NECF mocks wounded sheep

The above title may appear too strong-worded to some but from the perspective of those faithful ex-Calvary Church members who had been ridiculed, slandered, wrongly accused and sacked by Pastor Prince Guneratnam (PG) at the height of the Calvary Church crisis a few years ago, simply for speaking out against PG’s mismanagement of Church funds and various abuses of power, the title says it all.

During the Church crisis, the Assemblies of God Malaysia as the main governing body of the AG Churches in Malaysia failed miserably despite appeals from the affected Church members for help. Instead of making efforts to resolve the conflict, the AG Malaysia sent two (2) of their heads to discredit and dismiss the Proposed Resolutions put forth by the concerned Church members at a specially convened EGM of Calvary Church.  The governing body of AG Malaysia was just too “chickened” to act against PG who is their General Superintendent Emeritus.

NECF was the only Christian organisation which showed some sympathy to the plight of the wounded and hurt sheep of Calvary Church and even made several attempts to mediate between PG and the members. PG however, rejected the mediation efforts of NECF.  

Click on the Title below to read the related article.

PG says No to Christian Arbitration. February 15, 2011

During the crisis, NECF even terminated the membership of PG’s personal ministry CIM (Calvary International Ministry) in NECF after discovering some misrepresentation in CIM’s membership application.

NECF took some action even though PG is the advisor for NECF. NECF was a hero to the wounded sheep of Calvary Church then. 

Click on the Title below to read the related article.

CIM to be De-Registered by NECF. November 15, 2008

However, today, NECF has made an about turn and appears now to be in full support of PG. NECF has decided that the closing of their annual 40-day fast and prayer for this year will be held at PG’s newly completed Calvary Convention Centre (CCC). The controversial  freemasonic building, built at a massive cost of RM200 million, has today turned the once  cash-rich Calvary Church into the biggest Church debtor in Malaysian banking history.

The selection of the CCC by NECF for this year’s closing rally is certainly ironical. PG, despite being the NECF Advisor for all these years has never supported this fast and prayer programme. He has never publicised this event in Calvary Church throughout the years and he has never attended any of  the closing rallies which have been held yearly.

Click on the Title below to read the related article.
Berita Calvary : GDOP 2010 Klang Valley Report. May 26, 2011

The only rationale for this choice of venue has to be PG's overpowering influence over the NECF Board. If this is the reason, then it is sad that our Christian leaders continue to kow-tow to PG despite his wayward ways. One of the main focus of this year’s fast and prayer is for a revival in Malaysia in this Jubilee year. How can a revival come unless we have righteous and holy Christian leaders?

The Bible says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”. (2 Chronicles 7:14) 

Of course, NECF may argue that the number of wounded sheep involved is only a fraction of the Christian population in Malaysia. Whilst this is true, the Bible also teaches that we ought not to do anything that may cause another brother to stumble.

On a separate note, some well-meaning Pastors, having taking cognisance of the sensitivity of the above matter to the ex-Calvarites as well as the axed-Calvarities, who are now attending their churches, have taken a different approach to address the issue. 

Click on the Title below to read the related article. 

Callous Pastors and Wounded Sheep. September 4, 2013

They have advised their new members to forgive PG and to attend the event.  At least one of them has even suggested that once a project is started in God’s name, we as Christians, ought to protect the good name of the Lord and do what we can to help.  This is a preposterous argument.

There is no need for mortals like us to defend God’s name. God is very capable of defending His name! Throughout history, many big-time pastors and even churches have fallen but God’s kingdom has not shrunk. God will continue to build His kingdom and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. God is not interested in buildings, even the great Temple of Solomon was torn down.

Jesus said, ^“And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (NIV)

The Message version elaborates it more clearly, “And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.”

This clearly tells us that it is Jesus who will build His Church which is made up of people, not of brick and mortar. And it is for His Church, the people, that Jesus died on the Cross to redeem and protect so that we His sheep, His Church will glorify His Wonderful Name.

The Pastors and Church leaders' duty is to feed His sheep and not to build an iconic Church building with bank borrowings. We see this very clearly in the Bible.

