Canadian pastor tells sheep to not get vaccinated. One sheep dead so far...

::::::::

He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. - John 10:12-13 (ESV)

Click Here

One of the more revealing facets of the COVID crisis was how God used it to reveal who were mostly hirelings in the pulpit, seemingly uncaring for the very sheep entrusted to them. We have written about this before in relation to the NAR purpose driven church (PDC) model. The PDC teaches pastors to constantly recast their vision for how to continually grow their individual church. It is always couched in the most pious evangelistic terms but the reality is that the PDC encourages pastors to "blessedly subtract" any dissenting sheep as long as they find two new goats to replace them. The object is the constantly increase the number of attendees so they can maximize the "giving" and thus reach the goals within their vision. When one looks at this model one can easily see how COVID would cripple or potentially kill the business of the purpose driven churches. We started to see this early on in the pandemic as suddenly pastors fancied themselves epidemiologists and insisted that church was an "essential" function that needed to continue despite the growing death toll. Hirelings can never see the true biblical vision for the church. The pandemic provided an excellent opportunity for churches to become more local and more personal. They could have easily helped their communities and even provide spiritual guidance for their sheep. They just could not have that hour and a half meeting each Sunday. The problem is that the entire PDC model is solely based on that hour and a half. Eventually these fiscal pressures even affected otherwise seemingly solid pastors like John MacArthur. Johnny Mac suddenly was the darling of Charisma News and doing interviews with rabid NAR dominionists, yet he could not see the Charismaniacal rabbit hole he had climbed down into. He still cannot see that his ego and pride has allowed him to constantly place his own sheep at risk of serious illness or even death.

The stories early on should have scared pastors straight. We constantly read stories about pastors who died themselves for opening their churches in the middle of a plague. Originally, we heard it was all about Hebrews and not forsaking the fellowship but it become clear that those who misused those verses were easily debunked. So, following the NAR dominionist lead it became about freedom. The reality however is that it has always been about money. That is why the hireling takes the job. As the key verses remind us - he cares nothing for the sheep. I say this as the backdrop for more stories of pastoral woe but this time from Canada. Now our neighbors to the north have had no shortage of crazy pastors. During this time. I have previously highlighted two of them, who orchestrated their own arrests to try and look like martyrs instead of the fools they are. Today we will be discussing the third such hireling, Pastor Steve Gesualdi of Good News Chapel in Montreal. Let us reason again together through the above linked news story:

MONTREAL -- A woman has died and dozens more have fallen ill following an outbreak of COVID-19 at Good News Chapel in Montreal, her family says, where religious leaders have been accused of spreading misinformation about the virus and disregarding public health measures. The 61-year-old woman, whose first name is Diana, died Sunday, two weeks after being admitted to hospital, according to her family. CTV News has chosen not to publish her full name. Her cousin, Judy Fuoco, believes Diana caught the virus at the Good News Chapel, in the city's St-Leonard borough. "Her family, Diana, and her husband decided they didn't need to be vaccinated based on what they were being told at church," Fuoco, who is also a former follower of the church, told CTV News in an interview." - Montreal CTV News

How profoundly sad. This woman and her husband trusted their pastor. Yes, they trusted their faith but it was their pastor that they were following. There is a reason why Jesus uses the imagery of sheep and a shepherd. The shepherd is supposed to lead the sheep. The sheep are to trust fully and follow. The amount of responsibility placed upon the heads of those who take on the mantle of pastor is so heavy. The bible says they will be judged to a higher standard. They must be because they are responsible for the blood of those who follow them. That is why Paul instructs the young pastor Timothy to guard only two things - his life and his doctrine. Guarding his life has to do with his own walk, lest he fall. His doctrine however is for the benefit of his hearers. When Paul was leaving Ephesus, he said goodbye to the elders by telling them that he was innocent of their blood because he did not hesitate to proclaim the entire gospel. This pastor chose to take that sacred trust and sully and stain it with the carnal politics of man and dishonesty. To not only be told they do not need the vaccine but to then catch it at the church is again, just so profoundly sad.

Diana's mother also died of complications due to COVID-19 almost a year ago, Fuoco said, before vaccines were available. "She should have known better," she said. "But she really truly believed in her faith to the point where she said, 'I'm going to follow God this way, not vaccinate, and have faith.'" Fuoco left the Good News Chapel in 2019, when she said the sermons started getting too political. "This death could have been avoided," she said. CTV News has interviewed multiple people who are close to the church but who do not currently attend. They said it has a culture of vaccine hesitancy and resistance to COVID-19 measures, pushed by the church leadership. The church has made headlines in the pandemic before. On Feb. 14, 2021, its members openly violated gathering limits by welcoming over 100 people into the building in protest of Quebec's lockdown measures, which its pastor, Steve Gesualdi, called "ridiculous" at the time. "Too many people are suffering from other things far more dangerous than COVID-19. Suicides are up, depression is up, anxiety is up," he said the night of the protest.

