$600k is ashtray change for Vicky.
Posted on 03/11/2014 8:45:28 AM PDT by Morgana
Lakewood Church is dealing with a violation of the Ten Commandments after the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“Thou shalt not steal.” But someone did.
Lakewood Church has sent out a notice that donations collected at services Saturday and Sunday, the 8th and 9th, were stolen. And, they advise anyone who gave by check or credit card to watch their bank accounts very carefully and report any suspicious activity.
(Excerpt) Read more at news92fm.com ...
$600k is ashtray change for Vicky.
Than the $18.50 figure is low. The average household income in California is $70,000 just about every Christian church commands a tithing of %10 of your income. So that would be $7000 per year divided by 52 is $134
Now lets say that even if Dads tithing for family of four taking up four seats should net $33 and change per seat.
Second, in order to help feed needy Christians. The passage in 1 Corinthians that we use to guilt attendees into maximum contributions is merely referring to a special collection to take care of needy Christians in Jerusalem. It was a special collection.
Those are the only two reasons for giving in Bible days, and remember, we always look to those events to determine how we worship.
But we've made the "contribution" a formal part of the worship. In my denomination (conservative church of Christ), it's actually a part of the communion service. And if you examine a typical budget, the vast majority of the collected funds go to support the underworked, overpaid "minister." And most congregations have more than one. Pulpit minister. Youth minister. Family life minister. Associate minister. Involvement minister. Education minister. And for the life of me, I can't figure out what any of those guys do.
And when all is said and done, when you examine the annual budget, most of the money goes to support the guys who, nobody can figure out what they do. Because they definitely don't "labor in word and doctrine." The rest will likely go to pay for the air conditioning, padded pews, expensive real estate, gymnasiums, excercise facilities, etc.
And when you get to the real reason the congregational collection began in the first place, to take care of needy saints, in most congregations you won't see a thing.
This "preacher" in the OP symbolizes this whole perverted process.
Sounds like you have a huge problem with the ministers and accountants hired by your congregation!
The Church began in Acts 2. Over the 2,000 years since then, it has morphed into some big business, corporate model that bears no similarity to its beginnings. That's the problem.
Members don't want to study. So we hire "preachers" to do our studying, teaching, thinking, for us. And as soon as the membership gets stupid, then they're ripe for any kind of unscriptural innovation or doctrine.
They're also ripe for preachers to do less and less. Modern preachers are notorious for preaching the same sermons over and over. They just stick in different illustrations, and most members never catch on. Preachers are no different from anyone else. They will do only what they have to, to get by. And as the preacher goes, so goes the congregation.
We need to get away from the corporate church model. Remember, in Romans 16, Paul greeted Aquilla and the church in his "house."
I wonder if the tone of many of these replies would be far different if Osteen suddenly pledged his allegiance to Rome.
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Sounds like your average Protestant Church to me. How is it news?
How so?
Televangelism is the professional wrestling of organized religion.
Worship leader, too. And if you need some ministering, it's like these guys are doing you a big favor by coming into the office for 30 minutes to talk to you.
Trying to feel bad for anyone but the donor of the cash stolen....Joel is something else...felt weird about him...
“$600,000 in a single weekend? That’s obscene.”
“We’re gathered here tonight To pay tribute to our Lord and money unto me Oh, Lord in Heaven, let us pray You TV viewers, give me your pay M I C K E Y M O U S E “ -— Dead Kennedys.
LOL!
Seems like a bunch huh? I wonder what his weekend seating numbers are? If you have 10-15K attending and they throw $20-50 bucks in the hat, you can come up with that number easy. But given Osteen probably has regular church goers on a bank draft the numbers are probably higher.
There’s an Osteen type church (he visits it ofen) where I live. Heard from my neighbors that church has a Starbucks inside the church.
Does he have enough money to bail out an archdioces?
2 Tim 4:1-5: I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
It's impossible for a preacher to do his job and amass a congregation the size of the one we're discussing. If a preacher is truly doing his job (viz. rebuking, etc), it's likely he'll need to also be making tents, so to speak, to survive.
I don't even need to visit one of these "megachurches" to know they're not doing God's will. There's no way to keep from offending that large a number of people if you're preaching and rebuking as God commands.
And lest someone accuse me of being judgmental, the Lord commands us to honestly scrutinize others works. John 7:24: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
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