Breaking down the corruption of NAR dominionsm within the church amidst the COVID crisis...

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We have seen a perfect storm of heretical teaching take hold of the church over the past few decades. The Purpose Driven Church created cult of personality CEOs instead of pastors. It shifted the focus of the church from edifying the body to churching the goats. The result is generations of unsaved people who will stand before Christ as outlined in Matthew 7 and say, "Lord Lord." These are fully churched people who will be saddened greatly to discover they never even knew Jesus. This purpose driven slop was combined with seeker friendly theories of church growth that has resulted in mega churches dotting the evangelical landscape. These institutions need a large influx of capital, money, each week in order to survive. They are simply incapable of surviving the lockdown orders that resulted from the COVID crisis. Along with these two factors, the New Apostolic Reformation came along in the late 1990's to indoctrinate the growing church masses with a dominionist mindset. Political wedge issues were seized as the motivational force to convince the body that instead of saving individuals, why not target nations and thus started the ever-elusive pursuit of revival. Never mind that nations do not get saved. Never mind that you cannot revive what was never alive to begin with. This was the natural conclusion of this perfect storm. The purpose driven church methodically removed those that understood the bible correctly and knew the church was designed by God for the body of Christ.

NAR dominionist nationalism is the final idol of the church age. Today the church has been taught over many decades to view themselves with a victim mentality. The oppressor this time is not Rome but the perceived slight of government. It is the evil leftists, or the pernicious globalists that are secretly plotting to persecute them at every turn. Unlike real persecution in China or places such as the Sudan, American Christian persecution is no persecution at all. It is not being allowed to have a nativity scene in the town square or not forcing children who may not share our faith to pray collective Christian prayers in public schools. This year however the new cause du jour for perceived Christian persecution is the pandemic known as COVID and the measures some states have taken to try and save as many lives as possible. I know plenty of local pastors who refuse to place their sheep in harms way because they understand that they will answer for them. The hirelings however, who have been trained under the Warren purpose driven theology, see their revenue disrupted and the model they used to build their mega-church empires cannot be sustained without weekly tithe buckets being passed. So they are revolting.

Early on in this national crisis much of the church stood out for its arrogance and stupidity. One pastor in Virginia revolted and held service anyway, openly mocking the severity of the virus. He is dead now from COVID and his family is urging everyone to take it more seriously than he did. Another Virginia pastor openly claimed the virus as a hoax designed to hurt the president. He went to New Orleans to "cleanse it from its sin and debauchery," where of course he caught the hoax and died before he could get back home. An Illinois pastor held a service for only 80 people in the middle of March and by the end of the month, 43 of the 80 were sick. We do not know how many have died. Nor do we know yet the death toll from Pastor Tony Spell's disregard in Louisiana. The virus is real and some that openly mocked it have paid the ultimate price, as have the people they were supposed to take care of. There is simply no biblical defense of this. Forsaking the assembly is not regarding mega church gatherings. It is regarding shutting oneself off from the body of Christ. Being asked to gather and fellowship virtually is not forsaking the fellowship. What the purpose driven church model has done is create a dependency upon the church building instead of on Christ. It is idolatry pure and simple. It is the last idol for the church before the end I fear.

One would think that the hard lessons learned early on would instill some reflection and humility within the purpose driven pastorate. You would be mistaken. There are now a collective of over 1200 pastors in California, led by seeker friendly mega church pastors, that have decided on their own to violate that state's orders and open at the end of this month. Another mega-church mogul who has campuses in different states in the south is now organizing a mass revolt across the south. Another petulant pastor in Oregon is suing his state. Many have thumbed their nose at their local authorities by holding bogus "drive up" church services. If no one gets out of their car then you are tacitly admitting that you do not need to gather publicly and there is no reason to not gather virtually during this time. A New Mexico pastor ignores a cease and desist order and enlists the help of a local sheriff to violate the law. In another video, a different pastor tears up his cease and desist order from the pulpit. I have read all of these stories and in each one of them the pastors insist they are not being rebellious. Every one of them! Obviously, the conviction of the Holy Spirit is also being ignored because they most certainly are being rebellious. There is nothing that pleases the devil more than an openly defiant church, disobeying scripture, and acting like a spoiled brat for the entire world to see.

Now, I do not like mixing the carnal arguments with this overall spiritual point. The reality is that these stances are nothing more than idolatry of this country. It is the heart of the NAR dominionist movement. It is the mandate of the seven mountains heresy. The reality however, is that they are wrong on their carnal defenses as well. So for the purposes of this devotional alone, let us understand together:

Argument One -- the dominionist rallies around the constitution because they cannot rally around the bible. There is zero biblical support for this behavior. There is also however, zero constitutional support. The rights enumerated unto us through the Constitution are not absolute. Any clear-thinking person must understand that they cannot be absolute. This has already been adjudicated by the Supreme Court. If your religion practices something that violates law, you are not entitled to that right. In the 1800s the court ruled against the Mormon Church because they practiced polygamy, which was against federal law. The courts rationale was that if they did not place allowable limits, then any religious belief must be tolerated, even if it was human sacrifice. Now, those are extreme examples but the precedent is what matters. If the state determines that it is a public health priority to not gather with more than 10 people, then your religious belief to hold a mega church service does not override it. Period.

