Recent article from a charismatic pastor outlines how the NAR can corrupt even the simplest of biblical terms...

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"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. -- Matthew 7:15 (ESV)

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; - Acts 20:29 (ESV)

https://ministrytodaymag.com/leadership/a-pastor-s-heart/25243-discerning-the-wolves-sheep-and-horses-in-your-church

Throughout the bible we see God use certain imagery to drive home the teaching point He is making. We see this throughout the ministry of Jesus as well. One of the most known cases is the use of sheep and wolves. The imagery is simple. The sheep are the people of God and the wolves are those that seek to devour them. They are false teachers and prophets. The two key verses today are just two such examples that clearly show wolves are fierce, will not spare the flock, are ravenous and will disguise themselves as sheep!

Joseph Mattera is a rising profile in Charismania. When he was lesser known, his writings were usually more spot on but now that he has a louder bully pulpit we see the NAR and false signs and lying wonders heresies creep into what he is selling. This week he decided to tackle the subject of wolves, sheep and horses. Now I do not remember the parable of the prodigal pony so I am looking forward to his biblical interpretation of something that is not in the bible. The first installment, linked above, is his view of who the wolves are in your church. Let us reason together once more and see how the false NAR teachings have corrupted even the simplest of biblical allegories.

"1. Wolves say yes outwardly to spiritual authority but say no in their hearts. Wolves attempt to fool the shepherds among them by outwardly being agreeable to the vision, ministry and responsibilities of the organization but inwardly they have no intention of fully obeying spiritual authority. In the beginning, they will do the absolute minimum of what is required--or maybe even excel--but it is merely for the purpose of positioning themselves into a place of trust among the leadership so they can leverage more influence and fulfill their fleshly schemes." -- Joseph Mattera

Remember a wolf is a false teacher or false prophet. When the Bible says they will devour the sheep it is their teaching or false representation of God which ensnares His people. Matthew 7 shows us people who were fully churched standing before the Lord only to discover He never knew them. These are the victims of the wolves. Yet Mattera begins with a favorite topic of NAR false teachers and that is the false authority paradigm they have set up. This is designed to keep the sheep beaten down and incapable of objecting to whatever the leadership wants. The bible teaches that true biblical leadership does not lord it over the people. We must understand that the purpose driven church model has taught these pastors that they are no longer shepherds. They are instead vision casting cult of personality figures. Hence the early reference here to vision as well. It is vital that we see what Mattera is establishing as his foundational argument for who the wolves are in your church. To him they are the people who would have the temerity to disagree with him. Wow. That is frightening.

"2. Wolves have their own vision. Senior leaders make mistakes when they think division in their ranks only comes from gossip or slander. There is more division in churches and organizations than most leaders realize because its covert operation is not based on slander but on hidden agendas. Any person who perpetuates their own vision within the overarching vision of a church or organization is in fact a divisive person and a wolf in sheep's clothing." -- Joseph Mattera

Says no biblical passage anywhere. The real danger here of course is in not teaching what wolves actually are and what they do. Having a "different vision" is a carnal argument. No one gets to heaven and is turned away because they had a different vision than their pastor. That is because there is only one vision for the church and it is called the Gospel. If someone comes into your church with a different gospel -- that is a wolf! Yet to the NAR mindset, anyone divisive is a wolf in sheep's clothing. How utterly ridiculous. The purpose driven church teaches pastors to blessedly subtract these disagreeable folks right out of their churches anyway. This is why there are so many wounded Christians roaming the Christian landscape; because the man charged with being their shepherd chose to hold to a vision instead of a shepherd's staff.

"3. Wolves are not ministerially accountable and walk in the dark. Any person or secondary leader who doesn't allow their overseer to see what kind of work they are doing, gets annoyed when asked for reports, shuns honest open relationships and accountability or obstructs usual communication systems is potentially a wolf in the making." -- Joseph Mattera

Mattera seems awfully concerned about his authority not being challenged. This is the modus operandi for the NAR infected churches as well. Granted they are not usually so in your face about it as they prefer to claim the pastor or prophet are "anointed" and thus untouchable by the mere common folk rabble of churchianity. This is the aforementioned cult of personality paradigm. The sheep are conditioned to follow the man of God instead of God himself. Sounds too harsh you say? Try having a biblical conversation with a Joel Osteen follower or a Joseph Prince adherent as to why their pastor is wrong about anything.

