THE DOMINOES START FALLING

THE MORE QUESTIONS I ASKED, THE MORE I PRAYED, THE MORE RESEARCH I DID, THE MORE I STUDIED, THE MORE I BECAME CONVINCED THAT I SIMPLY DID NOT BELIEVE THAT KENNETH HAGIN'S TEACHING WAS TRUTH. ALMOST OVER NIGHT I WAS CONVINCED THAT ALL OF KENNETH HAGINS TEACHINGS WERE IN ERROR AND I NO LONGER ACCEPTED ANY OF HIS VISIONS.

ONCE I WAS CONVINCED THAT KENNETH HAGIN'S VISIONS WERE BOGUS, THEN IN MY MIND ALL OF HIS TEACHING WAS WRONG. THAT CREATED A DOMINO EFFECT. STARTING WITH KENNETH HAGIN, THE FIRST DOMINO IN MY WORD OF FAITH BELIEFS, MY OTHER BELIEFS STARTED TO FALL RAPIDLY.

FOR FOURTEEN YEARS I HAD BASED MUCH OF MY THEOLOGY AND BELIEF SYSTEM ABOUT GOD, JESUS, FAITH AND CHURCH UPON KENNETH HAGIN'S TEACHINGS, WHICH HE CLAIMED THAT HE HAD RECEIVED DIRECTLY FROM CHRIST. IN MY RESEARCH, I RAN ACROSS A FORMER WORD OF FAITH TEACHER THAT HAD PIECE BY PIECE DISSECTED EACH OF KENNETH HAGIN'S VISIONS PLAY BY PLAY IN LIGHT OF SCRIPTURE. HIS ARTICLE CONVINCED ME BEYOND ALL DOUBT THAT I HAD BEEN DECEIVED.

IF HAGIN'S VISIONS WERE WRONG, THEN HIS TEACHING WAS WRONG. IF HIS TEACHING WAS WRONG THEM MY BELIEFS AND THEOLOGY WERE WRONG. IF MY TEACHING WAS WRONG THEN I WAS WRONG AND IN TURN I HAD TAUGHT ERROR AND DECEPTION TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OVER THE YEARS FROM THE PULPIT, TO THE TELEVISION, TO THE MISSION FIELD.

IN LIGHT OF THIS REVELATION, I WAS FORCED TO TAKE A HARD LOOK AT EVERY DOCTRINE AND TEACHING THAT I HAD BELIEVED FROM THE WORD OF FAITH MOVEMENT. ONE BY ONE EACH DOCTRINE FELL AND KNOCKED OVER ANOTHER ONE, JUST LIKE DOMINOES.

I WAS DEEPLY DISTURBED. I WAS CONFUSED AND DISORIENTED. I ATTEMPTED TO SHARE MY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS WITH SEVERAL RHEMA GRADS THAT HAD BECOME MY MENTORS AND FRIENDS. I WAS MET WITH INSTANT ANGER AND HOSTILITY. ONE DAY I SENT AN EMAIL TO THE DIRECTOR OF RHEMA BIBLE TRAINING CENTER AND TO ALL OF THE WORD OF FAITH MINISTERS AND FRIENDS THAT I HAD COME TO KNOW OVER THE YEARS.

IN THE EMAIL, SENT TO THE DIRECTOR OF RHEMA, I ASKED FORTY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT KENNETH HAGIN'S VISIONS, HIS PLAGIARISM, AND THE GLARING ERRORS AND HOLES THAT I HAD FOUND. THE DIRECTOR SENT ME AN EMAIL BACK ASKING ME TO REMOVE HIM FROM MY EMAIL LIST AND TO MAIL IN MY RMAI CREDENTIALS. RHEMA THEN REMOVED MY CHURCH WEB SITE FROM THEIR WEBSITE.

ONE OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTORS FROM RHEMA CAME OVER TO MY HOUSE AT THE CHURCH. AFTER TWO STRAIGHT DAYS OF BOMBARDING HIM QUESTIONS, HE LOST HIS TEMPER AND WENT OFF ON ME AT MY KITCHEN TABLE. HE POINTED HIS FINGER AT ME AND CHEWED ME OUT IN A LOUD AND ANGRY VOICE.

