"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" 1 Peter 3:15 (KJV)
How do you stay faithful to God’s people as you stand in disagreement with our current church leadership? Have we become like the church of Constantine; Looking good and prosperous from the outside, but abandoning God’s Word on the inside? A time where the word of a man was considered level with the Word of God. Are we the institutionalized church of today, the church that everybody can see, but in reality is not the true bride of Christ?
What is it that I can do? I am a simple preacher who grew up in a small town in Puerto Rico. I am nobody; I have no power and I have no influence. Should I start a new local church? Should I start a new denomination? Does the world need a new expression of this thing we call the church? Is division the only answer? Is there anybody out there that feels the way I feel?
How do you stay faithful to God’s people as you stand in disagreement with our current church leadership? I am so dissatisfied, I am so fed-up, so tired of the hypocrisy, the Business Network-like approach to church as the substitution to the Apostolic order.
What about the “heroes” of our faith today? They are television stars, with their fancy houses, fancy clothing and fancy life-styles. They are cowards who spread their demonic doctrine of materialism. They are false prophets and teachers who deny Jesus’ Gospel to rather be friends with the world. All they speak about is money. They have members as if they are a part of a prestigious social club, but no desire to make disciples or to be disciples for that matter. They seek buildings over the power available to transform lives.
Their message is empty and un-anointed sounding more like motivational speakers and not like the ambassadors of God’s Word that they are supposed to be. The focus is on what can we get. The focus is Me, Myself and I. They moved away from sacrifice and the confrontation of sin; those kinds of messages could affect their “Bottom Line.” Ya know! That is because the Word is no longer the center of their message, but they offer themselves as the main event.
How do you stay faithful to God’s people as you stand in disagreement with our current church leadership? Am I looking for perfection? How can I demand a perfection that I don’t have? But I am looking for a man who is willing to follow God, a man who is willing to humble himself before the prophet when sin is revealed. Where is such man? I don’t see one, not one that is willing to place God above their denominational ideologies, not one that is willing to bring down the walls of his own pride.
How do you stay faithful to God’s people as you stand in disagreement with our current church leadership? I don’t know, perhaps I am the problem! Who am I, after all, to even ask these questions?
An independent thinker with a profound call to see the orthodoxy of the church and passion for Christ manifesting together. Angel was born in Brooklyn, New York in April of 1968, he was raised on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico where he earned his B.S. degree in Sociology with a minor in Education from the Inter American University in San Germán in 1991. That same year he moved to Jacksonville, Florida. After working construction jobs for a year and learning the English language, his first job working with foster-care children in the capacity of youth care worker was with Jacksonville Youth Sanctuary in September of 1992. With JYS he was promoted several times as group home supervisor, legal caseworker, and program director.
While in Jacksonville, Angel studied a couple of martial arts styles. After earning his black belt, he became the founder of Good Fight Ministries as he used martial arts as an instrument to preach the gospel. In 2004 Angel was selected Martial Arts Instructor of the Year for the State of Florida and in 2005 Angel was inducted in the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame where he also received the Christian Spirit Award. In July of 2005 Angel accepted his call to pastor a bilingual church in Winton, NC where he served for a couple of years. Five months later he lost his first wife to cancer in December of that same year. This initiated a deep valley of suffering in his life, a mountain of costly mistakes and the embracing of lifestyles of sin that are well documented through this blog.
In August of 2012 Angel moved to Fairbanks Alaska with his wife Rayette Casiano and six children who are now adults. In Alaska, Angel continued his social work-related career and his ministry of preaching, teaching and writing. Angel is the author of two books, Hope for the divorcee: Forgiving and Moving Forward and 7 Banderas de Esperanza: La Bendición de Yokdzonot.
In January 8th of 2020 Angel and his wife moved to Arizona. On June 8th 2021 Angel started his home church, not as a starting point, but as a closer way to how the church is suppose to look like according to Scripture.
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2 Comments
Angel, I read your reflection and I am in total in agreement with you. I understand your frustration because it’s the same frustration that beholds me and many others that don’t have a voice. Although, you and I may not see eye to eye in the whole higher power concept, I must say that I too was once a believer. Looking back; and reflecting on it, I was never happy with the fact that there’s but one bible yet so many denominations! As a mature adult, it’s easy for me to make that connection today and hence, understand the reason. There are as many denominations as there are needs to be met by man. Mans desire to interpret the bible to fit his needs is the sole reason why churches don’t seem to have the appeal they once did. I for one keep my mind open to the possibility of one day making such a connection with a power greater than myself but truth be said, I gotta find him on my own because the preachers who’s job to bring in the sheep is back firing rather, they seem to be scarring them off ( I’m talking about the normal thinking people not the mentally challenged who seem to stay for more). How do you stay faithful to God’s people as you stand in disagreement with our current church leadership? That’s a tough one because turning against the church could be seen as turning against the people especially, when there won’t be a shortage of preacher who will try to bring you down. I will tell you this, “perhaps this is your calling”! To save man from greed, lust, power… in other words to save them from some preachers and their churches. It’s kinda scary when you think how today you not only fight outside worldly forces, but also battle the sinful forces inside the church. “Your in for big fight”, maybe the biggest one of your life. Your are going against what has already been established, and to some extent accepted, (David and Goliath) My suggestion is to tighten your belt and as the bible says pick up your cross and follow me. Hey, the little man doesn’t always loose so don’t despair.
Love your words! You minister to me, you made me think and you make me laugh, Hey, the little man doesn’t always loose so don’t despair.” LOL! God bless you, whomever you are…thank you!
Angel, I read your reflection and I am in total in agreement with you. I understand your frustration because it’s the same frustration that beholds me and many others that don’t have a voice. Although, you and I may not see eye to eye in the whole higher power concept, I must say that I too was once a believer. Looking back; and reflecting on it, I was never happy with the fact that there’s but one bible yet so many denominations! As a mature adult, it’s easy for me to make that connection today and hence, understand the reason. There are as many denominations as there are needs to be met by man. Mans desire to interpret the bible to fit his needs is the sole reason why churches don’t seem to have the appeal they once did. I for one keep my mind open to the possibility of one day making such a connection with a power greater than myself but truth be said, I gotta find him on my own because the preachers who’s job to bring in the sheep is back firing rather, they seem to be scarring them off ( I’m talking about the normal thinking people not the mentally challenged who seem to stay for more). How do you stay faithful to God’s people as you stand in disagreement with our current church leadership? That’s a tough one because turning against the church could be seen as turning against the people especially, when there won’t be a shortage of preacher who will try to bring you down. I will tell you this, “perhaps this is your calling”! To save man from greed, lust, power… in other words to save them from some preachers and their churches. It’s kinda scary when you think how today you not only fight outside worldly forces, but also battle the sinful forces inside the church. “Your in for big fight”, maybe the biggest one of your life. Your are going against what has already been established, and to some extent accepted, (David and Goliath) My suggestion is to tighten your belt and as the bible says pick up your cross and follow me. Hey, the little man doesn’t always loose so don’t despair.
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Love your words! You minister to me, you made me think and you make me laugh, Hey, the little man doesn’t always loose so don’t despair.” LOL! God bless you, whomever you are…thank you!
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