John 21:15-17 (NIV)

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 

Jesus builds His Church which is you and I, and by our words and actions, we will glorify Jesus’ Wonderful Name.

Micah 6: 6-8

With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,   
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

 And what does the Lord require of you

To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

If it is God's will that a Church building be built, be it a grand iconic one or a simple structured one, He will provide the resources and the funds. There will be no need to borrow. In fact, the Bible discourages people from getting into debt.  If CCC is indeed the vision of God, as PG has claimed, would there be a need to borrow money to fulfill God's vision? God certainly does not need to borrow from man to build His kingdom. He is a debtor to no one.

Therefore, there is no need for Christians to rally together to bail PG out of his debt. 

As an example, if a Pastor or Church leader takes a loan to buy a Porsche or a luxurious bungalow which he cannot afford and when the Bank comes after him because he is unable to pay, should the Church members chip in together to pay off his debt? Surely not! And why not? After all, if the Bank comes to repossess the vehicle or foreclose the property of the Pastor or Church leader, it would surely be a bad testimony to the Christian community. 

Or should you ask him to sell the luxury items off and live within his means?

Callous Pastors and Wounded Sheep

The NECF has decided to hold the Malaysia Jubilee Prayer Celebration in CCC on the coming 15 September 2013. 

Many Church Pastors have asked their congregation to attend this prayer event in CCC. While many are ready to attend this event, there is a group of wounded sheep, the ex-Calvarites and the axed-Calvarites, in their congregation who are reluctant to attend this prayer meeting. Many of these “ex-” and “axed-” Calvarites have opted to pray at home. 

Instead of extending an arm of encouragement and trying to understand the predicament these ex-Calvaites are in, some of the Pastors are preaching the sermon of forgiveness and proclaiming the judgement of curse on those who are unwilling to forgive. 

This is an extract of a sermon entitled "The Blindness of Sin"  that Pastor Prince Guneratnam (PG) was reported to have preached at the CCC on 9 August 2013, as reported in Christianity Malaysia.

“We have to understand that living in sin and even holding on to unforgiveness can cause us to be blind to things. We must not stay in that sinful state for there lays a curse.” 

Therefore, sermons such as these implies that those who have expressed their unwillingness to attend the Malaysia Jubilee Prayer Celebration are still harboring unforgiveness in their heart.

However, to ex-Calvarites, this is indeed an irony, coming from a Pastor who was so blinded that he had no hesitation to sack hundreds of his members who questioned his mismanagement and misuse of Church funds.  These wounded sheep who have been rescued by God in His mercy and grace, from the land of "Egypt" are now being asked by the new Pastors to re-visit "Egypt". 

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

The following is a letter from a Pastor to one of these ex-Calvarites who have decided not to attend the Prayer Celebration at CCC this coming 15 September 2013. We believe that this is the stand NECF and many Pastors are taking when confronted with ex-Calvarites who choose not to attend this prayer event at the CCC.

LETTER FROM A PASTOR

We need to pray for Pastor Prince and for the debt to be settled in a God- honoring way. In the end it is the Christian testimony that counts in Malaysia. When one part of the body hurts, all the rest of the body hurts too.

Once a project is started in God's name, the whole world looks on. Rightly or wrongly, the world does not care because it only looks to criticize the Church of Jesus Christ. So we need to protect the good name of The Lord. How?

We pray for the leader that God will direct him in the right way.

We pray for the protection of the Name of Christ

We do what we can if possible to help.

We will not join in the host of criticism but instead pray for the wrong doer or pray for God' s vindication if innocent.

We will not spread the accusations but leave it to The Lord, especially when we cannot know both sides of the story. 

We must not make judgments unless we know both sides.

We must forgive the wrong doer and if he is repentant we must help to restore and to control damage because the real enemy of the Church , satan, seeks to destroy His church.

Pastors are a rare breed nowadays! Many do not want to become pastors because of the stress and heartaches. Many churches cannot find successors to replace their pastors. Every month, 200 pastors resign in America alone. AOG Pastors in Malaysia suffer the most heart problems so much so the Insurance Company have refused to insure them! 

