The Breakfast Network recently reported the following:
BN Special: The man who posted the God-Kong Hee video speaks to Breakfast Network
The Youtube video clip that went viral showing City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee “speaking” to God was posted by a church member who said he did it to “expose Kong and his lies”.
In an exclusive interview with Breakfast Network, he said that the 3½-minute clip he uploaded was a recording of a sermon the senior church pastor had delivered during a religious conference in Australia in April last year. He said he had obtained the clip last year from C3 Church Watch, a group that monitors the activities of a Sydney-based church, whose founder Phil Pringle is currently an advisory pastor with City Harvest Church.
According to the member, who posted the clip on Youtube under the id “anointedforworship”, Kong had made the same remarks during a church service last year to City Harvest members as well. He said he decided to make it public only now because he wanted to “show the sublimal messages embedded in the sermon and delivered through the pulpit”.
The church member declined to be named as he is still currently worshiping at City Harvest Church. He told BN: “Just to be clear, I’m posting the video not to ‘destroy the church’ but to expose the deception within carried by certain individuals who go as far as to abuse the trust and authority given to them.
“I believe people need to be warned about deception, especially when it happens in church, to protect them.”
Since the clip was uploaded on Sunday, netizens have roundly condemned Kong’s remarks in which he compared his involvement in the ongoing court case to Jesus’ suffering. Along with five other church leaders, Kong is currently on trial for embezzling millions in church funds which he allegedly used to finance his wife’s singing career. The trial began in May and is expected to resume next month.
In the clip, which was recorded about two years after investigations into the alleged charges began in 2010, Kong also claimed that God spoke to him and apologized for putting him through the trial, and that it was necessary to “bring change to your generation”.
“For the first time in eight months, God, I heard Him cry. And he said ‘My son, Kong, thank you. Thank you for going through this’,” Kong told the unseen congregation.
“‘I need you to go through this alone, so that you and City Harvest Church can be the man and the ministry I call it to be. I’m so sorry, but you need to go through this by yourself, to bring a change to your generation.’”
So far, the clip has been viewed more than 69,000 times, with 54 Likes and nearly 2,000 viewers expressing their disapproval. A parody of the clip featuring pop group ABBA was posted by another Youtube user yesterday.
Netizens have slammed the recording as it was shared on Facebook and Twitter over the last two days. Youtube user “soulsessions” said of the clip: “What a load of bullshit”. Another user, “futurelady2k”, called it “Nonsense.”
In a report posted today, Yahoo! News said it had contacted City Harvest Church for a response but had yet to receive one. Other church members interviewed said the clip may have been misinterpreted or taken out of context.
Source: By Yen Feng, BN Special: The man who posted the God-Kong Hee video speaks to Breakfast Network, http://www.breakfastnetwork.sg/?p=6564, 30/08/2013. (Accessed 06/08/2013.)
These articles are tackling the false Warragamba Dam prophecy made by Phil Pringle. At Presence Conference 2012, C3 aired this Warragamba Dam prophecy twice on video.
THE DELUGE
It’s worth highlighting some articles that were published in 2007 onwards.
Reporters were pointing out how Flannery’s predictions were falling flat. Two years later from 2005, the media and other sources made the following reports. In 2007, news reports recorded Sydney and parts of NSW were deluged.
Bolt’s 2007 article ridiculed Flannery on another topic saying, “And forecasters in the US, meanwhile, downgraded predictions for hurricanes this year; for the second year contradicting claims by noted alarmist Tim Flannery that warming was making hurricanes worse.”
So it is clear that in 2007, (Flannery either taken out of context or not), many predictions Flannery made were wrong. The Australian media weren’t buying his claims. The rains came down and the floods came up. Journalists, bloggers and critics had their say on Flannery, climate change and how his predictions were wrong.
THE DELUSION
So Phil Pringle got a ‘prophecy’. So what? What was the point of broadcasting this twice at Presence Conference 2012? The Dam was brimming with water on the 3rd of March. So revival should have broken out the next day at C3 Church, right?
Not so. Phil Pringle and C3 seemed to link this prophecy to being fulfilled at C3 Presence Conference 2012. (We will examine the faults with this in Part 3.)
We have reason to believe that Pringle WAS involved in the editing process. In our article ‘Who Is The Liar? Phil Pringle Or God?‘, we have a screen grab of a tweet from Pringle saying,
“Can’t believe what our media guys have put 2gether to help with my mssg this wknd”.
This reveals Pringle has a say in how things are presented before being shown at church events. Obviously Pringle would have endorsed the Warragamba Dam Prophecy video before it aired. However, he also may have been with his “media guys” in the editing process.
In a below video snippet captured on the last day of Presence Conference 2012, you will see Pringle clearly pitting the news and Flannery against himself and God – they were wrong, he was right. It seems Pringle’s understanding of this entire escapade is what C3 portrayed in the Warragamba Dam video. We shall dare ask the question in this section: Was this really a reaction to something Phil Pringle doesn’t like OR an opportunity to make Pringle look good? Before tackling this question we need to look at what was said on the last day at Presence Conference 2012.
The Piper Playing The Sniper
On the last day of Presence Conference Pringle showed the prophecy video again. A bit later, Pringle then spoke in reaction to Flannery and the media. It is worth watching Pringle’s behaviour towards Flannery here:
“You’re thinking, you’re going to die. You’re thinking it’s impossible. You’ll never gonna make it through. But He’s got higher and deeper purposes going on, so that you can be a carrier of a power from another world. And the capacity to carry that power into people’s lives means that you need to flow with Him. So that when He tells you to do something ridiculous, like to say- when you’re looking everyday at the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald and saying, “The dam is empty. The dam is empty. We’re never gonna have it again…”
Mr Flannery says, “Guys. The governments paying me a hundred and eighty thousand a year to let you know what’s gonna happen in the future. It’s never ever gonna be full again. So we need to build a one billion dollar desalination plant (which they did build and now is in moth balls), and we need to tax everybody an extra hundred bucks to actually build the thing in Sydney.”
People should come to church. [Applause] People should come to church.
We got greenhouse people predicting all kinds of stuff today. But we need some prophets who are carrying a presence on them that can see into the future. People who can work miracles and break a drought. Who can speak to seas and storms and tsunamis and say “Stop!” Men and women of enormous power.” – Phil Pringle, Presence Conference 2012, Day 4, Day Sermon, Friday, 13/04/2012.
Did Pringle Prophesy Out of Reaction?
Did Pringle hide his prejudices and his own opinions behind the supposed prophecy of God?
Pringle believed that people had said that the Warragamba Dam would never be full again. With the failed predictions in 2007, it seems safe for Pringle at best to prophesy out of reaction that the dam would be full.
He is not happy with Flannery at all. To treat Flannery the way that Pringle did in the conference was VERY rude, critical and condescending. (The irony is Pringle vehemently opposes critics and those who judge him and his ministry. So who is Pringle to now criticise and judge?)
[On a side note, we observed that Pringle used powerful imagery with his words when he referred to the desalination plant as being “in moth balls”. Over the hundred sermons we’ve examined, that turn of phrase seemed foreign to his speech, so we did a quick check to see if Pringle relied on his critics to glean this terminology. We found this:
Malcolm Holland reports in his article Professor Stuart White saying that “the desalination plant “should be put in moth balls until the next severe drought”.” Did Pringle refer to a critic’s comments in his criticism to Flannery?]
