I was asked today to pray for a Baptist Church in Iowa ahead of expected turmoil this evening. The pastoral leaders and I have been in conversation since February after they watched my initial YouTube video which explained why the Franklin Christian Ministerium had written a public letter warning about the teachings of the Torah Clubs. As it turned out, this church in Iowa had a sizeable number of members who had been participating in their local Torah Club, a development that alarmed the leaders of the church. They and I shared research on the First Fruits of Zion (the parent company of the Torah Clubs), talked through our findings, and in general supported each other in this processes of learning more about this false teaching and formulating a response.
Prayer is needed today because the pastor of the church and his wife are going to be meeting with a family that have been members of the church for 40 years, this family is a part of the group that recently began participating in a Torah Club, and when the pastoral leaders of the church (having fully researched the FFOZ) asked them to discontinue their participation in this unorthodox group, they refused. Sadly, the report that I have received is that most of those from this church who now belong to a Torah Club have refused to leave it when warned of the dangers. The demonstration of unorthodox beliefs that should have sent chills down their spines, has fallen on deaf ears. It is expected, sadly, that this family will be choosing to leave their church family at tonight's meeting. Please pray for the hearts and minds of the pastoral leadership of this church, pray for repentance and reconciliation on the part of those who have gone astray. Please pray that this doesn't split the church in the days ahead.
As someone called by God, and ordained by his Church, to fill the role of a shepherd of the sheep, it is deeply emotionally painful when the people we have invested our blood, sweat, and tears in decide that they would rather be somewhere else. Even when that somewhere else is a church where you have a reasonable expectation that they will be nourished, it still hurts. Believe me, I speak from experience. But, when they leave and you know they're walking away from an orthodox understanding of the Gospel to chase after "another gospel" (that actually is recycling 1st century heresies), it doesn't just hurt, it is a wound that won't soon heal. Shepherds are called to protect the sheep, to risk ourselves, sometimes literally, to protect them. What do we do when they walk into danger of their own accord and refuse to heed our plea?
Stories like this one are the reason why I've devoted so much time to this issue, why I've written and spoke about it many times, and why I'm teaching a seminar on it starting on 9/11. What is happening to the church in Iowa is the goal of First Fruits of Zion, it is what they believe must happen, and what they are doing their best to accomplish. (During the seminar I'll show you the video clips that prove it.) Please pray for them tonight and in the days ahead. You don't need to know which Baptist Church in Iowa it is, God has known them since the day the church was founded, he will know who you are praying for as his heart aches for them too. And please pray for me as I deliver my seminar, pray for the acceptance of this warning on the part of our Christian community in Venango County, and pray for those who have gone astray, may they return to the faith which our ancestors handed down to us. Thank you.
** Update 9/5/23 **
The initial update I received from the leadership of the church in Iowa is that the family in question has decided to remain in fellowship with the church and continue dialogue on the relevant theological issues. This openness to correction is an answer to prayer, may God continue to work in hearts and minds with respect to this family and the others from the church who have started down the unorthodox path of the Torah Clubs. Thank you for your continued prayers on this matter.