So we need to pray for every pastor and not to help satan destroy them by either making them fall into sin, or make mistakes big and small, or expect them to be superhuman. We will not spread negative stories about them. Let God deal with them. We can only advise and pray. If truly in the wrong, God will judge because a pastor holds a greater responsibility and face a greater judgment. We are called to pray and not be the Judge. Even when action has to be taken, do it in love not in spite.

We ourselves have gone through so many false accusations just because we will not compromise, or have to correct wrongdoing, or refuse to be bribed or intimidated. So we would like to encourage all who are called Christians to pray for the Body of Christ and for God to give to us,  shepherds of character and wisdom. We commit the false and corrupt into God's hands.

I do not mind you passing on this message to the whole body of Christ. How we need to close ranks, pray for the weak and encourage the weary! Our enemy is not flesh and blood but principalities and powers of darkness.

May The Lord return to a united, faithful loving church.    

Here are some responses written by different ex-Calvarites, who have read this letter.

Response #1 

To go back to CCC when the Lord closed doors - IT IS NO.   To participate what they are doing NO.   To walk with the Lord yes.......in any case PG insists despite all the evidence I HAVE DONE NO WRONG......he never asked for forgiveness........but we have made the choice to forgive him all the same.     When the pastor mentioned judging - is it not true that when a brother sin, we must go to him to tell him of his wrong-doing?   Is this judging?

A pastor can make mistakes but must have a humble attitude to admit wrong and get things settled in love.......this is something to ponder.......

Response #2

Many close to 1000 including I have already let go, forgiven PG for the wrongs done to us, the sheep under his care.

Many of us who left  CC have found 'pastures to graze' and eventually got involved with the service for our Lord......but many too have stumbled and do not want even to go to worship - this is sad and this hurts the most.  We are working and praying these will be restored and healing comes to them.

Response #3

I am sorry to say that this pastor is treating ex-CC members as firstly like kids and secondly people still suffering  pains from church abuse can move on...

Will PG confess all that unspiritual acts  he and his cronies have done and still doing these many many years before and after the start of the CCC project?  Has any one from the pastoral or the elders group come forward with a full explanation and not just attribute the "wrong doings" to only the victims?  Has anyone still in the CC institution ever expressed concern for a deacon sacked as a result of a kangaroo style court hearing? We know that there are dozens more very vital issues besides the wrongful usage of the church money and dictatorial power.

It is very unfair to listen just to one man's justification of  his "image" and family survival and protection and ignore the practice of church abuse unless your pastor is revealing a common practice in all churches in this sick world.

Let me give a quotation from a world leader:- "Forgive your enemies but do not forget their names."

Please tell your pastor that you have forgiven him but it is harder to forget that lousy name of a so-called Shepard.

Pastors and leaders from other churches should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger and not taking sidesinted.  Why?  PG has often reminded his congregation of the saying "Birds of a feather congregate together".  This saying is applicable to all including men of God using the pulpits to teach.

Response #4

Just sharing the little I know and is not an attack on Ps. This is the ills of the churches around. What the pastor shared are things I have heard from many others who have been raving about the building and the goods the building is to the Christian community here in Malaysia, a Muslim nation. That is why I say the Pride of Christians in M'sia. Do correct me if I am out of line with my opinions, most importantly, if I am wrong biblically. 

Response #5

Praise God that He is still doing wonderful things for me to cause me to fly higher with Him as He has done since the problems started in CC. He never fails. To God be the glory. His grace is ever before me.

This email is encouraging to me at this time when many Christian leaders are blinded by the grandeur of a building, which suddenly has become a Christian "pride"  in Malaysia which must be saved at "all" cost, to illustrate God's glory. A building?

Also I wonder when we need to defend God's Majestic Name, when He is the One who defend us, His followers. So cover the dirt so that the Church as one body will look 'good' to others. Will this please man or God? I know my God is much mightier and sovereign. He is the All-Powerful One. Are we drawn into secular mindset nowadays? 

