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Category: Evangelicalism

Jesus Said His Commandments are Not Burdensome

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Jesus said:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Jesus says that those who take on his yoke will find rest for their souls. His yoke and burden are light.

What does Jesus mean when he uses the word yoke? Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines the word this way: to join; a coupling that is, (figuratively) servitude (a law or obligation); also (literally) the beam of the balance (as connecting the scales).

Thayer’s Lexicon defines yoke this way: a yoke that is put on draught cattle; metaphorically, used of any burden or bondage (as that of slavery).

After reading several commentaries on Matthew11:28-30, I concluded that the yoke Jesus asks his followers to wear is his commandments and teachings; that according to commentators this yoke encompasses all the laws and precepts found in the Bible — “rightly” interpreted, of course.

John adds:

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (1 John 5:3)

If someone says he loves God, he will keep God’s commandments, and these commandments are not grievous (burdensome).

Deuteronomy 6:17 states:

Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 adds:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Solomon says that the whole duty of man is to do what? Fear God and keep his commandments.

Jesus told his disciples in John 14:15: if ye love me, keep my commandments.

How does one show his love for Jesus? By keeping his commandments.

And finally, John says throughout the book of First John:

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:3-4)

And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. (1 John 3:24)

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. (1 John 5:2)

Evangelicals equate salvation with believing the right things. I have often said that the Evangelical gospel can be summed up thusly: BELIEVE this and thou shalt live. However, based on the aforementioned verses, the gospel is actually, DO this and thou shalt live; that the essence of Christianity is not only believing the commandments, teachings, laws, and precepts of Jesus/God/Apostles, it’s putting them into practice and living them out day by day.

do and dont

There are 613 laws in the Old Testament alone. According to an extensive list produced by Christian Assemblies International, there are 1,050 New Testament commands. (PDF)

Evangelicals fuss and fight over how many commands and laws, exactly, there are in the Bible. Once Evangelicals figure out the number of commands, then they argue about how many are still applicable today. No two Evangelical churches or preachers agree on which commandments are valid and in force. Even when it comes to the Ten Commandments, most Evangelicals only practice nine of the commandments, and some Evangelicals don’t practice any of them, choosing to follow only the teachings of the Apostle Paul.

Whatever the number of commands, one thing is for certain, Evangelicals don’t do a very good job of keeping them. Jesus said his yoke was easy and his burden was light. Why, then, do most Evangelicals routinely ignore or disobey the teachings of the Bible? It seems, at least from my perspective, that Evangelicals find God’s laws and commandments a real pain in the ass; a big inconvenience; an impossible task, so why bother?

Evangelicals present their religion as transformative; that Jesus will fix whatever ails you. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Evangelicals SAY they are IN CHRIST. If so, according to the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God, Christians are new creatures (creations): old things pass away and everything becomes new.

Any casual investigation of Evangelicalism reveals that there is a huge disconnect between what God’s chosen ones say and how they live. In other words, they are hypocrites.

I am not suggesting that Evangelicals as a whole are bad people. I have met scores of Evangelicals whom I consider decent human beings. However, Evangelicals have a marketing/messaging problem. Evangelicals tell the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world that Jesus makes all things new; that Jesus alone can change lives. That’s the sale pitch. However, most people who sign on the dotted line spend their lives trying to measure up to the Biblical standard — and fail. Why do Evangelical preachers spend an inordinate amount of time exhorting and rebuking congregants, calling out their less-than-Biblical lives, all while never looking in the mirror? If Jesus is all Evangelicals say he is, why is the product produced so inferior? Why is there no difference between Evangelicals and their counterparts in the world?

I am sure the True Christians® among us will say that many Evangelicals are fake believers or cultural Christians. However, having once been a True Christian® myself for many, many years, I know that sold-out, on-fire, Holy Ghost-filled Christians are every bit as hypocritical as those deemed fake or cultural Christians. The difference, of course, is that True Christians® are experts at playing the godliness/holiness/sanctified/separated game. They know how to put on a front; how to make those around them think they are super-duper followers of Jesus.

“How dare you insult me. Bruce. I am a real Christian. I follow the teachings of the Bible to the letter.” No you don’t, and you know it. Quit playing the game, and admit that you are nothing more than an everyday flawed, frail human being, just as the rest of us are. Aren’t you tired of riding the high ground on your moral high horse? You may think you have people fooled, but you don’t. Those around you see you as you are. And that goes for so-called men of God, too.

