Theologically Sound. Culturally Relevant.

Craig Groeschel

Is Craig Groeschel a false teacher?

Category 4

Verdict: Craig Groeschel has a demonstrable pattern of doing what will profit himself the most, including the strategic adoption of Cultural Marxism

Preface

At the request of one of our readers, we have been asked to investigate whether Craig Groeschel is a false teacher. You can make a request here, and we will honor it. It is a source of joy to be trusted in such a way. Part of what we want to do in our Discernment ministry is to go beyond the low hanging fruits and answer your questions about prominent teachers today.

Why he’s famous?

Craig Groeschel is the head of the largest church in America, Life.Church in Oklahoma. He is also one of the figures behind the Youversion Bible app and Bible.com. There is a certain omnipresence of his influence within Christianity, so therefore it is worth determining whether he is leading people astray or not.

Background

Craig Groeschel has a marketing degree from the City University of Oklahoma. In 1991 he was an associate pastor at a United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City. In 1995, he graduated from Phillip Theological Seminary, an apostate seminary.[1] In 1996, Craig Groeschel put his ideas to the test and started a church to reach the unchurched, a seeker-friendly church. The church that began in a garage would grow to be the largest in the nation.

From 2011 to 2019, Craig Groeschel was a board member for Gulfport Energy making over $200000 a year, despite no energy experience. Groeschel is also the author of several books. His net worth has been estimated as high as $477 million.[2]

Life Dot Church

Life.Church is the largest church in America, according to Wikipedia, and has roughly 100000 attendees and over 35 franchises. The church is a part of the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination. The statement of faith is not very technical and perhaps easy for the unbeliever to understand. Whereas the second largest megachurch in America has the Prosperity Gospel in its statement of faith, the only detected possible deviation is a lack of belief in Lordship Salvation, the belief that we accept Jesus and Lord and Savior, which thereby means that repentance is a core aspect of the conversion experience. Life.Church is one of the most tech-savvy churches there is. This may explain why Life.Church is exceeding anal about being named Life Dot Church.

Life.Church is the evidently silent on abortion. An investigation by the Abolish Human Abortion showed that they deterred pro-life activism within their small group system.[3]

Evangelical Covenant Church

The Evangelical Covenant Church is self-described as a reformation church. Indeed they appear as an offshoot of Lutheranism among Swedish immigrants to the United States. While the denomination is firm on human sexuality, showing willingness to remove ministers that perform the homosexual sacraments, the Evangelical Covenant Church has bought into Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality.

In 2008, the Evangelical Covenant Church adopted a resolution titled “Racial Righteousness.” This resolution adopted Critical Race Theory as a worldview. Perhaps the most egregious line in the resolution is its lament on evangelicals truncating the gospel:

For a season of our history we succumbed to a larger evangelical trend that truncated the gospel, limiting the good news to personal salvation at the expense of reaching out to our neighbor, allowing us to largely exempt ourselves from the struggle for racial justice and equality.

This is heretical, as it attacks the evangelical church for not adding social works to the gospel. In essence, it is saying that the gospel is insufficient.

In 2019, the same year where they were expelling homosexuality supporting members, they adopted a racist and Marxist resolution that invited “white members of the Covenant Ministerium to sign the public Relational Covenant below affirming one’s personal commitment to anti-racism and increased cultural competency.” The Relational Covenant is as follows contains bullet points such as:

  • Centering our public discourse on white experience
  • Failing to have skin in the game on the particular sins of racism and cultural supremacy that we as white clergy struggle with
  • Assuming we are prepared to deal with immigration, mass incarceration, racial reconciliation, and other expressions of injustice before dealing with our institutional racism
  • Taking up emotional space by centering our own pain
  • Protecting our own world view and failing to recognize its limits

This resolution is deeply rooted in Marxism and invites white ministers to become social justice warriors. It’s miraculous that a denomination that is this racist and Marxist has not bent on sexuality all that much.

The ECC is an egalitarian denomination and has been since the 1970’s.

Conclusion

The ECC’s trajectory shows reason to be concerned. It’s also worth noting that at some point Craig Groeschel sought out this denomination, though probably before they went woke on race. The ECC should be considered an apostate denomination on the basis that they have adopted Critical Race Theory, a branch of the Social Justice Gospel.

Egalitarianism

In the section above, it was noted that the ECC has been an egalitarian denomination since the 1970’s. Craig Groeschel is an egalitarian, in line with his denomination. They do have women pastors in their ranks.  

While Evangelical Dark Web does not automatically declare egalitarians to be false teachers, the adoption of this false practice is most often associated with the adoption of other false practices because one does not simply disobey Scripture on a single issue.

Is Craig Groeschel Woke?

With the ECC firmly planting itself as a Culturally Marxist denomination, it is then worth asking whether Craig Groeschel is also woke. At a minimum, his remainder in the ECC is demonstrable evidence of him being compromised, by this worldly ideology.

Criag Groeschel provides resources on how to deal with race. An article titled We Can Do Better to Stop Racism packages woke arguments at an elementary level. For example, this is a straw man fallacy used to combat “color-blindness.”

