For Alabama megachurch pastor Chris Hodges, July brought an abundance of headlines featuring his name. Church of The Highlands (COTH) is one of the largest megachurches in America, with over 20 locations throughout Alabama. COTH’s pastoral restoration center, called The Lodge, garnered recent scrutiny over whether sexually deviant pastors were being “restored” at the church’s facility, which is located on one of their campuses. This was mainly due to COTH previously having Micahn Carter on staff, who was accused of raping his former assistant, forcing him to resign in 2021. The timing coincided with the construction of the Lodge and questions surrounding allusions Hodges made in a sermon. Aside from the extravagance, this is the main reason the Lodge has attracted renewed scrutiny. The second major headline involved Hodges’s ARC (Association of Related Churches) allegedly orchestrating a takeover of Celebration Church in Jacksonville, FL.
With all these headlines, it becomes appropriate to survey the preaching of Chris Hodges, which is more important and impactful than lawsuits and media driven scandals. Given that Chris Hodges was a March 2020 verdict, periodic follow up is imperative, especially when combined with recent developments or headlines. Of late, he has been preaching a series on Daniel. In surveying a few of his sermons, this anecdote he deployed into his sermon was the most errant, heterodox statement uttered.
Beginning at the 31:50 minute mark of a sermon entitled, “The Marks of a Shifting Culture,” Hodges begins his anecdote which undergirds his point that believers ought to be standing for God. He opens with a critique of people focusing too much about what they ask of God before stating the following:
We know that God is for us. But have you ever had the thought that we should be for Him too? Like have you ever thought he needs us to stand and defend His honor and His name?
This hypothetical point goes on, but the basic errancy is that God does not require us to defend His honor. There is an expectation that His children will do so out of faithful obedience, but not a necessity. If anything, it is a privilege that believers get to “defend God’s honor.” Hodges failed to make this distinction in his hypothetical thought exercise. However, this shortcoming only leads into the really theologically errant statement.
This leads into his anecdote in which he stood for Gods honor. The story goes that he was playing golf with his buddy who brings along friends who do not at first know that he is a pastor. One of these men whom he was playing golf with had a proclivity for taking the Lord’s name in vain.
It’s not in my nature, honestly, to be confrontational. And I said, “Well, listen to me. If you’re gonna keep saying that, at least get it right, because God doesn’t damn. The devil does. So use his name, please.”
After a crowd reaction, in which there was applause and some laughter, he elaborates:
He doesn’t damn anything. He’s a blesser. Every good and perfect gift comes from God. You have—you are misrepresenting my heavenly Father, and I just don’t think…if you’re gonna say it, you use the right name.
On one hand, the self-admitted nonconfrontational Chris Hodges should be commended for confronting a man in his sinful invocation of the Lord’s name. Though he misstated the truth to a man who unlikely knew otherwise, it appeared to have a proper reaction from the man. It demonstrates the efficacy a simple rebuke has in correcting these behaviors.
However, Hodges does not acknowledge his misstatement, and in fact doubles down on this incomplete theology of God and an incorrect theology of Satan. God is not just a blesser, but also a righteous judge. Jeremiah 9:24 states, “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord” (KJV). At the Lord’s righteous judgment, He condemns man as is exhibited throughout Scripture. Hodges is fundamentally omitting a core attribute of God’s character while his words are dressed up with levity that might have congregants overlooking his actual words.
Second, Satan does not damn anyone. In fact, the authority to damn a soul rests solely in the hands of God. Ultimately, it is the Lord who sends souls to hell or redeems them. Satan’s power is extremely limited by comparison. For an accurate theology on Satan, hence the following:
This much, therefore, he has of himself, and his own iniquity, that he eagerly, and of set purpose, opposes God, aiming at those things which he deems most contrary to the will of God. But as God holds him bound and fettered by the curb of his power, he executes those things only for which permission has been given him, and thus, however unwilling, obeys his Creator, being forced, whenever he is required, to do him service.
John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion 1.14.17
Neither should one invoke the Lord’s name in vain nor substitute it for that of Satan. God does condemn people, both in this life and thereafter, with a final judgment to come. It is not Man’s place to invoke the Lord’s name in a flippant, condemnatory manner. Hodges both neglects the attributes of God as the righteous judge while attributing to Satan authority which is not his.
Other Criticisms
In surveying Hodges sermons, his style of preaching is all too ubiquitous within the American church and to its detriment. His setup might resemble that of Andy Stanley, except there is actually Scripture upon the screen. His style is reliant on crowd feedback and reaction during the sermon, which is at worst manipulative, especially when employed by false teachers seeking yes-train affirmations, reflects that he might be a crowd pleaser rather than a preacher of tough truths. This is denoted when he asks for “amens” from the pews and in his mannerisms, as is exhibited during this illustration.
As a preacher, Hodges comes across as a spiritual wetnurse, which is to say he breastfeeds his congregation when he should be feeding solid foods. Even in a sermon that touched on homosexuality, he does not stray from orthodoxy, but is hardly bold on the subject. Because of this infantile approach, a church congregant might appreciate that he touches cultural issues, but his sermons are extremely absent on application. He mentions the rhetorical situation of a child coming home from school and their classmate identifying but does not provide instructions from the pulpit on how parents should address this scenario. How many countless pastors sound just like Chris Hodges in lacking specific application in their sermons?
