1500 churches plan to defy the California lockdown order. They have deemed the tithes as "essential."

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Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. -- Romans 13:1-2 (ESV)

https://www.charismanews.com/us/81119-church-leaders-to-california-governor-we-re-reopening-on-pentecost

Eighty-five people died in California yesterday from the COVID virus. That brings the state total to 2630. That is 2630 people, who had lives, families, and friends. The trend in California COVID cases is not decreasing with daily increases of 1500-1750 new cases, now totaling almost 65,000 cases. Faced with such statistics the Governor has continued his lockdown of the state in order to try and save what lives he can. In response, mega church pastors have declared they will no longer obey their governor or the key verse and will open on Pentecost, May 31, 2020. The link above reveals the flawed and unbiblical thinking behind this decision. Let us reason once more.

"Several church leaders announced Thursday, May 7, that they will reopen their churches on the Day of Pentecost, May 31, despite California Gov. Gavin Newsom's continued lockdown. The group, led by Pastor Dan Carroll and Pastor Matt Brown, represents 1,500 churches in California Gov. Newsom's plan to reopen the state schedules churches to reopen in the third stage, a time for which has not yet been specified." -- Charisma News

Pastor Carroll hails from Water of Life Community church, which boasts six locations and a weekend attendance of over 19,000 people. The website reveals the typical mix of purpose driven slop and seeker friendly NAR teachings. In the section of "How Do I Become a Follower of Jesus" the webpage displays a moving picture of the enormous sanctuary and an assurance that God "massively loves you and wants a relationship with you." Step one they state is to know God's plan for you. Straight out of Warren theology, they abuse John 10:10 to mean that God wants to give every believer an abundant live, in this life. One sure test of heresy is if the teaching would work in other cultures for other Christians. Step two is defining the "problem" that we are separated from God. They conclude by declaring you need to ask God to end the separation by surrendering your life to Jesus by inviting Him to be the "leader of your life." They then encourage viewers to say the following sinner's prayer:

I am asking you to come into my life and heart. I no longer want to be separated from you and want the abundant life that you have promised. I know that I have sinned by trying to live my life on my own and I ask your forgiveness for that. I believe that you are God's son, who died for me on the cross and rose from the grave. Please take control of my life and make me the person that you want me to be -- I turn away from my old ways. I take you as my Savior and ask you to be Lord of my life. -- Water of Life community Church

I take you as my savior? I want the abundant life you promised? They define sin as trying to live your life on your own? This is well scripted but the heart of the problem with the apostate church in America. This prayer dances around salvation with lip service paid to the vital missing element -- repentance. No wonder over 19,000 people show up every weekend. Now, Pastor Matt Brown leads Sandals Church in Riverside and has eight locations with a weekend attendance of over 10,000 people. Let's continue to discover the thinking behind this callous disobedience and disregard for the very lives of the sheep entrusted to them.

'Dan Carroll, senior pastor of Water of Life Community Church, says the churches are not trying to be rebellious with their reopening. During a press conference outside the church building, Carroll said the plan for reopening involved following all the CDC's guidelines and taking every safety precaution. "Our churches are part of the solution," Carroll says. "We're not the problem here. But we've been deemed nonessential. We've been kicked to the curb."' -- Charisma News

The reaction from people who are supposed to be pastors has been maddening. The church has not been kicked to the curb. That is a juvenile and absurd statement. The issue, is that many churches such as the two that these men operate, focus on huge gatherings of people. Even if they "adhere to the CDC guidelines" they are still inviting their sheep to gather in what will be a COVID cesspool. There was a church in Illinois that had a gathering of just 80 people and over half of them came down ill. These two churches alone have 29,000 gathering and they represent 1500 other churches. It is interesting the Pastor Carroll felt compelled to claim they were not being rebellious. That is because he knows in his heart he most definitely is being rebellious. The governor says to stay locked down and he is saying no, he won't. That is the definition of rebellion. If he truly wished to be part of the solution he would figure out how to service his sheep virtually until it is safe to come together again. The problem I would wager is that when you have churches this large, you cannot afford to lose the tithing monies generated each weekend and I am sure online giving cuts the majority of regular giving away. I want to be clear here. What is non-essential is not the church. It is the gathering for church services during a plague. I know plenty of churches that operate food pantries and other community services during this time, safely. These so-called pastors hide behind wanting to help their communities but they are really talking about holding services and collecting tithes.

