Yesterday, I was talking to a good friend of mine and he mentioned that he and his wife had finally found a church to settle into and to seriously consider joining. It was after my friend had discussed some facts about the church that he brought up a very interesting statement.
He mentioned that at the last church he attended (and joined) before moving away, the pastors told him that ‘we have you covered’ in prayer and had interpreted that this meant that the last church before moving was ‘their spiritual covering’.
It was then that the gears inside began to spin and I wondered who started this ‘covering’ teaching? I proceeded to tell my friend that since he was a member of the last church he attended before moving away and then decided to join the new church in his new city where he lives, that the new church would formally mail the old church asking for a transferral of membership provided my friend told the new church about the membership at the old church.
The gears spun harder and faster and I started to remember more about the ‘covering’ teaching and I began to wonder if the Charismatic teaching of ‘covering’ is really rooted in the spirit of manipulation to where:
Iif one did leave that the former church would imply that leaving was ‘losing the covering’ and would ‘open you up’ to ‘the enemy’ implying that staying with them meant that you were protected from Satan but unprotected from Satan when you left the old church for the new church.
Unless I missed it, in the New Testament, I do not ever see this teaching being taught nor an implication of ‘covering’ is at work in the New Testament. It comes across as either another Charismatic manipulation and scare tactic to keep people from leaving or a gross misinterpretation of the ‘outside the camp’ teachings found in the Old Testament.
You’re hitting the nail squarely on the head again, here. Between this post and your next about other “wierd stuff” we all ought take a long, hard look. I was a Pentecostal/Charismatic pastor, so I can understand (and agree with) all that you’ve written.
Sadly, the covering teaching has gone astray. I was in a well-known church that didn’t use that word too much but did a little. And what they meant by it I think is the proper usage. When people joined the church, the church took thier picture. This was done, we were told, because everyday, each pastor (the church was large and had a head pastor and many associates) would take certain pages of the membership book with the peoples’ pictures in it and pray over those people. So then, everyday, each member was prayed for by a pastor. They did call this “covering” each member with prayer. But again, that was the proper usage of the word IMO. There were no threats if people left that “satan” would get them. In fact, the church wished those that left well.
Of course, Bob, I’m sure knowing me you can guess what church this was and who the pastor was (J. Hayford). I wish all C/P churches were this healthy.