---

 

Popular Passion Conference Leader Promoting Little-God Theology

Posted by JeffMaples

Louie Giglio’s Passion Conference promoting ‘Little-God’ theology.

CHURCHWATCHER on JANUARY 12, 2019

It should come as no surprise that the popular ‘Passion Conference’, led by its Apostolic leader, Louie Giglio, espouses the New Apostolic Reformation’s dangerous ‘little god’ theology (also known as sonship). He (and popular guest Beth Boore) are recognised as Apostles by the Apostolic Network, Hillsong. Not only does Giglio and Passion Conference espouse this heresy, they openly advertise and promote it on

social media.

Editor’s Comments:

How many a pastor has swallowed this theological lemon? Our DNA was corrupted at the fall. Our DNA has sin, NOT divinity residing in it. This is out and out heresy.

---

Although Reformation Charlotte do a fantastic job refuting this heresy, below we point out the origin of this teaching, observing that these people who believe this do not have the Holy Spirit in them – but a different spirit.

ORIGINS AND SPIRIT BEHIND LITTLE GOD THEOLOGY

The New Order of the Latter Rain (1948) was the cult that birthed the idea that God was raising up gods and a divine army to take dominion over the world. They taught that man could enter into this ‘divinity’ through spiritual baptism. As a result, the Voice of Healing Movement, and the Charismatic Movement were birthed, later to repackage and popularise this teaching through the New Apostolic Reformation. In fact, NAR Apostolic Prophet Bob Jones popularised this ‘little gods’ doctrine through the late C. Peter Wagner, Mike Bickle’s iHOP, Rick Joyner’s Morning Star ministry, Patricia King’s Xtreme Prophetic and Bill Johnson’s Bethel church. Jones claims,

“For the Sons and Daughters of God are coming forward. The Lord also, Himself, said, ‘You are gods’- in Psalms 82:2. You’re gods. You’re the sons of God. Therefore that makes you sons and daughters.

But there’s a group of you that’s reached the level of maturity. That you could come forth and you’re to do the things that the Lord did.

You got the same genetics in you. You’re built out of DNA, but in here, the spirit is genetics. You’re children of your father and you will please your father when you begin to do the things. But the greater works, but, I believe, this is the beginning to make way for the greater works. So, we are in a time of great change.” [Source]

Jones is talking about both the ‘little gods’ heresy (New Breed) and the end-time church being ‘god in human flesh’ (One New Man heresy). It was Bob Jones who was very big on spiritual genetics and divine DNA, this language being a gateway to brainwash people into believing they are ‘divine beings’. In fact, Bob Jones has made it clear that those baptised in the spirit to become ‘gods’, have been made so through a different spirit:

“So what he’s talking about is the New Breed is this: it’s Romans 1:4, The Spirit of Holiness. So for years I’ve tried to get understanding what the Spirit of Holiness is, for it’s different than the Holy Spirit.” [Source]

In other words, those ‘baptised by the spirit’, aren’t baptised by the Holy Spirit. They are baptised by another spirit that the NAR call the ‘spirit of holiness’. And this is so these Charismatic/NARismatic converts as ‘divine beings’ can move in supernatural power. This spirit is actually found in the New Age movement, as it portrays Jesus as an ‘ascended master’ and we as beings who can ascend to his level of divinity to ‘awaken’ (their language) the world to a higher plane of existence, purpose, prosperity and power.

This means the NAR are opening people to demonic possession which is why they allow their converts to manifest like demoniacs on the floor, (proving the Holy Spirit’s fruit of self control is absent) and promote their followers to babble like pagans (which Jesus forbids in Matthew 6:7). Their teachings and practices demonstrate these people have no part of Christ’s church.

We thank Reformation Charlotte for recently pointing out this serious doctrinal error being promoted by Passion Conference.

