Steven-Furtick
Short answer: Acts 17:10-11 tells how the brothers sent Paul and Silas to Beroea, where the synagogue crowd received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so. That pattern applies to every teacher, including Steven Furtick, the pastor of Elevation Church. Scripture never asks you to accept or reject a preacher as a package. It asks you to test the content of the teaching against the Bible itself, holding firmly to what is good, as 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 says, "Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good." So the honest question is not which camp you belong to but whether you are doing the Berean work: listening carefully, checking the text, and letting Scripture, not personality or platform, decide.
Who Steven Furtick is and what is actually at stake
Steven Furtick founded Elevation Church in 2006 and has become one of the most recognized preachers in the United States. His sermons circulate widely online, his music is sung in many congregations, and his books reach readers far beyond his own church. That reach is exactly why the topic deserves careful thought rather than either blind loyalty or casual dismissal.
The concern many pastors and teachers raise is not that Furtick denies core Christian doctrines. The concern is method and emphasis: heavy reliance on personal narrative, imaginative reconstruction of biblical scenes, and applications that sometimes rest on details the text does not supply. Other believers, including serious students of Scripture, say his preaching has genuinely helped them love Jesus and read the Bible more.
Both of those things can be reported honestly. Neither settles the question. What settles it, according to Acts 17:10-11, is whether the teaching itself lines up with Scripture when you examine it. That is a task for you, not for a crowd, a critic, or a fan.
Why the Bereans are the right model for this discussion
Acts 17:10-11 says, "The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue." The Bereans were not skeptics looking for a reason to reject the message. They were eager listeners. The same passage describes them as receiving the word with readiness of mind while also searching the Scriptures daily.
Notice who was preaching when they did this. It was Paul, an apostle, a man whose letters became Scripture. If the Bereans were commended for checking even apostolic preaching against the written Scriptures they had, then checking any preacher today is not rebellion. It is obedience. The Berean pattern honours the teacher enough to take the message seriously.
That is the spirit this study tries to keep. The goal is not to build a case against a man or to defend a man. The goal is to practise the habit that Scripture actually praises, and to let the results fall where they may between you and God.
Test all things without becoming a cynical listener
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 says, "Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good." The command has two halves, and both matter. Testing without holding firmly to what is good produces a permanently suspicious heart that never benefits from any teaching. Holding firmly without testing produces a gullible heart that cannot tell the difference between strong preaching and true preaching.
1 John 4:1 adds, "Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." John writes this to believers he loves, not to hostile outsiders. Testing is a form of love, both for the truth and for the people who might be led astray by error.
Cynicism and credulity are both failures. The Bereans were neither. They listened eagerly and examined carefully in the same week, probably in the same hours. That combination is what a healthy listener looks like, whatever preacher is speaking.
How to test a sermon fairly, step by step
First, identify the main claim. Every sermon, including Furtick's, makes a central point. Ask what the preacher is actually asking you to believe or do. Second, open the passage yourself and read the verses before and after it. Third, ask whether the main claim comes from the text or is attached to the text. These three steps alone answer most of the practical questions people have.
Fourth, notice what kind of authority is being used. Is the preacher reasoning from Scripture, or from a story, a feeling, or a cultural assumption? Stories can illustrate truth well; they cannot establish it. Fifth, compare the teaching with the wider Bible. A single verse can be pressed to say almost anything if it is isolated.
Sixth, ask about the fruit and the aim. Matthew 7:15-20 warns about wolves in sheep's clothing and says you will know them by their fruits. That warning is serious, but it also takes time to apply. A fair evaluation is patient. Judging a teacher on one clip or one controversy is not the Berean method.
What a fair assessment of Steven Furtick looks like
A faithful assessment separates three things that are often blurred together: the man, the method, and the message. The man is known to God, and Scripture warns against forming quick verdicts about another servant's standing. The method can be examined from public sermons. The message in any given sermon can be compared with the passage it claims to explain.
On method, critics point to frequent creative retelling of biblical narratives and heavy use of personal illustration. Supporters point out that narrative preaching has a long history and that illustration is a legitimate tool. This is a place where faithful Christians genuinely differ, and honesty requires saying so rather than pretending the question is settled.
On message, the right test is whether the sermon's main point is the Bible's main point in that text. Where a sermon affirms what Scripture affirms, receive it with thanks, even if the style is not yours. Where a sermon adds to the text or shifts its emphasis, say so plainly and gently. That is the whole Berean job, applied one sermon at a time.
Why 2 Timothy 4:3-4 makes this urgent
2 Timothy 4:3-4 says, "For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts." The danger Paul describes is not mainly false teachers forcing themselves on the church. It is listeners selecting teachers who say what they already want to hear.