God isn’t color-blind. He sees color—that’s why He made it. For we are His masterpiece (Genesis 1:27, Ephesians 2:10) that He created on purpose as the ultimate Artist. If we tell a person of color that we are color-blind, we are saying something like, “I don’t see you, and God didn’t mean to do that.” Is that what we meant to say? Probably not, but it’s what came out. If you’ve said something like that, now is the best time to make a change. There’s always enough grace for all of us to take another step closer to Jesus.

The article makes reference to Criag Groeschel’s flagship sermon on race.

How to Neighbor Part 1 Races Reconciled – May 2nd 2016[4]

  • Claims he has a limited perspective on race. The implication being that because he is white he cannot understand race. This is a postmodernist ideal, in that his intersectionality (or lack thereof) denotes an inability to see truth.
  • Does not cite any data on race[5]. Evidence for his narrative is entirely reliant on unverifiable anecdotes.
  • Misrepresents the animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans as being entirely on race, in order to draw a modern parallel.
  • States that racism is not the presence of hatred but the absence of love. This is a “Christian” way to package the Marxist belief that “it’s not enough to just be not racist; you have to be antiracist.” Racism has always been defined as partiality on the basis of race. This includes both preferential treatment in favor and discriminatory treatment against on the basis of race. This supports the conclusion that Craig Groeschel has adopted the Cultural Marxist framework of Critical Race Theory. However, he is packaging it for a church audience, which is more strategic than other woke preachers.

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, on June 7th 2020, Craig Groeschel preached a sermon titled “Racism and the Responsibility of the Church.”[6]

  • Quotes Woke pastor Charlie Dates, who would later leave SBC over not embracing CRT openly enough. Charlie Dates would also be the same pastor that hosted Beth Moore to preach on a Sunday morning service.
  • In referring to George Floyd’s death, Groeschel claims that it’s not about police officers, it’s about all of us. The meaning here is that we (white people) are all implicated in the death of George Floyd. This accuses the audience of a sin they did not actually commit.
  • Craig Groeschel talks at length about his wife’s homeschool curriculum and how it incorporates many different perspectives. In bringing this up after talking about George Floyd (the context in which this is being talked about), it can be reasoned that Craig Groeschel is teaching his children standpoint theory, or Cultural Marxism as applied to literature. Applying standpoint theory to biblical interpretation, standpoint epistemology, means that in order to understand Scripture we would need to gather differing perspectives (race and gender) in order to get at the meaning. This is a heretical hermeneutical framework. And while it cannot be definitively proven that Groeschel is instilling his children with standpoint theory (and subsequently bragging about it), the context in which he brings this up is reason for suspicion.
  • Craig Groeschel claims that all people are God’s children. This is an incorrect categorization, as “child of God” refers to Christians only.
  • Sermon assumes racism which is a foundational premise of Critical Race Theory. It is a straw man to argue against those who say racism is not real. The disagreement is over whether racism occurs in a specific instance. And with George Floyd, there was insufficient evidence to say that racism had anything to do with his death at the time of this sermon.
  • Black lives matter is not just a statement. Authorial intent dictates that Black lives matter is not just a statement, it is a Marxist motto. In the same way Allahu Akbar is an Islamic motto, it is unwise for Christians to champion it because of the authorial intent of the statement. Even if we know that God is greater, to use the phrase legitimizes the idea that the Islam and Christianity worship the same deity.
  • Overall message is about listening to people, not searching for truth. The reason this is a dichotomy is because postmodernism values experience over objective truth.

Answer

There is sufficient evidence to conclude that Craig Groeschel is not only compromised to Cultural Marxism but is an active participant in its long march through the church. Given that he remains in a woke denomination and has delivered sermons with the assumption of postmodernism and Critical Race Theory, Craig Groeschel is woke. The implications of this are enough to warrant a Category 4.

Theology Regarding Satan

In the next sermon after “Racism and the Responsibility of the Church” he gave a sermon titled “Stop the Division – God, Help Us Unite.” It was delivered June 14, 2020.[7] This sermon raised questionable beliefs on Satan.

  • Equates national division with division in the church.
  • States that we have one enemy: Satan. This is false. We have earthly enemies. Satan is not nearly as powerful as God. He is not omnipotent and cannot be in more than one place. This is a dualistic theology he is preaching that ignores actual enemies before us.
    • “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10
    • Hold them guilty, O God;
      By their own devices let them fall!
      In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out,
      For they are rebellious against You. – Psalm 5:10
    • Arise, O Lord, confront him, bring him low;
      Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword, Psalm 17:13
    • “We should pray that our enemies be converted and become our friends and, if not, that their doing and designing be bound to fail and have no success and that their persons perish rather than the Gospel and the kingdom of Christ” – Martin Luther
  • Naively thinks that the world could think highly of the church.

The elevation of Satan comes from a dualistic worldview, where God and Satan are remotely comparable. Moreover, Craig Groeschel’s views on Satan presupposes that human nature is good, and we are unwilling to do evil without the trickery of Satan. This denies total depravity. Furthermore, treating Satan as our only enemy provides much cover for those who do his bidding inside and outside the church.