---

 

Charlotte Reformation writes:

Popular Passion Conference Promoting Little-God Theology

It’s well known that the popular Passion conferences every year host some highly questionable at best speakers. Among them have been the prosperity pimp-tress from Hillsong, Christine Caine, Matt Chandler of the Village Church, Hillsong LA pastor Chad Veach, popular bible-twister, Beth Moore, open-but-cautious charismatic bible teacher John Piper, and also, of course, Louie Giglio of Passion City Church.

A popular heresy among charismatic false teachers is little-god theology, or the belief that we as humans carry within us the potential to become God, or divine like God. This is not only a heresy found among charismatics, however, it is the underlying teaching of Mormonism–that our future as believers are to partake in the divinity of God and become gods ourselves.

The Roman Catholic Church also teaches this, as it states in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods CCC, Second Edition, Section 2, Chapter 2, Article 3, Paragraph I, I:460)

So it should come as no surprise, then that since these Passion conferences are stacked with charismatics and Word of Faith preachers, they’d be pushing this unbiblical teaching, as seen below in one of their latest tweets quoting Louie Giglio:

 

This teaching is patently false.

There is no “divinity” in our DNA and there is no “heaven inside of” us. But again, it’s not surprising that these people believe this–other gospel. What’s surprising is that this event has been propped up for so long by people who would be considered by many to be modern heroes of the faith, like John Piper.

Source: ReformationCharlotte, Popular Passion Conference Promoting Little-God Theology, 

http://reformationcharlotte.org/2019/01/04/popular-passion-conference-promoting-little-god-theology,

Published January 02, 2019. (Accessed January 05, 2019.) [Archived]

 

 

 

Apprising Ministries first covered Louis Giglio in Beth Moore And John Piper Lead Lectio Divina-Lite At Passion 2012 where I shared concerns about Giglio’s emphasis upon direct encounters with God.

That was bad enough, but it got even worse this year, as I showed in Louie Giglio, Passion 2013, And Jesus Culture. Now Giglio appears to be marrying his Passion youth movement to that of Jesus Culture.

It needs to be understood that reputed Calvinist Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church (PCC) in Atlanta, is influencing scores of teens and college age youth as the leader of this so-called new breed Jesus Generation.

With this in mind Christian researcher Sarah Leslie brought out yesterday in The Significance of Youth-Filled Stadiums:

Lou Giglio is scheduled to give the benediction* at the Obama Presidential Inauguration on January 21. The official announcement describes him as “the Rev. Louie Giglio, the pastor of the Passion City Church in Atlanta” and says he “is considered one of the highest-profile evangelical Christian pastors. He has been prominent in efforts to end human trafficking.”1

This invitation is significant because Lou Giglio is currently under a great deal of fire in some quadrants of the evangelical world for his controversial association with New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) leader Bill Johnson and a music group/ministry called Jesus Culture. (source)

Today that changed. So, in Louie Giglio Out Of Obama Inaguation Over “Anti-Gay Comments” I drew together a few of the sources covering Giglio’s announcement he would no longer be part of inauguration after all.

One of these sources was a letter to his congregation from Louie Giglio called Change of Plans, which will be the focus of the rest of this article. However, first I’ll tell you many began implying that Giglio was now a martyr.

Already we have seen e.g. Christians Respond to Giglio’s Withdrawal by Christian Post reporter Lillian Kwon, The Giglio Imbroglio from Al Mohler and then Ed Stetzer chimed in with The Louie Giglio Moment.

Joe Carter, editor for The Gospel Coalition offers Pastor Disinvited from Giving Inaugural Prayer Because of Sermon on Homosexuality. And we have the below from the Facebook page of the Family Research Council.

