Apostasy & Uncaring Church People

[Bishop Ronald S. Hobson, Sr.]

I have been pastoring for the past 6 years, preaching since the age of 18 and what I have witnessed in the body of Christ is sickening. The question I have for the young generation is; how do you deal with so many phonies in church. Who are your real role models(if any)? Where do you feel the church is going?

[Pastor DDPhillips]

What do you mean by phonies? First of all let me say that I am not involved in any scandels or what not. I have been preaching for 12 years and pastoring for 11 years. I am 34 years of age. I have been blessed to keep my hands clean from the big 3 adversarily designed destructors of preachers, Greed, Adultury, Fornication. But I still must ask what do you mean by phony. We are indeed both blessed and burden with the yoke of the Gospel and simply because one falls don't make him or her a phony. We all will make a mistake or two in our lives but that does not make God a Lie nor the men and women who accepts HIS call a phony. I'm a realist and I don't put anything pass anyone we are all flesh and bone. The role model we must look up to is the Risen Savior not man. The difference between so many of us and the so called phonies, and jack legs or what ever, is that they were caught, they got made, or simply put the sheet was pulled back and all things that was done in the dark came to light. The one who realy destroy them is not God for He is a forgiving God. The one who turn their back on them is not Jesus for He will never leave you nor forsake you, the one that will not console us is not the Holy Spirit for He will never leave us comfortless. No the one who leave us and calls us phony and jack leg and all the other ugly names is the CHRISTIAN. We forget our place is to be as much like Christ as our poor feeble spirits can stand to be. How many did Jesus forgive in His short stay on earth? Of what types of Sins did He forgive? I know that I'm ranting but i beleive the church is its on worst enemy right now in this present age. I think we are a declining religion ( check the statistics of the over all religion of Christianity) because we look to much to Super Preachers and well Packaged Conferences and such that when He or She don't live up to the idealology of what we feel, or to the standards which we set or when the emotions from the conference has passed. We the Christians become upset, and disappointed. As I said at the beginning I am not involved in a scandel nor have I committed any of the what i like to call big 3 (greed, adultery,fornication) but i don't know what tomorrow holds i do know that if I were involved in anything illicit the church would be the first to drop me, but my God the God of imperfect Abraham, imperfect Issac, scandalous Jacob, murdering Moses, whoring David, and questionaable Paul, will still love me and never let me go.
God Speed, I hope I wasn't to far off the mark, realy I just took this opportunity to express my views and mis-spell alot of words. The body of Christ is under attack right now and the attack is from the inside. (sounds like a sermon). so I end this by asking once more, what do you mean by phony?

[Bishop Ronald S. Hobson, Sr.]

My brother, please allow me to say that it was not my intent to character assinate the church that I love so much. I have been a beleiver in Christ Jesus since the age of nine years old. The question you posed is "What do you mean by phony". My take on the phony is claiming to be some one they are not and pimping the church for what they need. I have been preaching for over 20 years in the body of Christ, and what I see scares and alarms my spirit, when we have people who will not embrace the fact that they need the Holy Ghost According to Act 2:38. It alarms me that some phonies will tell saints of the most High God that speaking in tongue is not for this day...It alarms me when saints think a good dance is having church, it's more to it than that, it is having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Not continuing in falling and do the same thing over and over, when will the church stop giving people crutches to sin by just saying "The Lord know my heart" Yes he does, but when will you learn to stand and be an effective witness? The bible teaches us, as the apostle Paul wrote " Follow me as I follow Christ" given himself as a role model for others to emulate the work of Christ. Yes! Jesus is our greatest role model, it is also good to look on the life of a mentor to keep us on track for the kingdom... Agape love to you and yours....

[James Pierce]

The American church is suffering from "prosperity gospel syndrome". It has made the church in America very soft. Who are our real role models. Those that love the Lord by obeying his commandments, and have a true foundation of his word, teaching God's word in all its truth.