The Peril of Pandemic

“And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquake, in divers places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:6-8).

Wars, famines, plagues, and pandemics, just the sort of things meant to disturb the equilibrium of men’s minds and hurl humanity into alarm.  “But,” says Jesus, “do not be troubled when these things loom, because I have told before of their inevitability.”  Why we panic under such circumstances is every bit as important a consideration as why we remain calm in times of peace.  When the world is at ease, do we account for the things that trouble the heart of God--things like the thunderous roar of humanity on a rampage against His holiness?  Centered in the hearts of men and women, the plague of sin insidiously infects everything it touches. Much like a virus that survives undetected on external surfaces, sin persists in its influence imperceptibly, manifesting in subtle and overt ways alike. But does its manifestation trouble us in the least?  Do we even acknowledge its symptoms?

It is imperative that we sincerely consider our hearts’ response to the virus that is disturbing nations in this hour.  Do we react with fear? Or do we respond with faith, in the recognition that our Lord has foretold this event and every other like it?  Jesus says simply, “See that you are not troubled.”  Are you troubled just now?  If so, why? Are you concerned for your own safety?  Are you concerned for the health of those around you?  Are you worried about the economic impact of the social distancing prescribed by government officials?  Our response to these things is a good barometer for the depth of our trust in God.

This worldwide pandemic known as the novel coronavirus is nothing novel at all, at least inasmuch as it was foretold by God Who knows the end from the beginning, because He is the Beginning and the End.  These birth pains, as Jesus calls them, are the predecessor of something of greater severity that is coming upon the world. As the church of Jesus Christ, we are invited to walk through the present turmoil with a peace that passes all understanding; not untouched by the peril, but unmoved by it.  I say invited, because that is precisely what our God has done by placing us here in this hour in the midst of this crisis.

Peril presents us with an opportunity to respond as a living epistle written before the eyes of a world longing for answers.  What does your life say to a worry fraught world that reads the pages of your behavior? While the answer to the question of, “Why?” may not be so readily heard or received, the answer to, “What?” is one which must not be wanting in us as the church in an hour such as this.  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,” and this fear precludes fear for any external event that might befall us as the saints of God. This holy fear is also the answer of wisdom which the world desperately seeks and just as desperately needs.

Whether the peril we face be the plague of sin in the human heart, or the cursed effect of sin in a world bowing under its weight, an effect as far reaching as pestilence and pandemic, let us stand steadfast in the love of God that casts out fear.  Let us lift up our eyes to the One Who told us before what would befall the earth in her last days. This world is passing through birth pains which cause creation to convulse under the curse of sin that will one imminent day be dealt with in its extremity by the blow of Heaven’s justice when the Son of God splits the sky with the archangel’s shout.  Jesus looked through the corridors of time to behold the final days of suffering through the lens of His own excruciating torment on the cross. He now adjures His church in this hour to peer through the same lens, to expand our vision from the myopic view of the present pandemic, and to recognize that the serpentine torment of sin that smothers the life out of humanity runs much deeper and disturbingly than a virus running rampant.

On His trudging march toward Golgotha, Jesus prophesied to the daughters of Jerusalem about perilous days ahead.  Hanging on a cross, His scourged body bleeding profusely, Jesus demonstrated uncanny concern for His persecutors, beseeching His Father for their forgiveness.  His boundless love made entrance to paradise for a criminal on a cross whose only request was for a merciful remembrance from heaven. If the Son of God so walked under unfathomable agony, how then shall we respond?  How shall we live amidst the peril of pandemic?  

Jesus said the time will come when those who live in Judea must flee to the mountains to avoid the proximitous influence of the Antichrist.  In our immediate circumstance, to avoid crowds and cloister in homes is not in itself a response of fear, it may well be in keeping with the direct leading of the Holy Spirit Whose counsel we must heed.  However, if this imposed isolation results in separation from authentic community, or impedes the expressed demonstration of love toward the church and an unbelieving world, we may well have fallen prey to the subtlety of Satan’s seduction toward fear.  The faith of Christ demands continued fellowship, however that must be accomplished. Creative attempts at community are nothing new to the body of Christ which has suffered persecution throughout the ages. Do not shrink back, do not tremble for the uncertainty of what is to come, do not let your heart fail you for fear.  These responses must not be evidenced among those who name the Name of Christ.

