The Passion Conference is a youth-aimed conference founded in 1995-1997 by Louie and Shelley Giglio. It is held in Atlanta and has a huge following online with tis social media, livestreamed conference, and in-person attendance. There is a split-off conference also in South Africa. The demographic Passion aims to reach is age 18-25, and both young men and women are invited. It is held annually in January. This year’s conference, like most of the previous ones, is sold out. The venue this year is the State Farm Arena which has a capacity of about 19000. There are two dates for the conference, January 2-4 and January 6-8 with different musicians and speakers at each. It regularly sells out, and has sold out for 2025. In the past the conference has been held at the Mercedes Benz arena which holds 71,000.
The conference creates an atmosphere that young people enjoy, which includes lots of glitz, music more rock and roll oriented, light shows, and speakers younger people are familiar with- whether the speaker is a true teacher or false.
Here are some bullet points for why the Passion Conference is one to avoid:
1. False Teachers. The conference features false teachers. This year Jackie Hill Perry is speaking, JHP has admitted she receives visions and instructions from the Lord directly. In the past speakers have been IF:Gathering founder Jennie Allen who also admitted she directly hears from God, Beth Moore, same with the visions and voices from God, David Platt, Kim Walker-Smith of Bethel, Priscilla Shirer, Christine Caine, and others equally as false.
2. Women preachers. Passion Conference platforms women preachers. There is a co-ed audience, with men attending. Women are not to preach to men says 1 Timothy 2:12. (Essay here explaining the scripture).
3. False Doctrine. Passion conference introduces false doctrine in the speeches and in the music, to tens of thousands of youths and sends them back to their local churches carrying these evil seeds. For one example, most notably in the Passion 2012 conference, Beth Moore, Francis Chan, and John Piper performed a version of the Catholic practice of Lectio Divina. See link at end for more on this.
One of Passion’s subsidiaries is Passion Equip, a series of study lessons [led by false teachers], a resource from the Passion movement including tracks, devotionals, messages, articles, podcasts, and scripture study that interested youths may engage in. Again, one’s own pastor is supposed to be the cornerstone of teaching these youths.
4. Manipulative. Passion relies on atmosphere to manipulate youths into spending buckets of money in attempts to cure social ills and perform social justice, such as helping the homeless and ending human trafficking. Passion states that “Since 2007, believing worship + justice are two sides of the same coin.” Thus they promote the social justice gospel. More info here on what the social gospel is.
source as above
5. Divisive. For all the speakers’ talk of “community” the Passion conferences do much to divide it. They forbid parents, senior pastors, elders, and older siblings from attending with the youth. Only the person bringing the youth are allowed to buy a ticket and accompany them. See screen shots of both the 2013 verbiage and the current conference for proof. Passion Conference has always striven to separate youth from the more solid adults in their life.
Church community is a community of people from all ages. Yet the Passion people go on and on about “this generation.” There is so much emphasis on “this generation” but in fact it looks like Passion strives to separate them from the herd. For example, there is Passion Camp where “Middle and high school students gather together for four days of worship, teaching and community. Not to mention, four fun days on the shores of Daytona Beach!“, [MIDDLE schoolers!] We should be suspicious of any organization that aims to separate people from each other, like Passion, Chrysalis weekends for 15-18 year olds, The Walk to Emmaus/The Great Banquet/Tres Dias AKA Cursillo which separates husbands from wives who must attend over different weekends.
6. It’s an industry, not just a conference. Some have called the Passion Industry a “commercialized money grabber.” Here are the subsidiaries: –Passion City Church: A church with locations in Atlanta, Cumberland, Trilith, and Washington D.C. –sixstepsrecords: A music label that represents many prominent contemporary Christian musicians –Passion Publishing: A publishing company –Passion Global Institute: An institute founded by Louie Giglio –Passion Conferences, LLC –Passion Resources –Passion Productions, Inc.
7. Lofty mantras that distract from the local church’s teaching. The Passion devotees are told repeatedly they are part of “a global awakening”, “a movement” for “this generation”. (and they ARE devotees, some youths attend year after year.) What about the other generations? Children? Elders? Isn’t Christianity a global movement already? Being brainwashed into thinking ‘this generation’ is special or different reduces the reality for them to be faithful week after week in their local church, where nothing spectacular seems to happen, unless you count the point of it all, conversions and baptisms. But those pale in comparison to the emotional high of being with tens of thousands of adrenaline-fueled like-minded youths in a music drenched arena being told they are part of something global and meaningful. These youths are not being discipled. They are being infected.
Do you see the magnitude of the problem? All these tens of thousands of youths being given false doctrine by false teachers and a false gospel.
This conference does much to divide the church by capitalizing on a natural youthful zeal and diverts their attention from quiet submission in service to a local church. This co-opting of their zeal to solve a cultural or social ill is not biblical. It sets them up for disappointment.
Hey y’all! I attended Passion a few days ago and I have a lot of mixed feelings. Initially I went with hopes of finding my encounter and connection with God & my faith. Instead I left more confused than ever. I did some research on two speakers and quickly found out they are controversial, for lack of better words. I did research on them because their message was just off putting so I wanted to learn more about them.
The worship music was great. I think during that time was when I felt most in touch and truly felt the Lord. But in a way it all felt so fake? I don’t know how to explain it. It just didn’t sit very well.
In the end I don’t think I was able to find my connection with God. I still feel lost. And I know I shouldn’t hold that against Passion per say but everyone kept telling “you will feel His presence there” and I simply did not. It baffled me that they let these people with heinous backgrounds stand up there and speak to a community when they’re the ones that should be doing some self reflecting as well. It just makes you wonder, how much of this is real and how much of this is all just for show/money?
I will keep holding onto His Word but nowadays it seems as if everyone picks and chooses what they want to preach about.
Am I reading too much into it? Is this just the world blinding me to keep living in sin? I long for that connection with God and I am having so much trouble finding Him. Edit: for context I am still young (21F) and still on my journey regarding my faith. I am so thankful for yalls input and kind words!
Avoid Passion Conferences and all their spokes on their commercialized wheel. Pray, study scriptures with your elder or mentor or parent, attend church faithfully, strive to live out your biblical values in your school or work place, then repeat. For that is the walk of the Christian.