Hodges in the sermon before this one has a point that “We cannot antagonize and influence at the same time” but in preaching the Book of Daniel, this neglects the antagonistic actions that were committed throughout the book. Refusal to bend the knee to the golden image was antagonistic. That was a direct affront to the king and a tacit rebuke of those who prostrated themselves to the idol. Standing up for God is often antagonistic in the eyes of the worldly, but it does influence. In 2021, refusal to get vaccinated was antagonistic, and more so advocating against the jabs. Refusing to apply preferred pronouns is considered mean and discourteous. One cannot transform or influence culture without confrontation of that which is aberrant to God’s standard.
Conclusion
Chris Hodges makes the mistake of being nicer than God, and this is reflected in his professed statement that “God is a blesser” and that “God doesn’t damn anything.” This incomplete understanding that is devoid of judgment reflects Hodges own nonconfrontational approach. Politically, Chris Hodges is conservative, but he lacks the testicular fortitude to even defend liking Charlie Kirk’s social media posts over perceived “racism.” His nonconfrontational predisposition undergirded this errant statement, yet Chris Hodges is not the only pastor who has this problem.
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It’s hard to believe there have been no comments here. This guy and his Association of Related Churches preach bad theology – but they do it peppy – and after all, it’s Disneyland meets prosperity preaching meets Hollywood slick presentation and music. But the worst is re-pulpitting disqualified preachers into one of the 1000 ARC churches. And the congregation never knows.
Hodges learned his theology from none other than the Notorious Ted Haggard. Ted was Hodges youth pastor at Bethany – megachurch of course, in Louisiana. Then Ted left to Colorado Springs to build a megachurch of his own. He would bring on young Chris Hodges as his youth minister. Seven more years of mentoring under fun Ted Haggard. Haggard would invite the interns to come swim at his pool. Clothing optional! That wacky Ted!
Ted was a big proclaimer of mercy to the fallen and restoration. With good reason too. 2006 His male prostitute came forward and told all about their 3 year long meth fueled affair. New Life mega-church fired Ted – but they also poked around to see what other problems were there that facilitated Ted’s bad behavior. One other pastor was fired a few weeks later: Chris Beard. It was as quiet a firing as New Life could make it. Beard had some poor judgements they discovered. Sexual impropriety with “an adult” they said. Beard headed up a program for young men that they called 24/7. They wanted to reassure everyone that Beards partner wasn’t under age and that it wasn’t Ted. The carefully worded statement left out the gender.
Now suddenly, Chris Beard is on staff at Church of the Highlands. Heading up a program for young men. Called 24/7. No mention to the COTH congregation that Chris Beard might have a past such that they would never want to be showering in the locker room.
In time, Grant Hass, would come forward. He had lots to tell about Ted – by now Ted’s been restored and returned to Colorado Springs. Leaving the state had been part of the severance package. Now he Was wanting to build another church. Grant Haas breaks his NDA and we find that Haggard had done some more nasty things. But the awful revelation is that Beard and Haggard had loved watching the 24/7 young men in the locker rooms after showering.
Now query other COTH staff scandals: Dino Rizzo, Mincahn Carter, ARC pastors in scandals. Infidelity and the horrible rape of Mary E.Jones. Jane Doe has named Dino Rizzo in a lawsuit that alleges that ARC leadership (Hodges church planting organization) knowingly put a sexual predator in a pulpit. She was on church staff and raped repeatedly.
And of course, last week Robert Morris, Hodges friend and overseer of Church of the Highlands stepped down. His victim revealed his pedophilia and the equally repulsive coverup by his church. You can find Morris and Hodges together on old YouTube videos talking about restoring the sexually fallen. It is nothing short of frightening to hear him talk about the deception.
Oh – and Julie Roys has so many news articles on Hodges and Arc, they have their own dedicated page. The Hillsong scandal and Hodges is something his church members need to investigate to the nth degree. But – maybe the pep rally, stage show, and a verse picked from the corrupt Passion translation of the Bible is enough.
Let’s not judge! After all – Hodges has apostlic power. He’s part of the NAR. New Apostolic Restoration (hey – isn’t there a verse in the “regular“ Bibles that say that’s impossible?). The nutty stuff the author of the Passion Translation claims isnt nutty at all if you’re used to hearing all the time ( see Mike Winger’s research of the Passion and the writer – the outrageous Brian Simmons – and Hodges won’t even talk to church members who tried to reach him for months over objections of him using a false prophet’s translation in sermons).
But don’t worry. You’re in good hands with the COTH staff. Dino Rizzo is restored and he will keep you safe. Head on over to Hodges Bible college. You won’t find much Bible, but you’ll learn marketable talents in multimedia and stage lighting. You can get the Holy Spirit there in your church service in a jiffy with the right lighting and PowerPoint background. Heaven help us. And oh yeah, ARC is the fastest growing thing out there. Pull up their web page and see the hundreds of ARC churches in your area. They’re everywhere – preaching Life Affirming Sermons ( the same ones Hodges gives. You’ll love the twisted scripture they all used about having a dream “without a dream the people perish” so write yourself a bucket list. )
Hodges friend And ARC cofounder, Greg Surratt was having his folks pray down judgement on critics/ reporters a few years ago, by the way. Now Surratt is in the news again since his Seacoast Church is under fire for knowing about the youth minister’s inappropriate touching problem and did nothing. Now there are 10 girls and 13 counts of abuse.
Hodges talks so much about restoration. I never hear a peep about restoration of the victims.