Heretics, false prophets and false teachers

Wow, lately I've been increasingly hearing from other people that "this preacher is a heretic", "that guy is a false prophet", or "watch out, this person's teachings are dangerous" etc. Not only that, but I've been having people tell me that about people who I've been listening to their messages for more than 10 years...now I'm suddenly suppose to stop doing that because it's not "safe".

First off, thank you to all who are so concerned about my well-being.

Next. Here's a simple reminder that (1 Corinthians 13:9, NIV) "For we know in part and we prophesy in part," -see where I'm going with this? I believe that if we continue labeling good teachers, preachers, prophets, and even writers (no, i didn't forget you, John Shore) as heretics or false, we're gonna miss some very important messages for our times.

Not to say that false teachers/preachers/prophets don't exist, but remember way back when we were burning witches at the stake? Yeah, we're headed that way again.

So, just to add some validity to what I'm saying here, and ultimately it's me who has to judge these things for myself and not someone else, I've looked into some of the issues that have been circling around, and I'm happy to report back that you were all worried about me for nothing...

Rob Bell. Apparently, a heretic and false teacher for (most prominently) rhetorically speaking, questioning the virgin birth in his awesome book, Velvet Elvis (yeah, it's awesome and you should read it, regardless of what you've heard about Rob Bell). What critics with this stance seem to forget, is the paragraph right there on the same page, where he clearly affirms his belief in the virgin birth, along with other vital parts of the Christian faith.

Most of this criticism towards Rob Bell seems to be coming from Mark Driscoll, ironically a leader of a different church, and even in a different city in a different state, with the same name as Rob Bell's.. hmmmm... not to bash Driscoll, and I haven't really taken the time to listen to his teachings and research him, but it does kinda make me curious... I mean, it looks more like some kind of church-rivalry-thing going on here, and to be honest, if one has a problem with the other, they should be talking about this one-on-one, not talking to whole congregations about it...

Bob Jones. Ok, there's way too many accusations that I could ever post here, but even in one critic's own words concerning his prophesies "The accuracy of these revelations has proven to be extremely profound.", kinda makes me wonder how they then can still go on to label him a false prophet.

If there's any question about one of his prophesies, please keep 1 Corinthians 13:9 in mind while making a judgment call. I'm not defending him if he's wrong, but making sure that we all understand that we are humans and make mistakes. Even a prophet is human and imperfect like the rest of us. Yeas, there are also false prophets, but an easy way to see if one is, is to check how what he says lines up with scripture. It should also lead you closer to Christ. The fruit of Bob Jones' prophetic gift in my life is that he has led me closer to Christ and not away. True prophet.

Rick Joyner. I've pretty much heard the same kinda stuff that I hear about Bob Jones too. But, just for a little history, Rick Joyner's books and messages, and MorningStar Ministries have probably been the greatest influence on my faith within the last 15 years. If it weren't for these guys, I don't know where I'd be at... not likely still in a church...

Rick Joyner has had some of the most profound prophesies concerning the times we are in right now, and still has very accurate information as to what is going on in the church, as well as with our government right now, much unlike the media. I believe that the church will miss out on a lot of what God has to say to us concerning the times we're living in right now if we continue to just throw out anything he says because we've heard something bad about him.

John Shore. Accused of being a heretic for telling Christians to stop evangelizing, in his book, I'm OK - You're Not. Please read the book! He makes it very clear that the way Christians have been evangelizing in the past hasn't worked very well. He makes the great argument of how Christians will automatically fulfill the great commission by first fulfilling the great commandment. Read the book, if you don't get it, read it again. Not a heretic, but a really fun and smart author!

The list goes on.......at some point, I think that pretty much every teacher/preacher/prophet has been labeled a false teacher/preacher/prophet. We need to stop. Christians, the kingdom of God is at hand! Let's put aside or constant bickering and pointing of the finger and finally see Christ for who He is and not who He's not or who's not enough like Him. We can no longer afford to keep fighting each other while there's an enemy that we should all be fighting against in unity instead. We can do this.