I wrote this 6 years ago. My concerns have not diminished since that time. In fact, I added one more at the end.
Christians today have many opportunities to attend any conference of one’s choosing. Might I say a plethora of choices?
There’s conferences for men. T4G. Sing! MLK50. TGC West Coast. G3. Cutting It Straight. ShepCon. LigCon. Right Now.
There’s conferences for youth. Passion. Urbana18. RiseUp. GraceLife Youth conference. Salt & Light. Momentum. Ignite. KingdomYouth.
There’s conferences for women (mostly false). Living Proof Conference. Unwrap the Bible. IF:Gathering. The Word Alive. Women of Joy. Love Life by Joyce Meyer Ministries. Women of the Word. Women of Purpose. Extraordinary Women.
There’s conferences for (mostly) false teachers and (mostly) false Christians. Bethel Conference. Catalyst Conference. Amplify. Charisma.
Of course there are many more. And many more on other continents. Conferences (and their simulcasts) are a thriving cottage industry in the global church. And of course each conference has its own claims of how good and necessary it is for you, the pastor/man/woman/youth/church planter/missionary/any demographic to attend. Some high falutin’ promises here-
The Outreach Summit is unlike any other church leader conference. Only at The Summit will you meet and hear from the pastors of the most innovative and fastest growing churches in America.
The Gateway Conference desires to share practical wisdom for cultivating real growth by …
MinCon quickly gained the reputation as a conference of excellence, offering an incredible hands-on experience at an affordable price for teams and churches all across the Pacific NW.
Catalyst West is a 2-day conference to help leaders like you build great churches, grow strong teams, and be a catalyst for change”
We’ve gathered some of the nation’s best leaders to share their wisdom with you. (Small Town Pastor’s Conference has a list of leaders different from the other conference sharing wisdom with you…)
We’ve gathered some of the nation’s best leaders to share their wisdom with you. (Right Now Conference has different speakers than the other conference sharing wisdom with you…)
We hope that during your time with us, you will be able to relax, build new relationships, and leave more excited about this calling than ever before.
When you discover how to leverage your talents as an entrepreneur, leader, or pastor, you cultivate a more meaningful impact in your business or leadership endeavors. (This was a PASTOR’s conference…not a Google or Amazon business practice gathering, believe it or not)
Some of the ones I read sound like a business model more fitting for Google or AT&T than a church.
Is it too much of a good thing? Is it possible that there are too many conferences that, mixed with the good ones, the bad ones draw away congregants and introduce false notions? Can even the good ones be potentially problematic? I believe so. Though there are many good conferences, I believe the time has come to be more discriminating and skeptical of what today’s Christian conference is offering and the dangers of the ‘conference circuit’ for speakers. Please bear with me as I share some thoughts on why many conferences can be dangerous to one’s spiritual health.
1. False confessions
A few years ago as I followed David Platt taking the reins of the International Mission Board as President in August 2014. Known for his dedication to missions, Platt was to speak at the annual Student Missions Conference at Urbana in St. Louis MO in December 2015 (as he usually does each year.) The conference is aimed at college students. Curious, I tuned in. The conference’s own language describes it as a “catalytic event” in a “sacred space”. A catalytic event means they want to use the speeches, emotional reactions from music, and teenage momentum to get attendees to DO something in missions. The conference is the catalyst for that. It’s their aim.
Though the conference is not aimed at non-Christians because it’s a mission oriented event and not an evangelistic conference, the organizers acknowledge that non-believers do attend. Therefore at the conclusion of the main event, speakers put out a Gospel call to make a decision for Christ. At Urbana 15, Mr Platt asked attendees who had “decided for Christ” to raise their glowsticks and wave them. It was later stated that 681 students did.
Is this how people come to the cross and enter the kingdom? By responding to a one-hour lecture and deciding, and waving a glowstick? Perhaps the Spirit did use the event to regenerate some, but in high-emotional and religious-pressured environments, at events where youths are separated from parents and other adults, is a concoction rife with potential for false conversions. I had a hard time believing that 681 people were converted at once, though @UrbanaMissions claimed 681 were by calling them new Christians. The same thing happens at the youth-aimed Passion conference. Photos, and more explanation about Urbana 15’s decisional regeneration and pronouncement of new believers, here.
2. False Doctrine
At far too many conferences lay the potential to propagate false doctrine. Churches are supposed to be tightly closed. There are membership standards, behavioral expectations, stringent qualifications for leaders, and biblical discipline. In the best of worlds, that is how it’s supposed to work. Because it used to be hard for satan to get into the pulpit, satan develops ways to get around that. The Sunday School curriculum, the Children’s Ministry leader, the book clubs for woman, the church library, parachurches. And now in modern times, with travel so easy – conferences. I don’t think I need to use many specifics here, you know what I’m talking about.
The ridiculous conferences are easy enough to spot, and even the solid ones have a hard time maintaining the gate these days, as the issue with Grace To You/Grace Community Church & TGC West Coast recently showed us. Executive Director of GTY, Phil Johnson, said of the of GCC Elders’ decision to bow out of hosting TGC West Coast’s “Enduring Faithfulness” conference was ultimately that,
Some of the seminars featured points of view or speakers that stand in stark opposition to what we teach at Grace Church and Grace to You. Other seminars seemed merely to miss the point of “enduring faithfulness” entirely, and some were also arguably tangential to any core gospel truths. We felt the seminars collectively failed to convey what is most necessary for cultivating true, steadfast faith.
3. Too Many Speakers to Vet
In the past, conferences used to feature just a few well-known speakers. By “well-known” I don’t mean celebrity pastors, but faithful pastors who have endured long and have a proven track record as to their doctrine. Nowadays, some conferences feature up to 200 speakers. While you could look up the keynote speakers to check, though that in itself is time consuming as the roster of keynote speakers grows, it is impossible to “vet” all the speakers of breakout sessions. So when one of the members of your church attends a breakout session, it could be led by someone who is teaching an unbiblical doctrine, or one that your church does not hold. As a matter of fact, given the times we live in and the methods satan uses, this is likely. In fact, this was one of the reasons that Grace Community Church elders decided to bow out of hosting The Gospel Coalition West Coast Conference. Though they had trust in the keynote speakers, a number of other speakers were added afterwards. As Phil Johnson explains, this was problematic.
