Wednesday, June 8, 2016

LCG Members Witholding Tithes




Below is a comment on another thread.

This person is not alone in withholding tithes from Charlotte. I have had scores of private emails from LCG members who are also withholding money. The mistrust in the leaders in Charlotte is astounding at how widespread it is.  Yet, every time someone from Charlotte speaks or writes it is as if the church has never been more unified. Any time a minister, evangelist, department head or representative from Charlotte ever says they are unified, you will know immediately that they are liars.

LCG is ready to implode.

Who will take all the money this time and start a new church?

Meredith did that twice before and will never be able to do so again. Lil'Jimmy is incompetent and will never be able to. Richard Ames is old and incapable of keeping the church unified. Gerald Weston has a horrible record of abuse of members, so don't expect huge numbers to follow him.

I truly feel sorry for LCG members will face yet again.
Lying has become a big problem in the LCG ministry. Meredith is a big liar, and it looks like he favors other big liars. The fruits of the Spirit are almost nonexistent the closer you get to the top in LCG.

I don't know how many people I am speaking for when I write this, but I know I am not alone. Earlier this year I started banking my tithe, because it is obvious that LCG is no longer doing the work it used to do. LCG used to have the best Church of God TV program, but the program has gotten ugly and tacky. Maybe that's why Meredith has taken it off so many TV stations and now spends money on stupid videos like that Man-Pig thing. Jim Meredith loves those short videos, it was obvious when he visited my congregation, even though they are stupid little things and don't even preach the gospel. They're just vanity. Why should I give my tithes to vanity and lying? When the split comes, I'll have a nice bankroll set aside to help the preaching get going again
.

50 comments:

Anonymous said...

Too bad this person's perception goes only a certain distance, then stops.

He recognizes that the present situation is a waste of his money, were he to give it; why doesn't he realize ANY resulting group is just as much a waste?

There is no everlasting quantum of "truth," no exclusively true message you, or anyone, can return to! Everything Armstrong, everything coming from Armstrong is a fraud! All this trouble you are in the middle of should tell you God isn't there at all!

Anonymous said...

"Living is no longer doing the work it used to do..."

Their True Character(actually lack thereof) is finally coming out

You withhold tithes, as well you should, but you only see the symptoms

The true disease is the lack of conversion! ministers too unfortunately

We saw it in ministers long ago that were "Rod's Boys" at the time!

You people out there, if you know enough to withhold your tithes...you know enough to start looking for the Real God. Open your Bibles. He's still out there.

Unknown said...

Some kind of split , along with a merger with COGWA seems a potential.

DennisCDiehl said...

Your big tithe stash should go for your kids education or family needs and stop making the same mistakes with The True Church Escapades.

Anonymous said...

Here's a better idea. Use that bankroll to help people truly in need. Or your own family who have clearly been sacrificing for old men who are fleecing others for their own gain. Heck, it would be better to spend on a vacation, truth be told.

God doesn't need money. The entire structure these men have created not only in the COG splinters, but across all organized religion is just a shameless fraud to separate folks from their hard earned money.

Bankrolling those funds is exactly the right thing to do. Bravo. Now just take the next step and realize that there is no need to ever give that money to men who use it to enrich themselves.

Stephen said...

"Any time a minister, evangelist, department head or representative from Charlotte ever says they are unified, you will know immediately that they are liars."

Do you really need to wait to find out what they're saying? Just the fact their lips are moving should be sufficient.

"The fruits of the Spirit are almost nonexistent the closer you get to the top in LCG."

I'd go so far as to omit the almost. Primarily because I don't believe there's any "spirit" existant for there to be fruits of. But not everyone is ready for such skepticism.

"I'll have a nice bankroll set aside to help the preaching get going again."

Why would you want to do that? If you don't learn the lessons of history you're doomed to repeat it. Follow Dennis' advice.

Anonymous said...

12.16 PM I couldn't agree more. I had the realization recently that most ministers do not believe that Gods way works or is practical. Rather what they believe in is violence, deception and exploitation, just like any bully. I believe this is what Christ had in mind when He asked whether their will be faith (belief in the ten commandments) on His return. Another indication of this is that the ministers don't really magnify Gods laws in sermons or church publications.
The non living church of God.

Byker Bob said...

