Word of Faith???

[Malinda]

I was curious, because I'm seeing a common theme here, how many were in Word of Faith churches or churches who preached a word of faith doctrine?
If you don't know what I mean just turn on your christian tv channel....Kenneth Copeland, TD Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Paula White, Joel Osteen.
Their focus is on Prosperity, positive confession, and an abundance of teaching on faith, healing, and covenant.
Being involved in the word of faith movement for many years and even going to two different Word of faith bible schools, I've just noticed a very imbalanced point of view to the word of God.
I noticed that Brother Hagin, the father of the word of faith movement, was called "Dad" Hagin by his followers. I've noticed that the churches I've been involved with are all authoritarian in their approach and all of them "Parent" their sheep instead of Shepherd them. This parenting style isn't loving but controlling...
The body of Christ is being infiltrated by an unbalanced doctrine. Word of faith is nothing but works...when you take away all the fancy preaching and the quest for the miraculous it's just works.... They take that scripture from James about showing my faith by my works to the extreme. It's all about proving how spiritual you are by what you can do, what you say, how faithful you are, how much money you have because you believed by faith...
What ever happened to having a relationship with God? I want my Daddy God back...

[BeautifulMess]

Since leaving a word of faith church myself I have have some very strong feelings about them.

Just speaking from experience, we believed what they said, we did what they told us. Now we are worse off that before and we are deep in debt.

If I go back to church it won't be one like that.

[hornblower]

I hate I loathe I absolutely abhore this teaching this doctrine from hell itself. The worst part is its ruined me from possibly ever learning the true meaning of the very scriptures they are spouting off because these people seem to hound me and literally attack me. Ive learned I cannot say one word about what they believe in.
The woman at work that was after me is a positive faith believer. One day I was concerned about her because anyone that had a brain knew that she was sick. I was trying to be nice and I asked her if she wouldnt want to go ahead and eat lunch first as this would give her a chance to sit down and rest since I knew she didnt feel well. You would have thought I had slapped her.
She nearly bit my head off she was so mad at me. This is how insane the whole thing gets.
But we should know that this kind of thing will always be happening to anyone who has this relationship with God and is believing like a child does in their own father.
Im sorry I always have trouble with these kinds of people. Then get wounded again and come back here whining about it all over again.
I know what it is I have to learn to do. I have to get back to the beginning. The beginning I had with God Himself. I think what I have is a people addiction. I want and need love and acceptance so much I let them sway me with whatever is going on with them.
The forgiveness of all mankind is the hardest thing there is. I just dont know how Jesus did it and yet I do belong to Him so Im trusting that He will help me get back to His side and not be so hurt at the things they do to me say to me and everything else. I make so many mistakes.
I tell you the truth I dont think it matters whether we are in church or not because if we really do know the Lord intimately stuffs going to happen to us, might as well accept it, the world aint no fun to goodhearted people.
Also I think 90% of what happens is misunderstandings anyway.

These people they believe a certain way. If you dont agree, they are convinced you are out to get them. We really should feel so sorry for them to be trapped like that but.......how do you even talk to them? I dont know? I think you just have to leave it all in Gods hands and try to forget about them.

Its all pride anyway. Dont you think it is? They think they know some secret thing that the rest of us poor slobs just dont get?
Now isnt that just like God? To come up with something that only a select few can get and then dump all the rest of us because were so lame brain? I dont think so!
I didnt know that the father of it was Hagin. Thats very sad and disturbing to me. I read his biography or autibiography and it really touched me big time. Thats so upsetting to know that about him. Of course this is probably the son, not the father, that is saying all of this, because my gosh I thought hagin was like a hundred years old or something?
Yep Im down here with all of them guys in the bible belt trying to stay on top of the water and not drown.
You should see the Word of Faith church down here its like a ghost town. Really spooky. No way did I ever buy into his crap. One of his followers came into my Aglow womens fellowship and Im telling you it didnt take any time at all before the whole thing was gone. His ex wife is still down here trying to start some other thing and on and on it goes.
I tried to get a job there working in a counseling center and I have a lot of training in that area too, phone counseling. I didnt say the right things about their little scripture that they were stuffing down everybodies throats. The way they interpreted the scripture about the coin being in the fishes mouth and Jesus used it to pay taxes, was that people should be casting their money out (to their ministry) so it would come back to them seven fold.
I laughed in their faces.
No job as you can imagine.
What was that guys name anyway? They caught up with him in his mansions in florida with his yaughts and all of it.
Man oh man oh man I wouldnt want to be him in eternity thats all I got to say to that.

