Pastor Dale Lee McFarland was an up-and-coming star in the “Purpose Driven Church” movement, having left his position as a Microsoft executive to launch a thriving megachurch in Arizona and travel the world with evangelical superstar Rick Warren to train others in the methods of “The Purpose Driven Life.”
McFarland’s congregation, Radiant Church in Surprise, Ariz., had even boasted of receiving the Church Health Award from Purpose Driven Ministries and had grown to be one of the largest Assemblies of God churches in the country.
But earlier this year, a couple in the church filed a lawsuit, Courthouse News reports, alleging McFarland told the wife to have sex with him with “God’s approval” and divorce her husband....
“In all fairness to Rick Warren, there is no direct connection between him and what this pastor is being sued for regarding sexual exploitation.“
Yet Sundquist goes on to insinuate an “indirect connection” of pastoral abuse with the PDC movement, which implies that McFarland is guilty & his church-growth philosophy is to blame.
I certainly have problems with PDC, & have complained often about pastoral tyranny & abuse, but jpw is right: this story is spreading legally unsubstantiated civil charges, very serious ones at that. Let's call this ”Journalistic Abuse.“
In fairness to Warren et al., pastoral abuse can occur at *any* church, not just the sort we don't approve of.
If you read John MacArthur's comments in A Look at the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement - Is it Biblical?, you will see when he says there are Christians in the movement the Pentecostal movement isn't Biblical. Using the same argument as some of you gentlemen have, one can say if the Romish Church fixes a few thing it is Christian. No, they won't nor will the Pentecostal movement. You really should look at Money, Miracles and a Man Named Marjoe [Rated M!] Some of this academy award documentary, I found unseemly.
Christopher000 wrote: The seven churches were considered to be Christian, right? Some just needed change, and if they didn't listen, THEN they would be removed, suffer, be condemned, etc?
The seven churches were considered to be Christian, right? Some just needed change, and if they didn't listen, THEN they would be removed, suffer, be condemned, etc?
San Jose John, I like your comments that I've read in a few of the threads today. The best part is that I wasn't corrected (yet) in any of them...ha-ha.
So, Assembly of God churches are not to be considered Christian? I consider them to be among the seven churches (golden lampstands?) that (John?) Wrote letters to, dictated by Jesus. I consider them to be Christian, but wandering Christians who need to get back onto the fundamental, Biblical path. Are they a false, non-Christian entity, or do they fall within the lot of the seven?
2 Peter 2 14 having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; 15 forsaking the right way they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,---NASB
This fellow never really stopped being a Microsoft man.
that's a pretty wild story. hope they have proof. its easy to destroy a pastor, even when something isn't true. the best part of the article was the link to the movie about the tares of the purpose driven church. what they do to the false teachers, they will try on the true. I am not fast to jump on accusations like this. Let the truth come out.
Christopher000 wrote: By the way, when I was Charismatic, I had a girl tell me that God told her that we were suppose to get married. I barely knew her, but everyone believed whatever the other said if they said that God had told them.
And had you agreed to marry her, and the marriage didn't work out, she could have blamed God for the failure and absolved herself. How convenient. Yours is at least the third case I now know of this happening. Must be more common than I thought.
I think it's interesting that he felt starting a church would be more lucrative than his lofty position at Microsoft. I'm sure Mr Warren, in a private meeting said, "you're crazy if you don't do it, Dale...you'll clean up with these people. Just say that God told you to tell them to do whatever, and they'll hand over their lifes savings to you on faith".
By the way, when I was Charismatic, I had a girl tell me that God told her that we were suppose to get married. I barely knew her, but everyone believed whatever the other said if they said that God had told them.
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