Even away from the outburst, Pringle was pitting himself against the “greenhouse people”. He clearly doesn’t like “Greenhouse people predicting all kinds of stuff.” So someone like Pringle had to come along to save the day.
We know that Phil Pringle has strong associations with the Liberal party. He’s expressed his liberal views from the pulpit before. Even in the above snipe, Pringle has shown disdain to the Liberal Party’s opposition. There is a good chance this prophecy was spoken out of irritation and reaction against his politically prejudice views against the “greenhouse people.”
Therefore, one has to ask the question: how could he make the claim he made in 2008?
“That as I was standing here tonight, God spoke to me about a really weird thing. He said, “People have said that the Warragamba Dam will never be full again”.”
The above comment in the prophecy video contradicts his outburst above. How is what God’s said “weird” when Pringle clearly was irritated continually by “the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald and saying, “The dam is empty. The dam is empty. We’re never gonna have it again…”?”
Why would God say “People have said that the Warragamba Dam will never be full again,” when it’s fairly obvious that the media DID ridicule claims that the Warragamba Dam will never be full again? C3’s own media sources they used IN THEIR VIDEO proved this for us. For Pringle to be this narrow minded only highlight’s that he really had a bee in his bonnet; a bone to pick with the political spectrum he often disdains. It seems plausible he prophesied out of reaction against those he didn’t like.
Did Pringle Pridefully Prophesy?
It is evident that Pringle uses the prophecy to elevate himself.
In the above outburst, Pringle personally alludes to himself being the reason people should come to church (he was the one who gave the prophecy). The evidence suggests above that Pringle sincerely believes he broke the drought, otherwise he wouldn’t have said, “we need some prophets who… can work miracles and break a drought”. The connection Pringle made was that ‘prophets’ like himself. can break droughts.
It’s also worth noting that at Presence Conferences and giving messages at his own C3, Pringle does teach people he is some amazing prophet, or even an ‘Elijah’. It is possible, he is glorifyng the fact in his mind that he broke the drought as Elijah did in the scriptures.
This year on the opening night Presence 2012, Pringle aired the Warragamaba Dam video. This only provided another reason why people should give money to ‘prophet’ Pringle.
It becomes quite clear when you watch the prophecy video in his Friday session, that Pringle uses the prophecy to elevate himself and the C3 Movement. Don’t believe us? Watch the sermon here:
We will even further make the claim that this convenient prophecy helped market C3 Church to gullible Christians and churches who were enticed to the Presence 2012 event. Why? We recorded Pringle saying this in 2011.
It makes a lot of sense why Pringle wants C3 to “become more cross-denominational, not parochial about just being C3.” In pushing the video the way Pringle did at his Conference, his motive becomesmore and more questionable. One “motivation that [C3] have” is that other churches and Christians from other churches “get involved in what ]they’re] doing.” Pringle wants C3 Presence Conference to “be a blessing” to other churches alright! On the first Presence 2012 night, Pringle checked what denominations were present.
The question should then be asked: if the prophecy was of God, why is Pringle using it to elevate himself and his movement? Isn’t the Spirit of God behind the utterance of a prophecy meant to point us to Jesus (as Jesus Himself said in John 16 & as Pringle himself said in the sermon above)? Why is this spirit elevating Pringle and C3? Why is this spirit not pointing to Jesus?
THE DELAY
The video said that on the 15th of June 2008, according to Phil, God decided to act out of character. In the Warragamba Dam prophecy video at Presence Conference 2012, (in front of thousands of Christians around Sydney (and online webcasts)), Pringle said:
“… God spoke to me about a really weird thing. He said, “People have said that the Warragamba Dam will never be full again”.” (3:32)
Who exactly was saying “the Warragamba Dam will never be full again” after the deluge the previous year? As we covered in the previous article, no media that C3 covered said straight out “the Warragamba Dam will never be full again”. Flannery was quoted by Sheehan saying, “There’s only two years’ water supply in Warragamba Dam”. So we have Flannery (and his followers?). The above media articles in 2007 put to rest the Warragamba Dam fear.
But Phil Pringle said that God came to him in June 2008. Why?
Why did God delay to give His prophetic message to Pringle? Did Jesus really miss the boat here?
To demonstrate how absurd ‘God’s’ behaviour was to Pringle, observe the timeline in this diagram. This should help explain why ‘God’ delayed his message for so long.
It is rather a convenient prophecy to make don’t you think?
Tim Flannery’s prediction failed the year before. In Part 1 in this series of articles, we demonstrated that C3 mislead people by pitting the media and Flannery against Pringle’s Warragamba Dam prophecy. But when you examine when Pringle ‘prophesied’, there was no media or Flannery to oppose him. The media didn’t believe the predictions. 2007 came about and the rain came instead. Warragamba Dam didn’t dry up. The media criticised Flannery and all moved on… Except Pringle.
As we now see, the timing of this prophecy was very convenient. Instead of prophesying in 2005 when Flannery’s ‘predictions’ were initially made, he waited until 2008, several months after the critics were already having a go at Flannery. Prophet Pringle’s a bit late to the bus don’t you think?
This delay makes the prophecy that ‘God’ gave Pringle pointless and irrelevant. Anyone could say that one day that Warragamba Dam could be full. It doesn’t take a prophet of God to say that.
But this does raise the question: Does that make the media prophetic like Pringle? Of course not. They were on the case BEFORE Pringle prophesied in the first place (see articles above) and continued to do so after he prophesied (in the following articles below).
It seems that the Warragamba Dam prophecy video made Pringle out to be the only one opposing Flannery’s predictions. But all the above articles clearly demonstrate that this is simply not the case. He seemed to speak out of reaction and pride. In light of this information, Pringle’s ‘divine’ prophecy seems almost redundant.
While writing this article, our hands were continually connecting with our foreheads rather forcefully, in utter disbelief. The amount of distortion that occurred in Phil Pringle’s three minute at the C3 Presence Conference 2012 was mind-boggling. The more we examined the video, the more stunned we became in how deceiving this video really was. This is part 1 of a series of 3 articles, addressing the brilliant con artistry of Phil Pringle and the C3 Movement. And when we say con artistry, we really mean it. If anyone can show us how any of this was accidental, we would love to know. E-mail us at c3churchwatch@hotmail.com or feel free to discuss this article below.
C3 PITTING MEDIA & FLANNERY AGAINST PRINGLE’S PROPHECY
At the C3 Presence Conference 2012, Phil Pringle had a video made of himself about a ‘prophecy’ he spluttered on the 15th of June, 2008. In the video, C3 pitted Phil Pringle against the ‘voice of the media’ and Tim Flannery. However, the way they presented the information made it look as though Tim Flannery made the majority of the comments in support of the media. Here is a picture from the video:
We will be looking at the transcript, each snippet (from 1-5) to see if C3 Church gave a correct view of the information they presented and finally looking at a number of sources and a timeline of the prophecy that Pringle gave.
