Pastor lied about cancer (Full Version)

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nicole6598 -> Pastor lied about cancer (8/21/2008 2:46:08 AM)

A pastor of an ACC church (AOG) in Australia has confessed that he made up having cancer and lied about how he got inspired to write a hit song world-wide called "Healer".

HERE

I am very saddened by this, as a member of one of these churches we have been praying for him and his family, sung his song in church and now find out he lied....
His mother and father who are very prominent pastors would be so devastated also. Its just terrible what has happened.

I have seen on facebook that already there are groups for and against him. He certainly needs our prayers, but not for cancer!



solarflare -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/21/2008 11:50:05 AM)

I am saddened also to read your post.

"His credential with the Australian Christian Churches was immediately suspended."

At least they did the right thing here. We desperately need discernment.

I am familar with 'Hillsong" and have some CD's, although I have not purchased one in quite a while and do not know the song involved .....geez, he really did make up quite an elaborate lie....

There is so much deception going on from the pulpit and here is yet another.



Lapidoth -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/21/2008 11:58:10 AM)

Judgment begins at the "house" of God.

Guess spring cleaning is coming early?



the_mom -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/21/2008 1:32:26 PM)

Sounds like he wanted his 15 minutes of fame. Be careful what you wish for, huh?



gaylel1 -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/21/2008 1:40:15 PM)

This is really a sad story. And its really breaks people's heart when people "fleece the flock." The holy spirit, however is cleaning house though because God is getting tired of pastors and leaders who rip off people.



cog41 -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/22/2008 12:57:41 PM)

Not wishing it on anybody,but imagine what he would think if he did get terminal cancer.

What a scam. What a dirt bag.

Scams and dirt bags can be forgiven.



rapturefish -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/22/2008 1:46:39 PM)

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24216087-5006787,00.html

How do you respond? Why should anyone believe in the church anymore when these things happen? How long can the church continue to say "No church is perfect" and still reasonably ask people to join them?

Asking this genuinely, folks - how do we respond to things like this, honestly, and in a way that upholds who we believe in?



rapturefish -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/22/2008 1:53:29 PM)

This guy has been associated with the Planetshakers for a number of years now and his name is well-known. This affects all who heard his 'testimony', his family who apparently didn't know of the deception either, as well as the name of Hillsong who put out a CD/DVD recently with the song on it just last month. You can extend that to the pentecostals as well as the church at large.

What would motivate such a deception? Is it money? The need for attention? For validation of success through miracles? Just plain stupidity?

What would prevent the call for a discipline such as that of Ananias and Sapphira?



nicole6598 -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/22/2008 8:42:04 PM)

I am interested in what my church will say on sunday seeing we are an ACC church (one of the churches that he is from)



Kat_D -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/23/2008 12:58:27 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lapidoth

Judgment begins at the "house" of God.

Guess spring cleaning is coming early?


Exactly!

Not to mention that when people only want and look for signs and wonders, there is always some unscrupulous person more than willing to give them what they want.

Maybe he was planning at some point to say that God miraculously healed him, but realized he'd likely have to come up with some medical documentation to prove it (Duh!) and then decided he'd better fess up to his big fat lie.

I also find it interesting that rather than stand up and say he sinned against the body of Christ and ask for forgiveness, he has taken the "getting help for his mental illness" route.

I agree with those who said that God is cleaning house.

16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." -Matthew 10

ETA: Just to clarify: My statement about the signs and wonders was in no way meant to negate the fact that many innocent Christians were duped by this guy or that Jesus cannot heal. It was meant to reinforce the fact that some Christian Leaders do not think preaching God's Word is enough and consequently some are led to create lies and sensationalism to attract people to their churches and to themselves.

I just watched a video of him singing Healer with an oxygen canula in his nose and my first doubts would have been raised by the fact that it seemed not to be connected to a portable concentrator or anything.[8|]



lw9 -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/23/2008 1:08:48 PM)

Nicole, I am truly sorry to hear about this news and the confusion it has caused. It is shameful.

quote:

Kat-D: Maybe he was planning at some point to say that God miraculously healed him, but realized he'd likely have to come up with some medical documentation to prove it (Duh!) and then decided he'd better fess up to his big fat lie.

I also find it interesting that rather than stand up and say he sinned against the body of Christ and ask for forgiveness, he has taken the "getting help for his mental illness" route.

I agree with those who said that God is cleaning house.

16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." -Matthew 10


Ditto that all over the place.



Consecrated2God -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/23/2008 1:15:55 PM)

That is so sad.

