Gerald Weston is delighted to see that some LCG members heeded Richard Ames call last weeek to send in as much money as they could, even though they were suffering financially.
Weston goes on to tell LCG members that it is important to tithe so they can impress God, because if they don't they will suffer the consequences!
Dr. Douglas Winnail should arrive home from a busy trip to the UK by the time you see this. He conducted Tomorrow’s World Presentations in Belfast, Northern Ireland; and London, England; held a regional ministerial conference; and made personal visits with our ministers in the region. A number of us from here in Charlotte returned from a successful two-week Teen Camp in Texas and are catching up on work here at headquarters. Many members and coworkers responded positively to the letter Mr. Richard Ames sent this month, for which we are very grateful. These are challenging times for many, especially those on fixed incomes and even moderate-sized families. We must remember to put God first by tithing faithfully, and claim His promise to provide for us, but offerings may need to be less, due to high inflation. That is where those of us who have a little extra can make up for those who are struggling to take care of essentials: tithing, putting food on the table, buying fuel for their vehicles to get to work. Thank you, brethren, for responding to Mr. Ames’ letter.—Gerald Weston
When you are struggling to put food on your table and buy fuel for your car so you can go to work, tithing is NOT an essential thing to be doing. God is no more pleased by this than the leaders of LCG truly are.
When you are struggling to survive, remember this:
16 comments:
I wish these ministers, so called, would just once stop the hypocrisy. They are no more than modern day Pharisees with the veil of Moses still covering their hearts and minds.
Until the hypocrisy and do as I say, not as I do mentality are left behind, no good will be done by any of these groups. They are just spitting in the wind.
Have they never read Luke 18:9-14? Just to remind them, it is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Who was it that went away justified? Was it the Pharisee who specifically told Jesus that he TITHED and fasted, etc., while the tax collector bowed his head in shame and asked Jesus to have mercy on him, a sinner. We all know which one received the praise and was justified by Jesus and which one was left in the dust.
Perhaps Doug and, all the Acogs for that matter, could ponder who really will be with God for eternity and who will not. Maybe after meditating on that Scripture until the fog clears, these long suffering members really can have a profitable Sabbath!
They are greedy ministers greed is destroying us.
Still waiting on UCG to publish the FIVE HIGHEST SALARIES paid , to be shown every year, as was stated in their founding documents back in 1995.
It’s all about the ‘greenbacks’ folks.
Nothing more nothing less.
As long as the salaries are paid.
Quite a contrast to what Jesus told His disciples to do.
What all this has shown, is how helpless these ‘shepherds’ are without the ‘paying sheep’.
Nothing.
And what's never taught is Amos 4:4: bring your tithes after 3 years. HUH? Yup. The COgs are mesmerized by Herbie's "third tithe" when in fact Israel was supposed to bring tithes only once every 3 years, for the Levites, listed first as the recipients, and the "poor". Brethren! Must read your Bible and stop listening to greedy thieves who make merchandise of you.
It blows my mind that they continue to try to operate on the "Worldwide" model as if that was the only way to accomplish the work. In retrospect it was all a facade and the so called apostle was a narcissistic pedophile who never lost a minute of sleep worrying about the average member.
Tonto said, "Still waiting on UCG to publish the FIVE HIGHEST SALARIES paid, to be shown every year, as was stated in their founding documents back in 1995."
"Salaries" are shared every year at their General Conference of Elders meeting, albeit they are shared as ranges for titles and levels. So, an admin title might fall into level 1, which has a certain salary range. A pastor might be a level 7 and make somewhere in another range. The president may be a level 10 and make an even higher range. Names with exact salaries are not shared.
Are these ranges published?
My, how history REPEATS ITSELF!! Read the Ambassador Reports and you will see it!! Same old regurgitated nonsense!! Keep the MONEY coming!! Newsflash!!! Your so called “Work” is watered down pablum!! You stop short of telling it how it REALLY IS!! WWJD???
1:05 pm, I did read my Bible and found your interpretion of Amos 4:4 to be incorrect.
Verse 4-5 is from one of the "Thus saith the Lord" declarations where the Lord through the prophet granted allowance to Israel to continue in its apostasy in places like Bethel and Gilgal, by worshipping idols as reported in 3:14 and Hos 12:11.
They brought their tithes there too but the correct translation here is "every three DAYS (yowm)" -- not every three YEARS (shaneh). The question here is whether they were tithing to the Lord while sacrificing to idols or tithing to the pagan priests alone. Either way, their tithing wasn't "profiting" (Winnail's favourite word) them.
"For this you like (to do)" (v5), so He let them do it, but a day of full reckoning is coming.
Inflation, everything keeps going up. Not your salary though. That’s what’s real. Then they want you to tithe to a splinter group. Regular members can’t even save with their demands. Some of them are wolves in sheeps clothing.
11:45: Yowm is translated in various versions as "year(s)" because of the context, as in Ex 13:10; Lev 25:29; Num 9:22; Judges 17:10; 1Sam 2:19. It doesn't make sense to bring tithes every 3 days. But no doubt the tithes were misused as the passage was discussing Israel's transgressions. It's a stretch but a question could be asked: if sacrifices are brought every morning, why weren't tithes that were presumably stored up brought with the sacrifices? But because the verse specifies 3, the meaning appears to be something like "years of days".
When Europe was going into negative interest rates, economists were worried about a deflationary depression, and felt that inflation would be the best possible antidote. Discussions were held regarding how to "reflate" the economy. Seems like we got the answer.
Meanwhile in reality a great world depression by economists is being predicted for around the 100 year anniversary of 1929 great depression. The high inflation now is being seen as just the beginning by economists.
The church should be getting its financial houses in order as a immediate priority and at the very least advising its members.
If these economists are correct then everything is likely to change within the COGs. It's not 1992 anymore.
As what was stated before, these COGs need to change their models, especially for the younger members who are just starting to enter the workforce,. I couldn’t image having to pay all those tithes, along with student loan debt, and trying to be a man trying to take care of a young family in this economy.
See when these guys came in the 50s and 60s their one income could take care of a whole family. So you could manage this tithing system without worry. They were in their 20s, already evangelist. It ain’t even close to the same as it is today. They don’t care, they just want to divide ( splinterdome) and conquer (rule)!
Anonymous 11:51 asked, "Are these ranges published?
They're not published that I'm aware of, but one I know for sure is the level of Pastor, which is $55k-$78k a year. I would assume this is based on both years of service as well as location of service and the cost of living there.
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