Their gospel is based on crashing British Israelism with the book of Revelation. If their apocalypse were actually going to take place, based on their own pre1972-5 information, it would already have unfolded. They used this "gospel" to scare and trap people who are now wrestling with the effects that this has caused in their now aged lives. It is finally, after 40+ years, beginning to dawn on people that it just ain't going to happen. These people would have been much better off had their leaders learned their lessons through the failure of 1975, pulled back their horns, and concentrated on Christian living. Is demonstrably false prophecy really the sort of thing that you would want your tithes supporting passing it on to the next fella?

I agree with the people who recommended giving to the poor, and also recommend vetting some Christian organizations that are doing good works locally and around the world. Some voluntarily open their books and make themselves accountable. Armstrongism always asked if it is right to support groups that teach error. The problem is, nobody has or teaches 100% truth, so you need to look at the fruits instead. I can tell you, I would much prefer the lie of Santa Clause to the lies about Simon Magus, British Israel racism, the Germans, and 1975!

BB

itstimecog said...

For the most part, I can't help but feel sorry for those people.
The deception invoked is extreme and to new members, it's compelling.
For years it's been pounded into them that they face the lake of fire if they don't adhere to the Levitical laws of tithing.
They have to decide which covenant they will honor.
All to often we forget that Christ died for our sins, He paid that penalty in our stead. When the judgment day comes, we are all found guilty but "justified" because of that tremendous sacrifice by Christ and the Father.
Every time they pay tithe, they tell Christ that the old covenant is superior to His Royal Priesthood covenant.
While they won't face the lake of fire, the same cannot be said for the ministry.
Those leaders know exactly what they are doing and do so willingly.

2Peter 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

He knows the ministry are liars filled with vanity, it would be unwise to be numbered with them when John's judgment (Rev. 11:1) is completed.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Anonymous said...

It makes you wonder if this type of resistance to keep paying and praying isn't similar to Christ overturning the money changers tables for exploiting those who were looking for sacrificial animals?

Maybe God is finally showing many of us that the modern day COG has always been about money and power and he is perhaps causing more and more brethren to see the stench for what it is...buying and selling their current religious cause and them actually robbing God (Malachi comes to mind where we were always told it was US who were robbing God of the tithes and offerings and yet the entire chapter was directed at the priesthood, which the ministry always wanted to identify with when it benefited them, but they could never see themselves as the culprits).

Also makes you wonder how many of these hirelings would follow the original edict Christ gave to the original 12 to go forth and not worry about anything, to preach about him, including money??

Anonymous said...

Near the end of my ill-thought-out sojourn with WCG, I came to realize that tithing for New Testament Christians was not only a spurious requirement, but according to the stipulations of Scripture, it was totally illegal. There are physical Levites, but they don't function today because there is no temple or established priesthood or order, but there is no ordination anywhere in that big book of many books for a "spiritual levite." It's a con. Get that fact through your heads and live a whole lot better. I did. Allen C. Dexter

Anonymous said...

Gotta go even further. All ministerial authority is something people take to themselves, often with the only motivation being to have money and poweer. I got a generic ordination from an interfaith group so I could do wedding ceremonies in retirement and before. It was fun. Made me a lot of extra money for providing a service I enjoyed. Later, I found I could get free ordinations online and added a few of them to my file. I even have a humanist and athiest ordination. Authority is in the eye of the beholder and when you consider all the ludicrous things most of these groups teach, like British Israelism, their claims to authority are just so much hot air, stretching all the way back to William Miller and Ellen G. White, from which every COG group is descended, with a little Mormon and JW nonsense thrown in here and there. Hell, that vaunted Worldwide seal was stolen directly from the Mormons. Quit kowtowing to a farce. Allen C. Dexster

Anonymous said...

Most nominally rational people should realize that Armstrongism is insane, particularly after reading just one The Journal.

It's a cult of many sects mostly run by psychopaths, or at minimum, sociopaths.

There is no real evident worth to be a member of an ACoG and it's not enough to claim that you're doing God's Will (how would you know?) by providing the parasitic ministry with money to do evil.

DennisCDiehl said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
It makes you wonder if this type of resistance to keep paying and praying isn't similar to Christ overturning the money changers tables for exploiting those who were looking for sacrificial animals?"

No it isn't . As a side note and a recognition many theologians and historians have come up with is that there was nothing wrong with moneychangers in the Temple. They had always been there and were vital to exchanging "dirty Roman coin" for Temple coin to purchase sacrifices. The Gospel of John puts this event at the very BEGINNING of Jesus THREE YEAR ministry while the other Gospels put it at the END of a ONE year ministry of Jesus. Can't both be right cant they? At any rate, for Jesus to disrupt the Temple proceedings at Passover was the equivalent to Suicide by Cop save it would be at the hands of the Romans, which it was. There may have been higher rates of exchange etc than warranted by money changers, but they were vital to the Temple functions. So just what did Jesus do and why? It ended up being the reason for his death at least according to Mark, Matthew and Luke. John not so much.

Anonymous said...

Withhold your tithes and offerings. If the ministry you gave to is of god, it will survive. If not it will shrink and die. Didn't J.C. say, "if every mouth was silent god could make stones preach the gospel".

Ralph said...

on June 8, 2016 at 2:50 PM
Anonymous wrote:-

"....(Malachi comes to mind where we were always told it was US who were robbing God of the tithes and offerings...."

Ah, yes. I remember the admonition well: "Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,...."

What they neglect to tell you is that, along with the Temple, the storehouse was destroyed in AD70 and there is no scriptural evidence that it was re-established as a PRIVATE BANK ACCOUNT anywhere, not in Pasadena, Charlotte, Wadsworth nor Edmond, just not anywhere.

cheers
ralph.f

Anonymous said...

"LCG used to have the best Church of God TV program."

Not exactly the highest of bars to clear.

Steve D said...

Got money you want to give to do God's work? Didn't Jesus say in Matt 25:40 that "whatever you've done for the least of these brothers of mine,(those who were hungry, ill clothed, etc.)you did for me?" Take your "tithe" money and give it directly to those who are in need. Then you know that the money is well invested.

Anonymous said...

Tithing is a trade, resulting in a big profit from God. It is not giving money away, or acting like Father Christmas. Prayer means exercising Gods responsibilities on a micro level. This results in the profit of personal growth, becoming more like God Himself.
Exuse me whilst I get back to my book. There is much profit in reading.

Cheers TradingGuy

Anonymous said...

"lcg is ready to implode", "donald drumpfs campaign is ready to implode"; people are always engaging in manipulative "wishing it were so" retoric, yet the beat goes on...

Redfox712 said...

So it is Jim Meredith that LCG makes those short videos? The rise of Jim Meredith within the leadership of LCG is a disgrace. It is a revealing flaw. It indicates that the leadership of LCG are reluctant to restrain him. Why cross his path if it might incur his father's displeasure? Why not be nice to him instead? No wonder there has been so little to restrain his rise in LCG's leadership.

It would be terrible if he ever got to be the leader. His rise to prominence within LCG should never have been allowed to occur. That it ever happened is disgraceful and shows that LCG's leadership is unable to ensure that the most talented get to be in charge.

Anonymous said...

Withholding tithes is always a bad sign. Similar to when Ucg members held back their tithes.

Ed said...

Any minister that tells you to tithe is scamming you. Only Isrealites where told to tithe (gentiles where not required to tithe). Tithes where given exclusively to the Levites because they didn't hold land and couldn't produce their own food. Tithes where given in the form of cattle, produce and crops from the field. In a nut shell, only jewish farmers under the old covenant where required to tithe and only to the levitical priesthood, (which by the way no longer exists).

Anonymous said...

When I left an abusive splinter group and did not know where to go, I still wanted to tithe. I believe in tithing where I am being "fed" spiritually, so my tithe started going to Moody radio and some of its ministries like "Turning Point" and "Truth for Life". I may not agree with everything they say, but they are inspiring and help me live a better Christian life. You don't have to stay in a church (until it makes another splinter) if you are being starved spiritually. That is part of their attempt to control their members, and they manipulate the scriptures to do so. I believe God does not want people to remain in controlling or abusive groups that are spiritually starving their members. Actually, if that is the case with the group...God isn't there, so it is ok to leave and find him, even if you are on your own with the radio for awhile. I recently started attending with United, and I must say they are waaaay better than the abusive and controlling splinter group I came from. I have not come across any control or manipulation thus far, and the messages are actually about God and love (instead of "give the minister all your loyalty and your money") I still listen to Christian radio, too, and tithe to United and the radio ministries because they both are feeding me spiritually.

Anonymous said...