First off, C3 said this about Tim Flannery (3:00):
“In 2005, [Snippet 4B background of ‘article’ appears behind Flannery] Professor Tim Flannery predicted that [snippet 1] Sydney’s dams could be empty in as little as two years due to global warming. [Snippet 2]
Audio excerpt: “Mr Flannery has warned that Sydney will soon be facing extreme difficulties with water.”
[Snippet 3] Climate change expert Tim Flannery has sad that even the rain that falls isn’t actually going to fill [Snippet 4A] Sydney’s dams and river systems. He’s also stated that we are running out of water [Snippet 5]– and time.”
By reading the above transcript, we will demonstrate not only what is wrong with the 6 snippets but what is also untrue with the audio statements. Flannery did not say, “we are running out of water – and time”. Paul Sheehan did. Read ‘Snippet 1’ for more information.
Flannery did not say that, “even the rain that falls isn’t actually going to fill Sydney’s dams and river systems”. While he said something like it – Flannery did not specify that these dams and river system were either Sydney’s dams and river systems or specifically Warragamba Dam. What’s even worse is that this is a quote taken out of context, which will be addressed in ‘Snippet 5’. At best, C3 misrepresented Tim Flannery (Chief Commissioner of the Government’s new Climate Commission), in front of thousands of Christians. Watch the video below at 2:57 to see the ‘prophecy’.
SNIPPET 1
C3 had the snippet alongside the face of Tim Flannery,
“Running out of water – and time
April 25, 2005″
This was the shock-jock title of an article by Paul Sheehan from the Sydney Morning Herald. If there was anything C3 could have used, it could have been Sheehan’s article. This article quotes Flannery saying,
“There’s only two years’ water supply in Warragamba Dam,” says Flannery, “yet Frank Sartor [NSW Minister for Energy and Utilities] is talking about the situation being stable … If the computer models are right then drought conditions will become permanent in eastern Australia.” – Paul Sheehan, Running out of water – and time, http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/Running-out-of-water–and-time/2005/04/24/1114281450815.html, 25/04/2005.
They could have quoted Flannery saying the above. However, C3 didn’t. It was also Sheehan that made the claim,
“The water restrictions now in force in Sydney are never going to be lifted, except after a run of freak conditions, just as Warragamba Dam is never again going to be full unless there is a freak period of high rainfall unlikely to be sustained.” – Paul Sheehan, Running out of water – and time, http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/Running-out-of-water–and-time/2005/04/24/1114281450815.html, 25/04/2005.
Observe how Sheehan used the word ‘unless’ in the above quote. This article is speculative at best. This article did NOT say that the Warragamba dam will be empty. C3 simply grabbed the shock jock title to push their agenda for ‘Prophet’ Pringle’s sake. They distorted information for their gain.
SNIPPET 2
C3 also had up next to Tim Flannery the quote,
“Sydney’s dams dry in just two years.”
This may have been something Tim Flannery said. But once again lets look at the context,
“Leading environmentalist Professor Tim Flannery has warned that Australia is now entering long-term climate change, which could cause longer and more frequent droughts.
He also predicts that the ongoing drought could leave Sydney’s dams dry in just two years.
Professor Flannery, who is the director of the South Australian Museum, has told ABC TV’s Latelinethat global warming is threatening Australia’s chance of returning to a regular rainfall pattern.
“Three major phenomena are depriving Australia of its rainfall,” he said.
“One of them is just simply the shifting weather patterns as the planet warms up, so the tropics are expanding southwards and the winter rainfall zone is sort of dropping off the southern edge of the continent.”
He says the second phenomena is disturbances in the ozone layer.
“That is causing wind speeds around Antarctica to increase and, again, drawing that winter rainfall to the south,” he said.
The third phenomena, which Professor Flannery says is the most worrying, is the recurring El Nino weather pattern.
“That’s occurring as the Pacific Ocean warms up, and we’re seeing much longer El Ninos than we’ve seen before and often now back-to-back el Ninos with very little of the La Nina cycle, the flood cycle, in between,” he said.
Professor Flannery says that all adds up to back-to-back droughts, and if he had a say he would ration water use.
“If you think there’s only a 10 per cent chance that this rainfall deficit’s going to continue for another few years, you’d be pulling out all stops to preserve water,” he said.
The ABC reported Flannery supposedly saying, “ongoing drought could leave Sydney’s dams dry in just two years.” This could be ABC referring to Flannery’s out-of-context claim made on Lateline (read Snippet 3). Or it could be that ABC could be referring too Sheehan’s article. Flannery explains in this article, just like in Landline the importance of the ‘if’.
“If you think there’s only a 10 per cent chance that this rainfall deficit’s going to continue for another few years.”
“Professor Flannery says that if Sydney’s dams dry up, the city’s ground water supply would last just 10 days.”
There is nothing wrong with Flannery giving listeners a probability on drought conditions and hinging possibilities on an ‘if’. If Australia does’t behave resourcefully towards water, we naturally should expect water shortages. After examining the way the interview is conducted – the article comes across as speculative at best, especially with Flannery exploring, “the worst case scenario for Sydney”. Speculation after speculation.
At least with this article, C3 could have possibly claim one news article explored the option that the drought could be prolonged because of global warming. The article however, did not say that the Warragamba Dam would not be filled again. Global warming or not, C3 misquoted an article again. This article was not saying Warragamba Dam was never going to be full again. Once again, they distorted information for their gain. Strike 2.
SNIPPET 3
C3 then published another quote, this time not from Tim Flannery but from the Herald Sun:
“In 2005, Flannery predicted Sydney’s dams could be dry in as little as two years because global warming was drying up the rains, leaving the city “facing extreme difficulties with water””
Here is the context:
“Small problem, though: after so many years of hearing Flannery’s predictions, we’re now able to see if some of the scariest have actually panned out.
“And we’re also able to see if people who bet real money on his advice have cleaned up or been cleaned out.
So before we buy a great green tax from Flannery, whose real expertise is actually in mammology, it may pay to check his record. Ready?
In 2005, Flannery predicted Sydney’s dams could be dry in as little as two years because global warming was drying up the rains, leaving the city “facing extreme difficulties with water”.
Andrew Bolt possibly misquoted Flannery from Lateline. McKew posed a hypothetical question to Flannery:
“MAXINE McKEW: Well, I’m not asking you to be alarmist, but in fact, what would you say is a plausible worst-case scenario that you and, say, other scientists in the Wentworth Group have come to agree on?
TIM FLANNERY: Well, the worst-case scenario for Sydney is that the climate that’s existed for the last seven years continues for another two years. In that case, Sydney will be facing extreme difficulties with water, and of course, large cities are the most vulnerable of all structures to water deficit because you’ve got 4 million people there who need water just for everyday survival, and in the case of Sydney, there’s very few back-up reserves. Sydney’s ground water supplies are only about 13 gigalitres, which is about 10 days’ worth of supply. So there are not many options for Sydney and, of course, without water you can’t make power, you can’t wash, you can’t clean your food, you can’t have industry. So there are some quite severe problems if the current trend continues. I really do hope that that doesn’t happen, but as I say, something will have to change in order for Sydney to get out of that predicted future.” – Landline, Flannery warns on global warming, http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2005/s1389827.htm, 10/06/2005. (Accessed 29/05/2012, Emphasis mine).
