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Love Jesus, Hate Church: How to Survive in Church or Die Trying
Some of you are probably wondering what a book titled, Love Jesus, Hate Church , is all about. Ah, I can hear your questions What's the point? What are you trying to say? Where are you going with this? How can you Love Jesus and Hate Church ? Aren't they the same thing? Hey, your concerns are understandable. First, I understand some of you are probably already a bit put off by the title of this book— maybe even a little offended. I'm also keenly aware of the fact that using the words Love and Jesus and Hate and Church all in the same sentence seem contradictory. It feels sacrilegious. Unholy. Somehow just plain wrong. What Do You Mean When You Say, Church? But understand, Love Jesus, Hate Church is not talking about the true church, the " called-out ones " Scripture so proudly refers to as "men and women the world was not worthy of." But the church of our own creation, the church created in our own image— our own Frankenstein. We're talking about the man-made institution we call church. You know, the social organization whose steepled buildings dot the landscape of our communities. The club, the structure, the established entity we vainly try to infuse artificial life into each week with our hyped-up praise music, our social programs disguised as ministry, and the self-affirming, feel-good speeches we attempt to pass off as Spirit-empowered sermons. Or, as those of us who "bear on our bodies the Love Jesus, Hate Church battle scars" like to call it— the Well-Oiled Machine . What is the Purpose of Love Jesus, Hate Church? The purpose of Love Jesus, Hate Church is not in any way to slam, malign, tear down or "dis" the church. Nor is this book designed to simply point out the obvious faults, systemic shortcomings or the inherent hypocrisy that has plagued the institution of the church for the last millennium and a half. No, the purpose of Love Jesus, Hate Church is actually quite the opposite. The goal of Love Jesus, Hate Church is to present the church in the breathtaking splendor the Lord intended— as the spotless, chaste, virgin bride of Christ. It's to show the church, as Paul so clearly pointed out in Ephesians 3, as the eternal vessel of Christ’s glory on earth. Consider the praise of the Apostle Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. The problem we face, however, is the visible church— that which we see, attend, claim membership in and have known all our lives, is a far cry from the true church revealed in Scripture. It's literally light years from the living entity Jesus promised the very "gates of hell will not prevail against." What we see masquerading as church today is, at best, a dim reflection of the Lord's intention. In fact, the current visible church that seems to dot every other street corner in North America is now so far removed from the example Jesus left us in Scripture, that we might never be able to divorce ourselves from our traditions, and experience the pure bride of Christ in all her fullness. Or, to put it in the perspective of the Lord's promise to us, we frankly may never be able to experience the abundant life He promised. Never! At least not within our current church structures and religious mindsets. So what are we to do? Good question. But we've got a great answer! And Love Jesus, Hate Church explores that very answer.
- GenresReligionNonfiction
250 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 9, 2011
This book was pretty good. Not spectacular, just pretty good. His audience is a bit niche: church-raised folks who consider themselves believers and yet are troubled by the politics (church-level not national level), hypocrisy, and general non-Christlike behavior within the Church. Wouldn't recommend it for new believers, but a breath of fresh air if you've been raised in Church and "suspect" that power structure is missing the boat.
October 6, 2007
McCranie might have something important to say but his style gives me the jitters.
April 26, 2008
This author has some good thoughts, but they feel too clouded by his own personal baggage.
October 26, 2011
The premise is a good one and so I kept reading. But he never got to the depth the issue needed and his style of writing was so irritating so it was a disappointment.
April 26, 2020
I knew Steve for 11 years. At one time my husband and I thought of him as our pastor and friend. I don't know how we allowed ourselves to be so conned and used by him. Were it not for the grace of God, Steve would have destroyed me, and nearly did. We thought Steve had changed since the writing of this book. As it turned out, he had not. His tone and ways are just as harsh and abusive. I hope this review and information will help someone else to avoid or make sense of a similar "senseless and hurtful experience" with Steve McCranie.
