As many of us would agree the recent past and current events in the church are a part of God’s workings to cleanse and purify His bride; His body; separating the wheat from the tares… It is also a working of the Spirit through which He separates and removes the tears in our own individual lives as we allow His workings.
Now, what God wants to accomplish this season in His body is so much more than that. It is to teach us to judge based on grace and truth; teach us to grow into a place of maturity were our dependency and source is Christ and Christ alone; teach us to add love to our discernment and reveal to us the depths His mercies and grace; teach us to behold and love and intercede for His/our own with our own lives as He has done and does and so much more..
Now when leaders are judged or tested, the important thing we need to understand is that it is also symbolic. It means that God is cleansing the whole movement and the denomination and everyone under them and those who are associated with them. It is important we have this perspective rooted in humility or else we may miss the workings of the Spirit in our own lives unhealthily fixating on their faults and failures only.
When they are judged, we must be aware that God is judging and cleansing each one of us!
In seasons like this what is hidden in the hearts of men is exposed. We could find ourselves saying and doing things which we otherwise wouldn’t; either defending their faults or overly criticizing them for it. If so, it shows our own hidden faults and weaknesses. Even if we have judged righteously; it must come from a place of humility and vulnerability, knowing that we stand by grace and grace alone!
If the exposure at IHOP was God bringing to light the depths of corruption and sin that had crept in and was rooted and devastating His body; it was also God empowering the weak, the abused and the voiceless to find their voice and find healing and restoration in their personal lives and also giving courage to the many intimidated and suppressed to rise above their fears and shame and the lies they have believed for so long. It was God brining justice for the oppressed!
Now, when we observe the Spirit at work a certain way, we often generalize this to other similar occurrences. However, each situation is unique and needs to be judged individually according to the wisdom and the revelation of God for that situation. God is not just teaching us to see how far we have fallen from the standards and giving a voice to the voiceless; He is teaching us to discern accurately according to the Spirit of truth. He wants us to apply our judgement in situations according to the standards in His ocean of grace; the standards are the truth. He intends for us to see the depths of His grace and mercy and forgiveness and walk in it. … He wants His body to grow into maturity in every area.
God had a unique purpose in mind, which He wanted to be accomplished through what happened at Gateway which was largely missed by us.
Various other ministries have also faced exposures recently; God’s specific purposes He intended to be accomplished through each. We don’t have time to look into them here.
Now, in the current situation with Dr. Michael Brown, God’s purposes are way different than many of us are thinking it to be!
While in many cases there may be similarities as to God bringing things to light that need to be, for a cleansing and to see those that are broken and hurting and defiled find healing and redemption; through each situation God has His unique purpose(s) also that He wants to see accomplished in His body, that His bride grows into complete maturity through it all.
Now, when leaders fail or stumble, it usually causes disillusionment because our eyes are entirely not on Jesus. A lot of hurts and pain because our trust and dependency are not Him fully. We judge based on what see and hear rather than the Spirit which causes division and strife (Not all division is as a result of that. God does bring peace by division at times). None of us are perfect and so we will experience all these wide range of emotions. It shows our fallen nature but it is also an opportunity for all of us to grow to maturity.
It is not about getting the next ‘breaking news out’. It’s not about being the platform that exposes. It’s not about even getting our thoughts out first and thereby being ahead of the rest. It’s about understanding the purposes of God behind it and speaking and acting only when the Spirit wants from a place of humility and love.
In regard to IHOP I knew by the Spirit (to an extent) the depths of deception even in the initial stages. However, my conversations were only private and for my personal edification.
Now with Gateway, I was deeply troubled in my spirit and had to constantly seek the Lord for His understanding and once I believed He spoke, I published it publicly.
In regard to the situation with Dr,Brown, the Lord led me to be silent for nearly the first three months observing everything and not coming to any conclusions as my natural reasonings went back and forth till He started to reveal. This is not to say my discernment is 100 percent accurate as none of ours is. We all see in part. We will do well if we understand this.
Now, the reason for me sharing all of this is that we need the Spirit’s revelation in situations like this and many times it’s not instant as we would want it to be. Especially, if a situation is close to our heart, it’s important, we stay silent, till we get our hearts right. If we are in a place where we need to say something and if the Spirit wants us to be quiet, our best answer to everyone is by being silent. If not what we say and do will cause harm to His body than helping it, especially when we are in leadership. It will allow the enemy access to sow his deceptive seeds furthering the confusion and pain.
