Searching for the Truth in the King James Bible;
Finding it, and passing it on to you.

EDITOR:
Steve Van Nattan

HOME PAGE

HOME - TABLE OF CONTENTS - WAR ROOM - THE GOSPEL - BIBLE STUDY - MORAL ISSUES - KING JAMES BIBLE - CULTS
PROPHECY - WORLD AFFAIRS - QUIET PLACE - STEVE'S YARNS - BIO OF EDITOR - HEALTH - LADIES' PAGE - HEROES

DEPROGRAMMING AND MOVING ON

Suggestions and helps for victims of wolf
packs who have recently escaped

2 Peter 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

FIRST THOUGHTS

Over the past years, since the Hindu gurus in India called a congress on Hindu evangelism, there has been an increasing need for deprogramming people who allowed themselves to be made victims of cults and pagan religions. Jim Jones' final statement of power in Guyana was to demand that the faithful drink the poisoned Kool Aid, which they did. It is hard to deprogram people who are dead. But, thousands of victims of church house wolves are not physically dead, but they are brain and soul dead spiritually.

Deprogramming is needed when a person leaves a cult or guru or false religion but is unable to wrest the filth of the teachings out of their mind and soul. We have seen the effects of the Charismatic movement on people. When they leave it, the leaders curse them and say vile things.

As one man walked out of a Rodney Howard Brown holy laughter session, Brown said, "Every great work of God needs a bowel movement." Leaving is hard, not only in that the mind has been captivated by false religion, but the old friends now make the former member into a devil, a Judas.

Fundamental Baptist churches have been infected more and more by a cult with two evil teachings:

1. FALSE TEACHING ABOUT "THE MAN OF GOD"

The pastor is "The Man of God," and is not to be questioned. He is the source of all good things and all laws. To question "The Man of God" is to question the very throne of God.

Sam Gipp has said, "There is only one man standing between your family and hell-- your pastor." That may be politically correct if Sam wants the offering, for he has given the pastor his money's worth for calling Sam, but Sam Gipp is a damned heretic.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

It is just as blasphemous when Sam violates this Bible truth as when the Pope violates it. The problem is, Sam is an all fired sho nuf DOCTOR, and, "Our pastor likes him." So the faithful swallow the statement as truth. One by one such heretical statements fill the minds of the guruized saints with rubbish called "doctrines of devils" in the Bible. And finally, the saint can no longer even bring to memory the Bible texts which reveal the heresy for what it is. Thus, "The Man of God" owns the minds of the saints before him.

2. BRAIN WASHING AND REDUCTION OF THE SAINT

The average saint is taught that he is helpless to get anything right without submitting to one "Man of God" in one local church, and all other sources this side of heaven are deadly and must be avoided. He is also taught that the geography is even more narrow than a local church-- he has come to believe that he has nowhere to get right with God but a 12 by 12 foot area of carpet at the front of the church house where he kneels regularly beneath the fire breathing guru of Satan during the weekly "altar call."

One day, some saint is suddenly hit by some statement, some teaching, like tithing or "faith promise" or some personal standard of dress or hair, and the saint goes way back in the old hard drive of his mind which has been long neglected. He hits "Enter," and up comes a Bible verse-- that which God said would not return void. The saint mulls this over for a day, a month, or a year, and finally he cannot help himself, he must speak. Thus, he comes delicately and gently up to the flaming depository of truth, "The Man of God," and he asks if the preacher would clarify some heretical teaching commonly belched from the pulpit, and put that teaching into a biblical context by actually USING the Bible to prove the truth of the teaching.

WHAM! The questioner, no matter how sincere and polite, will be bashed in the face, sometimes, as in one Baptist hell hole in Texas, literally slugged with fists of the pastor or a deacon, and he will be told to either "get under authority, or leave."

He leaves.

But, what a load of rubbish he has in his mind. He senses that he has this horrendous mixture of good and evil that he has accepted over time, and he feels two feelings:

1. Guilt-- He has allowed a man to trash the King James Bible and teach him the traditions of man and other excretions of Satan.

