‘I hate’ the gospel being preached at funerals – King’s Church leader Glen Mitchell

Romans 10:14: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Several so-called ‘Christian’ ministers have cravenly fallen over themselves to indulge an abortion fanatic who blasted a minister for preaching the gospel at a funeral she had attended.

Kellie Turtle, a brazen campaigner for abortion, the euphemistic term for baby murder, vented her God-defying ire on Twitter after apparently attending a funeral where a minister preached the gospel message of the necessity of salvation from sins in order to go to heaven when we die.

Her disgraceful message is as follows: “Northern Irish Christian clergy: please, from the bottom of my heart, stop using funerals to tell ppl (sic) they should think about where they want to spend eternity. It’s crass and unlikely to ever bring anyone to faith. Just walk with ppl (sic) in grief and be grateful they invited you in.

“Note: other more subtle versions are just as unwelcome. Even the most lovely & comforting homily can leave ppl (sic) cold if you can’t help but throw in a bit about getting right with the Lord. Just speak love over ppl (sic) in pain and if God is who you say they are, they will do the rest”.

And so jumped in a number of compromising clerics, eager to show their disdain for true gospel preaching.

Quick to point out his opposition to the sharing of the need for salvation to those confronted by the brevity and fragility of this life was none other than Biblical creation denier Glen Mitchell, the pastor of King’s Church in Bangor, County Down.

Glen Mitchell has also, quite outrageously, previously expressed his great disappointment that the town hall in Newtownards, near to Bangor, would not be lit up to celebrate sodomite ‘Pride’.

He jumped in to say: “Oh I hate that. So sorry.” This comment was ‘liked’ by Kellie Turtle.

So Glen Mitchell, an allegedly Christian pastor, has publicly declared that he “hates” preaching the need for salvation at funerals.

Another minister always keen to demonstrate his variance with true Christianity, Rev Steve Stockman (pictured, below) of Fitzroy Presbyterian Church, was another to jump on this wretched bandwagon.

Replying to Kellie Turtle’s comment, he said: “Preach it sister”.

So Rev Steve Stockman, the man who preaches the gospel according to an exemplar of sin like Lady Gaga and the founder, alongside a Jesuit priest, of the ecumenical Four Corners Festival is endorsing the ‘preaching’ of hatred towards the sharing of the gospel while expressing his opposition to the preaching laid out in God’s Word which seeks to bring souls to Christ.

That is very instructive indeed.

Another Presbyterian cleric making clear their opposition to warning souls of their eternal destiny should they die in their sin is ‘Rev’ Cheryl Meban.

‘Rev’ Cheryl Meban is a notable ecumenist and compromiser.

Indeed, last year she was one of four allegedly Protestant clerics who preached during the blasphemous novena at the Romanist Clonard Monastery, while she has been outspoken on the matter of homosexuality within the church.

At last year’s General Assembly, she was one of the voices, alongside the like of ‘LGBT Christian’ endorsing Rev John Dickinson of Carnmoney Presbyterian Church, to stress her opposition to moves made in 2018 to restrict open homosexuals from full communicant membership and bar the baptism of children in the care of same-sex couples.

And, more outrageously still, perhaps, she was listed to be one of the speakers at a despicable event planned by Church of Ireland minister and Mid Ulster ‘Pride’ sodomite grouping vice-Chairman Rev Andrew Rawding back in April, but which had to be called off due to the coronavirus pandemic, entitled ‘Blessed are the Queer’. One can be sure someone invited to such an event will not be favouring the Biblical view on such matters.

What she said in response to this disgraceful tweet from Kellie Turtle was: “Dear Kellie, I’m so sorry… I’m sure the guy thought he was doing the right thing… but seriously, it’s so harmful.”

There you go – preaching the gospel “is so harmful”, according to a supposed ‘minister’ of the gospel.

And another alleged ‘minister’, or ‘pastor’, the peculiar Karen Sethuraman, was another to jump in on the side of the world against the Lord.