Some of the seminars featured points of view or speakers that stand in stark opposition to what we teach at Grace Church and Grace to You.
Below on the left, a screenshot of the recent MLK50 conference speaker lineup, on the right, The Gospel Coalition West Coast Conference this coming October 2018. How is a parent/husband/discerning person supposed to vet all of them? Can’t.
4. Many Conferences Feature Stretched Complementarian Boundaries
One of the most hotly contested areas of doctrine in church culture (and secular culture) today is the role of women. The correct biblical stance is that women are not to be teachers of men, leaders over men, or pastors in the local church. They are not to have authority over men. (1 Timothy 2:12). However, women can teach children, or other women, or in a home setting as Priscilla did with Aquila. This tiny bit of leeway has given satan an inch, and he has taken it by a mile. I’ve noticed over the recent years how many women are now speakers at mixed-gender conferences. Young women at that.
5. We are being made merchandise of
2 Peter 2:3 says that the false teachers will exploit the believers and make merchandise of us. Barnes’ Notes says,
Make merchandise of you – Treat you not as rational beings but as a bale of goods, or any other article of traffic. That is, they would endeavor to make money out of them, and regard them only as fitted to promote that object.
There are conferences that have a goal to teach well, and to serve hard. Shepherds’ Conference is one that I know of. But too often the case is the opposite. There is a reason many conferences’ blurbs sound like an entrepreneurial business advertisement- because they are a business. The larger the conference gets the more the organizers have to recoup money from renting the venue, paying accommodations and travel expenses, or the like. The false teachers flock there to flog their book, sell their latest book. Tee shirts, trinkets and more is all for sale.
I attended one conference where the food vendors inside the arena were selling food at fantastical prices. Simple game day type food like pizza and hot dogs were for sale at high prices. Perhaps the organizer had nothing to do with this and could not prevent it, but the atmosphere left one feeling, well, exploited. We had just arrived after a long drive, had no time to go anywhere else for food, and the conference was about to start. We were trapped and had no alternative but to pay the demanded prices.
Just as the money changers at the Temple began as a good idea, soon filthy lucre made its way into the courtyard and what started as a service soon became exploitation. It is no different now.
I think conferences can be great. Pastors can gather with other pastors and be refreshed. The ebullience of youth can accomplish much when properly directed. Woman believers, many of whom are stay-at-home moms, can collect with other women and be edified.
However there are dangers to be considered. When believers are away from their home church, especially youths and women, satan can enter in more easily. Remember what happens to the limping gazelle in all the wildlife programs. Separated out from the herd, they are vulnerable. (1 Peter 5:8).
An additional danger is that the speakers who ‘go on the circuit’ are also vulnerable, maybe even more so than the layman. Constant time apart from church home, family, too many temptations on the road and less accountability from people who know him or her can lead to devastating consequences for the Speaker. And wouldn’t satan just gloat when that happens?
False doctrine spread by false teachers or unknown or unvetted teachers can be propagated in their lectures or their books. These seeds of evil can be brought home and planted in the home church. Boundaries can be stretched, poor models of lifestyle presented, discontent sown. Please consider carefully when desiring to attend a large conference. Many are good. But of late, they can more often be an entrepreneurial business opportunity for the organizers, and you their potential merchandise … or spiritual target.
Note: Podcast episode cuts off mid sentence, I forgot to check the 30 min time limit.. But it’s close enough to the end I let it stay.
Me: I wasn’t going to write about it but now I can’t seem NOT to write about it.
Observer: How could you have negative thoughts on an event that brought thousands youth in one place to hear about Jesus, pray, confess, and be baptized?! Are you crazy? Or just a Pharisee?
Me: Neither, but let’s unroll this and see what you think afterward.
On April 3, an event called UniteUS was held in the city of Athens GA at Stegeman Coliseum. It attracted college kids, thousands of them, to hear preaching and music from the Passion music group (Passion as in the Passion Conferences). False teacher Jennie Allen had been invited to preach. There was also preaching from JP Pokluda. Afterwards hundreds of kids were invited down the aisle to decide for Jesus, and many others sought baptism, which was accommodated by bringing the kids to a parking lot stationed with pickup trucks filled with water.
Jennie Allen baptizing youths in a truck.
Observer: Why do you say Jennie is false? She founded IF:Gathering for heaven’s sake, a globally successful parachurch ministry!
Me: Jennie is false because her catalyst for founding her parachurch IF:Gathering was based on a direct revelation. In her words, “a voice from the sky” ordered her to “gather and equip this generation”. (Too bad for past and coming generations, I guess?) Sadly, Jennie’s IF movement preaches a twisted hermeneutic, models an unbiblical lifestyle, and is saturated with a Gospel of doubt: their tagline says ‘IF God exists, then what?’
Me: I agree Allen’s speech about social media is a good topic. But it’s not a sermon and it’s not the Gospel. And, yes He can do anything with anyone. He did with Saul/Paul the murdering Pharisee. But why did the demon possessed slave girl who was speaking something true, aggravate Paul so much? (Acts 16:17-18). Why didn’t he let her continue following and hollering? Because God doesn’t need truth to come from lying lips and rebels.
To continue- The UniteUS event organizers’ About page state they have 3 goals for their events,
SALVATION For non-believers to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel in a welcoming environment. Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9
FREEDOM For believers to know and experience true freedom from sin and burdens on their hearts. Galatians 5:1
COMMUNITY For students to find community and discipleship through connection to local ministries and the local church. Ephesians 4:1-6.
Me: Beth Moore started as a motivational speaker. And look how that turned out. I’d love to know what the organizers mean by saying the Gospel will be given in an environment that’s “welcoming”. Past history shows that usually means the potency of sin is overlooked or diminished and the dire necessity of confession and repentance is whitewashed.
The Founder of UniteUS is Tonya Prewitt, wife of Auburn University Basketball Coach Chad Prewitt. “After hearing students stories about battles with anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and addiction, Prewitt said she felt like she needed something to help.” (Source)
Indeed, University of Georgia students have had a difficult time this spring semester, with a suicide of a popular boy, and the killing of girl near the campus. Crime in general is up in the city. The world’s social and emotional pressures are tremendous upon youths more than ever before.
