The Reset: Cancel Culture, Cover Culture or Kingdom Culture

Last week, I wanted to express where we as a body stood regarding the controversies with Shawen Bolz and others, and how to respond. Here are more of my thoughts on this. Email me at doug.fusiongreeley@gmail.com if you have questions or concerns.

1. True Repentance: A Turning

Biblically, repentance is relational and directional, not merely emotional.

• Old Testament (Hebrew – shuv)To turn back or return to the Lord.

  “Return (shuv) to Me, and I will return to you.” — Malachi 3:7

• New Testament (Greek – metanoia)A change of mind that results in a changed life.

  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” — Matthew 4:17

Paul makes this distinction crystal clear:

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret.” — 2 Corinthians 7:10

Repentance isn’t groveling; it’s realignment—a recalibration of allegiance, direction, and trust.

2. God’s Heart: Restoration, Not Rejection

From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals Himself as a restoring Father.

• Psalm 51 – David doesn’t just ask forgiveness; he asks for renewal

  “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.”

• Joel 2:25

  “I will restore to you the years the locust has eaten.”

• Isaiah 1:18

  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”

God’s response to repentance is not tolerance, but transformation.

3. Jesus: Repentance That Leads to Reinstatement

Jesus consistently pairs repentance with restored identity and calling.

• The Prodigal Son – Luke 15 The son prepares a confession…The father runs, restores, robes, and rejoices. Note: Sonship is restored before behavior is corrected.

• Peter – John 21 After denial, Jesus doesn’t shame Peter—He recommissions him:

  “Feed my sheep.”

 True repentance restores authority, not just intimacy.

4. Restoration Includes Healing and Fruitfulness

Restoration is not merely forgiveness of sin; it is the healing of what sin damaged.

• Proverbs 28:13

  “Whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

• James 5:16

  “Confess your sins… that you may be healed.”

• Acts 3:19

  “Repent… that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

True repentance opens the door to refreshing, healing, and renewed mission.

5. A Kingdom Pattern

Repentance → Restoration → Re-assignment

• Repentance realigns us under God’s rule (Kingdom entry)

• Restoration heals identity and vocation

• Re-assignment advances God’s purposes in the world

This is why repentance in Scripture is often corporate, not just individual (Israel, Nineveh, the churches in Revelation2–3).

True repentance is a response to God’s gracious invitation to turn toward Him, and restoration is His joyful determination to make us whole again—and useful in His Kingdom.

What if someone won't repent and own what they did?

A refusal to repent is a tragic resistance to grace offered from Father God.

Refusal to repent leads to hardness which leads to loss which leads to judgment which leads to removal, not because God is eager to punish, but because He honors human resistance to His rule.

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” — Psalm 95 7–8

1. Hardened Hearts: When Warning Is Rejected

The first consequence of refusing repentance is spiritual hardening—reduced sensitivity to God.

• Pharaoh – ExodusPharaoh repeatedly refuses to repent. Scripture alternates between:

  • Pharaoh hardened his heart

  • God gave him over to his choice

This is not God overriding Pharaoh’s will; it’s God confirming Pharaoh’s trajectory.

• Hebrews 3:12–13

  “Sin is deceitful… it hardens.”

  
  

Refusal doesn’t freeze us in place; it moves us further away.

2. Loss of Protection, Favor, and Presence

When repentance is refused, God often withdraws protection before He applies judgment.

• Hosea 4:17

  “Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone.”

This is one of the most chilling lines in Scripture.

• Romans 1:24–28

  “Therefore God gave them over…”

God’s judgment often looks like permission, not lightning.

3. Prophetic Warning is a Missed Window Leading to Consequences

Scripture shows a consistent window of mercy that can be refused.

• Jeremiah 18:7–10 God explicitly says judgment can be relented from—if repentance occurs.

• Jerusalem – Luke 19:41–44 Jesus weeps:

  “You did not recognize the time of God’s visitation.”

Judgment follows—not because God stopped loving, but because they rejected peace.

4. Removal of Calling and Lampstand

In the New Testament, refusal to repent most often results in loss of influence and authority, not instant destruction.

• Revelation 2–3 To multiple churches Jesus says:

  “If you do not repent, I will remove your lampstand.”

  
  

Lampstand ≠ salvation Lampstand = witness, authority, presence

5. Final Judgment: When Repentance Is Permanently Refused

Scripture is honest: persistent refusal leads to final separation.

• Proverbs 29:1

  “Whoever remains stiff-necked… will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.”

  
  

• 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9Judgment comes on those who “refuse to obey the gospel.”

  
  

But notice: judgment is not for struggling sinners, but for unrepentant resisters.

