Preachers Asking For Money

[Lewis]

What do you guy's think about pastors or churches that is always asking for money.
Now it takes money to run the churches, and I think that the people should be asked for it. But when preachers come in and say that the Lord told me to ask everybody in this building for $500 bucks and you will be blessed 10 fold, do you believe that person ? Also should preachers have million dollar homes and drive Roll Royce's ? Is the workman worthy of his hire, as the Bible says ?

 

[reba]

This topic got me an infraction when i first got here!

I am a PK Dad had two jobs while i was growing up. He work in the woods, saw mill,cook along with having a church.

A church should have a full time pastor if at all possible. It seems fitting that a pastor would make ( as a general statement) about the average of the congregation . So the pastor in Beverly Hills would make more than the guy in Plymouth CA.
A pastor or the business person needs to make the needs of the church known.

These Word of Faith guys and their grabbing monies from old ladies is a damnable practice. Check em out look at their holdings.... They pull huge salaries, business expense accounts, the ministries own the homes so they avoid much in the way of taxes. They are a cancer in the church.

 

[Classik]

The answer is simple. Most people see pastorial calling as a lucrative business. So they run into auditoriums and set up a church. They want money like crazy. They are not called.
One of them came to my mom and asked her to give him a percentage of her salary. My mom did (maybe in order not to offend God). I was indeed sad.
The same man went to my mom's friend and asked for her entire salary! Just imagine that.
The pastor said, 'God said'. My mom's friend bluntly refused.

Some churches give offering three or four times in a section.
Some are so money conscious that they use transparent offering boxes so that the whole congregation can see the note you drop. It is wrong. Allow people to give what they have.
Do not let them fool you

 

[WIP]

When I read these following scripture quotes it seems to suggest that they should rely on God for their needs. I have heard it said that some take a vow of poverty but I don't know if that is scriptural but I don't think it is scriptural to use their position to gain wealth either.

Personally, I feel if they are truly living their life in service to the Lord, their own desires and needs will take a back seat to the needs of Christ's Church. When I see a pastor or preacher living high on the hog I can't help but ask myself where his/her heart really is. Are they serving God or are they serving their own interests? At the same time it would seem only fair and appropriate to ask myself the same question. After all, is it not my purpose to serve God too and to put the needs of Christ's Church ahead of my own desires? It is difficult to think or talk about this subject without feeling convicted of being judgmental.

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. Matt. 10:5-13 KJV

And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; and commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. Mark 6:7-10 KJV

When he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. Luke 9:1-4 KJV

 

[Lewis]

Now Jesus did say that the poor will always be with us. But anyway I think for an example when a new church building is needed I think that the congregation should foot the bill. Also for electric gas and etc. Now when it comes to a full time pastors should the congregation support him, isn't that Biblical ? now if you have a big church like mine, should the congregation support a lavish lifestyle of the pastor and his family ? Have churches today turned into businesses ? Give Give Give Give Give, and God will bless you abundantly, does that really hold up ? Does God really want you to give to the church and your lights and gas get cut off at home ?

 

[reba]

We are to be good stewards. The pastors/ board of directors and the guys in the pew.

The church ( building) needs to be cared for repairs paint gas lights the folks who go to that church should pay for those things.

Many church buildings are used 3 -4 times a week. I say rent the space out be careful who you rent to. rent the space to AA. A day care business

Home missions, they most often need help from the bigger churches in their denomination. lived there We have lived in the church building. It was a mad scramble to get the bedrooms ready to be Sunday School rooms!


The guys and gals who live like folks in Hollywood are thieves they steel twice once from old ladies and again from God.

Joyce Myers
ken Copland
benny hinn
All of TBN
croflo dollor
paula white
jim bakker
Swagart
ETC

God used even real donkeys to get His message out so He can use these too.

 

[Bob Carabbio]

Stewardship -

"when preachers come in and say that the Lord told me to ask everybody in this building for $500 bucks and you will be blessed 10 fold, do you believe that person ?"

Nope - If you GIVE $500 in order to GET $5,000, your "Motives" are all wrong. Simple as that.

"Is the workman worthy of his hire, as the Bible says ?"

Absolutely - the Bible says it, and that SETTLES it.

But "Excess" is excess.

And "Judging" is Judging - and we're not called to do that. We're to "Release" the issue to God, and let HIM deal with it - in HIS time, and in HIS way.

