1. Tithing chants

kenneth copeland had this brainwashing method to have the Church chant a tithing creed. here it is below

“The tithe guarantees financial favor.
“The tithe guarantees your covenant partnership with God.
“The tithe is proof of honor.
“The tithe is proof of obedience.
“The tithe silences the devourer in your life.
“The tithe guarantees consistent harvest on your seed.
“The tithe opens the windows of heaven …”

I want you to stare at the spiraling image and repeat this 50 times every day before you go to bed

“We are a cult and Kenneth Copeland is our leader”
“We are a cult and Kenneth Copeland is our leader”
“We are a cult and Kenneth Copeland is our leader”

2. Tithing pledge cards

I’ve been in church where i have seen two pledging materials  in the pocket of the seat in front of me. One pledge was on an offering envelope. Another pledge was on a commitment card. Was there a bible or a bulletin? No, just pledge cards, and two of them nonetheless as if one pledge card wasn’t enough.

I’m not counting the bulletin that was handed out when you came in the front door, because that was also asking you to commit money to the building fund as well.

I really don’t have anything against making pledges. Many times pledges are  committed at an emotional time in one’s life. We need to decipher if it’s the Holy Spirit convincing us, or if our emotions are clouding our judgment.

I’m not a fan of pep rally’s in churches that are focused on building campaigns. Look around you at your church’s next pep rally for the building project. See how big people’s eyes get when they show the 3-D models of  the new facility. The big eyes . . . um yeah. . . classic sign of the materialism pitfall. Last i checked, eyes only get that big when we see what we’re getting out of this deal, and not when our money is going to the mission center in downtown.

3. Tithing Challenge

**FINE PRINT
This is just some fine print that will tell you that you have done a very bad thing whenever you don’t read this. Just to let you know we are fooling you by making this very very small. Don’t worry your grandma can read this. All she needs is a big magnifying glass. If you were smart you would realize that the larger the print the least important it is. The smaller print is what’s important.

This is acclaimed as the “Win – Win” situation for both the giver and the receiver. Here’s the deal with this. Usually you commit to give the tithe over a 3 month period of time. If by the end of that period, you cannot pay your bills or if tithing has brought you debt, then the church will refund your tithe back to you.

That seems fair until you ask for the money back from the church. At that time they will want to probe into your finances and tell you how you spent too much money on going out to eat or buying starbucks. That’s when you realized that the small print at the bottom of the tithing challenge was actually important. Silly us, we thought it was the large print that was actually the most important. (sigh)

Another thing the church is relying on are those who actually have enough intestinal fortitude to ask for your money back. I mean come on. Who is gonna walk into a church and ask for their money back? It’s almost like stealing candy from a baby. Seriously, could you imagine the guilt trip for taking from a church? Not only that, what about the embarressment or humiliation of having to ask for your money back? I mean is the Church like a walmart? I doubt you’ll have long lines in the return aisle.

4. Tithing Testimonies

Harmless right? Not if the testimonies are one sided or in a twisted perspective. If you believe that your situation will play out just like the testimony you heard, then i feel bad for you.  Not that everyone believes their own story line will turn out exactly the way the other person’s has, but they do believe the results in the end will be the same.

For every good tithing testimony you hear, you can easily find a bad one. If you can’t seem to find a negative tithing testimony, then you probably have gotten used to those rose colored glasses you have on.

Look, i don’t want to just slam testimonies. I guess they have their place.

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Dr. Jack McConnell grew up in “the last house in the holow” in the coal mining community of Crumpler, West Virginia. His father never earned more than $150 a month and never owned a car, yet during the Depressin, McConnell’s parent’s often served lunch to forty or fifty people a day. Drifters riding the rails saw a mark on the McConnells’ front gate and knew that they could find food there. “We didn’t have much,” McConnell says, “but we had a big garden and they could pick corn and tomatoes and we would find a chicken somewhere and make a meal for  everyone.” McConnell remembers that one of his father’s favorite questions to his seven children at the dinner table was: “And what have you done for someone today?”

