This article exposes the secret methods certain pastors
use to get rich off God's people. Have you ever wondered how some
pastors start a church and then become wealthy living in flash houses
and driving luxury cars? Well this article exposes how they do it,
extracting money from their congregations to fund their lifestyles. Here
are the secrets they definitely do not want you to know.
Important Note: As you read please remember that
very few pastors use the techniques you are about to discover. The great
majority of Christian pastors do not earn much money even though they
work hard at their jobs. Most Christian pastors would find these
techniques repugnant. Please do not make the mistake of tarring the many
good pastors with the brush reserved for the spiritually corrupt few.
Listen to Radio Interview on How Pastors Get Rich
Listen to the author being interviewed about this article on the Janet Mefferd Radio Show:
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Table of Contents
Introduction
The Multilevel Marketing Pattern
Books
DVDs
Hyped Conferences
The Christian Speaking Circuit
Pastor Owned Businesses that Feed Off the Flock
The Honor the Pastor Scam
High Pressure Offerings
Cathedral Building Wars
Siphoning Cash into Property
Excessive Wages
Perks
Nepotism
Their Fabricated Tithing Doctrine
The Carrot and the Stick
Summary
Why you should read this Article
You will discover the secret techniques that certain pastors use to transfer money out of your pocket and into theirs.
You will understand the overall pattern behind their tricks.
You will learn enough to protect your friends and family.
You could gain thousands of dollars (or pounds or euros),
literally. Reading this article can set you free. Free to keep more of
the money that you have worked hard for. Money you can take and invest
in genuine works of God, or in toys for your kids, or perhaps something
shiny for your spouse.
Finally, reading this article can help you please God more, since you will no longer be investing in ungodly works.
Introduction
Like Judas reaching into the money bag, the sad reality is
that a small minority of Christian pastors steal from God's people. As
Christians we hate to face this truth, but I believe we must, because it
is our duty to protect our less aware brothers and sisters - keeping
them from these thieves.
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. - 2 Corinthians 2:17a
Here exposed are the secret techniques used to fleece
money from God's people. Don't be naive thinking that these schemes have
spread throughout the world by accident. These techniques are talked
about and shared behind closed doors by the clique of pastors who employ
them.
It's big business. Some of them laugh at us like con-men
laughing at their marks. Seriously, if you don't believe that there are
men like that, then watch the 1972 documentary Marjoe. You'll soon
realize that these wolfs in sheep's clothing have been a blight on
Christianity throughout its history.
I will start by outlining the primary pattern that
underpins these modern schemes. Then I will drill down, listing each
technique one by one, exposing how they work. Finally, at the end, I
will outline the biggest monetary scam of all.
First let's discover the primary pattern behind their methods...
The Multilevel Marketing Pattern
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus
went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle,
sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he
made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep
and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned
their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here!
How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" - John 2:13-16
We've all been approached at some time by a friend caught
up in the hope of multilevel marketing. The business they are pushing is
simple, sell toothpaste or web sites or whatever, and then recruit
people under you doing the same, taking a cut from their sales. Soon you
will be so rich that you can buy a flash European car and give stacks
of money to Godly causes.
That is the dream. The proof the dream works is embodied
in the wealth of the dream's leaders. Do you see how rich our leaders
are? They made all their money by following the dream, proving that you
can too. Except, that it's a lie.
Coming up is the key to the pattern, are you ready? These
leaders did not become wealthy by following the dream, instead they
became wealthy by building up a group of people who believe
passionately in the dream, and then selling dream-promoting wares to
this captive audience.
I will say it again, because you need to understand this
pattern. They did not become rich by selling toothpaste; they became
rich by hyping dream-promoting books, tapes, DVDs, and conferences to
their own private market of dream believers.
This same pattern is practiced by some Christian
leaders and their churches. The dream is the prosperity gospel. Their
captive market is their congregation. The products are, well you guessed
it: books, tapes, DVDs, and conferences, and t-shirts, and most
ominously spiritual rewards and the prevention of spiritual punishments.
These leaders use their faked "success" to promote a
distorted gospel which basically says: "tow the line obeying the leaders
buying whatever we tell you to buy, and donate money whenever we tell
you to donate, and then God will pour riches into your life." They tell
us that they became successful by following this dream, but in reality
they became rich by sucking money out of those caught up in the buzzing
environment where this distorted gospel seems real.
Let's drill in and discuss some of the products and
techniques they use to line their pockets with money that ought to have
stayed with God's people or gone to legitimate good works. You are about
to discover how these spiritual vampires feed...
Tip: A clue that you are caught up in one of these
churches is if you hear things like, "This is your spiritual home, you
can't go to another church. You must be loyal." They are very jealous
about protecting their market, and do not want to lose one of their
paying customers to another church. Some even try to prevent their
patrons leaving by making them sign contracts or "covenants", like a
mobile phone company locking you into a two year term. But the Bible does not teach that Christians are bound to their local church organization, this idea is foreign to Scripture.
Books
The first product is the leader's book (often ghostwritten
and fraudulently claimed to be authored by the leader). Let's be
honest, many of these books are below par. Like bad business books they
have one good idea, if that, and then are padded with motivational
sayings and anecdotal stories of how the leader obeyed the dream and so
God hosed him down with wealth. The theological content is basically
non-existent. These books would tank on Amazon or in a real bookstore,
but hyped to their captive market they sell like hot cakes.
Your Counter Strategy: Buy the book if it's got
good reviews or if your friends have read it and liked it. In other
words treat it like you would any other book. Avoid buying it if the
pastor or speaker has hyped it during his talk and especially if there
is a lot of peer pressure from the group to buy. Be aware that
conferences and seminars are designed to emotionally hype these
products. If you've ever been to a high pressure time-share sales
session, then you will know what it's like. If you're feeling the hype,
then cool off for a few days, buying the book later if you still want
to.
DVDs
Next comes the ever popular DVD. Most of which are videos
of the leader preaching in his church on a certain topic. Let me ask you
a question, is it ethical for a leader who has been paid by his church
to prepare and deliver a sermon, to then take that performance and sell
it back to his own church members for a healthy profit? I'm not talking
here about paying for reproduction costs or the money going into church
funds. I'm talking about DVDs being sold at the same cost as a movie DVD
and the profit going into the leader's own pocket.
And like the books most of these DVD's are awful, not
worth the money paid. Minimal content with gallons of fluff. Some are so
bad that my friends and I have been in hysterics, like the preacher
whose proofs for his latest invented doctrine is to slap the bible he's
carrying and say, "It's bible, it's bible!".
But, these DVDs are hyped and hyped, and the captive
audience buy stacks of them. In the worst money hungry churches you're
expected to buy them, and it is noticed if you don't.
Your Counter Strategy: The same as for a hyped
book. Is it good? Do you still want the DVD after the hype has
dissipated? Then buy it, otherwise save your money.
Hyped Conferences
The hype for these conferences start months before hand.
Other church members look at you strangely if you are thinking about not
going. What, you can't afford the huge entry fee? What's wrong with
you, don't you love God? Don't you want to be blessed? Don't you want to
be successful and wealthy? Don't you want to be part of us? Because you
won't be, unless you go to THE CONFERENCE!
Each speaker is completely amazing. The next best thing to the second coming.
He's built a church up from nothing to one with thousands
of people. She's the most Godly woman in the universe who is the best
wife ever with the best kids and the best lifestyle, and she's the
pastor's wife too. He's from overseas. She's a corporate CEO. Wow. It's
going to be awesome. It's going to be triple awesome! It's going to be
mega massive triply awesomely awesome!
The spiritual reward for going is implied to be life
changing. The conference fee is nothing, compared to the
fire-fighting-bomber worth of blessings and wealth God will dump on your
head from upon high.
And Jesus had conferences too, don't forget, like the
Sermon on the Mount, where He charged, oh, he didn't charge anything for
that spiritual teaching. In fact it was free wasn't it? Hmmm. Well,
often the first-movers can't figure out how to monetize their success,
we can't blame Jesus for that, can we? Gosh, if only He had some books
to sell at the back...