Associations with False Teachers

Being a celebrity Pastor and founder of LifeChurch.tv, Craig Groeschel has been around the conference circuit headlining with many other notable figures. Groeschel is a returning headliner to the Catalyst Conference, a conference that is a part of the Emergent Church movement. This annual conference is a high-priced affair that gathers thousands of attendees. Frequent headliners at the Catalyst Conference include Andy Stanley, Brian Houston, and Jen Hatmaker. Craig Groeschel also headlined at the 2017 Hillsong Conference which featured Beth Moore. These are glaring red flags.

Prosperity Gospel Associations

In 2017, he headlined some sort of Prosperity Gospel conference with Steven Furtick, although this is a footnote on his ties to Furtick. But the list is far more vast. In 2016, he was on a panel with Joel Osteen at a conference hosted by Lakewood Church.[8] We also found a sermon that he preached at Prosperity Gospel preacher Michael Todd’s Transformation Church dated November 2019. On TD Jakes website, you can purchase what appears to be a conference lecture by Craig Groschel for $9.99.

Read our white paper on the Prosperity Gospel and why its heretical

Other Critiques

Generally speaking, Craig Groeschel uses eisegesis, like any motivational speaker that claims Christianity. Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian has done several sermon reviews ripping Craig Groeschel’s preaching. This is not a good teacher of Scripture, no matter how much bad teaching is masked in provocative style.

We did not perform an exhaustive survey of his preaching.

Conclusions

Craig Groeschel is a celebrity pastor and acts accordingly to maintain his own celebrity. It seems there is no speaking gig he will turn down, provided they pay, and no pastor he won’t associate with except maybe Paula White. He continues to write several books while maintaining his megachurch. He acts as though he is in this for the money, and his marketing background is exceedingly influential in his ecclesiology. The carnal Steven Furtick was greatly influenced by Groeschel.

In operating the church like a corporation, Craig Groeschel has likewise adopted Critical Theory as corporate America is fond of doing. Yet, in sharp contrast to many who have foolishly gone along with the Social Justice Gospel, Craig Groeschel is strategically proselytizing his audience with these beliefs. Given his heretical denomination and strategic proselytizing, it should be concluded that Craig Groeschel is a woke Marxist, and not just someone going along with this cultural trend.

The influence of Craig Groeschel is incredibly vast including the one of the most popular bible apps, in addition to the largest church in America. But, it is clear, Life Dot Church did not become the largest church in America by preaching the gospel. From a marketing background to a highly dubious theological background, the formula is set for at best, almost true and at worst a deviant gospel from what the Scriptures tell. Tickling ears and trying to profit are definite patterns one can gather from his sermons, books, and speaking engagements at events that promote false gospels and false teachers. This is the fruit of one who does not know Christ, especially given the prominence of his ministry.

Updated 08/2021 to include Evangelical Dark Web video on covered material.

Updated 03/03/2021 to include evidence of Cultural Marxism, evidence of questionable theology on Satan, additional evidence proving the adoption of heresy within the ECC, elaboration on Groeschel’s egalitarianism.

Updated 04/2020 to include our Prosperity Gospel white paper


[1] You can get your Masters of Arts in Social Justice there.

[2] We cannot verify the methodology of this 2017 estimate, but this research is where we found the Gulfstream info. Although this came off as strange, we were able to verify that a pastor was on the board of an energy company. This information made the other estimates between $100000-$1000000 impossible. It is important to also note that his salary as a pastor is unknown.

[3] YouTube AHA on the phone with LifeChurch.TV 2013 6:00

https://youtu.be/A4nLo0Rq6Ew

[4] https://youtu.be/ooNR-FDBDJE
Criticisms of the sermon are in bullet points in order of appearance

[5] This trend remains consistent in Life Dot Church materials

[6] Racism and the Responsibility of The Church https://youtu.be/kc7H7DYWMhI

[7] “Stop the Division – God, Help Us Unite.” https://youtu.be/kc7H7DYWMhI

[8] At this point we should point out our methodology in finding this information. We found a persistent pattern with Craig Groeschel associating with obvious false teachers, so we decided to search Craig Groeschel with a false teacher’s name in DuckDuckGo.

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43 Responses

    1. Yes He Is… in support of the facts presented here I suggest an additional and substantive alt view also centered on clear biblical principals but from a different and more pointed perspective.

      Aside from the below link which may have to be copied and pasted into a browser, the self evident reactions of Life.Church supporters here and their failure to successfully refute the facts presented above speaks for itself.

      Furthermore, their malicious attacks on the presenter rather than refuting facts, is, in and of itself, a clear and ineffective form of gaslighting which serves to also expose the destructive tactics employed by Life.Church followers to silence those that may speak the truth about the false teachings they have and are being exposed to.

      These tactics are not in the preview of scriptural Christianity. Rather they fall squarely within the repeated descriptions of behaviors found only in the enemies of the Cross and Christ.

      Expressions found here in the comments suggest a religious system that is filled with the oppressed and captives of sin. It is satan which our adversary and devils are the accusers of Gods faithful. Adversarial and accusatorial rhetoric presented by Life.Church supporters also speaks for itself.