If we flee, let us flee to Rock that is high above.  If we shut ourselves in, let us do so into deeper communion with Jesus Christ, while utilizing all means at our disposal to maintain the fellowship of the saints.  If we find ourselves in financial hardship, let us trust unswervingly that the God Who holds the sparrow’s breath will never fail to give us bread. May we find that this peril shall now prove to be a present spiritual discipline granted by the Lord Who counted us worthy to suffer arm in arm with a world that cannot calculate the reasons for the pandemic.  Our Lord beckons us to His bloodied bosom that we might be a conduit of surpassing peace to a people longing for answers, searching for hope, and aching for meaning. Church of Jesus Christ, let us be what we were made to be for this very hour--the salt of the earth, the light of the world, a healing balm from God Whose own wounds heal a plague of sin infinitely more severe than this pandemic that He foresaw and forespoke.

Time to Dream

Dreams have died, vision passed away.

My hope is perished, light gives way

to darkness pervading the atmosphere.

A fog too heavy to lift,

A cloud filling this empty space here.

I cannot see, little do I hear.

Yet here do I hear, "It is time to dream."

Waking, sleeping, waking again.

The bland circumstance of life

calls to something more before.

Weariness the one consistent thing

amongst the commonplace, pushing

me on to what lies ahead.

I cannot see, little do I hear.

Yet here do I hear, "It is time to dream."

Sunken, collapsed, deflated, undone.

Broken, empty, dry, full of faith--

this is what I find myself to be.

The Father of the future

holds my hope firmly in His hands.

I cannot see, little do I hear.

Yet here do I hear, "It is time to dream."

Landlocked in a place not my own,

I wonder how long must Babylon

be home for me; must this my dwelling be?

Living with walls that surround,

constraint, limitation, confinement all around.

I cannot see, little do I hear.

Yet here do I hear, "It is time to dream."

Lift your eyes to heaven again,

behold the Lamb high above.

Fear not to fall down upon

the pierced and bloodied Palm of Love.

The holes therein declare at last:

'Tis time to see, My voice you hear;

My dear son, hear, "Dream My dream for you."

Lamentation Over Mars Hill Church

Oh Shiloh, Shiloh, where have you gone? What desolations have you become! Your altars once gathered under one have been divided and given to others. For before the early child could speak a word, or ever a word was formed on her tongue, Mars Hill Church has reached her end, declares the Lord of hosts. As Shiloh was overthrown and her sanctuary cast out before the people, so has the house of worship built by the hands of man met her end. She that was full of people, renowned among the nations, how is she brought to nothing; for she has rejected the word of the Lord meant for her good. He has thrown down and not pitied in the day of her dispersions. Her shepherd has been stricken, her leaders have departed, her people have scattered. He Who is holy has shut the door, turned the key, and locked it behind Him. It shall not be opened--no, not by any man.

God has leveled the hill that exalted itself; He has made low the high places. The unplumb walls of her building have buckled beneath her weight.  Her shallow foundation could not support the structure she built. For her boasting in men, over abundance in plenty, and her strong arm have all been broken, because she would not give heed. She paid no attention to the Holy One Who called her to attention, Whose ways were dismissed that she might walk in her own ways, only to stumble on the high place. She shall hear the perpetual scorn of men who have despised her, rejoicing in her end. The good news of Shiloh's house in desolation is the promise of One Whose house cannot be overthrown--no, not by the gates of hades, nor by the hands of men! He shall come Whose right it is to announce peace to the nations, He Who humbles the exalted and exalts the humble.

The shepherd who abused the sheep has himself been disabused. The opprobrium of Mars Hill Church and her shepherd will remain, and her scorn will be remembered for generations to come. For I the Lord Almighty, sovereign in all My ways, have determined to reform the doctrine in her midst that deceives the people about Who I am and My ways with man. I have reckoned with the falsehood perpetuated by the humbled hill, made low by her own ways. Her divided heart, her distant gaze, and her false security have been her disgrace. Will the remnant of her heritage give heed?

See the plumbline in My hand, behold where I stand, even before the threshold of a door that I have shut on Mars Hill Church, who now shall bear a shameful brand. Pastor Mark Driscoll would not hear, his glory turned to shame. He stood in overmuch gain, his reputation is now turned to ill fame. The builder who began to build failed to count the cost and could not complete the work he set out to accomplish.

Let tears run down her cheeks, for her children are no more; they have departed from their mother that bore them. The portent performed for her has been realized. She has been stripped and made bare for many to see; disgusted at her nakedness, they cast out her name as a byword, for she has rejected My word, says the Lord. My love for you requires your end. My redemption requires your devastation. Thus she has reached her end, Mars Hill Church is brought to her full end.

Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church

These are the words of the letter delivered to all three executive elders of Mars Hill Church on August 27, 2014, to Pastor Dave Bruskas and Pastor Sutton Turner at the Ballard central support church office, and to Pastor Mark Driscoll at his home.

