Anyone know this Preacher or EX Preacher

[KWSS1976]

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/0...sts/?hpt=hp_t2

[RandyWayne]

Interesting.

I wish it would have given his actual previous denomination rather than just "Pentecostal".

I've gone through a similar crisis of faith but Christian apologetics helped keep me grounded. Those same apologetics have also allowed me to questions many things I've been taught and told not to question or "you may as well just throw the whole book out!".

[acerrak]

he is a ex united pentacostal preacher he was a assistant pastor to 2 upci's

Jerry DeWitt realized he was an atheist after more than 25 years of Pentecostal ministry in his home state of Louisiana. His ministry experience begin at the early age of 17 and included evangelizing across the U.S. and being the assistant pastor of two United Pentecostal churches and one Apostolic church. During his dilemma with doubt Jerry ultimately held the senior pastorate of two very unique congregations, one charismatic dominionist and the other non-denominational fundamentalist.

poor guy " i feel deeply for this man" after all those years you turn your back on the one who saved you..

any ways you never hear about athiest that become christians on the news... so lopsided

[CC1]

I agree this is a very sad situation. It blows my mind that someone who ministered for so many years could end up an unbeliever.

Many preachers fail but almost all do not renounce God as they recognize the failure is in themselves. I have a feeling there is a lot of stuff going on in his personal life involved with this seismic shift in belief.

If you ministered for 25 years and enjoyed the presence and blessings of God that much how could you all of a sudden declare there is no God?

[AreYouReady?]

From the article:
“The next big issue was the failure of prayer,” DeWitt said. “People are passing away, whenever we pray for them to live. People aren’t getting jobs, whenever we pray for them to have jobs.
“The harder we tried to alleviate suffering within our church, it seemed like the worse things got,” he said. “It didn’t seem like prayer made any difference. It just continually crushed my heart.”


What was lacking here was not *prayer*...but faith that God would provide.
James 1:6-7

From the article:
Many congregants were less charitable. “Some people where he lives just totally turned their backs on him,” Davis said. “He was ostracized, excommunicated. It is like he has a disease, but he doesn’t.”

I feel for this man. Perhaps maybe a remnant of the people above will show him love, mercy and kindness.

[TGBTG]

Originally Posted by acerrak

poor guy " i feel deeply for this man" after all those years you turn your back on the one who saved you..

Maybe he never had a relationship with the Lord? I can't see how someone who was saved genuinely will want to leave the Lord. It don't even make sense to me.
I came to the Lord in my adult years, and I can say with ALL CONFIDENCE, Jesus is the best thing that happend to me.
Brother, when the Holy Ghost came into my life, well, let's just say LIFE began for me...

Originally Posted by acerrak

any ways you never hear about athiest that become christians on the news... so lopsided

Very true...

[Amanah]

I wonder if this happened to him:

2 Thessalonians 2
English Standard Version (ESV)

The Man of Lawlessness
2 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,[a] 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness[b] is revealed, the son of destruction,[c] 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

[RandyWayne]

Perhaps he was told just one (or ten) too many lies, which once found out, can cause someone to question almost everything else -I know it happened to me.

We have another fascinating thread going on next door about Bin Laden's wives as just one example. I know I know.... It hardly seems worth losing your faith over, but when you start piling manure upon excrement, at some point it can all come crashing down. Combine lies with the "name it and claim" it view on prayer (which caused ME to believe I was praying into a void after a while) and it is actually easy to see how this can happen.

[TGBTG]

Originally Posted by RandyWayne

Perhaps he was told just one (or ten) too many lies, which once found out, can cause someone to question almost everything else -I know it happened to me.

We have another fascinating thread going on next door about Bin Laden's wives as just one example. I know I know.... It hardly seems worth losing your faith over, but when you start piling manure upon excrement, at some point it can all come crashing down. Combine lies with the "name it and claim" it view on prayer (which caused ME to believe I was praying into a void after a while) and it is actually easy to see how this can happen.

Very valid point...However, a living relationship with the Lord goes beyond having FAITH in what people have said. It is having faith in the person of Jesus Christ. That's where the difference is in. That saving faith in Jesus Christ will LEAD to a real genuine experience with the RISEN Lord.

Paul even speaks to this effect:
1 Cor 2
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a bunch of made up stories, and preachers should NEVER make up stories (or repeat unverified stories) so as to make people believe as if they can help people believe in God through made up stories.

Jesus even said "No man can COME to me EXCEPT my Father draws him..."

We are to preach the Cross of Christ. The power in the cross to set the sinner free from slavery to sin. The resurrection of Christ that makes a sinner JUSTIFIED in the sight of God.
When we preach that message (which is foolishness to the world), the potential believer is left to judge the message...and see the power of God in action upon belief.

Rom 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (NOT a bunch of stories and jokes as too many preachers do today on their pulpits): for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

[AreYouReady?]

We have so many pov's concerning scripture interpretation...and the many millions of people who declare their interpretation to be the only true interpretation.

It's easy to become discouraged...especially when believers cast you away like trash when you do not agree with their belief.

Perhaps it is best to just believe in the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ and pray for ourselves about the non issue baggage that comes with the various denominations?