"4. Wolves are not authentic because they attempt to look like sheep. People who are not authentic to themselves are candidates for turning on others at any given time. If you are not true to yourself and to whom God made you, you will not be true to other people. Wolves wear sheep's clothing because they attempt to fit into the overall scheme and structure of an organization or church. That is to say, they fit right into all of the cultural norms of their surroundings. For example, if they are in a church, they will regularly attend church services and leadership meetings, pay their tithes, perform ministry tasks and attempt to outwardly excel in spiritual disciplines more than anyone else. Most pastors are preaching every Sunday to a percentage of people who are wolves since they have no discernment, or because their church is too large for them to smoke the wolves out. Given time, wolves will attempt to position themselves in some way for more influence so, generally speaking, a senior leader will eventually find out who these people are." -- Joseph Mattera

Sigh. Wolves come dressed in sheep's clothing simply to fool the sheep. To convince them they are one of them. For the NAR and Mattera the goal is to usurp their power and authority but the reality is far worse. The wolf seeks to devour the sheep of the Lord. He seeks to lead them astray with false teachings and prophecies. He seeks to shackle them to these false teachings and make them prisoner to it. There is perhaps nothing sadder the conversing with someone who has bought a false theology and serves a false Christ. Jesus says that if we convince ourselves that our darkness is light -- how deep is that darkness! You see beloved, the unsaved can always respond to the prompting and drawing of the Holy Spirit through the preached Word but if you think you are already saved and are not it is far more difficult.

"5. Wolves position themselves to be close to those in power. As stated in the previous point, wolves crave proximity to power. They will attempt to garner favor with the senior leader by acts of service, sacrifice, financial giving and flattering the leaders among them who are the most susceptible to false praise. For example, if the senior leader is not accessible enough, wolves will work to attach themselves to secondary leaders they perceive have influence with the senior leader. They do this to curry favor with the secondary leader so they can slowly build another infrastructure loyal to a subversive agenda instead of to the senior leader and the vision of the organization." -- Joseph Mattera

Wow, it sounds like Mattera has dealt with a lot of unsavory Christian leaders in his time. That does not change the bible however. Notice the prevailing thread. He is the leader and he alone has the vision. Anyone coming against that vision must be a wolf. The reality is real wolves do not crave to be next to power at all. They wish to deceive. They wish to lead followers after themselves and away from Jesus Christ. The damage they inflict is eternal in nature not this hodgepodge of carnal subterfuge and strategic disobedience. Beloved this is the true effect of the NAR teachings. It is overly concerned with this life and this world instead of the kingdom yet to come. The vision of Joseph Mattera is the same as for all purpose driven pastors -- to build their individual church; all for Jesus of course -- wink wink. The purpose for which Jesus bled and died however is eternal. Wolves do not come to muck up the temporal race for pastor of the year. They come to steal, kill and destroy the eternal hope of Jesus Christ.

"6. Wolves desire the perks of the organization without paying the price for the organization. I have learned that those who really have a sincere heart will function in any capacity without a title or position as long as they are properly stewarding their gifts. Since wolves don't want to pay the price over the long term, they position themselves to receive accolades, prestige and a platform as quickly as possible--even over those who have paid the price for the organization for many years. Senior leaders have to be wary of those who constantly crave position, titles and authority without proving themselves over the long haul." -- Joseph Mattera

Now there are people who crave titles and to look more super-spiritual than everyone else in the church. No question about it. It is not too surprising when the church today encourages the look at me egocentricity from its people. Worship is no longer about God but instead about you. The heroes of the bible are all reduced to references to your life. The cult of personality pastors make it about them so why shouldn't you make it about you? Despite all of this Mattera misses the larger point. That none of these people are wolves.

