave his church are not enough. No one will come right out and admit the obvious belief system that's being demonstrated here:

"If you want to attract a big crowd, you've gotta put on a big show."

Jesus instructed Peter to feed his sheep in John 21:17. Matthew 25:32-33 tells us Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats.

These Christian leaders are being taught how to entertain goats, not feed the sheep.

Power of Potential to Elevate Furtick's Ego?

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In a recent sermon on "The Power of Potential" at Elevation Church, Steven Furtick is seen repeatedly begging his congregation for elevation of his ego, while he also self-brags on his preaching ability.

He directed the person running the Snap Chat app to make sure  he was recording the sermon because he was "preaching pretty good". Another time Furtick lifts his head to God, and appears to be petitioning God for a crowd reaction. Furtick then begs his church to help him preach because he feels like he is at a funeral.

You will also observe Furtick asking for his audience to at least grunt in reaction to his sermon, as he makes weird gestures with his body. Furtick  continues to self-brag by reminding Elevation that he has his own church, and can pretty much say what he wants to say.

 

Later his ego appears to be deflating as he repeats to himself, "I'm helping somebody." His church had some mercy and gave some positive reinforcement.  
Then once again his ego was deflating, and he had to self sooth and repeat to himself, "I wish this was the rowdy crowd." That achieved the desired effect and his church once again elevated his ego.

In a final volley of self-aggrandizing rants that provoked his audience to a fever pitch, he brags and says, "This is the kind of preaching that will mess you up." 

Elevation Church appears to be about the elevation of Steven Furtick's ego. He brags about his preaching, begs for praise, while going back and forth on his stage. On a closing thought, speaking of the stage, take a look at the picture below and see who all four spotlights are pointing toward.

Is Jesus in the spotlight? Who is he pointing praise and attention towards repeatedly in his message? The answer is sadly obvious. 

This is a sin that can be forgiven because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Pray that God would grant any church caught up in these antics full repentance. If you're in a position of leadership and are caught up in this nonsense, the forgiveness is for you too. Ask God to grant you repentance.

The Steven Furtick Cornucopia of False Teaching, Egomania and Hairgel

"I Will Fight!" Jesus Died to Make You a Winner!!

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Elevation Church is ready to PUMP YOU UP!! (Is this a church or a fitness club?)

Jesus wants you to be RIPPED!!

Jesus expects you to FIGHT!!

Super Pastor Steven Furtick has really big muscles, why don't YOU??

 

(But it's all about Jesus, right?)

Btw, Super Pastor Craig Groeschel would like to mention that he has really big muscles, too... 

(Pastor Groeschel is still trying to get past his reputation for having portrayed Harold Krenshaw on the TV show "Monk")

Pastoral Shouting Match with Ed Young and Steven Furtick!!!

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  • HYPE-O-RAMA OF PASTORAL (& OVERLY DRAMATIC) SHOUTING! BECAUSE SHOUTING PROVES THAT SOMETHING IS TRUE!! Just like using ALL CAPS!!!!
  • OBLIGATORY FOOTAGE OF EMOTIONAL WORSHIPPERS WITH HANDS RAISED! (Wide aperture on lens for that shallow depth of field look; this says "spiritual, but not religious" like nothing else)
  • CHEERING A LOT... AND THEN CHEERING SOME MORE!! WHY IS THERE SO MUCH CHEERING?? JUST KEEP CHEERING!!!!
  • OBLIGATORY FOOTAGE OF ATHLETE GETTING READY TO WIN!! WOW-HE'S READY TO KICK SOME BUTT!!! JUST LIKE OUR CHURCH!!!!!
  • NO LOSERS ALLOWED; THIS IS WHERE SUPER-CHRISTIANS LEARN HOW TO WIN!!
  • OBLIGATORY FOOTAGE OF DRUMMERS DRUMMING AS PEOPLE DANCE AROUND IN SLOW MOTION!! (Wide aperture on the lens again; nice touch)
  • COOL YOUNG ROCKSTAR WORSHIP LEADERS!!
  • ONCE YOU BECOME A DIAMOND IN AMWAY YOU CAN QUIT YOUR DAY JOB!! (Oh wait, that's a different, but very similar, conference...) 
  • SOMETHING ABOUT GOD... SOMEWHERE... OH YEAH, GOD WANTS YOU TO ACHIEVE YOUR DREAM DESTINY THINGY!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!! (Continue cheering until further notice...)

Watch this conference promo video and ask yourself: Does this look like an actual Christian conference, or a motivational conference full of shouting, exaggerating and people being told how great they are? Ask yourself: Is this video trying to accurately describe a conference, or is it emotionally manipulating me into wanting to get pumped up and join all the cool people shown here? 

 

Perhaps this is the motivational speaker that that Ed Young should hire for next year's conference...

A related article:

When Did the Church Turn Into Amway?

Fighting for the Faith episodes that show how Ed Young twists God's Word:

Fighting for the Faith Ed Young

Fighting for the Faith episodes that show how Steven Furtick twists God's Word:

Fighting for the Faith Steven Furtick

For those who think it's mean, judgmental and un-loving to criticize Ed Young or Steven Furtick (or any other church leader) here's something just for you: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.

If you're having a knee-jerk reaction to try and defend this video, check out: Confirmation Bias: Why You Are Protecting Your False Beliefs.

Finally, here's an article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.