      The evidence presented by these supporters of Life.Church only help to perfect an image of those who have yet to be delivered from the oppression of Satan. For they truly are oppressed by the devil.

      None have presented the peace or liberty known only to the redeemed of the Lamb.

      Be warned, for Satan appears as an angel of light most often quoting the scriptures as so to deceive even the very elect of God, if such a thing were possible, only to lead them captive into utter darkness and eternal despair.

      https://www.thepathoftruth.com/false-teachers/craig-groeschel.htm

  1. Just wanted to offer a correction. Craig attended and graduated from Oklahoma City University, in OKC, OK.

  2. Complete ignorance. You speak as a pharisee bent on rules and religion. You have not a clue the way God has used Life.Church to equip thousands of churches with FREE resources. That bible app the “greedy” pastor Craig is part responsible for developing is 100% free and has been downloaded by millions. Especially in countries of those who are unable to hear the gospel. Speaking of, Life.Church has been central to the ending of bible poverty. Translating the bible in to language it has never been translated. to People like you are so focused on ridiculing and critiquing that you loose sight of all that Jesus has called us to. Not to condemn or judge, but to love and serve. Craig does not Just preach a prosperity gospel, but one that is true and Christ centered. I pray that God would forgive you and that your focus would switch from an obsession with judgement on others to an obsession to know the truth and to lead others not away from Christ but towards him.

    1. Let’s break down your arguement:

      1. Craig Groeschel’s works

      In this you argue that because Craig Groeshel and life dot church have done all of these amazing projects to support bible literacy worldwide, then he must be a true teacher. I will refer you to Matthew 7:21-23 which destroys the principle of your argument. Furthermore, you argue under the assumption as though if Craig Groeschel did not exist then none of these advancements would have been made. This is a ridiculous premise as he is not the only Bible app in town nor translator. This is just as fallacious as saying because Hillsong and Bethel Redding produce a bunch of mainstream worship music, then they must be true teachers.

      2. General condemnation of discernment

      This is a common argument of dissenter but necessitates that you ignore whole epistles in the New Testament warning about false teachers.

      3. Craig Groschel does not preach the prosperity gospel

      This is your best argument but it simply doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. He associates with countless prosperity preachers. The names mentioned here are not exhaustive. He is all over the speaker circuit which in many cases is just a grift. Many of these conferences have even more obvious false teachers. There is a demonstrable pattern of behavior that indicates financial motive. We could also get into him being a primary influencer of Steve Furtick who is all about the Prosperity Gospel. How much more obvious does it need be?

      1. 2 Timothy 2 23:24

        I will not waste my time arguing with you about this. As followers of Christ we are called to unite to lead one another to Christ. It is not Craig Groeschel or Life.Church that have lead thousand to Christ. It is God who has used them in extraordinary ways. Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Every day, because of the free resources, the bible app, the irrational generosity of this church and the way God has used it, many have come to accept Christ. Many who have been driven out from Churches where people like you preach judgement, sound theology, and legalism. We will do anything short of sin to reach those no one else is reaching. So we are going to do things that in they eyes of a traditional legalistic Christian like you can’t stand. You cannot deny that there has not been lives eternally saved since you have never been to this church or even seen the way God has used it.

        Matthew 5:14-16 ESV

        “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

        This church is a light and God has used it in incredible ways. My question for you is are you the light? Or the basket trying to impede on Christ’s light. You can push religion, rules, and judgement all you want, you will not interfere with what God is and will continue to do through this Church and many others. …Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

        1. It seems like the crucial difference here is that you seem to believe that people do the saving and I believe the Holy Spirit does the saving.

          1. Absolutely false. We can not save others and shouldn’t claim to save others, that would be blasphemy to claim such A thing. We are simply tools that God uses to build his kingdom. As I mentioned above God uses life church to lead people to Christ.

          2. Well said Ray. And it’s only the tip of what’s going on within the Life.Church org as is also spreading at an alarming with in Christendom.

            While the church does have much to atone for in all the various forms and denominations.

            Marxism and egalitarianism are not comparable with the Gospel of Christ.

      2. By the criteria you are basing your conclusions of who is a false teacher, if Christ were here today with his ministry, I think you might call Him a false teacher.

        1. Who he associates with.
        2. Teaching & preaching that goes against what many believed to be scriptural.
        3. Like you, the pharisees also used personal opinions of scripture to charge heresy & apostosy.

        We all are able to post scriptural references. And we all are subject to possible misuse of scripture. I find it very disturbing that as a mere mortal you would assume the responsibility of being the judge of false teachers.

        If you truly wanted to help people you would point out what scripture says & compare that to what is being taught. Letting individuals draw a conclusion after they hopefully would portray about it.

        The fact that you have decided who is a false teacher or not, leads me to believe you are just as narcissistic & questionable ad those who you would judge.

        1. If Christians were unequipped to determine who is a false teacher and what is a false gospel, then the church would never be an effective tool to preach the fulfill the Great Commission. Jesus preached woes against the Pharisees because they were false teachers, and their false teaching led many astray. The Bible warns in many instances of false teachers. Your argument is illogical and deeply unchristian.

