Pastor Michael Youssef: Rise of the "feel-good" gospel shows church leaders too comfortable

July 01, 2015

WRITER

Glenn predicts that when it comes time for congregations to stand up for fundamental principles, half the members will walk out and never look back. Too many church leaders focus on making feel really good about themselves, with a smile and a rock band thrown in for good measure. Faith has been replaced with entertainment. Pastor Michael Youssef, who escaped an oppressive Egypt, joined Glenn to discuss this growing problem in churches across the country and the growing crisis in the Middle East.

Below is a transcript of this segment:

Glenn: I want to introduce you to a pastor and an author, the author of a book called Jesus, Jihad, and Peace. His name is Michael Youssef. How are you, sir?

Michael: Wonderful. Thank you for having me.

Glenn: It is good to have you here.

Michael : Good to be here.

Glenn: You’re not mincing any words on what is happening in the world, and thank God, because we have very few pastors who are actually standing up for what’s happening in the Middle East, and we need more of them.

Michael: And in this country.

Glenn: Yeah. Let’s start with the Middle East. I told a story on the air today. ISIS this last weekend crucified two children for not following Ramadan. They were caught eating, and so they crucified them and just like in the biblical times put their crime up above their head. I mean, it’s amazing. Nobody seems to care. Why? What’s happened to our Christian heart?

Michael: What happened to us in the West in general—just to back up, I escaped from Egypt back in the 60s under Nasser and experienced first-hand persecution. That’s why I escaped.

Glenn: Wait. Can you explain? Because people don’t have any concept of what’s coming. We say Christians, you’re going to lose your right to conscience. They have no idea what that means. Can you explain a little, what does that mean?

Michael: And I’ve been saying this for 35 years, and people would say to me it’s not going to happen America. We have the Bill of Rights.

Glenn: It’s coming.

Michael: And I’ve written and I’ve written and I’ve spoken. I cannot imagine my seventh soon to be eighth grandchildren going to grow up in this culture where I escaped to come to America for freedom. Now, we’re losing our freedom completely. The Christians, and I am pointing the finger at me as a pastor of a very large church, a global ministry leading the way, 195 countries, radio and television.

Glenn: Wow, good for you.

Michael: So I am pointing the finger, but we the pastors have grown comfortable. We valued our comfort and our love for sports and our financial security over and above the truth. In the end, in all these rulings that are coming down the pike, the one that just came and the ones that are coming are basically making us less and less conscious of the fact that the truth matters. So, they take words out of their context such as equality and justice and love wins, they blow them around. They don’t mean anything because the truth is the victim here.

Glenn: And what is the truth?

Michael: The truth is what is the absolute truth which is declared by God. God is the one who created a man and a woman to anatomically fit, and He said this is it, this is my will for humanity. This is my design for humanity.

Glenn: You’ve seen oppression in the Middle East, so you know what it looks like. Americans don’t. Are you seeing the signs that people like you with your church are going to come under oppression?

Michael: I have no doubt. I’ve been saying this for 28 years.

Glenn: Right. And how many of the churches do you think will fold? How many churches do you think will say you know what, just go along?

Michael: Right. If you can’t fight them, join them.

Glenn: Yes.

Michael: That’s more common than you realize. It started in the mainline denominations, and I used to belong to one. Started in the mainline denominations and is now creeping into the evangelical church. There was a time when the word evangelical meant something, meant eu and angelion, the gospel that is the truth that I am the way, the truth, and the life. That is the gospel that Jesus died for all so whoever comes to him shall be saved. That has gone by the wayside. Now, we’ve got a prosperity gospel. We’ve got a feel-good gospel. We’ve got all kinds of stuff that has nothing to do with Christianity. It’s a pseudo-Christianity. That’s why you asked me how many will fold, I think they’re already folding. So many of them already folded, and that breaks my heart.