[Malinda]

I did a word search about WOF in this forum and WOW! So many have been hurt by this movement. I just wish I would have seen it earlier so I could have left before being abused. WOF churches definitely have a tendency to be very controlling and abusive. I'll never attend another one ever. In fact, anywhere I go, I'll be checking the Rhema and AFCM websites just to make sure I don't go to one. Sorry if this triggered some very bad stuff for you all. I'm still trying to just sort out what's true and what's WOF nonsense.

[Jerry]

If you don't know what I mean just turn on your christian tv channel....Kenneth Copeland, TD Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Paula White, Joel Osteen.


Dear Malinda,,,,
Whenever I see these people it brings to mind Matt.24....."Many will come in My name,,,,,,,,,ect."

Love Jerry

Oops !!!!!!!! We left out Benny Hinn ,,,,,,,,,,,now theres a piece of work for ya !

[Elisabeth]

Can get really scary when Word of Faith combines w/ having babies. Oh, don't need the hospital, or even, really, a midwife. Hubby can catch the baby. All's gonna be fine with both mommy and baby. And prenatal care. Who needs it? God's taking care of this pregnancy! :eek:

[Malinda]

Can get really scary when Word of Faith combines w/ having babies. Oh, don't need the hospital, or even, really, a midwife. Hubby can catch the baby. All's gonna be fine with both mommy and baby. And prenatal care. Who needs it? God's taking care of this pregnancy!

Wow! that's just a little messed up. That's a new one for me and I was involved with it for years!

[Catie]

I just read your thread with interest.

Does anybody know of some good resources to aid in recovery from the WoF movement?

I started in the movement in a hyper-authoritarian "Shepherding" Word church in 1976 and graduated from Rhema in the 80s. Even though I haven't been part of a "Word" church for several years, it's really hard to extract all the bad stuff that still clings to my mind and pollutes my relationship with God. I've gradually moved away from it and only began to see how legalistic and works-oriented the teaching is in the last few months. Perhaps predictably, I'm a survivor of a lot of different kinds of abuse.

[Malinda]

Sorry. I've searched and searched but haven't found any. Most who leave the WOF go completely opposite (that have websites out there) and turn towards the baptist persuasion. Not that there's anything wrong with that but me...I still believe a lot of what WOF teaches. But they don't have the corner on the market that's for sure. I'm still trying to sort out what I believe in regards to healing.
Being part of a legalistic church and being controlled by it, is spiritual abuse.

[Hope 98]

Word of Faith...kinda like getting God to work for us. That's a little bit backward, I think.

There are still miracles. Prayer matters. God can and does heal and provide. It's just that he does it on His Terms. He knows better than we do what we need most, and he loves us enough to give us what we need when it's the last thing we want.

Sometimes, I think he does give us what we want, to teach us how little we know about what's good for us.

My thoughts recently are running in the direction of believing that God made people and declared us very good. Church often tries to make us more "godly" and less sinful. Maybe God made us to be "not-gods", and we should become more human, uniquely ourselves, and loving.

Just a few thoughts...

[Catie]

Sorry. I've searched and searched but haven't found any. Most who leave the WOF go completely opposite (that have websites out there) and turn towards the baptist persuasion. Not that there's anything wrong with that but me...I still believe a lot of what WOF teaches. But they don't have the corner on the market that's for sure. I'm still trying to sort out what I believe in regards to healing.
Being part of a legalistic church and being controlled by it, is spiritual abuse.

