Destructive American Mindsets

God is outside of our cultural norm and we should be careful that we do not make God in our image instead of being made into His. In this blog, I will be challenging American mindsets that have formed our opinion of who God is. I will be comparing these commonly held beliefs to Christ's life and teachings. This is only a summary of the entire series. I pray that these teachings will wake us up to realize that we have been under a strong delusion and apostasy in the church.


Apostasy is defined as embracing an opinion contrary to one's previous beliefs. It is a departure, revolt or rebellion; a formal disaffiliation from, or abandonment of Christ's teachings. It has been described as "a willful falling away from, or rebellion against, Christ. This has been widespread as people have turned to false teachers to ease their conscience while they continue to live out the desires of their carnal flesh. Many deny Christ's teachings as being not relevant or for the church today. Heresy is the act of having) an opinion or belief that is the opposite of or against what Christ taught or commonly known as the Apostle's doctrine.

Mindset of Entitlement vs being a Servant Leader

This American mindset of entitlement is better known as you owe me something because I’m more gifted, talented or in a higher position than you. You should serve me because I'm God's anointed messenger and you should never question my authority even if it seems wrong to you. I deserve the best and you should be obligated to give to me because of my special position in the Kingdom. 

Capitalistic Mindset vs Kingdom Living

Taking the Lord’s name in vain is much more than just cussing. It is taking God's name and covering up selfish motives with a Christian label. I am going to say the most pervasive problem in the church today is the monetizing of our relationships in the church. When we start looking at people for what they can do for us instead of looking at people as somebody we should be serving, edifying, exhorting or comforting we have fallen into this destructive mindset. Capitalism is: an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. In the case of the church the private owners have become Pastors and teachers who have made a business out of the Father's business and treating others like their personal employees. God's Kingdom is not a company and you are not the CEO who gets all the extra perks for being at the top. Church members are not part of your team so that you can build your ministry and pocketbook. They are co-laborers meant to harvest the fields for the purpose of building God's Kingdom.

Indulgence vs Death to self

Normally after an attitude of entitlement, you will find that many ministers find ways to capitalize on their spiritual influence and make excuses for indulging themselves on the money of their flock. I heard this said from a very influential preacher once, "If so and so has a boat, plane and luxurious homes why shouldn't I?" I can better describe this as the "I deserve the best attitude." A modest home, income, and car aren’t enough for someone who is indulgent. They want to live in luxury and opulence. They want to enjoy the dainties of this world on the work of others instead of getting in the trenches of humanity to pull them out of the mire of sin. This is a stark contrast to the way Jesus lived. He did not preach long sermons on how to get wealthy because he laid up his treasures in heaven where moth nor rust can destroy. He even challenged a rich young ruler to give up his wealth to follow him. If the people we see in ministry now were given the same challenge as the rich young ruler they would probably walk away from ministry.

Microwave Society vs Watch and pray

Think about a time when people actually grew their food, hunted when they wanted to eat, and compare that with the quickly packaged processed foods we can throw in the microwave when we are hungry. Then you will begin to understand why we struggle to wait for things to happen. Impatience is pervasive in our society. It used to take days to get places on horses and now we honk at people that take too long to turn at a stop light. Most of you may not remember this but it also took days to get an answer from someone because we waited for it to get mailed via the Post Office. Unfortunately, we have also become impatient with the things of God and expect the seeds that we planted in faith to grow overnight. We fail to realize that God does things in His time and not at our time or convenience. Because we live in a microwave society we have forgotten the art of waiting on God in prayer before He answers us.

Humanism vs Dependence on God

The philosophy of humanism has crept in the most subtle way into God's church. It celebrates the efforts of men and diminishes the power of God. Humanism focuses on human strength or ability to change or improve oneself by positive thinking and affirmation. Humanism does not give glory to God but glories in self-effort. It sees God as someone who is part of their team instead of God being the leader and Lord of their life. It is cleverly disguised by encouraging messages, motivational speeches, and books geared to make you a success. It is hard to see past this but if you dig deeper you will find out that these teachings are not based on Kingdom principles but are rooted more in secular concepts.

Determinism vs God's Sovereignty

The philosophy of determinism has also permeated our churches. They have become immobilized by the mindset of needing to be rescued instead of becoming the rescuers. They believe that God has already ordered all the events in the universe and that He is incapable of changing His mind or relenting from judgment. People with this mindset often don’t pray because they believe that their efforts will not affect the course of events already taking place. They focus on the negative instead of finding ways to bring change. They forget the authority God has given them and their rightful place in the kingdom. They make God powerless over prophecy and forget the Prophet Jonah’s statement long ago…”I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.” Their focus on the end of the world has made them overlook at the task at hand which is to preach to others about what God’s has done to save them. Jesus spent more time helping others than he did telling them the end was near. The focus of his ministry was to seek and save which was lost. His mission statement has never changed.

