It is no secret that there exists an alarming trend in the church, one that should make your hair stand on end and your heart sink: men who arrogate the mantle of speaking on behalf of God, who claim to be shepherds of the flock and messengers of God, are increasingly inclined to dress and act in ways that would lead one to conclude they are effeminate or homosexual. This is nothing short of an insidious phenomenon—unheard of in the early Church and has been absent from practically every historic expression of Christianity since the time of Christ's incarnation.
Alas, the incessant need to be relevant in a culture that so adamantly hates God, a culture that is openly antagonistic to the precepts and teachings of the Bible, has reached such mind-numbing levels that these so-called pastors seem to be oblivious to the fact that they are supposed to be, as the Bible calls us all to be, set apart from the world. Instead, they have taken to the pursuit of relevance with all the fervor of a teenager chasing after the latest TikTok trend, sacrificing the timeless truths of scripture at the altar of popularity and acceptance.
It is a sad and rather telling commentary on the state of things that while the world at large increasingly embraces aberrant practices such as homosexuality and feminism, these pastors—particularly those affiliated with the Hillsong and Elevation brands—seem to want nothing more than to emulate the world they are supposed to be countering. They want to be so like the world that one could be forgiven for assuming they weren’t Christians at all.
The Bible speaks to this movement with an unmistakable sense of urgency and rebukes it wholeheartedly. In the book of James, we read of people who desire to be of the world, and who seem to revel in their company with it. James does not mince words in his condemnation of such people, addressing them in no uncertain terms when he writes: