Food For Thought
I’ve been thinking about why people can become so attached to pastors, prophets and other spiritual leaders that they begin to idolize them.
And I don’t think it’s always as simple as, “People just want someone to tell them what they want to hear.”
I think sometimes the person has become what I call an indispensable spiritual intermediary.
Meaning: they have become the perceived necessary middleman between the individual and God.
The relationship begins functioning like:
God → spiritual leader → me.
“You hear God better than I do.”
“Tell me what God is saying about my life.”
“Tell me when my breakthrough is coming.”
“Tell me what season I’m in.”
“Tell me what I need to sow.”
“Tell me whether God is pleased with me.”
And eventually, the person isn’t simply receiving ministry from someone.
They’ve become dependent upon that person’s perceived access to God.
That’s where I believe we need to talk about religious psychosis not merely as extreme religious behavior, but as distorted beliefs and perceptions about God, ourselves, spiritual authority and how we relate to Him.
Because why would a Christian believe another human being must continually function as their access point to their Father?
Jesus died.
And when He died, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom.
That mattered.
Under the old covenant, access to the Most Holy Place was restricted. Hebrews later uses that imagery to explain what Christ accomplished: through Jesus, believers have access to God.
So why are we rebuilding human intermediaries where Christ opened access?
That does NOT mean pastors, teachers, prophets or other ministry gifts have no purpose.
Ephesians 4 tells us their purpose includes equipping the saints and developing the body toward maturity.
That’s the difference.
Healthy spiritual leadership should help develop you.
It should teach you Scripture.
Help you discern.
Correct you when necessary.
Point you toward Christ.
Equip you to mature.
Teach you how to examine your fruit.
It should NOT make you increasingly incapable of walking with God without that leader.
And here’s where it gets uncomfortable.
How many people would still idolize their favorite spiritual leader if that leader stopped constantly giving them certainty?
If instead of:
“Your breakthrough is coming!”
they asked:
What beliefs are producing your behavior?
Instead of:
“God said you’re entering a new season!”
they asked:
What responsibility have you been avoiding?
Instead of reducing every struggle to “sin,” what if they actually discipled the individual?
What’s underneath this pattern?
What does Scripture actually say?
What have you misunderstood about God’s character?
What needs to be renewed in your thinking?
What fruit is your life producing?
What needs to be surrendered?
Because THAT requires formation.
And formation doesn’t always feel as good as certainty.
Sometimes certainty says:
“God is about to change everything around you.”
Formation may say:
“God wants to change something within you.”
👀
And maybe that’s part of why spiritual idols are so powerful.
They can provide certainty to people who don’t believe they have access to certainty themselves.
“You have access to God. I don’t. So tell me what He said.”
No.
A mature minister should never desire to become indispensable to your relationship with God.
Their ministry should continually point beyond themselves to Christ.
Healthy ministry equips. Idolatrous dependency requires a middleman.
Jesus did not tear the veil so we could spend our lives searching for another human being to stand between us and the Father.
Certainty can build idols. Formation builds disciples.
And THAT is part of what I mean when I talk about religious psychosis.
Continue the Pursuit of Truth
This conversation is part of a much larger examination I explore in From Religious Psychosis to the Pursuit of the Truth what happens when inherited religious beliefs, distorted perceptions of God, spiritual authority and tradition begin shaping our relationship with God more than truth does.
This book isn’t an invitation to abandon God. It’s an invitation to examine what you’ve been taught about Him.
Who told you God was like that?
Does it reflect His character?
Does it align with Scripture?
And have you developed a relationship with God for yourself or become dependent upon someone else’s interpretation of Him?
Don’t just inherit your beliefs. Examine them.
From Religious Psychosis to the Pursuit of the Truth
Available September 26, 2026.
Know His character. Examine what you’ve been taught. Pursue the truth.
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