I am not suggesting that Evangelicals stop trying to live according to the teachings of the Bible. There’s some good stuff in the Bible: you know, commands such as loving your neighbor as yourself or not letting the sun go down on your wrath. All I ask is that Evangelicals stop demanding others live according to the teachings of the Bible, when they, in fact, can’t agree on what those teachings are, nor can they keep them.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Lingo — A Guide to IFB-Speak

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Repost from 2015. Edited, updated, and corrected.

If you are unfamiliar with the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist church movement, please see The Anatomy of the IFB Church Movement for more information.

Below is a list of words and phrases used in IFB churches. IFB churches and pastors have a lingo that may sound strange to the uninitiated, so I hope this list will help.

Guide to Words and Phrases used in IFB Churches

Inerrancy of the Bible

The Bible, often the King James Bible, is inspired, infallible, and without error, perfect in all it says and teaches. Some IFB churches believe that even the italicized words added by the translators are inspired.

Inspiration of the Bible

The Bible, in its original writings, was breathed out by God. God directed (moved) the writers of the Bible in such a way that their words were the exact words God wanted to be written down. Some within the IFB Church movement believe that the King James Bible is just as God-inspired as the original writings. Others believe God has preserved his Word throughout history, and the King James Bible is the only Bible for English-speaking people.

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ

Someday, perhaps today, Jesus Christ will come in the clouds and rapture all the Christians off the face of the earth. Then, all the unbelievers will face seven years of tribulation as described in the book of Revelation. Jesus will then return to earth, bind Satan, and establish his millennial kingdom. During the millennium, the raptured Christians will remain in heaven while Jesus rules the earth with a rod of iron. At the end of the millennium, Satan will be loosed for a season and God will defeat him. Then God will judge everyone, destroy the heavens and earth, and make all things new. (This is an abbreviated form of what IFB churches believe about the Second Coming.)

Pastoral Authority

The pastor, called by God, is in charge of the church. He is called by God to speak the words of God to church members. Most IFB churches are pastored by one man. Often, the pastor has the final say on everything. Typically, the longer a preacher pastors a church, the more control he has.

Pastoral Succession

Many IFB churches have pastors who have been in that position for years and even decades. As these preachers age and their children grow up, it is not uncommon for the pastor’s children to be hired as church staff. In some cases, the pastor’s son or son-in-law becomes the pastor-in-waiting. The church becomes a possession, a franchise that is passed down from generation to generation.

Soulwinning

Proverbs 11:30 says The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Most IFB churches actively evangelize their community. They believe they are commanded by God to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, even if people don’t want to hear it. Much like Jehovah’s Witnesses, IFB church members often evangelize door-to-door and hand out tracts. They believe God holds them personally accountable for the souls of those they could have witnessed to and didn’t. Ezekiel 33:7-9 says:

So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Altar Call

The altar, located at the front of the church, is the place where the unsaved and saved alike come to do business with God. Often the church has trained altar workers who help those who come forward during the altar call (public invitation). In IFB churches, the altar is similar to the Catholic confessional.

Backsliding

Since IFB churches believe Once Saved, Always Saved, they must account for when members become worldly or stop doing what is expected of them. Such members are called backsliders. IFB pastors spend significant amounts of time trying to get backsliders to live as good Christians should. A good Christian attends church every time the doors are open, reads and studies the Bible daily, prays without ceasing, tithes and gives offerings, evangelizes the lost, and follows the church social code/standards. Congregants who don’t are considered, backslidden, worldly, or carnal.

Standards

Standards are rules that every IFB church member is expected to obey. Standards are often developed, based not on direct commands from the Bible, but upon inferences drawn from particular Bible verses. Every IFB church has its own standards. IFB churches fuss and fight over standards, and often a church will refuse to fellowship with other IFB churches that don’t have the same basic standards as they do. (Please see The Official Independent Baptist Rule Book.)

Separation

Separation is the abstaining from people, actions, and things that are considered worldly. What is worldly is defined by what the pastor says the Bible says is worldly. What is worldly varies from church to church. Worldly can be generously defined as anything the pastor thinks is a sin or could cause someone to “stumble” or have a bad testimony.

Head of the Home

The husband is the boss and the decider of everything pertaining to the family. IFB churches are hierarchal and complementarian when it comes to marriage and family.

Right Hand of Fellowship

When new members are welcomed and admitted into the church membership, they are given the right hand of fellowship. Many congregations have new members stand at the front of the church so every church member can come by and shake their hand or hug them. This is a great opportunity for pervert Deacon Bob to cop a feel.

The Call

The “call” is when God speaks to a man’s heart, telling him to be a pastor, evangelist, or missionary. The man called by God makes his calling publicly known before the church, often at the close of the Sunday morning church service.