I Corinthians 13:6 - "Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth." Steve's sermons, two books (including this one), and his self-started church (The Church Without Walls) are on the internet in several places. This is unfortunate, because Steve's character is not above reproach (I Timothy 3:2). He has had nothing new to say for a very long time, unless he repeats what others have written or said. It is not revelation from a personal connection with the Holy Spirit. If so, he would have his own fresh outline. Steve is a false teacher in the way that he twists Scripture, takes it out of context, and adds his own theme and preferences to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If we live according to God's Word it is more than sufficient (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Steve's focus is on a theme of leaving and needing something more, new and different. Childlike faith, which Steve refers to as "flannelgraph faith", just "doesn't cut it." Furthermore, you "can't handle the truth." This ought to be a major red flag to anyone who loves God's Word. In hindsight, it should have been a major red flag to us.
Steve dwells on faith, but speaks very little about humble Christian character. He also speaks very little about the overarching commandment of Scripture regarding love for God and others. Christians are to be filled up with the poured out love of God, from the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). A lack of love, kindness and humble character should never be tolerated or excused in a man claiming to be a pastor. Steve has been primarily a self-appointed pastor, which is even more disturbing.
If you ever dare to have a different approach or perspective than Steve, you will be torn apart in a malignant, covert manner, followed by fake apologies. If Steve can't take complete credit for a discipleship ministry, he will make every effort to sabotage it. The problem will turn out to be you. Or, it will be a grand scheme of satan that caused the situation. Or, it will be a misunderstanding, in contrast to what the Bible says it is. After Steve has played both sides of the fence and stuck a dagger in your back, he will claim to not even remember what happened.
Ephesians 5:11: "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." I have also posted a review of Steve's second book: "Leaving Laodicea: How to Find the Wisdom You Need to Survive the Days Ahead." I very much regret editing Steve's second book for him because it has given more attention to his deceptive teaching and extremism. Without the edit, his second book would have been just about as harsh, sarcastic, and arrogant in tone as this one.
This book does acknowledge that there are very awful and unbiblical things that happen in the name of Jesus Christ. However, it will not help you to overcome such an unfortunate reality. It will make you more cynical, hesitant and discouraged about being able to find a church family that is focused on the gospel and teachings of Jesus Christ. Therefore, during a difficult season of life, you might assume that you have no other options left and get pulled in by someone like Steve.
Please don't make a mistake like we did and get caught up in this. I pray for new Christians to not find Steve anywhere because he is a master manipulator of people's emotions. He can be very, very nice, followed by very, very mean. It's such an insidious abuse of power and mind control that you will second guess yourself and not realize what is happening. It's the reason for wolves being referred to as wolves. A wolf who starts his own church can cause immense damage in people's lives with his teachings and advice.
Luke 6:45: "Out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks" summarizes what you will find in this book, or in one of Steve's podcasts. Church is not a place that anyone should be trying to survive in, unless it is spiritually dead, lacking in love, and shepherded badly. If so, then please get out and pray to find people who really do love Jesus. Those who love Jesus will love to be in church, they will be kind and gracious to you, and they will take care of His church the way He intended.
The church of Jesus Christ should be a place of worship and fellowship with forgiven, redeemed brothers and sisters in Christ who are committed to being at peace with one another. There will be a welcoming desire for multiplication and discipleship, out of gratitude and celebration of God's love and grace. A "church" that is unwilling to unite for the sake of the lost and the great commission is false, disobedient and self-absorbed. A church where you have to be concerned about a continual rumor mill, secret conversations, and lack of confidentiality is definitely not where you need to be, so I beg you to stay away from the cruel ways of Steve.
Gratefully, I belong to a loving and kind church family now where everyone needs the same grace and are treated accordingly. There are no real solutions in this self-published book. Instead, you will find disgusting language and vile examples from a man who is crude, rude, angry, and bitter, masquerading as some sort of a good shepherd, which is the saddest thing about this book. There will be no help with forgiveness, healing, or moving forward. Healthy pastors are listeners, learners, and always sensitive to the ways of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. They will not be protecting their own turf by silencing those who are trying to speak biblical truth.
If you have any doubts about church, Steve will invite you to listen to him and do it his way, which will eventually be very destructive, as indicated by the above. Steve can charm and provide cognitive empathy. He's good at false love bombing, false promises, and declaring his friendship. If you start to question anything, the devaluing, gaslighting, and trauma bonding will begin. Ultimately, it will be all your fault, even when attempting to pursue peace. You will be a useful object to Steve for as long as you agree with him and don't ruffle the feathers of Jezebel, modern day Pharisees, or his fragile ego. Otherwise, things will become very harsh, punishing, and underhanded.
