‘Holy Ghost bartender’ Rodney Howard-Browne bringing his heresy to Carryduff Elim

2 Timothy 3:1-5: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Carryduff Elim will next week welcome the heretic US based South African preacher Rodney Howard-Browne (pictured, top), a man who has blasphemously described himself as the ‘Holy Ghost bartender’.

Rodney Howard-Browne claims to have led almost 18 million people to God through his ministry, which is certainly quite a claim.

However, in this age of easy-believism and shallow pseudo-Christianity, such a figure must be treated with caution.

When you see recordings of some of the services he has led, that caution turns into grave doubt.

Videos of people writhing on the ground, convulsing in their seat, laughing uncontrollably and barking like wild animals can be easily accessed online. Just one such repugnant and indeed frightening video can be seen by clicking here.

These people are supposedly filled with the Holy Spirit, passed to them by Rodney Howard-Browne.

There is certainly a spirit at work in such events, but it is far from holy.

In the article we recently posted about Nicky Gumbel, the leader of the Alpha Course, and his deep involvement with the false charismatic teachings associated with what is called the ‘Toronto Blessing’, we highlighted what is actually symptomatic of being filled with the Holy Ghost.

These characteristics most certainly did not include convulsions, hysterical laughter and dog impressions, and we gave examples of Paul, Barnabas and Bezaleel, which you can read about by clicking here.

Given how recently we did so, we don’t intend to dwell on that point again, but the term Rodney Howard-Browne used of himself, the ‘Holy Ghost bartender’, needs examination in the light of Scripture.

Unsurprisingly, he is found to have fallen well short of that which ought to be expected, nay demanded, of a so-called preacher.

Using the term bartender, an Americanism, is ill-advised at best, given the very worldly connotation this brings with it.

Bars, or pubs, are most unChristian venues, despite what so many alleged Christians might like to think today.

What next, a Holy Ghost brothel keeper? Or perhaps a Holy Ghost drug dealer? The very term is repugnant, offensive and blasphemous.

This is what Rodney Howard-Browne said: “I’m just the Holy Ghost bartender, I just serve the new wine and tell them to come drink.”

In an article which appeared in the Christian Research Journal in 1995, we get an indication of Rodney Howard-Browne’s character.

It says: “Laughter, he explained, ‘bubbles up’ from the same place the gift of tongues comes from. It was all in some deep spiritual reservoir that needed to be tapped the same way.

“Howard-Browne then began pumping us up to do just that. He led us in a song with these words: ‘I am drunk, I am drunk. Every day of my life I am drunk. I’ve been drinking down at Joel’s place every night and every day. I am drunk on the new wine.’”

“Then he asked us all to lift our hands and “’let that river of joy come out of your belly.'”

Rodney Howard-Browne claims to be “drunk” on the Holy Spirit and, of course, being a ‘bartender’, he is an enabler of other people becoming drunk.

It may sound in some way impressive to the undiscerning, to claim to be so full of the Holy Spirit it is pouring out of you, but spiritual drunkenness is the furthest thing from an indication of God’s blessing. In fact, it is directly linked to God’s curse.

When Moses was recapping the law to the people shortly before his death, he spoke of spiritual drunkenness which would come upon those who turn away from God.

Deuteronomy 29:18-21 says: “Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law”.

Is not Rodney Howard-Browne blessing himself, and others, saying he shall have peace, and those near 18 million whom he claims have been saved through his ministry?

Does he not walk in the imagination of his own heart? After all, the outrageous behaviour he displays and causes others to exhibit is certainly not found in the Bible.

And such characters, we are told, add drunkenness to thirst and such characters the “Lord shall not spare” and God’s curse “shall lie upon him”.

What a fearful destiny lies before any who are drunken spiritually.

The prophet Isaiah also spoke of the same drunkenness.

Isaiah 29:9-14 says: “Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”

This is clearly not drunkenness brought about by alcohol, but a strong delusion sent by God on those who are disobedient so they cannot see the truth.

And this is the same spirit which will be seen when the ‘Holy Ghost bartender’ invites people to drink his ‘new wine’ in Carryduff Elim.

On the Carryduff Elim website they have posted a video of people laughing hysterically and dropping under the influence of Rodney Howard-Browne, which means the church is under no illusions as to the nature of this heretic’s ministry.