That spirit of giving made a lasting impression. Today the retired Dr. McConnell is known for starting a clinic on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, that provides free medical care to those who can’t afford it. He donates his time to helping thousands of “friends and neighbors who don’t feel well” and inspiring other local retired doctors and nurses to give their time too. The success of theVolunteers in Medicine has led to the formation of more than fifty similar clinics nationwide. When asked how he likes working for nothing. McConnell responded, “I make a million dollars every day. What i get from this clinic you can’t buy with money.”

1. What have you done for someone today?
2. Is government health care really our only answer?
3. Are you happier with what you’ve kept or with what you’ve given?
4. How are you showing your children what Generosity means?

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Once you read it, a few judgmental thoughts might come to mind. One, you wonder if it took them a long time to come up with that clever, analogous poem. A different thought could be that they would have been better off stealing that clever poem from the other Church down the road. Or the other thought might be something completely random; because the bible verse on the billboard about ‘living bread’ made you wonder about what you are going to have for dinner tonight.

So what’s the point here? I don’t know either, but i want to cover 4 different types of church signs that you’ll see about giving money and tithing.

I. The Get Rich Quick Billboard

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This is the one that will make you think that tithing and coming to church is like joining a pyramid scheme that promises their secrets will get you rich (. . . hmmm, i wonder if that could be the theme for a new blog post? )

II. The Political Bumper Sticker

copyright http://www.zazzle.com/

Mama said, no religion and politics at the dinner table, so that gives you the liberty to turn your car into a political and religious motorized billboard. I gotta say this is kind of my favorite. At least i think it’s the funniest. Yes, i vote republican, and no i wouldn’t dare put a bumper sticker on my car or a yard sign in front of my house. Although i am proud that i vote conservative,  i do not like to instigate anyone to vandalize my property.

III. The Hostile Church Sign

copyright http://www.travisagnew.org/

Here’s a few things i’m wondering:

- I wonder if that kind of seems like a threat?

-I wonder if their ushers pack any firearms under their suits?

- I wonder if it’s God that needs the cash or if it’s Earl R. Stinson?

- I wonder if he takes credit card?

IV. The Arrogant Church Sign

This is the sign that wants to better than the other Christians who came up with the bumper sticker that said, “honk if you love Jesus”

. . . Anybody know of any other good Church signs? . . .

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Can you think of anything positive about this recession we are in? I guess it’s kind of hard to have that “glass is half full” mentality when people are losing their jobs and losing their homes. Over the plenteous years, we’ve developed laziness, complacency, greed, and pride. It is due time for a good depression to detox our lives from the poisons that prosperity seems to bring. Here are five areas of our life that a good recession will help us with.

I. Creativity

In Family

I have seen with my own life that when times get tougher, my mind seems to work faster, clearer, and more creatively. I think of new, better, and creative ways to, save money, and help others.

One aspect of my life that involves my creativity is my family. I don’t have the money anymore to just throw at my family to make them happy. Now i  have to think of cheap and creative ways to do with things with my family. I come up with picnics, a walk on the beach, activities at the park, or even some time to sit and read a book.

If you are currently unemployed, and receiving unemployment, take this rare opportunity to bond with your family. Create memories that will last more than your unemployment check will. You will never regret this time.

In Business

Creativity also helps with new business ideas. Many people are receiving unemployment, but those benefits will run out one day. As the expiration date gets closer your mind begins thinking about business ideas that could make money. I started my own business when i was out of work. What better time will you have in the future? In the future, you won’t have this kind of time nor reason to think of ideas to start a business. Experts have always said, that the greatest time to start your own business is in a recession.

I could tell you, that it’s rough for any large or small business now. If you are employed take some extra time to start a side business as a safe guard against loosing your job. Maybe it will take off. . . maybe it won’t.

Psalms 104:24
“O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”

II. Work Ethic

Your work ethic is the accomplishing force behind the creativity. Think of it as a basic survival instinct. Most unemployed realize that if you don’t do something soon, you are gonna be begging on the street. Some of you may not think that a work ethic applies to those who are only employed, well, i’d beg to differ. Now’s the time to get that honey do-list, or that tree house finished.You don’t have to have a job to exercise your work ethic.