          1. So your whole reply is summed up within the last sentence.

            “Your argument is illogical and deeply unchristian.”

            It is disheartening that you are so willing to jump to and pass judgment so willingly. As you have done to others, I am only pointing out some of your opinions might be questionable. I pointed out that by your own criteria you might also have judged Jesus as a false teacher. That is an opinion. I however did not and will not pass judgment on you. That my friend is a right that only God is allowed.

          2. You seem to have an infantile understanding of Matthew 7. And according your understanding, you are also in violation by your statement: “That is an opinion. I however did not and will not pass judgment on you.” Might I point you to a dictionary definition of the word “opinion”

            a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter
            https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opinion

            Judgement is opinion. So you to are passing judgement, but you are hypocritical in doing so, not realizing how misapplied Matthew 7 is according to an infantile misunderstanding of the text.

          3. After doing a little more research, I pray that God give you wisdom as you grow up. Yes I said grow up. You clearly have a passion to see God’s word spread to the multitudes. I hope your delivery becomes more tempered by Christ as you continue in life.

            Ray, you do not have intimate wisdom. Nobody on earth does. Whether it be on this website, YouTube or Twitter, you come across as somewhat arrogant. I say that because to think that you were somehow given the role to pass judgement on people is arrogant. Some would probably add, “at your young age.”

            I just finished a prayer that God grant you humility. I think you could really be a voice for spreading God’s word. I pray that you will always remain open to the idea of learning and gaining new insights into the Word.

            May God bless you in your endeavors.

          4. In my last reply, the first sentence of paragraph two autocorrected. It should have read, “Ray, you do not have infinate wisdom.” I always try to proofread my comments before posting, I don’t catch every mistake I make.

            May God bless you.

          5. I believe your attempting to cereate a narrative that simply skirts the facts demonstrated by the action of your great leader.

            That is the mixing of Marxist and Egalitarianism with the Gospel of Christ.

            The scriptures exhort the believer to expose such false teachers to make it clear that are not of God or His Christ.

            Marketing and deceptive techniques like the gas lighting you and a few others are attempting to use to a valid the facts is typical of what many do when caught and exposed for doing what is rank and misguided solely for personal profit.

            Gaslighting maybe effective to distract but it never changes the facts which it attempts to change and confuse.

    2. I’m sure you believe what you say. However, your unable to support these beliefs with facts. Moreover, what you do state makes you seem like a cult member that has more faith in the person rather than scripture or Christ.

      The association with the Emergent Church is a huge red flag as is the associations with many high profile prosperity ministers. Funny how the person at the top of such churches are the one that prosper the most.

      Marxism is evident in the overall message. But, while that might be difficult for you to accept I’m sure it’s because you haven’t really look at Marxism in any meaningful way.

      And…just a note on “Judging”. You’ve been very misled if you think we are not permitted to make clear and consequential judgments. When people point the the scriptures they rarely state the entire section where such things are said it include, “but when you judge, judge a righteous judgment”.

      Judge NOT, ever, anyone, anywhere, for any reason would mean we should go along with everything we see in the world no matter how Antichrist or destructive it might be.

      According to your statements, homosexuals should be permitted to administer the sacraments because you have NO right to judge them…but your grand leader ejected them from the church. A bit hypocritical don’t you think one two counts, 1st being your own statements and 2nd being that if homosexuals were installed in ministry positions and then later removed…it violates your own stated militant non judgement standard and the Love standard you claim is do important.

      A final observation on your comments is even more egregious in that while espousing such high standards of love and non judgement you have no hesitation to attack the writer of this article in a malicious and unloving manner. It reads much like an emotional, condemning rant in defense of your leader.

      There are no such rants in the NT defending Jesus of Nazareth.

    3. Yes… gaslighting. Attacking the person that exposes an ugly truth. Put them on the defensive by accusing them of the very thing they’ve exposed. GASLIGHTING.

      Did Christ teach you how to do that?

      The error of this technique is that it always fails to assess the actual facts being uncovered.

      Did you forget to offer the irrefutable proof that the facts disclosed herin are false or somehow misleading… nooooo.

      Kill the messenger with false accusations and by creating a New narrative. Bravo ! But is old, been done too many times now.

      No one is buying into your loud and accusatorial remarks that completely fail to disprove anything that been exposed about your Marxist demigod.

  3. So “traditional” Christians are all pharisees , legalistic, judgmental, etc? How do you know? What troubles me is this person eschews “sound theology”. He is totally missing the point in my view. What we are saying is “pay attention to what God, through the Scriptures is actually saying and what He actually meant”. How does that make us uncaring as this person accuses believers (like myself) of? Doing “anything short of sin” to communicate the Gospel is a troubling thought.I don’t see that as an example of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ anywhere in Scripture. In too many churches what that actually means is “do anything to make the Gospel and Jesus less offensive.”