Thanks, Malinda. I had done some searching and ran into the former WoF folks turned Baptist, too. So that wasn't particularly helpful. I don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. I totally believe healing is in the atonement. That's why I became WoF to begin with, actually. But I'm still thoroughly charismatic in my views. I want to leave behind the works-based aspects of believing God and "working the Word," etc. I've been thinking how much better it is to focus on His character, his faithfulness, etc., than it is to stare woefully at my damaged "faith." In all those years I could never engage my faith using the prescribed formulas. I long to have the pressure come off so I can rest in Him and enjoy my walk. And I want to learn to receive what He's promised in a way that flows in my relationship with Him. There has got to be more than one way to skin a cat.

Hope I didn't pull your thread too far afield talking this way. I'm not sure exactly how things work here yet, so please forgive me if I should've started another thread to share what I just did.

[kodee]

One of the churches I attended when me and my Ex were trying to have a baby, We were doing invetro and was struggling with the whole mess, When it blew up in our faces were were told that "If we had enough Faith we would not need a doctor to get Pregnant", I have been angry and bitter at that man since, I was personaly told that it was because I had unconfessed Sin in my life and they offered to pray the sin away. Now I see that it was not in God's plan for us to have children together. I didn't see that then but do now. Still stings though!

[Malinda]

Catie, don't worry about pulling the tread a certain way... I don't care. It's helpful to see where others have an issue with parts of this doctrine and that doctrine...I'm still trying to figure things out about why I believe what I believe. You're right about the performance and works mentality. It is like we are trying to work God like we would a formula.
I think the best I can offer you is "seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."
I used to get irritated with my mom because she's out of the Toronto Blessing (which used to be vineyard) with The Arnaughts and she'd constantly spout their ideas and concepts, like what we were doing was wrong. A lot of people don't agree with their approach and their doctrines. They focus a lot on the Father heart of God and the prophetic. I don't necessarily need the prophetic but what I crave is my Fathers heart. Me, personally, the emphasis on the prophetic is a little over the top. I know the direction God wants for my life because I listen to His voice...I don't need anyone to relay a message from God to me.
I think having an intimate walk with God is the most important. I'm trying to get back that spot. For so long I was just numb. Even today I'm struggling with it. I just didn't fell like going to church today and I know I should have....

Oh, Kodee....don't feel alone....When I miscarried my baby in July, my SA pastor told me it was my fault for not speaking faith. I had 3 miscarriages while under their ministry.

[kodee]

We went threw so much to have a child, or should I say I did, I don't think my Ex really wanted kids, Not having them made me feel like a looser, I could not complete the simplisest of biological things and that God saw something in me that was so terrible that he would give children to pepole who abuse them but I must somehow be worst. When Joe told me that it crushed me! no one just said they were sorry and cried with me, we also had 2 failed addoptions, the last did me in with having kids. I know now that it would have been horrible if we had children. I'm glad but still feel the urge to be a father. Can't seem to shake it, I have asked Jesus to take the desire away but it just seems to get stronger. Broke my truck on Saturday so I get to sleep in tomorrow. need to go to bed. night

[hornblower]

I can't believe I'm getting this on my iPhone. What a joy this is. I just get so lonely to share and be with people that understand me. U know I don't know if I can include td jakes in this group. I've never heard him say that you have to confess stuff to get things. Of course though I do know his cohorts do. I meet up with them almost on a daily basis down here. These teachings as far as I'm concerned are as much about the people that go to these churches as they are about the pastors. In any case it's and pardon me if I step on anyones toes here but to me it's witch craft. A witch. A real witch says things and believes the words she or he says will come true simply because she is making it happen like it's a power. My sil and brother and now their kids believe in this. When I began to see Christians doing the same exact things I knew it was all wrong. Of course I believe the word of god is true. But to just say I can believe that what I say I will get? That's nothing but greed. Sorry but greed is sin. I believe Jesus could have had anything he wanted but he didn't live his life that way at all. He knew Satan was in that way of thinking totally. How can anyone equate money with Jesus? Health is another matter. There's all kinds if good things about trying to see the positives in life it can't help but make a day better to begin to think in a positive caring loving forgiving way. That can only lead to a better out look and thereby I think help your body and your mind. But be real exercise and healthy eating and common sense go a long way and you can still get sick. What's so awful about this teaching is that it punishes the I'll and poverty striken among us. That's in no way my Jesus talking.