4.26 AM When I attended the old WCG, the 'control and manipulation' depended very much on who you were. The members that others complained about were left alone by the ministers, whilst the responsible were stalked and abused by the ministers. I noticed the same dynamics in my workplace. It's like fisherman, they ignore the small fish and go after the big fish, meaning the people with more emotional 'nutrition.' This is accurately portrayed in zombie movies, where zombies ignore one another, but fall over each another going after the 'healthy.'

Anonymous said...

Sorry Redfox712

What really counts is Conversion not so much talent...

And in a family business, the son gets it whether he's qualified or not...

in Business and in Church sad to say

Steve D said...

If someone came to my door to ask for donations for a cause, then pocketed the money, he would be a thief. The C of G say that if we don't tithe to the church we are thieves, robbing God. But, since they are not Levites and have no right to accept tithes, who are the real thieves? I wish people would stop using the term "tithe" and use the term donations or something else which indicates that it is a voluntary gift. Even Jews don't tithe since there are no Levites or Temple. But they do encourage all to "give" 10% to "help heal the world."

Retired Prof said...

Trading Guy, tithing is a tax, an ecclesiastical tax. Your expansive definition of "trade" includes it as a trade, and I am cool with that: you give money and in return you get a benefit.

In that case, my county taxes also constitute trade. I pay the county money, and the county keeps the roads maintained, cleared of winter snow, and patrolled for everyone's safety. The county also runs programs to promote public health, education, and general well-being. These are the kinds of things you apply the word "commie" to in regard to secular government, yet they are far more tangible than the "big profit from God" you receive. Notice that anonymous at 4:26 AM also lists benefits from tithing, more specific and tangible than yours. Notice that the tangible benefits go to other people, and the tither enjoys the intangible gratification of having done somebody some good. Both you and that other person indicate you are satisfied with your transactions, and that's perfect justification for tithing. Allen C. Dexter finds the return on a tithing investment is nonexistent. The smart thing for him to do is what he does: refuse to pay.

I know people who object to paying for social benefits provided by secular government. They consider taxes to be theft because citizens can't opt out, the way they can out of tithing. They think if any of the benefits go to other people, then their money has been stolen. But taxes do not constitute theft. It is a just principle for everyone in the jurisdiction to chip in toward maintaining the common good of, for example, snowplowed roads. That is why a society cannot afford to let citizens refuse to pay for the benefits of living in it. Call the practice secular tithing, if you wish. Then it's trade.

Anonymous said...

Retired prof. Tithing is technically a tax, but also an investment. The old church adage that you can't outgive God in regards to tithing is true. God is generous in what He gives back to people who tithe. It's often services that money can't even buy, such as getting the most interesting and rewarding assignments at work. Personal experience (when people are also living by Gods laws) confirms this. In your latter comments, you ignore that secular government is also redistributing wealth via the tax system. Obama is upfront about this with his 'passing the wealth around' comment. Government has a right to tax its citizens for the services such as paying for the military and snow plowering. but it is not above Gods laws. God made this clear when He gave Israel Saul as their king. The king and his supporters are not above the law. Wealth redistribution is breaking Gods law of don't steal. It is theft, pure and simple. And yes, this policy is 'commie.'

Cheers TradingGuy

Unknown said...

Retired Professor at 9:21...

The problem with generalized taxes is that you pay for things that you do not necessarily have use for, or do not believe in. Government is very inefficient in spending decisions as well.

A tax that makes sense is Gasoline Tax. It pays for roads, and the more you drive the more gas tax you pay. Makes sense.

Property tax that is used for police and fire makes sense, however, schools should be made competitive and with a marketplace by having vouchers that one can use to either home school, private school or public school based on choice.

These taxes tend to be very localized and directly beneficial. Federal taxation gets to be a whole lot more complex, wasteful and non-beneficial to any particular individual. User fee taxes are very fair. As much as possible , taxation should be a user fee option.

The whole idea of taxation can be argued as obsolete anyway. The cost to calculate income taxes, the accounting and all is huge. In the modern era , governments should just simply have a set percentage of GDP for spending, and just monetize it (print it in effect). This would produce an inflation rate that would suffice as the "national tax" (inflation is simply a tax in the end).

All activities, legal or otherwise would be taxed at the same rate this way, much accounting and paperwork would be eliminated (probably boosting GDP by 10% by eliminating non productive paperwork) . Federal taxation as it is currently , also drives money into sheltering that can be argued to be non-economic.