Preacher Boy

A preacher boy is a young boy, most often a teenager, called by God to be a preacher. Preacher boys often have favored status in IFB churches. Many IFB pastors pride themselves in how many boys have been called to preach under their ministry. This is very similar to a man passing his seed on.

Faith Promise

Faith Promise is a method used by some IFB pastors to extract money from church members. Most often, faith promise is associated with mission giving. Church members are asked to make a promise of X amount of dollars for missions, and by faith they are to expect God to give them the money for the offering. And when God fails to come through? Congregants are expected to give anyway, even if it caused financial harm.

Prayer Meeting

Prayer meeting is a time when prayer requests are gathered and members or the pastor prays over them. It is also known as the midweek gossip hour. It is a golden opportunity for gossips to share dirt about sinful family members or backslidden Christians — all in the name of “praying” for them.

Stewardship

Stewardship is a method used by some IFB pastors to extract money from church members. Some pastors preach a series of messages on being good stewards (caretakers) of the money God has given each church member. The objective is to get people to give more money to the church.

Revival

A revival is a time when a special speaker, often called an evangelist, comes to the church and preaches each night for a consecutive number of days — usually three to seven days. Many IFB church members make spiritual decisions during the nightly revival altar calls.

Carnal/Worldly Church Members

Christians who don’t live according to the teachings of the Bible — as interpreted by the pastor. Such people are “saved” — barely.

The Lord Has Laid Upon My Heart

A personal opinion or interpretation of the Bible that a Christian thinks is straight from God himself.

This is not an all-encompassing list. If there are other words and phrases you think would be a good addition to this list, please leave them in the comments (and make sure you define them).

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Daniel Harris Sentenced to Eighteen Years in Prison for Sex Crimes Against Children

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The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Daniel Harris, pastor of Olive Branch Christian Church in Olive Branch, Mississippi, recently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eighteen years in prison for sex crimes against children.

DeSoto County News reports:

DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton has announced that former Mississippi pastor and educator Daniel Harris has pleaded guilty to charges relating to sex crimes against children as far back as 2015.

He was ordered to serve 18 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole or early release. In addition to his probation and jail sentence, Harris will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his adult life and no longer serve as an educator.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, the investigation revealed that between 2015 and 2018, Harris continuously molested teenagers while under his care as a tutor, pastor, and authority figure.

A victim of Harris’ actions came forward after revealing the incident that took place during his childhood to another family member. The initial victim’s testimony then helped other victims come forward. Harris was arrested on May 4, 2023.

“Instead of being a pastor and educator, Harris used his position of trust to violate the innocence of children to fulfill his reprehensible desires,” Barton said. “The plea will ensure that other children will be shielded from this child predator while sparing a lengthy court process for the victims who endured horrendous abuse at the hands of Daniel Harris. People like this have no place in society and my office will continue to partner with federal, local, and state law enforcement to ensure nefarious individuals like this are behind bars and their victims receive justice.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of child abuse, please call your local law enforcement agency to report the incident.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ben Weathers, with investigative assistance from Lt. Ashley Holladay of the Olive Branch Police Department and criminal investigators from the District Attorney’s Office.

At the time of his arrest, Harris was listed as a pastor at Olive Branch Christian Church. The church’s website at the time said he founded the Kaimen Center, teaching arts, athletics and academics to children and adults with disabilities.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Southern Baptist Pastor Monte Chitty Accused of Sexually Assaulting Church Teen

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The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Monte Chitty, pastor of First Baptist Church of Marathon, Florida, was recently charged with sexual battery of a minor, lewd and lascivious conduct and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. First Baptist is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

Channel 10 reports:

A newly-released arrest report details explicit text messages that deputies say a Marathon pastor sent a 15-year-old girl after plying her with alcohol and sexually battering her while she was passed out on a couch in his church’s library.

Monte Lavelle Chitty, 62, was arrested Monday on multiple charges, including sexual battery of a minor. Jail records show he was released on a $75,000 bond just before 10 p.m.

Chitty is the pastor of First Baptist Marathon, located at 200 62nd St. The arrest report states he also lives on the church property.

The alleged assault happened on Sunday. Deputies said they were first alerted to it after someone overheard the victim telling her grandmother what happened.

Chitty, deputies said, called the sheriff’s office about an hour later because he believed the girl “was going to make allegations against him.”

He claimed, according to the report, that he “intended to take (the girl) home to her grandmother while delivering meals to the homeless” and, seeing she was drunk, had allowed her to sleep on the couch.