Flannery answers the hypothetical. He is speculative in this piece. C3 also ‘reported’ that Flannery said, “Sydney will be facing extreme difficulties with water”. They too, like Bolt, took Flannery out of context.
As you can see, Andrew Bolt from the Herald Sun was also taken out of context by C3 Church. Bolt’s article was criticising Flannery’s ‘prediction’. C3 misquoted Andrew Bolt’s misquote. It’s also worth noting that Bolt’s article was not written between 2005 and 2007. It was written in 2011.
Bolt’s did not write to promote Flannery, rather to criticise him and his prediction. C3 took this critics criticisms against Flannery by misquoting Bolt AND gave the impression that the was written in 2005. C3 used this visual aid along with the other misquotes to mislead Christians to believe their outstanding ‘prophet’ Phil Pringle is powerful against the oppositional media.
Fancy C3 Church twisting the words of a critic to validate Pringle’s office of ‘prophet’. AGAIN, C3 distorted information for their gain. Strike 3.
You’ll notice straight away that C3 grabbed this segment from a blog. The blog is JustMEinT’s General Blog.
We know they grabbed their quote from this blog because it is the same font, same italics, same linkage.
SNIPPET 4B (B for Background)
C3 Church not only twisted the article for their gain, they also used JustMEinT’s General blog article for the background of their portrayal of Tim Flannery and the five snippets in their video. In the below picture, you can see the segment of text C3 used for the background of their video on Pringle’s Warragamba Dam prophecy. The body of text that makes up the background is the following:
“He was chosen for this $3,000 a week (3 days a week) job for his expertise, his communication skills, and his track record in the competitive business of sounding alarms about the dire consequences of our “carbon polluting” ways. His alarms, he claims, are based on an anthropogenic global warming theory that has been confirmed by an overwhelming consensus of scientists to be ninety per cent probable – the implication being that there is only one chance in ten of him being wrong.
But how can his teachings and preaching ever be tested? Most of his apocalyptic prophesies are projected far enough into the future for him to be well and truly beyond accountability when they are proved right or wrong.
When it came to Australia’s rainfall, however, Flannery threw caution to the wind and declared that the apocalypse is now.
Compare the above text from the critics blog to the background of C3’s expose of Flannery and the media.
To make matters worse, the hyperlink on the snippet C3 took, takes you to Andrew Bolt’s article, ‘An excuse from Flannery and his dud prediction’, (written on the 01/03/2012). The link on the snippet takes you to Bolt’s article that is ridiculing Flannery. Strike 3 and 4.
This blog article was also published on the 2nd of March, 2012. This article was NOT written between 2005-2007. This contradicts the C3 report that Flannery (and others?) in 2005, were saying that the Warragamba Dam will never be full again. This article is NOT saying that the Dam will be empty. It is ridiculing Tim Flannery. They visually misrepresented the quote and the slab of text that made up the background.
C3 has no excuse for their distortion and misrepresentation of the facts. They are not afraid to mock, criticise and condemn bloggers and critics. So why are they now stooping lower then those they condemn, twisting their words and articles to elevate the prophetic status of their leader, Phil Pringle? AGAIN, C3 distorted information for their gain.
Who knew C3 Church would twist the words of a blogger and the bloggers article to validate Pringle’s office of ‘prophet’? Strike 5.
SNIPPET 5
C3 quotes,
“even the rain that falls isn’t actually going to fill our dams and our river systems…”
This is a quote from statement C3 used was taken from the ABC show Landline. The transcript reads:
“SALLY SARA: What will it mean for Australian farmers if the predictions of climate change are correct and little is done to stop it? What will that mean for a farmer?
PROFESSOR TIM FLANNERY: We’re already seeing the initial impacts and they include a decline in the winter rainfall zone across southern Australia, which is clearly an impact of climate change, but also a decrease in run-off. Although we’re getting say a 20 per cent decrease in rainfall in some areas of Australia, that’s translating to a 60 per cent decrease in the run-off into the dams and rivers. That’s because the soil is warmer because of global warming and the plants are under more stress and therefore using more moisture. So even the rain that falls isn’t actually going to fill our dams and our river systems, and that’s a real worry for the people in the bush. If that trend continues then I think we’re going to have serious problems, particularly for irrigation.” – Sally Sara, Landline, Interview with Professor Tim Flannery, http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2006/s1844398.htm, First published 11/02/2007. (Emphasis added. Accessed 20/04/2012)
An article that C3 could have used could have been the following:
Instead, we are given distortion after distortion for their gain. Strike 6.
Visual imagery is powerful when handled either correctly or incorrectly. How C3 and Pringle presented the information was deviant at best. Each media snippet was NOT saying (as the video suggested), that the Warragamba dam will never be full again.
Could this be an accident? If it was an accident somehow, C3 and Phil Pringle failed spectacularly. If anyone can prove this was an accident, we would be very keen to hear your take on this. It’s hard to fathom this was an accident at all. It seems more than reasonable to say this was deliberate. (Would C3 honestly think someone would record this video, go through their claims individually with all the hype going on and critically examine the snippets presented?)
We think it is personally safe to say that Phil Pringle and the C3 Movement went out of their way to handle these articles FALSELY to exalt the prophetic office of Phil Pringle.
They disregarded the dates these articles were published and took material out of context for convenience-sake to elevate Pringle before other churches. They wanted to parade their prophet. Instead – they paraded an amazing series of distortions before other church denominations on Presence Conference 2012 open night. But it get’s worse (and more absurd). Get ready for part 2.
From ‘Thoughts From My Reformed Self‘, Stokes writes this review on Chris Pringle’s Presence Conference Session on 13/04/2012.
C3’s Chris Pringle Butchers the Gospel In Job to Teach Prosperity Heresy
I’ve already reviewed one message from the Presence Conference in Sydney and have already seen enough to convince me that no one should attend this conference unless as a rescue mission to evangelize the lost that can only become more lost than they were before by believing anything that’s taught here. But we are building a case and making an argument and, keeping that goal in mind, there can never be too much evidence.
For more on the entire C3 Church Movement headed up by Phil Pringle and his wife, a great source is C3Churchwatch blog.
So this time I am reviewing a “sermon” that makes Steven Furtick seem like a breath of fresh air. Chris Pringle already has a strike against her as I consider her preaching because she is a woman who is not only defying the biblical mandate against women teaching groups including men, but further defies God’s word because she holds the office of co-pastor of C3 Church in Sydney with her husband Phil Pringle. Since the Bible clearly forbids women from holding this office in the church, we know right off what low regard Ms. Pringle has for the authority of God’s Word.
But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet, 13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.” (1 Tim. 2:12-13).
“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach (1 Tim. 3:2)
So there’s one strike, but she has enough strikes to finish off a full lineup through all nine innings! These are the big strikes, which accompany the strikes against her throughout the sermon. First, this message is not about Jesus. It is not taken from the Bible. It is not about the gospel. It is, however, packed with narrative of the history of C3 church, with a heavy dose of anecdotes from the life of Phil and Chris Pringle.