August 27, 2014

Dear Pastors Mark Driscoll, Dave Bruskas, and Sutton Turner,

The words that follow are the contents of a letter delivered to Pastor Mark Driscoll on February 8, 2013.  In light of the trial currently faced by Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church, these words are now sent to each of the executive elders of Mars Hill Church for your consideration, for your prayer, and as a call to repentance.  I pray God our Father grants you ears to hear the word He has spoken and is fulfilling in your midst.  I commit to you the following message as spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ with the exhortation He gave to His earliest followers, “Take heed therefore how you hear: for whosoever has, to him shall be given; and whosoever has not, from him shall be taken even that which he seems to have” (Luke 8:18).

a bondservant of Jesus Christ and yours,

Bryan W. Hulen

February 8, 2013

Dear Pastor Mark Driscoll,

The building of the house of God is a work whose efforts can never be measured fully by what is evident outwardly. There are stones laid and materials used that must be tried by fire to determine their true value. Our Lord Jesus Christ looks upon every heart and proves every work with a fiery eye that gazes piercingly to the intents and motives of men in their building efforts. I earnestly implore you to give heed to the words that follow, for they will be very life if you can receive them, and the obverse if you cannot.

Upon the cornerstone of His Son God the Father is building His temple, and the manner in which this work is being accomplished amongst the saints at Mars Hill Church will be revealed by the One who alone perceives the heart in its most intimate inclinations. These inclinations are made manifest when we consider whether within the walls erected the Holy Spirit has found a habitation whose foundation is authentically apostolic and prophetic in form and function. The question remains, whose hands are accomplishing the work in your midst, those of the Holy Spirit or those of men? For unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.

If you have any questions regarding what is written herein, you may contact me at bhulen@gmail.com.  Know most assuredly that my deepest desire is God’s glory amongst the saints of Mars Hill Church for the sake of Jesus Christ.

a bondservant of Jesus Christ and yours,

Bryan W. Hulen

To Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church:

This is what the Lord Jesus Christ has said, I have seen your ways and I know your goings. You have feet that walk in a path laid by men. Your ways are not Mine, and your plans have not been established by Me. Think not within yourselves that your growth is the building of My house. No, for it is a structure unfamiliar to Me, whose walls are held up with unplumb studs, erected to hold a covering not of My Spirit. You build, but not by Me. You grow and expand, but to what end? You have accomplished much by might and by power, but not by My Spirit, says the Lord. Prosperity is not seen in numbers and structures acquired. The fruit of My kingdom is seen in faithful souls walking humbly with Me, whose ways are foreign to the world, for they are foreigners in the world, strangers and pilgrims, walking in a way lifted up.

What captures their attention? What holds your affections? Why do your eyes wander, lusting wantonly after the world's finest fare? So many fascinations, an abundance of entertainments! Drink up! Yes, be filled with fermented drink, but what will satisfy when you are filled with wine, when you have been baptized in the world and not in the Holy Spirit? You are at home in a world whose friendship is enmity with Me. Be sure, your sins will find you out. That which is done in darkness will be brought out to the light. That which is whispered in the ear will be pronounced widely for many to hear.

Mark, I will not compete for the affections of men. For the men of Mars Hill Church are attracted more to you than they are to Me. You promise them liberty, but they are slaves still, captivated by this present evil world. You have preached with persuasive words of man's wisdom, and not in the power of My Spirit. How shall the chains be broken by words without power, uttered by a careless tongue? You have not taught My people to hear My voice, for you yourself have failed to hear Me as you ought. Neither do you know Me as you ought. I am a Father Who desires to speak to My sons and daughters, but you have not led My children to My footstool to listen to Me, though it is the one needful thing. Come, sit at My feet, says the Lord. Give ear to Me, hear the voice of your King.

Boast not in the number of children born to you. For it is not the multiplication of seed sown, but the quality of fruit borne on the branches of those formed in your womb that matters to Me. You have raised spiritual babes who must suck still at the breasts of their mother. They cannot handle meat, the sustenance necessary to mature. They have not been trained in the way they should go. Dabbling in the devil's playground, they cannot discern between good and evil, neither do they separate between the holy and the profane. For your words fall on deaf ears amongst a multitude of children who play yet in the world. My desire and delight is in those who walk in the truth, bearing the likeness of the Son of God, the Holy One of Israel.

Therefore, a fire will burn, whipping through the halls of My sanctuary in your midst, reducing to ashes the work of men's hands to prove and to prevent the arm of flesh. What will the saints of Mars Hill Church do when I take from them their leader? When the shepherd is withdrawn from their fold where will they walk? To whom shall they turn? They will wander without direction, many will scatter, and the people will be diminished. With a heavy heart I cry, Must I strike the shepherd, that the sheep should be scattered? For your ways are not My ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. I appoint and I dismiss. I call and I correct. Correction has been called for. I have appointed a time of dismissal from service for a season, until the people learn who has spoken, that it is I, the Lord of hosts.