Under a picture of Louie Giglio with the caption Don’t Silence Pastors we find (click to enlarge):

(source)

This tweet below from his friend John Piper, where he said that Giglio is suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ, is another glaring example:

(source)

I have no idea what Piper means by refining for freedom, but it is clear that he’s saying Giglio is suffering for his faith in Jesus Christ. Far from suffering, Louie Giglio’s largely being lauded as a hero in the right wing media.2

People have been asking my opinion and I have told them that Giglio’s first mistake was agreeing to be part of the inauguration; his second mistake was to then merely resign when his words about homosexuality surfaced.

This brings us back to Louie Giglio’s Change of Plans and around to why you’ll see that Giglio is no hero and not to be admired at all in this mess. Giglio begins by telling his PCC:

I was invited by the President of the United States to pray at his upcoming inauguration, after conversations between our team and the White House I am no longer serving in that role. (source)

He then quotes from the “statement to the White House” Giglio had sent today explaining why he was no longer “serving in” the inauguration. Turns out it was:

Due to a message of mine that has surfaced from 15-20 years ago, it is likely that my participation, and the prayer I would offer, will be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration.

Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years. Instead, my aim has been to call people to ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ. (source, emphasis his)

As a pastor-teacher myself what immediately jumped out at me is Giglio, pastor of a megachurch and leader of a huge youth movement, admits “speaking on this issue,” i.e. the sin of homosexuality:

has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years. (source)

That’s a very telling, but not surprising, admission considering Inaugural Benediction To Be Delivered By Pastor Who Gave Vehemently Anti-Gay Sermon yesterday by Josh Israel of the pro-homosexual website Think Progress.

He quotes from Giglio’s In Search of a Standard – Christian Response to Homosexuality, which Israel tells us is:

a mid-1990s sermon identified as Giglio’s, available online on a Christian training website, he preached rabidly anti-LGBT views. (source)

Now a key point: Josh Israel posted five quotes from Giglio’s sermon about homosexuality from nearly two decades ago and just one day later Giglio has already caved in. There’s nothing to be admired in that.

From where I stand, Louie Giglio has made no public effort to defend the truth of God’s Word concerning the deviant and sinful lifestyle of having sexual relations with another of the same sex, i.e homosexuality.

Moreover, pastor Louis Giglio admits that warning young LGBT people, for whom Christ died, of their sin hasn’t even been something he considered a priority. Well, I offer Homoppression Is At Least As Bad As Homophobia.

The homoppression to which I refer here would be not telling the truth to someone who self-identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered (LGBT); and thereby, leaving them under oppression trapped in their sin.

And what of his public testimony to the Obama administration when Giglio tells them, as well as his own PCC:

Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years. Instead, my aim has been to call people to ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ. 

(source, emphasis his)

Editors Comments:

Really….sin or at least questionable conduct is not to be talked about, let alone preached about? Giglio prefers like Brian Houston to call young people to ultimate significance, at the same time making much of Jesus Christ.

This is one of the worst bits of ‘Christianese’ in the name of Christianity I have heard yet. It’s like a financial planner saying, “I will take your money you invest with me and give you the best return on your investment long term, while making the most of short term interest rates.”

Jesus is nothing more than a product to these men. 

Just to be clear the gospel has nothing to do with ultimate significance, but rather ultimate sanctification and ultimately glorification (see 1 Cor 1:30). 

 

Where’s the Gospel of repentance and forgiveness of sins? Answer: It’s not there. Instead pastor Giglio tells these unbelievers his goal is that people will have “ultimate significance.” Frankly, Giglio sounds likes Joel Osteen.

Then Louie Giglio plays the piety card as he tells his PCC:

As a pastor, my mission is to love people, and lead them well, while lifting up the name of Jesus above anything else. (source)

Sure, there’s truth within his statement; all Christians are to love people, so this becomes a red herring. The rest of the story, as the noted philosopher Paul Harvey was wont to say, is the pastor-teacher must also:

preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2)

You may recognize that’s not a position that’s going to be popular with this politically correct, and pouty postmodern, world because reproving, rebuking, and even exhorting, happens to be well out of season.