For those that tithe, I think many do not realize that they can earmark their money legally for restricted causes, not just for general use of the organization. Use it for scholarships, summer camps, third world aid, widows only etc. if you do not want to see it used for ministerial salaries for instance.

Whether taxation or tithing , there should be choice in giving!

Anonymous said...

Connie, inflation defrauds bank depositors, it defrauds mortgage creditors, and those at the end of 'inflation chain.' Governments love inflation because it whittles away their debts by swindling their bond holders. I wouldn't label this thieving 'tax.'

Cheers TradingGuy

Ralph said...

on June 9, 2016 at 3:27 AM
ed. wrote:-

"....only jewish farmers under the old covenant where required to tithe...."

But so also were farmer members of the other tribes. Just those that worked the land. Not the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker nor the schumacher.

cheers
ralph.f

James said...

Trading guy said...

Retired prof. Tithing is technically a tax, but also an investment. The old church adage that you can't outgive God in regards to tithing is true. God is generous in what He gives back to people who tithe..

BULLSHIT! Its money lost to sociopaths.

Ed said...

Don't let anyone tell you that you will be blessed if you tithe. There is no proof that you will receive any blessings if you tithe. The law of averages states that a percentage of people "seem" to be blessed with more abundance after they start tithing but the truth is that the same percentage of people seem to come across more abundance even if they don't tithe at all. A hypothetical example is, a minister gives a sermon on tithing. The next Sunday 10 people start tithing. The very next week one of the people who just started tithing gets a raise at work. The minister makes an example of that one man who appeared to be blessed with a raise the very next week after he started tithing. Could it very well be that this man was due to get a raise as a result of his hard work anyways regardless of weather he tithed or not. What about the other 9 people who started to tithe who didn't get an increase in their income? They now have an added financial burden to bare. To assume that anyone is blessed if they tithe is assuming a lot from isolated examples that may be nothing more then random accurances caused by other factors unrelated to whether or not they tithe.

Ralph said...

I wonder; Scripture says:-

"Deu 7:11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them."

then:-
"Deu 7:12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:
Deu 7:13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
Deu 7:14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.
Deu 7:15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee."

I don't see any mention of 'tithing' on "this day".

cheers
ralph.f

Anonymous said...

"Tithing is technically a tax, but also an investment. The old church adage that you can't outgive God in regards to tithing is true"

VodooDooDo Trade, Who does God tithe to?

DBP

Anonymous said...

Connie said:"....if you do not want to see it used for ministerial salaries for instance."

I remember when GTA claimed that he developed a lot of friction with his father and those that surrounded him when he suggested that ministers should also learn a trade so that the ministers could support themselves and their families, rather than be solely dependent on headquarters. How noble? ;)
a falsis principiis proficisci = to set forth from false principles

DBP

Anonymous said...

Cronyisim is rampant in many if the Churches of God, if not all. The story of Eli and his sons repeating again and again. It is not what you know it is who you know, who your related to.

Anonymous said...

DBP. God is a trader. This is why He created the universe, the angels and man. He did not create all this so He can play "control freak" as many (especially the ministry) claim. He spends all His time and energy (more than a tithe) serving His creation, just like any good parent. Long term this will result in a big, big profit for God. How many times do you hear parents saying that their children and grand children are their pride and joy.

Cheers TradingGuy

Anonymous said...

What does God trade and with whom?

DennisCDiehl said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
"Tithing is technically a tax, but also an investment. The old church adage that you can't outgive God in regards to tithing is true"

Like the promises on healing , the promises of tithing are a lie. Just like "Whatever you ask in my name I will give it" is. When that fails miserably as well it should and must, you get nailed for "asking amiss..."

One can optimistically look for "proof" of a God's favor but in reality , it is just a naive and uncritically thinking hope. Anyone who tithes can outgive a god because the return is so low and infrequent and this is being generous.

It's kinda like Paul saying "Let everyone esteem others better than themselves." If you try this, you end up wondering what the others are suppose to do since they are a part of the everyone. It makes no real sense in the real world and practice

Being told one is not giving to get lets the lack of return off the hook when it inevitably does not come back "pressed down and overflowing." "You are giving for the WRONG REASON" always puts the blame for the one sided giving down a rat hole clearly on the side of the giver.