2. Panic-- He may have very little idea how to unload, and he may have a wife and four kids who are equally deformed in spirit and mind to rescue. And, he feels like he is helpless without a guru.

Thus, this article.

TOM'S JOURNEY

Tom was born into a pastor and missionary family. His mother and father were members of a denomination which was called Evangelical, and long ago was the narrow way, as Fundamentalism is today. As Tom grew up, his parents taught him the Bible, and he heard it as his father preached and taught in the pastorate and on the missionfield. Tom was saved at an early age, and he grew in the Lord. His parents taught him the truth, used the Bible, and had a regular family altar. Tom learned to love the Lord Jesus and walk with him.

But, over the years, unbeknown to Tom, men in high places in the denomination were moving, ever so slowly, but moving off of the narrow way. Tom's Dad did not change, but everything around him changed slowly. Tom's Dad found places to serve the Lord where he did not have to change personally, and Tom had no reason to feel uncomfortable. But, Tom was taught all his life that he must decide what he believed. His parents tried to give him the truth, but Tom was allowed full choice and free will in all things, especially as he matured.

One day Tom was reading his Bible, and he realized that the ecumenical and compromised denomination his family was in had wandered far from the truth. Tom also realized that his parents had not taken a stand against the compromise, rather; they had found ways to stay in the denomination and keep their zeal and ministry intact. Tom began to move mentally, and later physically, out of the Evangelical camp and on to walk on his own in Christ.

Now, because Tom's parents had always encouraged Tom to build his own personal convictions in his Christian life, his parents were disappointed that Tom was not with them in all things, but they accepted it. Tom was still walking with the Lord, and his zeal was increasing, so he was still a credit to his parents. Tom never felt the sting of rejection, and his only emotion was that the light had been dim for many years, and now the light was full ON.

In Tom's story there is nothing very earth shaking, for in it is the way of peace, both for his rather timid parents and for Tom himself. The Word speaks of Tom's experience.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Tom and his parents have never become adversaries, but Tom moved "from faith" (learned at his mother knee and his Daddy's pulpit) "to faith" (learned by separation unto Christ more completely).

BILL'S JOURNAL

Bill was in the youth group of a Fundamental Baptist church. He heard the Gospel, was told that he was a sinner, and was lead down the Romans Road and helped to regurgitate a prayer at "an old fashioned altar." From then on Bill was told that he was right with God as long as he lock stepped with the saints around him and relished the bombast and the bull from the mighty pulpit. Attendance and total submission were exalted, not faith.

Bill was not told to think for himself. He was not encouraged to be a noble Berean:

Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Bill was brow beat with the need to kill his will and submit to "The Man of God." He did so. Bill also found a wife in that church and was happily married. He never questioned his place in the local church-- he was a "grunt," and his thoughts were suspect at best. He must hear all truth from the bishop. Bill later had children, and the family was, in many ways, very happy.

But, the bishop changed. The "Man of God" went here and there around America visiting pastors' camp meetings and rallies, and every time he came back, all his preaching was centered on a cause. Caesar was evil, public schools were deadly, America was being destroyed from on high, the New World Order was just about to put all Bible believers into concentration camps. The "Man of God" even claimed to have witnessed some of these claims in person. The "Man of God" went to support other pastors who were losing their churches and schools because of tax rebellion. Tax rebellion was glorified, and guns and civil right were exalted. The Bible was never used in all of this. Misplaced proof texts were used, but no effort was made to anchor the rhetoric in Pauline Apostolic teachings.

Bill drank it in. Then the "Man of God" began to teach that children are evil and must be bashed and beaten black and blue in order to get the devil out of them. Children must have their will totally broken by their father, even if they are bleeding after their father breaks their will. The "Man of God" was a good example, for he beat his sons for every small infraction until they were bruised over their whole body. Even a failure to win an interchurch quiz would bring a brutal beating for the preacher's sons.