"Carroll tells Sun that churches across California are providing masks to health care workers and food for needy families in their communities, yet they're being prohibited from meeting together for religious services. Carroll says this is a problem for those who are in difficult situations and are struggling emotionally from not being able to gather with fellow believers. He recounts a widower who attends his church that he ran into just a few days prior. When he asked the widower how he was doing, the man burst into tears. "I just can't function without my church," the widower told Carroll." -- Charisma News

Wow. So, Pastor Carroll admits this has nothing to do with helping the community during this crisis and everything to do with not being allowed to hold service. The statement of the widower is so sad on so many levels. His pastor has fostered a reliance upon the church building instead of on Christ. Jesus is not limited to a church in downtown Riverside. The Holy Spirit operates everywhere, not just in mega-churches. Is Pastor Carroll unable or unwilling to help this widower outside of a corporate worship service? The answer is yes because that is what the purpose driven model teaches pastors. That they are too busy leading the throng to bother with helping the individual sheep. This lockdown provided pastors with the opportunity to be pastors again. To reach out to the hurting. To comfort those in pain or feeling anxiety. This is not about that crying widower. This is about Pastor Carroll's inability to pastor him without the smoke machines, rocking worship band and the adoring crowd. I am not saying that this time is easy on anyone, let alone Christians who have been trained to rely upon men instead of God. Let us be fair though. It has been seven whole weeks. We are being asked to obey such measures in an attempt to stop the mounting death toll. The cold reality is that people can have COVID and remain asymptomatic. They can have it for 14 days before experiencing any symptoms. One Virginia pastor defied these calls to preserve life and held service mocking the virus. He has now died from COVID. Another pastor declared the panic to be a plot against the president and went to New Orleans to "cleanse it of its sin and debauchery." He contracted COVID in New Orleans and died before he could get back home. The callous indifference towards the people these pastors lead is simply staggering. Not only that it is arrogant. I think the congregants can get by without hearing five songs about how much God loves them, followed by a 20-minute sermonette about feeling more significant and wrapped up with a tithing plea. This is not about civil liberties or the constitution and those who claim it is do not understand what they are talking about. This is about money and you can fool Charisma News but when you stand before Christ to explain the blood on your hands? Not so much I am afraid. The article concludes:

'Newsom said churches may be allowed to reopen earlier than anticipated, but he clarified his concern about houses of worship opening too quickly: "Our fear is simply this: Congregations of people from far and wide coming together in a closed space at a large scale remain a point of concern and anxiety for us. We are working on guidelines for physical distancing and working with faith leaders talking about unique conditions in their own facilities. Nothing is etched in stone. ..."I take very seriously those concerns about people of faith, and I'm very sensitive to those who want to get back to church. But the health of those communities is foundational."' -- Charisma News

Unfortunately, the health concerns about the sheep are not foundational to the hirelings in charge of them. The mega church model cannot survive being locked down. It requires an enormous cash flow to maintain. As the CEO-Pastor-Dude, they are worried about the bottom line of their finances and are using the essential versus non-essential argument to try and anger their followers. To make them feel put out. At the end of the day however, they do not care about the key verses because they need their tithes. Now in full disclosure, I think the modern NAR apostate church relies on these verses from Romans too much but that is where the irony lies. You either believe what the bible says or you do not. These pastors clearly do not and their motives are so transparent. If you disagree, hey, as Pastor Matt Brown would say, I am just trying to be real with you.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- May, 9, 2020

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.