Argument Two -- the dominionist believes that the state governments have somehow overstepped their boundaries. If people honestly believe this they have two mechanisms within our great society to remedy this. The first is the ballot box. You do not like what your governor does, you have the right to vote them out. Secondly, there is always the remedy of the courts. You see the dominionist belief that their elected representatives have exceeded their authority is what is know as an opinion. It is not fact. It is opposed by the belief that they have it within their purview to see to the safety of those they are charged with representing. The court is who has been allotted to decide whose opinion is correct. What is not a viable response however is rebellion. The open defiance we see across this nation is arrogant, petulant and childish. Those representing Christ are supposed to redeem the time with the unbelievers in this world.

Argument Three -- the dominionist will cry foul at the classification of the church as "non essential." They will use this to rally their base who have been fed a steady diet of victimhood for decades now. The reality however is that no one is saying the body of Christ is non-essential. They are saying that gathering every Sunday in a petri dish for growing the virus, is not essential and guess what? It is not. Do not lose sight of this beloved. What the mega churches are arguing for is not the church but THEIR church. They are not arguing for feeding the sheep but passing the tithe buckets. I have heard these hirelings claim that their people just cannot get by without the Sunday fellowship. That is because the purpose driven model has bred a dependence upon the cult of personality pastor instead of on Christ. Throughout most of China, believers rarely meet but with a handful of brothers and sisters because of the persecution. Their faith is just fine. The same holds true around the persecuted world. The sense of entitlement amongst the NAR dominionist church is staggering.

Argument Four -- the dominionist will argue that the state is preventing them from helping the people. Nonsense. I know plenty of churches who have worked with the authorities and continue to provide meaningful outreach to their communities through food banks, clothing drives, or any number of activities that can easily be accomplished without violating the law. Do not let them fool you. This is about gathering on Sundays, not helping people on Wednesdays.

Argument Five -- the dominionist will argue that they will adhere to all of the guidelines. Look, they will cry! We are keeping six feet apart and are wearing masks! The first guideline is to stay home and not gather in large groups. The wearing of masks and social distancing is not meant for people violating the primary order. The larger point of course is that pastors are not epidemiologists. They are not virologists. They are not even close. The Liberty Counsel, which is the legal arm of the NAR, has argued that a pastor should be allowed to decide how to best take care of his sheep during this pandemic. God forbid!

Argument Six -- the economy is just as important the dominionist argues. No, it is not. That is so antithetical to the Gospel I am ashamed to see how many Christians are willing to trade the lives of their elderly or infirmed just so the stock market doesn't plunge. It is disgusting.

I am sure there are other ancillary arguments but these are the main "go-to" defenses. The bottom line is that this virus is close to killing 100,000 people in this country. These people meant something to someone. They were loved and had their own lives. Maybe if people lost someone close to them they might be less selfish. I do not hold out hope for those caught up in this idol worship because the NAR dominionism is all about us and nothing about God. Whatever happened to God in this equation anyway? Where is the concern for the sheep? Where is the concern for true doctrine. How is it that a large swath of the church finds it self on the side of Paula White or defending Rodney Howard Browne? If Paula asks you for $221 bucks based on Chronicles 2:21, you will rightly scream huckster. If Rodney asks you to sidle up to the Holy Ghost bar so he can get you drunk in the spirit, you would rightly scream heretic. Yet when both line up to wrap themselves around the flag you just go along for the ride. That is what the NAR teaching does. It corrupts the heart.

I remember debating someone who felt they had escaped the clutches of the NAR. They had given up the false signs and lying wonders. They had abandoned the mandatory healing and clairvoyance disguised as prophecy. They stopped following the likes of Bill Johnson and Mike Bickle. Despite all of these monumental victories, they still held tightly to the dominionist mindset. So tightly they could not even see who taught it to them. They had escaped so much but still bowed down whenever someone waved the flag in their face. Sad really. To have come so far but not be able to see the last vestige of carnality and poor doctrine you still refuse to let go of. That is what the NAR will do to you. Jesus is coming back and He is not going to want to hear how you defended the constitution. He is going to want to hear how you protected the weakest. Do not be deceived. Neither political party cares one iota about the cause of Jesus Christ. The best or worst we can do is try to discern the lesser evil. The problem with that is the NAR dominionist is taught to embrace that evil. They are taught to revel in that evil. They are taught to defend that evil.

Be about the father's business beloved. Come out from among her.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- May 22, 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.