You know what's kind of weird? My husband never could stand that song. It would make him dizzy and he felt like he was going to have a siezure everytime they played it, and he had to leave the room. He never could figure out why, because he thought it was a beautiful song. Strange.



nicole6598 -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 5:09:39 AM)

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24233308-5006301,00.html
I found this link. It explains very clearly why he lied. His father Danny needs to be commended for how he has handled this I think. Its very very sad. I feel so badly for his family. Someone shared today that Mike's mother would fast 2 days a week for him for the 2 years he said he had cancer.

Kat- the oxygen thing is a mystery! I think someone must have been in on the lie, I mean how can you get your hands on oxygen like that and a wheelchair which he used from time to time?

Consecrated- I liked the song (in part, some of it bothered me). I guess when you read of why he sort of wrote that song it takes on a different meaning altogether than what he made it out to be. He was crying out for help in his own way.



Sammy_S -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 5:20:25 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: rapturefish

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24216087-5006787,00.html

How do you respond? Why should anyone believe in the church anymore when these things happen? How long can the church continue to say "No church is perfect" and still reasonably ask people to join them?

Asking this genuinely, folks - how do we respond to things like this, honestly, and in a way that upholds who we believe in?

quote:


Junior Member



Posts: 95
Status: offline http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24216087-5006787,00.html

How do you respond? Why should anyone believe in the church anymore when these things happen? How long can the church continue to say "No church is perfect" and still reasonably ask people to join them?

Asking this genuinely, folks - how do we respond to things like this, honestly, and in a way that upholds who we believe in?



Easy,what you think is the Church of Christ is not the Church.Not every church member,self-professed Christian/preacher are truly God's people.

The church is made up of the true saints whom God has bought with his own blood to justify,sanctify and glorify. When Christ said that his way is a narrow narrow he meant it,very few self proffessed christians are truly Christians.



rcjames -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 9:25:07 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: rapturefish
Asking this genuinely, folks - how do we respond to things like this, honestly, and in a way that upholds who we believe in?


The guy should stip down from ministry for a number of reaseons the least of which is that he is not qualified according to Scripture. One of the qualifications is;

(1Ti 3:7) Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

And his reputation is toast, so until that can be repaired (passage of time without anyother "Missteps") then he should not hold a leadership position.


Thanks
RC



bluestone -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 12:00:58 PM)

This kind of thing happens more often than we realize. The church needs to stop being so trusting and gullible.



Kat_D -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 12:13:45 PM)

quote:

I found this link. It explains very clearly why he lied. His father Danny needs to be commended for how he has handled this I think. Its very very sad. I feel so badly for his family. Someone shared today that Mike's mother would fast 2 days a week for him for the 2 years he said he had cancer.


From that article:

"In September in 2006, Mike had an accident and went to hospital. It was at this time, because of his torment of living a double life, Mike thought he could escape the pain by creating a diversion from his addiction to adult pornography, so he created the cancer scenario.

The pain of this addiction was so deep that he started something he couldn't stop and proceeded on a downward spiral that led to him experiencing pain and suffering that resulted in constant vomiting and many other symptoms of a genuine sufferer."

I remember hearing a sermon on sin a long time ago that I've never forgotten. The pastor spoke about the Four "D's" of sin:

"Sin Deceives us, Darkens our understanding, Defiles our heart, and eventually will completely Deaden our conscience."

It sounds very much like this is exactly what happened to this man. Sin, lead to more sin which led to more sin until he was enslaved to it and was able to rationalize it.

However, our God did finally get his attention:

"A few weeks ago Mike had a dream of Jesus on the cross looking down on him saying, 'the truth will set you free' and so he decided to confess and bring everything out into the open."

...but oh, the devastation his sin has caused...a monumental price to pay for what began as a few moments of illicit pleasure.

A lesson for us all.



bluestone -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 1:04:38 PM)

What seems to be missing from this scenario is the same thing missing from the Bentley show:

Someone confessing that they were wrong, they have sinned, an are heartbroken with sorrow over their deed..and are crying out to God for mercy.



Kat_D -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 1:51:09 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: bluestone

What seems to be missing from this scenario is the same thing missing from the Bentley show:

Someone confessing that they were wrong, they have sinned, an are heartbroken with sorrow over their deed..and are crying out to God for mercy.


I also find it remarkable that one of the first things he or his people thought to do was to immediately remove his Facebook, Hillsong, My Space, etc. pages...as if that would somehow erase what he did from people's minds.

It would have shown true remorse and courage had he/they kept the pages up and he had made a public confession on them. He then could have posted future updates on his restoration progress and attempts to make financial restitution for all the money he's fleeced.



rapturefish -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 1:57:59 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: bluestone

This kind of thing happens more often than we realize. The church needs to stop being so trusting and gullible.


