The wolves have infiltrated the church. Research seems to indicate that the apostate Emergent Movement has injected its venom, lies and distortion into every denomination, at least to some degree. No church, no denomination is immune to their poison. And make no mistake, those deepest in leadership in the Emergent Movement are the ravenous wolves that, Matthew 7:15 speaks of: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
In a recent article on the website, nowtheendbegins.com, the writer talks about the Emergent infiltration of Hillsong United Church, in Australia. The strong Illuminati symbolism was undeniable at a recent event. There were pyramids and what appeared to be (or at least looked like) a large snake in a circle above the stage. There is a quote from a caption in the article that is perfect and fitting, “Today’s Christians are so spiritually dead, that they can be shown this unholy, demonic mess and never see anything wrong with it.” That is so sad and so true, but I would go as far as to say, many people professing to be Christians simply aren’t, and that’s the reason they see nothing wrong with something like this.
The event at Hillsong United Church was virtually indistinguishable from any secular rock concert. Loud music, smoke, lights. Lots of noise and commotion to work the crowd into a frenzy. But that now describes many, many churches, especially here in the U.S. For example, in 2011, Northpoint Church Adult Group, in Springfield, Missouri, performed the song, “Sympathy for the Devil”, by the Rolling Stones, on Easter Sunday. And, Perry Noble’s church, Newspring, had the praise band opening up their service with the song, “I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night,” made famous by the rock band, KISS. Or how about porn star, Ron Jeremy, being invited to speak at Miles McPherson’s The Rock Church?
McPherson was quoted as saying in an interview before the upcoming event, “He’s not a Christian. He’s living a sinful life in people’s eyes and his lifestyle is contrary to the Bible but still, we’re obligated to love him.” Love him, yes. Pray for him, yes. But invite him to speak at your church? No! And the poster the church made up to promote and advertise this event was just as shocking. It’s bright and colorful and has a ‘70s retro look,” with Jeremy’s face right in the middle of it with the words, “Jesus Loves Porn Stars” right below it. Then at the bottom of the poster, Jeremy is given the biggest credit, “Porn King, Ron Jeremy,” while in a little smaller type right next to it the title, “Porn Pastor,” is given to Craig Cross. McPherson stuck with plain old, boring, “Pastor.”
For many reading my article, none of this is new news. Many of you I’m sure know each one of these examples and many more. But there are still many people that may read this that have no idea this kind of thing is happening in churches all over the country and the world. And most of them look like a “regular” church on the outside and the inside. It’s not until the lights are dimmed that things change. And virtually all of the Emergent churches have huge stages devoted to lots of musicians and singers. A huge focus is on music. That’s the big draw. That’s what hooks a lot of people. The Emergent Movement is based on feelings, emotion and excitement. And even if it’s not blatantly secular rock and roll music during praise and worship, much of the new praise music is just syrupy sweet repetitious blathering. We’re not to be like the heathen that uses repetitious chanting.
Matthew, 6:7-8: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
This flies right in the face of a quote from the mega-pastor, Rick Warren, who said, “Many Christians use ‘Breath Prayers’ throughout their day. You choose a brief sentence, or a simple phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath.” Have a simple sentence, a breath prayer, repeated over and over throughout the day. Sounds exactly like what we were told not to do in Matthew 6.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe that many of the people in attendance of these touchy-feely, bright and loud, in your face, shock-driven churches, are truly born-again Christians. And with the feel-good, motivational messages and the rock and roll and light shows put on by “Progressive Christianity,” they aren’t about to be saved any time soon. They are in many cases people truly looking for truth and answers, not the cotton candy and Kool-aid they end up with. After a while for many of these people, the excitement soon wears off and despair and discouragement takes over because they aren’t getting true biblical teaching and moral absolutes, the difference between good and evil, darkness and light, isn’t given to them, and they become disillusioned with church and the Bible altogether.
We have to continue as Christians to reach out to a hurting world and warn them of the dangers of the Emergent Movement. It’s very real, and it’s all around us.