Beware of Steven Furtick
Despite his millions of followers...
“Hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that you may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” Titus 1:9 (NASB)
Elevation Church is a multi-site megachurch based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its senior pastors are Steven and Holly Furtick. Elevation has become a cultural phenomenon… Steven Furtick’s leadership has propelled Elevation Worship to international notoriety. The “church” claims a weekly attendance of nearly 15,000 people across 20 campuses in the U.S. and Canada. Its original music is used around the world in many church worship services.
But sadly, Furtick’s sermons often align with Word of Faith and prosperity gospel teachings that include the belief in "speaking things into existence" through faith and a focus on God's blessings in terms of material wealth and health.
He associates with other Word of Faith figures like T.D. Jakes, Rod Parsley, and Joyce Meyer… raising questions about his doctrinal alignment. His books and music often emphasize encouragement, making him appealing to those seeking practical faith applications in modern life… and rarely on Biblical principles.
The prosperity and “Word of Faith” gospels are perversions of the true Gospel. They falsely claim that God rewards an increase in faith with increases in health and/or wealth and that the Atonement of Christ includes not just the removal of sin, but also the removal of sickness and poverty.
Elevation’s version of the prosperity gospel teaches that God is like a genie in a bottle and that you can get what you want from him by having enough faith. Pastor Steven Furtick has apparently stopped preaching about sin, repentance, and Jesus being our only hope for redemption.
Elevation Music includes the popular Do It Again, Graves into Gardens, Here as in Heaven, and O Come to the Altar. Most tracks emphasize what we can get from God, rather than what we owe Him. These days, performance-based Elevation Worship music seems more about building an international brand than a biblically based church.
“Eisegesis” means reading yourself into scripture…
Furtick often inserts his personal ideas into Scripture rather than teaching its true meaning. One writer put it this way, “Furtick draws parallels between
himself and biblical figures or God, often interpreting Scripture in ways that focus on his own image or his followers' empowerment rather than glorifying God. His sermons have been described as narcissistic… filled with self-centered narratives that distort biblical teachings.”
Justin Peters says this about Steven Furtick, “He has also claimed that without man, God is just an abstract concept.” In one sermon, Furtick preached, ‘It's not how God sees me, but how I THINK God sees me that determines where I end up.’ Furtick also asserts that “God created us in His image because of some need he had to be known by us.”
Justin Peters would be correct in claiming this way of thinking is “absurd and biblically asinine”.
Steven Furtick has elevated himself to the status of the Messiah by claiming that he has crushed Satan’s head as Satan “bit” him and “bruised” his heel, with him saying…
“I had a first-time thing. I was stomping the devil’s head on the stage last week (laughs). It was at the 9:30. I was icing my heel between the 9:30 and the 11:30. I stomped him too hard and he bit me, or something… my heel is bruised." “Anyway, the Bible said he will bruise your heel but you will crush his head. That’s a scripture verse.”
No, Steven, that is not what it means…
Furtick regularly resorts to shouting and theatrical antics during his Sunday sermons. Neither practice is suited to the reverence toward the Word of God that the pulpit demands.
A pastor's role is to diligently teach Scripture and guide his congregation toward the unity of the faith and a deeper knowledge of the Son of God. (c Eph. 4:13) However, Furtick's self-centered sermons and associations with Word of Faith and prosperity gospel preachers undermine this responsibility.
Avoid false teachers like Steven Furtick. Rather, find biblically qualified pastors who will rightly teach Scripture and uphold the truth of the gospel...
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Your by line says it all - " his millions of followers..."
Meaning they are followers of him and not Jesus, BIG DIFFERENCE!!!
I am solidly in the camp of "if you feel pumped up after a sermon, you were not fed the Word of God". Encouraged? Sure. Sinners saved by grace should be encouraged by the Creator's love and redemption. Pumped up? Nuh uh. That's the sort of tickling of ears we must acknowledge and shun.