The report states he told deputies the girl left while he was taking a phone call that afternoon and said that “while doing deliveries at the Marathon City Marina, he observed (the victim) with her grandmother and walked towards them, at which point (the girl) began to scream, and (he) left.”

The girl, however, would tell deputies that Chitty had given her what she believed was a “spiked” drink, the report states.

“She stated that after drinking what she thought to be vodka, she felt weak, could not walk and eventually lost consciousness while at the church,” deputies wrote.

Authorities said she woke up to Chitty performing oral sex on her.

“She stated after he was done and left, she got up and ran out and contacted her grandmother to pick her up,” deputies wrote in the report.

The report states she then showed text messages from Chitty. They came from the same number he used to call the Monroe County Sheriff’s office, deputies said.

According to the report, in the text messages, using a cat emoji, Chitty first complimented the girl’s genitals.

“I prefer you pass out after I play not before,” deputies say the pastor then texted her. “You can’t even remember what I did.”

He later probed her on what she recollected and described what he did to her, deputies said.

After telling the girl how he abused her, Chitty told her, “Straighten up (woman’s name) is here,” the report states.

Online publications and social media posts indicate that Chitty is married to a woman with the same name.

The report states Chitty then complimented her genitals again. After she replied “ig,” short for “I guess,” deputies said Chitty replied, “Just say thank you.”

According to the report, he went on to compliment the teen’s breasts and encouraged her to sit on the couch in a way to make it “easier” to perform oral sex on her.

Deputies said Chitty later provided them consent to search his phone. They said his text messages matched those on the victim’s phone and said the messages also showed him admitting to giving her vodka.

“Mr. Chitty admitted to sending the text messages but later invoked his right to an attorney and denied the sexual contact,” deputies wrote in the report.

Deputies would take Chitty into custody early Monday morning.

The report states the victim was given a sexual assault examination, the results of which will be sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for processing.

In addition to the sexual battery charge, Chitty faces counts of lewd and lascivious behavior and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Frank Johnson Arrested for Soliciting Prostitution

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The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Frank Johnson, pastor of Hands and Feet Fellowship in Gastonia, North Carolina, and a middle school teacher at Community Christian Academy in Dallas, North Carolina, was recently arrested and charged with soliciting prostitution.

The Gaston Gazette reports:

A Gaston County teacher and pastor was arrested during a human trafficking investigation and accused of trying to pay for sex, according to the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office.

Frank Mark Johnson, 65, was charged Monday with soliciting prostitution, according to the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office.

“On March 11, 2024, during an ongoing sex offender / human trafficking investigation, deputies from the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office arrested Frank Mark Johnson. He was charged with solicitation of prostitution and received a $1,500 unsecured bond,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a brief statement.

Johnson, who lives in the Crowders Mountain area, until recently was a middle school science teacher at Community Christian Academy in Bessemer City.

“I have tutored kids in various subjects over many years, including math, science, Bible, music and chess,” Johnson said in a statement on the school’s website.

A spokesman for Community Christian Academy said Wednesday that Johnson was no longer employed. He declined to comment further.

Johnson serves as the pastor of Hands and Feet Fellowship in Gastonia.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Baptist Pastor Nathan Legault Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

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The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Nathan Legault, a Canadian Baptist pastor, pleaded guilty to child pornography charges and was sentenced to two years in prison.

The Northern View reports:

A Prince Rupert man who was a pastor has been given a conditional sentence of two years less a day followed by three years of probation for possessing child pornography.

Nathan Legault pleaded guilty to two charges in May 2022 — one for creating child pornography and one for possessing child pornography. He was sentenced by provincial court judge David Patterson in January, with the written decision only recently released.

The court learned that Legault began contacting minors he had met as a pastoral intern at baptist churches in Saskatchewan and Windsor, Ontario. Legault sent nude photos and videos of himself masturbating to two early teens — referred to as A.A.A. and B.B.B. in court documents — and their friends. He used fake social media accounts pretending to be a boy their age.

Legault also sent deepfake photos with A.A.A. and B.B.B.’s faces cropped onto nude images to the victims and their friends. A Windsor police investigation found that Legault had been sending the photos from Prince Rupert, where he was an associate pastor after moving to the area in 2018.

Crown and defence made a joint submission for the conditional sentence, which Patterson “reluctantly” accepted, fearing that the decision could “bring the administration of justice into disrepute and be contrary to the public interest.”

It took three sentencing hearings throughout 2023 during which the defence, then the Crown defended the sentencing recommendation to convince Patterson to accept it.