The title of Chris Pringle’s message is “The Scent of Water”. Before you write off that title as ridiculous, in all fairness, that phrase does appear in Job 14, but she fails to present a message that really has anything to do with water or anything that water represents. Instead, she centers the message around the idea of seeds and trees. Sometimes the seed is a dream, sometimes it’s a person. Sometimes the tree is your dream, sometimes it’s you and sometimes it’s the church. Sometimes you’re supposed to bury your seed and let it die. Sometimes you’re supposed to be the seed and reach up to the “scent of water”. Sometimes you’re supposed to shut it in a woodshed and forget about it. (You think I’m kidding, don’t you. Just wait and see for yourself.) As erratic as her imagery may be, her speaking style is more so. I lost count of the times she interrupted herself. Chris Pringle is a world class bunny trailer.
I also sense much untruth in her little stories. I would lay bets that the anecdote supposedly pulled from their early marriage in the middle of this message is more of a yarn or a tall tale. I will make a case for that notion, but admittedly can’t prove it. But my suspicions are not unfounded.
Sidebar to Address an Annoying Habit Among Modern Worship Bands.
I’ve been told by my husband, who used to play keyboard for a worship band, that what I witness at the beginning of this video is called “vamping”. Here is what I’m talking about. The video opens with the end of a worship song. There is no telling what song, because the way they draw out the finale always comes out sounding the same. The female vocalist always wails emotionally above the sound of the band, following no particular melody and maybe repeating stock phrases such as “Oh, Lord” or “We love you, Jesus”. The guitars are pounding one or two chords over and over and over, and the drums draw out a final cymbal-crashing finale over several minutes. All of this is provided with a backdrop of a video of a glittery waterfall pattern, designed to mesmerize. Everyone on stage is most definitely caught up “in the Spirit” because they have their eyes squinched tight and hands raised. So this is called “vamping”? That’s appropriate, I think, considering it’s obviously designed to seduce.
vamp2 [vamp]
noun 1.a seductive woman who uses her sensuality to exploit men.
verb 2. to use feminine charms upon; seduce.
Here I’ll start the “play-by-pay” of Chris Pringle’s morning session. I started out making links that go straight to certain spots in the video, but that started becoming too time consuming so they cease about 20 minutes in:
0:40 Music leader asks everyone to pray for floodgates to open on their neighbor. Sounds dangerous! C3′s hazard insurance premiums are going to go through the roof!!
1:15 Music Leader starts speaking in “tongues”. No interpreter. And I know from personal experience that this is a skill that you can learn to exhibit on demand. Not buying it though he’s making it more believable than some do. Chris Pringle’s efforts, which are on display towards the end of this video, display a need for more practice to be convincing. The music leader follows his burst of babble with a series of bumper-sticker phrases back to back – altogether lacking in meaning or grammatical sense.
2:52 Finally winding down the “vamping” to outline agenda for the evening.
3:43 Encouraging crowd to applaud a pastor in the audience from Lausanne, Switzerland. Ahhhh, Lausanne, hometown of the ecumenical movement. He’s being congratulated for breaking 600 in attendance at their particular C3 site. These interludes between music and message are giving me flashback to my days in sales. They sound suspiciously like they’re conducting a sales rally, complete with shout-outs to the regional managers who put up the best numbers, etc.
Good grief. Pastor from Lausanne being called up to the stage and asked to pray for everyone, but could he do it in French.
5:22 Swiss Pastor prays in French. I guess we’re going back to the Dark Ages, where it’s acceptable to lead worship in a language the congregation doesn’t understand. He does follow with a separate prayer in English, not a translation, just a different prayer in English. He was way more excited while he prayed in French. Too bad we’ll never know what he was excited about. This was followed up with much silliness from the worship leader about how cool French sounds. Music leader actually instructed audience to make a silly French sound in unison.
8:03 Introduces “Pastor” Chris, listing her many amazing qualities.
10:20 He finally finishes praising “Pastor” Chris, who now takes the stage. She proceeds to pay it forward and praises the crowd for theirmany worthy qualities, and becoming verklempt out of love for her people.
11:30 ”I believe in you, all that God has for you,” she declares. Then she has a moment where she says something more honest than maybe she herself realizes: “This is not a teaching session so put away your notebook.” Kind of begs the question, just what kind of session is this?
“It’s going to start popping, out of the earth, out of your heart, out of your lives.” Will this require medical attention?
13:00 Introduces daughter, Rebecca, who “works like a Trojan horse”. Odd simile. She is aware, isn’t she, that Trojan horses are made of wood and require the effort of multiple other people just to get them point A to point B?
13:17 Presenting Pastor Phil’s paintings on stage up for sale. She says anyone who things they’re in “fat city” are under a delusion. They need to sell art to pay their bills. So we’re supposed to believe that Phil Pringle is a starving artist? Really? How about selling the Rolex on your wrist, Pastor Phil? That would pay a lot of bills.
14:14 She starts engraining the concept that money is a “supernatural seed”. Very smooth little insertion of the concept here. “We sow that supernatural seed, and now it’s your turn.”
Does sales pitch for Phil’s paintings, complete with the claim that they are “anointed” with the same power that rests on Phil. That’s a bold assertion. By the way, I am an amateur artist and have even painted some through the years. In my amateur opinion, these are not particularly spectacular paintings. I mean, they’re okay. They remind me of greeting cards. And I think I remember from the review I did of the Furtick sermon that they sold one of these for about $30,000. These definitely do not rate that kind of price tag. The only way people are paying that much is because they believe the Spirit of God will somehow come with paintings. Click here to view where she’s showing them on stage.
I am thinking that the punishment for actually has got to worse for collecting money claiming to sell the Spirit than for trying to buy it. And the punishment for the latter was certainly bad for Simon the magician:
18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall[c] of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”
15:37 Chris introduces Bif and Kim Tyson, members of C3 whom I sense are about to be exploited to tug heart strings and to get emotion flowing in the room. The wife is in a wheel chair and is paralyzed from the waist down from a car accident a year ago. That is certainly horrible and sad but doesn’t it literally add insult to injury that they are about to let themselves be used like puppies are used to sell paper towels?
16:37 ”Bif’s story [the woman in the wheelchair], in my heart, has something to do with the supernatural seed” gushes Chris. She is working hard to insert that “seed” concept whenever possible. Later in the conference, Phil Pringle shamelessly uses this so-called principle to draw money from the attendees.
Chris says they are “sowing their supernatural seed” as she presents as a gift one of Phil’s paintings to the couple. Wow that’s a tiny painting! They chose one so small that I can’t recognize what it’s a painting of. Big applause though. Uh, Pastor Chris. There’s a verse I’d like to share with you:
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 6:1)”
18:03 Soundman Jordie comes to fix mic which is rattling against earring. Did she just make a pass at him?! She was obviously joking, but ew! He’s probably a quarter of her age and she’s the pastor’s wife… or actually she’s one of the pastors.
18:49 She says, apologetically, “I’m going to get to the Bible.” Promises, promises…
19:10 Gratuitous insertion of reference to her making love to her husband. She apparently received these particular earrings while they were… you know…. Thank you so much for that image. Where’s the Ambien? I’m going to need a dreamless sleep tonight. She also decides to share that the mic is caught in her bra. It’s kind of embarrassing the antics they go through to get it untangled. Raucous laughter from the audience.