Those in leadership at Carryduff Elim are guilty of helping to cause spiritual drunkenness in their congregation in the poor members of the church who attend the circus that is a meeting held by Rodney Howard-Browne.

And those who are responsible for the care of the flock are Pastor George Ritchie (pictured, above) and Pastor Gavin Allen (pictured, below).

What a dreadful disservice they are doing to the people who attend Carryduff Elim and to the people in the surrounding area who they should be seeking to reach with the truth, rather than bringing a propagator of deceit and delusion into the area.

It is most concerning that such a character should be coming to these shores and we would strongly encourage everyone reading this to please share this article widely so as to warn people of this false prophet coming into our land.

Let us call “time, gentlemen” on the ‘Holy Ghost bartender’ and make it very clear to him and to Carryduff Elim that we are wise to the deceits both he and they are propagating and the evil delusion they are helping to create in our land.

Rend Collective – It’s a ‘sad thing’ transgender people and sodomites can’t preach in certain churches

The ecumenical ‘Christian’ rock band who played for the Pope have appeared to tell a transgender person in a same-sex ‘marriage’ they believe it is “a sad thing” that person would not be allowed to preach or lead worship in certain churches and that church unity doesn’t necessarily seem to extend to them.

Rend Collective voiced this stunning rejection of God’s Word in a Twitter conversation with a person describing themselves as being “transgender and in a same sex marriage”.

Having been contacted by this individual, who call themselves transgender yet also appear to refer to themselves as ‘they’ or ‘them’, meaning we are unsure what gender they are, Rend Collective went into full on compromise mode.

The conversation, which took place last month, originated with the individual contacting Rend Collective on Twitter to express their dismay at Rend Collective playing at a gospel meeting held by Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham.

Franklin Graham has publicly and stridently stressed his opposition to the sodomy lobby and for this he is to be commended.

However, his opposition to sodomy and so-called ‘transgender rights’ has received condemnation from this individual, apparently called Franz.

And Rend Collective went into people-pleasing mode to try to placate this transgender individual.

Franz started by saying that Rend Collective were the “last evangelical band I still listen to”, which surely highlights the weak stand, if it can even be called that, which the band takes.

Rend Collective’s initial response says it all. They say: “… in an attempt to foster unity we try not to be selective in who we partner with under the banner of the gospel.”

Take a moment to let that sink in.

Rend Collective have openly admitted to striving not to consider the implications of who they stand beside when they are claiming to be proclaiming Christ.

It is a very clear rejection of the Biblical command to be separated from the workers of iniquity.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 is crystal clear on this. It says: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you”.

“Be ye separate, saith the Lord” is the clear command of Scripture. What is less clear is how Rend Collective justify their approach.

No doubt they will hide behind the Great Commission of Christ, but let’s not forget that Jesus didn’t join in with the false teachers to proclaim the ‘gospel’, whereas Rend Collective gleefully and proudly joined hand in hand with the anti-Christian system of Rome at the Pope’s visit to the Republic of Ireland.

We have so often highlighted the evils of Rome that anyone who has read this page, which includes members of Rend Collective, has no fig leaf with which to cover the nakedness of their ecumenical compromise.

But here we have a different type of compromise, indeed, as musicians, they may appreciate being credited as having exhibited a ‘broad range’ of compromise with that which the Bible rejects.

The conversation on Twitter they engaged in with Franz continued.

Franz said to Rend Collective: “Most churches who play your music would not allow me to lead or preach or sing because I’m transgender and in a same-sex marriage. There is no unity for us.”

Rend Collective responded: “I know, it’s a sad thing.”

Now let’s allow that to sink in for a minute.

Rend Collective appear to be saying it is a “sad thing” that homosexuals and transgender people are not allowed in many churches to lead, preach or sing.

The Bible says that homosexuality is an “abomination” (Leviticus 18:22) for any to commit, let alone those in positions of authority in the church. Where do Rend Collective get their theology from? This certainly cannot be from the Bible.

1 Timothy 1:9-11: “Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.”

A raft of sins are listed in that passage above, including “them that defile themselves with mankind”, or sodomites, and they are described as “contrary to sound doctrine”.

And where is this sound doctrine based upon? Verse 11 tells us it is “according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God”.

