Something happened few weeks ago in a “church” in Katy, Texas (a suburb near Houston) that made it on to the pages of the Epoch Times newspaper. In that city, the First Christian Church was having an event on their campus which they called “Drag Bingo” and the “Transparent Closet.” The event, according to an Instagram post was described as a “Fashion and Drag Show” and a “coming out party.” It would feature drag queens as special entertainment for the participants. (For those who do not know what these are, these are men who dress as woman, with a particular preference toward the ‘beauty queen’ look.) On the “church’s” website, it further stated about the “Transparent Closet” that it was a “FREE clothing boutique designed for trans and exploring teens, youth and young adults to have a safe place for clothing needs and beyond.” “When you come to the closet you will be welcomed into a space just for you. Here you will find all kinds of clothes, undergarments, shoes, hair accessories, style accessories, make-up and more.”
Freelance undercover journalists who broke the news of this event stated that the church had increased security, not against sexual predators, but against infiltrators who were coming in to expose this charade for the vile blasphemy that it is. According to one journalist, the church had security checkpoints where between 50-60 ANTIFA members were stationed for security. (For those who are outside of the United States: ANTIFA stands for ‘anti fascist’, but in reality, it is a hedonistic, paganistic, anarchic terrorist group with a history of pushing violence and chaos.) They were armed with AK-47 rifles, handguns, and AR-15 pistols, as well as pepper spray; apparently, these leftists do not have any problems with gun control. Tickets for the event were $20 with an additional promise that no protesters from either side would be allowed at the event. That last part was a lie. Anyone who protested the event would be kept away. Supporters on the other hand would be free to roam and get involved.
Epoch Times reporter Patricia Tolson went on to document from her under cover sources that at the so called “church,” alcohol was being sold for this event. One of the undercover journalists said, “I thought that was a little peculiar,” because of his previous experience documenting such events, he knew it would be unwise “to accept to a drink from anyone at any of these events.” (Often times at these types of events, the drinks are laced with narcotic drugs.) Pins were handed out to attendees with a black background and the LGBTQ rainbow capital letters saying, “NOT ALL CHRISTIANS SUCK.”
As documented by Tolson and the other journalists, unaccompanied children (approximately eight of them) who appeared to be around the ages of 10 to 14 years old were taken into the “Transparent Closet” alone. Because of the shortage of time and to spare some of the gory details, I will say that all sorts of paraphernalia was peddled to these children with the intent of seducing them into the LGBTQ lifestyle. And the deception was so bad that the items purchased, given, or taken, could be taken home in a Home Goods bag in order to fool the parents of children who were less than supportive. The full story is in the September 30, 2022, edition of the Epoch Times, in Patricia Tolson’s article Texas Church Introduces Children to Drag Bingo and a ‘Transparent Closet”-“They take the kids back there one by one.’ Texas Church Introduces Children to Drag Bingo and a ‘Transparent Closet’ (theepochtimes.com)
The details are vile. The “church” website mentions only two people who are on staff: the lady senior pastor and a fellow who is a “minister” of LGBT+ and social media and who is openly gay. The woman who leads this “church,” Heather Patriacca Tolleson, went to Texas Christian University to study Religion and Psychology. She further did her Master of Divinity from Brite Divinity School (a seminary part of the TCU system). The others person’s name is Mike Miller from Michigan. According to his self-made biodata, he is “really looking forward to helping grow and expand the LGBTQIA+ ministries at FCC Katy and working closely with the community to help create a safe and open congregation for all. With the inauguration of our TRANSparent closet (actual quote), our church home is starting to find ways to reach out to parts of God’s beloved that have been marginalized and shoved aside by many other congregations.”
Miller graduated from Western Michigan University in 2014 with a degree in Music, particularly in vocal performance as well as in organ and piano. He has been hired in several congregations as a musician and now as he in “ministry” at this “church,” and he is also pursuing a Master of Divinity at Philips Theological Seminary. He has a blog called “Gay by the Grace of God” and he sings with the Houston Bach Society.
