The REAL Problem With Transformation Church And Mike Todd!

Fight For Truth

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

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

00:05

Christian commentary about the things that matter. Thanks so much for watching, let's get into the video. So Transformation Church is a megachurch in Tulsa, Oklahoma led by celebrity pastor

00:15

Mike Todd. Now we've done several videos on Mike Todd on this channel up to this point, but this video is going to be very different.

00:22

Today, we are going to discover how Transformation Church was founded and what its underlying motivations have been from its inception.

00:29

And this will all be explained according to the actual words of the actual founders of this church.

00:35

So without further ado, let's watch the first clip. Check this out. Church, an impact that will make a difference.

00:43

In 1999, I had a real vision from God to go to North Tulsa. And there in North Tulsa to start a church, not a traditional church, but a church that was very contemporary in all that we did and how we did it.

00:59

The voice you just heard, ladies and gentlemen, was the voice of the founder of Transformation Church.

01:04

His name is Gary McIntosh. Listen closely to what he said. He said that God gave him a vision to plant a church in Northern Tulsa.

01:13

Now do I believe that God gave him this vision? No, I do not. And I really hope you don't either. But that's beside the point.

01:18

The next thing he says is that God told him to found this church, quote, not as a traditional church, but as a church that was very contemporary in all that we did and how we did it.

01:31

End quote. It sounds like something I would make up, this quote, but it's actually what he said. And this, ladies and gentlemen, deviates in an important way from the command of God in Scripture.

01:41

Can you show me one place in Scripture where God tells someone to plant a church, but there's a catch.

01:46

Everything they do in this church must be modern and contemporary in every way. Go ahead.

01:52

Look through your Bible and you will not find such a church. Now, am I saying that every contemporary worship service and every contemporary thing that we do in church is sinful and unbiblical?

02:02

No, I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying here is that God does not command you to start a modern church or a trendy church, as this man says.

02:11

You see, in Scripture, if you are planting a church, God simply calls you to plant a faithful church.

02:17

That is the only qualification. That is the main priority. A church that is faithful to his kingdom, his mission, and his word.

02:25

This is our command for planting churches. Acts 20 -28 tells church leaders to, quote, pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the

02:34

Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

02:41

End quote. Now, this passage is a direction for all pastors, and there's simply nothing in it about being modern or trendy as a central priority of your ministry to win people to the gospel.

02:51

Now, let's also be clear, it also does not say that every new and trendy thing that we might do in church is sinful.

02:57

Rather, it simply says it's not a priority for the church. It says that you should care for the flock of God in a way that honors him and brings him glory.

03:05

That should be our main focus. And what is the command that started all church planting that we see today, at least all biblical?

03:11

Church planting. Well, that would be the Great Commission, given by Jesus himself. And what does Jesus say in the

03:17

Great Commission? Well, in Matthew 28, 18 -20, Jesus says this, quote, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

03:25

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the

03:31

Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.

03:36

And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. End quote. This instigated the mission of the church, if you will, and notice again, there is nothing in here about making your church, quote, contemporary in every way.

03:50

But that's precisely what Gary McIntosh, the founder of Transformation Church, said that God told him to do.

03:57

So the question then becomes, why would God give a message to Gary McIntosh that is vastly different from the message that he gave the rest of his church?

04:05

If starting a contemporary church was so much more glorifying to God, why did God wait two thousand years of church history before he gave that command?

04:15

And the answer is, quite simply, because Gary McIntosh had this vision for himself, and he's attributing this vision to God.

04:22

God tells us to call people to repentance, to spread the gospel, to teach the word of God, to baptize people, to institute the

04:29

Lord's Supper. All of these are direct commands from God with regard to how the church should operate, and each one has a very high priority in the

04:38

New Testament writings. But God does not say that your church service must be modern. He does not say that your church service must be hip.

04:46

He does not say that it must be, quote, contemporary in every way, as a high priority, as Gary McIntosh said.

04:53

So already, ladies and gentlemen, we can clearly see that from the get -go, from the very beginning,

04:58

Transformation Church was founded based on a vision that is at best neutral and at worst extremely imbalanced and problematic.