They do need our support and guidance. But not en masse preaching from a female rebel and an emotional approach to resolving life’s difficulties. Jesus is not a patch ‘to help’ people overcome emotional depression.
I’ve written before about the Passion Conference (and also here) which bans adults from attending and manipulates kids with emotional music;
and the
Urbana Conferences, where hundreds heard David Platt speak and at the end he had them repeat a prayer, and the youths signaled their profession of newfound faith (which speakers affirmed) with a glow stick.
In an interview about the Florida State University event held this past February, the local UniteUs organizer concluded, “They came forward in droves tonight to trust Jesus.”
The problem at these youth-aimed conferences is with decisional regeneration.It seems that UniteUS is in the same vein. “Choosing to follow” or “deciding for Christ” or “inviting Jesus in” have become synonymous with the supernatural act of Godly justification. They’re not the same thing.
And now here’s another ‘movement’ or ‘revival’ as Prewitt calls it (remember the Asbury Revival on another college campus?). Prewitt’s ultimate goal with this movement is “to unite the nation.”
Observer: What beef do you have with women in ministry? Are you a misogynist or something?
Me: The Bible calls women to keep her sphere to the family if possible, to the local church, and to resist stepping out in leadership. Why is it that women who are moms and wives are not content to persist in ministering to their family or locals, but must be founders of massive movements with lofty goals like ‘unite the nation’, or ‘disciple this generation‘ or be ‘a woman who leads and believes you were made to lead‘? Whatever happened to ‘Be a mom’?
Prewitt has said, “When your faith is strong and you trust God to do big things. Big things are going to happen and we’ve just seen that” [at Auburn’s UniteUS event]”
Why is it that these non-Titus ladies desire “big things” like large platforms but not the REAL big things like, a child’s justification…a strong, beautiful marriage modeling mutual submission, a prayerful devotional at home…honoring elderly parents… why do the “big things” always seem to mean to these non-Titus ladies, high profile and filled arenas?
Let’s take a look at UniteUS founder Tonya Prewitt:
“My husband was probably as far from God as you could be and it’s like when we met I knew he was supposed to be my husband…”
God has said not to yoke with unbelievers. What was she doing with dating a person who she admits was so far from God? If he was unsaved he was not “supposed to be” a husband to a believer. (2 Corinthians 6:14)
Later, Prewitt said Chad would not go to church but he would go to a concert, so she took him to a Christian Concert where they did an altar call at the end. Chad went forward and decided for Christ. “It changed his life and he went in full on with God.” So THAT’S where she gets the idea that mass decisional regeneration events are acceptable ways to convert.
Oh, I should have waited a second, because she says exactly that in the next video frame:
“Even what happened at Auburn is almost a correlation of what we saw with him [Chad], in that you you can take somebody as far going as him, but an event like that can sometimes be an encounter that changes someone’s lives for eternity.”
In an interview, Tonya Prewitt named herself as “a mom and a spiritual mom” when describing her former ministry to young girls on campus. Initially counseling 5 young women though discipling and prayer, something the Bible applauds and expects of older women, within one year she founded a multi-state organization and now adds to her named jobs of mom and spiritual mom, “Incorporator and Director of a non-profit business entity in the State of Alabama.”
UNITEUS is an Alabama Domestic Non-Profit Corporation filed on November 16, 2023. The company’s filing status is listed as Exists and its File Number is 001-108-449. Source Alabama Secretary of State.
Yet the Bible says we are told to live quietly, “encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” (Titus 2:4b-5).
Did you know that ‘God’ gave Tonya a vision for revival and for thousands of youths filling arenas?
In another interview, she said “God gave me a vision ahead of time of what was to come and I’ll tell you this; I have a vision for what’s coming even greater than what we witnessed on September 12th. Nationally… globally… something so big that is coming it’s going to hit our college campuses.” (Source)
“I saw the students gathered, I saw the worship, but I didn’t see the baptisms that were coming. It was really cool because God didn’t show me the full vision. I could have messed that up and gotten in the way of it” (source).
Yes, because puny humans who are given direct revelation from God are powerful enough to thwart His plans. Oy.
Apparently Tonya is not only a biblical visionary but a prophetess too:
“About a year before Unite took place, we were sitting in small group one night and I just stood up and I looked at the girls and I said ‘Something so big is coming a year from now and you’re going to be part of it.’ What’s coming? and my co-leader said ‘What’s coming?’ and I said ‘I don’t know all I can tell you is something so big is coming. I feel it.” (Source).
“God could and only the spirit of God could draw all of these students into this Arena.” (Source)
Observer: See?! And it came true. Ha.
Me: No, Satan draws them too. Not “only” God. Just because the event worked out like she wanted it to does not mean necessarily it is of God. In fact, the numbers are usually small when it comes to a real move of God. Noah’s 7. Lot and 2 daughters. The crowds left Jesus and would not follow any more. (John 6:66). Only 5 were at the cross with Jesus when He died.
Prewitt said she emphasizes getting plugged into a local church, so “we had every campus ministry, every local church represented at our event so students could go to the back into the Concourse and get plugged in to a church.” (Source)
Hm, including the Auburn Catholic Campus Ministry, the college ministry of St. Michael the Archangel Parish? And the Adventist Christian Fellowship Auburn Chapter of the 7th Day Adventist Church? And the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on College Avenue? Those campus ministries and local churches also had a table on the Concourse kids could sign onto?
Observer: They have the right approach, for sure.
Students at UniteUS at Florida State U, Feb 15, 2024
Me: Well…not so fast. First, I wonder HOW the organization links thousands of bouncing, burbling, emotionally high students with local churches on the spot before they wander off. Secondly, this approach has not been too successful in the past. Some Parachurches like Walk to Emmaus/Chrysalis compete with local churches to deliberately draw away congregants, or like IF:Gathering, they become a sort of substitute church all on their own.
