Don't Be Duped
Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” - Matthew 7: 15-23
I have recently come across an organization that, for all intents and purposes, appears to prey on the good nature and trusting attitude of Christians. The organization is called Pastors for Texas Children. On its face this sounds like a great thing, a thing people could and should get behind. Except that it’s nothing more than a pro-teacher’s union political PAC, in effect. I encountered this group on Twitter through some very anti-voucher and private school posts they had made, which led me to dig deeper. Nowhere on any of their social media or the official website for the organization is God, Jesus, or scripture a part of their message. Seems weird for an organization comprised of pastors…most pastors I know find a way to shoehorn one of those things in to almost every conversation they have. The only real thing I could find on this organization was where their money comes from (always follow the money). They’ve received significant amounts of money from the American Federation of Teachers (both state and federal) and the National Education Association, two of the largest teacher’s unions in the country. Not to mention a ton of additional funding that comes from a number of government school lobby groups and the pro-abortion group Texas Freedom Network. Not a good start. So I decided to take a look at the founder, Charles Foster Johnson. I cannot find a single lecture or sermon from the man…and every piece of writing that I have found is inundated with Leftist talking points and squishy, progressive “Christianity.” He’s even founded a church called Bread. And you could probably guess, everything about their mission statement is about inclusivity and the “Buddy Jesus” gospel while congregating in an art studio that requires vaccination to enter the building. But wait, it’s better! They are part of a larger network of churches, the Alliance of Baptists. To give you all the information you probably need about them, they recently held a virtual conference entitled “Environmental Justice is Racial Justice: What’s Next?” Needless to say, I think I’ve dug sufficiently to determine that this organization is probably not comprised of “Pastors for Children” so much as lobbyists and activists promoting progressive and leftist ideas specifically focused on supporting teacher’s unions.
It’s a grift. It’s a play on emotion and sympathy; not saying either of those things are bad, mind you. They use “pastor” so you, as a Christian, know these are good people who are earnest and sincere. And who doesn’t care about children? We’re for children! It says it right in the name. They are banking on the fact that you, as a Christian, are also for children and will blindly support an organization as long as it is being run by pastors who you can rest assured are men and women of God and would never serve any special interest groups or political parties (it’s literally in their mission statement). These people know that Christians are generally trusting and well meaning. We look for the good in people and want to believe that everything is above board. And we support things that are close to us and the church…especially monetarily. (Which is the modern Christian cop-out. I don’t have time/won’t give the time to actually be an advocate of the church and go out and serve my community and spread God’s love, so instead I’ll donate a bunch of money to stuff and feel sanctified in letting other “more qualified” people do that actual work… but that’s for another post at a later date.)
The really sad thing is, this sort of thing isn’t new or unusual. People have preyed on the trust and love of Christians for, well, literally as long as their have been Christians. And this doesn’t just come from outside organizations who loosely affiliate themselves with Christianity in some way. It comes from churches themselves. The reach someone like Joel Osteen has is impressive. And the squishy, prosperity gospel that he preaches softens the Christian faith as a whole and creates people who don’t actually know God or religion. It’s a grift. Say the right things that make people feel good about themselves or something they’re doing for the world and stamp “Christian” on the package and watch the money roll in.
Not enough people within the Christian faith community seem to have read Matthew 7: 15-23. Even fewer seem to have the clairvoyance to be able to spot the wolf in sheep’s clothing in their midst. And sadly, fewer still are willing to speak up when they do spot it. We have to vigilant in guarding our communities. The early Christian church had to do it for fear of literally being murdered. I’m not saying we need more death threats as Christians, but the fact that we no longer have any skin in the game whatsoever has made for a very soft community that lacks any form of gatekeeping or self-defense or preservation. It’s why modern Christianity has devolved in to what it has. Be vigilant and on the guard. Learn to spot the imposters and have the courage to expel them. It may not be life or death on this earth for you personally, but the past 50 years or so have shown it very well could mean the death of the Christian church.