Robert Tilton got CAUGHT in his lie, and now his "Megachurch" in Farmer's branch, TX - is the "Dr Pepper Municipal Convention Center", and his TV studio is a warehouse.

 

[jasoncran]

what we dont have any pentacostal here that believe in the prosperity gospel anymore?

i dont buy that but from expercience if you give to god he will bless you. and that can be money. that is scriptural but lets not ever thing God died to make you rich. he didnt, he came to set you free from sin.

 

[eddy]

I always found it odd that anyone could fall for the obvious charlatans likeRobbert Tilton or Benny Hinn. I guess that some people just are so distraughtthat any hope is better than none.

 

[Lewis]

I happen to like Joyce Myer a lot, and that ministry feeds children all over the world and does a lot of other outreach stuff. Should these preachers own private jets ? Absolutely, if they are always on the go doing the work that God dictates absolutely. But should any preacher drive a Roll's Royce that he or she did not buy from a business that they have outside of the church ? But are driving a Rolls that they got from church money. I know a preacher who's congregation bought him a new Cadillac out right, because they said he deserved it.

 

[reba]

The mega rich preachers dont feed the children all over the world little old ladies do. And how ever the kids get the food is great!

 

[reba]

I know a preacher who's congregation bought him a new Cadillac out right, because they said he deserved it.

God bought mom and dad a home!

They had gone to a home mission church up in the country.... the parsonage was filthy ( Dad was often sent to clean up another preachers mess) It was an old single wide mobile the wiring was unsafe.
Some folks were selling and leaving town they knew of the plight of the church. They went to town and found a new double wide home just the right size for mom and dad! Bought the home had it delivered and set up! God is good. Gave Mom & Dad the 'pink slip'.

Dad was a preacher at the time when everybody thought rapture was around the corner so the retirement plan was heaven....

 

[Lewis]

God bought mom and dad a home!

They had gone to a home mission church up in the country.... the parsonage was filthy ( Dad was often sent to clean up another preachers mess) It was an old single wide mobile the wiring was unsafe.
Some folks were selling and leaving town they knew of the plight of the church. They went to town and found a new double wide home just the right size for mom and dad! Bought the home had it delivered and set up! God is good. Gave Mom & Dad the 'pink slip'.

Dad was a preacher at the time when everybody thought rapture was around the corner so the retirement plan was heaven....

 

[handy]

I wonder ......


Dear Pastor (insert name here...Copeland, Meyer, Hinn, Dollar, White),

God has told me to write to you and tell you to bless me with $100,000 dollars.

If you do this, He will bless you with $1,000,000 dollars.

This is straight from God, He came to me in a vision last night and said to me, Dora...I want to bless my son/daughter (insert name Kenneth, Joyce, Benny, Creflo, Paula) and I want to bless him/her so much. But I can't bless him/her until he/she reaches out in faith. I am calling on you, Dora, to be My instrument of faith. When he/she blesses you with $100,000 (American) dollars, then I will be able to bless him/her with $1,000,000.

This was my vision, Pastor (insert name here Copeland, Meyer, Hinn, Dollar, White) and I'm sure the Holy Spirit is moving in you now...take this in faith and you will be rewarded 100 fold!

Sincerely,
(make certified check payable to) Dora Miller


These folks sincerely believe this is how God works right, so I'm sure the checks will come flowing in and I could get enough money in to pay off all our bills, set the kids up for college and get our retirement on track!!!!!

 

[jasoncran]

I wonder ......


Dear Pastor (insert name here...Copeland, Meyer, Hinn, Dollar, White),

God has told me to write to you and tell you to bless me with $100,000 dollars.

If you do this, He will bless you with $1,000,000 dollars.

This is straight from God, He came to me in a vision last night and said to me, Dora...I want to bless my son/daughter (insert name Kenneth, Joyce, Benny, Creflo, Paula) and I want to bless him/her so much. But I can't bless him/her until he/she reaches out in faith. I am calling on you, Dora, to be My instrument of faith. When he/she blesses you with $100,000 (American) dollars, then I will be able to bless him/her with $1,000,000.

This was my vision, Pastor (insert name here Copeland, Meyer, Hinn, Dollar, White) and I'm sure the Holy Spirit is moving in you now...take this in faith and you will be rewarded 100 fold!

Sincerely,
(make certified check payable to) Dora Miller


These folks sincerely believe this is how God works right, so I'm sure the checks will come flowing in and I could get enough money in to pay off all our bills, set the kids up for college and get our retirement on track!!!!!

lol.