I do not know what sickened me more about this story; the event itself or the reaction and behavior of the members and “clergy” of the “church.” While holding a Bible in their hand, they were in the name of Jesus Christ committing the worst kind of abominations and felt nothing wrong about it. The kind of behavior on display, in a normal society, is exactly the kind of actions that sexual predators would go to jail for, and yet with the Trans movement it is being peddled without any limitation or hesitation. It never stops here. It goes even further into the genital mutilation of children, something that Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh has investigated and exposed with his documentary movie, What is a Woman? He succeeded (and is succeeding) in exposing the rationale and the evil behind pediatric hospital systems throughout the nation, as well as school districts and school boards supporting this absolutely despicable action and push.
But in the Church world, I have yet to see an outright statement condemning these actions, not solely in with regards to society, but with regards to various denominations and ministries itself that claim to be a part of the Body of Christ which hold the True Faith. Is it too difficult for us to say that something is Anti-God, Anti-Christian, Anti-Bible? Are we so afraid of being “canceled” or facing legal recriminations, financial boycotts, or bad press that we are silent and seemingly accepting of everything? In fact, I and several other preachers predicted this would happen back in 2010 when the Obama Administration pushed the legalization of Gay marriage, which eventually the Supreme Court granted. Those of us in the Church world who had any discernment knew that it would not stop there.
“They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, “Who can see them? They devise injustices, saying “We are ready with a well-conceived plot”; For the inward thoughts and the heart of a man are deep.” Psalms 64: 5-6
What in essence happened in 2010 goes back to the Temptation of man in the Garden of Eden with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The snake’s little question to Eve, “Hath God said…?” O no, you will not die! Your eyes will be opened! You will be like God… knowing good and evil! Ah there is the point, the main idea. The whole scheme of Satan revealed: Get humanity focused on the idea of the ultimate deification of man either in ignorance or in spite of the Almighty God.
The sad part is that several mainline nominal Christian denominations bought the lie. Namely the United Methodist Church, several churches and dioceses of the Anglican/Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Churches of America and a smattering of several highly notable preachers and their megachurches (i.e., Bishop T.D. Jakes, Andy Stanley, Tim Heller). Several others took the approach of hear no evil and see no evil (the Church of God in Christ and several African American churches, as well as Bethel and Hillsong). With these groups, on paper they were against alternate lifestyles, but in practice they chose not to be “confrontational.” So in the name of “ministry” their position was all are welcome to come into the church and will be ministered to, but if there are contradictions in doctrine, theology, or practice, we would “respectfully disagree but remain united in Jesus.” (Believe me, I can understand churches who buy that position; many are forced into the position of neutrality for a variety of reasons on which they cannot make an automatic cut and dry decision. I understand it but I do not accept it or agree with it in anyway shape or form.)
The last 12 years should have been a time of reflection for Christian denominations and institutions. As followers of Jesus Christ, we should have followed the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and prepared ourselves Spiritually, Theological, Practically and remind ourselves daily that we are in a war against “principalities and the powers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Legally, Christian churches and Institutions made sure that they had legal safeguards to protect themselves from being sued, which is understandable. But this push for safety has morphed into a confrontation with “cancel culture” and the Wokeism of our times. And many of us are like the army of Israel running from Goliath for 40 days. God forbid if the general public does not like us for our principles! God forbid if we lose our popularity! God forbid if the “tech giants” and woke corporations declare war on us! God forbid if cultural populace brands us “haters,” “bigot,” “racists,” or some other pejorative!
Some of the churches that compromised did so because of money, the absence of it as well as the excess of it. Regarding the excess… let us face it, many preachers have become celebrities. T.D. Jakes has a personal fortune, which according to one estimate is over $200 million. In addition to TBN and Daystar, his TV program is on other channels such as the BET network. He compromised with the Homosexual gospel a few years ago saying that gays “would do very well” in his ministry’s sphere of influence. He mingles with entertainment personalities. And now when the LGBTQ mafia is actively targeting children in every community in the United States, there is neither the spiritual power nor the moral authority to resist. That is if he and the others want to resist. Like the proverbial ostrich, it’s a lot better for him (and others like him) to stick their heads in the ground and pretend that nothing is happening… in order “not to offend.” Hear no evil. See no evil.