I will not wait for you if you choose to go another way. I have shown you the way wherein you should walk, but you have not refrained your feet from wandering. Mars Hill Church, this is what the Lord has said: you have trusted in man, and not in Me. You have walked in the wisdom of the world, and not in My ways. You have leaned on the arm of flesh, and not on My Spirit. Such have been your ways from the beginning, and unless you repent, such will be your ways in the end, when I bring an end to the favor you have indulged yourselves in.

Sons and daughters do I seek, not converts to a man's personal convictions. You seek pure doctrine amongst men, I seek the pure in heart. For the pure in heart see Me, and those who see Me shall know Me. These are those whose doctrine is kept in purity, for they have been taught by Me.

I would reform a doctrine in your midst that neither teaches Who I am, nor reveals how I would be known. From everlasting to everlasting I am God, and My mercy is toward men who must give account to My holiness; men who have been made in My image with a moral agency by which they believe in Me unto eternal life, or deny Me unto death in damnation. You fear Me after the precepts of men, but not for who I am. This is the damage done by the doctrine to which you hold, and it is revealed in lips that speak My name, whose hearts are distant still.

I am a Father to those born in the Son, whose sins are forsaken in order to follow Me. This is My heritage, builders who build as sons co-laboring with their Father. Whose business are you about as you build? You are as an empty vine, whose fruit falls before it is ripe. The womb of Mars Hill Church miscarries its children, who cannot develop fully; yet who weeps over those who are not borne full term? Do you consider the fruit of your womb? Amongst you there are many devotions, yet little depth. You have erected many altars, but your heart is divided. Therefore, your altars shall be divided and given to others. I, the Lord, will wink no more at your ignorance in devotion. For I will require of you, I command you to repent.

Look at the level in My hand. What do you see? The studs of your walls are unlevel, and the higher you build, the more unstable is your structure. For your foundation is weak, and its shallowness will be revealed in that day of testing and trial. Would you be as the unwise man who began to build, but could not complete the work? Count the cost, says the Lord.

See the shallow roots of your vine, consider the depth of your foundation, for it goes no deeper than the fidelity of your heart before Me. And this has been wanting desperately. The day of dispersions will come and the time of collapse will not fail before Almighty God. Are the sounds of your songs pleasing to Me? Your fruit is bitter to My taste, I will not drink of your offerings, nor receive the sacrifice at your hand as you now stand before Me. For you refuse to stand before Me, because you cannot stand as you are before Me and be received acceptably.

Prosperity and Health, Death and Poverty

On the night of December 19, 2010, Pastor Wendell Smith of the City Church died, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke, saying, Set your house in order, for within one year's time you will die, and I will place another in your office.

"Correction [is] grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: [and] he that hateth reproof shall die." Proverbs 15:10

On the twenty-first day of January in the year 2009 I Bryan went at the command of God to the home of Pastor Wendell Smith of the City Church. At the time of the setting of the sun I knocked on the front door of his house in Kirkland, Washington. Pastor Wendell Smith opened the door and I introduced myself and informed him that I had come with a word from the Lord about his illness. He replied, "Okay, this is not really the proper way to do that." I stated that I would like to read the letter to him. He responded that it was not healthy for him to stand in the cold doorway, and asked if I could mail it to him. I informed him that I would rather hand it to him and requested at least one more time permission to read him the letter. Pastor Wendell Smith again declined. When I could see that he would not suffer me to read the word of God to him I placed the letter back in the envelope with the letter delivered to him at the City Church in May of 2006. As I did, I looked up at Wendell Smith and said these words, "The Lord Jesus Christ has sent me to set before you the way of life and the way of death, the way of blessing and the way of cursing. Therefore, choose life and obey the voice of the Lord your God, to love Him and to serve Him only, that He may prolong your days upon the earth." Upon speaking these words I handed the envelope containing both letters to him. Wendell Smith stated that this was the first word the Lord spoke to him after he became sick. He asked after my name and I told him again, informing him that my name and email address were on the letter that was first delivered to him at the church about two and a half years earlier. I turned to leave and the door was closed, as the sky grew darker at the setting of the sun.

