Discernment Resources

I have been researching a lot over the past year. Trying my best to discern what is biblical and what has other origins.

I have found some quality discernment ministers and some *cough* less quality discernment ministers over the course of my research. I would like to offer a couple of quality recommendations here for anyone who is in the process of deconstructing, reconstructing, or refining their faith, trying to discern biblical doctrines from the unbiblical.

There is a lot to be said about the topics I am covering in these blogs, especially concerning Charismatic doctrine and its origins. There are theological dominoes that are carefully set up and crash into each other to create the messy, confusing things we find in Charismatic churches. I’m not a full-time researcher and I don’t have tons of time to mine information. However, there are people who do.

The Messed Up Church. Steven Kozar is a thorough researcher (and an insanely talented artist, btw), and his website themessedupchurch.com, as well as his YouTube channel of the same name, are excellent resources on the doctrines and history of the Charismatic/ Pentecostal movement and its leaders. It is an excellent jumping off point for your further research. I would also note that he has a sense of humor about his videos that I personally appreciate.

Pirate Christian Radio. Pastor Chris Rosebrough and his program Fighting for the Faith can be found on YouTube, while there are also archives of Fighting for the Faith that go back to 2010 in podcast form. Rosebrough covers Charismatic doctrine as well as Progressive/ Emergent Christianity in his content. Rosebrough has a no nonsense attitude when it comes to doctrine and biblical fidelity, which I find refreshing in a time when it seems the most popular churches are heavy on fellowship and lax on theology. I would also note that if you like some cheeky humor added into the mix, you’ll find it here.

Justin Peters. Another really great resource is Justin Peters, and specifically his lecture series “Clouds Without Water’’. His website is justinpeters.org. Peters has an intriguing testimony of his own, and I encourage you to check out his website and read his testimony. If you want surgeon-like precision in looking at the Prosperity Gospel crew, you know, the guys and gals who can be found asking you for seed money on Christian television every week, look no further than this ministry.

I have found that people who do discernment ministry (and do it well) have a gift for taking a metaphorical scalpel to doctrine and helping to divide what is healthy from what is rotten. I am thankful for these people.

When you’ve been indoctrinated with a particular teaching(s), it is difficult to read the Bible without superimposing your held beliefs onto the scriptures. I have found this true in my own journey, especially being in Charismatic circles where it is personal revelation, good feelings, and confirmation from modern day prophets and apostles that support the doctrines being taught.

I am thankful for these ministries, which make the commandment to love the Lord with all your mind, a priority. I remember hearing that I was too intellectual to receive from the Holy Spirit when I attended a church that put emphasis on speaking in tongues. I never could do it, and the apparent reasoning was because I liked to think too much.

Here I am, back at it again with my brain. If you’re a thinker and find yourself reevaluating what you’ve been taught in church, I hope you know that you’re not alone. I hope that you’ll continue to research and study and use your mind to search out the scriptures and their meaning, apart from those who would try to bind up your brain in order to receive their doctrines.

God bless you. Keep learning.

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

Charles Spurgeon