How Pastors Get Rich

Take a read of this article about how Pastors get rich. It might just sound like a church you know.

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.

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.

Read the rest of the article here.

Where in the Bible is this?

Where in the Bible does it tell us to go around as these “ministries” do to win people to Christ? How does any of this bring honour to God?

Why is that those outside the church are more able to see how wrong this is?

Preach the Gospel instead of all this rubbish, that is what saves, not a cage fight.

The Daily Show – God Smacked

Or Wrestling for Jesus as below.
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Women and Porn

A new article from the Washington Times details how pornography is becoming more and more of a problem for women as the pornography business itself becomes a bigger and bigger industry itself.

The pornography revenue in the U.S., in 2006 alone, was approximately $13 billion. The pornography industry is also larger than the revenues of the top technology companies combined: Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., Amazon.com Inc., eBay Inc., Yahoo Inc., Apple Inc., Netflix Inc. and EarthLink…

A 2006 survey released by Internet Filter Review showed that 17 percent of women said they struggled with pornography addiction and that one in three visitors to pornography sites were women. About 30 percent of Internet pornography consumers are women, according to the 2008 Internet Pornography Statistics…A 2006 Internet Filter Review poll found that 9.4 million women access adult websites each month, and 13 percent of women admit to accessing pornography at work.

“If they’re an addict, they stop developing spiritually, relationally and morally, at the age of the onset of the addiction,” said Mr. Weiss.

But in this article the one part that stuck out and really struck me was that even though more and more women are being caught in the trap of pornography, still men get attacked in the article. Women who watch porn are VICTIMS of non-consenual sex (Rape) and Men who watch porn are PERPETRATORS of non-consensual sex (Rape) according to this professor.

“The more pornography women use, the more likely they are to be victims of non-consensual sex,” said Mary Anne Layden, professor of sociology and women’s studies at Wheelock College in Boston. “The earlier the male starts using pornography, the more likely they are to be the perpetrators of non-consensual sex.“

Jesus’ Attribute Alphabet

Always there when I pray

Beautiful

Creator

Died for me

Experienced in suffering and temptation

Full of love for me

God, and at the same time, man

Holy

Interceding for us before the Father

Just

King

Loving

More than I could ever hope for in sinful man

Name above all names

Opening his arms to sinners

Pouring out his love

Qualified

Righteous, Religion, and Receiving

Saving

Tender in discipline

Unmoving, Utterly irresistable, Unreserved, Unveiled, and Unique

Valid

Wonderful

Xmas present (the best, might I add)

Your personal Savior

Zion’s Supreme Ruler and Light!!!!!!!!

Who is Jesus to you?

He is the First and Last, the Beginning and the End!
He is the keeper of Creation and the Creator of all!
He is the Architect of the Universe and the Manager of all times.
He always was, He always is, and He always will be . . ..
Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated, and never Undone!
He was bruised and brought healing!
He was pierced and eased pain!
He was persecuted and brought freedom!
He was dead and brought life!
He is risen and brings power!
He reigns and brings Peace!
The world can’t understand Him.
The armies can’t defeat Him,
The schools can’t explain Him, and
The leaders can’t ignore Him.
Herod couldn’t kill Him,
The Pharisees couldn’t confuse Him, and
The people couldn’t hold Him!
Nero couldn’t crush Him,
Hitler couldn’t silence Him,
The New Age can’t replace Him, and
Donahue can’t explain Him away!
He is light, love, longevity, and Lord.
He is goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, and God.
He is Holy, Righteous, Mighty, Powerful, and Pure.
His ways are right,
His work is eternal,
His will is unchanging, and
His mind is on me.
He is my Redeemer,
He is my Savior,
He is my guide, and
He is my peace!
He is my Joy,
He is my comfort,
He is my Lord, and
He rules my life!
I serve Him because His bond is life,
His burden is light, and
His goal for me is abundant life.
I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise,
The power of the powerful,
The ancient of days, the ruler or rulers,
The leader of leaders, the overseer of the overcomers, and
The sovereign Lord of all that was and is and is to come.
And if that seems impressive to you, try this for size.