With your job on the line or no job at all, we all learn to appreciate the ability we have to work. Before, we took our ability for granted. We had no drive to survive, no desire to prove your worth, but now that you have no job, or your job is on the line, you learn to appreciate the responsibility that God has given everyone.

I’m looking forward to retirement myself, not for a long time, but that’s besides the point. I don’t believe that true retirement is what God intended for us. Getting through this depression is not going to be easy. For some of us, working hard may mean getting out of debt.

Bottom line is that we’ve become lazy. The ninety’s were a prosperous time, but we’ve become lazy. it’s time for a depression to wake us out of our laziness, and back into a work ethic that made us strong to begin with. I’ve heard it said that stress is the fertilizer for creativity. So take your work ethic along with creativity and you’ll be using the most effective combo punch to get you through this round of the recession.

Proverbs 6:6-8
“Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.”

III. Humility

We’ve become cocky and selfish with our time and possessions. our prosperity for the past 15 years has boosted our ego so high that we’ve forgotten how we became prosperous in the first place. We need a dose of humility to bring us back to the level that God wants us at.

Because I live in the U.S., this point is especially true for Americans. The dollar is falling, the Chinese are buying all our debt; they even beat us in the Olympics. Our economy is no longer the superior driving force in the world. Not that this was all bad before, but it’s been bad for us because we’ve put ourselves on a pedastool that’s about to fall hard. We think America is indestructible. We think our creativity and work ethic is what has made America great. We forgot about God. More or less, it’s not that we’ve even forgot about Him because we’ve been literally pushing him out for quite some time.

America has lost the ability to acknowledge it’s weakness and see a need for God. Our pride is more devastating to this economy than laziness ever could be. Acquiring some humility is probably the fastest way that we can get through this depression. We are sorely mistaken if we think the value of the dollar, yen, or euro has more weight than the value of our spiritual heart.

Proverbs 16:18-19
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.”

IV. Materialism

Plain and simple, we have too much. In the past we could no longer decipher between our needs and our wants. I tell you what, when you are going through your house looking for change to pay for groceries, you soon begin to realize the difference between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’.

I remember when our trash can in our house had cracked and we had to get a new one. Well, our house had stainless steel appliances, so i figured that nice stainless steel trash-can would compliment. When i went to the store, i found a nice stainless steel trash can for $100. Yes! $100. I was this close to buying a stinkin trashcan for $100. A TRASHCAN, are you kidding me!? Luckily, i settled for one for around $15. What was i thinking when i wanted a $100 trash-can?

If there’s one mental disorder that we have not diagnosed yet, i would say that it’s materialism. Our greed has become out of control. Most of us have heard of and seen poverty on TV, but most of us, it’s never hit home. Now, friends and family are filing for bankruptcy, losing their jobs and their homes. Once depravity hits close to us, we begin to see things in a new light. That new car doesn’t seem so fantastic when our friends and family can’t pay for a place to live, or even buy groceries.

It’s a sad thing to see when i look back at the things i have bought. I don’t know about you, but i need a new perspective on the things of this earth. I’ve been hearing that voice in my head more and more when i’m at the store, “do you really “NEED” that?”

A good depression is a fine cure for materialism.

Luke 12:15
“And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

V. Responsibility

This point is directed towards the Church. We have lost our responsibility toward God’s people. I don’t necessarily mean our spiritual responsibility.

It’s time for the Church to step up to the plate. Forget about trying to have the biggest TV, biggest performance, or flashy youth group. This is about survival. People have needs that need to be met. They don’t need a new drum set or big screen TV. The best way for us to reach others for Christ is to provide for their needs.

In a good economy, social problems used to be hard to find and therefore, easier to ignore. Now that they are more prevalent, it’s getting harder and harder to look the other way. This means that leaders are going to have to put aside the architectural plans, and break out the plans to invest in the community, and invest in those who need even the  basic necessities, such as food and shelter.