Being foolish is not a demonstration of faith. It is also not "following God" not be wise. Why not skip giving your infants the measles vaccine? After all, just leave it up to faith! Seat belts? Nah. Speed limit? Why bother? God is in control of everything right? This kind of faith illogic simply does not work. Notice that Judy Fuoco tells us that the church suddenly went political in 2019, the groundwork for this anti-knowledge campaign. This death most definitely could have been avoided! Her pastor and her church killed her. The church has a culture of vaccine hesitancy, pushed by church leadership! In 2021 they violated local law by meeting, another staple of hireling behavior during the time of COVID. Even Pastor Gesualdi's faux concern about increased suicides and depression are straight from the political playbook at that time. The reality is that as a pastor, he could have been regularly checking in on his sheep and cut off any potential mental health issues but all he was concerned about was meeting every Sunday.

Since then, those opinions have been incorporated into his sermons, many of which were posted to social media but appear to have since been deleted. As rumours spread through the community that the virus was taking hold, and calls from within the congregation to close the church grew louder, Gesualdi told his followers in at least one now-deleted video posted to the Good News Chapel's Instagram page that he believed the doors must not close. "There are a few people who have called and said they have the symptoms of COVID-19, and they've gotten tested," he said. "The thing is, it has nothing to do with the church" we've seen God's hand of protection on our church." Days later, on Sunday, November 28, while Diana was intubated in hospital, a defiant Gesualdi stood at his pulpit in front of a full congregation. "There can be no order given," he proclaimed to loud cheers, "that can ever shut down the church of Jesus Christ."

If your stance on vaccines and the virus were so righteous then why delete the sermons? Even in sight of death and illness, Gesualdi insisted on still meeting. The denial is classic and pathetic. You have seen God's hand of protection upon your church Pastor Steve? Seriously? How was that hand of protection for Diana and her family? Then a few days later, as Diana lay dying in a local hospital, Steve Gesualdi continued to show not an ounce of care or even remorse. Proudly defiant, Gesualdi declared that no order can shut down the church. Do not lose sight of the fact that this is a secular news site. Beside the tragic loss of life there are kingdom consequences. How many unbelievers see this abuse and may never choose to seek out a church or God again? The bible commands us to use our time wisely with unbelievers and to redeem that time because the hours are short. Thumbing your nose at authority while causing a COVID outbreak, killing at least one, is not a wise use of the time.

Gesualdi told his congregation that if they are not ready for a battle, they should stay home -- before wondering aloud if he was being irresponsible. His conclusion was that he was not. "'You know, you should use your pulpit to tell people to get vaccinated,'" he said, imitating his critics.

"It's none of my business," he retorted. "The one who keeps you safe is none other than the one that sits on the throne, Himself." In an earlier Instagram video, Gesualdi referenced a previous online sermon, which is also no longer visible online but which CTV News has viewed, showing him leading a communion service. During the sermon, he said, he had gotten several messages from followers who reported overcoming symptoms associated with COVID-19, such as lack of taste. "'As I was eating the bread, I could [once again] taste the bread and the juice,'" he said, reciting a message. "They were very definite things: 'My taste got restored, my sinuses opened up" I was cold and shivering -- by the time we took communion, my temperature went back to normal.'" Turning his attention to those "who have fallen ill in these past couple of weeks," he said in the sermon, "no one is going to go," he said. "God is going to lift them all up." Shortly after, he turned to prayer. "Father. I pray for Diana, as she's in the hospital, Lord, and I thank you because things are changing on a daily basis," he said. "I thank you, Father, that things are improving, Father, that they're weaning her off the medication." Gesualdi did not respond to specific questions from CTV News, but said that an article published Tuesday by Le Devoir about the outbreak was "full of falsities."

Wow. Mocking those trying to show him the right way. His summation that he has no business in the well being of his sheep reveals that he is a hireling. All of the phony anecdotal stories will not save Pastor Steve Gesualdi. Diana's blood is upon his head. He will answer one day when he stands before Christ. During this outbreak ten cases were traced back to his church building. Three of those ten were admitted to the hospital and at least one was in ICU, which we may assume was Diana. Fuoco believes the outbreak number is as high as 50. That is fifty people that did not need to get sick. Some might have permanent damage. Some may not have survived. I do not want us to gloss over this or bury the lead of this story. A man charged with tending to the sheep of the Lord made purposeful and willful decisions that led to one of their deaths. How many more have died already from similar pastoral ignorance and NAR dominionist adherence? God designed church to be so much more than that hour and a half on Sundays. Good News Chapel is not THE church. Neither is John MacArthur's church. Neither is yours. You would think it would be obvious that maybe as the first commandment of being a pastor is to not assist in killing your sheep. You would think but you would be wrong. How profoundly sad indeed.

Reverend Anthony Wade - February 22, 2022

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.