Bill kept on drinking it in, and he never questioned a thing. Bill had been robbed of his will to the point that he was terrified of any suggestion of examining the teachings of man by using the Word of God. This was so final, and such a mighty mental prison around his mind, that even if his kids asked Dad why the "Man of God" taught something when the Bible said otherwise, Bill would take that child and thrash them with a belt for questioning the "Man of God."

One day, as with Tom above, Bill was reading his Bible, and he realized that there was a contradiction between what the Bible said and what the "Man of God" was teaching. He also realized that his kids were being brain washed and abused in "junior church."

The light, as with Tom, went full on. Bill went to the pastor and asked for some clarification so that he might reconcile the preacher's teachings, and the abuse in "junior church" to the Word of God. Bill was blasted viciously at once. Bill retreated. Bill did some more thinking, and Bill panicked. This is the experience of virtually all who are made captive of Fundamental Baptist jack boot preachers before they actually flee from the cult. Panic.

When a saint realizes that something is wrong, and then that saint considers what a slave he and his family are to something wrong, it is terrifying. All that one has given his life to suddenly turns to quick sand, and he does not know where to turn.

Bill later went to the pastor, in the presence of a deacon, and told the pastor very quietly that he and his family would be leaving the church and finding fellowship elsewhere. Instantly, the deacon grabbed Bill by the throat and slammed him against the wall and roared in his face demanding to know why he was leaving.

Bill, for the first time in thirty years, exercised his will in submission to the will of God instead of in submission to the will of the flaming Baptist Nazi Fuhrer-- Bill said, "I am leaving because you don't act like Christians in this church." The deacon was in a pretty bad situation and realized it at once, for he was choking Bill as he held Bill against the wall with his fist. The deacon and the jack boot preacher cursed Bill and fled.

Compare Bill's experience with Tom's. When the light went full on for Tom, no one cursed him, and he was able to simply go from faith to faith and move on closer to Jesus Christ. When the light came full on for Bill, he was excommunicated, hated, treated like a devil by any old friends from the church (who were under threat of excommunication if they talked to Bill), and he and his family had to start over with no one to walk with them. Thirty years they gave of their lives to this church, and for exercising their minds in the Word, and for asking a question, they are damned to hell.

Here is the worst part of the story. Bill and every member of his family could no longer tell what was of God and what was Mother Goose and what might even be Satanic. They could not tell what was true. Tom knew what was true, and he needed only to add the doctrine of separation to the sound doctrines that he already trusted.

As Bill began to dig in the Word for guidance, the Holy Ghost gave him light, but his kids did not deal with it so easily. They had been beaten and bashed up daily in the name of the guru and his standards. Bill's kids now realized that the church, the preacher, and the teaching was evil, and they hated it. Problem-- They even questioned their salvation. Was it based on heresy?

Now, you might not see how this could happen. It never happened to you, right? Well, you better get to thinking hard, and discern what is going on here, for both of these stories are true, top to bottom. And, there are far worse stories. The thing that Bible believers need to understand is that a victim of Fundamental Baptist abuse has been living for a year, or up to fifty years, without exercising their will under the authority of the Word of God. A responsible saint is beholding to no one but Christ, but these victims of wolves has been the cur that rolls over and pees on itself on command. They feel violated and cheapened beyond measure.

The victim of Baptist wolves, in mind and soul, has been enslaved to a "Man of God." But, the "Man of God" was actually a man of Satan. The "Man of God" was possessed with devils. He was a wolf.

TOM'S DEPROGRAMMING

I am not being lazy. You will think I did not do enough research into Tom's life, but the truth is this-- The total of Tom's deprogramming experience was in study of the Word of God. There was almost nothing he had to unload. His need was to ADD knowledge and a foundation for a more separated life with Christ. You see, Tom had been allowed by his loving parents to keep his will, and he was encouraged to use it to glorify God. So, his return to the narrow way was comfortable to him, and, after some small concern by his parents, they too got comfortable with Tom's zeal.

In fact, Tom never did need to deprogram his mind and soul.