Also, remember Billy Graham Crusades? You might be too young. But Graham was a global itinerant preacher who gathered hundreds of thousands to huge arenas and preached. He called people forward at the end of his sermons where endless choruses of the song Just As I am played, to make a decision for Christ (language never in the Bible). Counselors were stationed at the bottom to counsel seekers who flooded down by the hundreds. Except, Graham had Jewish rabbis and Catholic priests there to counsel folks back to their own ‘church’ where they’d be returned in the same state of non-belief they were in before.
It should be noted that Cecil Andrews said in his video called, “The Man and His Message” about Billy Graham’s Crusades, “I know of a number of men who do door-to-door work in Northern Ireland. They constantly come across people whose view is ‘Oh I made a decision at a Billy Graham Crusade, but I don’t go to church now. I haven’t gone for years.’ But yet somehow or other they’re relying on this emotional response they made 30 or 40 years ago. Yet they would have gone down as one of the people who went forward as an ‘Inquirer’ and they would be viewed rightly or wrongly by others as fruit.”
Sadly, it’s reported at a recent UniteUS crusade, that:
“We ended up having hundreds of students walk forward to receive salvation,” Denning said. “And then almost 300 students got baptized in our Westcott Fountain, in the front of our campus.” (Source).
So it’s the same all over again. The way is NARROW. It’s a turnstile, not a mass event.
This turnstile only takes one at a time. It is exclusive from the start. It is intensely personal. You can’t be born into it. You can’t join the church and sort of be swept in with the crowd. It is intensely personal. It is intensely individual. It is you and you alone. All our life prior to coming through that gate we ran with the crowd, but when we came through the gate we came alone. Many others have come, but they came alone. Salvation is an individual miracle. You don’t go through a turnstile in groups. You go through by yourself.” John MacArthur, on the Narrow Gate sermon “The Way to Heaven.”
I’m suspicious of conferences aimed at youth. I feel protective of children and youth, and college students are children. These mass conferences tend to be filled with false teachers, false gospels, emotionalism, and affirming declarations of faith in an instant rather than careful scrutiny and waiting to see if actual fruit develops. I’ve written about this before-
Tonya Prewitt, who claims visions from God and utters prophecies in the midst of a gathering, who states she served formerly as a Youth Pastor and as a Deacon, discontent with ministering to 5 and now wants 5000, who hires Jennie Allen to preach; lacks discernment and should NOT be organizing events for thousands of emotionally worn, spiritually floundering youth.
While I admire Tonya Prewitt’s desire for youth to have comfort in their life difficulties, putting forward a goal of “uniting the US” is not what the Bible calls women to do.
Observer: You’re just a Negative Nellie Debbie Downer, aren’t you? You have a critical spirit!
Me: I always bring things back to the Bible. Women are to be tending the home, at home, raising the children if the Lord gave any to her, ministering to the husband as helpmeet, and doing good in the community. (Proverbs 31, Titus 2, Genesis 2:18, Proverbs 29:15, 1 Timothy 5:14). She should have a reputation for local good works and again, be primarily oriented for the home.
Nothing in the Bible shows women gallivanting off to found revival movements to unite the entire world. Not even the unique time of the first century church. Lydia hosted gatherings in her home. Dorcas didn’t run off from region to region gathering women into the Areopagus or Solomon’s portico to “change their lives.” She sewed garments for the poor. Do we hear of Mary Magdalene (allegedly the first evangelist?) after the moment at the tomb? (John 20:18). No. Not one mention after that. No Billy Graham-like Crusades for her.
Observer: You gave me a lot to think about. I’ll read some of the links you posted. I still think you don’t have to throw cold water on everything. Maybe some of those kids were actually saved.
Me: Maybe some were. And maybe a lot more weren’t but THINK they were, which is worse. The name of Jesus is the most important name in the universe and salvation is the most important event ever. We must be careful and see if these things are so. Always look at the founder’s testimony and lifestyle, and also see what she says, not just what she does. Compare to the Bible. If she claims direct revelation, utters extra-biblical prophecies, or lives a lifestyle the Bible doesn’t allow for her point in life, avoid her and her ministry.
The Good News is available in any church, THE welcoming place Jesus established for people to confess, repent, and be saved. THE place to discuss a growing conviction of sin and sort out what it all means, in the quietude of a conversation with a knowledgeable, wise believer or pastor. What an eternal shame it would be for these college kids to grow up, relying on their emotional response they made 30 or 40 years ago when they face the Lord Jesus on Judgment day, only to discover Matthew 7:21 applied to them
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
I wrote recently about Women on the Speaking Circuit and used the example of Jackie Hill Perry, Beth Moore, Diana Stone, Priscilla Shirer, Jennie Allen…
Women who have children at home but gallivant all over the world speaking to audiences of unknown women are doing their role a disservice. The children suffer. The husband suffers. Their church suffers from her absence and suffers from the lack of her ministrations to the younger women IN her life. Why teach women 1000 miles away when there are women who would benefit from her teaching, presence, hospitality, and example 2 feet away down the pew?
Woman are biblically urged to be at home, tend to their home, abide in their home, and perform duties oriented to the home. The Proverbs 31 woman did all she did FOR the home, which is biblically her sphere.
For women who start out and then their ministry gets big and known, there is a tipping point. When I ran my newspaper business it was all about sustainability, repeatability, and scalability. Can I personally sustain this? What are my limits in energy, time, and talent? Can I repeat this over and over day in day out, year after year? Is my business scalable?
“Scalability refers to a business or other entity’s capacity to grow to meet increased demand“, says Investopedia. Can I meet demand on this ministry without having a negative effect on my home and life’s sphere?
There is usually a tipping point where the ministry (and usually it’s a corporation) gets big and the woman who founded it needs to re-evaluate her goals and realistically decide what to do next. It has been my contention that the above named women, and others, made the wrong choice. They invested themselves in their growing ministry, which inevitably took them away from their Godly role at home and church, and they became celebrities, with all that entails, which is usually negative.
The temptation of fame, or money, or even ‘good’ intentions such as ‘serving women’ or ‘serving Jesus’ were too much and they grew their ministry into a parachurch that took their time, attention, and energy away from the place where Jesus said it should be: HOME.