At one point, we might have pushed for government to take on more social responsibility. We think that they can provide schooling, healthcare, housing, and jobs. If government can provide all that, who need a local fellowship of believers to come in contact with? But, it seems that government is going broke as well, so we can’t rely on government to bail us out.

We’ve got small groups,  help groups,  and youth groups galore, so I think the Church has done a good job over the past decade to encourage  relational evangelism. But what about practical evangelism that will serve that cold cup of water? I agree that providing the venue to cultivate relationships in small group is a good mission for Church growth; but we cannot neglect the mission of the Church to train servants. The truth is that we’re afraid to “Go” into the world and serve.

Most of us feel safe giving our money to a good church that looks nice, has a nice white steeple, and has a pastor in a finely pressed suit and tie . The bizarre thing is that when we see someone without food, clothes and shelter we think that the nice church needs it more? That’s the problem when we stopped worrying about the soul and became concerned about the sanctuary. I’ve seen just as many souls touched by buying groceries and giving clothes as i have by hearing a month’s worth of sermons. Shouldn’t there be a red flag when it’s clearly our flesh that is reluctant to give anything to the bum on the street?

Mark 10:40-42
“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

Conclusion

The poisons of prosperity have absorbed into our bloodstream like a bad drug addiction. Stop looking at the glass as half full and start rejoicing at the opportunity God gave us to rely on his grace.

James 1:2-4
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

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I should be getting back into the swing of things here. Things for my business start slowing down about now. Not that i want it to slow down, but that’s just the nature of the beast around this time of the year.

Anyways, just look for the new post tomorrow(tuesday).

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“As a former leader, assistant pastor, board member, I am all too familiar with the disregard and disrespect aimed at the “non-committed” brethren.

Too many times we saw people of success, business people, well-salaried people catered to, favored, and sought after for their membership and support.

We had one man who did especially well at offering time who was “gifted and anointed” to take up the weekly collection. We listened as pastors discussed the success or failure of the Sunday show and income at the mid-week staff meeting.

We saw and participated in leaders banquets, church-bought meals after service, and the entertaining of visiting ministers.

We saw the poor and down-trodden ignored and disdained. We saw them shuffled off to a benevolent fund minister or the food pantry minister.

We saw pastors family eat out virtually every day at least once and sometimes 3x a day.

We saw as people tithed big and who could care less about meeting the needs of the needy. They were well-trained to feed the offering plate rather than their brethren.

We saw the unpaid laborers of the church work and scramble to fundraise, sell all sorts of stuff to support the “ministry” of our church.

We were part of it for 24 years and even though we left 5 years ago, it still bothers me that we were such sorry excuses for Christians.”

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First, we don’t have Levites and priests. Second, we don’t have a temple, or storehouses.  We don’t even have the Mosaic law. On top of that, we’ve been given some new things. We now have the Holy Spirit and are under grace. We are also under a new covenant. We are born again, and one of God’s sons. This list of changes from the Old Testament into the New Testament is a nightmare to weed through.

Let’s face it. Finding out whether you should tithe before or after taxes should be an easy question to figure out. There are many other more questions that do not seem to have such clear answers in the bible:

• Should i tithe on retirement
• Should i tithe on gifts
• Should i tithe on my investment returns
• Should i tithe on the benefits of my health insurance?
• Should i tithe on car insurance claims?
• Should i tithe on social security
• Is tithing before or after taxes?
• Can i count christian education towards tithing
• Can i tithe to a charity?
• Can i tithe to friends and family?

. . . and the list goes on and on . . .

Ok, so you get the point. Tithing is a complicated matter. Tithing before or after taxes is just the beginning of the complications. Through all of this i am reminded of the verse In Romans 2:29 – “and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter”

Those who have a heart towards God will seek obedience. So i understand why they questions in regards to the tithing command. But Godly Stewardship is not in the letter, it is of the heart and in the Spirit. Some may see fit to include a 10% requirement within the spirit of the law, but when confronted about whether 10% is a reflection of their heart, they answer, “No”. If a 10% commitment is not a reflection of their heart then how can it be within the spirit of the law?