These are the words contained in the letter delivered to Pastor Wendell Smith on Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

To Pastor Wendell Smith of the City Church:

This is what the Lord Jesus Christ has said concerning you:

I have given you space to repent of this vile doctrine of prosperity with a purpose. As yet you have refused to receive My word to you concerning this matter. Therefore, this is what I say to you, Pastor Wendell Smith: There comes a time when things have reached their usefulness and they are good for nothing but to be thrown away. Therefore, hear My word to you: if you do not repent of this doctrine of prosperity with a purpose, you will have reached your usefulness in My kingdom, and I will remove you from the earth. Set your house in order, for within one year's time you will die, and I will place another in your office. You have sought for healing, you have pleaded for mercy, you have confessed wholeness. But it shall be to no avail if you refuse to return to Me in this matter about which I have spoken so clearly.

You have built for yourself a habitation in the earth. You have excelled in wisdom and wealth. But your hands are defiled, your wealth shall be your poverty, your wisdom shall be your foolishness. What was for your praise amongst men will be your undoing. There is another who competes with Me in your heart, whose appeal is so beguiling. Wealth, wealth, where is your wealth, Wendell? Health, health, where is your health, Wendell? You have forgotten the true riches that are in Me, says the Lord Jesus Christ. I am your Reward, I am your Treasure, I AM and there is no other. I the LORD should have been your strength, but what was strength for you will be weakness. You have desired thirty more years, but you shall not know thirty, neither shall you know fifteen. Your days have drawn to an end if you will not repent.

Would you receive My chastisement as a son, or will you turn your back on Me as a bastard? I am your Father, says the Lord God of heaven and earth. I have loved you with an everlasting love, and I will restore you if you would only turn from this profane teaching you have promulgated in My church for far too long. This disease cannot remain amidst My people and not result in death. Neither can this cancer remain in your body and not take your life, unless I heal you. I have afflicted you in My faithfulness, My son. But if you will not repent of this pernicious doctrine you preach to My people, I will remove you from your place in the earth and raise up another in your stead. He shall be a praise before Me, but his heart will I try as I have tried yours. And he too will face this issue, he too will be confronted with the word of his God, he too must give account before Me for that which he will teach. And what shall be the end of his praise?

On January 22, 2009 I received an email from Troy S. Anderson of the City Church, telling me to read the attached letter. The attachment contained in the email was this letter:

Re: The City Church and Pastor Wendell Smith

Dear Mr. Hulen:

Your letters to Pastor Wendell Smith commanding him to repent of certain Bible teachings, and warning him that if [he] does not repent he will die within the year, were hostile, inappropriate and threatening. Your attempt to enter his Kirkland home yesterday evening to deliver your "message" both heightened the level of your threats and demonstrated the potential danger you pose to Pastor Smith and to The City Church.

The Smith residence is private property. On behalf of the Smiths, I hereby notify you that you are not to come to their residence again and that if you do so you will be trespassing.

The City Church's campuses are also private property. You are not to attend any of our church services, small groups, or other functions or to come onto any of our church properties. If you do so you will be trespassing.

Finally, you are not to send letters or emails to or otherwise attempt to contact Pastor Wendell Smith or any other City Church pastor, employee, or member.

We have discussed your threats and actions with the Kirkland police department and have made them aware that you do not have permission to come to the Smith residence or the church campuses. We have police security at each of our locations and ongoing relationships with the city police departments.

You may contact me by mail or by email for the limited purpose of discussing any questions you have about the contents of this letter. My mailing address is listed on this letterhead and my email address is troy.anderson@thecity.org.

Sincerely,

Troy S. Anderson, J.D.

General Counsel

The City Church

I answered not a word to Troy Anderson or the City Church.

(originally posted 2/3/2010)

The City Church

The word of the Lord Jesus Christ came to me, telling me to go to the City Church and proclaim His word to the saints of the City Church. Thus I went on the 22nd of October in the year 2009 on the first night of the Prosperity With a Purpose Conference and stood outside of the Kirkland campus proclaiming the word of the Lord to all who came and went from the church. From about 6:00 pm until about 7:30 pm I stood at the entering in of the church property, prophesying all that the Lord God Almighty had sent me to speak. Early in the morning on Sunday, October 25th, Pastor Aaron Haskins of the City Church died. After hearing the news of his death, I fell upon my face and cried out, Ah Lord God, will You yet have mercy upon this church?

This is the word of the Lord that He sent me to speak outside of the City Church in Kirkland, Washington on the night of October 22, 2009:

The High God has spoken, the Holy One has uttered His voice, His word resounds from heaven above to the inhabitants of the earth, to the saints of the City Church. This is what the Lord has spoken to you: Come out from among the people, My people! Flee, get you out from among them, and be separate, declares the Lord. Prosperity shall prosper you no longer, for I have seen your ways amongst men, your dealings in the earth. How high would you seek to climb in the success of a system that is corrupt to the core? You want wealth, you want worship, you want the ways of God; and you want them in that order.

