“There is no reason – no reason at all, that leader after leader in the body of Christ must fall to evil.”

Warning! – This article contains commentary some may find insensitive. If you prefer your truth watered down by euphemisms, then please…do not read this.

Recently, a friend directed my attention to a tragedy – Pastor David Loveless of Discovery Church resigned his position as head pastor because of an affair.

Yes, I called it a tragedy. I also called the Boston bombing a tragedy. I call the shootouts at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook Elementary tragedies. I call the loss of American life fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan a tragedy, as I call all loss of life at the hands of Islamic terrorists a tragedy. I tend to call death and destruction at the hand of evil tragedies, and while you may be inclined to look at this new tragedy at Discovery Church as weakness in a church leader, what you are actually seeing is collateral damage – destruction and division targeted against the body of Christ.

Collateral damage is a term most commonly used when referencing civilian damage in the wake of a military engagement and so my use of this phrase begs the question, “How can this be collateral damage? This is about an unfaithful man not an act of war.”

Wrong!

Jesus warned us in Mat 10:10 that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy and God’s word tell us very clearly in Rev 12:17 that Satan as the Great Dragon, has declared “war”  on all who follow Jesus. This is God’s word, not mine – whether you choose to be a Sunday-morning-only church goer or a believer who fully embraces God’s word, the fact is the church is in a state of war with the kingdom of darkness and leadership members in the church are primary targets for attack. That is why the loss of another pastor is collateral damage.

Discovery Church is not the first tragedy. In fact, blogs across the Internet sport enticing titles like Orlando Mega Churches Love the Ladies and Men of the Cloth prefer Lingerie. As a matter of record, three church leaders in the Central Florida area have resigned due to affairs and one pastor is in jail on child pornography charges – and all of this in the past six months.

Late last year, Pastor Isaac Hunter of Summit Church resigned after admitting to an affair. A statement published on the Summit Church blog by John Parker, the newly appointed lead pastor, reads “Monday morning, Isaac Hunter offered his immediate resignation, citing as his reason an affair with someone previously on staff at Summit,”

Another tragedy came when pastor and author Sam Hinn, bother of Benny Hinn, resigned over an affair. In a statement he said, “I take full responsibility for the place we now find ourselves. As painful as this is to confess, I have allowed myself to be drawn into a relationship that has caused much hurt and pain to my wife and family. I have repented and asked for and received their forgiveness. Scripture states that I must bring forth the fruit of repentance if I expect to be restored…”

Third and most recent is a statement offered on behalf of Discovery Church which reads, “While David indicates that the relationship [with another woman] was ended approximately three years ago, we were only made aware of it when he informed us in recent days,” the statement said. “David offered his resignation and the elders prayerfully and unanimously accepted it.”

For me, the tragedy at Discovery Church hits home because I attended Discovery Church – in fact, what I am writing and sharing with you today, began at Discovery Church.

Between 2007 and 2010, I considered Discovery Church my spiritual family. I knew Pastor Loveless as much as any member of a 4,000 member church is able.

At the time I was attending Discovery, the Holy Spirit burdened me with a hunger for knowledge of spiritual warfare, and most specifically the Holy Armor of God that Paul writes about in Ephesians 6:12.

I attended bible studies and connection groups at Discovery Church, and I frequently turned to Discovery’s pastors, assistant pastors, and spiritual leaders for counsel. Unfortunately, there was very little knowledge of spiritual warfare or the armor of God available from those leaders.

In retrospect, I am moved by the accuracy of God’s word that warns us in Hosea 4:6 that His people perish for lack of knowledge. Does this imply that Discovery’s tragedy was avoidable? Of course it does! God has provided for our spiritual protection but failing to use in faith what God has provided leaves us exposed to evil.

Now, let’s get back to my story. One Sunday morning back in ‘09, Pastor Loveless announced he was starting a new series. Each Sunday morning for the following six weeks, he would teach on the book of Ephesians.

I was ecstatic! Finally, the burning hunger in me would be satisfied. I couldn’t wait but also knew it would be six weeks before Pastor Loveless got to chapter six of Ephesians.

Week after week, I sat on the edge of my seat, absorbing every word like a dry sponge to water while trying my best to be patient for the teaching on the Armor of God.

Finally, week six arrived. I entered the sanctuary early that morning for Sunday service. I had a great view as I waited for the worship to begin. In due time, Pastor Loveless began delivering his message. I held my breath not wanting even the soft sound of my own breathing to interfere with understanding a single word.