Another point to make is if pastors are called, why do they fail? Are they not called to stand for Christ, the Truth, The Way and the Life. So what if insurance companies do not insured the AOG pastors? To whom and in whom do we trust? And why the rejection? If pastors cannot stand the fire of refining, can they be true shepherds for the many lost sheep? I rather have one Paul than many Diotrephes? What do you think? Has the Church as a whole fail the world? Is there a compromise in our values for unity sake? 

I leave the judgement and forgiveness bits for  you to think about. Feeling sad that the eastern churches are much influenced by the "mega churches" ways of the west, which is also affecting the African churches. 

The main problem in CCC is not the debts. Only God can restore it because our wonderful Lord can make All things good, like the way He is making something beautiful out of our redeemed lives. 

Pray for the many who were hurt and still are hurting.  Still learning and changing and being transformed by His Holy Spirit, prayerfully,

Response #6. 

This was sent in by an ex-Calvarite. It is a perfect divinely timed reminder to Pastors who have visited the CCC and were awed by it.

From: Daily Proverb proverbs@letgodbetrue.com

Date: Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 4:00 AM

Subject: Proverb for Tuesday, September 3 (3:31)

Proverbs 3:31

Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.

Sin seems to help some get ahead, but it is a lying illusion. Do not be jealous of those who appear to prosper by taking advantage of others, for they shall soon be brought down (Pr 3:32-35). Do not use any of their manners or methods, for they are the tools of fools.

 Those that oppress others – afflict, dominate, or torment them – are in trouble with God. Such men are froward, and they are an abomination to God; such men are wicked, and they are cursed by God; such men are scorners, and they are scorned by God; such men are fools, and God shall shame them. But He will bless gentle and kind men (Pr 3:32-35).

 Overbearing and presumptuous men may succeed for a while, until God and men take back what they stole by their oppressive ways. Foolish men are impressed by the strong-arm tactics and apparent success of these tyrants. They are deceived thinking such methods are manly and efficient – the way for the strong to survive and prosper. But God inspired the rule here – do not envy such men (Pr 23:17; 24:1,19-20; Ps 37:1,7-9).

 Neither should you adopt their manners or methods. It is not enough to despise froward men; you must also reject all their habits and practices. Sin will deceive you by justifying some of their ways, as long as you reject other of their ways. God and Solomon knew this temptation, so they also condemned choosing any of the devices or tactics of oppressors.

 What are the ways of an oppressor? They love to drive a hard bargain, paying less than they should, but charging more than they should (Pr 11:26; 20:14). A righteous man pays a fair price and charges a fair price, especially when the helpless or poor are involved. When it comes to charity, the oppressor neglects the poor and only gives a little grudgingly, but a good man gives generously and is rewarded for it (Pr 11:24-25; 29:7).

 What are the ways of an oppressor? They are harsh and hard on animals, employees, and themselves. But noble and virtuous men are kind and merciful to all three (Pr 11:17; 12:10; 18:23; 29:21). The oppressor speaks sharply, critically, and much, wounding his hearers, but the wise man speaks his few words graciously, feeds men wisdom by his speech, and wins even the king’s heart (Pr 10:21; 12:18; 15:2,28; 17:9; 22:11; Col 4:6).

 What are the ways of an oppressor? They create strife, divide and conquer, look out for number one, and sow discord (Pr 6:14,19; 15:18; 16:28; 26:20-22). But godly men crave peace, work to keep it, and honor others (Pr 15:1; 19:11; Eph 4:3; Phil 2:1-5). An oppressor walks over a starving Lazarus going to his fat table, but he ends up in hell (Lu 16:19-23)! Diotrephes may cast men out of the church, but he will pay (III Jn 1:9-11).

 What wisdom can you learn? Rather than envy oppressors in the world, whom God abhors, envy the righteous, with whom God shares His secret (Pr 3:32). Choose the ways of the godly and earn favor with God and men (Ps 37:37; I Co 4:16; 11:1; Phil 3:17; 4:9). God measures the heart and actions of every man, and let Him find you helping others.