Glenn: I was talking to a leader of a church, a very large church, and he said he thought 50% of congregants of every faith will walk out the door because it’s going to get too hard. It’s going to get hard. Okay, so I had a caller today—I want to bring it back to the Middle East. I had a caller today who said to me Glenn, what do I do? Now, we’re doing an event on 8/28. We’re trying to just wake up our churches first and get our churches online, but you’ve been over there. What do we do? What’s the best thing an American can do right now with ISIS? Because the government is not doing anything.

Michael: Now, can I tell you something very quickly that has happened in Egypt? I just came back from there three weeks ago. I was in some of the most amazing experiences I’ve had. Now, I used to go every year and preach, but since the uprising, I have not been back.

Glenn: Sisi is good.

Michael: He was a wonderful guy. I’m looking forward to meeting him later this year.

Glenn: I think he is the guy that so many people have prayed for, and we’ve abandoned him.

Michael: That’s exactly right. For 24/7 were prayer meetings all over Egypt, across denominational lines. Two o’clock in the morning, you get to a church, people were crying. This is under Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood president. People began to experience the pain, and I’m wondering when will we in America get to that point where we cry to God 24/7? And as a result, God answered their prayers, and 33 million people came to the streets of all the 27 provinces, not just in Cairo, but it’s all over, 33 million. BBC said never in human history have that many people out in the streets in one night. God raised up Sisi. I’m convinced of that. He’s a good man. I watch his speeches. They’re very inspiring speeches. He loves everybody. He loves the Christians, and he loves the Jews. He loves everybody. Now, I’m praying for his safety, of course.

Glenn: Yes.

Michael: We all need to pray for his safety. But I’m wondering, will it get to that point when we’re really economically on our knees like they did under the Muslim Brotherhood and the Christians began to cry? As a result, churches are continuing to pray. God is bringing hundreds of thousands of people to Christ who were not Christians.

Glenn: Yeah. I think our biggest problem, and it’s always—you know, the Bible always tells the same story over and over again. It’s amazing, you read the Bible, and you’re like these people are so stupid. Then you look at it, and you really start to think, and you’re like holy cow, it’s us. The biggest problem is humility and until your humbled. I think the Lord’s been kicking us in the head over and over and over again. It’s getting worse and worse and worse, and I think when this strife really happens, when the economic side falls apart, people are not going to know what hit them.

Michael: No, because that’s our God now, and when our God is taken away from us, and it’s the same thing with the people of Israel. In the Book of Judges, everybody was doing what’s right in their own eyes. Until they got under pressure, they cried to God. You read about it, almost 12 times throughout the Book of Judges, you would say did you get it?

Glenn: Isn’t it amazing how quickly we forgot 9/11? I mean, look who we were right after that.

Michael: Snooze button.

Glenn: Snooze button that fast.

Michael: Churches, synagogues, all packed with people the day after. Now, everybody’s back to their normal joyful leisure. Whatever it is they were into, they went back into it with vengeance.

Glenn: I’d love to have you back. We’re out of time, but I’d love to have you back. I really enjoyed our conversation.

Michael: Sure. I look forward to it.

Glenn: Maybe we can just spend some time just talking about the book and what’s in the book.

Michael: Sure.

Glenn: God bless you.

Michael: Thank you, Glenn.

Glenn: Thank you so much. Back in just a minute.

Who is Pam Bondi, Trump's new AG pick?

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With Matt Gaetz out of the picture, President Trump has already named former Florida AG Pam Bondi as his latest pick as his US Attorney General.

As US Attorney General, Bondi will be placed at the head of the Department of Justice, the most crucial role in Trump's plans to root out the deep state. As Glenn discussed on his radio show, the Biden White House has weaponized the Department of Justice, against President Trump in an attempt to thwart his 2024 re-election. The Department of Justice is crooked to the core, and it will take a herculean effort to bring enduring reform to this pivotal government agency.

Does Pam Bondi have what it takes to lead the Department of Justice? What does her resume look like? Does she have any skeletons in the closet that the Democrats could use against her? Here's everything you need to know about Pam Bondi below:

Bondi's Resume

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Bondi started her career as a prosecutor working for the Hillsborough County Attorney's Office where she handled countless cases that ranged from domestic violence to murder. In 2010 Bondi made history by becoming Florida's first female attorney general. She spent her time in office fighting back against Florida's opioid crisis and openly challenged Obamacare.

