After 40 years, 'megachurch' pastor slams Christianity and quits, deacon claims he had affair

Christian Post ^ | May 7, 2019 | Leonardo Blair

[mikelets456]

I see Christians walk away from the faith for real shallow reasons. Jesus speaks of this many times but is most clear when he speaks of the “sower and the seed”. The problem with Christianity today is we let the world influence the Church instead of the Church influencing the world. Many Christians believe God is some sort of magician that hands out candy and makes your life easy——False teachers spread these lies and it’s very, very dangerous. Jesus, Paul and the recurring theme in the Bible is “life is full of problems and regardless of circumstance Christ is your foundation”...period! If God made your life easy you’d have no need for him....

[willyd]

i guess you have never been to a baptist church!...lol

[yuleeyahoo]

The Church should be a hospital for sinners.

[mikelets456]

Ironically, he denounces his faith then leaves his family high and dry-—typical when we focus on selfish ambition rather than virtues of Christ.

[cuban leaf]

HA! I moved from Seattle to the bible belt about 8 years ago. I then joined a southern gospel band that tours small baptist churches in this rural area.

i.e. DON’T get me started! :)

I had to quit after two years. I could not keep my mouth shut any longer about what I was hearing from unpaid, “seat of the pants” preachers constantly droning on about the people that were not there and, of course, the “pit o’ hell!”

[ronniesgal]

was the affair with a man???

[P-Marlowe]

To save himself, he said, he chose to walk away from the church.

Interesting choice of words.

[SoFloFreeper]

1 John 2:19 applies.

[Deo volente]

Life ain’t easy. Marriage ain’t easy. Christianity aint’ easy. Being a sinful human ain’t easy. Pray for the dude and cut him some slack.

I guess he never read the part where Jesus says to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him. Notice there's a lot of "me, myself, and I" in his little 'manifesto'. Poor man.

[circlecity]

IF you read his “opus” his problem is quite easy to detect. Everything is all about him and not Christ. He was never a Christian but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be saved. Pray for him.

[\/\/ayne]

There is probably a long string of affairs through his pastoral history.

[sparklite2]

my marriage never became what I was promised it would be

You mean Ozzie & Harriet, Father Knows Best, and Make Room for Daddy,
were all lies?

[Tell It Right]

You have not lived until you've played in a worship band in a Pentecostal church. :) In my case it was an Assembly of God church.

I think in my years there the only 2 things I've disagreed with the pastor are age of the earth (he's a young earther) and initial evidence of spirit baptism is speaking in tongues (I don't believe that). But since he never harped on those beliefs or made either one of them the core subject of a sermon -- only bringing them up in passing -- I was cool by it.

[DannyTN]

One Baptist preacher used to describe our congregation as a family, a very dysfunctional family, of people who are not perfect but who are united by a love for God.

[mikelets456]

####I had to quit after two years. I could not keep my mouth shut any longer about what I was hearing from unpaid, “seat of the pants” preachers constantly droning on about the people that were not there and, of course, the “pit o’ hell!”####
_______________________________________________________

I too have played Worship (Bass/Drums) for 20 years but the bottom line is you’re a follower of Christ and not of man. However, with that being said, the last Church we left was due to left wing agendas being spewed from the pulpit. When God’s Word is is watered down or altered, I do not take that lightly.

I hear you though——

[Stravinsky]

My understanding is that scumbag was cheating on his wife and decided to beat the public outing of such with an anti-Christian message that he probably thought would make him look better in the public eye.

[Ikeon]

Jesus never promised anyone a rose garden. he PROMISED the exact opposite for his followers. Sounds like this guy was never chosen by God to receieve the holy spirit. Saw the same thing in a guy who did everything his church told him to and then his wife got cancer. He prayed and did volunteer work for the church, partisipated in every church function he could and she still died. He couldn’t understand how DOING for God didnt save his wife.. He denounced God and the church and was the most bitter angry person you ever met! hated god for letting his wife get sick and die and leaving him with 3 kids. So yes, it happens. you never know a persons heart until the sht hits the fan. then the wheat and chaf become separate.

[Mr Rogers]

"The people who were devout were the most miserable, but just kept trying harder,” he said.

Not my experience. Not even close. Maybe they needed to stop "trying harder" and simply believe. God has NEVER let me down. People will, sometimes. But never God.

[sparklite2]

In was on a church board for a while and got to mingle with a Catholic priest and a handful of Protestant ministers.

Don’t let appearances fool you. These guys can be just a bawdy and crude as the rest of us. It was kind of nice to know, actually.

[cuban leaf]

Your post could have been written by me. It is my experience and attitude. My first church was AG and I was a member for 18 years. I even drove bus to pick up kids from disadvantaged neighborhoods.

I played trombone, btw. :)