Patterson read a powerful victim impact statement from B.B.B., who detailed how Legault’s actions led her to consider suicide. B.B.B. also said Legault’s crimes led her to believe he would kidnap her.

“This has destroyed my physical and mental well-being. I am disgusted by the actions. I constantly ask myself, why me? This is something that can’t be erased and it will and has hurt me forever,” the young victim said.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Russell Tusing II Charged with Child Molestation

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The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Russell Tusing II, pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of LaGrange, Georgia, stands accused of sexual battery and child molestation. Tusing has been scrubbed from the church’s website.

The LaGrange Daily News reports:

LaGrange police have arrested the pastor of a local church who is facing allegations of child molestation. Russell Jon Tusing II, 44, was arrested and charged with sexual battery (FVA) and child molestation (FVA). According to Troup County Jail records, Tusing was booked into the jail on Friday. According to LaGrange Police Public Information Officer Lt. Chris Pritchett, the charges stem back to a report made in February with allegations dating back to 2022 in regard to a 13-year-old female victim.

Pritchett confirmed that Tusing was the pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of LaGrange, though his name appears to have been removed from the staff leadership on the church’s website. Multiple calls to the church went directly to voicemail. Tusing was named pastor of the church in August 2011, according to the church’s Facebook page.

Multiple calls to the church went directly to voicemail. Tusing was named pastor of the church in August 2011, according to the church’s Facebook page.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Evangelical Pastor Tries to Justify Being Offensive to Others

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Faith Baptist Church, Primrose Georgia, members street preaching, calling on sodomites to repent

An Evangelical pastor I know posted the following statements on Facebook today:

I’d rather offend you into heaven…than sympathize you into hell…

The problem in Christianity is that we are hiding behind the need to be nice, while shying away from truth and true devotion… #thetruthhurtsjohn8:32

Where, oh, where, do I begin?

This pastor assumes that he has and knows the “truth.” He proof-texted John 8:32: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. In John 18 we find Jesus standing before Pilate:

Pilate: Art thou the King of the Jews?

Jesus: Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?

Pilate: Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

Jesus: My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Pilate: Art thou a king then?

Jesus: Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Pilate: What is truth?

Pilate asks a good question, “What is truth?” Spoken like a good postmodernist, Pilate challenged Jesus’ claim that he was a witness to “truth.” Jesus does not answer Pilate, leaving the “truth” question unanswered. That, of course, hasn’t stopped Evangelical preachers and churches from answering the question themselves. If there is one thing we know about Evangelicals it is this: they are certain that they have the truth market cornered; that their beliefs and practices perfectly align with Jesus’ words when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Evangelicals fail to understand that Jesus was talking about himself being the way, truth, and the life; not their beliefs, not their practices. The only “Bible” Jesus knew anything about was the Old Testament. You will search in vain to find Jesus or Christianity in the Old Testament. Jesus’ Bible was antithetical to the Evangelical gospel of salvation by grace through faith.

How could this pastor possibly know that he has the pure, unadulterated “truth?” Well, his whole understanding of truth is based on his childhood religious upbringing, tribal influences, sectarian education, and personal interpretation of the Bible. The only “truth” he has are his personal opinions and beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible. By faith — the ground of all religious beliefs — he believes his “truth” is the “faith once delivered to the saints.”

As an Evangelical, he believes the Protestant Christian Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. Every word in the Bible is straight from the mouth of God, without error and fallibility. Believing God — in the person of the Holy Spirit — lives inside of him as his teacher and guide, is it a surprise that he thinks his “truth” is THE TRUTH? I have always found it amazing that what Evangelical preachers believe perfectly aligns with God’s “truth.” Amazing, right?

All this pastor has is his personal opinions and interpretations about an ancient religious text. He can provide little to no historical evidence for his “truth” claims outside of the Bible. That’s enough for him, and I am fine what that. Believe what you will, but when you claim you have “truth,” you are going to do a lot more than quote Bible verses or appeal to personal experiences to win me over to your side.

Evangelicals, along with Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and door-to-door siding salesmen, are known for their in-your-face evangelism tactics. They believe they have a duty and right to confront anyone, anywhere, at any time — including when you are lying on your deathbed or just experienced a traumatic event — and preach the gospel at them. Evangelicals believe death is certain, Hell is real, and Jesus is coming soon. Because they sincerely, honestly believe these things, Evangelicals think that this gives them the right to invade the personal space of others. Several weeks ago, my oldest son had an Evangelical zealot try to preach at him while he was pumping gas! I have been repeatedly God-bothered by zealots over the years, thinking I have tattooed on my forehead, “Please Tell Me About Jesus.” I don’t, and I, along with every other unbeliever I know, want to be left alone. If we want to know about God, Jesus, the Bible, Christianity, or your supercalifragilisticexpialidocious church, we will ask. If not, leave us alone.