Furtick Listed among Top "Oprah-Certified" Gurus

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The Oprah Winfrey Network named Steven Furtick to their Super Soul 100 influencers list in the Soul Teachers category along with other self-help gurus like Deepak Chopra, Eckart Tolle, Rob Bell, Tony Ribbons, T.D. Jakes, and more.

Steven Furtick's Elevation Church made this announcement on Facebook. Read the post closely. Pay attention to what is being emphasized and celebrated.

A preacher of the gospel is embracing being celebrated for helping people live an authentic life. An authentic life?  Isn't that the language of self-help gurus? Our inability to lead an "authentic life" is one of the problems that Jesus came to solve. We are sinners in need of a Savior, not students who just need a more effective teacher so we can reach our potential. This mingling of Christianity with totally pagan self-help training and leadership advice is very common-and very confusing.

Wouldn't it have been so much better if his Facebook announcement celebrated how he called for people to repent of their sins and trust in what Jesus did for them on the cross? But instead of presenting Christianity as a contrast to all the other New Agers on the list, he just gave a "Christian" version of the same vague "spirituality." Of course, if Steven Furtick was preaching a Biblical message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins he probably would have never made Oprah's list to begin with. 

The typical self-help/leadership book is full of catch phrases like "inspiring others" and "live out an authentic life". Furtick's Elevation Church draws our attention to those self-help linguistics.

Let's take a look at the wording on Furtick's bio page on Oprah's website:

“Pastor Steven Furtick is the founder and lead pastor of Elevation Church. At age 16, he realized that God’s plan for his life was to start a life-changing church in a metropolitan city. In 2006, that vision became a reality. Steven and his wife Holly, along with seven other families, quit their jobs, sold their homes, and moved to Charlotte, NC, to start Elevation Church—faithfully believing that God would use them to reach their city.

In the last decade, Elevation has grown to more than 20,000 in weekly attendance, meeting at 14 locations in the Charlotte area and beyond. Through God’s faithfulness and provision, the church has seen thousands of people give their lives to Christ, and had the opportunity to give over $20 million back to their community.”
“The heart of Pastor Steven’s message is the life-changing power of Jesus Christ, through which he empowers others to live greater, faith-filled lives for God’s glory. He has had the privilege to minister to a global audience and speak at conferences and churches around the world.

Additionally, Pastor Steven is the New York Times best-selling author of Sun Stand Still, Greater, Crash the Chatterbox and his most recent release, (Un)Qualified.”

The bio does have distinct Christian words like "give their lives to Christ," "power of Jesus Christ," "God's glory." But these distinctly Christian words are not the emphasis of Oprah and Furtick. Oprah and Furtick are not trying to propel your attention to Christ crucified.

Instead they whittle down the meaning of these Christian words so that Steven Furtick seems aligned with the self-help guru hall of fame Oprah is placing him in. As you observed from Furtick's Facebook post, he was more than willing to comply with the whittling away so he could fit in.

Again, his Facebook announcement drew attention to "inspiring others" and "live out an authentic life." Oprah's bio page uses "life-changing," "reach their city," "empowers," "faith-filled lives." The prominent Furtick quote is about reaching for goals, reward and fulfillment. These are all words that propel our attention to self-help and not the cross.

That false gospel draws attention to the self, and to one's own happiness and glory.

Furtick recently used Jesus Christ to draw attention to self on Facebook.

Christ is in us, and that is enough. Furtick uses the full thrust of Christ's name to draw attention to self.

But we don't need to know that we are enough, we need to know that Christ is enough. Period.

Repurposing Jesus into the self-focused self-help guru is, unfortunately, consistent with much of the ministry of Steven Furtick, and most of the mega-church pastors of American Pop Evangelicalism.

Christ is mentioned by Oprah and Furtick, but the true purpose of Christ is not the emphasis. Christ is repurposed into just another means of self-help, as the breadcrumb serving of Christian sounding words are stripped of their full impact. The cross isn't a primary focus, it's not even a secondary afterthought. Rather the cross is tucked snuggly behind the already whittled down Christian words, out of sight, and out of consideration, all so the self-help message can thunder forth from Oprah's guru mountain. No golden calf needed, because the self-help message is itself a golden calf.

Now what? We've exposed the issue. The gravity of the sin weighs on the conscience. Is this where it ends? No. When we here at Pirate Christian Media want a pastor to be "more Biblical" it's not because we want to keep people condemned-it's the exact opposite! The real, Biblical message of the Gospel is Good News. Jesus didn't die on the cross so we could be more successful or have a more fulfilling experience of reaching our goals or any of those self-help/leadership themes. We can't accomplish all the good things we know we should be accomplishing-that's why we need the Gospel. We need to have our sins forgiven-not hear another motivational message full of false hope in ourselves.

What if you're guilty of following this type of teaching? What if you're guilty of teaching this stuff? Are you to sit there, overwhelmed with your sin, without hope, without an eased conscience? No.

Are you tired of trying harder and harder? Are you willing to admit that you're not capable of doing all the good things you wished you were capable of doing? 

There is a throne of grace and forgiveness opened to sinners because of what Jesus did freely on the cross. Grace to remove your sin completely. Grace to ease your troubled conscience. Grace to grant you repentance. Freely given for you. Resting on nothing but what Jesus did on the cross. That's the message that people need to hear!

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
— John 14: 27

For those who think it's mean, judgmental and un-loving to criticize Steven Furtick (or any other popular pastor/teacher) here's something just for you: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.

If you're having a knee-jerk reaction to try and defend Furtick's ideas, check out: Confirmation Bias: Why You Are Protecting Your False Beliefs.

Finally, here's an article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.