Serial The Anointed: 8. A Donation Of Ten Thousand Dollars!

2023-12-30T11:04:21+01:00

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The Anatomy of a Christian Leader’s Downfall

Last updated on: December 30, 2023 at 11:04 am By Matt Vlaardingerbroek

Downfall Christian leaders

The public downfall of a Christian leader always comes unexpectedly. It’s like walking in nature and suddenly coming face to face with a huge waterfall. You didn’t know this waterfall was there, but now that you see it, you can’t ignore it. How could you have not heard this waterfall from hundreds of meters away? ‘Christians from all around come to watch. They point. They are surprised. They disapprove. They are so disappointed.’ The downfall of Christian leaders is not... Read more

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2024-02-14T14:35:45+01:00

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Serial The Anointed: 7. Is My Ministry Rooted In Love?

Last updated on: February 14, 2024 at 2:35 pm By Matt Vlaardingerbroek

It’s 2010. I am away for the weekend with my daughter Anne. During a walk, I tell her about John. I am away for the weekend with my daughter Anne who turned twelve this year. During a walk on a beach near Barnegat Bay, I tell her about John. ‘Why do you follow him?’ she asks me. A good question. ‘Because I’m intrigued by his success. Somewhere, I would also like to seem that successful,’ I tell her, while thinking:... Read more

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2024-02-14T14:34:52+01:00

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Serial The Anointed: 6. Most Luxurious Church Building

Last updated on: February 14, 2024 at 2:34 pm By Matt Vlaardingerbroek

It’s 2008. The Joy congregation is opening a new church building, and I’ve been invited to the event. On the industrial outskirts of New York, the Joy congregation has constructed a new edifice. The entire project cost 28 million dollars, but what they now have is one of the most progressive church buildings in New York, with a hall that can accommodate ten thousand people. The leadership from the evangelical and charismatic communities across the country has been invited to... Read more

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2024-02-14T14:33:11+01:00

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Serial The Anointed: 5. Spiritual Covering?

Last updated on: February 14, 2024 at 2:33 pm By Matt Vlaardingerbroek

I’ve tried to keep in touch with John, but it’s been tough. He hasn’t responded to my emails. I’m not going to try calling him again—I’m moving on with my life. Over the next five years, the buzz about John and his congregation starts to wane. Yet, I still catch wind of troubling practices… It’s said that he pays his children’s workers and other staff the bare minimum, while he and Abigail extract tens of thousands of dollars in salary... Read more

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2024-02-14T14:30:54+01:00

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Serial The Anointed: 4. An Ugly Ducking

Last updated on: February 14, 2024 at 2:30 pm By Matt Vlaardingerbroek

Over the past ten years, “The Joy Congregation” has grown to more than five thousand members. John is successful! I notice that John and Abigail have a certain magnetism about them. Part of me wants to be just like them. After not seeing John for five years, I unexpectedly bump into him again. In October 2001, I attend a national meeting day about church unity in the city. Suddenly, I hear my name being called out. As I turn around,... Read more

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2024-02-14T14:30:07+01:00

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Serial The Anointed: 3. Apostle Over The East Coast

Last updated on: February 14, 2024 at 2:30 pm By Matt Vlaardingerbroek

After visiting John and Abigails’ Joy church, where my critical questions are cut off – “John speaks for God, you shouldn’t question him” – I’m certain that we’re on different paths. Even though I don’t see John for several years after that, I continue to follow him through the internet, acquaintances, and Christian magazines. 1995 is a great year for John. The Toronto Blessing sweeps through the States. John rents a large hall in Brooklyn and starts with inter-denominational revival... Read more

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2024-02-14T14:51:28+01:00

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Why I Wrote The Serial “The Anointed”

Last updated on: February 14, 2024 at 2:51 pm By Matt Vlaardingerbroek

Time and again in the Christian world, we are shocked by good men who fall. Leaders with a nationwide ministry who suddenly vanish as if they were never there. They dedicated their entire soul to God and His cause, but unchristian behavior led to their downfall. They’re now silenced, their legacy swept under the rug, their names unspoken. Imagine if an angel had visited these men when they were eighteen, still full of passion and fire for Jesus. What if... Read more

Progressive Christian

2024-02-14T14:28:46+01:00

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Serial The Anointed: 2. Visiting John’s Church

Last updated on: February 14, 2024 at 2:28 pm By Matt Vlaardingerbroek

After hearing all the negative stories about John and his wife Abigail from a former elder of his congregation, I unexpectedly run into him one day. In the spring of 1994, I suddenly come across John at an evangelical conference in Philadelphia. We exchange news, and with pride, he tells me about his work in the congregation. How the ‘Joy’ church is growing massively and that God has promised him that his congregation will become the biggest church in New... Read more

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2023-10-30T09:53:59+01:00

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Following the Bible is Much Easier than a Surprising God

Last updated on: October 30, 2023 at 9:53 am By Matt Vlaardingerbroek