The point is that all these questions about tithing show how 10% giving is a part of the letter and not of the spirit. The regulations about what you can give, who you can give to, how much you can give, when and where; are all part of the letter that kills. if you don’t think it kills, just look at how people stumble over 1 tithing question. Let alone, a hundred more that the bible doesn’t even give you answers for; because the instructions for tithing were given under the Old Covenant.

With Spirit led giving in the New Testament, the command to tithe is overwritten and fulfilled.  If the law was fulfilled, that means its purpose is used up. You cannot continue to use and add more water to a bucket of water when it has fulfilled its purpose. It is full and finished with its job. It is not abolished. It is just fulfilled. Now, you need a different bucket that allows you to fill up with more water. Thank God for Spirit-led giving in its place.

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Here is a short bio of Dr Kelly taken from his website

“Although legally blind since 1989, Russell subsequently completed a Th. M.. and a Ph. D. at independent Baptist-oriented Covington Theological  Seminary in Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia in August 2000.  His dissertation was on the subject of tithing. From that dissertation came his first book, Should the Church Teach Tithing? A Theologian’s Conclusions about a Taboo Doctrine.”

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This list of ignorant statements about tithing are listed here because they are the cream of the crop when it comes to oblivious arguments. Every time i hear these statements i either roll my eyes to the back of my brain or i shake my head in disbelief about how shallow their brain must be. I know my mood seems uncaring and sarcastic, well, that’s probably because it is. Sorry, it’s been a rough couple weeks. So, onward we go into the barren, thoughtless, and ignorant statements about tithing.

1. You don’t pray about tithing, you do it
   Who can recall the countless times i’ve come across this statement. This argument pretty much stems off the mentality, “God said it, and that settles it”. I could understand if we skipped the whole prayer thing if we were talking about murder, adultery, or stealing; but curiosity should arise when we realize that God is present, but i don’t need to pray because all i need to know is in this little black book. After all, it says “Holy” on the front, so it must answer all my questions.

   Who needs a God that is able to communicate? There are many other religions out there that pray to idols who can’t speak to them. For some reason, i don’t think God is made of wood or stone.

2. Tithing acknowledges that God owns it All
   STOP! Think about that: Does giving 10% mean you are giving 100%? Notice how they always say that tithing “acknowledges”. They know it doesn’t bring fulfillment, or completion to stewardship. It’s because they know if we aren’t committed 100% to God, then 10% means nothing. It is very possible that many people have tithed without acknowledging that the other 90% belongs to Him as well.

   We’re in a bit of a quandary here. Is it tithing that acknowledges God owns it all, or it is a circumcised and sacrificial heart that acknowledges God owns it all. Which is it?

3. Freewill givers do not give as much as tithers
   I am sure that is probably true, but truth is not based on success or results. Let’s take Islam for example. Right now, it is the fastest growing religion in the world, so does that make Islam right and Christianity wrong? I’m even sure many more Muslims are ready to die for their faith than Christians are.(shout out to Achmed the dead terrorist!)

   One of the reasons tithers follow through with their commitment to give more is because they place themselves under a storm cloud that will strike them with a curse if they disobey. Even though God directly says, “you are no longer under a curse”, tithers still think that God didn’t mean he removed the curse about tithing also.

4. All scripture is profitable
   If i could define ignorance in one of these arguments listed here, well this is it. This is one of those responses i get when people think i’m just trying to throw out the whole Bible whenever i say that the tithe is no longer valid. Forget the fact that they don’t believe in the Sabbath on Saturday, animal sacrifices, or even clean meats for the same reasons i don’t believe in tithing.

   This is how it usually goes: I basically tell them that the tithe is no longer commanded, and they basically say, “How dare you throw out God’s Word”. Then comes either one of the two statements: ‘all scripture is profitable’ or ‘i did not come to abolish, but to fulfill’. Why should i even bother asking them why they don’t fulfill the sabbath?. . . sigh. . .