20:29 ”It’s all about this seed—this relationship”. Oh, I forgot that one. The seed is also a relationship. Got it.
20:38 Okay, this is starting to bug me. She is using Jordie’s mom as an illustration but has forgotten her name. This is the fourth or fifth time within only about 20 minutes of combined Chris Pringle/Phil Pringle footage that I have witnessed them forgetting somebody’s name among those that works on their staff or are part of their church. This is supposed to be the flock they’re shepherding and they don’t even care enough about these people to remember their names! Each time they stumble like this, they try to whitewash over it with flattery. She immediately starts to refer to Helen, whose name she forgot, as her sister.
20:46 Tells story about Wendy (Jordie’s mom) and how she had brain cancer and wasn’t a Christian. She was brought to Jesus and healed of her brain cancer. Jesus did not receive any glory for this, but these things were credited to the life-changing power present in the connect groups at C3. Not a WORD about God, about Jesus, about his healing Power! This is going to be a very long message.
21:35 ”This awesome, supernatural seed is going va-va-va-va-va in the earth.” What is that word? Is that a va-va-va-va-verb?
21:53 Chris refers to the so-called prophecy regarding the filling of the Warragamba Dam.
I have to insert here that there is absolutely nothing so far that would clue anyone in that this is a Christian gathering. Chris is now talking about “God’s supernatural power”. What god? Which god? I think I’m going to stop capitalizing god (as well as her “holy spirit”) until she gives some reason to do otherwise.
22:06 She is just babbling at this point. She is making no sense, but she believes whatever she’s babbling “with all her heart”
22:26 ”You have literally been drawn here by the scent of water.” I think you need to look up what “literal” means. A few sentences later, “There’s something that happens in a seed that’s in the earth… something that’s hidden…. dark, black, possible even dead. I know that the holy spirit today is going to revive and turn things around, supernaturally as you and I lift up, look up to the scent of water.” I refuse to capitalize this woman’s holy spirit.
23:05 Chris Pringle has a severe case of A.D.D. She gets scattered and stalls and follows every possible bunny trail. For instance, she just came to an abrupt stop to address the band behind her. She realizes they had not been dismissed and wondered if they minded still being on stage. She then inquires of someone in the front row (Phil?) if the band is distracting. I have to answer for her not half so distracting as her self-inflicted interruptions! She then shows remorse for bringing up the subject, thinking they might feel unwanted and tells them that she loves having them up there because they’re her kids, all of them, and she’s “Momma Chris”. Then immediately admits to not knowing the name of the girl on the drums, which rather spoiled the effect of her little speech.
Informed of the drummer’s name, Chris is flustered as if she ought to have known her name. (Yes, she should have.) Chris then remarks on their striking resemblance to Erica and Darlene. This gives evidence that she doesn’t know any of them well or their faces would be quite distinct from one another. A brief attempt to get back on track lasted about two seconds before stops again inquire how she’s doing on time. At this point, this is a valid concern since her various self-inflicted interruptions have probably eaten up the clock. It shows a lack of respect for those in the audience who paid money for this conference. She seems quite unprepared and doesn’t seem to concerned, though, that she’s wasting the time they paid for.
24:28 Starts talking about Steven Furtick’s message and how she had a flashback to her life in the80s while Steven was preaching.
25:00 Chris asserts that that her holy spirit moves and speaks in those times our mind wanders. She’s making a case, it seems, that those with A.D.D. are spiritually gifted. She’s encouraging an undisciplined mind here and making it a virtue.
25:18 Chris says the holy spirit wants to get us to reach up to the scent of water. If this is true, her holy spirit is going to have to train me how I reach for a smell and what water smells like exactly.
25:44 Out of the blue, interrupts herself again to tell the audience that she has lost 10 kilos and not 12 as she had claimed yesterday. This couldn’t be more out of place. I think she has no ability to keep thoughts that pop into her had from popping right out of her mouth.
26:55 Another bunny trail to announce Phil’s 60th birthday is next month. Feels the need to share their vacation plans and says something that I gather is inappropriate, but she’s using Australian slang, with which I’m unfamiliar. It might be really bad for all I know, so I’m going to not quote her.
26:28 Says guiltily and apologetically, “I’ve got to get onto the message. I’ve almost read a scripture… It’s part of a scripture.” We’re almost a half-hour in. That would be nice. But is that all we’re probably going to get? A verse? Part of a verse? “Don’t worry about what I’m saying. Just pick up the good vibes. Okay?” Wow… she’s getting her theology from the Beach Boys?
26:56 ”I’m going to get to this little supernatural seed, and it’s a trick. There’s a trick in the supernatural seed. It’s actually in the natural seed as well.” This sentence makes absolutely no sense to me! I’m lost. Chris then circles back to continue to her earlier story about her flashback to the 80′s. Here, Chris talks at length about the history of C3 and its humble beginnings. ” Phil was, blah, blah, blah… and I was blah, blah, blah… and we were blah, blah, blah….” Can we have something more along the lines of “Jesus did…”, “God ordained…”, and “His Spirit has…” and pull from their story that’s already been recorded for us?
29:06 ”Some things, we can’t see but god can see. It’s hidden in the earth. We don’t know it yet. Some of your pastors and leaders are there right now.” I have a prediction that the magic trick for getting the seed out of its hiding place is to plant more seeds. In the world of rosperity preachers, “seed” always means money.
29:37 ”Every day, we were reading this book by T.L. and Daisy Osborne. A Daily Guide to Miracles.” Hmmm…. This is the title of a book by Oral Roberts. The actual title is A Daily Guide to Miracles and Successful Living through Seed-Faith. When I look up the authors she just cited, I find that T.L. Osborn was Roberts partner in street evangelistic meetings in the 1930′s. Here is my first piece of evidence that she’s making this story up. If this book had so much meaning to them, she would have remembered who wrote it. What I suspect really happened is that she pulled this quote off of Osborn’s website and assumed it was Osborn’s quote. Then decided to build an entire fictitious anecdote around the quote.
30:20 ”The holy spirit said to me ‘Go home and get that painting’” Claiming direct divine revelation, but as we’ve covered already, no reason to believe this is the Lord. She does this so many times in this hour-long message, it would make the review far too long to cite every instance.
30:44 ”T.L. had said in this chapter, ‘take your very best, the cream of your heart, and sow it to God.’” As we already covered, if this came from the book, Roberts said it, not T.L. This quote was hand-picked as words well-crafted to move the audience to take their “best” and give it away and this will unleash god’s blessing. She’s priming the pump to convince them to give away their best. She said this about the one finished painting and it really doesn’t make much sense: “Right then and there, I sowed Sydney. I sowed Sydney; I put it in the earth. I covered it up. And I shut the woodshed door.” Chris has stopped making sense. She sowed Sydney? Is Sydney the earth? Is Sydney a seed? How do you “sow” a city? I suppose Chris would accuse me of not seeing with my spiritual eyes. I don’t think that’s the problem though. This language, all of it, is foreign to the language I find in scripture.