In other words, out of favor; to do so will bring you into confrontation. This then, would actually be to suffer for Christ’s sake. Instead, pastor Giglio turns to another red herring:

I’m confident that anyone who knows me or has listened to the multitude of messages I have given in the last decade would most likely conclude that I am not easily characterized as being opposed to people—any people. (source)

However to offer the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ to sinners, whether homosexual or not, isn’t opposing them as people in the first place. In fact, it’s being willing to even risk their wrath as you show them the love of God.

For you see, this is how the Christian points “them to Jesus.” The truth is, this is the only way that “people in [any] city come to know Jesus.” This is truly “speaking up for the last and least of these throughout the world.”

Pastor Giglio should have said, go ahead; do whatever you want to me publicly. That would bring liberals into the open and he could then preach the real Gospel, which would have been headlines in secular news sources.

I agree with Chris Rosebrough who said today on his F4F program that Louie Giglio is a straight-up coward. Sadly, when confrontation appeared he placed his tail between his legs and scamped off the battlefield.

——————-

 

Giglio — An Audience With Pope Francis

 

————————-

PulpitandPen

In January 2013 I was informed of a conference that simply everyone who’s anyone was going to. I was even invited to bring our youth along with a local church to the conference. My own children were informed by their friends that all the local church youth groups were going to this conference. We have several large churches very close to us and the best way to describe these churches would be what Pastor Jeff Noblit of Grace life Church Muscle Shoals calls “Six Flags Over Jesus,” I just call it “Circus Church.”

These churches have huge youth groups that appeal to the experiential desires of the local community, and so their selling points are carnal. “We have an X-Box in every room.” One has a giant playroom that would give Chuck-E-Cheese a run for their money, and one even has circus animals to attract the kids. So when my children came to me and told me that they were invited to attend this wonderful, exciting and life changing conference, free of charge, I decided to look into the conference and into the speakers that were teaching at this conference.

It didn’t take long to see huge doctrinal, theological and Biblical problems. After just a few minutes on the website of the “Passion Conference,” as I looked at the biography of the teachers, I realized that this was an ecumenical affiliation of some of the worst heretics and false teachers who have ever been associated with the body of Christ. But, what broke my heart is that a historically aberrant and fringe group of false teachers, like the New Apostolic Reformation, health, wealth and prosperity, and other Hyper-Charismatics are now accepted and honored as mainstream Biblical Christianity. And our churches who are sorely lacking in discernment are gladly promoting these false teachers and sending children to the slaughter.

The main promoter of the conference, Louie Giglio, reportedly gave every person at the conference a brand new study Bible which he produced called “The Jesus Bible.” When introducing it, he tells the audience that “the Holy Spirit helped him and his team write it!”  You can watch the video and hear him say this at the 6:12 mark, HERE.

For those who don’t know, the Holy Spirit only inspired the words of the original Scriptures according to 2 Peter 1:20-21: “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
”  This is not a minor issue and I am not trying to nit pick, but what Scripture teaches directly refutes Louie’s statement that the Holy Spirit helped his team (including Giglio, Max Lucado, John Piper, Randy Alcorn, and Ravi Zacharias) write their own interpretation of Scripture.

To be clear about this 2 Timothy 3:16-17 in the KJV says “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
 Every word of Holy Scripture is given to us by God and the very words were Divinely inspired. That is why the historical position of the entire church has always been that we believe in the doctrine of the Divine Inspiration of Scripture in the Originals, not in the copies.  This is very important and a denial of it is heretical for, without adherence to this evident Biblical truth, anything that anyone writes could theoretically be added to Scripture just as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormon cults try to do.

Names like Lecrae (who has recently become completely apostate) were mingling in spiritual harmony with Jesus Culture. Francis Chan was standing beside Beth Moore and David Crowder. Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman were all standing there in unity and harmony with false teachers and I was in shock.