BILL'S DEPROGRAMMING

Bill, bless his heart, had....

"Loaded eighteen tons,
Whatta you get,
Another day older
And yo deeper in debt,
Saint Peter don't you call me,
Cause I can't go,
I owe my soul,"
to the jack boot preacher

(thanks to Tennessee Ernie Ford for the plagiarized song lines :-).

You see, Bill has a head and heart full of garbage, of Satanic excretion. The more he reads his Bible, the more he realizes he must unload, and the more he realizes he has wasted the biggest part of his Christian life submitting his will to a man instead of Jesus. Dear reader, if you are born again, can you imagine the feeling of losing thirty years of you life to a bombastic bull slinging fool while Jesus was pushed into the background?

Bill has three big issues to deal with:

1. He has submitted his own mind to, and forced on his family, the commandments of man.

2. He has taken in a mighty big load of doctrine of devils.

3. He has missed fellowship with hundreds of brethren in Christ because the Fuhrer damned them all to hell.
SEE TABLE AT RIGHT.

These three issues are the basis for the deprogramming of anyone escaping from the Fundamental Baptist cult.

Colossians 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

If the teacher was a devil, the whole load must be reexamined top to bottom. A preacher in Michigan was caught bedding down six women in his church. He was touted as the Midwest John MacArthur because of his allegedly great Bible teaching. When he gave his swan song explanation (not confession!), he claimed that, in spite of the fact that he was in fornication for months, all of his sermons were great stuff and the tapes should be kept. The fools in charge of the tape room did just that, and the church now has a memorial to the preacher's dry bones preaching. This is like the Catholic priest pedophile claiming that the holy gloves protect the cookie from defilement when he does the Mass the next morning after molesting a little boy.

1. Commandments of man--

Baptist standards, Pentecostal standards, Pensacola Christian College standards, Bob Jones University standards, Sword of the Lord standards, local church standards, your preacher's standards, and so forth..... All standards, when not solidly commanded from the Bible, are wicked if YOU did not establish them in YOUR will and submit to ONLY Jesus Christ in the practice of those standards. No man has any authority to make standards for you. A faithful man, the best servant God has, will only teach and edify-- the Holy Ghost will convince you.

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

If you were convinced by man, your standards are damned to hell. Start over with the Holy Ghost and a Bible.

If you feel the need for a teacher, find one who ONLY teaches and does not tell you what to do with the teaching-- who shows the promise of obedience instead of the threat of the teacher's wrath.

Read that last line again please. Now, read it a third time. Memorize it.

Beware of making a show of your new found liberty though:

1 Corinthians 10:32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

A saint who is secure in his standards, that is, who got them from the Holy Ghost without the crutch of bombast, blather, and bull from a jack boot jerkawallah preacher-- that saint does not need to make a show of his standards, and as Paul, that saint will forgo his liberty that others may profit from that saints gifts. You cannot minister to a saint in the Word or in earthly needs while you are slapping his face with you dress code, as with Mike Pearl et al.

Mike Pearl spends much of his books exalting his standards for his family and boasting about his success at raising his kids. To hell with his success. I need to know what the Word of God tells ME to do in my home, and Mike Pearl has whole chapters in his book with not ONE Bible verse. It is all Mike Pearl and very little Jesus Christ or Apostolic teaching. Your past jack boot probably used the Pearls' books, right? Misery loves company.

Here is the fruit of Mike Pearl's books.

Another sample.

Mike Pearl laughed when asked about his part in the murder of two children.

A blog on the topic.

David Cloud on the heretic, Mike Pearl

Creepy things by Mike Pearl

Let me give just one example, one which the Pearls exalt with a vengeance. Courtship. There are getting to be many courtship plans promoted by alleged Bible teachers. Some even go so far as to suggest a dowry. What does the Bible teach about courtship?

Answer: Nothing.

Read the experience of Isaac, of Adam and Eve, of Jacob, of Joseph, of Hosea, and read all of what Jesus and Paul say about marriage, and you will come away with the clear impression that there is no magic bullet in courtship. In fact, there is NO instruction in the New Testament on how to get married.