Pastor Loveless said, “The sword of the Spirit is the word of God.” I’m thinking, “Yeah, yeah, go on, go on…” Pastor Loveless briefly mentioned the shield of faith and then an hour goes by and I’m still waiting for his teaching on the armor of God. Then the service ended and people began standing up and heading home. I continued to sit there like a victim in shock – seeing but not fully comprehending the events going on all around me.

I was devastated. I felt like a hot air balloon whose top was ripped off – deflated and crashing to the ground. The hunger in me for God’s truth burned – I depended upon my spiritual leaders for nourishment in God’s word, but there I sat, empty and hungry with an insatiable burning for knowledge of the armor of God. I was so troubled by my experience – I tracked down one of the assistant pastors for answers.

After patiently listening to my diatribe, the assistant pastor told me in a round-about way that Discovery Church doesn’t teach spiritual warfare or the armor of God. The assistant pastor offered me a handful of reasons to justify the church’s decision to refrain from teaching that aspect of God’s word.

I didn’t know what to say. I was a member of this church. The Holy Spirit had given me a burden and a hunger for understanding spiritual warfare and spiritual protection, and then my spiritual leaders tell me they won’t teach spiritual warfare or the Armor of God. Looking back, I cannot dismiss the similarities between this most recent tragedy at Discovery Church and 1Sa 6:14. Like Saul, was Discovery Church exposing itself to torment by evil spirits of the LORD? By rejecting God’s warning to be ready and alert against a prowling enemy seeking to devour, did Discovery Church leave its leadership exposed to attack?

God’s word includes knowledge on spiritual warfare and the armor of God because God determined that we, believers in the body of Christ, have a valid need to know, understand, and practice spiritual protection over the church. Churches that reject or choose not to use the spiritual authority and spiritual protection given to the Church by God the Father through Jesus, leave themselves vulnerable to attack by the kingdom of darkness.

It’s time believers in the church stop being victims of spiritual attacks. The world tells the church, “Don’t fight back. Turn the other cheek. That’s what Jesus would do,” but that’s a lie! Jesus does not let evil run rampant over the church. Consider what He did with the moneychangers in the temple. There was no cheek-turning there! Jesus made a whip, used His authority and drove evil out of the temple. The idea that Christians are supposed to be doormats and offer no resistance to evil is propaganda from the kingdom of darkness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ – Wake up! Stand up! Fight back! We are joint heirs with Jesus. We are royal priests representing the Kingdom of God. There is no reason – no reason at all, that leader after leader in the body of Christ must fall to evil.

My experience at Discovery Church showed me how unprepared the church is to fulfill her role in the battle between good and evil – between light and darkness – between truth and deception, and to that end, the Holy Spirit keeps urging me to teach all who will listen how to stand up and fight back – how to take the battle to the enemy and how to proclaim victory in the name of Jesus.

I urge you to keep these fallen men of God in your prayers. Also pray for healing and restoration of the churches that have been wounded, but don’t stop at prayer. Draw a line in the sand and say, “This far and no farther! Greater is He who is in us and we will not be victims of evil!”

As a place to start, I offer you the full and complete lesson two of our most recent ICM course in spiritual warfare titled Unchained & Under Cover. In this lesson, you will learn about the chain of authority from God the Father down to each family member. You will see how the government structure of the church functions in the flow of God’s Spirit to each member. You will also see how leaders in the church are targeted for attack by evil desiring to starve and divide the church. If after watching this video lesson, you hear the Holy Spirit urging you to dig deeper, then consider the full six-lesson course available through ICM College.

But don’t stop there! We also have our boot camp course Foundations in Spiritual Warfare that will guide you from the very basics of spiritual warfare and train you to be a fully empowered warrior for the Kingdom of God!

Then go on and complete your training with a degree from the International College of Ministry so when you testify about Jesus and the Kingdom of God, people will receive your words as credible testimony.

We hope you enjoy this free lesson from ICM College. May the Spirit of Truth speak to your heart that you may return to your own church empowered with God’s Spirit to stand firm against an enemy who comes to kill, destroy, divide, and take down the spiritual leaders of God’s people.

Free Full 1-Hour ICM Spiritual Warfare Lesson

Unchained & Under Cover Lesson 2

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. God has given us this moment to live in, not the past, not the future, but right now. We can only speak words of faith right now, we can only choose life or death right now.