31:50 ”I know, as I was praying this morning, the Lord said to me some of you have to shut the woodshed door. You’ve got to shut the door and trust god with that seed.” This cracks me up! I can’t help hearing now the recurring line from the movie Cold Comfort Farm: “I saw something NASTY in the woodshed!” And by the way, what she shut in the woodshed was Phil’s only finished painting, the only means by which they would possibly make any money. I have a REAL hard time believing that these people passed up the chance to auction off a painting like this. She has it up there as a prop on stage and I have a hard time believing that this painting survived all these years because of sentimentality. I’m thinking he painted this one for the occasion, or maybe to have many occasions where they use this same story.
32:50 Chris finally reads from Scripture:
John 12:24 “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
Now the Amplified: “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just one grain, it never becomes more, but lives by itself alone, but if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest.”
The Message: Listen carefully. Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.
33:55 And then, as if she’s summing up that one verse (do we really need a summary of one verse?) she says, “Even though you can’t see it, the tree is definitely in the seed”. I think she’s missed the point of the passage. This is wheat, not an acorn. It multiplies rather than grow into one big thing. But that doesn’t fit her purposes of preaching about big dreams, so she’d rather ignore that. Not to mention the whole passage surrounding this verse is about denying yourself and taking up your cross, which would sound quite foreign coming out of Chris Pringle’s mouth. Now she’s going back into their life story and talking about how attractive Phil was back then. Says something about Phil in bicycle shorts. Ugh! Please stop!
34:44 While riding his bike in 1980, god spoke to Phil and asked him to go to Littleton. The lesson here, apparently, is they let Sydney die (their desire to have the church in Sydney) and so a door opened in Littleton. This is law, not living under grace. It’s a quid pro quo.
35:30 She says that if the seed (and it’s left to your own creativity and imagination as to what your particular seed might be) is buried in the earth, “leave it dead because something’s about to happen. Here’s what I’m going to say. It’s not just about planting a church…. Growing a church… It’s the DNA, the supernatural connections of the DNA in that seed is what is going to cause that seed to go POP! Snap, Crackle, Pop in the earth!” Again, she’s speaking a foreign language.
36:30 Chris is still talking about her life and of trees and seeds. She keeps producing strange sound effects to describe the rumbling seed as well as many sentence fragments and incomplete thoughhts.
36:58 ”The lord said, I’ve given you this city.” This is a grand claim indeed. Sort of the opposite of what Jesus did when he turned down being given all the kingdoms of the world. This is not biblical language unless you go all the way back to Joshua where God commanded the Israelite army to commit entire cities to destruction. We have been given a very specific kind of authority, according to Matthew 28:18: To proclaim the gospel, to batize and to teach all Jesus commanded.
37:04 Chris makes a statement you can tell she’s proud of. She utters, as if an oracle of god, “When we want to, we’re not ready. When we’re ready, we don’t want to.” This amazing insight drew a round of applause. I guess it just sounded so deep and inscrutable, the audience decided that it must be amazingly wise. Phil is in the audience grinning, as if his wife has just proven her utter genius. She follows this up with, “When we’re cocky, god’s not interested. When we’re freaking out, crapping our pants. We’re ready. When we’re hiding in the wine press…That’s when god puts our hand on us.” Crass language aside, this is again a quid pro quo. We receive from God when we have our act straight.
37:55 We need to make sure we do it right. (More law, no grace, no gospel. It’s all about what we have to do. Have you got anything for someone who doesn’t have it all together?) We must do what god wants because we have to make sure the conditions are right for the seed to go “pop”. (Wow I’m glad to have exited this religious culture full of pressure to make sure we’re “doing it right” so that we don’t “miss God’s will”. It’s very freeing to know that we do not have the ability to get in God’s way. He’s quite a bit stronger than us.)
38:05 ”We need to listen to our leaders and make sure it’s the right place, the right time.” Okay, this is a biggie. She’s asserting that she and Phil are god’s mouthpiece and the populace had better listen to them or their seed’s not going to “pop”.
38:24 Getting Veklempt again, thanking her husband for listening to the holy spirit. “Thank you, babe!”
39:12 Still talking about the story of C3. Asks C3 Pastors to stand up to be honored with applause for, I guess, letting their seed die. It’s interesting that the one verse she’s read so far happens to be one that does not mention Jesus. This is natural since Jesus was the one who said it, but we the audience doesn’t know that because she didn’t read the verse in context.
39:49 ”Look at you! This is our seed! This is our DNA!” Veklempt.
39:58 Chris has an honest moment: “My message is in sort of bits. I’m sorry. But that’s just how I am. I’m all in bits.”
40:15 Chris introduces a little gum tree prop. Still talking about the story of the beginning of C3 church.
41:20 ”The supernatural seed is protected by the power of the holy spirit…. That’s why Habbakuk says, “Wait, wait, wait… keep your expectations high. Just wait…” Habbakuk says what?? Well, it could be she’s talking about this. It’s a popular verse among those who expect special revelation from God. But what this verse is talking about waiting for is God’s judgment, which is quickly approaching:
Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it
For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:2-3)
Chris continues on to give the pastors there a pep talk. Chris says if they don’t have that “positive expectation”, then get with someone who does. This sounds like “Hitch your wagon to a star.” Again, this brings me back to my sales days, except it’s starting to be more reminiscent of my very first sales job in Mary Kay.
42:08 That’s why Habakkuk says, “Write it down. Make it real plain. Date it.” I see the write it down part, but not the “date it”. That sounds more like a quote from a book on setting goals. And Habakkuk was told something specific to write down. Is she claiming everyone there is to expect revelation with the same authority as what Habakkuk received?
42:40 Now talking about the original land purchase back in 1980. How is this not boring the audience to tears? But she’s treating it like some story that will effect life change: “The story of C3 church is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes”. Wait a minute. That doesn’t sound right.
42:50 Chris is now reminiscing about a tree-planting day C3 celebrated, which I predict will turn out to be a momentous event with great spiritual significant. Chris and Phil planted a tree which looked like it was going to die which, of course, is just like your vision which looks sick and dying.
44:07 ”He used to be a tree-hugger, my man, when he was on acid.” Niiiiiice.
44:30 Big picture of big tree put up onto the screen. This is supposedly proof that if you just believe, your dream can grow from a sickly little seed… or tree… or bad idea… or something… like… ummm… never mind.
44:54 The holy spirit said to her to get a painting and bring it today – a painting of two women fetching water. Chris assumed it must have special meaning for “someone here today” to not give up. “Draw water. Draw water from the wells of salvation.” What? Is that a verse? If it is, she must have just googled it so she could throw in a verse at this point. But she didn’t cite it so I’ll look it up. Here it is in context:
You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:1-3)
Chris Pringle has managed to quote the one verse in the passage that implies our part in the matter. God as our savior is absent from anything she quotes.
45:17 Speaks for a while on how we should speak nice things to our little tree and hug it and don’t be mean to it and criticize our tree. Awww… poor little tree. /sigh/
46:15 Rains are coming, floodgates of heaven are open. This is really kind of boring me. This is boilerplate prosperity-speak. When did the sappy music start? I didn’t notice. But it’s apparently time for it, because she’s gotten to the “You could be here today…” part.
46:35 ”We want you in the family tree. Turn to your neighbor and say, ‘I’m in your family tree’” This is a versatile tree. She’s shifted her metaphor. The tree – it’s a dream, it’s a church, it’s everything but what was originally intended in the text.