There is a mixture amongst My people, says the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an unholy mixture--the holy combined with the profane. Her leaders and those led of them desire worldly gain. I look upon the City Church and I see a people whose lust consumes them, whose passions push them further away from Me with every breath, with every heartbeat. I have raised you up, Oh church of My heart, but you have corrupted yourselves, embracing another master, whose ways allure and attract, distracting you from your First Love. You cannot walk in the ways of God and in the ways of man, serving Me and serving mammon. Away with it! Away with your lusts, for you are enflamed in your heart, burning for another lord whose love will swallow you up in death.

What profit shall you gain, who have labored for the wind, wanting more and more, an insatiable desire for another lord? Your pastors have led you astray. Your teachers have taught you to walk another way. I have judged them, and their sentence is set. Wendell Smith, your view of death is deficient, thinking it to be when you have breathed your last breath. But this I tell you, that as Adam died in the day he ate of the fruit, so it is with you. In the year you have refused to repent, you have died already, being removed from the holy and high calling unto which I called you. I have placed a man of praise in your office, stripping you of your authority and placing your mantle upon another, says the Lord God Almighty, the High King of heaven. With your removal from the office unto which you were called you have died the death of a man who refuses to repent. For toward rebellion and prosperity is your heart bent.

You would think to yourself, If it be the word of the Lord, let it come now. But My word has passed and you have not perceived it; it will surely come, but will you know it? As Adam you have tasted of the forbidden fruit, and as Adam you have died in the year of rebellion. Sin came by one man into the world, and by you, Wendell Smith, has sin entered the City Church. You have persisted in perverting the gospel of Christ, despising My correction, refusing repentance from your crooked way. You have been honored by men the world over, but I assure you of this, though you have sought to justify yourself before men, that which is highly esteemed among them is abomination in the eyes of God. The saints of the City Church will weep and wail, wondering why their pastor has died. For I will remove from them their glory, the man raised up to raise them up, who will fall down, having fallen from the height of his calling, loving another more than Me.

Oh, saints of the City Church, you have lived lavishly and in luxury, dancing delicately between two opinions. You would rather listen to a lie along the lines of your prosperity than hear the truth about the blessedness of poverty. But your pastor's disease is a sign to you of the ravages of prosperity in the midst of My body. It is not yours that I want, it is you, says the Lord Jesus Christ. What could you give to Me that is not already Mine? My covenant with Abraham was not for wealth in the world, but for My Glory in his Seed. And so he rejoiced in the seeing of My day. The price of that Glory was My blood shed in poverty, but will you see as did he? Would you walk another way? What could you want more than Me? I am God Almighty.

On the sixth day of June in the year 2009, I, Bryan, was joined in union unto Anna Marlene as a sign and portent from Almighty God. Anna Marlene was called of the Lord out of the City Church for its perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. On the tower I stand, from the mountain height of God I cry in love. Hear the word of the Lord: on the selfsame day the announcement was made on the website of the City Church that Judah Smith would be given the office of his father as lead pastor. Who has ears to hear, let him hear. Come out from among them, says the Lord, and be separate. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will dwell among you, and you will be My people and I will be your God.

Beginning on the night of November 21, 2009 until early in the morning of November 22, 2009, I, Bryan, and my helper in the ministry of Christ delivered these words to each of the City Church campuses throughout the Seattle area; at the North Sound, at Alderwood, at the University District, at Belltown, at the Plateau, and at Kirkland. The word of the Lord was posted on the doors of each of the churches. The following week I was contacted by Troy Anderson of the City Church, as was my father.

After I responded to his request to contact him Troy Anderson sent me an email which included these words:

I assume you already received my January 22, 2009 [letter] that I sent after you came to the Smith's house to deliver your message to Pastor Wendell. I have attached another copy. We have no choice but to consider you a safety risk and someone whose behavior we cannot predict. I ask that you please comply with that letter by staying away from the church and not attempting to contact us or deliver any more of your messages. Thank you.

Mr. Anderson's email to my father included the following words:

In January this year I contacted you about your son Bryan's letters and behavior toward The City Church, and in particular toward our founding pastor Wendell Smith. In January Bryan came to the Smith's residence and delivered a letter discussing God's judgment on Pastor Wendell and the church...In October someone stood outside our Kirkland church location as people pulled into the parking lot to attend a conference at the church and "prophesied" against the church. I did not personally view him doing this but our facilities staff has a picture of Bryan and believe that it was him...This past weekend the attached letter was delivered to our Seattle church locations. It appears to be from Bryan. I am concerned by the tone of this letter and in particular what he might do. My letter to him in January advised him that if he came onto any of our church locations he would be trespassing...I would like to communicate to him my concerns about what actions he might take and to tell him that we have heard his "message" and do not want to hear from him again.

