Church leaders and the congregation hold one another accountable and serve on mission together.Ĥ) Do we believe that a pastor should shepherd his people? Yes, the pastors are called to lead the church in accomplishing God’s mission (Heb 13 1 Pet 5 etc.), but God in his goodness has also given a voice in decision-making to the congregation (cf. 2) We don’t need a priest to mediate these things to us because there is One Mediator (1 Tim 2:5). We will aggressively defend our unity and that vision.” This is quite problematic for two reasons among others: 1) The scriptures indicate that all Christians can hear from God and know his plans for the church as outlined in the Bible. Elevation Code 4 states, “We are united under one vision: Elevation is built on the vision God gave Pastor Steven. The Elevation Code seems to have no place for the Priesthood of the Believers instead, the priesthood seems to lie with the Visionary alone. Repeated statements about the authority of pastor Furtick’s vision from God seems to communicate a pope-like role for the pastor (contra 1 Peter 5). This is potentially dangerous teaching that sounds close to prosperity theology.ģ) Do we believe in the priesthood of the believers? In addition, check out this blog ( read blog here) about Furtick’s troubling use of “I Am” to also refer to human beings not just Yahweh. Certainly there are verses that talk about following pastoral leadership, but Romans 13 isn’t one of them. Romans 13 talks about the government not the pastors of the church. One simple example is the coloring sheet ( see the coloring sheet here) that uses Romans 13:1 to teach the kids at Elevation to submit to “the visionary,” Furtick. There seems in integral places to be misuse and poor interpretation of the Bible. This is no minor oversight because it could imply that regeneration is not necessary for baptism.Ģ) Do we pull the verses out of context for our own purposes? In fact, the words “gospel” and “testimony” are not found in this document. (Note: It is also concerning that no where in the “How-To” document do they instruct potential churches who they are encouraging to follow their pattern to interview candidates about the gospel or give their testimony. He trusted in the power of God to open blind eyes through the message about Jesus (2 Cor 4:1-6). We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” Paul didn’t manipulate miracles. These types of practices sound very similar to what Paul references in 2 Corinthians 4:2 when he says, “But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. Instead, he simply stood in the power of the Spirit, proclaimed the simple gospel of Christ crucified and risen, and a miracle happened. He didn’t assign people to “smile and clap,” create a “HUGE and over the top celebration,” or “pick young energetic people” to go first in order for God to perform a miracle (all direct quotes from the guide). At Pentecost, Peter didn’t plant people in the crowd to respond to the sermon. If a church follows these spontaneous baptism practices ( click here for How-To-Guide), then it might reveal a lack of confidence in God’s Spirit and the gospel. We see some deep theological problems in these reported practices, so we want to raise some questions in hopes of helping our churches wrestle with what our practices communicate:ġ) Do our practices reveal a lack of confidence in the power of the gospel? Third, since Elevation has sought to distribute their guide to spontaneous baptisms to other local churches ( click here), this is a public issue that affects more than one local church. Second, we have members in our churches who are interacting with this story on social media, and we have a responsibility to address these issues as their shepherds. Even so, we felt it necessary to raise these concerns for several reasons: first, we are concerned for our brother Pastor Furtick, and for his church. We have hesitated to write about another pastor or church for many reasons, and we know that in doing so we open ourselves up for critique. Having said that, we do want to raise questions about whether or not the reported practices of Elevation Church are inconsistent with the gospel. And, we want to say with the Apostle Paul that we rejoice anytime the gospel is preached (Phil 1:15-18). Their zeal to see lost people saved is truly wonderful. Let us begin by saying that we are grateful for every good thing that God has done through Pastor Furtick and Elevation Church. The evangelical world is buzzing with concerns about the practices of Elevation Church and Pastor Steven Furtick.
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