5. God never Changes
   This kind of goes along with #4 . . . as in why should i even bother asking them why God changed the sabbath, or the priesthood, or the temple. Debating with people over these tithing arguments is like arguing over an algebra equation with a 5 year old when they don’t even understand multiplication. If tithers just stop and think about what they are saying, then they would soon realize that if God never changes in the way that they are implying, then we would still stone our children.

   This is what i mean when i said ‘thoughtless’ at the beginning of the blog. These tithing arguments are just that – thoughtless.

6. Where does the Bible say to stop tithing
   It doesn’t say, “stop tithing“. I believe there are over 600 some-odd old testament laws that we do not practice anymore. I would imagine if God took the time to rewrite a verse in the new testament commanding us to stop each law in the Old Testament, then our bible would be a few hundred pages longer.

   We are born again, adopted in God’s family, indwelled with God’s Spirit, and given a new covenant. On top of all this, the earthly priesthood was eliminated, the temple destroyed, and Judaism is not my religion, nor am i an Israelite; and yet, we find it hard to believe that tithing could have been replaced by Spirit led giving?After all the changes, i think we need to find where the bible says to continue tithing. Don’t you?

7. Tithing is the starting point
   This philosophy is not even in the bible. First of all, first fruit offerings were given prior to the tithe, so tithes were not even given first. Second, tithes were only given from food and animals, and were not given from occupational income. So, there was no starting point for blacksmiths, lawyers, doctors, or carpenters.

   Here’s a little saying, that i’ve thought of all by myself (as you can see i’m boasting)
   Where should our giving begin?
   Where should our giving end?
   WHICH ONE SHOULD WE TEACH?

8. Would you like God’s net or gross blessing?
   No, this is not necessarily an arguement used to defend tithing, but more or less used to persuade those who are tithing, to tithe more. First, this argument exposes the root of why tithing has such a hold on many lives. It is the promise of blessing and the fear of the curse. Who cares about gross or net blessing from God, you should want to do what’s right. Right is either right, and wrong is wrong. There is no gross right, or net wrong.

   The problem is that those, who are concerned if they should tithe on the gross, ask others who couldn’t give you a biblical answer. So the best thing to do is conjure up a catch phrase that seems to have wisdom embedded in it.

9. How Much do you give?
   Ah yes, this question is their famous “gotcha” argument. They know that biblical reasoning will not win their argument so they resort to personal attacks because your character is all they have left to attack. I have to admit, this is a tricky one to respond to. First, they have no business investigating what you give. Second, if you happen to give less than a tithe of your income, they let you know, your works do not shine as bright as theirs. Last of all, if you do give above 10%, they will convince you that tithing is the minimum and your conscience knows it.

   This question is in the ignorant list because either they want to corner you; no, not on biblical truth, but on your performance; and also it is ignorant because anyone should know better than to determine scriptural truth based on the performance of mankind.

10. We can’t rely on people to be Spirit-led
    This is an ignorant statement that tithers unfortunately believe, and yet ironically in the same sentence they believe the book of Acts is historically accurate. I don’t know, maybe they do believe the book of Acts was a fairy tale. What they are saying is that ‘i don’t trust that people can be Spirit led, but of course, the Christians in the book of Acts are the exception‘.

    With their ignorant statements, they don’t even realize that they deny the power that God has on his children.  They deny the blood of Christ, and they deny that any Christian can be sacrificial and liberal with their giving while being filled and led by the Spirit of God. What a shame, and what ignorance.

11. How will the church stay open if we don’t tithe
    There are thousands of non-profit organizations that keep their doors open all year without demanding, or imposing a tithe of their freewill donors. What makes us think that an operation that is commissioned and overseen by God’s almighty hand would fare less than any of these non-profit organizations? Are you kidding me? is your faith that little?

    It might just be that you have seen your astronomical church budget, and it is in the millions! Yeah, you’re right, if there’s anything that God could struggle with is to continue paying for your worthless, under-performing, humanistic kingdom that does very little in out-reach but a lot of in-reach. In that case, you are right, we probably would see some church doors close. That’s the price you pay when God is in charge of financing his kingdom.

Now i’m looking for your input. But please, if you have anything to say, ignorance is not welcome.

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