On December 14, 2009 I responded to Troy Anderson by email:

Mr. Troy Anderson,

The way of life and the way of death, the way of blessing and the way of cursing has been set before Pastor Wendell Smith. He will choose for himself the way he takes. There are those who have spoken to Wendell regarding his healing. If they have spoken out of the mouth of the Lord, let them pray for Wendell Smith that he may be healed. But know for certain that as God has done, so shall He do, and the word the Lord has spoken regarding His servant will surely come to pass, that all the City Church may know the ravages of the doctrine of prosperity with a purpose in the midst of the body of Christ. My messages are not mine, but His that sent me. If anyone will do His will, he shall know of the messages, whether they are of God, or I speak of myself. Let wisdom be justified of all her children.

a bondslave of the Lord Jesus Christ and yours,
Bryan W. Hulen

(originally posted 2/3/2010)

The Disease of Prosperity

May 4, 2006

Dear Pastor Wendell Smith,

I write these words at the command of Almighty God as His servant to you. Please know that I have no agenda or desire, save that you would live wholly and only for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, remaining a faithful minister and shepherd in His Kingdom. If you should have any questions regarding what is written below, please do not hesitate to contact me at bhulen@gmail.com.

Thank you for your most solemn consideration of all that the Holy Spirit is speaking in this hour to you and to the body of Christ at the City Church.

Sincerely,

Bryan W. Hulen

“Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. Thou [art] good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes. The proud have forged a lie against me: [but] I will keep thy precepts with [my] whole heart. Their heart is as fat as grease; [but] I delight in thy law. [It is] good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. The law of thy mouth [is] better unto me than thousands of gold and silver” (Psalm 119:65-72).
_____________________

"There is a disease that is ravaging My body in your midst, of which your current struggle and affliction is a symbol and picture," says the Lord Jesus Christ. "Wendell, I have called and chosen you. I the Lord have appointed you unto the ministry in which you now stand as a shepherd over My flock, to lead and to feed My people into My ways and with My Word. I have carried you through many trials and shown Myself faithful in all seasons. But as yet you have been unwilling to listen to My voice regarding this matter of which I now speak in a way more loudly than ever before in your life. Oh, how I have loved you, My child, My servant. But when will you turn to receive My call to repentance from this most pernicious promotion of the prosperity doctrine of deception that will destroy My people?"

Therefore, hear the word of the Lord unto you, Pastor Wendell Smith of the City Church:

"I have heard your cry in secret places, and I have seen your struggle when no one is around to comfort or console. You have wondered why this cancer now has stricken your body. I the Lord God of glory will tell you, My son. You have taught and promulgated a message that is false in the midst of My people. You have told them to prosper in the wealth of the world at the expense of eternal riches in Me. Are not all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge found in Me? With what shall you compare My glory? For what would you trade My Presence? Are not My words of greater worth than silver or gold, even the most precious of diamonds? I was sufficient for Abraham’s reward, but would you desire more than the friend of God, whose faith was accounted to him for righteousness, who became the father of the faithful? For My covenant is not a covenant of financial gain or covetousness, but My covenant is a covenant of blood, of love, of eternal life in Me of which My Spirit is the deposit," says the Lord Jesus Christ. "But this doctrine is a disease in My body that will produce death and preclude many from entering into My most holy way for them, even causing some to fall away to perdition."

"I the Lord your God have brought this affliction upon your body, as you are the pastor over My flock, to teach you and show you the toll that this false teaching will bring upon My church. It is a poison that will kill those who eat of it. With what shall a shepherd feed My sheep? The message of prosperity with a purpose will annul My purpose for you, the City Church, and make you unfruitful in My kingdom. This deadly doctrine I hate, I abhor, I despise and will uproot from My church in the last day, only to cast it into the fire of My judgement, that it may burn with all other words and ways of death in unquenchable fire for all eternity. The doctrine of prosperity that you teach will cause the City Church to wither as an old man incapable of producing sons or daughters," says the Lord God of mercy and judgement. "Am I not a Father to My people? Shall I not hold to account those who seduce and deceive My children? I cry from the midst of My throne that I will surely judge all who teach this doctrine, and I call you to repent. For these foolish teachings are the ways of the world cloaked in wisdom to the undiscerning heart, whose end shall be according to his works."

