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There is a brand of Christianity in the US today that is creating a version of Christ that conforms to our image rather than us coming to Christ and being conformed into his image. Our culture has shifted from the glory and worship of God to the glory and worship of self. Pastor Joshua West joins Gary Wilkerson to discuss his deep concern for the state of the American church.
Key Points from the Podcast
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There is a great divide between the Bible and popular Christian movements like the prosperity and hyper-charismatic gospels.
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There is a popular brand of Christianity in the U.S. that is creating a version of Christ that will conform to our image rather than us coming to Christ and allowing him to conform us into his image.
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Sadly, our culture has shifted from the glory and worship of God to the glory and worship of self.
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The purpose-driven and seeker-sensitive movements have done damage to the church by relying on the methods of man to draw people to Christ rather than depending on the power of God and his Word.
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Many Christian believers and denominations are dividing or falling away because of the age-old question “Did God really say?”
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In the American church, you may not always see outright errant doctrines as much as an omission of things that seem negative, like sin and hell, and an overemphasis on perceived positive elements, like love and mercy.
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The emergent church has morphed into the progressive church, who have done away with biblical inerrancy, allowing their own subjective minds to determine what is right, wrong and truth.
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We should not user worldly metrics like attendance and finances to gauge the health of a church.
Bible Verses Referenced in the Podcast
Genesis 3:1; Revelation 2:5; Romans 1:18; 2 Timothy 3:5
Resources Mentioned in the Podcast
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Hard Sayings by Pastor Joshua West [book]
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Simple Gospel by Pastor Joshua West [book]
About Joshua West
Joshua West serves as pastor and program manager of Sonrise Adult & Teen Challenge in Cache, Oklahoma, which is a thirteen-month discipleship program for men with life controlling problems. He also oversees a satellite campus of the Oklahoma School of Ministry for the Assemblies of God raising up, training and equipping men who are called to be pastors, missionaries and ministers. Joshua’s desire is to raise up ministers who will correctly and boldly preach the word with passion and integrity. The point of all his work and writings is to preach the gospel, glorify God and to teach sound doctrine.
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About Gary Wilkerson
Gary Wilkerson is the President of World Challenge, an international mission organization that was founded by his father, David Wilkerson. He is also the Founding Pastor of The Springs Church, which he launched in 2009 with a handful of people. He has traveled nationally and internationally at conferences and conducted mission ventures such as church planting, starting orphanages, clinics, feeding programs among the poorest of the poor and the most unreached people of the earth. Gary and his wife Kelly have four children and live in Colorado Springs, CO.