05:05

And that vision has been attributed to God, despite the fact that his word really says nothing of the sort.

05:11

So with that all said, let's watch the next clip. When Transformation Church started,

05:16

I asked God, what would make us different than any other church? He said, you're actually going to show people who

05:22

I am and not care what anybody else thinks. So that voice you just heard, you may recognize as the voice of Mike Todd, the current celebrity pastor of Transformation Church.

05:33

Let me repeat what he said. Mike says that he asked God, what would make Transformation Church different from all the other churches?

05:39

And God directly spoke to him, saying, quote, you're actually going to show people who I am and not care what anybody else thinks, end quote.

05:48

What makes Transformation Church different from other churches? Well, according to Mike Todd himself, they are actually going to show people who

05:56

God is. And this, of course, implies that there is some way in which other churches are not showing people who

06:01

God actually is. I thought these trendy pastors were supposed to be super humble. To suggest that your church is one of the only churches that really actually shows people who

06:11

God is and what God's all about, that's a pretty big claim to make. And keep in mind, this video montage was edited and posted by Transformation Church themselves.

06:20

I did not put this together. And this comment about actually showing people who God is made by Mike Todd, well, it comes directly after what

06:27

Gary McIntosh said, that God told him to plant a church that would be modern and contemporary in every way.

06:33

The implication here seems to be that the modernization of Transformation Church, the contemporary posture of the church, is what gives it the ability to actually represent

06:42

God in this way that separates it from all the other churches. And I'm not taking a great leap of faith here or presuming upon their words.

06:50

This is what the actual leaders of the church said in the video that they put out. And again,

06:55

I will ask you, where do you find this in Scripture? God founded his church almost 2 ,000 years ago, and all of a sudden

07:01

Mike Todd has figured out how to really represent God? Give me a break. The fact that he's even asking

07:07

God what's going to make him different from all the other churches, well, that's more of a marketing question than a spiritual one.

07:13

Lord, there's lots of churches out there, but what's our gimmick? What's going to separate us from the rest of the pack? What's going to make us bigger than them?

07:20

What's going to be our marketing campaign that makes people come to Transformation Church instead of First Baptist Church of Tulsa or any number of other churches in our area?

07:28

So right from the get -go, in the very foundations of Transformation Church, the growth of the church and the difference of the church seems to be the utmost concern.

07:38

How can we be contemporary? What makes us different? How can we represent God in a new, exciting way?

07:44

These are their words, not mine. And none of these questions seem to have anything to do with glorifying

07:50

God or obeying and applying his word. But for whatever reason, these seem to have an awful lot to do with the success of their church.

07:57

Interesting how that works. On the other hand, Colossians 3 .16 gives specific directions to the church, saying, quote,

08:03

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

08:14

End quote. This talks about the church, and it refers to the word, teaching, admonishing one another, singing psalms and hymns, and giving thanks to God.

08:23

But notice how God does not start his church and then immediately instruct the apostle Paul on how to fashion a microphone.

08:29

He does not give the apostle Peter detailed instructions on how to invent the electric guitar. Why not?

08:35

Well, because making the church cool and new and modern, maybe that wasn't the Lord's priority. You see, the church exists to bring

08:41

God glory and to shepherd his people until the return of his son. Being contemporary is a very high priority for the founders and leaders of Transformation Church.

08:51

That's what they've said themselves. But it doesn't seem to be a high priority at all for Jesus, Paul, Peter, or the historic

08:58

Christian Church. So the question must then be asked, why is being contemporary and different such a big deal for the founders of Transformation Church?

09:06

Well, because it's their marketing gimmick. That's why. You just heard Mike Todd say it himself. This is what separates them from all of the other churches.

09:14

And again, let me establish that electric guitars and modern song structures are not sinful.

09:19

But anything can become an idol if you refuse to put it in its proper place. And I think that's definitely happened here.

09:26

So with that said, let's watch this last clip. Check this out. Right now we're averaging about 600 people.

