I have come to hear “God told me” as an immediate red flag.

There is an innate arrogance in assuming that you are hearing the voice of God and not your own. It’s exceptionally important to filter even your own “gut feelings” through scripture and wise counsel every time, no matter what. Because what you’re convinced is God Himself might very well be nothing more than your own ambition, selfish heart, or even a demonic influence.

Let me just say: if you go to a church where questions are either prohibited, ignored, or stonewalled, find another church. A healthy person — leader or otherwise — is always willing to self-examine. Questions asked for the right reasons are not threats, they are an opportunity to evaluate. If a leader can’t or won’t do that, it should tell you everything you need to know.

Unlike 15 years ago with the Hawkins lawsuit…

…Daystar cannot control the narrative and get out ahead of stories with a spin of “extortion” and “blackmail” anymore. In the age of social media, podcasters, YouTube, and even armchair observers, there is no more tight control of the narrative.

The same is true for legacy media, and we are watching their demise in real time.

We’re watching the fall of the Evangelical Industrial Complex, too.

It is good that tightly-knit organizations that protect each other at the expense of truth, justice, and morality should fall publicly and painfully.

In the same way that they’re retaliating against Elon Musk by keying Tesla owners’ cars, the Christian media is organizing “anonymous” accounts for smear campaigns, doxxing, and intimidation. It’s the same tactic — and it’s a tactic that only proves one thing: they’re losing.

Unlike 15 years ago with the Hawkins lawsuit, Daystar cannot control the narrative and get out ahead of stories with a spin of “extortion” and “blackmail” anymore. In the age of social media, podcasters, YouTube, and even armchair observers, there is no more tight control of the…

— Morgan G Farris, Loquacious Curmudgeon (@MorganGFarris) April 1, 2025

I know there are many who are still very angry with Gateway after the fall of Robert Morris…

…but when I look at that situation versus what’s happening at Daystar, I cannot help but notice some important differences.

Once Cindy made her story public, people within the Gateway organization instigated an independent, thirty-party investigation into her claims and found that not only was Robert guilty, but he had people help him hide the truth. All of those people were forced to leave Gateway, including Robert Morris.

In contrast, when Jonathan and Suzy Lamb made their story public, Daystar refused to allow an independent, third-party investigation and continued to double down by ignoring the outcry of a child and insisting on the innocence of a man who has not been properly investigated or exonerated. To top it off, they have now gone on an internet witch hunt, blackmailing people and harassing anyone who speaks out.

Color me naive, but I’ll take Gateway’s response all day long over what Daystar is doing.

This is going to ruffle feathers, but the majority of songs touted as worship songs today are not, in fact, worship songs. Most of them are focused on us, what we get out of God, and how God makes us feel.

That isn’t worship. That’s hedonism. I’m looking at you, Brandon Lake.

We went from singing lyrics like:
Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

To:
You didn’t want heaven without us
So Jesus, you brought heaven down

Or:
I’ll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt
Been through hell hallelujah

Or:
I want to sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hands
Lay back against you and breathe, feel your heartbeat

We’ve taken our sacred spaces where we praise the Creator of the universe for His glory and goodness and turned them into places where we tell God what we want from Him next. Church, we must return to true praise in Spirit and in Truth and abandon the hedonism that has infiltrated the holy place.

If you’re following Christ because a TV preacher told you you’d be blessed, you’re not following Christ, you’re following your desires.

Perhaps the prosperity that the Prosperity Gospel Peddlers tout is rooted in a capitalist view of what is good for us. Perhaps the prosperity God promises throughout the Bible is one for our souls, not simply our means. Perhaps when God says he will provide all that we need, it might be manna, not a steak dinner.

Perhaps that’s our problem — we’d rather tell him what is best for us.