That warning cuts against fans and critics alike. If you defend a preacher because he makes you feel affirmed, you may have itching ears. If you attack a preacher because attacking him makes you feel superior, you may have the same problem in a different costume. The test is whether you want the text to rule over you.
This is why the Berean habit matters more than any verdict about one pastor. A listener who checks the Scriptures daily will be protected from both a persuasive error and a proud overcorrection. The habit outlasts the controversy.
Shepherding your own heart while you evaluate
Acts 20:28-30 says, "Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood." Paul's instruction to elders puts watchfulness over self before watchfulness over others. That order is easy to reverse when a public figure is involved.
Before you decide about Steven Furtick, examine what you want from preaching. Do you want to be impressed, entertained, or comforted? Do you want to be told the truth even when it costs you? Preaching that never unsettles is suspicious, and so is preaching that only unsettles.
If you are in a church, bring your questions to your own pastor rather than to a comment thread. If you are choosing where to worship, weigh the whole ministry over time, not a highlight reel. And pray for the man you are evaluating. Scripture gives no permission to slander a teacher while claiming to love the truth.
What to do with your conclusion, whatever it is
Suppose you conclude that a particular Furtick sermon faithfully opens its text and points to Christ. Then thank God for it, and let it drive you into the Bible rather than into a personality. Suppose you conclude that a sermon adds to the text at a key point. Then set that point aside, keep what is good, and do not let one flaw make you contemptuous of every preacher.
The Bereans did not form a movement against Paul, and they did not form a fan club around him either. They examined the Scriptures daily and many of them believed. The outcome of faithful testing is normally not a verdict about someone else but a deeper grasp of the gospel for yourself.
That is the pastoral aim of this article. Use the checklist. Read the passages. Do the work slowly. And let your final loyalty rest on the Word of God, not on any preacher's name, including the most gifted voices of our generation.
Biblical fidelity check
Acts 17:10-11 establishes that examining the Scriptures to test preaching is commendable. It does not establish that every preacher who uses narrative, humour, or vivid illustration is false, and it does not give anyone licence to pronounce final judgment on another person's salvation. The passage praises a habit of listening and checking; it does not hand us a verdict about Steven Furtick or anyone else.
A common misreading treats the Bereans as suspicious gatekeepers who rejected Paul until he passed their exam. The text says the opposite: they received the word with eagerness and searched the Scriptures daily. Another misreading takes Matthew 7:15-20 as a warrant to declare any teacher we dislike a wolf. That passage speaks of fruit that becomes evident over time, not of a first impression or a disagreement about style. Both misreadings turn a call to careful listening into a tool for quick condemnation, which is not what the text says.
Other passages that speak to Acts 17:10-11
Testing teaching is a theme that runs through the letters of John and beyond. For a careful look at how the apostles grounded their claims in what was seen and heard, see What Does 1 John 1:1 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application. Because honest testing requires honesty about ourselves, What Does 1 John 1:8 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application is worth reading alongside it. The path back when we have been deceived or have deceived ourselves is treated in 1 John 1:9 Meaning: Confession, Forgiveness, and Cleansing. And because love of approval can distort our judgment of preachers, consider What Does 1 John 2:15 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application.
Frequently asked questions
Is it wrong for a Christian to listen to Steven Furtick?
Scripture does not forbid listening to any particular preacher; it commands you to test what you hear. Acts 17:10-11 commends the Bereans for examining the Scriptures daily to see whether Paul's teaching was true. Apply that same practice to Furtick's sermons: open the passage yourself, identify the main claim, and ask whether it comes from the text. If the sermon leads you to Christ and to Scripture, receive it with thanks. If a point adds to the text, set that point aside while keeping what is good.
Does Acts 17:10-11 mean I should distrust all preachers?
No. The Bereans received the word with eagerness and searched the Scriptures daily; they were not hostile. Testing is an act of love for the truth, not a posture of suspicion toward everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 tells you to test all things and hold firmly to what is good, which assumes you will find plenty of good. A permanently cynical listener never benefits from any preaching, while a gullible listener never grows in discernment. The Berean aim is to be eager and careful at the same time.
What if my church and I reach different conclusions about a preacher?
Where faithful Christians differ, say so honestly. Style, humour, and narrative method are matters of wisdom, not clear commands, so believers may disagree without either side being unfaithful. What cannot be negotiated is the content of the gospel and the authority of Scripture. Bring your questions to your own pastor rather than to strangers online, weigh a ministry over time rather than by a single clip, and keep praying for the teacher you are evaluating. Judgment about another servant belongs to his own master.
