What? What Do You Mean Chris Hodges is an Apostle???

Toward the end of June of 2024, a friend asked if I had seen the news about fallen pastor, Robert Morris.  I vaguely recalled that I had.  Morris was a mega-church leader in Texas who had sexually molested a 12 year old child.  He had abused her for years.  Now, many years later, the victim's experience was picked up by national news and he had stepped down from lead pastor at Gateway mega-church.  That's all I knew.  I was completely surprised when my friend said - "Glad he's resigned as Overseer at Church of the Highlands".    Overseer at Church of the Highlands?  What?   Why would some mega-church preacher in Texas have anything to do with an Alabama church?     Isn't that odd?  

I was enlightened that Robert Morris was longtime friends with Chris Hodges had often visited Church of the Highlands main campus as guest speaker. Since Hodges didn't want to preach on tithing, Robert Morris did it for him.  In fact, I came to learn that Morris traveled the country preaching in multitudes of churches about the congregants' requirement to tithe. He gave admonitions that people and their children were under a curse if they did not give appropriately. 

Now, I want to just clear up something because I’ve had people say, “Well, I can’t be under a curse because Christ bore the curse on the cross. And I’m a believer, so since He bore the curse, I could never be under a curse.”

Well, let me ask you something about that. A curse, many times is simply consequence.

Really, if you want to remember how to remember a curse, a curse is consequence for behavior. That’s what a curse really is.

But please understand this. Are you saying that as a believer you can live any way you want to and not suffer any consequence? See, that’s just crazy thinking. The Test (tithes And Offerings) : Pastor Oliver Lee, Pastor Robert MOrris, Next Level ministries : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

The problem with using Malachi as a proof text for his position is that 1) Malachi is written to Jews, 2) It is the old Covenant, the LAW. 3) the Old Covenant has been replaced by the New Covenant, Grace,  and the New Covenant does not require the Old Covenant requirement of tithing. Yes, believers are to give - but it is to be joyfully and not under compulsion. This matter was settled in the book of Acts, chapter 15 by James and the Jerusalem Council regarding what Jewish Laws might apply to Gentile believers. 

James states that it is not right to “trouble” the Gentiles with the Law. The verb παρενοχλέω is rare in the New Testament, only used in this passage. It does appears in 2 Macc 11:31 in a text describing the Jews being permitted to “enjoy their own food and laws” without being troubled by the Greek authorities. In that case, the Jews were not to be “troubled” over their keeping of boundary markers like circumcision or food laws, here in Acts the Gentiles are not to have the Law imposed upon them. Acts 15:13-21 – James and the Jerusalem Council - Reading Acts

And Morris had indeed been an overseer at Church of the Highlands.  How perplexing this all was to me at the time.

With my radar up over Hodges' use of The Passion Translation, the heretical paraphrase of the Bible by New Apostolic Reformation apostle Brian Simmons, I became curious about Hodges.  I knew he was incredibly popular, but nothing much more. I had heard of some athlete mentioning how he loved Church of the Highlands.  I knew of a few people who went there and loved it.  So - I decided to investigate a little. I Googled and one of the first articles to appear was this: Church of the Highlands’ Chris Hodges says no clergy accused of sexual misconduct will stay at The Lodge - al.com

What?!  Why would anyone think that? And what is the Lodge?  Oh dear!  Seems like pastor Hodges  built a multi-million dollar resort for what many people, including some of his church staff, understood would be used to "restore" pastors back to ministry who had been caught in sexual misconduct.  WHAT?!!!  No. Surely not back to the pulpit?! Repentance - sure - but not back to the pulpit?  That privilege is gone.  Has no one read 1 Timothy 3?  The requirements of a leader in church are clear. They must be above reproach. Not perfect - but above reproach - meaning they love a life that cannot bring shame upon the church or themselves.   It cannot be more clear. Yet that was exactly what Hodges had been doing.  And restoration was what had been performed on Robert Morris by Shady Grove Church,  after his victim told her parents and the abuse came to a stop.  

The same people who were being told that they are under a curse for not giving a tenth of their gross income to the church had been told, not 1 Timoty 3, which is specific and to the church, but rather 

It seemed from other articles in news and especially from articles posted on the Roy's Report and the Wartburg Watch blog that early in the development of the property, this was the purpose and was - but after backlash - Hodges began walking the story back.  Now he was saying that the estimated 4.4 million dollar resort was build for pastors suffering from the stresses of the pandemic.  What? Wait:  $4.4 for what??? 

Then I  saw that Robert Morris too had a restoration ministry at Gateway megachurch.  He and Hodges even talked about it in a 2015 conference. Before it was removed from Gateway's site, there was an online video. Its chilling to understand the insight Morris offered was from firsthand experience. He knew all about it.

 https://www.facebook.com › amysmithwatchkeep › videos › gateway-conference-2015 › 500406402359700

Gateway Conference 2015 | Robert Morris with Chris Hodges ... - Facebook

Robert Morris with Chris Hodges and Todd Mullins on restoring fallen pastors- Gateway Church conference 2015 @GatewayPeople #shewas12 "First nature to lie"

 Gateway removed the video from their public channel - but others captured a snippet. The Irony of Robert Morris's Warning to Fallen Leaders

so what other videos are online regarding Morris and Hodges I wondered?

Chris Hodges, Robert Morris and 20 Other Mega Church Pastors are NAR Apostles According to Che Ahn!

Wait!!!!   Chris Hodges, Robert Morris and Larry Stockstill are apostles!???   There are no modern apostles, nor can there be. Scripture, in anticipation of heresy, heads it off by outlining the specific qualifications of an apostle. When the eleven were faced with replacing Judas after his suicide, the requirements of apostle were recorded in Acts 1 by the apostle Peter. 

“^21 ‘So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²² beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.’ ²³ And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴ And they prayed and said, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’ ²⁶ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:21–26)

 Thus, the candidate was 1) required to be someone who followed Jesus during his entire earthly ministry, beginning from Jesus’ baptism by John to Jesus’ ascension into heaven (1:21–22a). 2) The candidate was required to have seen Jesus after His resurrection (1:22b).