Bondi worked with the first Trump administration, using her experience fighting the opioid crisis in Trump's Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission. After Trump was impeached for the first time, Bondi joined the team of defense lawyers fighting back against the prosecution's allegations.

Bondi has spent the last four years working for a Florida-based lobbying firm, but she still showed support for President Trump by making appearances alongside him during the New York City hush money trial.

Bondi's Dedication to fix the DoJ

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Judging by her track record and the testimony of her colleagues, Bondi is more than capable of tackling the Department of Justice. Bondi has a record of following and enforcing the rule of law and has spent much of her career making communities safer. Bondi has firsthand experience with political elitists and corruption, having worked at nearly every level of the government from the bottom to the top.

Bondi stood by Trump as he faced impeachment and stayed by his side as he faced waves of lawfare after 2020. It's clear that Bondi has great respect for President Trump and is deeply familiar with the weaponization of the Department of Justice. It seems like she has what it takes to fix the system.

Bondi's Potential Controversies

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The Mainstream Media wasted no time digging up dirt on Bondi, looking for anything that might stand between her and a Senate confirmation.

The biggest story circulating the media involves a 2013 case about "Trump University," a now-defunct company that offered courses in real estate, entrepreneurship, and other similar courses. In 2013, the New York Attorney General's office went after Trump University due to reports that the program was a "scam." Bondi began a similar investigation, which allegedly came to a halt after she received a $25,000 check from the Trump Foundation for her re-election campaign. Bondi has never been formally accused of illegal activity, but now that she is under the national spotlight, she could face serious scrutiny.

Bondi's tenure as a lobbyist has also been called into question. She was registered as a lobbyist for several foreign and corporate entities, which could be seen as a potential weakness or conflict of interest—or at the very least bring her dedication to fighting corruption into question.

AI Jesus and other INSANE new uses of Artificial Intelligence

Glenn has repeatedly warned about the dangers artificial intelligence poses to humanity. Yet, it seems like every week, some new AI project seems to inch us closer to that worst-case scenario.

It's not all bad. Even Glenn could resist the urge to buy an AI-powered, flamethrower-wielding, robotic dog to accompany him on his ranch. The future is here, and these are threeinsane new ways the power of AI is being harnessed — for better or worse.

AI Jesus

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Many have wished to have a face-to-face conversation with Jesus, but this probably isn't what anyone had in mind. A church in Lucerne, Switzerland recently teamed up with scientists and computer experts from the nearby Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts to create a digital duplicate of Christ designed to listen to confessions and give scripture-supported advice to those who ask. The computer even creates a hologram image of Jesus that talks to people in real time. The AI was trained with the New Testament and "religious information found online," and is fluent in over 100 languages.

While some are impressed with his answers to moderately complex theological questions, many are skeptical, claiming that giving a machine the face and name of God is a form of idolatry. Others worry that it will turn Jesus into a "woke warrior."

AI Coca-Cola Ad

The holiday season is upon us, and Coca-Cola has released its newest Christmas ad campaign. These latest commercials feature shiny, Coca-Cola red semi-trucks driving through an idyllic winter wonderland on a mission to deliver soda to a festively decorated town — standard holiday ad fare. But this year, Coca-Cola decided to put a "futuristic spin" on their ad campaign — the commercials are all AI-generated. It doesn't take a detective to spot the tell-tale AI hallmarks, from truck wheels that don't spin as the truck is driving to the eerie expressions of the people in the ad that twist and contort in creepy ways. The holiday magic is lost.

AI Grandma

A British telecom company, Virgin Media O2, unveiled Daisy, an AI chatbot designed to scam the scammers. Daisy is designed to sound and talk like an elderly woman and is tasked to deliberately connect with telephone scammers (who typically target older people) and waste their time with heaps of meandering chatter so that scammers have less time to target real people. Daisy has already proved capable of fooling scammers into long phone conversations, which ultimately end up fruitless. Can you think of a better use of AI?