    1. Ironic, you say life church will do anything to make the gospel and Jesus less offensive, yet there are so many legalistic and traditional christians like yourself and Ray, who are offended by the GOSPEL Life church preaches. Thats contradictory. Are there not several instances when Jesus did things that were radical and out of the norm for the religious elite of the time. Such as healing on the sabbath or Hanging around sinners. Many of the things Jesus did were viewed as disgraceful and outside of the law. Yet Jesus did not sin. Despite the criticism of the Pharisees and the religious elite Jesus continued to serve, love, and share the good news, that he has come to fulfill the law and free us from the bondage of sin.

      In the same way we will do anything short of sin to reach those yet to be reached, those whom have been ostracized and pushed out by some traditional churches preaching judgement and religion.

      Is homosexuality a sin? yes
      Is abortion wrong? Yes
      If we truly serve Jesus will life be easy? Absolutely not

      You are right sound theology is very important. With so many attending life church it would be detrimental if these believers heard a false gospel or skewed scripture. Fortunately this is not the case. I have attended life church for over 10 years now and have always thoroughly studied the scriptures. Not once have I heard a false gospel, or a lack of “sound theology”.

      As i have already said, God has used Craig Groeschel and Life church in extraordinary ways that have led to thousands accepting Christ, millions having free access to a bible translated in their native language, thousands of churches with 100% free access to our online platform and resources, millions of people who are unable to attend church whether it be for health reasons or because Christianity is illegal in their home country can now be apart of a Church that welcomes them and loves.

      We will do anything short of sin to reach those who do not know Christ. Our primary focus is not to judge and critique whether or not people use “sound theology” it is to lead broken people to eternity just as Jesus did.

      1. Hayden…
        Thank you for your defense of Life Church and Pastor Craig…I’ve been watching for a few months and have been blessed…He always closes every sermon (so far that I’ve seen) with an altar call and sinners prayer…as someone who struggles with same sex attraction first time I saw him I couldnt watch but I listened and was blessed…I prayed and asked for guidance, does He want me to continue watching…next time I put him on…I saw him as an anointed man of God, and not just a “slab of meat”
        He’s kinda corny but thats what makes him endearing…So far I have not heard him say anything outta line and have been truly blessed by his messages…I’ve had many (too many) bad experiences with “Ignorant, narrow minded, sin sniffing, finger pointing, bible thumping, judgement spewing homophobic bigots”
        aka people who report to be christians, that keep me away from church…so I rely on men of God like Pastor Craig to help me get through my trials until I feel safe enough to start attending church again…

        1. Thanks for sharing Buzzy, I thank God for your story and that you have been able to find a church that has loved you and welcomed you.
          The truth is a sin is a sin. The sins and temptations I struggle with are no better or worse than yours. What is important is that we are loved and supported through our struggles. God has also used Life.Church and Craig to change my life and serve others as Christ has served. You should consider physically attendIng and getting connected to a life group. It is through life groups that I have been able to find community and a group of people who have or once faced similar temptations as me and they can hold me accountable!

        2. Ok, your attempt at being supportive and affirming of Craig Groeschels efforts actually reads exactly like a guide on how to start and effective cult.

          Timid, fearful, weak and dependent on someone you don’t even know are NOT fruits of or evidence of the presence of the HOLY SPIRIT.

          Religion has indeed made the gospel message difficult to grasp. In fact, it is true that most involved in ministry have no idea what they are speaking of when it comes to the Gospel.

          Rather, most have once again turned the New Covenant into to Old. Imposing rules and regulations that suffocate millions and once again bring the into bondage to The Law and condemnation.

          Sin… you sin and my sin is singular. It’s a systemic refusal to acknowledge or denial of Our Heavenly Fathers authority and power, Unfailing character and love for us.

          Sins, the plural, which you speak of is but the evidence of our core Sin, failing to Trust The Lord God.

          Sin in its entirety and the laws that expose that sin and rightly condemn the “sinner”…have all been nailed to the cross along with all of its ordinances.

          In Christ, there is NO condemnation.

          Whatever you have come to believe at the feet of Craig Groeschel is a lie and your words bare witness to that fact.

          God has not give us the spirit of fear or timidity but of power and of love and of a sound mind!

          Of course, that Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Whatever bondage we may struggle with it is only God, the blood of Christ and the power, presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit that will break every chain that the enemy has used to Subjugate us.

          You state you struggle with “same sex attraction”. I don’t know your situation or your history, but Jesus does. If there is anyway to overcome your struggle is will only be found in the power of the The Holy Spirit indwelling you bodily. For real. In an undeniable way that you know you are forgiven and strengthened, supported and loved by Christ whom has bought with with a price, His own blood !

          Accept his offer, be filled with the Holy Spirit, exit condemnation and rest in the goodness of God. It’s Gods love that leads us to repentance. And it’s His Holy Spirit occupying our very being that cast out fear and doubt.

          You struggle does not have to yours alone, The Lord of Host is anxious to do battle for you against all the works the enemy has brought against you.

          Your struggle is not a barrier to Gods love, acceptance or the cleansing power of the. Blood of Christ or even Gods desire to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

          That’s where your victory is. In Christ !
          If we were ever able to expel our sins and make ourselves right before God our Father, Jesus would never have had to come.

