Posted on 08/29/2013 11:06:02 AM PDT by Gamecock
WINSTON-SALEM — Julie and Bob Clark were stunned to receive a letter from their church in July asking them to “participate in the life of the church” — or worship elsewhere.
“They basically called us freeloaders,” says Julie.
“We were freeloaders,” says Bob.
In a trend that may signal rough times for wallflower Christians, bellwether mega-church Faith Community of Winston-Salem has asked “non-participating members” to stop attending.
“No more Mr. Nice Church,” says the executive pastor, newly hired from Cingular Wireless. “Bigger is not always better. Providing free services indefinitely to complacent Christians is not our mission.”
“Freeloading” Christians were straining the church’s nursery and facility resources and harming the church’s ability to reach the lost, says the pastor.
“When your bottom line is saving souls, you get impatient with people who interfere with that goal,” he says.
Faith Community sent polite but firm letters to families who attend church services and “freebie events” but never volunteer, never tithe and do not belong to a small group or other ministry. The church estimates that of its 8,000 regular attendees, only half have volunteered in the past 3 years, and a third have never given to the church.
“Before now, we made people feel comfortable and welcome, and tried to coax them to give a little something in return,” says a staff member. “That’s changed. We’re done being the community nanny.”
Surprisingly, the move to dis-invite people has drawn positive response from men in the community who like the idea of an in-your-face church.
“I thought, ‘A church that doesn’t allow wussies — that rocks,’” says Bob Clark, who admires the church more since they told him to get lost.
He and Julie are now tithing and volunteering. “We’ve taken our place in church life,” he says.
Everything and anything seems believable nowadays, even this.
Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing..........Matthew 6:3..........
I realize that this is satire. But there is an element of truth. For example, no local synagogue will let you be a member unless you tithe. There are reductions for single parents, etc., but no freeloaders.
Good Satire.
Kick out the old, poor and the lame. that is not a good deed.
To avoid wasting your fellow freeper’s time, please put (satire) or (humor) in the headline. It’s really not very nice to do this.
it’s not nice to fool Mother Mamzelle ...
No, it us not. I think this is a cheap trick and you’re about as funny as Jon Stewart.
The only thing that fooled you was a manipulative and dishonest headline. Any punk can ring a doorbell and run away—no cleverness to that at all.
See my #36...
a local church is SUPPOSED to be a “local Christian community”
and a “community” implies those who are part of the community CONTRIBUTE to that which that community is, not just feed off of it for their own selfish ends and give little of themselves in return
yes $$$$ is PART of that as many things have to be paid for with money, but it is not just $$$$ it’s also about participation and commitment, if you accept it is YOUR community and you want it to succeed.
IF the individual church-based communities were stronger communities on their own, and with their own, the local population among them would be less seekers after big government support that is the case otherwise.
It’s always funny to me that many of the fringe “Christian” groups (”Christian by their own self-definition though not always accepted as Christian by a majority of Christians) are often called “cults” but often have a higher % of fully participating members, have the most independence from welfare & the like and maximize “charity begins at home” within their own community BETTER than most large Christian denominations and groups.
I think that no matter are the pros and cons of any “mega” church and no matter the pros and cons of its theology, the leaders of the church in the article are hitting on a truth - if you are part of a church then BE a part of it, not just a face in it’s pews.
LOL... Had not thought of it that way. Have a great weekend.
...works just the same, doesn’t it?
This can’t be real. They hired a pastor from Cingular Wireless? Prayer is a direct line to God so why do they need an expert in wireless technology?
If WalMart started a church...
We have an AWANA’s program at our church for children and youth on Wednesday evenings. We have had several families that would come by every couple of weeks or so, drop off their kids and leave. They were not members of our church or anything. Finally it came out that these parents were using our AWANA’s to basically babysit their kids for free while they went to a movie, out to dinner, etc. They were not members of our church and some were not even members of any other church. Just actually “freeloading” free child care so they could have a night out on us. The kids actually told some of this stuff. These people did not give money to help pay for these programs either. That is something that our offerings pay for. They just used the church for free stuff. If you are a member of a church you should volunteer for your church. Christ requires us to work for your church. Showing up and not doing anything for your church in service is wrong.
And the letter came from the church's Department of Redundancy Department.
We manage to do a pretty good job on our own.
Well...
#10
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Temple Recommend Questions
1 Do you have faith in and a testimony of God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost? 2 Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Christ and of His role as Savior and Redeemer? 3 Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days? 4 Do you sustain the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and as the only person on the earth who possesses and is authorized to exercise all priesthood keys? Do you sustain members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators? Do you sustain the other General Authorities and local authorities of the Church? 5 Do you live the law of chastity? 6 Is there anything in your conduct relating to members of your family that is not in harmony with the teachings of the Church? 7 Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? 8 Do you strive to keep the covenants you have made, to attend your sacrament and other meetings, and to keep your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel? 9 Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowmen? 10 Are you a full-tithe payer? 11 Do you keep the Word of Wisdom? 12 Do you have financial or other obligations to a former spouse or children? If yes, are you current in meeting those obligations? 13 If you have previously received your temple endowment: Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple? Do you wear the garment both night and day as instructed in the endowment and in accordance with the covenant you made in the temple? 14 Have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been? 15 Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord's house and participate in temple ordinances? |
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