His goal is a relationship with ME!
He will never leave me,
Never forsake me,
Never misled me,
Never forget me,
Never overlook me, and
Never cancel my appointment in His appointment book!
When I fall, He lifts me up!
When I fail, He forgives!
When I am weak, He is strong!
When I am lost, He is the way!
When I am afraid, He is my courage!
When I stumble, He steadies me!
When I am hurt, He heals me!
When I am broken, He mends me!
When I am blind, He leads me!
When I am hungry, He feeds me!
When I face persecution, He shields me!
When I face problems, He comforts me!
When I face loss, He provides for me!
When I face death, He carries me Home!
He is everything for everybody, everywhere,
Every time and every way.
He is God, He is faithful
I am His, and He is mine!
My father in Heaven can whip the father of this world.
So, if you’re wondering why I feel so secure, understand this . . ..
He said it and that settles it.
God is in control; I am on His side, and
That means all is well with my soul.
Everyday is a blessing for GOD IS!

Stats on Pornography


Via: Online MBA

Cheap Christians

Bill Muehlenberg has a new essay up talking about his frustration with Christians who make excuses for their sins and the sins of others. I could not agree more that it is time for the contemporary church to stop trying to be relevant and preach the truth of the Bible that we are all sinners in need of a saviour.

To be honest, I am getting tired of listening to so-called believers making cheap excuses for their sin. They seem more intent on justifying their selfish and sinful lifestyle than in walking with Jesus in the only way he told us to: by picking up the cross, denying ourselves, and following him.

Just about every lousy sin in the book has been excused by one Christian or another, by one church or another. It is time for this to stop. I am more convinced than ever that there will be plenty of surprises come judgment day. Plenty of folk who were certain they were making it into heaven’s gate will find a rude awakening and a quite nasty surprise when they meet their maker and judge…

This was his response to a recent commenter on his website that was trying to justify their pot smoking lifestyle. It is such a good response that I thought it should be here in full as it is worth the read. I just wish more Christians would respond like this.

“Let me cut to the quick, because I am not interested in playing any games here. I am sick to death of carnality in the churches, and you are not alone in this regard my friend.

“The issue here is this: it is not about your stupid marijuana. You can substitute anything else here for that, and we still have the same core problem. The way I read it is this: right now Jesus Christ is not Lord of your life – you are. You are so interested in defending your selfish lifestyle choices that you have effectively have put marijuana as your god right now.

“You are more intent on justifying a selfish lifestyle of getting high than giving Jesus Christ 100 per cent of your life. Until you do my friend, stop kidding yourself. Jesus is either Lord of all or he is not Lord at all.

“And don’t tell me what other ‘Christians’ are doing. I don’t care if they too are living a life of sin and seeking to justify a me-centred life. You have only one person you are responsible for, and that is yourself. So stop looking to others, stop making cheap excuses, and start repenting of your selfishness and sin.

“Jesus did not come and die a horrible death on the cross so you can justify getting high all the time. He did not live a life of suffering, rejection and opposition so that people could go around flaunting cheap grace, thinking they are believers when they are still living lives straight out of the pit of hell.

“Jesus is worth all, since he gave us all. So forget this selfish nonsense about your right to get high, and get on your knees and get right with God. That is what you need right now.

“You asked for my advice, and I gave it. And this applies to everyone else who is pretending to be a Christian, when instead all we have is self still on the throne, with Jesus so very far away on the sidelines.”

Social Justice is not the Gospel

Clear explanation of what the true Gospel is versus “social justice”

Political Correctness Pt III

Here we go again, now they are moving onto Easter after having attacked Christmas for so many years.

One week before the most solemn day in the Christian year, the city of Davenport, Iowa removed Good Friday from its municipal calendar, setting off a storm of complaints from Christians and union members whose contracts give them that day off.
Good Friday becomes Spring Holiday on Davenport’s calendar.

Taking a recommendation by the Davenport Civil Rights Commission to change the holiday’s name to something more ecumenical, City Administrator Craig Malin sent a memo to municipal employees announcing Good Friday would officially be known as “Spring Holiday.”
…Hart said the commission had no plans to change the name of Easter Sunday, because it fell on a weekend and government offices were already closed. The commission, he said, discussed changing Christmas, but decided enough other religions celebrate Christmas too. Hart, however, could not name one.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/iowa-town-renames-good-friday/story?id=10233061

How Porn Harms Marriages, Children, Communities and Individuals

The Family Research Council (FRC) has released a comprehensive study on the devastating effects of pornography, identifying its harms to countless marriages, children, individuals and communities. “Pornography corrodes the conscience, promotes distrust between husbands and wives and debases untold thousands of young women,” explains the study’s author Dr. Pat Fagan, Senior Fellow at FRC and Director of the Center for Research on Marriage and Religion.