Of course, this preacher will ignore what I have written here, believing that I am deceived, apostate, or a tool of Satan; that he has a higher calling from God, and that calling compels him to irritate, harass, and bother unbelievers. While he would likely say that he doesn’t want to offend anyone or hurt their feelings, he would also say, “Sometimes the truth hurts.” In other words, what you feel or think doesn’t matter. And therein is the fundamental problem with Evangelicalism: all that matters is your non-existent soul and eternal destiny. Who cares if an Evangelical zealot is a Bible bully or an asshole as long as you get saved and gain entrance into Heaven?

You see, Evangelicals are taught over and over and over again that this present life is transitory; that it is preparation for the life to come. The only thing that matters is “What have you done with Christ?” (Answer: I took a spade, dug a hole in our backyard, and buried Jesus, right next to our cat who died a few years ago.) 🙂 While Evangelical lifestyles betray how Heavenly-minded they really are, when it comes to evangelizing the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world, all that matters is saving souls.

Several weeks ago, I had a five-hour gastric motility test performed at the local hospital. I had to eat food laced with nuclear medicine that was tracked every hour with a scan as it traversed my stomach and bowels. As I sat there, I couldn’t help but notice all the suffering around me. A woman dying from cancer, weighing less than seventy-five pounds; a woman having a similar test, except she had bowel cancer; a man having radiation treatments. Into our suffering came a seventy-something-year-old Evangelical man Heaven-bent on evangelizing the dying. (I watched Polly silently mouth a prayer, asking Loki to keep this man from saying anything to me. 🙂 Loki answered her prayer. I have no tolerance for such people. I am not afraid to publicly shame them and put them in their place.) This man had an interesting schtick. He sat down next to the bald elderly woman with bowel cancer — a woman he did not know — and said, “Do you like comics?” The woman, who was very, very, very sick, said, “Huh?” He responded, “Do you like comics?” She replied, “No, not really.” Thinking to himself, “I don’t give a shit about what you think,” the man replied “Anyway — a word that says I am not listening to you; I don’t care how you feel — get your phone out and go to https://chick.com. Again, the woman said, “Huh?” He replied, “Chick. They have lots of interesting comics. You should really check them out!” With head turned away from God-botherer, the woman replied, “I will, but not now.” Fortunately, the radiologist came and rescued the woman from her abuser.

Let me conclude by sharing a few things with the aforementioned pastor and any “soulwinners” who might read this post.

First, if I want to know about your God, religion, church, or the Bible, I will ask you. If not, leave me alone. Most people know that religion and politics rarely make for good conversation among strangers.

Second, if you value your peculiar “truth” above being nice and polite, I have no interest in talking with you. Want to talk about Jesus? Go to church. I have dinner once a month with a group of like-minded men. We talk about all sorts of things, including religion and politics. We have a common foundation for having these discussions. I would never go to a nearby table of Trump supporters and say to them, “Did you know Donald Trump is an asshole?” Not the time or the place. True statement, but as a kind, thoughtful human being, I don’t go out of my way to offend my neighbors. Sadly, Evangelical zealots think they have a God-given right and duty to offend unbelievers.

Third, I am not asking you to stop believing what you believe. I am, however, asking you to be aware of your surroundings; to be aware of how your preaching will affect and negatively influence others. How many strangers have you personally won to saving faith in Christ by invading their personal space and cornering them so you can preach at them? One, two, a few, none? Have you ever wondered why that is? That maybe, just maybe, you are the problem, and not their hard hearts, blind eyes, or deaf ears, or any of the other lame excuses you use to justify your soulwinning failures.

Fourth, Jesus doesn’t need you to save me or any other sinner. If he wants to save us, he knows exactly where we live. Instead of preaching at people, how about putting into practice the teachings of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and Matthew 25? Show us your faith instead of preaching at us. Maybe, just maybe, if you live as if this life and your fellow humans really matter and you want to do all you can to help others — especially the least of these — maybe unbelievers might be inclined to look at Christianity more favorably. As it stands now, Evangelicalism is one of the most hated sects in America. When the world sees Evangelicals filled with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, maybe they will have a different opinion of Christianity. As it stands now, all I see is an Evangelical preacher who doesn’t think love, forbearance, kindness, goodness, or gentleness are important if they get in the way of preaching the gospel.