Peculiar in the sense that she claims to be the “first woman Baptist minister on the island of Ireland”, despite her ‘qualification’ coming from Baptists Together, the association for Baptists in England and Wales, rather than Ireland, be it on either side of the border.

She is also a very vocal feminist aiming to smash the patriarchy and other such nonsense.

She must also be keen on stamping God’s Word underfoot by firstly taking on a role forbidden her by God (see 1 Timothy 2:12) and now stressing her deep opposition to preaching the gospel at funerals.

Karen Sethuraman jumped in to the discussion with several unbiblical offerings, starting with this: “I’m so sorry if this was your experience. What on Earth is with some clergy. I’m disgusted… I’m so so sorry.”

Kellie Turtle replied to this with Karen Sethuraman then chipping in again: “I’m so sorry. Unfortunately, I have had many other people who have shared this happening to them. It’s just completely wrong on all sorts of levels. Sending love to you guys xo.”

“Sending love” over social media and sticking an “xo” on the end of a message will do any sinner in need of being told of the cure for their sin a fat lot of good, won’t it?

Our verse at the top of this passage asks the very reasonable, rhetorical question “how shall they hear without a preacher?” If the so-called preacher refuses to tell them their need of salvation then they have no hope of avoiding a lost eternity in hell.

Yet Karen Sethuraman is “disgusted” by this.

It is any true Bible-believing Christian who ought to be disgusted by her attitude.

Funerals are, obviously, fraught, distressing and stressful times for all concerned.

No minister will want to upset those in attendance by his manner of preaching, but can still go about sharing the full gospel message in a sensitive, yet clear, manner.

The true minister isn’t there just to protect people’s feelings, he won’t deliberately hurt their feelings but he won’t be a lily-livered compromiser simply to avoid causing any offence.

Very often a funeral is the only time some people will ever be through the doors of a church and what is actually disgusting, hateful and so harmful is when ministers like those above refuse to warn those in attendance that they need to be ready to die.

Hebrews 9:27 warns us that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”.

Judgment is coming, James 5:8 warns us that “the coming of the Lord draweth nigh”.

God will “render to every man according to his deeds”, Romans 2:6 tells us.

If we don’t confess our sin to God and ask for his forgiveness, we face an eternity in hell.

If we refuse to confess our sin, we are in effect telling God we don’t need His forgiveness. Such a state is very dangerous indeed.

1 John 1:8-10 points this out while also showing the promise of salvation to those who truly repent.

It says: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

The verse prior to that passage finished off by telling us that “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin”.

Jesus came into this world, taking on the form of a man, so that He might take our sin upon Himself and be a perfect once for all sacrifice at Calvary for sin.

All we have to do is believe on Him and seek forgiveness for our sins and we will be forgiven and spend all eternity in heaven.

This is such wonderful news, if you are a minister of this good news, would you not want to share it with everyone? Would you not want to share it as regularly as possible? Would you not be desperate for those you see and meet to take Jesus Christ as their Saviour?

We go back to the very start – “how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Paul, speaking to the church of Ephesus, said in Acts 20:27 that “I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God”.

Paul didn’t hold back on the parts of the gospel which were displeasing to unconverted ears, he didn’t soft soap the gospel message to keep in with those around them.

Neither should any minister who wants to please their Heavenly Father.

Dear reader, if you, or anyone you know, is in any way coming under the spiritual guidance of Glen Mitchell, Rev Steve Stockman, ‘Rev’ Cheryl Meban or Karen Sethuraman, won’t you separate yourself immediately and implore those you know to do likewise.

‘Rev’ Cheryl Meban (pictured, above) is, for example, the Presbyterian Church chaplain to Ulster University – is your child, grandchild, nephew, niece, brother, sister, friend, currently attending that university and coming under her guidance?

Let us shout aloud the need for gospel truth and, whether Glen Mitchell, Rev Steve Stockman, ‘Rev’ Cheryl Meban or Karen Sethuraman want to protect souls from an eternity in hell or not, please don’t allow those in your life, be it family, friends or work colleagues or associates, to go unwarned over the danger their never-dying soul is in each day they go on without Christ as their Saviour.

Be the good watchman, not the unfaithful watchman.