 

[reba]

You are on a roll girl!

 

[Lewis]

I wonder ......


Dear Pastor (insert name here...Copeland, Meyer, Hinn, Dollar, White),

God has told me to write to you and tell you to bless me with $100,000 dollars.

If you do this, He will bless you with $1,000,000 dollars.

This is straight from God, He came to me in a vision last night and said to me, Dora...I want to bless my son/daughter (insert name Kenneth, Joyce, Benny, Creflo, Paula) and I want to bless him/her so much. But I can't bless him/her until he/she reaches out in faith. I am calling on you, Dora, to be My instrument of faith. When he/she blesses you with $100,000 (American) dollars, then I will be able to bless him/her with $1,000,000.

This was my vision, Pastor (insert name here Copeland, Meyer, Hinn, Dollar, White) and I'm sure the Holy Spirit is moving in you now...take this in faith and you will be rewarded 100 fold!

Sincerely,
(make certified check payable to) Dora Miller


These folks sincerely believe this is how God works right, so I'm sure the checks will come flowing in and I could get enough money in to pay off all our bills, set the kids up for college and get our retirement on track!!!!!

 

[Mike]

All the obvious ones are obvious to most of us that aren't swept up in the Word of Faith hoopla.

The problem with our typical pastors of significant size churches seems to be more pronounced lately. I have a large church. We have about 1500 in worship across 5 services between Saturday and Monday. In today's economy, when so many people are losing healthcare benefit, jobs, homes... I see pastors continuing to focus on upgrading the facilities at the church, and they also have very good salaries, newer cars (but I'd guess in the range of just below average). What vexes me is when they keep saying we are obligated to tithe. They say we just need to give more... stretch your faith. They are in no way WoF, but they are increasingly focused on money.

I don't feel a pang of guilt when they ask for me and I don't give more. They seem to think church is the only place where you can give to the Lord.

 

[Israelsson]

I see this as a severe problem in our churches today. A true workman of the Lord should trust that God will provide the members for His church.

Part of the problem today is that one must graduate from an accredited bible seminary or college to be respected in the preaching world. Its my understanding that God will call out pastors from His own heart.

My friends, Yahweh never changes (Malachi 3:16) and Jesus warned us in John 14:6; "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" meaning that any other person claiming to offer the 'way, truth or life' is an obvious false prophet and antichrist by Biblical definition. Concerning the apostasy, the Master also taught us; "Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity [lawlessness] shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matthew 24:11-13)." It's my hope that this particular study will help other Christians to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3)" and help us all to never fall aside to these 'new doctrines.'

When a man chooses money over feeding the sheep of God, then we suddenly have an idolater. He is holding money to a higher esteem than the works of the Lord. Why should we trust ANY man that is willing to put God on the backburner?

Driving Rolls Royce's and having large houses only proves that their father is not our Father. Matthew 6:19-20 19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Mammon of course represents ANY of man's self created lower case 'gods', money, houses, women, clothing, etc. Our world today is littered with these many blasphemies that have been placed there by the enemies of Christ, WORLDWIDE!

When explaining the parable of the sower, Jesus Christ taught; "Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." We're also warned in Revelation 22:18-19; "For I [Jesus] testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." It should go without saying that Christians should be divided against those who teach doctrine not found in the Bible.

As Christians, we should give freely to those that are deserving in the sight of the Lord. They shouldn't really have to ask us for anything, because if they are righteous in nature, we should feel compelled by the Spirit to help them.

Just some food for thought I guess.

 

[patience7]

I happen to like Joyce Myer a lot, and that ministry feeds children all over the world and does a lot of other outreach stuff. Should these preachers own private jets ? Absolutely, if they are always on the go doing the work that God dictates absolutely. But should any preacher drive a Roll's Royce that he or she did not buy from a business that they have outside of the church ? But are driving a Rolls that they got from church money. I know a preacher who's congregation bought him a new Cadillac out right, because they said he deserved it.

I like Joyce Meyer a lot too. Her ministry does seem to be accountable for themselves because they do issue a yearly accounting of the ministries finances. I like that they do that.

I think that any church or ministry that we choose to give to should be feeding us spiritually and helping us to grow in our walk with God. Do I believe that when we give, we receive blessings from God? - yes, I do. Do I believe that God wants us to prosper? - yes, I do. Do I believe that is in scripture? - yes, I do. So I will continue to give with a cheerful heart!