After writing this post, I came upon an article by a Roman Catholic extolling being an asshole for Jesus:

We, as a culture, hate insults. We love to accuse people of “verbal abuse” or “hate speech.” Everyone should know better than to insult others. It would be best to completely eradicate insults from all social interactions whatsoever. Why shouldn’t we? Insults are belittling, rude, and may even hurt the feelings of others. All things considered, insults are just plain mean. The very idea of disparaging words serves to send shivers down the spines of even the most resilient souls of our generation.

There are several problems, however, with believing that all insults are bad and should be eradicated.

….

Too many of the souls of this world are running toward the gaping mouth of Hell, and as Christians we are sternly exhorted not to just casually let them go. If we let this God-hating culture tell us when we may speak and when we must be silent, we are rejecting Christ as surely as if we rejected Him in the poor. Our brothers are trying to throw themselves off bridges and in front of buses. If it takes rebukes—or even insults—to stop them, then let us not be afraid of the charity that requires.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

You Say You Speak for God

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angry preacher

Repost from 2015. Edited, rewritten, and corrected.

Millions upon millions of voices all clamoring at the same time, all uttering the same thing . . .

God says . . .

The Bible (God) says . . .

God is leading me to say . . .

God is telling me to tell you . . .

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, right?

Get a Baptist and a Catholic in the same room and let them duke it out over One Baptism. Infant baptism, adult convert baptism, or both?

Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and these three are one. Surely everyone agrees? Not me, says the Oneness Pentecostal or the Apostolic.

Baptism saves. It doesn’t save. No, it’s water baptism plus speaking in tongues as evidence of Holy Ghost baptism that saves.

Communion is the Lord’s Supper, Baptists say. Other Christians say it is the Eucharist. Is it really the body of Christ (transubstantiation), is it kind of the real body of Christ (consubstantiation), or is it a memorial? Wine? Welch’s grape juice? Pepsi and Ritz crackers?

Pre-, Mid-, Pre-wrath-, Post-rapture, and tribulation.

Pre-, A-, Post-millennial reign of Christ.

Dispensationalism. Non-dispensationalism. Hyper-dispensationalism.

Calvinism.

Arminianism.

Pelagianism.

Cessationist. Non-cessationist.

The Old Testament is for today. No it’s not.

The gospels are for today. No, they’re not.

New Perspective on Paul. No, Old Perspective.

Pauline or Peterine. Or maybe James is right when he says faith without works is dead?

The Old Testament law is still for today.

No, it’s not.

Yes, it is, but only the Ten Commandants.

No, only Nine Commandments, and maybe the verses on tithing. Got to pay my bills, you know.

Only the words in red matter.

Only what Paul writes matters.

Did Paul write Hebrews?

Did Moses write the Pentateuch?

God created the universe in six literal twenty-four-hour days. No, a day with the Lord is as a thousand years. No, God created the earth with apparent age. No, God used evolution to create our biological world.

Eternal Security. No, perseverance of the saints. No, preservation of the saints.

Can a Christian lose his salvation (fall from grace)?

Can I get my lost salvation back? Yes! No! It depends!

Hell.

Annihilation.

Purgatory.

Sixty-six books in the Protestant Bible. Catholics, Mormons, and Orthodox count differently, but they aren’t Christians, so who the Heaven cares how many books are in their Bible?

So when you say:

God says . . .

The Bible (God) says . . .

God is leading me to say . . .

God is telling me to tell you . . .

Pray tell, why should we believe you?

How do we know that you have the faith once delivered to the saints?

Can you even answer the most basic of questions?

What is salvation? How is a person saved?

By grace?

By faith?

By works?

By faith, plus works?

By faith, plus works, and staying true to the end?

I can choose?

I can’t choose?

God chooses me?

I choose God?

Baptism saves?

Baptism doesn’t save?

You argue endlessly among yourselves, like toddlers fighting over a toy or Donald Trump and Mike Pence fighting over a Kentucky Fried Chicken drumstick.

The Bible SAYS!

God SAYS!

Our church SAYS!

Our confession SAYS!

Our catechism SAYS!

The Pope SAYS!

The Pastor SAYS!

There is one TRUE church and it is ours, countless denominations and churches say.

With us, and Heaven is your home. Against us, and you fry. Choose right, lest ye die and burn forever!

Your lack of unity is the indictment against you.

Your lack of a singular voice is clear to all who can see beyond the threats of Hell and promises of Heaven.

You should not then be shocked when you try to tell non-Christians God says or the Bible says and they smile and turn a deaf ear.

Oh wait, they are deaf because God made them that way.

