The Tyranny of “Almost There”

Several months ago I wrote a piece about the Succeed in Life Church located in Houston, TX. This church is actually a part of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a Brazilian “prosperity cult”. It is pastored by Renato Cardoso, son-in-law to IURD founder Edir Macedo.
The post I wrote about them has generated a surprising amount of response. A couple have commented attempting to defend the SIL church. Most have written to share stories of spiritual abuse suffered while involved with the SIL/Universal church.
Since I wrote the article, the SIL website and blogs have become more open about their connection to the Universal Church. I follow the blogs, more out of morbid curiosity than anything else. Recently an article was posted on Cristiane Cardoso’s blog entitled Almost There. It is attributed to one Bishop Celso Junior. (Cristiane is the pastor’s wife and daughter of Edir Macedo). Between fashion tips and posts about the Christian life, this post caught my attention because it goes to the heart of what is wrong with the SIL/Universal Church–and all other groups that preach a similar doctrine. (Note: since I began work on this project, Mrs. Cardoso’s blog has been reformatted, and is apparently now only available to subscribers. A Portuguese version of this article can be found on the blog of Edir Macedo himself.)
If you visit the main website of SIL, you will see banners such as these:

Cause-effect, anger, marriage, debt…sounds hauntingly like another ministry with which I have more than a passing acquaintance. And, let’s be honest: there is a principle of cause-and-effect, controlling one’s anger is essential, better marriages are a good thing, and getting out of debt is a key feature for financial success.
Who wouldn’t want to click through and find out more?
The problem lies in the formula presented to achieve these goals. It is this: faith + financial contribution = success. Keep this in mind as you read the opening paragraphs of the post:

A couple of days ago, during the service, I thought of an interesting way to explain why many people aren’t successful in the Campaign of Israel, as well as in other areas of their lives.
Many are “almost there!”.
They are almost baptized in the Holy Spirit, almost married, almost successful, almost healed, almost delivered from a spiritual problem, etc…
Why are they ALMOST there?
Because their sacrifice is also ALMOST there!

Do you see what is being said here? People have participated in the campaign, have contributed, have had faith, but their marriage, health issue or spiritual problem has not been resolved. And what is the reason given for this lack of results? They simply have not sacrificed enough, ie, they have not put enough in the offering plate.
He then goes on to give three examples from the Bible. We will take them one at a time.

The rich young man ALMOST made it, but there was one thing missing.

The problem with the rich young man (Luke 18:18-23) was not that he did not do enough. He thought he could keep the law and attain eternal life by his own efforts. Christ simply showed him that his own efforts were useless. THAT is the point of that passage, which the good Bishop completely distorts.

Moses and the people of Israel almost made it into the Promised Land, but there was something missing.

Once again, a Bible account is totally misrepresented in order to get people to give more. The people of Israel were kept out of the Promised Land because of their rebellion–not because they didn’t give enough. And, it could be argued that Moses was kept out because he did too much–namely he struck the rock when God wanted him to simply speak to it.

Ananias and Sapphira almost made it as members of the early church, except they were missing the other half of their sacrifice.

This one is so blatant as to be criminal. Acts 5:3-4 is crystal clear on this point: they were not judged by God because they didn’t give the money from the sale of all the land. Rather, they died because they lied to the Holy Spirit.
Something the leadership of SIL/Universal should consider very carefully: which is worse, lying to the Holy Spirit, or lying in the name of the Holy Spirit?
But the article doesn’t stop there. He goes on to give three positive examples of how people sacrificed and supposedly “made it” spiritually.

Abraham and Sarah were nearing the end of their lives and didn’t have any children, but they made it.

And they made it because of what great sacrifice? Indeed, Isaac was born despite Abraham and Sarah’s sinful attempts to make it happen on their own, and despite Abraham’s doubts and Sarah’s blatant unbelief.

Gideon and his people were nearing the end of their strength, but because of him and the 300, they made it.

Seriously? If anything, they “made it” because God clearly demonstrated his power despite the overwhelming fear and unbelief of the people. God deliberately limited the number to 300 to showcase His power, not their effort.

Zacchaeus was almost doomed to spending eternity in hell because he was a thief, but through his sacrifice, he and his family were saved.

Once again, Christ’s blessing in Zachaeus’ life was based, not on any effort on his part, but on God’s saving grace.
If there is any doubt as to the motivations behind this barbarous treatment of the Word of God, the last paragraph removes it completely:

In this Campaign of Israel, those who understood are going to remove the word ALMOST from their sacrifice, and as a result, they’ll also be eliminating the word ALMOST when it comes to receiving their miracles!

And there you have it. If you didn’t receive the blessing you were looking for, it is because you didn’t give us enough money. What a convenient system!
Of course this system is nothing new. In the times of the Gospels the temple leaders had the same kind of scheme worked out. They would declare people’s animal sacrifices “unfit”, and force them to buy lambs at exorbitant prices. When Christ saw this, he had a fit of righteous rage and drove these charlatans out of the temple, declaring in the process “My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Luke 19:46).
For those of you who are trapped in this system, you need to know that these “formulas for success” are merely scheme’s for the leadership of your “church” to turn a hefty profit. You should be aware that there is a biblical formula. It is Christ + Nothing = Everything. He is our focus, he is our all in all. He gives grace to control anger, communicate with your spouse, and make wise financial decisions. But these things are not our goal–Christ is.
I urge you: reject the “bishops” and their pyramid schemes. Leave the “den of theives” and turn to Christ, who says “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.