"And so I say to you, Wendell, return to Me, and I will heal you. Repent of this doctrine that will only cause My people to stumble and fall upon the high places unto which I have called them in Me," says the Shepherd of your soul. "I have afflicted you in My faithfulness that you might see the disease that is ravaging My body. For I am the Head above all things, and I love you more than you will ever know; but My church, My bride, is too precious to Me to allow this fateful and foolish thing, this salacious and shameful doctrine to remain among My people in this church I have raised up for My honor. For it is as a whorish and murderous woman calling out for whosoever will to come and partake of her fornications, only to kill the unsuspecting fool upon her bed of lust. She shows forth a strangely alluring and selfless mien. But she is altogether and only evil, a doctrine that slays the souls of men. You cannot love Me and the money that you say I give for the purposes contrived of men, who wish only to increase in this world's perishable possessions. Death begets death, and life begets life. Is it not My mercy that you remain to this day, and will it not be by grace unspeakable that I will heal you? But what will you do in the end thereof? Repent, return to Me, and I will restore you and carry you through this and all other trials you will face. For I am the Lord your God, the Eternal King, and I count you and the City Church so dear to Me, a precious and holy thing, a house wherein I desire to dwell in My glory," says the Lord Jesus Christ.

(original post date: 05/04/2006)

Would You Wash My Feet?

Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe [them] with the towel wherewith he was girded...Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for [so] I am. If I then, [your] Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. ~John 13:3-5, 13-15

Have you seen Him, our Lord and Master disrobing of all His majesty before you, clothing Himself in humanity to come and wash your feet? The Sovereign of heaven and earth has descended from His high throne to arise within the heart of a man, a woman, a child as the Servant of all, His Divine Nature now displayed within plain, unimpressive, paltry human frames. With an holy eye and eternal view our Lord Jesus Christ set aside His primal Glory in order to cleanse a people, dirt, depravity, sin, stench, filth, profaneness and all unto Himself. There is a washing of water with the word that takes place within the bride of Christ that He is calling to Himself, and it is a purifying that is manifested marvellously in the washing of His disciples' feet. For this cleansing reveals one so much deeper, so much grander, so much more than we could ever know without the deepest drawing of the Holy Spirit into its comprehension. The Son of God, knowing that all things were His and all things placed under Him, set aside His outer clothing, stripped Himself to the undergarments with which He was girded, wrapped Himself in a towel, and picked up the feet of His own creation to wash them, to handle their sullied skin in His creative hands which were soon to be pierced, to dry them with the towel that now covered His own bare humanity.

Think of this eternal drama unfolding before the eyes of James and John and the rest of the followers of the Son of God. Whom does our Lord approach in the midst of His sacrificial servitude? None other than the soon to be deserter and denier of His holy Name. The Master gently takes those feet of a foundation stone of the church founded upon Himself as its Chief Cornerstone and begins to scrape off the dirt, immerse them in the water, rub His fingers between the toes, leaving no trace of earth's stains behind. Peter's protests would not prevail, for our Lord knew what position he held in His kingdom, but cleansing was necessary for him to enter his beatified place in the bride of Christ. Our Lord moves from disciple to disciple, soon to find the feet of the man in whom Satan was soon to take residence, our Master's very betrayer. The Almighty breathed His warm breath upon the feet belonging to the cold heart bound to the devil's influence, whose deceitful kiss led to His own arrest. And those feet, those toes, that man the Son of God washed, knowing what was to come. God looked up from below into the eyes of the son of perdition and washed his feet. Such Divine condescension declares in very deed the Love Nature of God as Lord and Master more perfectly than any other act in Christ's earthly life preceding the Cross.

Jesus Christ washed the feet of a deserter and a devil, but you will not wash the feet of a rebel. Our Lord and Master undressed, exposing His human frame in frailty and weakness, a frame that was to be broken by the hands of His own creation, crushed by His Father's bruising, and crucified by the princes of this world. The Son of God bore the mockery, the shame, the nakedness, the nails, the scoffing, the silence from the Father, and breathed His last breath as a Faithful High Priest and Lamb of Sacrifice. This is the consummate cleansing that was prophesied in that humbling act of the Holy One, Who exemplified our duty as His disciples. But would you drop your pride, would you set aside your position of authority, would you unclothe yourself of all pretense and sink down before men to wash their feet? It is not merely the feet of the man before you that you wash, it is the Feet that were pierced for you that you take up in your hands. Can you see His Face marred more than any man mirrored behind the visage of the one before you now? Until you can gaze upon the Beauty of Holiness unto Whom you are beholden in the washing of His disciples' feet, no matter their state before the Father, you will never be the servant God is seeking, you will never be the priest of the King of kings, you will never be the slave of the Son of God. Until you wash His disciples' feet you will never know Him as Lord and Teacher.