09:33

When we get to 1 ,000, we're going to rejoice, and then we're going to rehearse what we talked about when it was 600. When we get to 2 ,000, 2 ,500, we're going to rejoice, and then we're going to rehearse what was talked about when we were 500.

09:45

So Mike Todd says, right now we have about 600 people, but when we get to 2 ,000, we're going to rejoice and then rehearse what we talked about when there were only 600 people.

09:55

Again, this is a young Mike Todd, very young, giving you insight into how and why he does what he does today.

10:02

Notice here, ladies and gentlemen, that there's absolutely no consideration of the idea that God might only draw 600 people to Transformation Church.

10:10

Maybe that's as big as he wants their church to be. Mike Todd says, right now we have 600, but when we get to 2 ,000, not if we get there, when we get there, it's inevitable that our church will grow to that size.

10:22

That must be God's will, surely. And this really shows you the problem with Transformation Church, because what you just heard is nothing short of absolutely unbiblical.

10:31

First Corinthians 3, 6 -7 says, I, Paul, planted, Apollos, watered, but God gave the growth.

10:38

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

10:44

When it comes to spiritual growth, it is God who fully is responsible for any kind of increase.

10:50

Therefore, you cannot know how many people will join your church. You cannot know how many people God is going to draw to Himself in your city through your particular ministry.

10:59

It is God's will and His decision, not yours. So how, then, can Mike Todd say that he guarantees that his church will grow to be over 2 ,000 people?

11:08

He said, when we get to 2 ,000, not if, when. And he said this many years ago when his church was not 2 ,000, it was only 600.

11:16

God's will is not considered. God's number is not considered. Mike Todd makes the number for himself, and it's up to God to do the rest.

11:24

Some might ask me, how will I explain the fact that Mike Todd successfully predicted the rise of his church? Was this prophetic?

11:31

No. It's quite simple. Mike Todd knew that his church would be over 2 ,000 people because he knows that his seeker -sensitive church tactics work.

11:38

That's how he knew. Give the people what they want, and they will come to consume it. It's really that simple.

11:44

Let's review what we've just heard. Transformation Church, according to its own founders and according to their own methods, is a place where everything must be contemporary in every way.

11:53

That's literally a direct quote from Gary McIntosh, the first pastor of the church. Transformation Church is also a place that, according to Mike Todd himself, quote, actually shows people who

12:03

God is. A place that's unique from all other churches around it. It's contemporary. It's special.

12:08

It's different. It's awesome. And finally, we know from the very beginning that they were hyper -fixated on the growth of their church.

12:15

In fact, they were so obsessed with growing Transformation Church that they knew it would surpass 2 ,000 people.

12:22

God's Word says that the church must worship Him, and Transformation Church says that they must worship Him in a 100 % contemporary way.

12:29

God's Word says that God alone can give growth and increase, but Mike Todd seems to think that he and his church growth methods can guarantee the increase.

12:37

God's Word says that our highest priority in the church is to simply glorify Him in all things.

12:43

There is no emphasis on church growth. There is no emphasis on contemporary style. There is no emphasis on being stylistically new, exciting, and different from all the other churches around you.

12:53

No. These are not emphasized in Scripture at all, but they are somehow indispensable aspects of Transformation Church.

12:59

How does that happen? So the fact is, the goals and methods of Transformation Church do not reflect the goals and methods of Scripture.

13:06

That is the way they've been since their inception, and according to their own leaders, and that is the reason that you should avoid them.

13:13

So let's pray for Mike Todd, that he would stop this unbiblical thinking and turn to the truth of God's Word.

13:19

Thank you so much for watching. If you liked that video, please like, comment, share, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so that you never miss another one.

13:27

If you didn't like that video for any reason, then I invite you to watch my Frequently Asked Questions video, link in description, where I deal with common objections and define the purpose and goal of my channel using

13:38

Scripture. This channel is funded by generous donations from my amazing patrons. If you'd like to help us put out more videos just like this one, hit the link in the description or go to patreon .com

13:48

slash Colin A. Miller. You can donate to my ministry there and earn tons of rewards just like these.

13:54

And until next time, fight for truth, never surrender, and keep your eyes open. Thank you and God bless.