Mike Guglielmucci

So...people might remember how I blogged about the song Healer when it first came out on the latest Hillsong CD.

Recently it has come to light that Mike Guglielmucci, the composer of the song, a former youth pastor at Planetshakers, has been living a lie for the past two years. He isn't actually dying of cancer - he never even had cancer. It was all an elaborate deception that seemingly fooled his wife and family and friends.

....

My first reaction was shock. I mean, if anyone has watched the Hillsong DVD his "testimony" seems so convincing. He performs on stage with an oxygen tube! He walks around backstage with a walking stick! His strength even causes other members of the church and band to speak about his faith.

For all that to be fake seems incredible.

The really sad thing is that he hasn't just made himself a liar. He has caused other people to become liars as well. People like his father - also a pastor - who has asked people in his church to keep praying for his son. People like Joel Houston who spoke about how Mike's faith and courage had deeply impacted him.

The scope of damage is huge.

People won't believe that this is something that one man has been able to pull off on his own without any help. I mean, he must have had help. Someone must have known. He had doctor's appointments, medical equipment...the works!

And what about the song? How can a song that has such an anointing come out of such decit? Will we ever be able to sing the song again? (Besides the point, I know...)

Here's what I think; firstly, good on him for coming forward. After two years - and, if the news reports are to be believed, he had other "sicknesses" over the years that were faked - of living this lie he came forward of his own free will to confess and tell the truth. He is obviously a very sick man, just not in the way that he portrayed himself to be.

Secondly, there will be hundreds - if not thousands - of people who will be impacted by this. Not just people who knew Mike personally, but also people who were touched by his music and ministry in some way. They will probably be hurt, they will probably be angry - I think that's natural. And I also think it's okay. People need to process stuff like that.

Thirdly, in light of all the media attention surrounding this, I think the best way to counteract the damage is to do what Jesus would have done. Support him, love him, pray for his family. This isn't something that will be fixed in a day, a week, a month. It will probably take years. If the latest news reports are to be believed, Mike has been struggling with addiction since he was 12 years old. That's a long time to feel guilty and alone about something.

I honestly think that the Christ-like thing to do in this situation is to rally around this man and love him. The rest of the world will probably condemn him. And they'll probably think we're crazy. ("We" in the larger church sense of the word.) But they've always thought we were crazy anyway. What's a little more crazy?

Just my thoughts.

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