I hate Faith. Not my sister Faith. I love her very much. I hate the word “Faith”, especially the Word of Faith movement.
Problems quickly arise because the Bible says that “without Faith it is impossible to please God.” This and dozens of other references make it clear that Faith is important to God.
So as I struggled with faith it became clear that it was the definition of faith as more formula then actual trust in God that had led to this hating. But wait, I’ve given too much away already. I need to save something for the conclusion.
I wish there was a simple way of putting this without a history lesson but I don’t see one. Basically the Word of Faith movement teaches that anything is possible as long as one has enough faith that it will happen. So if something doesn’t happen (healing, success or wealth) then it was because of one’s lack of faith. Springing from this movement is the more blatantly unbiblical “Prosperity Gospel” that is being touted by many of the infamous tele-evangelists that clog the airwaves.
But I’ll save my skewers for these charlatans for a later day. Or maybe a “last day”?
The Word of Faith movement was really given birth by the late Kenneth Hagin Sr. at his church and bible school, Rhema, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. It sprang from Charismatic and Pentecostal churches after World War II. (I am still a practicing Charismatic, though I reject the Faith Movement and Prosperity Gospel).
My family’s history is intertwined with this school and I hold no ill will for the Hagins or their school. In fact my parents are both graduates of Rhema and I myself attended numerous meetings, church services and am very familiar with the Word of Faith Movement as I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Most of Faith teaching is rooted in biblical passages and sounds great. The problems arise when the sh** hits the fan as it so often does in life.
During my late teens and early 20’s I had a number of Godly woman that I knew and cared for die of cancer. This is unfortunately where the true colors of the Faith gospel is revealed. (Link to article about these women)
As was told to these ladies numerous times in their last days “if only you would have enough Faith, God would heal you.” Needless to say they didn’t have “enough faith.”
So much for mourning with those who mourn. Why heal the wounded when we can just shoot them?
Now my journey out of the Faith Movement into a more balanced (and scriptural) belief has taken me from the extreme of the Faith Movement to the opposite extreme of nearly becoming a deist (where God set the world in motion and doesn’t do anything anymore) and now I’m resting peacefully in green pastures and guess who’s camped out next door?
The Faith Movement. But, alas, there are some major differences that need to be cleared.
My faith… Trust is a word that I think more accurately reflects what the Bible teaches. So my Trust/Faith is in God and the death, resurrection and finished work of Jesus Christ. My faith is not in my own formula, near incantational ability to conjure up enough Faith to demand God’s action.
My faith is in God. But unlike many who disparage the Faith Movement, this faith is not a fatalistic faith in God’s “divine will” that is a cop out for letting life slap us silly and then saying “oh, it must have been God’s will …”
Herein lies the nuanced but powerful middle ground. God wants us to act, He wants us to pray and when we do He will act on our behalf. Not because he has to, but because he wants to. God repeatedly calls us to act, pray and believe for greater things. When we live life and play possum when problems arise we are hardly giving God much glory or even the chance for glory.
This is why Faith Movement churches are also some of the largest churches in the world. People want to experience an active God and God does act through these churches. Not because they have it all right, but because they are doing something.
But how big (not that size is a measure of success or biblical correctness) would a church get that expected and acted in accordance with a powerful and miraculous God AND approached the tragedies of life with more grace, comfort and weeping for those affected?
As for me and my house we will Trust in God and a big part of trust is obeying the instructions that we’re given by God. “Go… preach… heal… cast out demons… raise the dead… be my witnesses.”
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