~May Your Light Shine :D~

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

A lot has happened in Adelaide recently… for a small city of approximately 1 million people.

News flash for those who are not here and for those who live here but have not bothered to be in touch with the outside world – my senior pastor’s son, Mike Gugliemucci, who until recently was a part of Planetshakers and Hillsongs church, had confessed to lying to the world about his illness. For the past 2 years, we all believed he had cancer, including those closest to him, his wife and parents. Our hearts wrenched whenever he led the song he wrote during his 'illness' – Healer. All over the globe, the song touched and inspired many. And now, we find that it was all based on a lie that was used to cover up an even bigger one – his addiction to adult pornography for the past 16 years.

Like a hurricane, this news had left many aghast, confused and angry. He was a highly respected youth leader here and I know many young people looked up to him. It will not be surprising to hear if people leave church because of this.

My church may not be as high profiled as those churches mentioned earlier, but I believe that we have had to deal with the bulk of this. A news program called Mike Adelaide’s biggest conman and for a city this size, news need not travel far. My senior pastor and the other church leaders, who have treated him like family as well, have had to cope with their own grief as well as any directed anger from the masses who would like to know how and why this has happened.

The Sunday after the news program was aired on national tv, I went to church expecting something different. Indeed it was, with one of the pastors reading a confession that Mike himself wrote as well as the church’s statement. And once again, I am not ashamed to say I love my church. There was no condemnation from the people - we do not condone what Mike has done, we will still extend grace and love to him. My church has been very involved in the community and our pastor shared that even those from the community have given them their support during this tumultuous period. A non-church going brother of one of our pastors even called to say, “Tell Mike we love him.”

When I first heard the news, I was surprised and skeptical – trying to see how he could have kept it from those so close to him. However, I was not angry at all when it was confirmed. Whilst speculations of why it happened and what led to it may be rife, like how being in a charismatic mega-church seems to breed celebrity status, does it really matter? My only concern was for the people who may be disillusioned by the whole thing and walk away from God and I committed to prayer, anyone and everyone who may be hurt from this incident.

As my pastor put it, we are not building the church, God is. Hence, even though it is sad that this has happened, the church will go on – our senior pastor will continue to be our senior pastor, our annual conference will still be held this month and the city branch will still move to Hindley St, the red light district of our city. I believe that God will use this to bring more people to Himself, as ludicrous as it sounds, for with God, nothing is impossible. In fact, the response we have gotten has only revealed that the people out there who need God and are hurting, can identify with Mike. If we as the church were to abandon him at this time when he needs us most, how can we reach the lost? Jesus said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”(Mark 2:17). The church is really made up of people who acknowledge that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24). It does not matter who you are or what you have done, God loves you the same and His grace is extended to you – you just have to accept it.

Lydea blogged at 11:33 AM

May your light shine...
in the darkness...