If the Bible people are the collective model, then you need to send your servant to find a Rebecca, who will be the daughter of a pagan priest, like Joseph and Moses found. She will be of another race, as with Moses, and she will be a whore, as with Hosea. You will work for her dowry for 14 years, as Jacob did, and you and she will run around naked for a while like Adam and Eve. Then there is the dowry of 400 foreskins of Philistines like David had to get for Michal, errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, maybe that is far enough.

Thus, Mike Pearl, and all courtship models, are a lot of hog slop hayseed nonsense. Your courtship model will have to simply be based on what YOU are convinced is pleasing to God and what fits you family and situation. If you cannot get your brain in gear after study of biblical principles of conduct and prayer, then I guess you need to go back to Egypt and the old jack boot to take charge of your brain. The Holy Ghost has failed you. I trust you can tell I am being slightly sarcastic. :-)

So, why do you have an air tight standard on anything? Did the Holy Ghost convince you of the some line of personal action? Or, did you read some OTHER book than the Bible, or go to Bill Gothard's damned seminar, or hear some gushing sex pervert or an alleged "evangelist" on the subject. You bought the big red book, or the CD, and you want to at least get your money's worth out of it. You heard the jack boot preacher say that if you do not follow the standard he commands, you are in rebellion against "the man of God." Did you believe it?

Now, do you see how the deprogramming process knocks your old standards to hell bunky? You are seeing that the Word of God, with the persuasion of the Holy Ghost, is the only standard. Only he should be convincing you of sin and righteousness and judgment, as the text above says. But, it sure is liberating, for once you are cleansed of the standards of the ecclesiastical poplette you were once under, you will find that the Holy Ghost is standing there always eager to show you how this Christian life will work in YOUR home and YOUR life.

Zion, the glorious city of God for Israel, had a dung gate. So does the Christian life. Use it please.

This is the dung gate today, and it is still in use. Can you imagine a city without a dung gate, or in modern life, without a city dump?>>>>>

2. Doctrines--

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

You have been taught by a devil. The teaching you had was selective. It was designed to sustain the wolf pack and the alpha wolf's (jack boot preacher) power over the sheep. As Satan did in the garden of Eden with Eve, there were accurate quotes from the King James Bible, but there was a mixing of law and "Baptist standards" with doctrine, as illustrated in verse 3 above. Verse 1 indicates you have been seduced.

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

This is like the whore standing at the door of the whore house. She is a woman, she is good looking, she has a cross around her neck, and she has good manners and speech. But, she is a devil woman. ALL the alleged doctrine you ever were taught by a jack boot preacher must be trashed and discarded. You must start over and do what you never did over the past era that you spent with the wolf pack. Here is how to do it.

Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

You must never again take ANY teaching off of even the most godly teacher without going back to the King James Bible to see "whether those things were so." For you, backsliding will take the form of shutting off your mind again, and just taking the preacher's word for it.

By the way, sir, you have been an arrogant tyrant with your wife and kids if my guess if right. Do you notice that in Berea, verse 12, those Greek women were exalted for their zeal? Your wife and kids need to learn that Daddy is there teacher, but they too must each base ALL their doctrinal beliefs and subsequent standards on the Bible and the divine persuader, the Holy Ghost. No more bossing of consciences. In spiritual and faith matters, there is neither male not female.

Remember Tom above. Because his parents encouraged him to use his own will and the Word of God in all things, he could easily move on to higher ground without starting over from square one. The value of a free will that is first mine, and then totally surrendered over to Jesus Christ, is of infinite value to God. Make sure your kids experience this.

3. Brethren who have been cast out--

3 John 1:9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

Every brother you have excluded from your life and fellowship, at the demand of the jack boot or the wolf pack, must be examined anew using ONLY the King James Bible as the standard. If you see that you had no grounds for excluding a brother in Christ, you must renew him to fellowship with you. If you had any confrontation with him in the past, you must confess that sin with him and "restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

This step of restoration will tell us all if you are REALLY the man you think you are.