What Gospel are they preaching? What kind of Church are they making or representing? Not the one in the Bible. But don’t worry, it’s easy to fool the masses by banging the Hammond organ or with other sounds and lights! Sound and Fury signifying nothing!
And now here we are at this moment. I doubt that these churches and ministries that compromised had any idea where it would lead. Just as Satan managed to talk Eve into seeing God as a massive kill joy who wanted to “hold them back,” these churches and personalities decided that the God of the Bible was too rigid, too mean spirited, too judgmental; and so they decided to ignore the most important message of the Bible: the Cross of Calvary. After all, if we are all “basically good people;” why talk about Salvation, except as a cliché. Something that is acquired in 5 second and is basically an excuse to commit as much Sin as possible, because after all “you are covered with Grace.”
What was it Satan said to Eve? “You shall be like God…” You hear something else that those who are under the influence of the Devil say these days, “it’s your own Truth.”
Oh really? Let us consider that point for a moment.
I cannot speak with regards to society in general other than to say that such a rationale is absolutely a hair brained scheme. To use an example that Charles Osgood used years ago: if someone wants 2+2=5, that is a “pretty good answer.” Back in the 1980s when Osgood shared this tidbit in an editorial, teachers, though probably saying “pretty good,” would still count the answer wrong, because it was not right. It was not the Truth. But if we go by that idea of “choosing your own Truth,” why should not the answer to 2+2=5 if it makes a person feel better? Is that not the Truth that makes the most comfortable?
Comfortable or not, in the hard and fast disciplines of Mathematics and Science there is no room for errors or “pretty good” answers. There is a rightness about the Truth that makes the world we live in logical, habitable, equitable. We cannot not fool ourselves into thinking that we are living in a dream fantasy-because we are not. And the sphere of the Church is the ultimate battleground.
The atheist communist world of the 20th century had their own theologians which they called “academicians.” But their function was to rationalize the Bizzarro world in which such “wonderful” people like Lenin, Stalin, and Mao were worshipped like gods and their economic ideas were defended as holy commandments despite being complete failures. The Nazis had theologians and in fact made sure they took over the German church so that recognizing Hitler has the Fuhrer and his ridiculous ideas as sacrosanct would be easily done. Except for a few pastors and Catholic clergy (most notably Dietrich Bonhoffer), everyone else bowed despite what they saw and heard.
What do these churches in America and the Western world get in supporting Gender Dysphoria and Genital Mutilation as well as the rest of the LGBTQ agenda? First, they will receive affirmation and acclamation from a segment of the general public that is one of the most entrenched in media and entertainment circles in this nation and around the world. (Recently, I saw an advertisement for an international airline which promised to give First and Business class plane tickets at discounted prices to celebrate “pride month” in San Francisco because they are “proud supporters of the LGBTQ…”.) They will show up to “compliment” the “outreach” of said church and there will be commentators who talk about how “relevant” the church is. Its good PR. And who knows, considering the Wokeism of our times, one may get the most positive affirmation from everybody from CNN to Entertainment personalities overnight. The clergy in such churches, as well as parishioners, can be invited to any number of forums and events to be lauded and put on the air of being sacrosanct (i.e., Greta Thunberg). But just like with Adam and Eve, reality will bite once the consequences show up. Consequences from which there will not be any escape. And yet these woke churches are not focused on consequences (like the snake in the Garden of Eden).