Some resort to "Well, you have food and air, sunshine and water don't you?" Sorry, so does everyone else who doesn't tithe and it's a stupid perspective.

But Trading Guy is right. Gods are Traitors.

Anonymous said...

Dennis, healing from God is not a right, since it is a service that Gods owns. Ownership gives Him the right to say no. Healing is at Gods discretion, despite bible twisting/manipulation to try to make this an entitlement. Gangster ministers have members under their thumbs, and are now trying to put God under their thumb with their "but you promised daddy" manipulations. So much for respecting Gods throne, or 'you will be done.'
So trade took Christs life by Him having to die for peoples sins, and His scourging paid for peoples healing, but according to Dennis, tithing is exempt. Really? So tithing is the one phenomenon in the whole universe where trade ceases to exist.
The 'esteeming others better than one self' thingy is Paul playing psychiatrist, as the context shows. It cannot be a principle as you point out. But your confusion is understandable and forgivable since you went to the 'we teach you how not to live' Ambassador College.
No, I did not say 'Gods are traitors,' only HWA. But it's also true of many ministers.

Cheers TradingGuy

Steve D said...

The blessing for giving (tithing) may not always be tangible. Giving to others, either of your time or resources, can make you less self focused, less selfish. The Jews have taught that even though tithing is no longer possible (No temple or Levites), they suggest that we all give (voluntary) to a cause to help make the world a better place. Even if you don't feel like it, do it. Perhaps in time, your heart will catch up with your actions.

Anonymous said...

5.30AM assuming you are being serious, God is principally trading with us humans at present. This parallels parents devoting their time and resources to raise a family. The major difference here is that because of a short lifespan, parents often get a poor return on this investment. Amongst things God brings into the trade, is the earth with all that's on it. Prior to angels and humans, God traded with 'basic reality' designing the laws of physics and chemistry, resulting in the universe. Once God defined this reality, He, like a computer programmer, designed all the creatures on this planet. This probably took billions of years. This is all trade.

Cheers TradingGuy

Anonymous said...

Anonymous asks, "What does God trade and with whom? "

The answer is clear: He trades with Satan.
Being a megalomaniac, the Judeo-Christian God is jealous, quick to anger, demands to be worshiped, demands to be praised, and demands to be unquestioningly obeyed - no matter how 'cray-cray' His demands are.
So, when He doesn't get His way, He hands people who piss Him off over to Satan, who likes to burn people alive.
What a great trading deal - a 'win-win'! Satan gives God a scapegoat, and God gives Satan human souls to burn. (As the Jews say, "WHAT A DEAL!")

God 'n' Satan... Oh, those two silly guys! ... they're a 'trading' match made in heaven.

Cheers,
ObservingGuy

Retired Prof said...

Ah, yes, ObservingGuy. Quite so.

Readers who doubt this arrangement should review the book of Job. There you will see one of the most famous trading matches in all the Bible. It is not as long as the Parable of the Talents, but it makes up for that by being much more unpleasant to read.

Anonymous said...

As an ex CGI attendee could you tell me what trade GTA had to support his family ? He should have led by example if he felt so strongly. Banjo playing ? Giggalo market? A genius without a trade of his own sums up slot of the ministry these days.

Anonymous said...

Ancient Israel tithed to the Levites. The ministry in LCG are not Levites. Making the leap that one should tithe to them is foolish and only the weak-minded would submit to that kind of reasoning.

I believe that you should give 10% of your earnings to charitable contribution because I'm a follower of Dave Ramsey's financial plan. But that 10% can go to whatever choose. Maybe that's your church, maybe that's Wounded Warrior's or St. Jude's. Maybe it's a family you know that's out of work.

Meredith isn't entitled to it.

Anonymous said...

LCG members are withholding their tithes and not registering for the Feasts because they know their church is on the precipice.

Between Meredith's impending death, the financial mismanagement curtesy of Jim, increasing rampant abuse of sheep and the Scarborough lawsuit... the writing is most certainly on the wall.

Anonymous said...

Why on earth would COGWA merge with the failing LCG? It makes no sense because a large number of LCG members will ultimately settle in COGWA after the impending LCG split. COGWA will get the people without the financial dead weight of Lil' Jimmy's over-spending in time regardless.

Why merge and assume debt when you could just wait it out and get tithe-paying members without it?