John 10:10: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." Please do not be deceived by Steve McCranie. If you need more clarification about what you would be getting yourself into, please also go to Amazon and read the review by B. K. Rice from Leadership Connections International. The counsel of B. K. Rice is quite accurate. I wish we would have read it a long time ago. Hindsight is definitely 20/20. Steve is a highly skilled exaggerator, but he has not had any long term pastoral role in a New Testament structured church.
Steve can convince unsuspecting people and gullible women of just about anything. We found his character to be along the lines of 2 Timothy 3:1-9. The hidden, unanswered questions are these: Why was Steve unable to love imperfect people? Where was the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Why did he keep quitting and discarding? Why did Steve need to pay for his own church building, on his own land, where he has complete, top-down control over everything assumed to be true about church and everyone else?
Similar to a cult leader, Steve makes himself accountable to nobody (except to appease unrighteous attitudes and untruths for the sake of self-preservation). Currently Steve promotes prepping (storing and hoarding for comfort on this earth), while continuing to warn of "the coming darkness" and a "shipwrecked church" (unless you do it his way). Interestingly, there are no elders watching out for the sheep in Steve's church. Steve says and does whatever he wants to behind closed doors. I don't know what could be more potentially dangerous, prideful, or lacking in integrity than this.
We must consider that the enemy of our souls knows Scripture from cover to cover. A man who's as manipulative and controlling as Steve can seem very credible, unless we see and hear through God-given, generous wisdom. For example, Scripture never tells any Christian to leave Laodicea. Unfortunately, you will hear Steve use this slogan over and over again, as though the Bible actually says to do this. Steve's man-made "Leaving Laodicea" theme is another huge red flag, especially because he promises wisdom after you do what he tells you to do.
If the people in Steve's church are supposed to be leaving a focus on this world for a higher Christian life, they have not left yet. Their primary focus is not on the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:8) or on loving well. Instead, their focus is on far right politics and extreme conspiracy theories, making more money, educating children in one acceptable way, and slandering to the point of ruining relationships. The result (more like Matthew 23:15), is not anything close to a Christ-like fragrance, or the mind of Christ.
A personality like Steve's should scare you, warn you, and cause you to run. It does not matter how well he knows what the Bible says, or how often he quotes and even plagiarizes men like Andrew Murray or Charles Spurgeon. Does he put it into practice? Where is the good fruit? Who is Steve in real life? Jesus warned of this form of hypocrisy all throughout Matthew 23. I doubt that Jesus Himself would be accepted for very long at The Church Without Walls. John 14:23: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word."
Brothers and sisters in Christ, everyone of us should be able to discern a wolf in sheep's clothing if we are paying attention and walking in the Spirit. Eventually, things just don't add up. Much of what Steve puts out there on the internet and in his books is arrogant, sarcastic, and spiritually abusive stuff. He would be unable to pastor a New Testament structured church where he would be held accountable for error and his own spiritual condition.
If you will listen very carefully to Steve, in order to discern and figure it out, you'll hear his word salad, even within the same podcast. You'll hear the subtle contradictions in the things he says. No honest person has to tell you that he is being honest, truthful, etc. Listen for the "quite honestly", "to be honest with you", "trust me" language and be very concerned. Steve has a showy, entertaining, sarcastic way of embellishing Scripture and of adding to it, instead of allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture. Woe to those who do this (Revelation 22:19).
Projecting one's own struggles, failures, and doubts onto others is not Spirit-filled teaching. It is a manipulative tactic of control and intimidation. Spirit-filled teaching always points to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray for discernment and listen as though your spiritual well-being depends on it. The frequent dissection of words fills time. It makes Steve seem like he knows what he is talking about, but it is really of little value, and only ruins the hearers (2 Timothy 2:14).
Steve will tell you that I am crazy, dramatic, and probably other things as well to avoid responsibility for the way he treated me and my husband. I will say that by the time I figured out all the two-faced smearing he had done, and what he was up to behind our backs, I was definitely distraught. He had me blaming myself for things that he had actually put into motion. To top it off, Steve knew that it was not an easy time for us. He had made promises to be helpful and supportive, even while stoking the confusion behind our backs.