Now with the events concerning Dr. Brown, so many of us are sure that we are right in our judgements, and that we are speaking and doing things for God. However, is it possible for everyone to be correct? as we are not all saying the same thing, as a matter of fact, we are contradicting each other. And many times, our overtones are judgmental and almost arrogant, lacking in love and humility.
How can the Spirit contradict Himself brethren and how can we be divided like we are if we are all listening to Him??
With great sorrow I say this, He is absent from a lot of our conversations and expressions, and believe me, He is very grieved with what is going on. I urge everyone in all humility to take a step back and let the Spirit examine our hearts and motives, exposing anything hidden since our hearts can be deceptive. Let us ask the Spirit’s light as to why are we really saying and doing the things that we are doing?
Again, i humbly challenge everyone and anyone involved to make sure what you have said and written is of the Spirit. If not, that would require repentance of the same. Come to the place of being confident that what you are saying is of the Spirit! Not only do we need to speak only what He is saying in situations like this but convey His heart in the process which is a heart of redemption.
This is not in any wise saying that anyone who expressed their opinion didn’t pray or seek the Lord or wasn’t let by the Spirit.
Situations like these demand extra caution and clear direction and whatever is said will have an impact on many for a long time in a positive or negative way. So, it’s even more imperative to be sure of the Spirit’s guidance as also we would have to give an account to our Lord if what we have said and done has damaged and divided His body rather than heal and restore it.
I do believe I have specific insights from the Lord regarding this situation, and I welcome dialogue and critique as some of us may have differing thoughts. All of this is written is with a heart to see us united again under the God of peace! If we still disagree, let it be in good faith pleading for the Lord for more light in all our lives.
Firstly, the standards with which Dr. Brown is being judged by several of us on the inside are (presumably) according to the standards that were enforced in FIRE school and ministry a long time back.
Now, the questions that need to be asked here are, was the way of enforcing those standards during that time, right? or were some of the standards necessary at all? From personally listening to and reading accounts of people who were there at that time and coming to conclusions (my own) and I believe I have the witness of the Spirit in this that some of those rules and the way they were enforced bordered on legalism. Now, this is no wise calling into question the motives and intentions of those who enforced those disciplines as wrong or faulting every rule or the way they were enforced.
Since Dr. Brown was the head at that time; it is implied that he bears the responsibility for breaking the same rules he had set up.
Now, if that setup lacked mercy and grace, can it be the basis on which we judge him now?
The question that needs to be asked here is, is it what God wants or is it something that we want based on a system that we had been under years back?
If the later, it shows we need a change in mindset and the way we view God’s grace and mercies.
As a matter of fact, none of us have reached the point of full understanding of these truths and we all continue to grow. If we are humble enough to accept this simple truth, we won’t be so quick to enforce our opinions as the only right ones in situations like this. If we can come from that place of vulnerability, it really helps the other side to be more open and to see their mistakes and heal.
I come from a far more legalistic society and church culture. Currently, I oversee both old and young leaders. Having known the depths of God’s grace and His truth in my own life and through me in others; I don’t judge the older leaders by the standards they enforced once on others or even on me. I judge them by the revelation of grace and truth that has been shown to me!
Believe me, brethren, grace is an ocean, and truth is only found immersed in it.
All of this is to say, if we are going to have the time in FIRE as the golden standard then most likely we would want our pound of flesh with Dr. Brown.
Now, if some of the standards or the way they were enforced weren’t right, it would have caused unnecessary hurt and resentment in us. Are we healed of them? or is the resentment still in us?
Moreover, the disclosure of Dr. Brown’s past has led to a lot of pain, confusion, and anger among those who were and are closely involved with him. Those emotions and mental states aren’t necessarily wrong and many times understandable, but they cannot stay there forever. The Spirit needs to work in us in these situations and help us overcome them, as if not, we will judge according to them, and it won’t be right.
Brethren, let us allow the Spirit of grace to heal us and set us free from any hurts of the past. Allow the Holy Spirit to renew our mind through His word of truth, as we all need it by the passing day.
Secondly, there is the letter of the law and then there is the spirit of the law. It seems to me that some of us are bent on enforcing the law to the jot and tittle and not knowing that we are doing that. Pls brethren, let us allow the Spirit to enlighten us!
