ARE PEOPLE GUILTY OF PASTOR WORSHIP IN LEF?

Every Sunday, most people head out to various churches for fellowship and worship and people have different reasons for that.

1. Some are really excited about meeting their fellow brethren again after a long working week.

2. Some are eagerly anticipating the praise and worship as an opportunity to express their love to God. 

3. Some are keen to hear what God has to say to them through the sermon that will be preached. 

4. Some just want to encounter Christ and have their hearts tuned to His frequency. 

5. There is another dangerous reason for some to head to a church. Some head to a church as they can’t wait to see their Pastor stand on the pulpit and tingle their ears with a well-thought out sermon filled with "GOSSIP." 

Whatever is the reason for going to church, A GREAT DANGER AWAITS THOSE WHO FALL INTO THE TRAP OF IDOLIZING THEIR PASTOR WHICH WILL TRANSLATE INTO WORSHIPING THEIR PASTOR. 

What are the dangers people face when a pastor is idolized. The pastor who is idolized starts to get worshiped and this will now give the pastor a SUPER STAR STATUS which will often times makes the pastor ABUSIVE.

Here are some symptoms which Joshua Daniel showed and now John Daniel is also exhibiting that can clearly be labeled as "ABUSE OF POWER."

1. Abusive leaders have a sense of entitlement. Late Joshua Daniel had a sense (and now John Daniel has) of entitlement.

Some folks think more highly of themselves than they ought to think and believe in their hearts that they are better than any other human being in what they are doing.

There is no lack for proof for this in Daniel clan leaders.

A. Late JD, even when he couldn't coherently speak would not retreat from LEF pulpits. 

B. John Daniel as we see who is no way a great speaker doesn't mind making a fool of himself by "clowning around" on the LEF pulpits than allowing another worthy person to preach. 

*** Please watch the "I have a certificate" animated comic show that John Daniel put up during the recently concluded Student's Retreat in Chennai. We promise you that you will be greatly entertained by watching that video.

2. Because of his celebrity status, Late Joshua Daniel thought (and now John Daniel thinks) he is above the law of the land.

When a celebrity leader gets used to having sycophants around him then he is used to getting what he wants, when he wants. Hence, they push aside boundaries and take law into their own hands.

A. Late JD was notorious for this. There is a story that he proudly shared that he got his 5 month old son, who was born in US (with an American passport) into Mumbai, India without an Indian visa. He had this inflated image of himself that he is not bound by any laws. It is rather ironic that he accused Indian Govt. as being corrupt with "RED TAPE" as the Immigration officers would not allow JD and his wife to bring their son into the country without a valid visa.

B. John Daniel is slowly trying his hand at this. Our earlier post of how he used physical force to snatch away the phone from a Bible college student explains how he just like his dad is thinking that he can take law into his hands.

3. They are unaccountable to anybody.

Superstar pastors often think no one is qualified to speak into their lives. Some pastors and leaders think that, since they are so spiritual and successful, they have reached a point that no one is able to speak into their lives or teach them anything. When someone attempts to speak into their lives, they may ask the question in their minds: Is this person as wealthy as me? Or do they have as many people in their church as I do? They do this before they even consider hearing what others have to say!

A. The way the LEF is operated is a glaring proof that JD never felt that he was accountable to anybody. He could at his will hire and fire people. He could at will decide who marries whom. He could at his will decide what properties to buy and what properties to sell...Need we say more about his lack of accountability?

B. John Daniel's self appointment (or being appointed by his all powerful dad)  to head LEF in itself is a proof that he and his family can run LEF like their fiefdom and that shows that he strongly believes that he is not accountable to anybody. All he needed was the expertise of IC to forge the signatures of the board members.

4. Their self-identity is subsumed by their ministry identity.

Their success, fueled by their driving ambition to be respected and known, becomes the primary way they view themselves. Thus, they lose their core essence and live through a false sense of success and power.

A. The message was loud and clear - LEF was Joshua Daniel and Joshua Daniel was LEF. This philosophy was so deeply ingrained that if the Daniel family felt like they needed a resort in the middle of a jungle, they could easily get one. All they have to show on paper is that they want to build a prayer hall in the middle of a forest (don't get us wrong...it was not for the wild animals of the forests to congregate but for the wild children of the  Joshua Daniel  to come to drink and throw parties) 

B. John Daniel is a perpetual parasite. The house that he lives in Novi, Michigan was supposed to be a "RETREAT CENTER." When this place was first bought, LEF people from Canada not only contributed their money but also their time to travel down to Michigan to clean up this house and renovate it as they got duped into believing that this house was going to be the "LEF RETREAT CENTER."  John and his wife  with their numerous children shamelessly live in this house which they know rightfully never belonged to them as they never earned it with their "hard work." 

5. They become narcissistic and manipulate others to fulfill their own needs.

Many superstar leaders abuse their leadership privileges by manipulating others for their own advantage.

A. Manipulating others was a full-time job for Joshua Daniel. He got manipulated by his evil wife LD and he in turn manipulated everybody who is associated with him. 

B. While John Daniel may be a novice at manipulating the people of LEF, he clearly has mastered his game. The way he has eliminated his elder sister (who is trying to become a power center) from LEF with the help of his wicked mom proves that just like his dad and mom, he is also a surreptitious snake.

6. They erroneously equate the anointing to minister with God's personal favor and cross the line to project themselves to God.

Some believe that, because they preach great messages and experience the power of God when ministering, that this is a sign of God's favor upon them, even if they are not living a life of holiness. Scripture teaches us, through the narrative of Samson, that prioritizing anointing and power before the fruit of the Spirit will eventually catch up to you and result in an untimely end to your ministry.

A. In how many different occasions Late JD "HUMBLY" boasted that when he was preaching on the stage, a lot of people reported that they saw angels walking around. He went further and reported that a person touched him without him being aware and later reported that she was healed of her sickness. Of course, all of these stories he "HUMBLY" narrated over and over again from the pulpit to just glorify God and show that he, JD is NOTHING but God is everything.

B. John Daniel may have a lag here but we are sure he will quickly catch on under the tutelage of his mom. After all, didn't somebody make a poor village woman from Andhra come and report that she saw an angel sitting on Lily Daniel's shoulder? It is a totally different matter that this poor woman from Andhra would not have known the difference between an angel and a devil and may have gotten mixed up in her head about what she saw on LD's shoulders.

7. Those closest to them don't challenge them as they are scared to touch the God's anointed.

Does this scenario that we are presenting below seem familiar with LEF pastors, starting from Late JD to everyone under him?
" Before I left a church (because of an abusive pastor) I had a series of meetings with the pastor in which I confronted him on a number of things I thought were not right in the church, only to be labelled a troublemaker. The pastor used to say to me that even if he did anything wrong, I was not the one to “judge” him because as the Lord’s anointed he was only accountable to God and not man or any authority. He used to draw attention of the church to a scripture about Saul and David  (1 Sam. 24:1-15).
Here are some questions to think about?
1. Can the Lord’s anointed threaten lives and no action be taken? 
2. Does anointing give one immunity from punishment for wrong-doing?
Like all abusive church leaders, even LEF rogues always use "TOUCH NOT GOD'S ANOINTED" tactic when people confront them about their wrong doings. Confronting a leader about his double standards and dubious claims is not same as "touching the God's anointed." Many abusive leaders misuse that verse to say they are above criticism, but that is a misuse of that text to keep themselves accountable to no one.
Finally, BE WARNED THAT SUPERSTAR PREACHERS ARE AGENTS OF THE DEVIL.