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT-- US Navy

In the US Navy, at least in past years, when a man did something really terrible, he would be given a week in the brig and put on only bread and water. Navy men usually eat well, so this is hard punishment. At the end of the week, when he was released, the man would be told to go to the galley, and order from the cook virtually anything he wanted. The cook would be required to cook it for him.

Now, if a man had not heard from others about this plan, he would often order up a steak and a full luscious meal, the meal he had dreamed about for the past seven days. The cook would prepare it for him, usually in a jolly mood, and serve him a sumptuous feast. The man would eat it with delight, and promptly puke it back up. Now, a man who had heard about this would wisely order a bowl of oatmeal, and defer the feast, and he would hold the oatmeal down and adjust later to good food.

If you have just escaped from a Fundamental Baptist wolf pack, my friend, you have been on bread and water for a long time. Jack boot preachers do not teach the whole counsel of God, the whole Bible. They preach on their short cut gospel, tithing, submission, tithing, works, tithing, and that is about all-- a lot of damned pabulum and hog slop. You have not been taught the deeper things, and you do not know the doctrines of the Word of God well. You need to start from the first things of the Word of God and the faith once delivered, and you need to prove them for yourself like the noble Bereans. Later, you can dig into the feast of the deeper things.

Here is a short list for starters:

Who is God?

Who is Jesus Christ?

Who is the Holy Ghost?

Who am I? Why am I here? What does God have FOR me?

What is the Gospel? Do I really know the Jesus of the Gospel? You may not even be born again. Many people today rely on a jackboot preacher to define their salvation.

How can I glorify God?

If I was alone, and had no church, no family, no fellowship, would Jesus be good company for me?

What am I to the saints? What am I to sinners?

What am I to be to my spouse and my kids?

Do I love peace, or am I always dissatisfied when I have to stand still for a while?

How shall I trust people again?

To the saint helping a victim of church house abuse, and to pastors:

If you have to help someone deprogram their mind and soul after escaping from a wolf pack, DO NOT send them to a shrink or even a "Christian counselor." Jesus has been waiting for maybe thirty years for his turn. It is here, and he is only too eager to do what he loves to do. For God's sake, do NOT keep them away from Jesus. They do NOT need another guru, no matter how loving and sweet the guru may be. They need to simply start with the foundations of the faith, and work through all that is "faith" and all that is "of good report," and "think on these things." The counseling manual must be the Bible, not some clever book from Zondervan about abuse and recovery. Bah!

Whatever you do, NEVER let them near a copy of Mike Pearl's self serving pornography.

Just start from the first things, and see how close you can get to Jesus. More about this below. If you are the pastor who receives the wounded sheep, pour in the wine and oil of kindness, and point these lambs to Jesus. You have a great opportunity to do the work of a REAL pastor:

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

"Perfect" them by getting them into the Word of God. "Minister" by serving and hugging. These lambs need some godly cuddling. They are fearful, and they may wonder when you are going to turn with a growl and wound them. Pray for ways to serve, and start with the smallest kid in the family. And, edify, edify, edify. Use any Bible based method that you like, and that fits them, and HELP THEM GET THEIR WILL BACK so that they have a will to submit to Jesus Christ. Read that last line again, preacher.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Pastor, when they start to like you, what do you suppose they will do? They will easily fall back into submission mode and hand you their will. You must gently return it to them, and send them to verse 2 above.

Finally, please help these dear folks get back their sense of wonder of God's creation. Fundamentalism, by and large, destroys the sense of wonder at God's creation, and GOD SAID IT IS GOOD. This family has been driven to "be there every time the doors are open," and they have not spent time together as a family, and they have not been having much fun for a long time. This is a pattern I have watched for about 40 years as a pastor. And, you pastor, take the man of the house, and maybe a son, along fishing, or go up into the mountains on a photography lark. Let them BELIEVE that Jesus came apart in the wilderness, and it is OK for them to come apart before they come apart.