The THREE ways RFK Jr. will Make America Healthy Again

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One of President Trump's most popular campaign promises was to "Make America Great Again," and he has employed the help of his former opponent, RFK Jr., to make that promise come true.

In an interview with NPR, RFK Jr. revealed the three directives Trump has tasked him as the new head of the Department of Health and Human Services. These directives aim to cut out the "cancer" that Glenn exposed in his latest TV special that has spread throughout theentire federal government.

Here are the three directives Trump gave RFK Jr.:

1. Rid health agencies of corruption and conflicts.

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It is no secret that the departments that fall under the HHS, such as the FDA, NIH, and CDC, are rife with corruption. After the COVID lockdowns raised suspicion that these federal agencies did not have the American people's best interests at heart, Americans have been increasingly distrustful of these institutions. Glenn exposed several instances of corruption across the HHS, from Dr. Fauchi's Covid powertrip to the insidious relationship between private entities like Big Food, Big Pharma, and the federal agencies that regulate them.

RFK Jr. has been one of the most vocal critics of the corruption that has turned these federal agencies against the very people they were created to protect and is the best person to reform these institutions.

2. Return agencies to the gold standard of empirically based, evidence-based science and medicine.

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Under Biden, the HHS has degraded even further than it had before. Scientific methodology and empirical data are no longer the backbones of these institutions. They have been replaced with DEI and other woke agendas. The Department of Health and Human Services is the second largest federal agency, only behind the Pentagon, with a budget of 1.7 trillion dollarsand over 83 thousand employees. The opportunity for waste and negligence is monumental.

Biden appointed former California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, to the head of HHS, along with Rachel Levine, a transgender woman, as the Assistant Secretary for Health. Before long the second-largest federal agency started looking like a university DEI office, with hundreds of DEI hires adding to government bloat. Instead of battling the diseases and sicknesses that plague our country, the HHS spent the past four years going after pro-life investigators who were exposing how Planned Parenthood sells body parts of aborted babies, opposing the merger of religious-based hospitals to protect transgender and abortion "rights," and wrestling over Obama-era contraceptive mandates with a group of Catholic nuns. This is quackery and waste on an unprecedented scale.

RFK Jr. is tasked with rooting out the corruption that sprang forth with the Biden administration's DEI agenda and put science back in our health policy.

3. End the chronic disease epidemic with measurable impacts within two years.

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Today, despite our modern technology, Americans are sicker than ever before. 129 million Americans have at least one chronic disease, 42 percent have two or more, and 12 percent have more than five. Life expectancy is at a twenty-year low despite the fact that we are spending more than ever on health care. Even our children are sick, with a staggering 40 percent of school-aged kids having at least one chronic disease. One in nine kids has ADHD, and one in 54 has autism, both representing a steep increase over past decades.

America is sick, and Big Pharma is just rolling in the profits. This is where RFK Jr. comes in. He aims to find the cures and preventions to these diseases and make Americans healthy instead of lifelong patients.

POLL: Is Matt Gaetz in trouble?!

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Trump is assembling a dream team to take on the deep state that has burdened the American people for far too long.

It's no surprise Democrats have been pushing back against Trump's nominations, but one person in particular has been experiencing the most resistance: Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump's pick to serve as his Attorney General. The controversy centers around a years-long House ethics probe regarding sexual misconduct allegations made against Gaetz several years ago. Despite the FBI conducting its own investigation and refusing to prosecute Gaetz, his nomination re-ignited interest in these allegations.

Democrats and some Republicans demand the House Ethics Committee release their probe into Gaetz before his Senate confirmation hearing. Conveniently, earlier this week, an anonymous hacker obtained this coveted report and gave it to the New York Times, which has yet to make the information public.

Glenn is very skeptical about the entire affair, from the allegations against Gaetz to the hacker's "anonymity." Is it another case of lawfare by the Democrats?

Glenn wants to know what do you think. Did Gaetz commit the crimes he's accused of? Will he still be appointed attorney general? Let us know in the poll below:

Glenn's Show Prep