Monday Club — An American Christian Mini-Post V
Over the past two weeks, I’ve received a lot of feedback on the Joneses. Others who have been hurt in their own lives because of bad theology, manipulation, narcissism, and abuse of power.
I want to remind those reading, especially the Joneses, that this is about the American Church as a whole. The Joneses happen to be the characters in this story, and Devon just happens to be the biggest abuser that I’ve interacted with from that family. However, this is something I’ve seen at large from megachurch grifters like Joel Osteen, fame obsessed sell-outs like Judah Smith and to absolute monsters like Kenneth Copeland.
I’ve mentioned this a few times, but I want to reiterate it. This is not an attack on the Jones family. It honestly is not the intent of anyone who has contributed to these writings. I will say, though, that we will believe the victims every time. I’ve seen that abuse of power with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. The fact that it is still going on is disgusting and egregious.
I’m grateful for the positive changes people make in their lives; when they change a negative trait. The fact is, though, the Joneses still haven’t changed the core issues that we’re covering. Half-assed apologies and a desire to sweep it all under the rug to continue building a “ministry” is not good enough. There has to be real change. Systemic change. Stop hiding behind the Bible. Stop hiding behind God, and stop hiding behind that cop-out phrase of “If people are upset, you must be doing something right.”
No. People are upset because they are hurt and broken. They’ve lost their trust and their faith because church leaders like this have abused their positions. They have lied to them about mental health based on flawed interpretations of the Bible. A book so full of inaccuracies, mistranslations, and contradictions that it should never be considered the “infallible word of God.” It just isn’t. Stop misleading people with it. Old school revivalists like Dwight Moody and Billy Sunday spread that falsehood and the Evangelical Church has run with it ever since.
The Bible also never addresses mental health. Stop letting people lie about it. You cannot fix a person with verses and prayer. Mental health is a serious issue that affects millions. Medication and therapy have been proven to help. Praying for someone theatrically does not.
This post isn’t about mental health specifically, but I bring it up because I have heard many accounts of people being affected by it. There hasn’t been a single alumnus from GTC that I have personally spoken to that hasn’t dealt with anxiety, panic attacks, triggering Christian phrases, and depression. I’m sure that some are also related to other things, but there is a pattern here. It is undeniable. This has permanently damaged people.
The Church should be a place of healing. A place of connection and community. It should never be a place of subjugation or a place of spiritual abuse.
People make mistakes. They are allowed to; it’s really ok. It’s what they do afterward that matters. If honest apologies and change had happened years ago, we’d have nothing to write about, or at least we would be writing about it differently; from a redemptive experience. I hope someday I can do that.
People have been hurt. Badly. Instead of listening, there’s a focus on hunting people down and trying to get information out of them. We are not responding to your damage control. This isn’t damaging you. This is the damage you caused.
Stop harassing people.
Reevaluate your theology. Reevaluate how you react to people who are hurt. I’m honestly sorry if this has caused anxiety, Devon. I know better than most what that feels like because I dealt with it the entire time I was in GTC. It only got worse after that.
I still deal with it every time I see a black Ford Mustang and every time I write something new, but it’s also healing me and many others.
And I’ll be damned if it let that happen to anyone else.