I used to try to live in the future, hoping for the day when things would somehow be better and thinking I was in faith, but I was missing the joy of the present moment. I was missing the opportunities God was giving to me right now. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” This was not a prayer for the past or the future, it was a prayer for right now, today.

Faith is now. I am saved now. I am healed now. I am righteous now. I am blessed now, today. We can only change our future by who we are and what we say today.

Priscilla Yamin

Deu 30:15, Ps 118:24, Mt 6:11, Mt 6:34, Hbr 11:1, Js 4:13-14

This seminar will discuss the MLA and APA formats, how to properly cite, where to find research, how to choose a topic, prepare an abstract and much more.  Students will be given a handbook to use for future reference.

Cost: $10

For additional information, contact Dr. Terrie S Reed at (901) 232-4294 or via email treed@icmcollege.org.

Essential Christian Doctrines

The Blood Covenant

Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

Maturing of the Saints

Classes will be held Sunday Morning at Whole Life Christian Fellowship from 8:30AM-9:30AM. For more information and class schedule email Darren Murphy: dmurphy@icmcollege.org

You do not need to be enrolled at ICM to attend unless you wish to receive credit for the classes and homework. This will be a great time in the Word of God.

See you there

After receiving Jesus as Lord of my life, the scripture, “faith works by love” came to my attention. I knew faith was very important since “we are saved by grace through faith.” However through study and different teachings at church, I concluded that one had to do their very best to walk in love in order for their faith to work. But it wasn’t working for me and it was hard, too hard. I read where Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are burdened and I will give you rest for my burden is easy and my load is light.” Something was wrong.

After asking my helper, the Holy Spirit, for guidance, He impressed upon me that the Father’s love is not in proportion to how much I love or serve Him. The Father loves me because I am His creation, because I am His, because of who I am. His love is not based on how much I obey Him or what I have done for Him or how much time I am in His Word or pray or my church attendance. He loves me apart from anything I have accomplished or how well I perform. Yes, even apart from the strength of my faith.

The next morning, there was more, I knew that I knew that I am Father God’s beloved son in whom He is well pleased.  He directed me to1 John 3:1, what manner of love God has bestowed on us that I am called a child of God. Wow! It became so real to me by the Spirit. There was more, He told me to say, “I am the one that you love, Lord!” After a few days, that truth just set me free. Faith began to work as never before in my life. Loving God became so easy. It was effortless. 1 John 4:19, Knowing that God loved me first, loving Him was a simple faith response. I realized faith works by knowing God’s love for us first, not by how much I am able to walk in love in my own effort.

One of my favorite verses of scripture will work for you as well. 1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love..

John

Matt 11:28-30, Gal 5:6, Eph 2:8

John Yamin has ministered the Word of God for over 30 years, he and his wife Priscilla have been married for 38 years. They have six children and four grandchildren. John and Priscilla founded John Yamin Ministries to bring the Word of God to all nations, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may RECEIVE forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Jesus Christ.  www.johnyamin.com

Paul tells us, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10-12) To define what a scheme of the devil is from a biblical perspective, it is a large-scale systematic plan or arrangement for attaining some particular object or putting a particular idea into effect in a devious way with the intent to do something illegal or wrong. Paul encourages the believer to be strong and courageous by totally relying on God’s strength, abilities and promises. Believers are not to rely on natural things for the warfare at hand, but God has spiritual armament to triumph over the devious, illegal systematic plans and ideas of the devil.

Paul reiterates this very thing in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 but reveals something else, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” Paul tells us again that God has spiritual armament for pulling down strongholds (fortress, or strong fortification) These strongholds are everything that opposes God’s Word, such as philosophies, fantasies, reasoning and false doctrines. These things are all demonically influenced and if unchecked will attach themselves to our soul (mind, will and emotions) When a person thinks about something long enough or has repetitive thoughts, a belief system is  formed. These beliefs when held on to long enough become mental strongholds.Mental strongholds are powerful because they hide the truth and can shape a person into a false identity.

One of Satan’s primary schemes is to keep believers from knowing who they truly are in Christ which keeps them from the call of God in their life, thereby defeating their purpose. This scheme also causes believers to feel inadequate or inferior because it fills the mind with sin consciousness. The following are some examples of how this diabolical scheme can get place with believers….