Ezekiel 3:17-19: “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

‘Prophetic art’ – Belfast church teaching people to paint your prophecy

There are some bizarre events led by churches within the charismaniac movement, but one that was held at Christian Fellowship Church Belfast (or CFC Belfast) on Saturday past will take some beating in that regard.

This church, which is based on the Belmont Road in east Belfast, played host to a ‘Prophetic Art Conference’.

What exactly prophetic art is we are really rather unsure, though we have visited a few online pages showing some pictures, including someone who had written down ‘Be still and know that I am God’ and coloured in the individual letters.

This was, apparently, prophetic.

The website Prophecy Through Art tries to justify such nonsense by saying that “Our Father is a creative God” because He made the world.

Well, yes, of course He did but it is scarcely equivalent to writing out a Bible quote or drawing a picture of a heart and somehow labelling it prophetic.

Throughout the entirety of the prophetic books, of which there are rather a lot, and the various prophesies in other books of the Bible, of which there are rather a lot as well, there is a notable absence of prophets pulling out an easel and doing a watercolour to explain the situation in the land.

We don’t have Elijah delivering a picture of dried up rivers to Ahab at the start of 1 Kings 17 or Ezekiel sculpting his impression of the vision of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37.

Of course, were they to have done so, they were prophesying of future events, whereas the examples of prophetic art are simply drawings people take to mean something to them, an artistic version of a fortune cookie or horoscope.

The event at CFC Belfast was ran by a group called Acts Ministries International (AMI) who claim it “equips you in hearing the voice of God through art”.

Acts Ministries International was born out of Phoenix Vineyard Church, and certainly the Vineyard Church name is a leading figure on both sides of the Atlantic in all manner of charismatic nonsense.

Andrew Montgomery (pictured, top) is a leader of AMI Ireland, a local branch of this charismatic organisation which, like so many others, is obsessed with “signs and wonders”.

He is also an Associate Pastor of another charismatic church, called Destination Church Belfast, based in the Newtownabbey area in the north of the city.

Andrew Montgomery apparently gave an “introduction to prophecy” at the event, while another member of his church, a Diane Latimer, helped lead one of the workshops, which we will elaborate upon shortly.

Another session was led by a Jill McKee (pictured, below), who is the Clerk of Session at First Presbyterian Church, Ballynahinch in County Down.

She ought not to hold the position she does, of course.

1 Timothy 3:1-2, 12 says: “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.”

First Presbyterian Church, Ballynahinch is certainly not a church which anyone should wish to associate themselves with.

It is currently taking part in an Alpha Course initiative, that leaven-filled scheme which is ran by that Rome lover Nicky Gumbel and also recently held a line dance in its church hall in yet another example of worldly pleasures being introduced to the church.

As an aside, the Methodist and Baptist churches in Ballynahinch are also taking part in that Alpha Course.

While, generally speaking, Methodist churches are to be studiously avoided, the Baptist Church is a rather mixed bag in Ulster.

It would appear Ballynahinch Baptist Church is one to be wary of.

Lynsey Grierson of Cadence House of Prayer, an inter-denominational grouping in Bangor, County Down, was also leading a workshop.

While we had not previously heard of Cadence House of Prayer, their website states it was set up by a husband and wife duo (the charismatics do love those) called Denise and Frederick Hayward, who met apparently “when they were both in full-time ministry as part of a worship and healing dance team”.

Of course they were. We believe that says it all.

Also helping lead sessions were a Victor Mitchell of the Journey Community Church in Antrim, who enthusiastically promoted the disgraceful, heretical Bethel Supernatural Ministries earlier this year, an Erin Charteris of another CFC branch in Strandtown, also Belfast, and a Claire Fair of King’s Church in Bangor.

The pastor of King’s Church is a character we have featured previously, Glen Mitchell (pictured, above), due to his rejection of the Biblical account of creation in favour of the Christ denying blasphemy known as the Big Bang Theory (his endorsement of this heresy is pictured, below), as well as his expression of disappointment when a vote to light up the town hall in his nearby town of Newtownards in honour of sodomy was overturned by local councillors.

So there certainly was an encouraging pattern to follow for those in attendance.

Indeed, rather ironically, it was something of a painting by numbers collection of charismatics and Christ deniers posing as religious leaders.

The workshops within the ‘Prophetic Art Conference’ certainly were unusual.

First among these was entitled ‘Art Reach’ – this taught attendees “how God communicates through art for reaching to your community”.

That really does sound illuminating. The individuals running that workshop were a Kadie Hooley and Brianna Robinson of Youth With A Mission (YWAM). What that mission is, going by that workshop synopsis, is anyone’s guess.

Workshop two was entitled ‘Painting His Heart’ and was brought by Jill McKee of First Presbyterian Church, Ballynahinch. This workshop taught you “how to grow in intimacy with God connecting with Him for others”.

Again, answers on a postcard from anyone who knows what that means.

The third workshop is perhaps the most outrageous and ludicrous of the lot.

It was entitled ‘Corporate Prophetic Art’ which allowed attendees to “be equipped to spontaneously draw and clearly communicate the prophetic gift in a worship setting”.

This truly is nonsense.

Lynsey Grierson of Cadence House of Prayer, Diane Latimer of Destination Church Belfast and Victor Mitchell of Journey Community Church in Antrim were responsible for that exercise.

And the fourth, and, on the face of it, least ludicrous workshop was called ‘The Secret Place’, in which you could “experience how art and writing can deepen your personal relationship with God through journaling”. Claire Fair of King’s Church Bangor and Erin Charteris of CFC Strandtown led the way on that one.

After these four sessions, there was then a cup of tea before engaging in worship and ministry, which would apparently include “opportunities to engage in prophetic art”.

This truly is a sad event, tricking those in attendance into thinking they have some prophetic gift, when all they are doing is drawing little pictures.

It most emphatically meets the bar of that which is warned against in 2 Timothy 4:4, which says: “And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

The idea that someone drawing a heart, as we have seen on some websites we have viewed discussing so-called ‘prophetic art’, could possibly be construed as prophetic is, in fact, pathetic.

As we have said before when discussing the outrageous so-called prophecies of the likes of Bethel Supernatural Ministries’ Havilah Cunnington, such vague generalities are not the currency that prophets dealt in in the Bible.

Look at the prophecy Jeremiah disclosed to King Zedekiah in the closing days of his reign.

Jeremiah 37:17 says: “Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

Did Jeremiah speak obtusely or abstractly? Did he sketch a drawing which Zedekiah was free to interpret whichever way he saw fit? Or did he clearly set forth the actual message of God?

Of course, this was a negative prophecy for Zedekiah which Jeremiah gave, and that is certainly not the sort of “prophecy” you would get from people taking part in these events.

It always seems to be a mindlessly positive prophecy, replete with the amazing plans God has for their life and the wonderful way in which He is going to use them.

If we look at what might be termed a positive prophecy from the Scripture, we will see once more that it was spoken plainly.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 says: “For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.”

Here is a prophecy of the deliverance of the children of Israel from oppression and that they would return to their own land after 70 years of captivity.

Is this the sort of thing that these people are prophesying of? Of course it isn’t.

They couldn’t prophesy an event happening next week, never mind in 70 years.

Dear reader, do not be taken in by such an outrageous event, but rather be steadfast in your opposition to such gimmicks and nonsense.

Also, be careful not to associate yourself with churches involved in this outrage, such as First Presbyterian Church, Ballynahinch, Destination Church Belfast, King’s Church, Bangor, Journey Community Church, Antrim as well as any church promoting the Alpha Course.

Let us be even bold as Jeremiah was in the prophecy above to Zedekiah, when he said “thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon”.

Speaking to a man who had the power to put him to death, Jeremiah told him the one thing which he wanted to hear the least.

Those in these churches and in the wider charismatic or ecumenical movement hate to hear what the Bible has to say on their unscriptural antics.

However, to be faithful, we are bound by God to say these things.

And let us strive to put the pleasing of God above the pleasing of man.

Acts 5:29: “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”