Understand, I'm not against conferences. I'm against
overly expensive hyped conferences that deliver hardly any lasting value
to their attendees; Conferences that are linked to your standing in
your church, and supposedly what God thinks of your commitment to Him.
And why are they so expensive? Where does all that money go? Well, in the next section you're going to find out...
Your Counter Strategy: Hire a hotel room, and sit
there reading your Bible with a few Christian friends - trust me,
spiritually you'll get more out of it and it'll cost less. Realize that
you don't need the sugar high of a conference to get closer to God.
Deprogram yourself from the idea that conferences are like a spiritual
hot-point you just have to be at. See the hype for what it is. Be led by
the Spirit to conferences, not pulled by the fear of losing your church
friends and God's blessing.
The Christian Speaking Circuit
If you have a big market (congregation) and are willing to
let others come and sell there, then your fellow pastors will invite
you to come and sell into their markets (congregations) too. The bigger
your own market, the larger the markets that will open their doors to
you - as long as you are willing to reciprocate. Quid pro quo.
There is a Christian speaking circuit, just like there is a
motivational speaking circuit. The circuit has no formal structure like
say a football league, but rather is like an exclusive network or an
old boys club.
Young speaking-cubs sweat blood to be allowed into the
circuit. These wannabes practice hard and desperately seek in-circuit
patrons because the financial rewards are significant. Revenue flows in
four ways: from sales of products, from special "love offerings" taken
for the speaker, from various perks, and from the formal payments
(honorariums) for speaking.
Not all visiting church speakers are on the circuit, the
difference is in the amount of money their visit extracts. There is
nothing wrong with a speaker's flights and accommodation being paid for,
along with the speaker receiving a fair payment for his time. But if
the amounts are excessive and the perks extravagant, then that is an
unacceptable waste of the Lord's money.
Some speaker's egos are so ripe that they demand business
or first class flights, expensive chauffeured cars, five star hotel
accommodation, gourmet dining, and the right to bring a small entourage
along with them (at the church's expense). Their fees can be enough to
buy a family car, and then they have the audacity to expect a special
"love offering" to be made for them. The sales of their books and DVD's
are carefully planned, and the hosting pastors are expected to hype
their products.
Of course the hosting pastor will then get the same
treatment later at the visiting speaker's church, including his own big
fat love offering. If the visiting speaker does not have a church, then
the hosting pastor will expect a cut from the speaker's product sales.
These Sunday service speaking engagements are the bread
and butter, to the glamour and super-liquidity of the hyped conferences.
Only the true speaking-circuit superstars get to keynote at these
hype-fests. The speakers at these conferences are like sharks in a
feeding frenzy, seeking to boost their profit margins with the over
inflated prices of their products. Their speaking fees and perks are why
these conferences cost so much, and can sometimes even run at a, ahem,
cough, "loss".
It is unbelievable what some of these speakers expect from
the Body of Christ. I would not like to be in their shoes when they
finally meet our Lord, or for that matter anywhere within the blast
radius.
Your Counter Strategy: Don't go to these
conferences. Demand transparent accounting to the whole church of all
costs of visiting speakers, and for that matter transparency about any
income your pastor is earning while speaking at other churches and
conferences. No pastor earning reasonable fees from away engagements
would have a problem with this, assuming of course he is on leave when
he speaks and not double dipping.
Pastor Owned Businesses that Feed Off the Flock
Another way bad pastors extract money from their captive
market is to set up a business, and then get their congregation to
patronize their business.
Businesses like: bookshops, counseling, gyms, production
firms, computer consulting, cinemas, business coaching services,
supermarkets, building firms, music festivals, music studios,
real-estate firms, and many more. The bookshop is the most common, often
located inside the church itself.
Members in the church who show loyalty to their pastor's
businesses are rewarded, often with increased standing in the church.
Members who refuse to use the pastor's businesses are frowned upon.