The second point is that these so-called ‘churches’ are no longer Christian even though they say the name of Jesus Christ, sing hymns and “quote” the Bible (most often misquote or take out of context). Every one of these woke churches have shredded the doctrine of the Inspiration of Scripture. They neither believe it and in fact are on the offensive to debunk it. Otherwise, how can these churches work toward the woke objectives or advantages of the leftists and infidels, all of which are expressly against the Bible? Think about all the anti-God, anti-Bible stances that many of these “churches” have peddled and supported in the last few years: the LGBTQ, the BLM riots, Environmentalism/Climate Change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, not to mention the idiotic criminal justice policies in many cities, to name a few. All of it has resulted in the devastation of cities and the destruction of people, and yet these churches stubbornly hold on to their Anti-God/Anti-Bible theologies, doctrines, and stances.
This is bad. But that First Christian Church in Katy, Texas, show that things are going to get a lot worse with regards to actions and practices to the point that we should call them Satanic. “Grooming” in schools (the practices of influencing children into the LGBTQ lifestyle) used to be only a rumor to laugh at or scorn a few years ago. And even as terrible tragedies and crimes take place, the push now is not to investigate crimes, but to denigrate victims, namely children who regret their choices, and their parents.
Everyone should take special note of the school district and board of the city of Loudon, Virginia, where such crimes took place and where parents who protested were labelled as “terrorists” by the board members and the Justice Department of the United States. Where was the voice of the Episcopal Church and the United Methodists Churches and the other mainline denominations which have been in this area from the very beginning of this nation and whose dioceses and bulletin boards proclaim loudly their support for the LGBTQ? Can they tell the difference between victims and victimizers? How can they if they have rejected the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth which the world (the unbelievers) cannot receive but which they loudly scream in their church conventions “is for everyone”?
These denominations, particularly the United Methodists, have become so vocally and practically radical adherents to Liberation Theology that other Christian churches and denominations should honestly reflect on whether we should have any fellowship at all in any matter. Because if they no longer believe in the inspiration of the Bible, the Holiness of God, the Divinity of Jesus Christ, the Exclusivity of Salvation through Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of the Cross of Calvary, the Doctrine of Sanctification, the Resurrection (believe me this they definitely do not want to be true), the Doctrine of the Church according to Scripture, and especially the Second Coming and the Final Judgement, then as the Apostle Paul asked, What relationship does Christ have with Belial?
Believers in Jesus Christ should remember that we are now in the time of the Apostacy, the great falling away, which the Apostle Paul mentioned in the epistles to the Thessalonians. The Lord Jesus mentioned it in Matthew 24: “Because of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.” That is not just a declarative prophetic statement. It was a warning among a chapter of many warnings. “Remember Lot’s wife.” I have read Matthew 24 for nearly all my life and as the years pass by, the significance of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ becomes increasingly relevant.
In John Huston’s famous film, The Bible…In the Beginning (which stars George C. Scott and Ava Gardner), there is a scene coming from Genesis 19 where the two angels come to the city of Sodom. Lot (Abraham’s nephew) immediately meets them at the city gates and insists that they come to his house to stay. The following scenes is their journey from the gate to Lot’s house in which the angels are seeing “the outcry of the city.” This movie was made around the late 1950s or 60s but that particular scene would be heavily censored by today’s standards. As bad as the scene is, it makes one wonder… how in the world did Lot and his family live in that place? More importantly, how did he get used to that place? The Bible says in the book of Jude that Lot was a “vexed righteous man.” But apparently, his wife was not so “vexed.” And hence, the Lord Jesus’ warning never to forget her.
Lot and his family had the opportunity to leave Sodom before. In the latter half of Genesis 14, after Abraham and his 300 servants saved their lives as well as all who the Four Kings of the North had taken captive, two kings met Abraham on his way back home: Melchizedek, King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God (El Elyon), and the wretched King of Sodom who was willing to let Abraham keep all the treasures, but… “just give me the people.” Abraham raised his hands to receive the blessing of the Most High God from Melchizedek and subsequently gave him a tithe of everything he received. Afterwards, Abraham looked right into the eyes of the King of Sodom and refused anything that he could give because, if he gave him a shoelace, based on that shoelace, he would claim that he made Abraham great! That should have been the moment that Lot and his family should have said goodbye to the Sodomites. But he did not. Instead, he and his wife and two daughters, and their business interests all went back into that horrifying city and lived there until that day when the two angels pulled them out and commanded them to flee for their lives.
