I don't like star rating systems; they don't allow you to accurately reflect anything. While Grace Christian Center deserves 5 stars for its welcoming atmosphere, programs, and the dedication and kindness of its staff and volunteers, it only deserves maybe 2 for its theology.
Yes, Pastor Mark is a brilliant speaker, and I believe he truly cares about his congregation. True, he isn't afraid to "tell it like it is" in many things, such as homosexuality and abortion. The problem is that he, and the entire staff, are still afraid of one very important thing: THEY ARE AFRAID TO EXPOSE BAD DOCTRINE. If they are not, then they are blind to it, and that's worse. While Pastor Mark and the other pastors aren't afraid to actually use words like 'sin' and 'repentance' (unlike too many popular evangelicals today), and they seem closer to center theologically than obvious Prosperity Gospel preachers, there are still Joel Osteen and Robert Morris books in the bookstore. They still openly follow and widely teach material from known prosperity and Word of Faith heretics like Morris and Joyce Meyer. Morris, whom many of the pastors at Grace will say is one of their favorite teachers, may be more subtle than many, but make no mistake: he buys fully into the prosperity/Word of Faith false gospel. If he didn't, why would he have allowed Creflo Dollar to speak at his church and not rebuke him for his false doctrine?
Pastor Mark has never rebuked any other teacher, either. He is not protecting his flock. He is not warning anyone against bad theology, as is his duty as a pastor. On the contrary, he is inviting it in. He willingly teaches dangerous, false "armour bearer" doctrine, following the "pastor's vision," and other Word of Faith staples, entry-level though his renditions may. He and the staff at Grace openly admire such preachers as Steven Furtick, T.D Jakes (a modalist), Mike Hayes, and the leaders of Hillsong--men who wouldn't know proper exegesis of a Biblical passage if it slapped them in the face. When asked why they keep problematic books in the store and don't "name names," Grace's staff say things like "We don't want to make people angry; there are a lot of people in our church who like those preachers." But THAT IS NOT A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE! WE ARE TO WARN OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ABOUT FALSE AND OFF-CENTER TEACHING! (Eph 5:11, John 10: 11-13, Rom 16:17, 1 Cor 11:19) Don't just read these verses; read the context around them, their cross-references, the whole new testament...Paul names false teachers by name many times. We are called to love our brothers and sisters, not to be "nice." Isn't it more loving to rebuke false teachers, rather than let them continue on in error serious enough it may reveal they are not truly regenerated? Is it truly, Biblically loving to keep an entire congregation in the dark about false doctrine that could send them to hell, just to avoid upsetting a few of them? A pastor is called to be a shepherd, not to "grow" their church in numbers! And yet I heard SO much at Grace that centered far too much on numbers and "relevance." They all mean well, I think (and hope), but they are sadly misguided and living in an atmosphere that is becoming more dangerous by the moment.
I enjoyed my time at Grace. I met people there who will be life-long friends. That's why it saddened me to realize I was being fed bad doctrine for the years I was there, that I wasn't properly prepared to discern it earlier, and that their doctrine damaged me (but not beyond anything God cannot heal!). I haven't taken my nose out of my Bible since, and it was beginning to do that in the first place that made it clear to me I couldn't stay. In the time since I've left I've had to un-learn much of what I learned there. It's been a process of theological rehab and psychological deprogramming. I'm concerned for everyone still there.
Be like the Bereans. Take everything you hear, wherever you go, back to the scriptures. read more