Your Counter Strategy: Don't frequent these types
of businesses. Ask questions about who owns them, and where their
customers are from, if eighty percent or more of the customers come from
the pastor's church then that indicates where its marketing is
targeted.
The Honor The Pastor Scam
Money focused churches tend to be run on cultic patterns.
One of these cultic patterns is the division of the church into
exclusive rings: the all-powerful pastor perched at the center, the
inner-ring of sycophants around him consisting of the pastor's
lieutenants and the church's privileged class (the rich, the famous and
the very pretty), and the outer-ring of the ordinary folk who would love
to be in the inner-ring, but are not.
The power of those in the inner-ring is determined by the amount of favor the pastor bestows upon them.
To get more favor the inner-ring will employ many
favor-currying measures, one of which is a scam called "Honoring the
Pastor". It works this way, the inner-ring will figure out what the
pastor would like, say for his birthday. Then the inner-ringers will
squeeze the outer-ringers for the money to buy this item.
Using this method pastors have been "given": diamond rings
for their wives, cash gifts, jet skis, luxury cruises, motorbikes,
cars, holidays, boats, and a myriad of other expensive luxury items.
Are the pastors complicit in this game? Of course they
are. They couldn't demand the gift openly themselves, but seek plausible
deniability by having their inner-ring lieutenants do the work. Of
course they could refuse the gift when it is presented, and make it
clear that they don't want the Lord's money spent on such things again,
but they never do. These pastors exchange their favor, for cash from
their congregation.
Your Counter Strategy: Unless it's something reasonable like a bunch of flowers for the pastor's wife, don't give to this sort of fund raising.
High Pressure Offerings
Another way the pastor uses his inner-ring to extract cash, is via high pressure offering talks in the church services.
One of the church's inner-ring will take the Sunday
offering, which in these money focused churches can turn into a
mini-sermon. These inner-ring members are competing against each other's
past high scores. At stake is their standing with the pastor and hence
their standing in the church. If they rake in the cash then their
position is secure, but if they score low then no matter what excuses
they have they know the pastor will blame them.
In the extreme money focused churches it is made known who
gave the most and who gave the least, and in these churches the giving
will not be in secret but people will be expected to come up the front
so that everyone can see how much they give. Or people will be watched
to see if they put anything in the offering container as it is passed
down the aisles.
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 2 Corinthians 9:7
Your Counter Strategy: If you feel you are being compelled to give then don't give a penny, no matter how much pressure is applied.
Cathedral Building Wars
Like the cathedral building wars in the middle ages where
cities and countries vied against each other to build the most
impressive cathedral. The pastors of these money focused churches fight
to own the most impressive church to top their rival pastors - their
egos demand that they are the king of the heap.
The most impressive churches require the most magnificent
buildings, the most professional entertainment in their services, the
best church programs, and the best conferences, the best websites, the
best radio and TV programs, and the most members. All this costs a lot
of money.
And just like in the days of old these self anointed church kings seek to tax their subjects to fund their private war.
Understand that these cultic churches ultimately exist to
serve their pastor's insecure egos, and their congregation suffer under
their madness. This type of church culture breeds a harsh environment
where people are discarded as soon as they are no longer useful. This is
a dysfunctional ethos entirely alien to that of Jesus's teachings.
Your Counter Strategy: Don't help fund these
monuments to the pastor's pride and prestige, these pet projects, these
grandiose visions. Realize that these churches are not focused on Jesus,
but are centered around the narcissistic pastor and what he desires
most. Don't be part of this game. Surely we are accountable to God to
how we spend our money. Surely then it is our duty as Christians to give
that money to true Godly works that bear real fruit for the Kingdom.
Siphoning Cash into Property
Is it ethical for the pastor (or his company or trust) to own property that the church is paying for? Of course not.
Another variation on this scam is the church trust being
controlled by the pastor and his family, so they control both the
church's cash and property.
Some of these pastors are very clever in how they hide the
money trail. But ultimately if church money is paying for an asset the
pastor owns, except via his wages of course, then it is almost certainly
wrong. Imagine the furor if a politician was caught siphoning off
government money into property or assets owned by himself.
