FREEPORT, Bahamas — This past weekend, following word that the Bahamas most well-known preacher had died in a plane crash, concerns were renewed surrounding the message he taught and left behind, including his assertion that “Jesus is not the gospel.”

Myles Monroe, 60, who led Faith Ministries International and Myles Monroe International in the Bahamas, passed away on Sunday when a private jet carrying him to a leadership conference struck a shipyard crane while approaching Grand Bahama International Airport. His wife Ruth, who served as “co-pastor,” and his daughter Charisa also lost their lives, along with six others on board. Only his son, Myles, Jr., remains as he was not aboard the flight.

Monroe had appeared with a number of popular speakers throughout his 3o-year tenure, including Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes and Eddie Long. He also was a part of the Promise Keepers gatherings, which sought to help men to be better husbands and fathers. Monroe, an Oral Roberts University graduate, authored numerous self-help books including “Releasing Your Potential,” “Overcoming the Crisis,” “The Spirit of Leadership” and “Waiting and Dating.”

“He was indisputably one of the most globally recognizable religious figures our nation has ever produced,” said Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie in a statement following Monroe’s death. “His fame as an ambassador for the Christian ministry preceded him wherever in the world he traveled, whether in the Caribbean, North America, Asia, Europe or Africa.”

In September of this year, Monroe generated controversy in the Bahamas in speaking against homosexuality, stating that homosexual activists had hijacked the civil rights movement. He also faced opposition from Bahamian Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell in stating that the leader’s views on homosexuality do not “represent the majority of the convictions of the Bahamian people.”

But while he faced resistance from the secular world, Christians also expressed concern about other teachings that Monroe promulgated, including his assertion that the message of the gospel is not about Christ’s death and resurrection. These concerns were renewed following word that Monroe had lost his life this past weekend as some considered the legacy that he left behind.

“Jesus is not the gospel,” he stated in a sermon entitled “The Gospel of the Kingdom,” the entirety of which is posted below. “Jesus preached the gospel of the Kingdom. He did not preach Himself. … The good news is the Kingdom, not Jesus.”

“[T]he gospel is not you must be born again,” Monroe also asserted. “Jesus never preached [being] born again; as a matter of fact, he only mentioned born again once in the entire four gospels. … And he only mentioned it to an old man at three o’clock in the night who woke him up.”

He contended that Christians should rather appeal to the lost by primarily telling them about the benefits Christ offers in His Kingdom as he stated that Jesus was simply a means to an end.

“Do you know why the people on your job really hate Christians right now? Because you are preaching to them Jesus Christ,” Monroe said. “You don’t [need to] be talking about blood and nails and the spear in His side, because that’s not what you’re supposed to be talking about. You’ve got to be talking about how to solve people’s problems. … People aren’t worried about no blood on no cross. They’re worried about how they’re going to make it through the day.”

Despite outrage over Monroe’s comments, those who characterized Monroe as a false teacher are saddened by his passing and ask that others be considerate and not insensitive during this time.

“I didn’t care much for his ministry, but I will not tolerate any gloating over his death,” wrote one man who had exposed Monroe’s unbiblical teaching online. “Our Heavenly Father doesn’t rejoice over the death of the wicked and neither will I.”

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