46:51 ”Here’s my scripture, and it’s the scripture of my message.” She says in a tone of voice that says, oops, I sure got off track, because she proceeds to cite a verse that she hasn’t even mentioned yet: Job 14:7 “Even a tree has more hope.” What? Let me look up this verse:
For there is hope for a tree,
if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease.
What translation is she reading from? And she only read a third of one verse. She’s talking about this as if this verse is about giving encouragement to people who have been discouraged in their dreams. How dare she compare the type of thing she’s talking about with what Job went through. He lost all his children. He’s covered in boils. He lost his fortune in a moment.
47:28 Reaching up to the “scent of water” again, then proceeds to finish reading Job 14:7 and a few more verses following. Oh, so here’s where the “scent of water” came from. The plant reaches up to the scent of water. She said the “holy spirit quickened this verse to her.” In other words, she was reading this and suddenly was filled with her own bright ideas. Here is what she read:
For there is hope for a tree,
if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grow old in the earth,
and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put out branches like a young plant. (Job 14:7-9)
Here is what follows it:
But a man dies and is laid low;
man breathes his last, and where is he? As waters fail from a lake
and a river wastes away and dries up, so a man lies down and rises not again;
till the heavens are no more he will not awake
or be roused out of his sleep. Oh that you would hide me in Sheol,
that you would conceal me until your wrath be past,
that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my service I would wait,
till my renewal should come. You would call, and I would answer you;
you would long for the work of your hands. For then you would number my steps;
you would not keep watch over my sin; my transgression would be sealed up in a bag,
and you would cover over my iniquity. (Job 14:10-17)
This is the gospel! She’s right on its doorstep! This is about how we are like that tree, cut down, seemingly dead, but only asleep. And Job is trusting God to call him on the last day, but after his wrath has past and that his sins stay buried, but he will rise up at his voice. This is about the resurrection on the last day.
For we know Job says later in chapter 19:
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,(Job 19:25-26)
Wow, she’s right on the doorstep of a beautiful gospel passage, but she has absolutely no interest in that, because that will not help her and Phil build their C3 kingdom.
48:00 Getting crowd whipped up. She repeats various concepts about seeds, saplings, and scent of water and throws in some tongue babbling.
49:00 ”I’m going to tell you a little story”. Oh, goodie! It’s story time with Mama Chris. Oh my goodness, what comes next is just painful. She mentions someone in the band who she says she loves. Chris says she’s his “white mama”. And she says then that of course he’s got a mother. She proceeds to succumb to the irrational need to mention her ethnicity. She stumbles between whether to call her white or colored and you can tell Julian is uncomfortable and embarrassed for her. Why was that information even necessary? It just provided an opportunity to put her foot in her mouth. Chris goes on to explain that she has added him into her family tree and he’s now one of her sons. Julian just got married and apparently Chris performed the ceremony.
50:05 Chris says god wants us to see the invisible, supernatural seed of destiny in young men and young women. Okay… seed of destiny. Got it.
50:30 /sigh/ Now she’s talking to the little tree.
51:50 Starts singing snippet of some rain song.
51:40 She’s going to pray over Julian and he’s going to represent a seed of the future in our churches represented here to breathe upon this new seed.” She instructs all the musicians in the audience to stand up to be prayed over and she prays for god to “pop that seed in him.” She ends “In the name of Jesus.” First mention of Jesus.
53:00 Now talking more about C3 and what they do… blah, blah, blah. Then more about Chris’ life story. “God spoke to me… I had this revelation: everywhere I went, all the fruit, all the seed, all the trees, that were coming up with new life were through the church.” Scratch, scratch, scratch those itching ears. She then says she made a vow that she was not going to make Kone famous but make Jesus Christ famous. And may I say… epic fail. You are showing yourself inept at making Jesus famous. She spends the next several minutes telling Chris Pringle’s story. Also tells about some girl in Uganda with a tragic story, and C3 became her hero.
58:37 LOL! Is Phil Pringle asleep!?
59:05 Video about girl in Uganda. Apparently a testimonial of how much better her quality of life is now thanks to C3.
1:01:00 Instructing everyone to lift their hands to heaven to the “scent of water”.
1:01:25 Praying. Floodgates of heaven and more “pop, pop, pop”. “Up, up, up” over and over again. “Thank you Lord that you rebirth vision.” He does? Where do you find that in the Bible? “Let that dream flicker, flicker, flicker. Breath upon it holy spirit.” She’s apparently now seeing all sorts of things and relaying what’s in her mind’s eye.
1:03:19 Instructing everyone to pray in the spirit, then starts babbling. Making up her own repetitive song now, full up nonsense about rising and stretching and coming out of the earth. I’m so ready for this to be over. I’m pretty sure what she’s doing right now is supposedly prophetically singing, singing what are supposedly words from the lord over the people interspersed with tongue-babbling.
1:05:12 Now declaring seeds are popping and churches are coming out of oblivion. Coincidentally, I find myself wishing for oblivion at this point. “Send us to the graces of the earth.” Pardon? That sentence has no meaning. Music has been growing constantly in intensity. But soon softens. She’s getting ready for the hypnotic portion. She’s talking in that rhythmic way. It doesn’t matter what she says. It’s rocking the brain to sleep. “Paint your brush across our souls Lord, so that we’ll be attractive to others. So we’ll be irresistible.” That sounds just a bit like a description of the devil. He is covered in a disguise as an angel of light.
1:08:08 Putting in plug to register for a Women’s conference.
1:08:36 Music leader comes up. Giving instructions for stuff happening later that day aaaaand… we’re done.
Please pray for these people who have attended these conferences that they may hear the real gospel, that the Lord of the Harvest would send workers into the field. And pray for the wolves, these deceivers to be exposed.” – Cindy Stokes, C3’s Chris Pringle Butchers the Gospel In Job to Teach Prosperity Heresy, Thoughts From My Reformed Self, http://thoughtsfrommyreformedself.com/2012/05/12/c3s-chris-pringle-butchers-the-gospel-in-job-to-teach-prosperity-heresy/, 12/05/2012. (Accessed 19/05/2012.)
Steve Furtick, Pastor of Elevation Church, is speaking at the 2012 C3 Presence Conference. After examining Furtick’s countless sermons and observing behaviour and methods, Chris Rosebrough from ‘Fighting For the Faith’ says:
“Based on the performance I have that I’ve seen… I think it is safe to say that Steven Furtick is a cult leader. I know that might come as a shock to some of you but I mean, based on what his followers have been saying to me privately and pubicly on twitter as well as in email and other stuff like that- I mean this guy is a cult leader. He is the visionary. He’s the man of God. He’s the new Messiah. But he’s not.” – Chris Rosebrough, The Antidote to Antichrist’s Anti-Truth: 08:30, http://0352182.netsolhost.com/F4F012012.mp3, 20/01/2012.
This is a strong conclusion that Phil Pringle should heed. Pringle’s Presence Conference 2012 is broadcast all around the world online, with thousands of people attending. (Tickets $50 each.)
Why is Pringle endorsing a supposed cult leader to speak at his Presence Conference 2012? Does Pringle care more about popular celebrity Christians rather than caring about the spiritual health of the Australian churches Pringle is influencing?
C3 Church Watch 