Your Counter Strategy: Check who owns your church's
property. If it is a trust or company then find out who owns and
controls that entity. Then look at what your pastor owns directly or
indirectly, and who is paying for those assets. Stop giving to that
church until any unethical dealings like these are stopped and the money
repaid.
Excessive Wages
The Bible teaches that the spiritual worker deserves to be paid:
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well
are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and
teaching. For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is
treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages." - 1 Timothy 5:17-18
I believe it is reasonable to assume that Paul the Apostle
meant only fair wages, not excessive wages, and that Paul would have
agreed with what Peter the Apostle wrote:
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a
witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory
to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care,
serving as overseers-not because you must, but because you are willing,
as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. - 1 Peter 5:1-3
Obviously one of the ways greedy pastors can extract money
from God's people is via excessive wages. The amount of which they will
often decide themselves, or have conferred on them by their sycophants
(via the church board, or the church wages review committee, for
example).
No honest pastor would have a problem with his
congregation knowing how much their church pays him, or at least what
range his wage fell in, like say "between $50,000 and $60,000". This is
normal. Openness regarding the pastor's stipend has been a practice of
the Christian church for hundreds of years, and continues today. Only
those pastors who have an excessive wage would be reluctant to let the
amount become public knowledge.
If your pastor refuses to be open about his wage then be
very suspicious. It is likely he knows that the amount would be
considered excessive. If it is excessive, then watch him dodge the issue
like a sweaty politician.
Be even more suspicious whenever you hear a pastor's wage
being justified by comparing him to a CEO. If you hear this CEO nonsense
then you can instantly know two things: first, the pastor's wage is
massive; second, you are being scammed. A pastor is not a CEO no matter
how big his church empire is; a CEO runs a for monetary-profit
organization, a pastors serves the people of God - they are not the same
thing.
By the way, if the pastor claims to be a CEO, then you
must be a shareholder. Shareholders have full rights to the accounts,
including how much their "CEO" is earning.
Your Counter Strategy: Find out how much your
pastor is paid. If he will not reveal the information then stop giving
to that church until it is revealed. Especially stop if you hear any of
this "CEO" rubbish.
Perks
Expensive leased cars, holidays, clothing allowances,
spending money, restaurant meals, hotels, flights, and expense accounts,
are some of the perks demanded by these luxury smitten pastors.
Some say that if they are preaching the "prosperity
gospel", then they have to appear prosperous to "walk their talk". But
of course that is a deception. They are using God's money to
misrepresent how wealthy they are, to help prove their false teaching
works. Despicable.
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception,
nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth
the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the
sight of God. - 2 Corinthians 4:2
What is worse, many of these churches make their members
complicit in this deception. Members are instructed to wear expensive
clothes and groom themselves in the manner expected of the rich. They
are encouraged to buy (or lease) the most impressive car they can
afford. Members are required to appear happy and successful. The excuse
given is that the appearance of success breeds success, but this is
nonsense, more likely it breeds significant debt. The real reason the
leaders want their church members to appear successful is to trick
others into thinking that the prosperity dream that they preach really
works.
Your Counter Strategy: Stop giving money in protest, until the excessive perks are removed. Ignore any pressure to live beyond your means.
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we
brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But
if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who
want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish
and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for
money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs. - 1 Timothy 6:3-10
Nepotism
A church isn't a family business you know; it is a family, but it's not a business.
Are the pastor's relatives high up in the church? Are they
the ones with the most powerful positions? Then that is nepotism. A
good church will choose the very best people for the job, while a bad
church will reward those closest to the pastor with the lucrative
positions of power.
If you see nepotism, then that is a sign that something is very wrong.
Your Counter Strategy: Yup, you guessed it - stop giving to that church until the pastor's little family fiefdom is disassembled.
Their Fabricated Tithing Doctrine
This is the big daddy. This is their sacred cow. This is
the beating heart of their evil empire. The crown jewel. The Death Star.
The one ring to bill them all. The pot of gold. Their matrix (into
which they want to plug you). Their Wizard of Oz. Their magic spell.