Steve's true colors came completely out soon after my husband left the country on a year long military deployment. Steve knew how to devalue and isolate me at the most opportune time. It's very awful what people will believe and go along with when their "pastor" lies to them. For this reason alone, Steve has no business behind any pulpit. We have never known a "pastor" who is able to lie so easily and believe his own lies. Steve will tell you just about anything about anybody, true and untrue. I pity anyone who has confided in him over the years.
A slanderer uses partial truth and omission of details, which is why people are manipulated into believing what he speaks. If Steve dishes dirt to you, he will surely dish dirt about you. He maintains control and gets away with being abusive by pitting people against one another. In turn, they look to him for approval, help, and solutions. If Steve is determined to isolate you and turn people against you, it will be quite traumatizing and confusing. After receiving godly, trained counsel, my husband and I believe that Steve knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. Predators go from grooming their target to isolating their target.
I am sorry that I ever thought using the words hate and church, in the same sentence, was even remotely okay. I love church very much now. Every Sunday the glory of the Lord fills the sanctuary. It is a joy to worship and serve the Lord with other like-minded believers. I do hate Steve's definition of church and shepherding because it is not freedom. Steve's church and ungodly shepherding turned out to be something that we survived and have needed to recover from, due to James 3 wickedness.
Unfortunately, there is a culture of triangulated gossip, slander, snobbery, course joking that's unfitting for the saints, accusation, condemnation, etc. at The Church Without Walls. Once people are in it long enough, they just don't seem to recognize how destructive it is, unless they become a target themselves. In the hindsight of being targeted, we are repentant for staying and tolerating it for as long as we did. Looking back, it was absolutely awful and a total offense to biblical Christianity, but when a disciple is fully trained, they will be like their teacher. Jesus said so in Luke 6:40. A James, Chapter 3 culture of the tongue enables Steve to spin the narrative any way he wants to.
In this particular book, Steve writes about the problems of the "family dynasty" church setting. He even points it out on the back cover of this book. Ironically, this is exactly what you will find if you get involved with Steve. You'll either go along with the narrative of the family dynasty, or you'll be targeted yourself. Not one ounce of the love problems will ever be them. If you're serious about discipleship, you will not be able to obey the commandments of Scripture in this environment. The rocks thrown into the harvest field from the sidelines will be huge.
I do agree with Steve that this is not how the church of Jesus Christ is supposed to be at all, but it's exactly the type of environment that he maintains, in contrast to what he advertises on the internet, or complains about in this book. The deepest regret of my life is that I tried to disciple anyone inside of Steve's "church". I mostly regret the stares and lack of face to face conversation that they experienced from people who profess to have the love of God in them. Sadly, there was plenty of mean conversation behind their backs, and mine. I still have to wonder about what is going on inside of those who cannot believe in Jesus' ability to make sinners spiritually well. Has He made them well?
Our time with Steve, and those who still enable him, ended in completely inappropriate predatory behavior, before and after my husband deployed, even as Steve was calling my husband his best friend and prayer partner. Ladies, if this does not sound good to you, then I suggest you avoid having anything to do with Steve McCranie. He was not a gentleman to me. Never has a man been more of a Judas to my husband. If you are still involved with Steve, think about any red flags you have experienced yourself, and please stop making excuses for them.
I Corinthians 13:6 - "Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth." Steve's sermons, two books (including this one), and his self-started church (The Church Without Walls) are on the internet in several places. This is unfortunate, because Steve's character is not above reproach (I Timothy 3:2). He has had nothing new to say for a very long time, unless he repeats what others have written or said. It is not revelation from a personal connection with the Holy Spirit. If so, he would have his own fresh outline. Steve is a false teacher in the way that he twists Scripture, takes it out of context, and adds his own theme and preferences to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If we live according to God's Word it is more than sufficient (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Steve's focus is on a theme of leaving and needing something more, new and different. Childlike faith, which Steve refers to as "flannelgraph faith", just "doesn't cut it." Furthermore, you "can't handle the truth." This ought to be a major red flag to anyone who loves God's Word. In hindsight, it should have been a major red flag to us.
Steve dwells on faith, but speaks very little about humble Christian character. He also speaks very little about the overarching commandment of Scripture regarding love for God and others. Christians are to be filled up with the poured out love of God, from the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). A lack of love, kindness and humble character should never be tolerated or excused in a man claiming to be a pastor. Steve has been primarily a self-appointed pastor, which is even more disturbing.
