Please bear with me while I address the recent situation with the former pastor at Park Avenue Baptist Church (PABC). First, let me say that this is my perspective based on my experiences and hearing God’s voice in prayer.
Steve Yuke is an effective teacher and communicates a message clearly. He has some good doctrines. I have no doubt that in the capacity at PABC, he was not given much space to talk about his correct stance on women in ministry. Evidently, his mother and grandmother are or were ministers. That’s an important doctrine that he has correct. Women are anointed for ministry in every way that a man is. I applaud that he did attempt to make his stance on that topic known.
However, as a woman with a prophetic word to be delivered from God regularly, Yuke was never allowed to respond to my emails, letters, publications, or Facebook private messages. So in that regard, he played the same old good-ole boy card that is prominent in the churches today that women are to be isolated. Listen, that’s the truth whether you like it or not. Most women are happy to be lazy in ministry so that brand of religion is acceptable to them. But it’s not to me. I’ve risked everything to follow God wholeheartedly. I’m not going to disappoint Him.
So, now let’s talk about the main doctrine that I have invested more than three years trying to mentor to Steve. That doctrine is that there is only one God. I’ve written letters, Facebook messages, emails, publications, etc. to little avail. I admit that I did start to hear different terminology coming from the pulpit in the last series of messages. But it certainly wasn’t a church wide shift. I would have thought that Yuke had more ability to teach his staff true doctrine than it appears happened.
There was a season where it seemed that Steve was teaching two different doctrines about hearing God. At the end of a series that he preached about hearing God, he did a dipsy-do-flipperoo and made it sound like we should hear God strictly through the written words of the Bible instead of hearing God’s Spirit voice in prayer. I was angered so I “honored” his false teaching with a F.A.R.T. award (False and Repulsive Theology). He deserved the public rebuke. For which he got in a shot at me from the pulpit by saying “she calls herself a prophet” (words that were used to describe a Baal worshipper named Jezebel). Oh that reminds me, he had wrong theology about what a prophet is supposed to do too. He thought prophets were supposed to be encouragers rather than providing what every prophet in the Bible brought as a message from God: caution, warning, and rebuke.
During the three years, I was somewhat angry with God that He was investing so much of my time delivering messages to this one pastor. But I will say this, God saw something in Yuke that I couldn’t see. I should also say that I never had a conversation with Steve. Everything was in writing and in only one direction, from me. God saw Yuke’s divine purpose. He saw his anointing. And obviously, He saw Steve’s heart. Listen, I had to hear it when God was annoyed with the false teaching. I could feel God’s heart of anger and disappointment that the pastor that He chose to bring a word to the congregation was not being careful enough to seek God about the very things God had sent a message through me to correct. I was frustrated because I was doing my best. I was spending much time making sure that I did things exactly as God required of me. It hurt me when it seemed that God consistently had me sacrifice time, money, talent and comfort while Steve seemed to have everything that I didn’t. He had a paycheck, a nice one. I don’t. He had a spouse. I don’t. He had a home. I don’t. He had adoration from the congregation. He had staff to help him. I don’t. Do you know that there are nearly 30 paid staff at PABC? What? I don’t have someone to do my graphics for me. I don’t have someone to handle sound and lights. I don’t have a secretary. Yes, I was angry that God would give Steve everything while he taught falsely on the subject of who God is. How is that fair?
Fast forward to recent events of his failed marriage. I don’t want that for anyone. It’s a tragic loss. Having been through it myself after 23 years of marriage, it hurts! Sometimes God has to position His children for a change in ministry. To be fair, the disciples who followed Jesus all left home and family. But there is one Scripture that just can’t be ignored.
“How can you say, ‘We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD,’ when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have? Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.” (Jeremiah 8:8-10 NIV)
Do you see where God says “I will give their wives to other men”? Could it be that God purposely put a break in that marriage contract because God felt that Steve had broken his covenant agreement to seek God and obey Him? I don’t know. Again, I’ve said this is just my perspective after three years of earnestly trying to deliver a message from God about the specific false teaching. I haven’t seen Steve’s heart. I don’t know what limits to changing church stance may have been placed on him by elders, board or others. All I know is that God has been determined enough to wake me up most days at 3:00 or 4:00 am to send me in a direction to rid the churches of false teaching.
Of course, I’m hurt that with all that investment, I’m just a daughter of God, which is evidently the wrong gender. Because we all know, that in PABC doctrine, only men count!
The Rogue Prophet 