Our doctrine is to come from the glorious gospel of God and it says that sodomy is contrary to sound doctrine, so how can a church with those who either support it or practice it in positions of leadership be abiding in the gospel of Christ? The simple answer is they cannot.

Yet this is what Rend Collective are declaring publicly on Twitter.

Rend Collective then continue their rejection of God’s Word by saying that “just as some would distance themselves from others for being ‘too liberal’, it’s no better to separate because someone is ‘too conservative’. Doing so ends the dialogue that can lead to healing and unity.”

So ecumenical dialogue is the objective of Rend Collective, it would appear. What they are saying is they will associate with virtually anyone in the name of “unity”.

What they forget is that unity with those who reject the Word of God is repugnant to Him. The passage we quoted earlier from 2 Corinthians 6 asks “what concord hath Christ with Belial?” This is asking how can there be agreement between those who are faithful to God and those who serve sin.

This same topic is visited in Amos 3:3, where it says: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”

It is a rhetorical question, the answer is obvious.

Unity is not desirable for its own sake. Look at the unity of the people trying to build the tower of Babel. God created disunity among them through a means which still separates people today – the language barrier.

Genesis 11:6-8 says: “And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.”

God didn’t consider it a lovely little act of unity, he destroyed their plans.

Remarkably, Franz then responds with a key point, when they say: “Please just know that appearing alongside people will always look like support for them unless you’re actively challenging their views”.

This individual has hit the nail on the head – by appearing at an event ‘headlined’ by another individual, Rend Collective are at best tacitly expressing support for that individual, which is exactly what they did by consorting with Popery in Dublin back in August.

Rend Collective don’t address the point, instead choosing to attempt to flatter Franz with some honeyed words.

Our previous article highlighting Rend Collective, who originate from Bangor Elim Church in north Down, performing during the Papal visit to Ireland in August, attracted a great deal of interest, both from those supporting our comments and those opposed.

Will those who sought to ignore such brazen ecumenical compromise with Rome also choose to ignore this?

God does not ignore it, though He is of course patient and merciful.

However, God hates to see sound judgment not being carried out, and He cannot abide a failure to address sin.

Isaiah 59:13-15 says: “In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.”

Let us be sure to accept fault where it is, rather than seek to excuse it or mask it or outright deny its existence simply because someone we like or admire is responsible.

To demonstrate beyond doubt what we have attributed to Rend Collective, we have included below the conversation they had with this individual.

We implore readers to take this on board and consider if they are content, through study of the Scriptures, this was a God-exalting and Biblically sound and faithful conversation.

‘Papist’ Peter Lynas and ‘Roman’ Robbie’s pastor, Brian Madden, back ecumenical ‘Healing The Land’ prayer event

Much like Presidential campaigns in the USA, the easy-believist, ecumenical, charismatic movement loves to get its celebrity endorsements and they waited until the night before the big event to pull out the big gun, the leader of the Evangelical Alliance, ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas.

‘Papist’ Peter Lynas rounded off the line-up of leading lights in the easy-believist circle of compromisers plugging the indisputably ecumenical ‘Healing The Land’ prayer event at Nutts Corner today (Saturday, 8 September). You can read more about the festival of compromise by clicking here.

He followed in the downward steps of numerous other characters by encouraging Christians to attend a prayer event with the stamp of approval of Rome.

This event has got the backing of Human Life International, a Roman Catholic grouping dedicated to upholding Roman Catholic teaching, as it is, of course, entitled to do.

However, the big issue comes when you ask why supposedly Christian leaders like ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas, Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson and others want to have religious fellowship with adherents to and propagators of the blasphemous teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

It would be understandable were such characters inviting Roman Catholics to attend the event so they could hear the gospel and be saved, but that is quite clearly not the case or else an organisation whose mission is to spread Catholic dogma would not be encouraging people to attend.

Yet, in his video, which you can view on their facebook page, ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas says ‘Healing The Land’ is a “really great event”.

That opinion is certainly shared by Patrick McCrystal of Human Life International, who, as we previously wrote about, also encouraged “the people of God”, be they “Protestant, Catholic or all non-denominational” to attend the event.

It is also most informative to visit the website of Human Life International (Ireland) and of particular interest is their mission statement, which you can view by clicking here.

It begins by saying its mission is “to advance and promote the authentic teachings of the religion of the Catholic Church”.

