The Elevation Church Kids Coloring Book EXPOSED!

Hey guys, Colin here, and welcome back to the channel where the Bible and critical thinking meet to give you real

Christian commentary about the things that matter. Thanks so much for watching, let's get into the video. So Elevation Church is a church located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and founded and headed up by none other than Stephen Furtick.

If you've watched this channel for virtually any length of time, you probably already know this though. So today we're going to take a look at the principles that were put into the

Elevation Church coloring book for the young children in their church. The group was called E -Kids, and the coloring books they were using were instructing the children on how to follow the goals of Elevation Church.

And these goals were made into a list of twelve principles that Elevation Church called The Code. Yes, the children were being instructed in how to follow

The Code. And I've been informed that the name has now been changed to something else. But anyhow, these twelve principles offered by Elevation Church are very telling.

In today's video, we are going to review these principles and compare them to Scripture. Now, some people would ask,

Colin, why do you think it's productive or beneficial or helpful to the church to critique what another church is teaching their children through a coloring book?

Isn't this a pastoral issue? Is this really a good use of your time as a Christian, Colin? And to that I would respond by saying, great questions, and yes,

I think this is a great use of my time. Why? Because you can tell a lot about the nature of a church by what they teach their children.

By definition, the values we instill in our children in church are the values we want to see in the future leaders and future families in our church.

This is not a small pastoral issue. It is an extremely important, relevant topic that shows us how

Elevation Church is using its resources and what it prioritizes doctrinally. So without further ado, let's get into the

Elevation Church coloring book and what they teach to their children. By the way, after Stephen Furtick himself saw this coloring book, he tweeted the following message, quote,

So in case you thought Stephen wasn't involved or he may not have known about this, here's a direct quote of him praising the coloring book and the values promoted in it.

This whole list of twelve principles will be linked in the description, and there's a great article from Protestia that explains what you'll be looking at.

The first of these principles that I want you to look at is number four on the list. The principle is as follows, quote,

We are united under the visionary. Elevation is built on the vision that God gave Pastor Stephen.

We will aggressively defend our unity and his vision, end quote. They really said that Elevation Church is built on the vision that God gave

Pastor Stephen. Not Elevation Church was built on the vision that Christ gave the apostles, but rather the vision that God gave

Pastor Stephen. This is almost Gnostic in nature. There's a secret knowledge to this that only

Pastor Stephen is privy to, and it comes directly from the Lord. Don't question anything that happens at Elevation Church.

Don't question any of the mission of Stephen Furtick. It was given to him by God. You must aggressively defend this vision that God gave

Pastor Stephen. So did God give Pastor Stephen the vision to link up with T .D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, and Joyce Meyer, all three of whom are heretical false teachers?

Romans 16, 17 says, quote, I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught.

Avoid them, end quote. So God gave the church his vision in the Book of Romans, and that vision included distancing yourselves from false teachers.

But the vision that God gave Pastor Stephen, for whatever reason, allows him to preach at Joel Osteen's church and invite false teachers like T .D.

Jakes to speak at his church. It's interesting how the vision that God gave Pastor Stephen actively breaks the commands that God gave the rest of us.

Interesting how that happens. Another concerning line in this particular principle is the part where it says that the children must grow up ready and willing to, quote, aggressively defend the vision of Pastor Stephen.

Not to defend Scripture. Not to defend the truth of the Christian worldview. That's not even mentioned at all.

The emphasis here is on aggressively defending Stephen Furtick, who they lovingly call the visionary.

2 Corinthians 10 .5 says, quote, We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey

Christ, end quote. This passage tells us to defend the Christian worldview, not the vision of Pastor Stephen.

We should be instructing our children to be loyal first and foremost and undyingly to the teaching of Scripture, not first and foremost to their celebrity pastor.

This is how cults get started, folks. We cannot have this happen. And as a final point on this principle,

I want to say that I think it contradicts the Berean principle in Acts chapter 17. You see, in Acts 17 .11,

Paul says, quote, Now these Jews, the Bereans, were more noble than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with all eagerness, examining the

Scriptures daily to see if these things were so, end quote. Look at the irony here, guys.

Paul actually received a direct vision from the Lord. Paul was literally commissioned by Christ himself in Scripture.

Yet, when Paul was telling these people in Berea about what Christ had commissioned him to do and what

Christ had taught him to teach, they compared his teaching to the Scriptures that God had given them.

In response, Paul does not say, don't touch the Lord's anointed, or you need to aggressively defend the vision of Pastor Paul, you jerks.

No, he calls them noble for comparing his vision to Scripture and making sure that it matched up with God's revelation.

Paul's vision from Christ led to obeying Scripture, and therefore the Bereans were more than welcome to compare it to Scripture.

But Stephen Furtick's vision is supposed to be aggressively defended at all costs, no matter what, even though we know that certain parts of this vision actually contradict

Scripture. I guess that explains why Elevation Church fans get so up in arms when you question their precious visionary.

After all, the coloring book told them never to do that. So with that said, let's move on to the next principle.

This one is pretty simple. It says the following, quote, We are all about the numbers. Tracking metrics measures effectiveness.

We unapologetically set goals and measure progress through all available quantitative means.

End quote. Guys, I know this sounds like something I would make up about them, but believe me, this is actually what

Elevation Church put in their own book. They said they're all about the numbers. Again, see the article in the description for proof.

So first, they say they're all about the numbers, and I agree. I've been saying this about Elevation Church for a long time, and I'm glad they finally admit it.

And then they say something that is very telling. They say, quote, Tracking metrics measures effectiveness.

