Pillars are Just Crutches

There hasn’t been such a bizarre, heart-wrenching and disappointing fall within Christendom quite like Mike Guglielmucci’s in recent memory.  We’ve seen the standard falls, the crooked money deals and the hidden mistresses, but never something like this.  There’s this feeling that innocence was lost.

The recent Todd Bentley case has served as a good reference point, because people were disappointed by it but most didn’t seem hurt by it.  It’s different this time, it’s personal.  In fact, I would say to a lot of people who didn’t know Mike would consider the offense deeply personal.  People worried, prayed, and supported someone that they did not know only to find out that it was a con.

I’ve read some blogs in which the individual expresses their departure from the faith.  I’ve read through the whole range of emotions: angry, hurt, disappointed, cynical, happy … and even more.

There is no proper emotional response.  How you feel is how you feel.  It’s alright to be angry or hurt.  It’s alright to let a little bit of that naive Christian inside of you go and being a little more skeptical next time around.

Some would say that this just goes to prove what many people already know: Christianity is a scam.  This really doesn’t prove anything however.  Even if every Christian is a scam artist this saying is still not true.  Christianity is based on Jesus Christ.  His teachings, His Death, His Resurrection.  Our actions (My actions – thank God) do not effect it’s (actual) validity.  But it still effects people’s perception of it.

What can we do?

Pray.  For him, for the people who were hurt the most, for those who now think Christianity is a scam, for good to come from it.

Forgive.  This is a process.  It’s a hard, deliberate and continuous act but the alternative, bitterness, will literally make your Christian faith useless.

Talk.  Talk about it.  Talk to people who are on the fence about Christianity, talk to those hurting, just talk about it.

How can we avoid this?

Truthfully, we can’t.  My only recommendation would be to stop putting leaders on pedistals and thinking too highly of them, they are fallen and hurting just like you, just like me.

For those wondering why someone would do something like this … I think this may have some answers

After there was much attention and criticism placed on Todd Bentley for proclaiming healings and resurrections while supplying not a shred of evidence and then leaving his wife, Australian preacher/worship leader Mike Guglielmucci claimed he had terminal cancer and wrote a worship song about it entitled ‘Healer’ which Planetshaker and Hillsongs recorded.  Videos of Mike talking about his experience with cancer were even created.

Mike never had cancer though.  It was discovered recently that he had been living a lie for 2 whole years leaving even his wife in the dark about the con.  I can’t imagine what someone would hope to accomplish by doing something like this.

No doubt thousands will be affected by this deception.  I just pray that something good comes out of it and that people are not pushed deeper into cynicism about God, the church and Christians.

You can read about it more, here, here, and, here

I came across some very good advice on my travels through the blogosphere.  Some of it included being angry, realizing that it’s a single persons sin not Christianity’s sin or your sin, and also praying that the damage caused by this tragedy will be minimal and maybe that some good will come out of it.

One particularly good quote said,

“The difference is that pastors are required to live impeccable (not perfect) lives so that Christ is honoured & people are shepherded securely.  This is an entirely appropriate demand.”

It’s very very true!  And it’s good to, finally, see the words “pastors are required to live impeccable … lives” and it’s not an excuse!  I would add that there needs to be a fear of God about the position of ‘pastor’, all to often it’s taken for granted, and now just by pastors but by congregations as well.

Lastly, as an observation, I find it amusingly ironic that these types of things usually happen in a charismatic church setting (see Todd Bentley, Jimmy Swag, Jim Bakker), the type that seem to relish in the fact that they use the gifts.  *cough* discernment *cough*  What is it good for?  As it turns out, absolutely nothing.

I should stick to the mainline churches … they may reject some of the teachings of Jesus, but at least they’re honest about it.

For more on the subject I also wrote a here