Then you look into the absolutely unbiblical things these children are being taught in breakout sessions about what true Christianity is supposed to be, according to the vain opinions of these false teachers, and is it any wonder that the professing church has become so spiritually anemic.  (For more on Francis Chan, see HERE.)

More and more churches are being led into emotionalism and not Biblical Truth, and, as a result, these congregations have no spiritual power of discernment.  They are willing to compromise Biblical truth for emotionalism and experience as they are taught to seek after a god who is not the God of the Bible.  The icing on the cake is that this massive celebration of wickedness was and still is promoted and supported and attended by Reformed mega-celebrity John Piper.

Fast forward 4 years and the heresies and abhorrent teachings and teachers are even worse. Pulpit and Pen contributors have been seeking to warn all who might otherwise be tempted into following into this unbiblical nonsense, because of the false gospel and false doctrines which are being taught and held to by the speakers. For articles from Pulpit and Pen warning about these false teaching go HERE , HERE, and HERE.

Increasingly we are seeing ecstatic charismatic blasphemies, such as Toking the Spirit and Raising the Dead promoted by John Crowder, who is not to be confused with David Crowder, another false teaching musician associated with the Passion conference and Bethel church and the entire Hyper-Charismatic movement.

David Crowder is a Spiritual Formation adherent who teaches Contemplative Spirituality, as well as “Lectio’ Divina in his music and in his book Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi (Experiencing God).

 

And, of course, there is also the teaching of Beth Moore and Jesus Culture. These false teachers are teaching prayer labyrinth’s, spiritual surgery, channeling or contemplative prayers, fire tunnels and the personal manifestation of Jesus as He is said to audibly speak to the those who are truly faithful. For information about John Crowder and Jesus Culture and those who are their spiritual mentors go HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Possibly the worst of all of these so-called “blessings” is that those who are true believers can be enabled to spiritually travel to heaven and personally speak with Jesus Himself as He reveals deeper truth to all who are faithful.  This illicit notion is being taught by a whole host of false teachers at and around the Passion Conference.  For more information and videos addressing the many false teachings of those associated with the Passion Conference and Word Faith/NAR go HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Louie Giglio even closed one of the conferences by asking the crowd “did you hear Jesus speak to you?” As everyone was encouraged to cultivate the unbiblical idea of hearing God’s audible voice, because Scripture is not enough, we need the power and presence and experience of God.

I spoke to several pastors about the conference and the speakers and I was rebuked by several of them because they said I would be wrong to say anything against someone with the celebrity status of John Piper. After a lot of prayer and searching of Scripture, (1 Timothy 4: ‎6; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Corinthians 6:14–17) I knew that I could not remain silent.
As you will hear in the message below, I was very emotional at the thought that so many young teens were being led astray by these celebrity wolves who are devouring the sheep, and those who are supposed to shepherd the sheep of God, who are more concerned with fame and fortune than the souls of these children.

The Scriptures warn us that false teachers will come and they will have ungodly passions. (Jude 18–23) These are the false teachers we want to expose because we love Christ and His Body and it simply breaks our hearts that so many are being lead into false worship, through false preaching, about a false Jesus.

Beloved do not be led astray by these false teachers, stand fast for the faith that was once delivered for all time. (Jude 3) If someone tells you that there is a special impartation of the Spirit of God for the faithful at this place or that conference, please remember these words of Jesus in Luke 17: 22-23:  “And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.”

We are calling for discernment in our local churches and praying for you to be Bereans. (Acts 17:11) Fight the good fight of Faith and Study to Show yourself approved unto God as you rightly understand and interpret the Word of Truth! (2 Timothy 2:15)

 

The Next Hillsong conference 2019 

 

 

Among the 2019 line up, which always includes the global strength of Hillsong leadership and worship, are invited guests Bill Johnson, Joseph Prince, Earl McClellan and Louie Giglio.  Each will bring their own distinctive anointing to what God has planned and prepared for us.