Signs & Wonders Blog

One of the largest fellowships in the United States is Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas pastored by Joel and Victoria Osteen. Last Sunday morning, I attended one of their services for the first time. Lakewood Church meets in an arena where the Houston Rockets once played. Before going inside, I had to walk through a metal detector, plus have my backpack searched. I’m guessing increased security measures were enacted in response to a shooting that happened there two years ago. Since I arrived a half hour early for the 8:30 a.m. service, I took time to browse around. That included a huge bookstore. As expected, there were many of Pastor Joel’s books, but also some from other authors. Just before the service started, I picked a seat in the tenth row on the main floor (I could’ve sat closer but preferred an aisle seat). I also talked to an usher to make sure it was okay for me to take pictures. The arena eventually filled to about 25-30% capacity. That’s still a large crowd for an ear...

Social media is a powerful tool I use for ministry. It has also been a distraction. Many of us will admit to spending hours scrolling through our news feeds. I enjoy the occasional humor and cute pet photos. Still, a lot of frivolous things appear I don’t care to see and read. A few are insulting, such as saying I’m “old” if I recognize a particular item. I don’t mean to be critical of what people post on their social media pages. That’s their business. Fortunately, there’s a way to stay connected with select individuals without unfriending them and having their posts appear in my news feed. I’ve been unfollowing Facebook friends who repeatedly do the following: Make too many posts. I’ve seen as much as forty a day by some folks (rarely do I exceed two or three). I don’t need the same individuals overwhelming my news feed. There are other friends I want to hear from. Post chain letters , hoaxes, and memes that contain profanity . Make requests for money. Some ministers send me fr...

Last Sunday, Super Bowl LVIII was the most-watched television broadcast in U. S. history. I started watching it in the middle of the 3rd quarter but turned the TV off after seeing four camera shots of Taylor Swift. I also got grieved in my spirit by some of the commercials. I waited until the game was over and then watched the highlights on YouTube to bypass all the media hype. One commercial aired that I later viewed online showed various individuals washing another person’s feet while a remake of the old INXS hit “Never Tear Us Apart” played in the background. That was produced by an organization called He Gets Us. Because of the exuberant cost of Super Bowl commercials (the going rate for a 30-second national slot was $7 million), some complained the money used for the foot-washing ad could have been spent on feeding the poor. One of Jesus’ disciples made a similar gripe in John chapter 12: 4  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said,...

Today is Super Bowl Sunday . The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs will battle against the San Francisco 49ers. Four years ago, those same two teams played for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. I rooted for the Chiefs because of a prophecy promising revival would occur when that team wins the big game. Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. That prompted many pastors to close down their churches. Around the time the Chiefs won the big game again last year, the Asbury Outpouring in Kentucky happened but got shut down after a couple of weeks. I’m still expecting a greater end-time harvest of souls to manifest before the Lord’s return. Since  the  Minnesota Vikings  ( my favorite team ) won’t be playing, I don’t care who wins Super Bowl LVIII. Often I don’t watch the game live, but catch the highlights later on YouTube. I prefer to avoid seeing all the pregame hype, commercials, and the halftime show. I’m also repelled by the increasing wokeness in professional sports. The NFL ...

When asked by His disciples about the signs of His Second Coming, Jesus answered , “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ,' and will deceive many...Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” (Matthew 24:4-5, 11). The Lord later said in verse 24, “ For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” The word prophet comes from the Latin word “propheta” which means, “One that foretells future events; a predicter; a foreteller.” Throughout the Bible, men of God such as Moses, Elijah, David, and Isaiah were inspired or instructed by God to announce future events. Under the New Covenant, we still have prophets as well as other ministers who operate in the prophetic. Some of the latter get dubbed “false prophets” by critics who disagree with their teachings. Many of them don’t even claim to be prophets . In April 1997, John Kilpatrick, then-pa...

One thing I respect about Word of Faith preachers is they typically avoid “naming names” when talking about individuals living in sin. In contrast, critics often share sound bites of their sermons they disagree with in attempts to expose them. Is it ever appropriate to name names? Scripture gives us some guidelines. Jesus didn’t specify individuals as false ministers though He regularly stood up against the scribes and Pharisees as a group. In Matthew 23, he repeatedly called them hypocrites.  In Acts 13, Luke named a false prophet that Paul confronted…  6 Now when they [Barnabas and Saul] had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,  7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.  8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from th...

It grieves me when Christians post “exposés” of ministries that have been a blessing to me. I avoid reading and watching diatribes from critics who disagree with particular doctrines. Sometimes they are from former associates and congregation members who didn’t like things they saw. Keep in mind that no church or preacher is perfect. Every denomination and stream of ministry probably had defectors because of leaders and staff members that went astray. Even Jesus had one that became an apostate (Judas Iscariot).  During  almost four decades, Hillsong Church grew to a reported 150,000 members in 30 countries. Unfortunately, they have gone through questionable practices and recent scandals. The pastor of their New York City branch got fired in 2020 following an adulterous affair. Earlier this week, founder Brain Houston resigned as Global Senior Pastor for breaching the “Pastor's Code of Conduct” involving separate incidents with two women. One resulted from “the consump...

It’s sad how some Christians freak out when hearing ministers teach on prosperity. Not too long ago, I saw this comment in response to a meeting streamed from Rodney Howard-Browne ’s church: “This is some prosperity gospel. Heresy! Frightening that people are so unaware of what this is. Prayers that those involved see the truth.” I replied, “I’d rather hear a ‘ prosperity gospel ’ than a ‘poverty gospel’” plus referred to 3 John 2,  “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”  I also pointed out he had watched a Kingdom Business Fellowship meeting the church has every other Tuesday night. Its purpose is to help Christians generate more finances to get the gospel out. The world is not impressed with believers who are broke. The critic then wrote “1 Timothy 6:10” without quoting the verse ( “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…” ). I replied, “Money is not evil as long as you don’t love it more than peopl...

Today is Clergy Appreciation Day. Sadly, many believers use the Internet to criticize preachers they don't like. Some think particular individuals shouldn’t be in the ministry. The truth is God calls the most unlikely people. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says,  “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” If someone told me over thirty years ago I would be an evangelist, I wouldn’t have believed them. I sought a career in the recording industry and also worked as a disc jockey. Becoming a minister was the furthest thing from my mind. My life radically changed after I got born again on March 19th, 1991. As a young Christian, God used some of my natural abilities to do His work, such as duplicating cassettes in my church’s tape ministry. Eventually, spiritual gifts developed as I stepped out and followed the Holy Spirit’s promptings. Consider these individuals God u...