• Being hurt in any relationship;
• Being abandoned by a parent, spouse, loved one or close friend;
• Physical or mental abuse;
• Hurt by another believer especially a church leader;
• Receive(d) constant criticism;
• Have faced a traumatic situation;
• Experience numerous failures; etc.

The book, When God Speaks, is necessary for the successful completion of the course and can be purchased through any online bookstore. Students must attend at least 5 of the 6 class meetings to earn credit.

Class will NOT be held on Thursday, July 4!

Pastor Marvell Boyce can be reached at (901) 335-5624 or via email at mboyce@icmcollege.org

The Memphis and Grand Junction will hold classes as listed below:

MEMPHIS (MEM) CAMPUS LOCATION:  Life in the Word Kingdom Ministries, 2974 Directors Row, Suite 902, Memphis TN (corner of Airways Blvd & Directors Row in Executive Plaza).  Courses held on Thursday nights

June 6-July 18, 6:30-8:30 pm / Course: When God Speaks / Instructor: Pastor Marvell Boyce (The book, When God Speaks by Chuck Pierce, is necessary for the first night of the course) No class will be held on July 4.

GRAND JUNCTION (GJ) CAMPUS LOCATION:  Pleasant Grove Church, 524 Highway 72, Grand Junction, TN. Courses held on Monday nights.

June 3-July 8, 6:30-8:30 pm / Course: The Eight Disciplines of Christ / Instructor: Dr. Terrie S Reed (The book, So You Want To Be Like Christ by Charles Swindoll, is necessary for the first night of the course)

BLITZ COURSE INFORMATION:

April 27, 8:30am-2:30 pm / MEM / Course: Being Successful in Ministry / Instructor: Pastor Marvell Boyce / Cost for all participants: $20

June 1, 8:30am-2:30pm / GJ / Course: Fasting For Results / Instructor: Dr. Terrie S Reed / Cost for all participants: $20

June 22, 8:30am-11:30 pm / MEM / How To Write a Thesis/Dissertation / Instructor: Dr. Terrie S Reed / Cost for all participants: $10

July 20, 8:30am-2:30pm / GJ / Course: The Doctrine of God / Instructor:  Dr. Terrie S Reed / Cost for all participants: $25 (handbook)

August 17, 8:30am-11:30am / MEM / Course:  Blessings and Curses / Instructor: Pastor Marvell Boyce / Cost for all participants: $20

Enrolled ICM students will receive 3 credit hours for each course successfully attended and completed.  Certificate students will receive 1 credit hour for each course.

For additional information concerning enrollment or courses, contact Dr. Terrie S Reed at (901) 232-2494 or Pastor Marvell Boyce at (901) 335-5624.

This course, taught by Dr. Ray Self, ICM College President, will be six weeks in length beginning Tuesday, April 30^th

and will meet at 8:00 PM Eastern / 7:00 Central in ICM’s Web Classroom. Class length is approximately 60 to 90 minutes each Tuesday evening.

• College credit can be earned by all enrolled ICM students.
• The public is invited but space is limited so register now!

Every family has at least one. It’s that one person who believes it is their right, privilege and duty to control other people to conform to their standards and wishes. You can spot them at every family function. They are the ones that are always wound tight. Their mission is to make everyone around them comply to what they think is best. Their weapons are varied. They include manipulation, fear tactics, guilt projection, nagging or whatever it takes.

The problems with this behavior are many. It creates resentment, confusion and makes difficult situations more complicated. Controlling people believe it is their right to enforce their rights on others.

What is the healthy way to deal with this issue? Did you know the spirits of witchcraft are controlling spirits that try to control people against their will? This special teaching will discuss the issues from natural and spiritual standpoints. It is a great class for teaching the student how to deal in a healthy way with controlling people and other relationship issues.

This course will cover relationship issues such as:

• Weapons of the controller
• Enabling
• Co-dependency
• Boundaries
• Bonding
• Communication
• Friendships
• How to be free and still be connected

Don’t delay register now. Be sure and tell a friend about this special series. There are a limited number of spaces available so please register as soon as possible. Limited two-way video seats are offered in order of registration.

A no obligation free-will offering will be received each week to support the ministry of ICM.

ICM students can take this web class series for 3 hours of college credit toward a degree in ministry or Christian Counseling or possibly as an elective if their program allows.

We look forward to seeing you online.

Yours in Christ,

International College of Ministry

REGISTER HERE