If you ever dare to have a different approach or perspective than Steve, you will be torn apart in a malignant, covert manner, followed by fake apologies. If Steve can't take complete credit for a discipleship ministry, he will make every effort to sabotage it. The problem will turn out to be you. Or, it will be a grand scheme of satan that caused the situation. Or, it will be a misunderstanding, in contrast to what the Bible says it is. After Steve has played both sides of the fence and stuck a dagger in your back, he will claim to not even remember what happened.
Ephesians 5:11: "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." I have also posted a review of Steve's second book: "Leaving Laodicea: How to Find the Wisdom You Need to Survive the Days Ahead." I very much regret editing Steve's second book for him because it has given more attention to his deceptive teaching and extremism. Without the edit, his second book would have been just about as harsh, sarcastic, and arrogant in tone as this one.
This book does acknowledge that there are very awful and unbiblical things that happen in the name of Jesus Christ. However, it will not help you to overcome such an unfortunate reality. It will make you more cynical, hesitant and discouraged about being able to find a church family that is focused on the gospel and teachings of Jesus Christ. Therefore, during a difficult season of life, you might assume that you have no other options left and get pulled in by someone like Steve.
Please don't make a mistake like we did and get caught up in this. I pray for new Christians to not find Steve anywhere because he is a master manipulator of people's emotions. He can be very, very nice, followed by very, very mean. It's such an insidious abuse of power and mind control that you will second guess yourself and not realize what is happening. It's the reason for wolves being referred to as wolves. A wolf who starts his own church can cause immense damage in people's lives with his teachings and advice.
Luke 6:45: "Out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks" summarizes what you will find in this book, or in one of Steve's podcasts. Church is not a place that anyone should be trying to survive in, unless it is spiritually dead, lacking in love, and shepherded badly. If so, then please get out and pray to find people who really do love Jesus. Those who love Jesus will love to be in church, they will be kind and gracious to you, and they will take care of His church the way He intended.
The church of Jesus Christ should be a place of worship and fellowship with forgiven, redeemed brothers and sisters in Christ who are committed to being at peace with one another. There will be a welcoming desire for multiplication and discipleship, out of gratitude and celebration of God's love and grace. A "church" that is unwilling to unite for the sake of the lost and the great commission is false, disobedient and self-absorbed. A church where you have to be concerned about a continual rumor mill, secret conversations, and lack of confidentiality is definitely not where you need to be, so I beg you to stay away from the cruel ways of Steve.
Gratefully, I belong to a loving and kind church family now where everyone needs the same grace and are treated accordingly. There are no real solutions in this self-published book. Instead, you will find disgusting language and vile examples from a man who is crude, rude, angry, and bitter, masquerading as some sort of a good shepherd, which is the saddest thing about this book. There will be no help with forgiveness, healing, or moving forward. Healthy pastors are listeners, learners, and always sensitive to the ways of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. They will not be protecting their own turf by silencing those who are trying to speak biblical truth.
If you have any doubts about church, Steve will invite you to listen to him and do it his way, which will eventually be very destructive, as indicated by the above. Steve can charm and provide cognitive empathy. He's good at false love bombing, false promises, and declaring his friendship. If you start to question anything, the devaluing, gaslighting, and trauma bonding will begin. Ultimately, it will be all your fault, even when attempting to pursue peace. You will be a useful object to Steve for as long as you agree with him and don't ruffle the feathers of Jezebel, modern day Pharisees, or his fragile ego. Otherwise, things will become very harsh, punishing, and underhanded.
John 10:10: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." Please do not be deceived by Steve McCranie. If you need more clarification about what you would be getting yourself into, please also go to Amazon and read the review by B. K. Rice from Leadership Connections International. The counsel of B. K. Rice is quite accurate. I wish we would have read it a long time ago. Hindsight is definitely 20/20. Steve is a highly skilled exaggerator, but he has not had any long term pastoral role in a New Testament structured church.
Steve can convince unsuspecting people and gullible women of just about anything. We found his character to be along the lines of 2 Timothy 3:1-9. The hidden, unanswered questions are these: Why was Steve unable to love imperfect people? Where was the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Why did he keep quitting and discarding? Why did Steve need to pay for his own church building, on his own land, where he has complete, top-down control over everything assumed to be true about church and everyone else?