And this is perhaps one of the most clear glimpses we have into the Elevation Church organizational framework.

Measuring numbers is measuring effectiveness, and measuring effectiveness is measuring numbers.

They're one in the same. More numbers equals more effectiveness, in all cases. In other words, Elevation Church is publicly saying that a big church is, by definition, an effective church.

That's what the phrase means. And here's the implications of this teaching. If you have a church in rural Montana, in a town with, say, only 2 ,000 people in it, and your church is only about 75 people, you are not effective.

If this church has only converted a few people every year, baptized a few people every year, they're not effective.

It's all about the numbers, right? The only way to be truly effective is to increase your numbers. These are their words, not mine.

I'm just reading what they said. Therefore, the only way to have a truly effective church is to be located within a big city where you have access to the most people.

The only way to have a truly effective church is to have a bigger church. And the only way to know if your church is still being effective in the community is by increasing your attendance each week.

This is the Elevation Church model. In fact, this is a good description of the entire Seeker Sensitive model.

And the problem with this is that it denies what the Bible says about a truly effective church.

Biblically speaking, an effective church is one that is faithful to what God has commanded it. It's that simple.

Now, is it possible that you are ministering entirely faithfully in a particular community and the people in your specific city are heart of heart and will not join the church?

Yes, that's entirely possible. In Matthew 10, 14, Jesus says, when you leave that house or that town.

So Jesus Christ himself says that it is possible for significant portions of people in a particular town to reject the gospel.

Numbers do not measure effectiveness. Faithfulness to the Lord measures effectiveness. Were these disciples ineffective ministers because the town didn't believe?

No, Jesus does not say that. Ephesians 2, 20 -22 says that the church is, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.

Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the

Lord. Nothing here about numbers. The passage makes it very clear that the mission of the church is to be faithful to the teaching of Christ, recognizing

Him as the cornerstone of the church and acting accordingly. Whether or not a church grows as a result of this behavior is up to God.

1 Corinthians 3, 7 says, So the

Bible says that effective churches are those that are faithful to the Lord. Stephen Furtick, on the other hand, says that effective churches are those that are growing in their numbers.

There is a world of difference between these two views, and it really shows in how you operate your church.

You will either prioritize numbers or you will prioritize faithfulness. Churches that desperately want numbers tend to sacrifice faithfulness in their pursuit of growth.

That is the problem here. So with that said, let's move on to the final principle that I want to show you.

One of the Elevation Church code principles also says this, We are known for what we are for.

We will speak vision and life over our people. We will lift up the salvation of Jesus rather than using our platform to condemn.

So here is explicit proof, ladies and gentlemen, that Elevation Church actively avoids preaching on topics that could be seen as condemning in any way.

That's why they do not publicly call out people for killing their babies. That's why they don't call out participation in LGBT behaviors that God calls an abomination.

They said that we do not use our platform to condemn. That's what they said. Now Furtick may be getting this from Romans 8 .1,

which says the following, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Well that settles it then, right? I mean, the verse literally says no condemnation allowed, doesn't it?

No. And the problem with using this verse to justify Elevation Church's practices is that you're ignoring the true meaning of the passage.

When it says that those who are truly in Christ the Church are not condemned, the implication is that those who are outside of Christ are condemned.

How can the beauty of the gospel be shown to the world without the world understanding that it's condemned without the gospel?

Why would anyone even need the gospel if they're not condemned without believing it? You see the problem here?

This statement from Elevation Church seems very charitable, very kind, very mainstream, very

Christian, but it's actually what's neutering us in the Church. Following this principle stops us from telling the entire biblical truth.

In John 3 .18, Jesus says this, Whoever believes in him, Jesus, is not condemned.

But whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only

Son of God. To avoid speaking about condemnation is to be un -Christlike.

Jesus himself spoke of condemnation, and therefore we should willingly and readily speak of it ourselves.

And we should do so in order to bring people into the grace and lack of condemnation that comes when they submit to Christ, but not a moment sooner.

And without submission to Christ, there is only hell, sin, and condemnation. That must be made clear.

We should not ignore that. It's the biblical truth. There's no getting around this. When compared to Scripture, the teaching of Stephen Furtick is soft, weak, effeminate, and imbalanced.

Period. If you were to read the Bible and then listen to Stephen Furtick preach, you will quickly find that Stephen Furtick's teaching blurs the parts of the

Bible that he sees as condemning or too negative, and he focuses actively, very actively in fact, on the parts of the

Bible that he likes or that he finds positive. In this view, Stephen Furtick is the ultimate arbiter of which biblical truths are better than the others.

In effect, he is the moral standard, not God. This principle used at Elevation Church demonstrates that perfectly.

So in conclusion, I've been telling you guys for well over a year now, Elevation Church is a place that focuses on carrying out

Stephen Furtick's mission to the bitter end. A place that is all about the numbers, and a place that ignores the parts of Scripture that talk about anything related to condemnation.

And in response, many people have told me that I'm off my rocker, that I'm uncharitable, I'm hypercritical, and that I misrepresent

Stephen and his church. But here is the proof, ladies and gentlemen, that they do these things, and not from some hidden book on a dusty shelf.

Am I finding this? No, I found it in a coloring book that they give children at their church. They are publicly admitting, publicly acknowledging everything

I've said about them. So I will not relent in my loving biblical critique of Elevation Church.

They have been, and still are to this day, promoting false teaching and unbiblical values in their church.

So please, pray for Stephen as well as for his deceived congregation that they would repent of this and turn to the truth of God's Word.

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