It's been one year since America held their Presidential election. From the results of that election, America chose a change in mentality, change in spirituality, and a change of life. Gone was one viewpoint of government and here came the opposite viewpoint of government. We saw America go back to a form of government that "the official Christian perspective" wanted into power. We once again saw a sense of righetousness, recessionary economies, and a military strength and might not demonstrated since the last government of "the official Christian perspective" was in office in the 1980's. However, in the Christian world, we have also gone back to many similiar environments and happenstances last seen in the late 1980's. We have seen more and more leaders have their moral turpitudes exposed by not only "those secular journalistic humanistic devils!!!" the morally turputent believe they are, but also by Christian journalists in leading Christian magazines. We even had some Christian leaders who have tried to tell us that their fraud was not fraud, but God annointed and inspired.

We have seen more of the repetitions of the same mistakes we claimed to have learned from or new packages of the same mistakes we claimed we learned from. We have seen a shift in our focus from evangelism even though the President has supported faith-based inititatives to help the needy to the focus on ourselves. We have also seen the controversial and in some cases downright heretical Word of Faith Teachings make a comeback in today's church. We saw televangelists take advantage of the last eight years to make money by leading the Holy Crusade in a war against "those evil DEMONcrats" in the White House. Now, the "DEMONcrats" are no longer in control of the White House and therefore, their war is over. Who in their rational mind would now give money to fight a already ended war? No one. Therefore, a newly repackaged old theology is once again being taught where in order to get, you have to overgive. Yes, the "name it and claim it", "seed faith", "health, wealth, and prosperity", and the "hundredfold" blessings are back in full force where Scriptures are being misapplied in order to raise money by promising (actually putting words in God's mouth) that if you give that particular pastor (not the one in your local church) money, God is going to give you Fort Knox. We now see people give money not out of the proper Scriptural commandments to give money to tithe the firstfruit into the local storehouse, but to give money thinking God is a high interest banker that promises on a linear formula of you give ten dollars, you will get a thousand dollars back from God, no sickness, and everything handed to me in a silver platter. We tell people it's evil to play the State lottery and playing that lottery will send their souls to hell but many play the lottery of the spirit with these televangelists hoping that one day, that ten dollars will be a thousand dollars with no more sickness attatched to it.

Meanwhile, you are poorer and driving that ten year old Chevrolet and the televangelist has a new Bentley, enough planes to start his own air force, new jewerly, bigger buildings, and a new mansion paid for. When you write and ask "Why does this not work"?. They slap the blame back on you via a "lack of faith", "secret sin", or "how dare you touch the Lord's annointed (or is it annoyning) and even ask the question and criticize my teaching". However, he still begs for money on the television. If the pastor applied his own hundredfold teachings by giving to other ministries with the millions given to him by little old grandmothers driving twenty year old Plymouth K-cars, then he should in actuality, never have to beg for money again because there would be enough money for everything and some left over to continue this infinite hundredfold concept. Also, if this was true, then to print up that infinite amount of money, the government would have to print up more dollar bills backed by the same constant amount of gold at Fort Knox. Therefore, any economic professor would tell you that inflation would be rampant, consumer goods would rise in price, interest rates would further drop, and the actual value of a dollar would decrease. Therefore stagnating the economy and head the nation from recession to possible depression i.e. the antithesis of the prosperity they preached. The Lord wants his people prosperous but the term prosperous goes beyond the financial realm. God wants us prosperous Spiritually with the Word of God in his heart. God wants us prosperous industrially with the best work ethic on the job. You do not have to be "extorted" by an televangelist to be healthy. You do not have to be "snookered" by an televangelist to have the things you need to survive. Why? The Bible states that the health you need and the things you need (not necessarily want) is already yours by being a child of God. In Isaiah 53:5, the Scriptures states that "by his stripes we are healed". The Apostle Paul told us that "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory". It is in the Word, period. All you have to do is have Godly faith (not 'that god kind of faith') to believe it is true and accept it as true.

We are also seeing today many churches being formed by people who have no spiritual authority nor covering by elders who oversee the church. Many of these churches are formed out of a rebellion where their last leaders tried to correct them and they refused correction or out of a mentality of "I can pastor better than a man of God can". In these churches, they submit to no outside Elders to keep things under control. Many (not all) are really nepotism disguised under the auspices of religion where the church is the family's vision of the church and not necessarily God's plan. The church is not ran as a church with church government, but as a family business where family members are self-exalted to paid positions of leadership no matter if qualified or not where the ministry is not a pastor to the sheep, but the sheep ends up ministering to the pastor and the family. Usually, if the founder steps down from the ministry, then the successor is a family member by default and not necessarily God's choice. However, in many of these churches (family ran or not), the operations board are made up more of overglorified "yes" men that all they do is say "yes" to the pastor instead of saying yes or no by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Many are in fear of saying "no" to the pastor fearing humiliation and loss of "authority". Many have so much to lose that they can not see the abundance blessings to gain if they choose to do God's will instead of being a "yes" man.

Click here for part two of this article