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I have a KJV bible believing independent Baptist church in my neighborhood that is in a very modest older building and I never see high dollar luxury vehicles parked there so I doubt they are preaching believe and you will receive or the name it and claim it doctrine. There is a mega church in my town that has a parking lot that looks like a luxury car dealership every Sunday morning and they even have a basketball court, I would imagine that when they hug people after receiving Jesus they are looking at the labels in their clothes. I guess they never saw the part of the Bible that says not to lay up treasures.
I’d imagine the so called “mega church” is some sort of Pentecostal group.
These smaller KJV only churches I am not overly familiar with in my life experiences.
Of course, they all isolate themselves with quotes such as “we are not of this world” etc, which keeps the members away from secular influences.
But on the OP, prosperity is still always at the core of the belief systems.
I’d imagine the so called “mega church” is some sort of Pentecostal group.
It’s a southern Baptist church, they started out in a really small building back in the 1960s and moved into a much larger building in the 1990s and now are in a massive building out in the cornfields the size of a sports arena.
There are a lot of things in the Bible that certain groups choose to ignore, the love of money being the root of all evil, the widow and the two mites, the rich man and Lazarus, not laying up treasures, etc. I expect better from these so called “Bible believers” leave the greed to the fringe cultists, I don’t consider them to be Christians anyway.
I'm curious: since your church is debt-free, what do you guys DO with that $8 million?
There's lots of things. I used to attend a mega church that literally built a hospital in Mali. They were debt free and they would put huge amounts of money to missions.
Then there is the honest truth that it simply costs a lot to run a megachurch. Besides having 30 pastors on staff and all the support staff, heating and cooling a massive building along with the production of the Sunday morning event just cost money.
My Southern Baptist mega-church does not teach this. We have an $8 million budget and are debt-free.
And nothing wrong with having money. Flaunting it does not impress me, I do not begrudge those who have earned more nor do I belittle or condescend to those who have less. After all, Jesus loved the poor, right?
My question is accountability. Most churches will, if requested, provide a budget sheet that lists all assets, debits, and transactions. There is a degree of transparency so that anyone could request an audited annual budget to see how this $8 budget is spent and maintained. IF I went to your church and requested an audited copy of the budget , would they provide me with one?
Now try getting that from Robert Tilton, or from some of these INDY Megachurches or wanna be megachurches that are not there yet....Mini-Churches?
Thing is, I do not donate to churches. If I meet up with a friend who is pastor of a church for lunch, I pay. I make more than he does (I read the budget sheet)
If they need money to provide school supplies for a neighborhood school in a low income area, then I give it to them for that event. Anything to help kiddos have the materials they need to learn and stay in school.
If they are having a food drive, well, yeah, I will load up as much as I can afford and bring it to them.
But I know that these churches, according to their audited accounting reports, are in fact using the money to pay for what they are claiming.
And I have no problem paying for things which are important, but I would rather pay directly to those sources.
I'm curious: since your church is debt-free, what do you guys DO with that $8 million?
Preach, teach and charity work. We run a free medical and dental clinic for the poor, build other churches, send missionaries both near and far, give away coats, groceries and toys to the poor during the holidays, do light construction for the elderly and handicapped, run a free after-school program for at-risk students and their families…
And nothing wrong with having money. Flaunting it does not impress me, I do not begrudge those who have earned more nor do I belittle or condescend to those who have less. After all, Jesus loved the poor, right?
My question is accountability. Most churches will, if requested, provide a budget sheet that lists all assets, debits, and transactions. There is a degree of transparency so that anyone could request an audited annual budget to see how this $8 budget is spent and maintained. IF I went to your church and requested an audited copy of the budget , would they provide me with one?
Now try getting that from Robert Tilton, or from some of these INDY Megachurches or wanna be megachurches that are not there yet....Mini-Churches?
Thing is, I do not donate to churches. If I meet up with a friend who is pastor of a church for lunch, I pay. I make more than he does (I read the budget sheet)
If they need money to provide school supplies for a neighborhood school in a low income area, then I give it to them for that event. Anything to help kiddos have the materials they need to learn and stay in school.
If they are having a food drive, well, yeah, I will load up as much as I can afford and bring it to them.
But I know that these churches, according to their audited accounting reports, are in fact using the money to pay for what they are claiming.
And I have no problem paying for things which are important, but I would rather pay directly to those sources.
Yes. They are placed in the main foyer every month. Besides having staff in charge of our finances, we have a church treasurer (a lay person), a finance committee (lay persons) and our deacons who keep an eye on our money. Our books are audited once a year.
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