Lot’s wife had apparently gotten used to the vile nature of Sodom. I used to think that she turned back because she was interested in seeing the terrible judgement coming down, but that is not the case. The fire and brimstone only came down after Lot and his daughters safely arrived in the gates of the small town of Zoar. Modern tour guides like to point at different rock or salt formation claiming that it is the pillar of salt formation. But as one Hebrew scholar told me, the interpretation could mean that she (Lot’s wife) was “vaporized.” It could also mean that when she turned back, she was frozen (not literally) but rather so mesmerized by the city and life she had lived in for so long that Salvation was not a priority nor an interest for her any longer, even though her home was assaulted, and her daughters were almost victimized the night before. She, and they were “used to it.”
I do not know. But I do believe that she was near the city gates of Sodom when the fire came down, either mesmerized or with the intention of re-entering. Once again, the question is, “How did this family get used to this sight and sounds of this place?”
That question is valid for us today. How is it possible that various denominations, church goers, Christians of all stripes, after hearing and seeing the abominations that the are being peddled and sold by the LGBTQ and their professional allies, why does it seem that so many of them are acting like it is of no concern? Does it not affect anyone that the LGBTQ and their leftists allies in politics and entertainment, as well as churches like the First Christian in Katy, Texas, are using the name and person of Jesus Christ, along with the worst type of misinterpretation of the Bible, they are not only trying to normalize alternative lifestyles, but now trying to “convert” children into them?
How do we win? What must we do to fight back against this spiritual onslaught? We must focus on the Preaching of the Cross. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary is the message that will force the choice that no one can escape from. The Apostle Paul called it an “offence.” True. Sinners will have to reconcile to that idea that the pure, sinless, Holy Son of God died on that Cross taking the sins of all the world so that the “righteousness of God would be revealed in us.” It is not just the Redemption of Sins, but the all the revealing and completion of the Old Testament Law and Righteousness. Jesus Christ did not compromise this. He instead fulfilled it and surpassed it. All our ideas of theology, doctrine, and practice will be justified or rejected at the Cross of Calvary. And if that should offend anyone’s delicate sensibilities… then stop using the name of Jesus Christ! Do not claim to identify with Him! Do not try to use His name to justify sin. There is no unity between Christ and the Devil. Those who would use the name of Jesus Christ in order to commit abominations, or groom others toward the commitment of such abominations should be called out and driven out from our midst as infidels for the simple fact that they will damn many people to Hell.
Secondly, there must be a strong movement of the Holy Spirit empowered intercessory prayer. Even though I list these actions one after the other, they both go together and would be considered what the Apostle Paul called the Sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6. Holy Spirit empowered Prayer and the Preaching of the message of the Cross of Calvary has to happen in such a powerful way that through them, the Holy Spirit will touch the detail of all the lives, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In other words, if a sleeping Church would rise in the power of the Holy Spirit, this spiritual darkness will be hurled backward for a time.
Here we must stand. By the Word of God and the Power of the Holy Spirit, We the True Church can do no other! We have a President of the United States who cannot under the difference between male and female and released the various arms of his administration to attack the True Church in the name of his Wokeish idolatry. He has threatened to “bomb” opponents to this agenda! He may speak in hyperbole but that is no reason not to take that threat seriously. He and his administration as well as is leftist allies in his party want to destroy the True Church by any means necessary to pursue anti-God/anti-Christian lifestyles and agendas. And while this is going on, the souls of many are headed into a horrifying eternity away from God while utterly hopeless and hooked on narcotics to kill the mental anguish and physical pain of evil choices in this life.
“O Sinner Come to the Cross of Calvary! Lay down your burden of Sin and Guilt! You will find rest for your soul!” It was the cry of preachers and evangelist in generations past and it must be a message that we, the True Church, must choose to preach in our time, no matter what the cost. May God help us.
“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Thus, I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their head,” declared the Lord God.” Ezekiel 22:30-31 (NASB)