When you are with the family, ask the kids what they are studying in school, and talk about it with them. Ask them what you preached about last Sunday. Let them know you like it a lot when they remember what they heard at church, not just that their young butt was in the pew, and they dropped a buck in the plate when it went by.

THE WHOLE FAMILY

Lastly, go back and read Ephesians 4:13 above. "Till we all come in the unity of the faith...." All the good things in verse 13 are meant to happen to "we all" in unity. The most difficult thing you as a friend or pastor of wounded sheep will have to deal with is that the jack boot wolf has conditioned these people to submit to one man, one guru, and they don't have a clue what unity means. I have heard of several hireling preachers who even demand that all the giving in the assembly be directly into their hand. They call it a "Baptist hand shake." What crass mongrel religion! You must help these dear folks get their eyes off of YOU and learn to get their spiritual hugs from ALL SAINTS. This is one of the most evil teachings about the "local church" in Fundamentalism today.

Pastor, you yourself need to take a long look at these wounded sheep. Are you teaching that there is no universal Church, and that the only fellowship we have is with our local church, with YOUR local church? If so, you will lead these sheep back to become twice the children of hell they were before. This is the most urgent thing they must learn, and they are not fully deprogrammed until they LIVE this doctrine:

Ephesians 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

These wounded sheep need to get to know the WHOLE family!

MOVING ON

There was a farmer who had many dogs, and he loved them all dearly. Some dogs helped him track game and birds, while others rounded up sheep, and yet others guarded his farm. Well, over the years the farmer's dogs died off one by one. When they died, he buried them so that their tails were sticking up out of the ground. One day his neighbor came to visit the farmer, and he saw the tails sticking up out of the ground. He said to the farmer, "Jake, why are these dog tails sticking up like this?" The farmer said, "Well, you see, I miss my dogs terribly, so when I buried them, I left their tails sticking up so I can pull them up and visit with them from time to time."

I am not sure you like my little gruesome story, but are you like the old farmer with your horrible past experiences? Do you pull the vile experiences up from time to time and go through them all over again. This can be done by letting you mind wander back into the past and getting all worked up again, or it can happen when another saint asks what happened back yonder with the jack boot preacher and lunatic asylum local church you used to attend.

How about burying those dogs all the way under?

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

SHELL SHOCK

Vietnam was rough on the soldiers who fought in it. They were not allowed to win that war because every President who was in office during that war was a wimp. So, thousands of soldiers came back to the USA, defeated, and having been shot at and shelled for years, while they were not allowed to shoot back.

The result is this-- all over America there are today men living in single wides or cloistered away from society. They still wear their old field jacket, and they have a dog nearby, and their shot gun is always at hand. If you were to walk up behind them quietly and break a stick, they would yell, "incoming," and dive under a bed or flat on the ground. Their mind has been so affected by that horrid war that they cannot live a normal life in their world. The US wars in the Middle East have done the same thing to our veterans.

You have been, spiritually and mentally, in a war zone in which you were not allowed to think, and not allowed to win in the Christian life.

You were always told you were not right with God.

Endless trips to the altar only made the terror of condemnation go away for a few hours. Now, you are free from the war zone, but if someone snaps a stick, like the preacher uses a line that the former jack boot used, or some saint happens to have a standard that the jack boot also preached for Christian conduct, you may dive for cover. Or, you may come up with guns blazing.

Pay attention. These signals no longer need any response from you. You do not have to figure out the preacher's motives, and the saints around you are not shooting at you. Just ask God to help you walk on and let these signals become mere background noise that you don't need to figure out.

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Peace!

The objective of Christian fellowship is peace. After the edification and worship, after the singing and praise, there is a sense of being at peace with the people of God. After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he appeared to his disciples the first time, and I want you to hear the first word out of his mouth:

John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The days of brutality are ended. There is no one to threaten you now. Find a fellowship of saints who love peace with one another, and stop rocking the boat. Take the brethren the way you get them. Seek their peace also, and that means exalt Jesus and the Word of God, and only "let your moderation be known" when you are asked. Weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice. Keep the Lord Jesus at the center, not you and your standards and you pet notions. Lead some struggling saint beside still waters, and make them to lie down in green pastures, for His namesake. And, spend much time there with the Good Shepherd yourself.