I was at a point like that a while ago. I’m not famous or anything, but I did start to receive requests to come speak. Idaho, New England, North Carolina, further afield in Georgia, different places. I declined them at first because I am still working full time and the dates were during the school year. But it made me think. I do like speaking and teaching. That’s my profession after all. My educational niche is Literacy, bringing text to children and helping them understand it. Doing that with THE text, the Bible, would be great. And to be honest, it’s flattering to get requests and to be ‘in demand’. (Pride, thou art sneaky…)
But no. After prayer and thought, I spoke with my elders and worked through the issue. I finally decided that my role is home, not to grow a ministry to the point where I need to incorporate, develop contracts, and travel away from home and church. Even if I never said another word or wrote another essay, just being IN the pew every week, present and visible, is a ministry.
I’d thought is there not one women I can help here, in my sphere? In church? Of course. Then why go help other women?
I do have a burden for the women I’d named above, and others, watching the negative effect being absent from home had on their families. Watching the temptations of celebrity chip away at their core. How ambition and energy used to sustain a growing ministry impacts them, and sometimes, even their message.
Many of these ministries and conferences become their own parachurch. While laudatory in many cases, some of these organizations increasingly draw women away from their home church, infuse them with false doctrine, and re-seed them back to their church to infect it.
I’ve written about my concern over these gallivanting women, and these growing ministries/conferences/parachurches founded by women, several times.
These are just a few of the essays I’ve written on the topic over the years. You can see I am truly burdened about it.
It’s why I admire and applaud Brooke Bartz, founder of the online global conference Open Hearts in a Closed World. She founded her conference in 2020. There have been 4 annual conferences- ’20, 21, 22, and 2023. It grew rapidly, soon hosting world class speakers and musicians. It quickly was partnered with American Gospel TV and The Master’s University.
This year she fulfilled her goal of moving the conference under the ministerial shepherding of her church elders. She never wanted the conference to become its own parachurch. She wanted to remain submitted, focused on her own sphere. It takes a strong Spirit-filled woman to abandon celebrity. To stick to her goal of NOT allowing the event to grow to the point where one’s identity and dare we say, celebrity, are attached. Here is part of her announcement:
The rest of her statement is at the link above. I loved this part, “in my sphere of influence”. Ladies, our sphere of influence is not the world stage. It is not jetting to this country or that state to impart biblical knowledge, outside of one’s own church and out from under authority of a husband, elder, pastor, or male-led board.
Brooke brought glory to the Lord with the teaching and now more glory by handing it over to the men!
Frankly, I’ve never seen a growing ladies’ ministry be handed over to the men at its tipping point. I’m sure it’s happened out of public view? Perhaps. But this was public, firm, and Godly. I rejoice with Brooke in having a full heart and seeing this wonderful example.
We need to be content where God has placed us, which is the home…church….perhaps a job (if single or other circumstances dictate). We really are not called to be celebrities, jetting in private jets with bodyguards, fielding interviews with globally famous news outlets, holding board meetings, negotiating speaking invitations and book contracts, when all the while the kids are at home eating takeout. The grandkids miss their gramma. Where her spot in the pew is empty. Where the husband is left to pick up wifely duties.
The Lord knows best and we thrive best at home. When we submit to that, He is pleased. Congratulations to Brooke and her husband, and her co-workers in Open Hearts in a Closed World for making such a fantastic decision.
Left, Brooke Bartz, founder of Open Hearts in a Closed World online conference. The conference will continue. It will not be live streamed but it will be videotaped, and available to watch on Youtube after the conference ends. It will be under the authority of Sola Bible Church and that is the Youtube channel one may watch the conference after it concludes this July, as well as the Open Hearts in a Closed World Youtube channel. May the women there be edified and the Lord of our souls be glorified.
Christians today have many opportunities to attend any conference of one’s choosing. Might I say a plethora of choices?
There’s conferences for men.
T4G. Sing! MLK50. TGC West Coast. G3. Cutting It Straight. ShepCon. LigCon. Right Now.
There’s conferences for youth.
Passion. Urbana18. RiseUp. GraceLife Youth conference. Salt & Light. Momentum. Ignite. KingdomYouth.
There’s conferences for women (mostly false).
Living Proof Conference. Unwrap the Bible. IF:Gathering. The Word Alive. Women of Joy. Love Life by Joyce Meyer Ministries. Women of the Word. Women of Purpose. Extraordinary Women.
There’s conferences for (mostly) false teachers and (mostly) false Christians.
Bethel Conference. Catalyst Conference. Amplify. Charisma.
Of course there are many more. And many more on other continents. Conferences (and their simulcasts) are a thriving cottage industry in the global church. And of course each conference has its own claims of how good and necessary it is for you, the pastor/man/woman/youth/church planter/missionary/any demographic to attend.
The Outreach Summit is unlike any other church leader conference. Only at The Summit will you meet and hear from the pastors of the most innovative and fastest growing churches in America.
The Gateway Conference desires to share practical wisdom for cultivating real growth by …
MinCon quickly gained the reputation as a conference of excellence, offering an incredible hands-on experience at an affordable price for teams and churches all across the Pacific NW.
Catalyst West is a 2-day conference to help leaders like you build great churches, grow strong teams, and be a catalyst for change
We’ve gathered some of the nation’s best leaders to share their wisdom with you. (Small Town Pastor’s Conference has a list of leaders different from the other conference sharing wisdom with you…)
We’ve gathered some of the nation’s best leaders to share their wisdom with you. (Right Now Conference has different speakers than the other conference sharing wisdom with you…)
We hope that during your time with us, you will be able to relax, build new relationships, and leave more excited about this calling than ever before.
When you discover how to leverage your talents as an entrepreneur, leader, or pastor, you cultivate a more meaningful impact in your business or leadership endeavors. (This was a PASTOR’s conference…not a Google or Amazon business practice gathering, believe it or not)
Some of the ones I read sound like a business model more fitting for Google or AT&T than a church.
Is it too much of a good thing? Is it possible that there are too many conferences that, mixed with the good ones, the bad ones draw away congregants and introduce false notions? Can even the good ones be potentially problematic? I believe so. Though there are many good conferences, I believe the time has come to be more discriminating and skeptical of what today’s Christian conference is offering. Please bear with me as I share some thoughts on why many conferences can be dangerous to one’s spiritual health.