Gullible I understand, but if the church reduces its level of trust then surely it heads down the road of hard-heartedness.

I knew a very big-hearted pastor who had a saga where one of his church members, a filipino maid's children were kidnapped in the Philippines and they had to overcome corrupt police and danger to get their children back. However tragically the children did not survive due to the trauma they went through.

The whole church prayed and her employers were gracious and even contributed financially. The church rejoiced when the children were rescued, then saddened by their demise.

However later down the track it was discovered that the maid had set up the whole elaborate story and had deceived the whole church. She was put on trial and sentenced.

Later the pastor quit due to burnout and emotional distress, partly due to this incident.

I think this was simply a very good deception. Could the church have been more "wise as serpents"? I suppose, perhaps. But when you are in a community you trust people, it's an essential given of churches that reflect the love of Christ. And the best lies are told by those you love.

I'd say the pastor could've been wiser - but not for a minute would I have accused him of being stupid to love and to care.



rapturefish -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 2:05:53 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Kat_D

quote:

ORIGINAL: bluestone

What seems to be missing from this scenario is the same thing missing from the Bentley show:

Someone confessing that they were wrong, they have sinned, an are heartbroken with sorrow over their deed..and are crying out to God for mercy.


I also find it remarkable that one of the first things he or his people thought to do was to immediately remove his Facebook, Hillsong, My Space, etc. pages...as if that would somehow erase what he did from people's minds.

It would have shown true remorse and courage had he/they kept the pages up and he had made a public confession on them. He then could have posted future updates on his restoration progress and attempts to make financial restitution for all the money he's fleeced.


ACC churches know the power of negativity - they snuff it out with a vengeance, push aggressively to focus on the positive, say what they need to say about these controversies to appear contrite and quickly move on. There is no culture of focusing on the ugliness of confession, saying sorry repentance and airing dirty laundry - only a culture of positive rhetoric, being gracious and merciful (without the focus on sin and repentance) and keeping the good press advancing.



rapturefish -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 2:13:43 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sammy_S

quote:

ORIGINAL: rapturefish

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24216087-5006787,00.html

How do you respond? Why should anyone believe in the church anymore when these things happen? How long can the church continue to say "No church is perfect" and still reasonably ask people to join them?

Asking this genuinely, folks - how do we respond to things like this, honestly, and in a way that upholds who we believe in?

quote:


Junior Member



Posts: 95
Status: offline http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24216087-5006787,00.html

How do you respond? Why should anyone believe in the church anymore when these things happen? How long can the church continue to say "No church is perfect" and still reasonably ask people to join them?

Asking this genuinely, folks - how do we respond to things like this, honestly, and in a way that upholds who we believe in?



Easy,what you think is the Church of Christ is not the Church.Not every church member,self-professed Christian/preacher are truly God's people.

The church is made up of the true saints whom God has bought with his own blood to justify,sanctify and glorify. When Christ said that his way is a narrow narrow he meant it,very few self proffessed christians are truly Christians.


If that's the case, who is a believer and who isn't, since we begin to judge people by the magnitude of their sins?

While I'm cynical about the organised church in general, I don't think the gospel is about this precarious highwire where few people 'make it'. People are christians because God chose them - that means it has nothing to do with whether a person lied about his cancer for two years and was a porn addict, or whether a person was good all his or her life on the outside - it is do only on the basis of God's grace.

In other words, if this Guglielmucci is a christian no amount of lying about cancer or porn addict will ever outdo God's grace. That being said, he should be lambasted for what he willingly did for a matter of years - this is why I dislike church and get cynical abobut great claims of miracles God has done in people's lives.



Consecrated2God -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 5:18:09 PM)

I'm glad he repented of his sin and that he's getting help for his problems. What he did is going to have some major repercussions in the church world, and they are right for removing him from ministry, but I'm glad he's repented.



drmark -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 5:31:19 PM)

quote:

A pastor of an ACC church (AOG) in Australia has confessed that he made up having cancer and lied about how he got inspired to write a hit song world-wide called "Healer".
Would anyone care to explain how this relates to Paul's rejoicing that the Gospel is preached regardless of motive (Phil 1:18)? Surely numerous people have been blessed by this "hit song", regardless of the composer's motive.



Consecrated2God -> RE: Pastor lied about cancer (8/24/2008 5:34:41 PM)

I thought of it like Ananias and Sapphira. They lied because they wanted to look good, and they were severly punished for it. Motives are important. Yes, it's a great song, but what this pastor did was wrong.



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