Today, a growing number of Christian leaders are holding public events calling for national repentance and church revival. With Christians deeply concerned about the state of our nation, it is understandable that repentance and revival would be on the hearts of many in the church. But sadly and alarmingly many of the figures who are calling for revival today have been promoting false and dangerous teachings, and we must ask the question, how can those involved with serious false teachings lead the way to true revival without first repenting themselves of those false teachings?
In Warren B. Smith’s new book, The Titanic and Today’s Church (published by Mountain Stream Press), he asks this same question and challenges many of these leaders in their roles of possibly bringing about a false revival based on faulty foundations.
A case in point is Pastor Steve Berger. On September 26th, Berger spoke at The Return, an event in Washington, DC (hosted by author of The Harbinger, Jonathan Cahn) in a session called Prayers for Blessing, the Spirit, and Revival. Earlier this year, Berger also spoke at a Promise Keeper’s event (and he is on their Advisory Board*) in a talk titled “A Call to Repentance“; and in 2016, he gave the opening prayer as guest chaplain at the U.S. Senate. It appears Steve Berger has become a major spokesperson in calling for repentance and revival in America. But there is a problem, and it is a serious one.
As Warren Smith documents in The Titanic and Today’s Church, chapter one, Steve Berger promotes communicating with the dead (i.e., necromancy). Smith explains:
In 2010, Steve Berger, head pastor of the Grace Chapel megachurch in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, wrote a book with his wife Sarah titled Have Heart: Bridging the Gulf Between Heaven and Earth. The book described how they claim to be in spiritual contact with their deceased son Josiah. . . . the Bergers wrote that their deceased son Josiah has been directly communicating with the two of them, their children, and some of their friends. . . .
The Bergers cited [an] incident in detail, telling readers that the visit proves that departed loved ones can communicate and interact with those on Earth. (pp. 31-32)
Two very popular Christian leaders, Pastor Greg Laurie and television host James Robison, have endorsed Have Heart (endorsements which still sit on the inside front pages of both the print and digital editions) even though such a practice is called an abomination in the Bible (Deuteronomy 18). Incidentally, both Greg Laurie and James Robison were contacted about their endorsements by Chris Lawson, director of Spiritual Research Network, as noted in Warren Smith’s book. Out of concern for both the Bergers and the body of Christ, Lawson also contacted Steve Berger and politely asked him about Have Heart. Berger told Lawson:
God has made an exception at this time in history for the Berger family. We are indeed in communication with our son Josiah. (source)
The Word Like Fire 