1. False confessions
A few years ago as I followed David Platt taking the reins of the International Mission Board as President in August 2014. Known for his dedication to missions, Platt was to speak at the annual Student Missions Conference at Urbana in St. Louis MO in December 2015 (as he usually does each year.) The conference is aimed at college students. Curious, I tuned in. The conference’s own language describes it as a “catalytic event” in a “sacred space”. A catalytic event means they want to use the speeches, emotional reactions from music, and teenage momentum to get attendees to DO something in missions. The conference is the catalyst for that. It’s their aim.
Though the conference is not aimed at non-Christians because it’s a mission oriented event and not an evangelistic conference, the organizers acknowledge that non-believers do attend. Therefore at the conclusion of the main event, speakers put out a Gospel call to make a decision for Christ. At Urbana 15, Mr Platt asked attendees who had “decided for Christ” to raise their glowsticks and wave them. It was later stated that 681 students did.
Is this how people come to the cross and enter the kingdom? By responding to a one-hour lecture and deciding, and waving a glowstick? Perhaps the Spirit did use the event to regenerate some, but in high-emotional and religious-pressured environments, at events where youths are separated from parents and other adults, is a concoction rife with potential for false conversions. I had a hard time believing that 681 people were converted at once, though @UrbanaMissions claimed 681 were by calling them new Christians. The same thing happens at the youth-aimed Passion conference. Photos, and more explanation about Urbana 15’s decisional regeneration and pronouncement of new believers, here.
2. False Doctrine
At far too many conferences lay the potential to propagate false doctrine. Churches are supposed to be tightly closed. There are membership standards, behavioral expectations, stringent qualifications for leaders, and biblical discipline. In the best of worlds, that is how it’s supposed to work. Because it used to be hard for satan to get into the pulpit, satan develops ways to get around that. The Sunday School curriculum, the Children’s Ministry leader, the book clubs for woman, the church library, parachurches. And now in modern times, with travel so easy – conferences. I don’t think I need to use many specifics here, you know what I’m talking about.
The ridiculous conferences are easy enough to spot, and even the solid ones have a hard time maintaining the gate these days, as the issue with Grace To You/Grace Community Church & TGC West Coast recently showed us. Executive Director of GTY, Phil Johnson, said of the of GCC Elders’ decision to bow out of hosting TGC West Coast’s “Enduring Faithfulness” conference was ultimately that,
Some of the seminars featured points of view or speakers that stand in stark opposition to what we teach at Grace Church and Grace to You. Other seminars seemed merely to miss the point of “enduring faithfulness” entirely, and some were also arguably tangential to any core gospel truths. We felt the seminars collectively failed to convey what is most necessary for cultivating true, steadfast faith.
3. Too Many Speakers to Vet
In the past, conferences used to feature just a few well-known speakers. By “well-known” I don’t mean celebrity pastors, but faithful pastors who have endured long and have a proven track record as to their doctrine. Nowadays, some conferences feature up to 200 speakers. While you could look up the keynote speakers to check, though that in itself is time consuming as the roster of keynote speakers grows, it is impossible to “vet” all the speakers of breakout sessions. So when one of the members of your church attends a breakout session, it could be led by someone who is teaching an unbiblical doctrine, or one that your church does not hold. As a matter of fact, given the times we live in and the methods satan uses, this is likely. In fact, this was one of the reasons that Grace Community Church elders decided to bow out of hosting The Gospel Coalition West Coast Conference. Though they had trust in the keynote speakers, a number of other speakers were added afterwards. As Phil Johnson explains, this was problematic.
Some of the seminars featured points of view or speakers that stand in stark opposition to what we teach at Grace Church and Grace to You.
Below on the left, a screenshot of the recent MLK50 conference speaker lineup, on the right, The Gospel Coalition West Coast Conference this coming October 2018. How is a parent/husband/discerning person supposed to vet all of them? Can’t.
4. Many Conferences Feature Stretched Complementarian Boundaries
One of the most hotly contested areas of doctrine in church culture (and secular culture) today is the role of women. The correct biblical stance is that women are not to be teachers of men, leaders over men, or pastors in the local church. They are not to have authority over men. (1 Timothy 2:12). However, women can teach children, or other women, or in a home setting as Priscilla did with Aquila. This tiny bit of leeway has given satan an inch, and he has taken it by a mile. I’ve noticed over the recent years how many women are now speakers at mixed-gender conferences. Young women at that.
While women are permitted to discuss biblical theology in a mixed group setting such as a Sunday school class, women teaching children or other women (Titus 2), or in a private setting such as with Apollos’ instruction that was gleaned from meeting with Priscilla and Aquila—biblical teaching, when among the church as a whole or a mixed audience should be led by men. It seems clear that Paul was addressing an issue that was taking place in the life of the church and needed to be corrected.
When it comes to teaching men in our present day, we have the conference culture that often stretches these complementarian boundaries. This is a dangerous practice, since conferences are designed to strengthen the church and to in many ways model what the local church should be promoting in their local assemblies—ie., expository preaching, sound biblical theology, and other important, if not essential, practices. Therefore, to have women stand and open the Bible and teach a group of men in a conference setting is not beneficial to the Church represented in the conference from many different local churches. Such stretching of the boundaries is a common practice in our day and we should be cautious when we see women teachers invited to speak to a mixed audience.
5. We are being made merchandise of
2 Peter 2:3 says that the false teachers will exploit the believers and make merchandise of us. Barnes’ Notes says,
Make merchandise of you – Treat you not as rational beings but as a bale of goods, or any other article of traffic. That is, they would endeavor to make money out of them, and regard them only as fitted to promote that object.
There are conferences that have a goal to teach well, and to serve hard. Shepherds’ Conference is one that I know of. But too often the case is the opposite. There is a reason many conferences’ blurbs sound like an entrepreneurial business advertisement- because they are a business. The larger the conference gets the more the organizers have to recoup money from renting the venue, paying accommodations and travel expenses, or the like. The false teachers flock there to flog their book, sell their latest book. Tee shirts, trinkets and more is all for sale.
