Maybe cancel culture won over the Church before it ever captured our society.
The enemy has used the same tricks for thousands of years, and you would think that a people who have access to Heaven’s security reports — discernment — would not only recognize his methods, but be ready to defend against them.
Two of his greatest weapons have always been division and accusation.
First, he turns one believer against another.
Then, he trains the saints to kick the wounded when they fall.
I can still remember when the feud between Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart was unfolding back in the late 1980s. People literally stopped going to church over it. Many were wounded, confused, offended, and shaken. Yet behind much of it was the very thing the enemy loves to stir up among God’s people — jealousy, envy, pride, accusation, and a religious spirit dressed up as righteousness.
Today is no different.
When a well-known voice within the Church falls, there are always some who quickly assemble themselves into a religious jury pool. Before truth is fully known, before repentance has been measured, before wounds have been tended to, before families have even had time to breathe, some have already found them guilty, sentenced them publicly, and celebrated the collapse.
But wait a cotton-picking minute.
Did Paul not tell us that our first ministry is reconciliation?
Did Jesus not warn us that the measure we use will be measured back to us?
Did He not teach us to judge with the same mercy we desire to receive?
Sadly, when these moments happen, the enemy finds an open door to whisper to the world, “Look at the hypocrisy of those who claim to be righteous.” And too often, the Church helps him build the case.
Now, you may ask why I am saying this.
Because I was once one of those people.
There was a time when, if someone I did not like fell, I was quick to take my seat on the jury list. I knew how to sound spiritual while carrying an unhealed heart. I knew how to call it discernment when it was really offense. I knew how to call it righteousness when it was really pride.
Then Holy Spirit came after that thing in me.
He did not trim it.
He did not decorate it.
He pulled it out by the roots.
And I will be honest — at times, I went kicking and screaming.
But He replaced that ugly thing with a heart that mourns when someone falls. Not a heart that says, “Good, they had that coming.” Not a heart that looks for a way to capitalize on another person’s failure. Not a heart that secretly rejoices because someone I disagreed with has been exposed.
He gave me a heart that weeps and says, “Father, heal everyone involved. Restore what can be restored. Protect the innocent. Bring truth into the light. Let mercy triumph where repentance is real. Let the breach be repaired.”
I write this as one who has stood on both sides of this painful fence.
I have been the accuser, and I have also been the one accused.
I know what it is to have untruths formed in such a way that they appeared to be truth. I know what it is to have flaws magnified by the mouths of a false jury, made up not of strangers, but of fellow believers. I know what it is to watch people take fragments, assumptions, wounds, and whispers, then stitch them together into a narrative that sounds convincing to those who never asked for the whole story.
So yes, I know firsthand the bitterness that, for a moment, can taste sweet when you are the one doing the accusing.
And I also know the crushing cocktail of rejection, false accusation, betrayal, and spiritual pain when you are the one standing on the other side of the mob.
That is why I no longer desire a seat in the jury box when another believer falls.
I would rather be found at the altar, weeping for mercy, praying for truth, asking the Father to heal what is broken, expose what must be exposed, restore what can be restored, and keep my own heart clean before Him.
It is time for the Ecclesia to rise above the culture of this world.
We are not called to mirror the mob.
We are not called to copy the cruelty of Babylon.
We are not called to become spiritual spectators, watching another person bleed while we debate their worthiness from a distance.
We are called to walk in humility, integrity, mercy, truth, and the fear of the Lord.
We are called to be a people who carry the favor of Heaven in such a way that the world sees something different in us.
Today, people will ask me, “What do you think about so-and-so?”
My answer is simple:
“I don’t.”
I am too concerned with doing the work the Father has assigned to me.
I am too focused on shining light into darkness so captives can be set free.
I am too busy preaching the unadulterated Gospel that transforms lives, families, and generations.
We must understand the hour we are living in.
This is a time of shaking.
This is a time when judgment begins in the house of God.
And when another person falls, we had better not be found rejoicing over the wreckage. We had better be found praying for truth, repentance, healing, restoration, and the repair of the breach.
Because if we take our seat among the scornful, we should not be surprised when the shaking comes near our own house.
Let the Church be holy.
Let the Church be discerning.
Let the Church be truthful.
But Lord, deliver us from becoming accusers dressed in choir robes.
The world already has enough cancel culture.
The Kingdom must reveal something higher.
We must become the altar where the fire falls again.
Stay tuned, the journey continues…..
A voice of fire to the Remnant,
— Dr. Russell Welch
Dr. Russell Welch is a published author, prophetic teacher, apostolic builder, and founder of faith-driven publishing and media initiatives. He is known for crafting bold, Kingdom-centered messages that call the Ecclesia into maturity, doctrinal clarity, and governmental authority. With a passion for equipping the Remnant and honoring generational legacy, Dr. Welch writes and teaches at the intersection of Scripture, history, and spiritual governance, challenging believers to live as sons and daughters who legislate Heaven on earth through truth, holiness, and unwavering fidelity to Christ.
Be sure to check out his book, Spirit Wind People: Those Who are Moved by the Impulses of Holy Spirit, available exclusively on Amazon.
Radical Disciples - A Remnant Revolution 