ANOTHER RHEMA DIRECTOR HERE IN ALABAMA EMAILED ME THAT I WAS DECEIVED AND A FALSE TEACHER. THAT WAS THE USUAL ANSWER. I WAS TOLD THAT I WAS OFFENDED AND DECEIVED, BUT NO ONE COULD OR WOULD ANSWER MY QUESTIONS.

THEY ALL STOOD BEHIND KENNETH HAGIN AS AN UNQUESTIONED PROPHET OF THE LORD. AT THIS POINT I BEGAN TO SHARE MY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS WITH MY CHURCH CONGREGATION, AND THIS IS WHERE THE REAL FUN AND GAMES BEGAN.

FROM DECEMBER OF 2007, SHORTLY AFTER MOVING INTO OUR BRAND NEW DREAM COME TRUE BUILDING, UNTIL I WAS FORCED OUT OF THE CHURCH I HAD STARTED IN MY LIVING ROOM, I SPENT EACH SERVICE TEACHING THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT I HAD BEEN TEACHING MY CHURCH FOR TEN YEARS.

I DISTINCTIVELY REMEMBER LOOKING INTO THE EYES OF A CERTAIN CHURCH MEMBER, AND SEEING THE PAIN AND CONFUSION. I REMEMBER THINKING THAT I WAS SORRY TO BE DOING THIS TO HIM, TO BE DESTROYING HIS BELIEF SYSTEM, BUT MY LOVE FOR HIM AND THE TRUTH KEPT ME GOING.

I SPENT THE FIRST FEW WEEKS UNDOING ALL OF THE ERROR I HAD TAUGHT ABOUT FAITH AND CONFESSION, IN PARTICULARLY ALONG THE LINES OF MARK 11;22-24 AND THE CREATIVE POWER OF WORDS. THIS WAS DEVASTATING TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.

I THEN MOVED ON TO EXPOSING ALL OF THE ERROR OF THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL, PROVING FROM THE SCRIPTURES THAT IT WAS A GREEDY MESSAGE TAKEN COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTEXT. I WENT AS FAR AS NAMING NAMES OF POPULAR WORD OF FAITH TEACHERS THAT I USED TO ADMIRE AND QUOTE. I BLUNTLY CALLED THEM FALSE TEACHERS AND SAID THAT THEY WERE DEAD WRONG.

THIS UPSET ONE FAMILY IN PARTICULAR, WHICH HAD BEEN TRAVELING WITH A VERY POPULAR FAITH PREACHER ON THE ROAD. HE WAS THEIR NEW FAVORITE, AND THEY HAD BECOME PARTNERS AND CO-WORKERS IN HIS CRUSADE. I USED NUMEROUS QUOTATIONS FROM THE FAITH PREACHERS AND COMPARED THEIR TEACHINGS TO THE TEACHINGS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

THIS ENTIRE FAMILY BECAME EVERY UPSET AND LEFT THE CHURCH. OTHERS BEGAN TO FOLLOW, AND A SORT OF MASS EXODUS OCCURRED. I WAS TEACHING AGAINST WHAT THEY HAD BECOME HARD CORE BELIEVERS OF THEMSELVES. I WAS UPSETTING THE ECOSYSTEM, KNOCKING OVER THE SACRED COWS OF OUR TEACHING. IT WAS AS PAINFUL TO ME AS IT WAS TO THEM, BUT I HAD TO CORRECT MY TEACHING AND EXPOSE ERROR NO MATTER WHAT THE COST WAS.

AND COST ME IT DID, ALMOST EVERYTHING, AND ALL OF MY FRIENDS, MY CAREER, MY MINISTRY, MY HOUSE, MY FINANCES, MY REPUTATION, MY BELOVED TOYOTA TUNDRA, THE NEW BUILDING, ALL OF MY SECURITY, AND EVERYTHING I HAD WORKED DAY AND NIGHT FOR FOR FOURTEEN LONG YEARS.