I attended one conference where the food vendors inside the arena were selling food at fantastical prices. Simple game day type food like pizza and hot dogs were for sale at high prices. Perhaps the organizer had nothing to do with this and could not prevent it, but the atmosphere left one feeling, well, exploited. We had just arrived after a long drive, had no time to go anywhere else for food, and the conference was about to start. We were trapped and had no alternative but to pay the demanded prices.
Just as the money changers at the Temple began as a good idea, soon filthy lucre made its way into the courtyard and what started as a service soon became exploitation. It is no different now.
I think conferences can be great. Pastors can gather with other pastors and be refreshed. The ebullience of youth can accomplish much when properly directed. Woman believers, many of whom are stay-at-home moms, can collect with other women and be edified.
However there are dangers to be considered. When believers are away from their home church, especially youths and women, satan can enter in more easily. Remember what happens to the limping gazelle in all the wildlife programs. Separated out from the herd, they are vulnerable. (1 Peter 5:8)
False doctrine spread by false teachers or unknown or unvetted teachers can be propagated in their lectures or their books. These seeds of evil can be brought home and planted in the home church. Boundaries can be stretched, poor models of lifestyle presented, discontent sown. Please consider carefully when desiring to attend a large conference. Many are good. But of late, they can more often be an entrepreneurial business opportunity for the organizers, and you their potential merchandise … or spiritual target.
Someone on Twitter asked if we could recommend any good women’s conferences centering on faithful Biblical exposition and an unrelenting love for the church. This was my reply:
Good conferences centering on faithful Biblical exposition &an unrelenting love for the church are any from MacArthur, G3, TMU’s Truth & Life conference, etc. I’m not an advocate of separate women’s conferences. Women need theology, so, “Conference”, not “Women’s conference” IMO.
Below is why I prefer men’s conferences, exactly this, as a reader alerted me to a few days after the Twitter inquiry-
The Dallas Seminary’s Women’s Leadership conference concluded a few days ago. Christine Caine as the keynote speaker makes me so sad, because she teaches things unworthy of Christ. Through this invitation, the Dallas Seminary gives Caine credibility. Think of how many women are negatively influenced and exposed to her, or even when they see the line-up of speakers on the website.
I looked up the Bios of the other women who were on the schedule at the Leadership conference. A pattern emerged.
Have you noticed this phrase very often? It’s become a constant to many women’s ministry bios and purpose statements.
Her mission in life is to equip and inspire women to reach their full potential in Christ.
It sounds good. “Full potential.” Who wouldn’t want to reach their full potential, especially “in Christ”? It sounds great. Here are some more Ministry purpose statements I found along those lines.
[This ministry] exists to serve the local church, leaders, organizations, and individuals by inspiring and helping them connect with their God-given potential and purpose.
[This ministry] believes in the passion, purpose, and potential of every woman everywhere.
[This Teacher] has committed her life to equipping women of all ages, regardless of marital status, with practical, biblical truth to help them live more genuine lives. I share this dream with some amazing friends… to gather and equip and unleash a generation of women.
According to these teachers in their ministry purpose statements, I can be genuine, reach my full potential, be ‘unleashed’ (because I’m shackled now, right?), find my purpose, and more. Sounds good.
Except it’s wrong. Ministry isn’t about me. It isn’t about my potential. It isn’t about my life. It isn’t about my purpose. We do ministry for an entirely different reason. A reason that has its focus not on ourselves, looking laterally. We look up.
My potential is this: as a sinner I have the utter and constant potential to sin. (Genesis 6:5). Sinners gossip, steal, covet, murder, lust, and more. That is what sinners do. It is what we have the “potential” for. As a believer, my potential is in Christ, and will be fully realized in Christ when He comes. When we are glorified our potential will be full, but not until then. As it is now, as long as we’re not raptured or dead and dwelling in heaven until the Day, we have the total potential to sin. More than potential, actually.
We have the Holy Spirit as a help and an aid to resist our sin-nature. The more we grow, the more we can resist sin through the Holy Spirit’s help. But we do sin. Paul remarked about that, and if there was any believer who had a shot at reaching his “full potential”, as Christine Caine puts it, it was him. Yet he still struggled with doing what he didn’t want to do, and didn’t do what he wanted.
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (Romans 7:15-20).
The kind of ministry purpose statements I read and quoted some above sound more like a fortune cookie than deeply committed evangelical purpose. It’s like that funny blog essay Challies did, ‘Joel Osteen or Fortune Cookie?’ Joel Osteen was selected as the unwitting target because he is well-known for issuing nebulous platitudes instead of firmly proclaiming the Word. We can play the same game. “Ministry Purpose Statement or Confucian saying?” Confucius was a Chinese philosopher who lived in around 500 BC. Here is an example:
The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.
It’s a Confucian saying, but if we add “in Christ” to the end it might well match any of the liberal Christian ministry purpose statements we find of the type I’m talking about.
I wish these ministries would have in their purpose statements and their leader bios, something like this:
“Helping women learn who Christ is through the study of His word.”
Or,
“Helping women to learn theology so we bring honor to Christ in our lives and deeds.”
Or,
“Women together studying the person, life, work, and ministry of Jesus Christ.”
Or,
“Studying His word so as to transform our minds and become more Christ-like.”
Or,
“Encouraging women to study God’s revelation to us through His written word.”
If you’re checking out a ministry online and see something like the me-statements mentioned above, promising full potential or unleashing or finding your purpose, beware. Alternately, just because a ministry puts up a solid-seeming purpose statement, it doesn’t mean they are necessarily solid. There’s this purpose statement for a famous ministry, which sounds fantastic:
[This ministry] is dedicated to encourage people to come to know and love Jesus Christ through the study of Scripture.
Sadly, the about statement of purpose is Beth Moore’s at Living Proof. Rather, her purpose statement should read:
This ministry is dedicated to encourage people to come to know and love Beth Moore through the study of my direct revelations, personal dreams, pop psychology, and funny anecdotes.”
So, just be aware of the language ministries use. If they claim to want to help you attain your full potential, it might be wise to say to yourself,
“No thanks, I want to study Christ while on earth, resist my potential, and wait for Him to fulfill it when I’m glorified.”
the-end-time.org 