And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. (Luke 8:10)

It’s God’s fault.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Breaking News: Baptist Men in Texas Riot in the Streets Over Censorship

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pornhub

Did you see the news today? Southern Baptist and Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) men in Texas are rioting in the streets over censorship. That’s right, these followers of Jesus are upset over being censored. Recently, Texas passed a law requiring users to document their age with a government ID before accessing porn sites.

USA Today reports:

The HB 1181 law primarily passed by Republicans in the Texas Legislature requires companies that offer “sexual material harmful to minors” to ensure its site’s users are 18 or older with an online system that can verify their government-issued identification or another system that utilizes public and private data.

If porn providers fail to verify a user’s age, and a minor ends up accessing their sites, they could be fined up to $10,000 a day and $250,000. Unable to comply with the law, Pornhub — the world’s largest provider of pornography — decided the best course of action was to block all access to their sites originating from Texas. And this has the Baptists upset. How dare Pornhub block their access to porn! What shall these godly men do between Sunday and Wednesday church services — you know the appointed times when men confess their porn habits and seek forgiveness from God? So, these sexually frustrated men have taken to the streets, demanding full, complete access to their favorite fetishes.

Not really, but let me be clear, Texas Baptists have a big porn problem, so I do not doubt that many preachers and congregants alike are upset that they can’t readily access their secret sin. (Never mind the fact that God allegedly sees everything. Evidently, worshiping a voyeuristic God is not enough to keep believers from surfing Pornhub.)

I hope researchers will take a look at VPN use after the Texas law was passed. I suspect that there was a huge uptick in VPN use among Baptist men — an easy way to avoid Texas’ age verification requirement.

According to 2014 survey commissioned by a nonprofit organization called Proven Men Ministries and conducted by Barna Group among a nationally representative sample of 388 self-identified Christian adult men found:

The statistics for Christian men between 18 and 30 years old are particularly striking:

77 percent look at pornography at least monthly.

36 percent view pornography on a daily basis

32 percent admit being addicted to pornography (and another 12 percent think they may be).

The statistics for middle-aged Christian men (ages 31 to 49) are no less disturbing:

77 percent looked at pornography while at work in the past three months.

64 percent view pornography at least monthly.

18 percent admit being addicted to pornography (and another 8 percent think they may be).

Even married Christian men are falling prey to pornography and extramarital sexual affairs at alarming rates:

55 percent look at pornography at least monthly.

35 percent had an extramarital affair.

jesus better than porn

The Gospel Coalition, the Defenders of True Christianity®, objected to this study’s results, saying:

The first is the Proven Men Porn Survey, a survey conducted in 2014 by Barna Group for Proven Men Ministries, a non-profit Christian organization aimed at helping men with an addiction to pornography.

The survey found that approximately two-thirds (64 percent) of Christian men admit they view pornography at least monthly. Based on that claim, you might be alarmed by the thought that two-thirds of the men who you think are faithfully following Christ are looking at porn at least a dozen times a year. But that’s not really what the survey found.

As with all surveys that rely on self-identification, clearly defining the terms—such as Christians—are essential. Fortunately, Barna does a better job than most other pollsters in this regard.

Barna classifies someone as a Christian if they individual self-identifies as Christian or identify with a Christian denomination (other than Mormons or Jehovah’s Witness). Within that category, Barna identifies individuals as “born again” if they made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important in their life today and believe that when they die, they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Barna classifies individuals who do not meet the criteria of Born Again as “nominal Christians.”

Within the subset of the “born again,” Barna identifies “legacy evangelicals” and “non-evangelical, born again.” Non-evangelical born-again Christians outnumber evangelicals by almost a four-to-one ratio, according to Barna. They are less conservative and less traditional than evangelicals, and seven-times as many claim to be advocates for LGBT rights (27 percent). Little more than half of this group (55 percent) firmly believe that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches, and fewer than one-third of this group (31 percent) contend they have a responsibility to share their religious beliefs with those who think differently.

Returning to the survey we find that 64 percent men view porn at least once a month (54 percent for born-again Christian men)

About one-third of all self-identified Christian men do not view porn every month. Of those who do, 10 percent are nominal Christians. Of those who are born again, only about 11 percent would be what we’d consider “evangelicals.” (The survey doesn’t appear to have asked about church attendance or denominational affiliation.)

Were these pervert men “real” Christians? The Gospel Coalition asks. This, of course, is their standard answer anytime a study or article makes Evangelicalism look bad. They aren’t real Christians! Nice try. I suspect that there are Gospel Coalition fellows who frequent Pornhub. Jesus is no antidote for porn use.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.