A little further down, they ask the question, “How do we fulfil our mission?”

They explain that they do it through “Catholic apologetics training”, “organising Catholic conferences and retreats” and “promotion of Catholic Church teaching”, among other things.

Most applicable to this event is another one of their means by which they fulfil their mission of “advanc[ing] and promot[ing] the authentic teachings of the religion of the Catholic Church”, and that is through “constant campaigning for prayer and fasting for the entire faith / pro-life effort in Ireland. In particular, our annual rosary campaign, Holy Face devotion promotion, prayer and fasting campaigns.”

So ‘Healing The Land’ is helping an openly and avowedly Roman Catholic organisation to fulfil its mission through this prayer event.

Of course, the term “the entire faith / pro-life effort” gives the ecumenical game away as well, but only if you choose to see it. Organisers of ‘Healing The Land’ clearly do not wish to see it.

And, should anyone try to say that such an event is still praiseworthy because it may be of some benefit to the soul of the Roman Catholic, we will remind them of the words of Romans 3:7-8: “For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.”

Good does not come of evil and fellowshipping with the unclean thing that is Romanism is undoubtedly evil.

There are here very strong words – the Holy Spirit says this of those who think good will come from doing evil – their “damnation is just”.

Oh how seriously God looks upon such matters and oh how grievous it is that we should even countenance doing such when we see how it vexes our God.

Yet this is what is being done, and in God’s name, at ‘Healing The Land’.

Another way of expressing the damnable heresy so clearly warned against in that passage is to say, ‘the end justifies the means’.

That is, of course, the famous catchphrase of the Jesuits, that vicious school of Romanism used to lead the Counter Reformation, a movement of the devil to snuff out the glorious light of the gospel after it had been so wonderfully revealed by God through Martin Luther and others.

That shows the anti-Christian spirit abroad within this whole ecumenical venture.

‘Papist’ Peter Lynas, of course, attracted attention when defending ‘Roman’ Robbie Butler, an Ulster Unionist Party MLA and deacon in Maghaberry Elim Church, for scuttling down to Dublin to meet the Pope. The Pope never saw fit to even look at ‘Roman’ Robbie Butler (pictured, below), but he made sure to be there just in case “that man of sin” condescended to look upon him.

Afterwards, ‘Roman’ Robbie Butler wrote in the Belfast Telegraph expressing his “regret” that the World Meeting of Families, the event which brought Pope Francis to the Republic of Ireland, had not sparked greater enthusiasm for the Roman Catholic Church.

We said at the time of his meeting the Pope that it raised questions for Maghaberry Elim and its pastor, Brian Madden.

It didn’t take him long to answer them.

Within just a few hours, Pastor Brian Madden had ‘shared’ a post on facebook by, guess who? ‘Healing The Land’, naturally.

And he did the same thing a few days later when he ‘shared’ a second post from ‘Healing The Land’ on facebook.

It really is little wonder that ‘Roman’ Robbie Butler was so keen to consort with Popery when his pastor is doing the same.

As Jesus said in Matthew 15:14: “…they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”

The ditches are being filled up by pastors who fail to warn their congregations of the danger of compromising with that which is wrong.

And all the while the gaps in the hedges are increasing, as so few are willing to take their stand for Christ and instead they preach that which pleases the ears of the people but grieves the Almighty in heaven.

Ezekiel 13:3-6: “Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.”

And one of the characters whose video plugging the ‘Healing The Land’ event was shared by Pastor Brian Madden was that of Alan Graham, which you can see pictured below.

In his video, he says he has been working in Zimbabwe for over 20 years and involved with the Child Evangelism Fellowship for 30 years.

He does not say in his video he has recently retired from that role, and by not saying that this has, sadly, had the effect of making it appear as if the CEF has given its approval of the event when it has not. Whether or not that is deliberate, we cannot tell.

However, it is sad to say Alan Graham has added his name to the list of those who have compromised themselves with Rome by endorsing such an event.

This event, which is being used by a Romanist organisation to fulfil their mission to “advance and promote the authentic teachings of the Catholic Church”, is sucking in a great number of so-called Protestants who would claim to be God exalting.

What a terrible mess this is.

We would just return to the need for men to stand in the gaps in the hedges and to the book of Ezekiel.

It says in chapter 22:30-31: “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.”

While ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas, Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson, Rev David McClay and others claim to be praying for healing for our land, by their failure to stand in the gap they are endangering the land.

If there is not a general turning away from sin and rejection of ecumenical compromise, God has promised to pour out his wrath on the land.

Let our prayers be that God will be pleased to move in our land once more, that he will cause Romanism, ecumenism and apostasy to be overthrown, and that he will convince sinners of their need of a Saviour and send a mighty revival to our land, and that He would do it for His own name’s sake.

‘Christian’ rock band Rend Collective play for the Pope

Proverbs 13:20: “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”

The ecumenical and anti-Christian nature of much of what goes on in ‘Contemporary Christian Music’ (CCM) circles was laid bare for all to see last week as one of the most popular of these bands performed during the Pope’s visit to the Republic of Ireland last week.

Rend Collective, who originate from Bangor Elim Church, were invited performers at the World Meeting of Families in Phoenix Park where Pope Francis performed the Mass for the crowd in attendance. The photograph above shows them smiling at Phoenix Park after having played for the Pope.

Not only were they invited performers, but they actually led the worship at the biggest Roman Catholic festival in Ireland for decades.

How much more compromised can you be?

So pleased were they to have consorted with Popery they bragged about it on their facebook page (pictured, below) afterwards.

They said: “What a crazy week leading worship in Dublin at the #worldmeetingoffamilies! We feel so humbled and honoured to get [to] sing about Jesus with so many (600,000 to be exact!). This is definitely a week we won’t be quickly forgetting!”

Laying aside the inaccuracy of the numbers performed to, as it is estimated less than 200,000 turned up, there is so much wrong with this public repudiation of God’s Word perpetrated by these professing Christians.

You can be sure that if Rome was concerned by the songs Rend Collective might sing that they wouldn’t have been invited, and this is all part of Rome’s tricks to lure foolish Protestants into thinking that, because the band they admire was performing in Dublin, the Roman Catholic Church isn’t so bad.

While it may not be considered especially kind by the modern “God is love” Christians who neither know nor want to know anything of His justice and judgment, Rend Collective are at best useful idiots for Romanism and, at worst, deliberately complicit in luring Protestants down the path of ecumenism. It is also possible the exposure to a largely new market of potential Papist purchasers of their music was appealing to them as well.

Many younger (and some older) Christians, and very sadly this includes a lot of those who attend the much more traditional churches, are far too fond of CCM and treat their favourite artists with the same sort of admiration as the unsaved person treats their favourite pop star.

This is utterly wrong.

We previously posted about one of the leading figures in Hillsong, Joel Timothy Houston, and his blasphemous expression of support for the Big Bang Theory and linked to an article on the ‘Protestant Standard’ website highlighting the ‘Heresy of Hillsong’, which you can read by clicking here.

That website also features faithful warnings to Christians regarding another leading CCM artist, Matt Redman, which you can read by clicking here.

This gives a flavour of the ecumenical spirit abroad within CCM, which has now reached real depths by this very brazen consorting with Popery by Rend Collective.

No doubt many young Christians will follow Rend Collective on facebook, where they bragged about their compromise, and this has the potential effect of softening their view of the lies and deceits of the Roman Catholic Church.

Rend Collective, who, as we have already mentioned originated from Bangor Elim Church, clearly have taken no stand against the Church of Rome, otherwise they would not have been invited, nor would they have accepted an invite.

This flies directly in the face of God’s Word, which says that we ought to “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude v3).

Ephesians 5:11 says: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”

However, there was Rend Collective on stage last week leading the fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.

What a dreadful betrayal of Biblical Protestantism, which is true Christianity.

The words and sentiment of Psalm 119:115 should have been the response of Rend Collective when they received that invitation.

It says: “Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.”

This was the response of Nehemiah when the spoilers of the work to build the walls of Jerusalem came to try to engage in ecumenical dialogue with him.

Nehemiah 6:1-4: “Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.”

Despite persistent efforts to draw him away, Nehemiah knew that such ecumenical dialogue would hinder the work of God and as such he would have no part of it.

It is just such a shame that Rend Collective failed so spectacularly to follow this example.

Dear reader, please take care to ensure you are not caught up in this compromise. We must be ever vigilant as the devil is ever trying to sneak in and do damage to the cause of Christ.

1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”