Self Will vs God’s Will

Nothing is more celebrated as the power of choice in our country. For example the power to choose to kill a baby out of convenience. Around the world, women champion the cause to be in control of their bodies and can decide whether they follow through with a pregnancy or not. America celebrates the right to have sex with whoever you want no matter who it hurts or offends. God’s Word is inconsequential to many people these days as they call what is good – evil and what is evil – good. They have touted lawlessness and called it free choice.

The Worship of Knowledge vs The Wisdom of God

If we were to look around in most churches we would see the most unusual sight. We would see huge alien heads exaggeratedly enlarged from the knowledge that puffed them up. These types of Christians spend hours reading the scripture but they never come to the understanding of what it means because they never bother to be led by the Spirit of Truth. Pride fills their hearts and they take their swords cutting down all those who oppose them. It matters not the massacre they leave behind because to them the knowledge of God is greater than knowing His heart. Churches have become an academic setting instead of a place where people encounter God. We have worshiped the letter of the Law instead of the Lawgiver. We spend countless hours finding facts in the bible to impress others instead of spending time in intimacy with the Godhead. Many altars have been erected to doctrines where many Christians have been sacrificed to the devils that inspired them.

Spirit of Independence vs Dependence on God

One of the biggest obstacles within American society is the failure to understand that God just wants to be a Father to us. This is very foreign to many of us who have grown up without Fathers and Mothers in the home. Family dysfunction continues to plague us even after we get saved. As a result of the broken homes, we form a spirit of independence where we struggle to depend on God. We try so hard to do things on our own because we can’t seem to trust anyone. This creates an orphan spirit in the church. People who see relationships as opportunities, that can't trust or submit and who get very defensive if they are corrected. They never enjoy the benefits of being a son or daughter because they never stay or connect to a family.

Self Centered Gospel vs Servant of all

It is the American motto. a song of patriotism and one of the most prevalent mindsets in the American church...God Bless America! Seems harmless but beyond the patriotism and this inspirational song, there is a dark side to this favorite motto. As you notice this is not a polite question or a prayerful entreaty. It is a demand to be blessed right now. This motto is more concerned on what it can receive from God than what it can give to God. How do I know that? Well, if it was focused on what we can give to God the song would go like this, "America bless God!" If you have been around long enough you would know that one of the primary themes in the church is to find out how you can be blessed primarily through prosperity messages promising the hearers a good return on their money. I'm sure He has no problem with taking care of us as His children. However, what if he told you to sell all that you have? How about if he asked you to carry your cross and follow Him? Would you still do the church thing?

The Culture of Entertainment vs Intimacy with God

The American church has become a place of spectators. Most people come to church with the expectation to be entertained with the latest renown speaker or greatest worship band. Nothing more is expected than to sit on a chair, listen and then leave. Churches have lured people by supplying some kind of entertainment or incentive to attend. It has not been a place to seek God but a place where people can be just hearers only. Outside of the church walls, they continue their lives as usual with little or no contrast to the world. The church has become a quick fix to ease the guilt and fulfill Christian duty. They don’t pray, worship God or read their Bibles outside of what they do on a Sunday morning.

Politically Correct vs The Gospel of Truth

Nothing attracts more hatred now or days than speaking the truth of God's Word in and outside the church. The fear of man has dominated the church for years. Many ministers have succumbed to this spirit and rarely say anything that would offend their hearers. They would rather offend God with their man-made doctrines and line their pockets than to speak the truth in love.  

Inclusion vs Free Will

The gospel of inclusion is universalism repackaged. It teaches that there is no hell or judgment. That everyone is saved already and closely related to the once saved always saved doctrine. The people in the hyper-grace movement have been the chief proponents of this heresy. I'm leaving this one for last because I plan to get into more detail on this subject since it has spread like wildfire. Like Dan Mohler said recently, "Grace without transformation is a perversion." I agree.

Escapism vs Suffering

Let me define escapism: The tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy. It can take different forms such as using recreational drugs, alcohol, pornography, gaming, watching movies, social media, sports, taking walks, dance, theater, and the list goes on. As you can see there is unhealthy ways of dealing with stress and healthy ways of dealing with stress. When escapism becomes a problem is when it becomes a unhealthy lifestyle. When instead of praying and obeying we are slacking and playing. Jesus exhorted his disciples to watch and pray. He told them that so that they would be ready for what was coming. They slept instead (another escape) and ended up abandoning their posts and Jesus. They even denied knowing him. Why? They weren't sober and vigilant. Escapism is the complete opposite of being sober and vigilant. The devil does not take vacations.