"...Mr Guglielmucci (Mike's dad), who established Edge Church International, an Assemblies of God church in Adelaide, said Melbourne-based Michael had made a full confession to his family about his past, including revelations about the 16-year porn obsession and the lies over his supposed battle with terminal illness..."
Read the statement released by his dad here. Other related news here.
A shocker just recently announced all through Australia (and the whole world), this is the Big one. I was speechless. I was thinking hard about what to think. As I read the updates the following days, I realized one thing. He's just a man. A man with flaws like many other men. Many have judged him, criticized him. Much of what has been said (negatively) about him... well... we may think he deserves it... but I realized that anyone could have been him. Any pastor, any leader, any mentor, any evangelist... anyone. Maybe even me.
Across time, men of God fall for some primary reasons: sex, money, fraud, pride... the list goes on. The Bible has warned us all. Mike's situation is really complicated... his actions has caused a wave of hurts and confusion. And this may just be the beginning of this wave... but in all of this, we should remember that all man falls short of the glory of God. That's why Jesus is our only hope. And Jesus is Mike's only hope at this time. Pray for him. Although he is now surrounded by this "unforgiving scandal", he has seen the light. And he had the courage to confess. Had the courage to say he is flawed. The repurcissions are endless. Unforgivable at times maybe. Everyone thought highly of Michael Guglielmucci. I have. We all did. He was that guy from Planetshakers. He did that concert here in Melaka for the first ever HUGE Camp Malaysia. But he is just a man. God is God and no one amounts or equals Him. Man fails. Our pastors, leaders and mentors might fail. Maybe not in such a publicly humiliating way but as humans, we are somewhat doomed to failure at some point, for whatever reasons. Jesus is the one who deserves all glory, all power and all fame. I guess in spite of this, God is still in control. And perhaps at this point, we realize that He is the One that matters and not our devotion and attention to our "idols" that we make out from our Christian super heroes. This is nevertheless not an excuse for anyone. We are called to a path of holiness. We are expected to keep our lives in line with the Word of God. His Word is our life compass. We are accountable to Him that we may be worthy testimonies of His greatness, His salvation and His holiness.
Pray for the church. Pray for those in hurting as a result of this. Pray for the Guglielmuccis'. They are devastated. Even Mike is. Pray for all of us. Pray that our churches will not have to walk this path. What will become of Planetshakers or Hillsong in light of this? It depends on the Christians. It depends how forgiving and how far-sighted we all are. God is the focus, not men. In spite of mens failure, God still reigns.
Lord have mercy.
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