6. God’s Posture: Reluctant Judge, Persistent Redeemer

This is crucial theologically and pastorally:

• Ezekiel 18:23

  “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? … Rather, that they turn and live.”

  
  

• 2 Peter 3:9

  “Not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

  
  

Judgment is God’s last work, not His desire.

Those who refuse to repent are not rejected by God—they exclude themselves from the reign they resist.

Or said another way:

Grace resisted becomes judgment experienced.

Pastoral Thoughts...

Scripture warns us most strongly not about falling, but about refusing to turn back.

• God is patient with weakness

• God is relentless with pride

• God is severe only when mercy is refused

  
  

The Cultural Collision We’re Living In

We are caught between two broken systems:

1. Cover-Up Culture

• Protects platforms

• Manages optics

• Minimizes harm

• Prioritizes “the mission” over truth

• Often spiritualizes silence (“don’t touch the anointed”)

2. Cancel Culture

• Demands immediate public punishment

• Leaves no room for repentance or process

• Confuses exposure with justice

• Often feeds outrage, not restoration

• 
  

Neither reflects the Kingdom.

One hides sin; the other replaces repentance with exile.

Kingdom Culture Is a Third Way

Scripture gives us a Kingdom culture that is neither permissive nor punitive.

Kingdom Culture = Truth + Time + Transformation

Not:

• Truth without mercy (cancel culture)

• Mercy without truth (cover-up culture)

But:

Truth that invites true repentance. Repentance that allows restoration. Restoration that includes appropriate consequences.

What the Bible Actually Expects From...

1.Repentance

Repentance is:

• Honest

• Voluntary

• Specific

• Fruit-bearing over time

“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” — Matthew 3:8

Public influence requires visible fruit, not just statements.

2.  Refusal to Repent

When repentance is delayed, managed, or avoided:

• Authority erodes

• Trust collapses

• God removes protection

• Exposure eventually comes anyway

This is Romans 1 and Proverbs 29 playing out in real time.

3. Ananias & Sapphira

The warning is not “God kills flawed leaders.”The warning is:

God will not allow performative righteousness to coexist with His manifest presence.

That’s especially sobering for:

• Prophetic cultures

• Charismatic movements

• Power-forward ministries

High revelation requires high integrity.

Applying This to the Current Moment

Without adjudicating guilt or outcomes, the pattern we’re seeing in cases involving figures like Shawn Bolz, communities connected to Bethel Church, and IHOPKC reveals something systemic—not just personal failure.

The Pattern Is This:

• Charisma outpaces character

• Platform outpaces process

• Influence outpaces accountability

• Private compromise survives because public fruit is strong

Until it doesn’t.

What Kingdom Culture Actually Looks Like

1. Exposure Is Not the Enemy — Deception Is

The Bible never treats exposure as evil.It treats unrepentant secrecy as evil.

“Everything exposed by the light becomes visible.” — Ephesians 5:13

The question is not whether exposure happens—but how the community responds when it does.

2. Repentance Is Protected — Not Managed

Kingdom culture:

• Makes space for confession before scandal

• Rewards humility, not spin

• Allows leaders to step down without exile

• Refuses to rush restoration

• 
  

Public repentance should be:

• Clear

• Non-defensive

• Without self-justification

• Without timeline manipulation

  
  

3. Restoration Is Possible — But Not Automatic

This is where cancel culture and cover-up culture both fail.

Biblically:

• Forgiveness can be immediate

• Trust must be rebuilt

• Authority is re-discerned, not assumed

• Some callings resume; some do not

  
  

Peter was restored to apostolic leadership. Saul was removed from kingship.

Both sinned.Only one retained office.

4. Fear of the Lord Must Return to Leadership Culture

Acts 5 ends with:

“Great fear seized the whole church.”

That fear didn’t shut down ministry—it purified it.

A Kingdom Diagnostic

You can tell whether a culture is Kingdom-aligned by asking:

1. Is truth welcomed early—or only after exposure?

2. Are leaders allowed to step down without being destroyed?

3. Is repentance valued more than reputation?

4. Is restoration slower than apology?

5. Is fear of the Lord stronger than fear of loss?

   
   

Where the answer is no, the system is already cracking.

A Final Pastoral Word (Not Cynical — Hopeful)

I don’t believe this is the collapse of the Church.

I believe it is the mercy of God purifying His house.

“Judgment begins with the household of God.” — 1 Peter 4:17

Not to destroy it.But to heal it.

Kingdom culture neither hides sin nor hunts sinners—it creates an environment where repentance is safe, truth is inevitable, and restoration is possible but never rushed.