          Our sins mean little to God, not that His Grace is an opportunity to sin all the more… but rather as we draw closer to Christ in submission to His will… the yoke of bondage simply falls off if we remain in His presence.

          We all have some sin, anyone who says they don’t is a liar and the truth of God is not in them.

          Give God room to work…believe He can and is willing to step into our lives and do what we ourselves can not.

          Focus on Gods love and acceptance for you because of what Christ has done. Trust there is nothing that can separate us from the love that is God.

          It’s ok to stop focusing on what we do wrong in order to set our sights on Jesus and His very real presence with us.

          It is the work of God by the Blood of Christ and the very effective working of the Holy Spirit when dwelling within us that transforms us into the children of God, blameless and without spot in Gods sight.

          Forget what you think of yourself and your sins. Accept that God lives and accepts you just as you are. This is why Christ came that whosoever (yes even you with your struggle) will accept Him, shall not perish, but rather inherit eternal life.

          Inherit… we usually can only inherit things from our families. And that is exactly what God has offered us through Christ… adoption. To become a true blood son and daughter of the Most High God.

          Condemnation is the opposite of redemption.

          I’m sorry others have mislead you about the Gospel. But let me assure you of this, there is no sin greater than the blood of Christ. Even if you don’t conquer it in this life.

          The real sin is not trusting in Gods goodness, His Love, His desire for you and His rightful authority to remove the condemnation our sins deserve…because Jesus took them all upon Himself for you and I. In return for our acceptance of Christ the benefits of Christ righteousness are abundantly bestowed upon us ! As if we are as righteous as Christ Himself.

          It’s our obligation to remain right there. Giving up our attempts to be good all our efforts to get it right and succeed by laying it at the cross. In exchange for all that God has offered us in Christ.

          Yup, it does mean we deny ourselves. Our self hate, futile attempts to find satisfaction, seek validation and so on. Yes, we must deny all that, ourselves, pick up
          Our cross and follow the hated and despised criminal Jesus.

          But oh what a marvelous bounty of benefits we receive in return.

          You already seem tired of the struggle of tying to fix yourself. God has made a way for you. Give up. Surrender. Stop trying to be good… and accept the goodness of Gods own love.

          We and our own will is the only thing that stops us from receiving the greatest gift of all.

          The Lord never told anyone to get right, extinguish your sins and straighten up before you come to me.

          Nope, He asks us to come as we are. Our failures and rot is exactly what Christ came. He didn’t come from the righteous. Rather He came to save the sinner. And it is God Himself that cleanses us and makes us right.

          Sometimes it’s in an instant that The Lord delivers us from various struggles and sins. For for all of us sanctification is a life long process of learning to trust all that we’ve received.

          God isn’t asking you to fix yourself, He’s asking you to let Him come into you very being to help you overcome all the assaults of the enemy. If we are willing, He will do it !

      2. Well I agree that following Christ is no easy thing and life will indeed be difficult. But Craig Groeschel hardly suffers while personally holding 100’s of millions of $$$.

        I seriously question your statements. An average person with a Bible has little to no authority to discern doctrine, theology or dogma unless it’s so obviously anti Christian it would be without question.

        The material in the above article are accurate, and it’s clear none here have been able to dismiss or refute the vast majority of the facts presented.

        Craig Groeschel Is a very effective marketing expert and has managed to quash a great deal of accurate and revealing information related to his efforts and the underlying agenda used t build THE largest church in the states and possibly other places.

        Your comment are simple an extension of those marketing skills and effort. However, they aren’t as effective as you might think.

        Many watchdog associations have identified Craig Groeschel as rouge and as undermining sound Biblical principals in favor of promoting Marxist and socialist dogma.

        The insidious way in which Craig Groeschel Goes about this deception is reprehensible. Cloaking his real motives and message in soft tones and flowery words when getting to the real meat of warping the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

        Under the guise of caring and compassion to reach millions of unchurched (or better said, those who are uneducated in the scriptures and any formal theology…the most vulnerable infantile seekers) Groeschel is misleading millions not only for his own profit and benefit but also joining others to undermine the very core and foundation of the Church and all
        Of Christendom.

        Craig Groeschel Is far from a defender of the faith or even minister of the gospel. He is selling a destructive and self serving New Gospel based on his own political anti democratic philosophies.

        While you may be well intentioned, it is more than obvious that vague and misleading testimonies that fail to debunk the actual facts presented in this examination of Craig Groeschel is in itself a witness against him.

        Attempting to alter the facts to a glowing and supportive narrative that fails to address real facts is in reality an attempt at gaslighting anyone that might actually read this information and do further research and find the truth.

      3. Clearly salvation is NOT what people are being led to. Chris may claim that but I’m afraid without repentance there can be no forgiveness. What Chris is doing is accommodating whatever people do so they are comfortable. Except for homosexuals and possibly nonwhites.

        Wake up.

    2. Your comments are unclear as to whom and what you’re taking issue with. Are you put off by the writer or the con artist pretending to be a Christian while promoting Marxist values?????