The Fuhrer is gone-- you are now free to be a saint, not a naughty nasty loser.

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

CLOSE TO JESUS

In the late 1800s, Norwegian Lutherans from the USA and Norway entered the south of Madagascar. They used the usual Reformed approach, which involves teaching the natives to read, and teaching them about God and Jesus. The inquirer, or student, is allowed plenty of time to seek, and we Fundamentalists would say they took too much time. After sometimes as much as two years, the convert will realize he needs to declare his faith in Jesus Christ, and the missionary is delighted to have the seeker almost beg to confess his faith. This is then followed by Baptism and entrance into the Body of Christ.

In reading the account of these missionaries, I noticed that they had many set backs, and their Reformed rather Calvinist method was calculated to bring the seeker to a point where he had turned his back completely on his heathen heritage before he confessed his faith in Jesus Christ. It was not a works effort to get rid of sin. It was the result of getting closer and closer to Jesus Christ.

One missionary had spent about eight years in a new area with this method. He had many seekers, many setbacks, and finally, when his health was breaking due to malaria, he had his first twelve seekers who had asked to be allowed to publicly confess Christ and be baptized. The missionary was so weak that he had to call another missionary from a distance to come and do the baptism.

For the service, the relatives of the seekers were invited to the small mud church house to see their family members confess their faith and be baptized. As one young lady was going forward to speak and be welcomed into the Lord's Church, her mother, a pagan, suddenly screamed and ran out of the church house. As she left she said, "They are bringing my daughter too close to God. She will die." The pagans had a belief that it was not good to come too close to God. I believe the whole of the Gospel is rolled up in that heathen woman's statement. When someone gets close enough to Jesus Christ, they die. Paul said it this way:

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

I believe the work of ministering in the Lord's Church, whether you are a pastor, evangelist, Sunday School teacher, Mom, or Dad, or just sitting with a friend in Christ having coffee..... your ministry as a saint is to bring people closer and closer to Christ. Whether they be sinner or saint is beside the point. A sinner brought close enough to Christ will one day make a verdict, either fleeing like the mother in Madagascar, or entering into Christ and his Church as the daughter did. The saint, your friend or loved one, also needs to be getting closer and closer to Christ all their life, and it is your ministry to help them. It is their ministry to help you get closer to Jesus.

Does this sound like a strange new teaching to you my friend? If so, do not panic, you have been following a man who did not bring you closer to Jesus, he brought you closer to himself, the jackboot guru. Are you ever in for some good times with your best friend, Jesus. I wish I could be a little mouse in the corner and watch you shout when this all sinks in.

The Word of God is a story of God's love for his created people. Once man fell in sin, the rest of the story is about how God provided a way to get close to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost-- close enough to be eternally the possession of God himself.

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Acts 11:23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

If you have just escaped from a cultic Fundamental Baptist or Charismatic church, or if you are a friend of such a person, the top priority is this-- Get so close to Jesus that the old man, the old nature, is dead and you are alive to Jesus Christ, AND YOU KNOW IT.

Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Psalms 29:11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

AFTER THOUGHT

Did you suck up all of the above teaching without checking up on my use of Bible texts? How do you know I used them in context? If I persuaded you in one short article like this, you need to know that you are not anywhere near finished getting your head straight. NO MAN is to be taken at face value. Check me out. I would rather you do so and totally reject everything I said than to take my teaching as-is without examination.

Now, go do the right thing.

SEND MAIL if you need to talk about this, but I will NOT be your guru, I will be your brother in Christ.

BACK TO THE QUIET PLACE

BACK TO MORAL ISSUES MENU

BACK TO THE WAR ROOM

BACK TO THE ENTRY PAGE OF THE JOURNAL

ge