Similar to a cult leader, Steve makes himself accountable to nobody (except to appease unrighteous attitudes and untruths for the sake of self-preservation). Currently Steve promotes prepping (storing and hoarding for comfort on this earth), while continuing to warn of "the coming darkness" and a "shipwrecked church" (unless you do it his way). Interestingly, there are no elders watching out for the sheep in Steve's church. Steve says and does whatever he wants to behind closed doors. I don't know what could be more potentially dangerous, prideful, or lacking in integrity than this.
We must consider that the enemy of our souls knows Scripture from cover to cover. A man who's as manipulative and controlling as Steve can seem very credible, unless we see and hear through God-given, generous wisdom. For example, Scripture never tells any Christian to leave Laodicea. Unfortunately, you will hear Steve use this slogan over and over again, as though the Bible actually says to do this. Steve's man-made "Leaving Laodicea" theme is another huge red flag, especially because he promises wisdom after you do what he tells you to do.
If the people in Steve's church are supposed to be leaving a focus on this world for a higher Christian life, they have not left yet. Their primary focus is not on the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:8) or on loving well. Instead, their focus is on far right politics and extreme conspiracy theories, making more money, educating children in one acceptable way, and slandering to the point of ruining relationships. The result (more like Matthew 23:15), is not anything close to a Christ-like fragrance, or the mind of Christ.
A personality like Steve's should scare you, warn you, and cause you to run. It does not matter how well he knows what the Bible says, or how often he quotes and even plagiarizes men like Andrew Murray or Charles Spurgeon. Does he put it into practice? Where is the good fruit? Who is Steve in real life? Jesus warned of this form of hypocrisy all throughout Matthew 23. I doubt that Jesus Himself would be accepted for very long at The Church Without Walls. John 14:23: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word."
Brothers and sisters in Christ, everyone of us should be able to discern a wolf in sheep's clothing if we are paying attention and walking in the Spirit. Eventually, things just don't add up. Much of what Steve puts out there on the internet and in his books is arrogant, sarcastic, and spiritually abusive stuff. He would be unable to pastor a New Testament structured church where he would be held accountable for error and his own spiritual condition.
If you will listen very carefully to Steve, in order to discern and figure it out, you'll hear his word salad, even within the same podcast. You'll hear the subtle contradictions in the things he says. No honest person has to tell you that he is being honest, truthful, etc. Listen for the "quite honestly", "to be honest with you", "trust me" language and be very concerned. Steve has a showy, entertaining, sarcastic way of embellishing Scripture and of adding to it, instead of allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture. Woe to those who do this (Revelation 22:19).
Projecting one's own struggles, failures, and doubts onto others is not Spirit-filled teaching. It is a manipulative tactic of control and intimidation. Spirit-filled teaching always points to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray for discernment and listen as though your spiritual well-being depends on it. The frequent dissection of words fills time. It makes Steve seem like he knows what he is talking about, but it is really of little value, and only ruins the hearers (2 Timothy 2:14).
Steve will tell you that I am crazy, dramatic, and probably other things as well to avoid responsibility for the way he treated me and my husband. I will say that by the time I figured out all the two-faced smearing he had done, and what he was up to behind our backs, I was definitely distraught. He had me blaming myself for things that he had actually put into motion. To top it off, Steve knew that it was not an easy time for us. He had made promises to be helpful and supportive, even while stoking the confusion behind our backs.
Steve's true colors came completely out soon after my husband left the country on a year long military deployment. Steve knew how to devalue and isolate me at the most opportune time. It's very awful what people will believe and go along with when their "pastor" lies to them. For this reason alone, Steve has no business behind any pulpit. We have never known a "pastor" who is able to lie so easily and believe his own lies. Steve will tell you just about anything about anybody, true and untrue. I pity anyone who has confided in him over the years.
A slanderer uses partial truth and omission of details, which is why people are manipulated into believing what he speaks. If Steve dishes dirt to you, he will surely dish dirt about you. He maintains control and gets away with being abusive by pitting people against one another. In turn, they look to him for approval, help, and solutions. If Steve is determined to isolate you and turn people against you, it will be quite traumatizing and confusing. After receiving godly, trained counsel, my husband and I believe that Steve knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. Predators go from grooming their target to isolating their target.