"7. Wolves camouflage their motives and actions with spirituality. These people are not open and broken regarding their personal flaws. Rather, they attempt to put up a veneer of super spirituality to fool others to the point that even the senior leader is not really spiritual in comparison to them. Their criticisms are not outwardly slanderous but involve subtleties and innuendos that involve second-guessing senior leadership decisions, implying the church isn't spiritual enough or that the senior leader doesn't really hear from God and doesn't pray much and so on. Basically, a wolf is trying to do anything that can successfully instill seeds of doubt about the senior leader in the minds of the people around them." -- Joseph Mattera

"8. Wolves use and abuse people to accomplish their own agenda. Although wolves come off as if they love everyone around them, they are only using these people to gain influence and power. As soon as they have what they want from these naive people, they eat them, spit them out and move on to the next person who can deliver them the platform they desire." -- Joseph Mattera

Paranoid much? Now these wolves must be busy! They are now slandering Mattera to anyone who will listen in the church. The veneer of super-spirituality is the entire church, usually starting with the leadership! I remember my old church went through a Jewish Prayer Shawl phase where all the super-spirituals started wearing them to service. You want to see who the super-spirituals are in your church? Just look at who is shouting in tongues the loudest, who is the most dramatic being slain in the spirit or who prays as if their target is deaf. Actual wolves do not camouflage anything. They are preaching a false gospel and are trying to get you to follow it.

"9. Wolves can't be led but must be driven away by shepherds. Some senior leaders attempt to rehabilitate every person who comes into their church or organization. This is a huge mistake! A wolf will always be a wolf, a sheep always a sheep and a horse always a horse, no matter how much you fast and pray for them. Once a person is identified as a wolf, a shepherd should confer with other leaders for confirmation of this fact, then monitor this person closely and not allow them any harmful leverage in the church. In most cases, senior leader can't just throw the wolf out. If the senior leader does this, innocent people who have already been influenced by the wolf will get hurt as well. The senior leader has to wait until the wolf reveals their true motives by "giving them enough rope to hang themselves." When the issue is manifest, the wolf can be driven out." -- Joseph Mattera

Ahh, the old enough rope to hang themselves admonition from the Sermon on the Mount. That is really the point here. None of this remotely comes close to the bible. Look at his remedy! Once you believe that someone is a wolf you should gossip about them to other leaders so you can get "confirmation" and then set them up and be ready to pounce to kick them out of your church. Wow. All based on your carnal interpretation of your unbiblical definition of wolves.

"10. Wolves attempt to destroy the shepherd as a way to consume the sheep. By and large, wolves are in competition with the senior leader of an organization they are a part of, instead of serving as their promoter and protector. The reason for this is because the shepherd (senior leader) has what they crave: the most influence in the organization. Because of this, wolves will do everything in their power to tear down the shepherd so the sheep are vulnerable to their wishes." -- Joseph Mattera

He gets so close here it is frustrating to read. This is what NAR, purpose driven theology does to good pastors. It makes them focus on themselves instead of Christ. It is the sheep the wolves want, not the senior leader. Often times, they will find senior leadership quite amenable to false teaching as well. What better way to spread the false gospel then to empower other pastors to be wolves as well. People tell me all the time how one person infiltrated their church, got the ear of the senior pastor and next they knew their bible based church was following the purpose driven model and promoting NAR theology. I hear these stories every single day.

"11. Wolves are not sons but bloodsuckers of the house. Years ago, after a very difficult time in our church, the Lord spoke through a member of our church who said God was going to give me "sons and daughters who would never betray me." Since that time, I have built the leadership of our church with sons and daughters of the house, not with those merely desiring a position for their gifting to be displayed. This strategy has served our church well the past 20 years. I encourage all pastors to build key leadership with these criteria. Wolves are those who are not grateful for what the senior leader does or what the organization has to offer. Instead, they are always complaining about their needs not being met. No matter how many times you aid a wolf, they will always crave more fresh meat to eat and blood to drink." -- Joseph Mattera

The final offering here is just more of the same. Some reading this may feel this is an argument of semantics but that grossly misses the heart of the problem. The term wolves and sheep are biblical terms. Christians will know these terms. They are crucial to understand to protect oneself from being led astray and slaughtered. Paul speaks about people who "shipwrecked" their faith by following false teaching. This is a serious matter and if we are going to teach we must do so correctly. I hope Joseph Mattera did not mean to be this far off but my concern is for the sheep that will read this and erroneously think that wolves are coming after the pastor. They are not. They are coming after the sheep. Wolves are not to be helped, coddled, prayed for, asked to repent or entertained in any way, form or fashion. They are to be beaten with the shepherd's rod until they leave the sheep alone.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- August 14, 2018

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.