What is the purpose of having a person take time off from the ministry? It is to help the person come to a place where he starts to exhibit genuine fruits of repentance. Taking time off by itself means nothing if that purpose can’t be achieved. After the incidents from 24 years back, Dr. Brown has shown genuine purity in personal life and in his actions, unlike a few other individuals that had continued to exhibit sinful lifestyles. I believe none of us can dispute or refute that, or can we? This is the primary fruit by which we should judge whether a person has truly changed or not.
If it is true that he has led a pure life after by the grace of God, then what is the purpose in wanting him to take time of ministry now? Is it because it is the way things are usually done and so it needs to be?? If he has shown fruits of repentance, then why bring up the process now?
You will recognize them by their fruits, not by the methods used to achieve the fruits.
One can undergo the process perfectly well but if he does not show the fruits of repentance then THE PROCESS means nothing by itself.
Now, if we say that for the sake of the larger body of Christ that Dr. Brown needs to step down for a while and for trust to be rebuilt amongst those who may have lost it that is an entirely different thing. I believe that is a genuine cause, worthy of debate!
And for all of us who question the genuineness of his repentance, again, can a person who has not genuinely repented exhibit the fruit of repentance? as Dr. Brown has done by the grace of God all these years afterwards. The emphasis now (as a lot of time has passed) should be on the results of repentance rather than the act of repentance itself. John the Baptist told the Pharisees who came to where he was baptizing (likely implying considering baptism) to bring forth fruit towards repentance. He was more concerned about the fruit of repentance as we should be also, not only in this case but in all cases.
Now in this situation, to say that repentance could have been more complete or probably lacked a particular aspect or some more wisdom could have been applied in handling these situations would have been more appropriate or since Sarah is affected, facilitating reconciliation again (?) would have been the right thing.
When we are bent on implicating someone, we can overstep boundaries by implying that we know a person’s motive and thoughts. We should be cautious brethren because we will be judged similarly.
I shudder to think, what if God applied the same standard and scrutiny as Dr. Brown’s repentance has been subject to, to every sin we have committed. Who can stand before Him? We only stand by His Grace extended to us in Christ!
We should judge led by the Spirit of Truth and not by the letter of the law. This is a great opportunity for us to show grace and uphold truth at the same time, but I believe we are falling short of those standards.
HE IS THE GOD OF REDEMPTION:
In conclusion, i do believe Dr. Brown did genuinely repent and genuine efforts were made toward reconciliation at that time itself towards those concerned. It was likely not enough though. Also, he should have shared it at that time with the elders who were with him and submitted to their disciplines.
I do believe he did not share with them in order to protect his wife, Nancy ( from Nancy’s testimony). I (probably) believe his hesitancy to share with others when confronted in recent times has been based on this reason only. Now, before we jump the gun and accuse him for that; believe me it is the most difficult thing ever when your spouse is involved. Nevertheless, God is over us all and what needed to be said and done should have been said and done at the end of the day.
Implying motives to this otherwise is not a wise thing as only God knows a person’s heart and what is hidden. At times, we don’t know what is in our deceptive heart ourselves.
Also, since Sarah’s well-being is a concern here, everyone who confronted Dr. Brown with this knowledge should have done it (if they did not) with her as the context of their conversations and with the intent for that reconciliation to happen in private.
While things that are hidden must be exposed for healing and restoration. In this case, my perception is that it has exacerbated everything (esp. the negativity and animosity) making it hard for reconciliation to take place.
Intercession that is rooted in Christ’s love brings a supernatural covering to situations like these facilitating healing and restoration and redemption. ‘Love covers…’can also be applied in this context. Now, the question becomes, how much did everyone involved act with God’s love and with a heart of intercession? Any other way of doing things will give the enemy access to sow his seeds and create havoc.
Finally, having God’s redemptive purposes in mind and since Dr. Brown had already taken time off ministry; it would have helped if the time off was extended for a period in which reconciliation between the concerned parties was made a priority. It could have helped rebuild trust with those that had lost it and probably made Sarah more open to the idea of reconciliation.
Now that it doesn’t seem to be the case, my prayer is that we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our own lives till we can say we have His heart and His counsel for not only the current situation but for every situation and proceed with all humility and love and truth to see His body healed and restored completely!
We should view and judge every situation through grace and truth, as they are our standard. Truth never changes and it is always the same. The grace of God is an ocean with depths only He can measure. He understands each individual and the circumstances surrounding their failings. He requires us to apply truth according to the measure of grace He extends to each individual in a situation! My prayer is that we discern this and then do as He wills in each situation.
