Manipulation 101

In this post, Steven Furtick shows us how he gets people to do exactly what he wants:

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.”
-Deuteronomy 31:7

Steven has a tendency to take a few words out of a Bible verse, and conveniently build doctrine around it. With his added emphasis on the four words in the above verse, it looks like he’s up to his old tricks again.

As a leader, remember: you’re not the only one God has made promises to.  The people you lead have dreams.  They dream of impact.  They dream of influence.  They dream of maximized creativity and realized potential.

The first thing we need to notice is that Furtick immediately equates God’s promises to our dreams. The dreams listed sound much more like a lust for power and a selfish desire for personal fulfillment than anything God has promised in His Word.

Lead them into their land. Develop them to be their best.  Help them to establish ownership of their acreage.  When you focus on calling out the potential of those you lead, you’ll usually find that your standard will become their standard.  And your vision will come to pass as a byproduct.

Let’s summarize this handy manipulation tactic:

1. Find justification in Scripture for your tactic. Any reference will do, really. If you can’t find an entire verse to support your position, just use a word or two from a verse.
2. Take note of human nature. People want power. People want influence. People want acceptance. Play on those desires.
3. Make the people believe that what you want is really what they want. Then, they will work hard to get you what you want.