Posted on 09/26/2014 7:35:23 AM PDT by Laissez-faire capitalist
...and the Pastor Nervously Sweating
What one church recently did with $160,000 during a Sunday morning service absolutely stunned parishioners: 320 members were each given a $500 check to spend as they wish. ...
Traux, who aid that the money came from a decades-old real estate deal, first told her congregation that active members would be receiving the sizable checks. ...
The move came after Traux and church elders decided to give back $10 percent of the $1.6 million LaSalle Street Church reportedly made from the real estate deal - a sum that adds up to the $160,000 figure members collectively received.
...
(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...
But how will they spend it? Does every church give a line by line exact tally for where and how and when every dollar is spent?
If people tithe to their local church, I have no problem with what has been termed “reverse tithing.”
But what of those who tithe very little in comparison to others? Did Lazarus (not the Lazarus that Jesus raised from the dead) tithe very much? Uh, no, I don’t think so...
LOL. How true...
But we must no forget those like Lazarus, though. Lazarus (not the one whom Jesus raised from the dead) was said in the scriptures to be a Godly man - and he went to Abraham’s bosom when he died - and I doubt that he paid large sums in tithes.
In keeping with that, there are people who pay very little in tithes in comparison to others, but should they not (in situations like this) get back as much as those who pay large(r) sums?
Some of that should be spent to send Billy back to Journalism 101.
The Bible tells us we are to give “alms” in secret, and God, who sees what we have done in secret, will reward us publicly. I don’t think too much about a public reward so much as what strikes me here is the fact that God, and God alone, is to be the judge of our giving.
While Marx taught everyone to pass harsh judgment on what others do for the poor, God says that is for Him to judge, and Him alone.
This church did a good deed and should be commended for it.
We need only give praise for this good deed, not needlessly deflect away from it.
A click-baiting heading like this is so typical to come from Mr. “Tune in to my show tomorrow for an announcement that will shake the foundations of our nation”.
The headline itself is fodder for an invasive IRS to check all the congregation for claiming their ‘gains’. I hope the church provided a handout to help their congregation in this respect, as I suspect we’ll be reading about this again in 6 mo...
The Blaze???
‘Nuff said.
I'm a little lost on your question, L-Fc:
- Who would "a line by line exact tally" be given to? Whose spending would it be about?
- What do you mean by "what of the ministers...?"
The reason that I think the Lazarus story is in the scriptures is to illustrate that tithes and offerings alone are only a part of the picture. Leading a Godly life, even if you still have little or no ability for making tithes and offerings, can also get you into heaven. Service to God and your fellow men counts for something too.
A friend of mine is a very Godly priest in California. He took a mission trip over to Africa and was touched by a town that needed an orphanage. When he returned, he decided to do something about it.
Did he hit up his parish for donations? Not exactly. He took a page from the Bible and passed out random sums of money in envelopes during Mass (during the homily or collection, I assume). He gave instruction to use the funds according to their conscience and return the money with whatever gains over the next six months. Some received $500... some $250... and some $100. I think the overall investment was about $10,000 outward.
Over $100,000 was returned and the orphanage was built with funds to spare for other projects in the village.
I wish more priests thought this way rather than just coming with sob stories and open hands.
Lighten up, Francis.
I just read a blog entry by this person. She writes that Abraham was a religious fanatic for "hearing God speak to him---a LOT" and for taking Isaac up on the mountain. She says she neither likes nor understands Genesis 22 and can do without it.
But it's exactly the kind of touchy-feely story Beck likes, so...
The pastor at our church has on occasion handed out money to the members with the instruction to pray over it and use it to bless someone as God leads. And then, preferably, send him an email describing what happened as a result.
He occasionally does it when the church itself is in particular need.
We think alike
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