      I can assure you of at least this “churches” like Life.Church and the Emergent Church do NOT make the gospel more accessible by clarifying the context or original meaning or intent of scripture.

      Personally, I have made every effort to actually disclose the original contexts and intent of scripture. The result was exactly as Christ stated it would be…”if they have done these things to me, what do you think they will do to you?” And when He said, “if the world has hated me, it will hate you too…”

      The real problem is that very few people (followers of Christ) make an effort to understand the scriptures for themselves. People may read the Bible but rarely do to obtain understanding as those Samar scriptures demand we all do.

      If we weren’t so lazy and dependent on others telling us what the scriptures mean, none of us would be so easily deceived.

  4. To be fair to Groeschel, he is not a prosperity preacher but he does endorse and associate with a number of false teachers from TBN/PTL Club. Also Groeschel’s influence of satellite churches raised some concerns from John MacArthur and Todd Friel who are not fond of Groeschel but say he is more qualified than the other seeker sensitive teachers who preach prosperity (Furtick/Carl Lentz/Perry Noble/Ed Young Jr/Andy Stanley etc).

    Also Life.Church seems more like a country club for suburban upper middle class families as there have been posts about people visiting a Life.Church campus and being shunned because they weren’t “beautiful” or “handsome” or drove a nice car.

    Groeschel also says it’s ok to go get drunk, do drugs, fornicate, the night before the “experience” and you won’t be judged.

    Groeschel’s churches are also very carnal and entertainment driven as the services feel like a rock concert as most of the songs played are from false churches like Hillsong and Jesus Culture from Bethel Church. Plus some of Groeschel’s churches play secular mainstream pop/rock/country western.

    Groeschel also has the “At the Movies” series in the summer where he takes props from mainstream films than shows a Hollywood movie clip and tries to mix it with scripture.

    1. I’ve been to three services over the last couple months as we had a couple families we knew that attend there. With this Covid issue going on I was more open to attend as they don’t Enforcmnt race mask use and social distance attendees rather then an “oxygen “ muzzle. I do not judge as they give a biblical message and sing worship songs that are not unlike any other Bible believing church. Although I am not a fan of the “concert “ type music entertainment or sitting among others just to watch a sermon on satellite television it never gave me the impression of false teachings or that they don’t make a positive impact on the community attending. I am still actively looking for a church that preaches the book Bible-all of it and not just the “comfortable “ stuff. Church is for sinners to be fed,to share outside and amongst others and to gather together to strengthen one another in the faith of Christ. Christian doesn’t mean flawless and doesn’t mean they don’t make the same human errors as non believers.
      I say all this as to heed my own advice to be quicker to love before judging. Find a place to worship ,grow,heal and share that works for you weather that at Life Church,at home listening or watching a message biblically driven , or at another venue. As long as your seeking the one true Creator and God then that is most important. Be blessed.
      Wayne

    2. Hummm…. most of that means little, in my opinion. What is a issue is the use of scripture as a means of conveying Marxist philosophies. Most people wouldn’t recognize them because they’ve never even spent one moment to review exactly what Marxism really is or how it’s presented.

      The Life.Church group does indeed use scriptures to support a Marxist agenda. Supporters accept it because it sound good and right. This only demonstrates the ignorance of history, communism And socialist tactics. After all, communists have seduced a huge portion of the world population into agreeing to be governed by it. (That wasn’t a misstatement.)

  5. Craig Groeschel. Or shall we call him dear Pastor Grossell.This explains why Gulfport Energy was DELISTED from the Nasdaq and has tanked every since. He left a stain of darkness and like every dark and devilsh person comes into something to destroy it.

  6. This whole site seems to elevate their own opinions and how the ministry of the Holy Spirit is at work. Seems like a dangerous precedent for people to spend time arguing. I happen to run across all this and I can say from the few pages I review that it lacks depth and understanding in the areas of compassion and grace with others. I noticed several instances where the author elevated their own ideology and theology above others who were sharing their own experiences. That alone is enough to make attempts to smear Rev. Groschel’s character appear petty.

  7. CRT is a scam, just like BLM is a scam. And scamming is evil. I’m sure plenty of people at his church gave to BLM, showing their gullibility. They’ll do anything just to avoid being called a racist, and that’s how the scam works. Works especially well on Christians! Most states don’t allow blm to operate in their jurisdiction, and Amazon quietly removed them from their charity platform.

    The gospel is sufficient, Christ is sufficient, and color blind. The Bible is clear on that.

    You struck a nerve Ray, good. The falling away comes first, so discernment ministries are vital in this time.

  8. Can someone also talk about John Piper and John Mccarthur being big church leaders and all the money they make and where that’s going? Atleast with life.church, there’s proper evidence of the work that they are doing with the money they have being good stewards but what about Mark Driscoll and all the other Calvinists (including the two mentioned above) defending and worshipping a human being all their life standing on a pulpit? It seems to me like anyone who doesn’t agree with calvinism is a false teacher or a false believer.

  9. After I heard Billy Graham say to Robert Schuler you dont have to call on the name of Jesus to be saved I suspect every Bible big shot can be of the devil

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