sooo, this song has now hit the airwaves like never before…you can read this article to get more info if you want…but the basics are that the author of the song “Healer” made up the whole story of his terminal cancer…WOW…that’s kind of hard to swallow…but should it be???
should we be surprised when people mess up…should it be so devastating when christians stumble…or at least when we find out they have stumbled??? how many times do i stumble and it goes unnoticed by the world around me??? we are all human…we all have a battle within us between our sinful nature and the Spirit within us…we are going to stumble…even fall…
for me, i’m not going to try and come up with a reason as to why this happened or what should happen now…the song is in our set for this sunday and it’s going to stay there…what has happened has no bearing on the lyrics of this song and the truth they contain…the mistakes we make have no bearing on the truth that is contained in God’s word…thank You Lord!!!
check out this post and this post to see other perspectives given…i’m sure there will be more to come for those who care to follow and read the story…or we can trust in God and pray that He will bring the healing that is needed…
Healer…take two?!?
i know all too well how we all sin and fall short of the glory of god. even still, i find it pretty unbelievable that you would willingly deceive people in this kind of way. i mean, it’s one thing to be trying to do right and struggle along the way, and something else to deliberately use this kind of deception and for what? popularity? personally, I think that the real issue here goes beyond this guy; it goes to the very heart of why someone would do something like this. i may be the only one who thinks this way, but that’s ok and I’m going to go ahead and say it – we’ve made ministry too much about being a celebrity. we’re setting each other up for this kind of junk. we say that paul was the greatest Christian who ever lived, and where did he minister from the most? in front of thousands of screaming fans who were hailing him as some hero. no, from prison. we’re talking about dying to self, but how many of us are actually doing it?
good perspective!!! and more so very challenging thoughts…
thanks brother!!!
Such a hard topic to address… is this any different than a pastor telling a “personal story” to get a point across?
When you read in the article you noted, “It since has become an anthem of faith for believers, many of whom are suffering their own illness …” Did something good come of this? Sounds like it. Does the end justify the means – that is up to God.
In my humble opinion, I cannot believe someone would lie like this. It really is unbelievable.
Hope you’ll pardon the scattered thoughts and some copy/paste commenting … I’m trying to comment on some of these blogs that have linked back to my own. Much has transpired today, I’ve spent a good bit of time in prayer and worship, thinking of this situation.
Overall, it’s disappointing. By the end of the day, I start wondering if Mike wasn’t delusional at this point – I mean, I’ve watched that video over and over the past months. Even knowing the hoax, I still watch it and identify so strongly. I typically have a high level of discernment, yet I watch and it seems so authentic. Maybe he really was believing this lie, or part of him.
The song – I still love it, though it’s somewhat tainted with this tragic revelation. But, God wasn’t surprised. Maybe He knew … Maybe He knew that we, the Church, needed this song. Maybe THAT’s WHY his favor seemed to rest on that song so strongly. Maybe it’s a reminder that God can (and will) use any vessel to communicate … even the weak, or people and ways that confound the wise and religious.
Many, many questions. I’m sad, disappointed, but in the end …. I BELIEVE YOU’RE MY HEALER. I BELIEVE YOU ARE ALL I NEED. AMEN.
For the Kingdom,
Fred McKinnon
http://www.fredmckinnon.com
http://www.theworshipcommunity.com
thanks for the insight fred!!! i’m with you, i love the song and i’m confident that if no one else needed the song, i did…but i think we both know better than that, this song will continue to minister to people…
I was upset yesterday…I first spotted the story on Fred’s blog. I was shocked…I hate being decieved. It is unbelievable that his family…even his wife didn’t know the truth. I keep thinking of her and his family and praying for them in all of this. I think of his youth ministry and the thousands of teens who are very confused right now. Wow.
I know we are a new church…targeting the unsaved and young crowd. We are pulling the song until we have worship nights after our launch. We too love the message. We feel at this point that many never come in a church door because of this kind of deception. I know Shan is worried someone would hear the song if we did it….go look it up to try and buy a cd with it on and see all about the scandal. He’s afraid that it will turn someone away if they read of the truth. In established churches…I understand why it can keep being used. Mature Christians can understand grace, and how God can still use this story and song for Him!
I love what your first comment said above….we do set others up for this…they want to be the next big song or singer with Hillsong or whoever. If only God was our main thing and not others who we put on a pedistal.
I challenge everyone to pray for Mike and his family.
here’s another link from the worship community that addresses the situation…very powerful!!!
http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/when-vessels-break/
i would challenge leaders to use it as a teaching moment…hiding the deception doesn’t help it or make it go away…you are feeding those who already have let other people determine their relationship with Christ…
maybe use it as an opportunity to show why our personal relationships and dedication to Christ shouldn’t have anything to do with another person or what they do and say…every man fails…
just a thought…
i know for our church, there won’t be too many (if any) who will actually know this has taken place…i don’t even know if it will be discussed at all…?
man, i so agree with you. God still desires to heal people and he can use anyone or anything to get His message across.