I am sorry that I ever thought using the words hate and church, in the same sentence, was even remotely okay. I love church very much now. Every Sunday the glory of the Lord fills the sanctuary. It is a joy to worship and serve the Lord with other like-minded believers. I do hate Steve's definition of church and shepherding because it is not freedom. Steve's church and ungodly shepherding turned out to be something that we survived and have needed to recover from, due to James 3 wickedness.
Unfortunately, there is a culture of triangulated gossip, slander, snobbery, course joking that's unfitting for the saints, accusation, condemnation, etc. at The Church Without Walls. Once people are in it long enough, they just don't seem to recognize how destructive it is, unless they become a target themselves. In the hindsight of being targeted, we are repentant for staying and tolerating it for as long as we did. Looking back, it was absolutely awful and a total offense to biblical Christianity, but when a disciple is fully trained, they will be like their teacher. Jesus said so in Luke 6:40. A James, Chapter 3 culture of the tongue enables Steve to spin the narrative any way he wants to.
In this particular book, Steve writes about the problems of the "family dynasty" church setting. He even points it out on the back cover of this book. Ironically, this is exactly what you will find if you get involved with Steve. You'll either go along with the narrative of the family dynasty, or you'll be targeted yourself. Not one ounce of the love problems will ever be them. If you're serious about discipleship, you will not be able to obey the commandments of Scripture in this environment. The rocks thrown into the harvest field from the sidelines will be huge.
I do agree with Steve that this is not how the church of Jesus Christ is supposed to be at all, but it's exactly the type of environment that he maintains, in contrast to what he advertises on the internet, or complains about in this book. The deepest regret of my life is that I tried to disciple anyone inside of Steve's "church". I mostly regret the stares and lack of face to face conversation that they experienced from people who profess to have the love of God in them. Sadly, there was plenty of mean conversation behind their backs, and mine. I still have to wonder about what is going on inside of those who cannot believe in Jesus' ability to make sinners spiritually well. Has He made them well?
Our time with Steve, and those who still enable him, ended in completely inappropriate predatory behavior, before and after my husband deployed, even as Steve was calling my husband his best friend and prayer partner. Ladies, if this does not sound good to you, then I suggest you avoid having anything to do with Steve McCranie. He was not a gentleman to me. Never has a man been more of a Judas to my husband. If you are still involved with Steve, think about any red flags you have experienced yourself, and please stop making excuses for them.
May 20, 2012
Can't finish it. Wanted to, but can't. Thought the book had a great premise, and I was very eager to read it. It's even possible the author made some good points. However, these were really overshadowed for me by his writing style. He is so flippant! He's smug, he's smarmy -- he's kind of an asshole. I was really disappointed. Moreover, perhaps because he has a lot of baggage, he rants -- with some authenticity -- but doesn't provide much in the way of solutions. I frankly thought this was a book that needed to be written -- but by someone else, a better writer perhaps. This author needed to go back to college and take a couple of writing classes, as well as a rhetoric class. Oh, one other thing that irritated me was the fact that at every possible opportunity, he injected the title of his book into the text -- and bolded it. Man, that was annoying! Page after page of bolded book title interspersed with the text. Wow. The publisher should have exercised better editorial control. Largely a disappointment.
September 1, 2011
First off, let me say I thought this book had some great points, and some points that need to be brought up in the Christian church today.
And I do give this book 4 out of 5 stars (by Goodread's scale "I Really Liked It"), but I also feel like the author spent a lot of time saying "I'm not just trying to point out what's wrong with [church]", interspersed with even more pointing out what's wrong with [church], and not a lot on the "what next" or "what instead" side. Not that you have to have an answer for every question you raise - sometimes it's good to just get the conversation going - but own that that's what you are doing.
And I do give this book 4 out of 5 stars (by Goodread's scale "I Really Liked It"), but I also feel like the author spent a lot of time saying "I'm not just trying to point out what's wrong with [church]", interspersed with even more pointing out what's wrong with [church], and not a lot on the "what next" or "what instead" side. Not that you have to have an answer for every question you raise - sometimes it's good to just get the conversation going - but own that that's what you are doing.
May 7, 2008
Okay, go back and re-read the book of Acts. Note to self: stop looking at people playing church and look for ways to make Jesus the Church! It's all about Him. Author rants, gets himself into a circle or two, or three but I can relate. Being able to relate makes me human. Jesus had the same situation with the Pharisees...
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