While it is often said that it is harmless entertainment, the evidence shows, says Fagan that it is rather “relational and emotional poison.”

Pornography is a visual representation of sexuality which distorts an individual’s concept of the nature of conjugal relations. This, in turn, alters both sexual attitudes and behavior. It is a major threat to marriage, to family, to children and to individual happiness. In undermining marriage it is one of the factors in undermining social stability.

Social scientists, clinical psychologists, and biologists have begun to clarify some of the social and psychological effects, and neurologists are beginning to delineate the biological mechanisms through which pornography produces its powerful negative effects.

KEY FINDINGS ON THE EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY

THE FAMILY AND PORNOGRAPHY

* Married men who are involved in pornography feel less satisfied with their conjugal relations and less emotionally attached to their wives. Wives notice and are upset by the difference.
* Pornography use is a pathway to infidelity and divorce, and is frequently a major factor in these family disasters.
* Among couples affected by one spouse’s addiction, two-thirds experience a loss of interest in sexual intercourse.
* Both spouses perceive pornography viewing as tantamount to infidelity.
* Pornography viewing leads to a loss of interest in good family relations.

THE INDIVIDUAL AND PORNOGRAPHY

* Pornography is addictive, and neuroscientists are beginning to map the biological substrate of this addiction.
* Users tend to become desensitized to the type of pornorgraphy they use, become bored with it, and then seek more perverse forms of pornography.
* Men who view pornography regularly have a higher tolerance for abnormal sexuality, including rape, sexual aggression, and sexual promiscuity.
* Prolonged consumption of pornography by men produces stronger notions of women as commodities or as “sex objects.”
* Pornography engenders greater sexual permissiveness, which in turn leads to a greater risk of out-of-wedlock births and STDs. These, in turn, lead to still more weaknesses and debilities.
* Child-sex offenders are more likely to view pornography regularly or to be involved in its distribution.

OTHER EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY

* Many adolescents who view pornography initially feel shame, diminished self-confidence, and sexual uncertainty, but these feelings quickly shift to unadulterated enjoyment with regular viewing.
* The presence of sexually oriented businesses significantly harms the surrounding community, leading to increases in crime and decreases in property values.
* The main defenses against pornography are close family life, a good marriage and good relations between parents and children, coupled with deliberate parental monitoring of Internet use. Traditionally, government has kept a tight lid on sexual traffic and businesses, but in matters of pornography that has waned almost completely, except where child pornography is concerned. Given the massive, deleterious individual, marital, family, and social effects of pornography, it is time for citizens, communities, and government to reconsider their laissez-faire approach.
Click here to download the full study.

Daily Devotion

Source: The Word For Today

`Do not be afraid of their faces.’ Jeremiah 1:8 NKJV

Another sub-personality type contributing to our fear of people is called `The Critic.’ It’s that part of you which constantly judges your own behaviour, compares you unfavourably with others, points out your flaws and reminds you you’re a failure. Its favourite self-talk expressions are, `You’re stupid; can’t you ever get it right? Look how capable so-and-so is. How come you can’t be like them?’ While `the worrier’ suffers from anxiety, `the critic’ suffers from low self-worth. What’s the answer? Learn to replace your critic self-talk with, `They’re what God made them; I’m what God made me, and I accept myself as His unique creation. I make mistakes, but I’m not a mistake. With God’s grace, I’m working on being the lovable, capable person God made me.’

‘The Victim’ is another sub-personality type underlying our fears. It’s that part of us which feels helpless or hopeless, believes we’re inherently inadequate and unworthy, sees insurmountable obstacles in our path, and bemoans the way things are. Its favourite self-talk expressions include, `I can’t…It’s useless. I’ll never be able to. Why even bother?’ Replace your victim self-talk with, `I don’t have to be perfect now. I’m a new creature in Christ and I’m growing a little more each day. I choose to see the glass half-full rather than half-empty. Since God says I can, I choose to believe I can-and I will-in His time and way.’ Face your fears. Do what you’ve been afraid to do. God’s promise, `…I am with you…’ (Jeremiah 1:19 NKJV), was all Jeremiah needed-and it’s all you need too.

SoulFood reading: Jos 14-15, John 17:13-26, Ps 148:1-6, Pr 29:11-15