Their special power. Their secret recipe with the eleven herbs and
spices. Their Golden Goose. The very air upon which they breathe!
Question this doctrine and watch these money hungry
pastors bare their fangs. This is a teaching that they will bear no
compromise on. Tithing, or at least their own version of tithing, is
their one true love.
Here are some bullet points about tithing that these money hungry pastors don't want you to know:
- The New Testament Church did not tithe.
- The New Testament does not teach tithing for Christians.
- Their favorite Malachi verses cannot be used for Christians since Christians are not under the law of Moses.
- Abraham's one off tithe of his war booty did not set up a precedent for Christians to regularly tithe their income.
- The version of tithing they teach cannot be found in Scripture (see below).
- The "Storehouse" in Malachi cannot be equated to your local church organization.
- There are plenty of rich (money wise) Christians who do not tithe. This would be impossible if their version of tithing was true.
- The New Testament teaching is that you decide how much to give, and there are no rules about where it goes. You cannot be compelled to give.
It may come as a surprise to learn that their tithing
doctrine is a combination of twisted scriptures and wishful thinking, as
opposed to solid Biblical exegesis reflecting a central thrust of New
Testament teaching. Here is their tithing doctrine stated in a nutshell:
"Christians must give ten percent of their gross income
only to their church organization. If they do, then God will bless them
for any offerings they make to the church organization beyond this ten
percent. But if they do not give ten percent gross, then they are
stealing from God and God will curse them."
There are variations of this teaching, and sometimes it is
called a "principle", but the above definition contains the core
essence of this doctrine.
It is vital to grasp that tithing is not for Christians.
Tithing was part of the old law (of Moses) which was fulfilled
(completed) by Jesus. You know that Christians are not under the law of
Moses don't you?
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been
released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and
not in the old way of the written code. - Romans 7:6
know that a man is not justified by observing the law,
but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ
Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing
the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. - Galatians 2:16
All who rely on observing the law are under a curse,
for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do
everything written in the Book of the Law." - Galatians 3:10
New wine should not be put into old wine skins, nor should
new unshrunk cloth be used to patch an old garment; if you think you
need to obey the law of tithing then you need to obey the whole law (or
you will be cursed, Galatians 3:10).
What is more, this tithing doctrine they teach isn't found
in either the New or Old Testament. Tithing in the old testament does
not match what these pastors preach - this unique tithe teaching is of
their own invention.
This is such an important subject that Cultwatch has a special website TithingDebate.com
dedicated to setting Christians free from this fake doctrine. There are
free books to download and articles to read. Make sure you read our
article "Should you give? New Testament Giving Supported!", because
Cultwatch is not anti-giving. If you think tithing is for Christians
today, then you need to read TithingDebate.com
Tip: If you are struggling to feed your family or
buy them clothes, then understand that you do not need to give to the
church. You can still do so if you choose, but you should not feel under
compulsion since your family is more important. Also understand that if
you are poor then that does not mean God is cursing you, or that you
have done something wrong; this is an erroneous teaching these greedy
men promote to guilt you into giving. Remember, your duty is to your
family first. If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and
especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is
worse than an unbeliever. - 1 Timothy 5:8
Tip: Churches that push this erroneous tithing
doctrine will often try to enforce tithing via written agreements
(called covenants), and also by monitoring what people give (so they can
compel them to give more if they are not meeting the ten percent
target). First, grasp that these "covenants" are illegitimate and not
worth the paper they are printed on, because they contain false doctrine
(like tithing) and set up the pastors as a false authority over you.
God would not be party to a covenant that contains falsehoods, therefore
God was not party to the covenant you were pressured to sign, therefore
you are free from this burden. It is as if you never signed it. Second,
recording what you give and using that information to pressure you to
give more is wrong, the Bible implies that our giving is best done in
secret so that only we and God know what we gave. Don't go to a church
where they monitor what you give. (note: some churches voluntarily let
you record what you have given via a numbered envelope system for tax
purposes. Done correctly, no one in the church will know what you gave.
