Confession of Someone Deceived by the False Teaching of Sundey Adelaja
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. For, speaking bombastic words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh and debauchery those who have barely escaped from those living in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him he is also enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.”
Bible. The Second Epistle General of the Holy Apostle Peter. Chapter 2.
Until recently I had not the slightest desire to write these lines, since from 1999 to 2009 I myself attended one of the so‑called “churches.” What brought me into this organization was a calamity called alcoholism.
I want to testify that God truly sets people free from alcoholism and other addictions in any place and at any time. It happens rarely and not to everyone, but it happened to me. By His mercy God delivered me from alcoholism once and for all. I was very glad about this, and my family was happy too – but not for long…
About three or four years passed when the euphoria wore off, and I felt an emptiness inside. Gradually I began to observe and analyze what was happening in the “church” (I had this opportunity because by then I was serving in the administration of this “largest church in Europe”). You have probably guessed which “church” I am talking about…
And only now do I have enough facts to say that this “largest church in Europe,” supported by one of the city officials, a former banker, is in fact no church at all – though I personally would like to believe it was founded with good intentions – but the “largest financial pyramid in Europe”!!!
This is confirmed by the great number of financial structures built on network marketing, created or operating within “this church.”
Much has been written about this, yet only a few know that the “pastor” or members of his family and inner circle (about 5‑10 people) have a stake practically everywhere. Not to mention that the church’s money (tithes and offerings) has been spun around more than once or twice. I can speak about this because I was involved with the so‑called “1000 Millionaires’ Club,” which was created to coordinate these financial, investment, real‑estate and other enterprises.
Of course, all of this is packaged as help for the financial prosperity of the “church” members, and no one even thinks about where the money comes from or where it goes.
Various charitable organizations are frequently mentioned as supposedly using these financial resources, but in reality only crumbs reach them!!! And even those crumbs must be proven and demanded; basically everything is funded by the same “financially-prosperity-seeking” church members.
To maintain the necessary “spirit” at every service, testimonies of financial prosperity are shared so that everyone reaches for the source…
The most important and influential testimony is the possession of a car, an apartment, and a business. That is why there are so many cars around the “church”; but if you dig a little, those cars and apartments are mostly bought on credit and do not reflect the real situation or the prosperity that is being testified about.
People do the same in the “world” – there is nothing supernatural about it. I personally know many of them and know their income. They are ordinary people who earn their living by their own labor, but it turns out that several dozen “brothers” and “sisters” – who are “idols” and “gurus” – earn money from them; in reality, they are simply using them.
There is no talk of any God’s love here, and what kind of God’s love can there be in a “church” where the Holy of Holies, “communion,” is given about five minutes in the form of juice in a disposable plastic cup, and where gatherings of the saints resemble shareholders’ meetings? You cannot serve two gods…
the true God and mammon (the deity of the ancient Syrians personifying wealth and earthly goods).
I personally have nothing against prosperity, and I have my own business, car, etc. But I might not have had any of it if I had allowed even one of the “church or near‑church” structures, which repeatedly tried to pull me in, to get close to me.
All involvement and enticement is built on the premise… that you must always remember where this came to you from and to whom you are forever indebted. It can drive you crazy…
People come to God, and God has mercy on them, saves them, heals them (all of this really happens!), but many profit from it, including the “pastors,” if you can call them that – although there have been and still are genuine believers in the church, yet truly few of them remain; most have either become disappointed in God (which is very grievous!) or have left for another church.
And behind all of this stands one man – the “Senior Pastor,” whom I trusted without limit. Essentially he became an idol. It is hard for me to write about this, but it is the truth!
I think this did not happen all at once, and the pastor’s intentions were initially pure and sincere, but lack of accountability and big money unfortunately clouded his mind. Still, I am grateful to him for turning my gaze toward God.
What prompted me to write these lines is, probably, a desire to help those who now do not suspect where they have ended up and how it will end for them. It will end with their first impressions, faith and hope being replaced by despair, disappointment, depression and weariness. And the funniest part is that you will be convinced that it is your own fault?!
It is you who lack love, you who are not faithful enough, you who do not attend nighttime prayers and leadership meetings enough, you who do not give enough, your small home group is your fault… The processing is carried out in such a way that a person has no time to come to his senses, to look around; from the very first days, from the “ABC” school and on to the full financial squeeze, you are immediately taken in hand…
They constantly flaunt the rehab center: “We have so many freed drug addicts, alcoholics, etc.” In reality, all these deliverances happen through the ordinary “worldly” “Seven Steps” program of anonymous alcoholics and addicts, which has long been operating successfully all over the world—thank God for it!
Pastors are appointed from people who have no life experience. These are young people 20–30 years old, mostly after rehab, loyal to the organization and the pastor, not to God, who have not yet saved their own souls but are trying to save the world!?
You know, when you go into the mountains, you choose a guide who has been where you want to go and returned alive, not perished on the way. That is what a pastor should be in the full sense of the word. He must not speak of what he has not experienced firsthand or what he does not know from within. We come to a pastor to find a guide to the doors of the Kingdom of God. But if he has not been there himself, he can give us nothing!
P.S. I myself left this “organization” for a church where God is honored as God, Lord and King. I realized that there are many churches where true faith, hope, and love are preached, where money for needs is earned, not begged, squeezed, or wheedled.
To those who have ended up in such an organization, my advice: leave (!!!), do not despair or doubt; God exists and He loves you! “…seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you; for everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
May the Lord have mercy on us all!
Write, I will answer everyone: [email protected]
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