There is nothing wrong with this kind of recording.)
Your Counter Strategy: Stop giving to that church
until they change their ways. That doesn't mean to stop giving to Godly
works, we would encourage you to give as the Holy Spirit prompts you and
as you decide. But it is valid to protest false doctrine by refusing to
fund the system that promotes that false doctrine.
The Carrot and the Stick
These pastors are not only money hungry, but often power
hungry too. They want to be both pastor and master. They commit the sin
of the Pharisees and appoint themselves as middle men between God and
you. They seek to replace the Holy Spirit in your life. They "lord it
over" their flocks. Read Cultwatch's articles on the "Super Apostles" here if you want to find out more.
Using the connection they claim to have with God they
threaten you with the stick of spiritual curses if you disobey them, and
dangle the carrot of spiritual blessings if you comply. They seek to
dominate your life; often implying that they have say in where you work,
where you fellowship, who you marry, and of course, when, where, and
how much you should give.
This is a false spiritual authority not supported by
Scripture. In fact I believe it to be quite devilish (the desire to
control and dominate others).
In these pastor's prosperity teaching, obeying the pastor
and giving money are the two pillars necessary for a successful
Christian life. If you sit back and think about it, you will quickly see
what a con it is.
These men want to be at the head of everything, they want
to dominate you, they want to be seen as the big man, and some even
secretly desire adoration (almost worship). This is the opposite of true
Christian leadership:
Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was
considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, "The kings of the
Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them
call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that.
Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the
one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who
is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the
table? But I am among you as one who serves. - Luke 22:24-27
I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm. - 2 Corinthians 1:23-24
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that
those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. - Mark 10:42-44
Threatening people with curses if they do not obey or
donate is spiritual extortion. It is contrary to the nature of grace and
the person of Jesus.
Your Counter Strategy: Don't be afraid of these
men. Ignore their bluster. Grow a backbone and stand up to them. And if
you give, then give to honor God and not out of fear of punishment or
greed for financial gain. Memorize this verse: Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 2 Corinthians 9:7
Summary
I believe many church goers would be shocked if they could
comprehend the real attitude their pastor has towards them. From my
experience with both the cults and these money focused churches, it is
my impression that instead of being looked upon with love, these pastors
see their congregation as farm animals to be milked.
It is my prayer that this article will set you free from
this kind of spiritual bondage. I hope now you will be able to spot this
counterfeit Christian life and be able to transition into a closer walk
with Jesus; a walk built on love, trust and grace, not fear.
To summarize what we have learnt about the methods money
hungry pastors use to feed off their flock: We discovered the multilevel
marketing pattern that these often ex-salesmen (not theologians) model
their churches. We examined some of the products they sell into their
captive market like books and DVDs. We unhyped the hyped conferences,
and exposed the christian speaking circuit. Next we talked about how
spiritually dishonest pastors set up their own businesses that their
followers are expected to patronize. After that came the scam of
"honoring the pastor" with gifts of luxury items. We delved into the
high pressure offering mini-sermons that are designed to guilt people
into giving. We examined how most of the money gained is used to build
the pastor's modern day cathedrals, projects that their fragile egos
demand. We exposed the scam of siphoning the church's cash into
properties and assets owned by the pastor. We covered the obvious points
of excessive wages and extravagant perks, and that was followed by the
not so obvious problem of nepotism. Their big daddy came second to last -
their fabricated tithing doctrine was exposed for what it is, a fraud.
Finally we discussed the spiritual carrot and stick of the false
authority that the pastors claim.
There are other methods these guys use to extract money
from churches. Revisit this article regularly to discover these methods
in future updates.
Realize that a number of churches follow the patterns that this article exposes. However there are many good churches who do not
practice these methods. If you have been hurt by these practices then
feel free to give up on these twisted money-focused environments, but
please do not give up on Jesus.
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God. - 2 Corinthians 2:17. Therefore, can we conclude that men who peddle the word of God for profit are not sent from God?
Feel free to think this one through for yourself.
Please link to this article, and email the link to your friends and family. Help us get the word out there.
