Saturday, June 29, 2024

"Theological illusionist David C. Pack took another one on the chin..."

 


Smoke and Mirrors

Theological illusionist David C. Pack took another one on the chin when the Kingdom of God did not arrive at The Restored Church of God Headquarters Campus on Pentecost, June 16, 2024.

After spending 4 hours and 16 minutes waving his long, powerful lists in the air proving Pentecost 2024 was the day Jesus Christ would return to pat him on the back with a world-witnessed attaboy, the Pastor General flinched in the concluding 63 seconds to extinguish all his momentum by prognosticating his own inevitable failure. 

It was a little bitch move.

Predictably, Dave later clung to that thin lifeline of being right about being wrong for the 82nd time since March 2022. In advance of Pentecost, an anonymous email from Church Administration blessed the brethren with another “my Lord delays His coming” declaration.

During "The Greatest Unending Story!" Part 519 on June 20 and Part 520 on June 22, David C. Pack pushed on by dissolving the past and recycling his notes, promising a brighter future.

But that is a cheap parlor trick consisting of smoke and mirrors.

Jesus Christ Brings the Kingdom of God
July 7, 2024
Sunrise on Tammuz 1 at 6:02 AM ET

A brief summary of Parts 519 and 520 is for the skimmers:

•  Pentecost was “a shadow” of Tammuz 1.
•  Tammuz 1 is the new date that was declared through careful implication rather than declaration.
•  The Kingdom comes in summer, not spring.
•  The falsely imagined New Moon on the 10th of each month was abandoned.
•  Midst of the Years is when three types of years intersect.
•  David C. Pack has logged over 25,000 hours of Bible study during the Series.
•  David C. Pack’s enemies are mocking.
•  RCG members leave because they do not believe God.
•  Herbert W. Armstrong was not a false prophet, so David C. Pack is not a false prophet.

David C. Pack is the most insecure narcissist you will ever meet, who consistently shrinks away from a date as it approaches because he knows the truth: Dave doesn’t know Jack.



 


Expressing a medical-grade learning disability, Wadsworth's resident false apostle, false prophet, and false teacher walks in the same circles, repeating the same mistakes. Even though nothing but depleted checking accounts occurred on Pentecost, the prophetic bungle still had a bright side.


Part 519 – June 20, 2024
@ 00:04 Well, here we are. You’ll learn why I thought we would be. All the complicated or maybe should say complications and gymnastics of how the Kingdom could arrive on Pentecost (the tenth of a month) are over.

This smoke and mirrors introductory wordplay obscures two embarrassing points Dave did not want to admit: 1) Brethren will learn why Dave thought they would be there instead of why he was wrong. 2) The New Moon he invented on the tenth of each month to force the circle moed into the triangle slot Pentecost was immediately abandoned.

@ 00:24 I can’t describe just, from a personal perspective, the peace this brought when I discovered (well, discovered it several days before Pentecost), I I was suspicious at the end of the week. I spoke on Tuesday. I’d been suspicious for a long time, but what finally came to bear is what will come out today.

Like when Dr. Strange lamented that the warnings come after the spell, David C. Pack confesses his hidden doubts about his own teachings after it is too late. Instead of NOT teaching something he was troubled by, the self-centered hireling pushes through his discomfort to preach it anyway. Brethren be damned.

David C. Pack’s state of mind and well-being broadcast which spirit drives him. The brethren still attending The Restored Church of God reading this right now should seriously consider which being they are supporting by giving this spiritually bankrupt organization their money. You KNOW Dave is a false apostle, yet you stay because you value the social club aspect more than holding fast to what you know to be true.

Your continued attendance and financial support promote religious madness. You already know this. If you think God will step in and push what your eyes and ears already tell you, then you are playing a smoke and mirrors game with yourself. You reap what you sow, folks.

After Dave was warmed up, his Pentecost confessional became less opaque.

@ 33:43 And we know, as I knew all along, but then Pentecost kinda fogged in for reasons I’ll will explain. We’re looking for a New Moon. It’s pretty simple. You know I’ve been suspicious for over a month about various dates. But, again, I’ll just say, a shadow got in the way [chuckles].

It is not Dave’s fault. That pesky Pentecost shadow fogged things up.

@ 41:15 One thing bothered me about Pentecost, and I didn't know what to do about it. It was it's it's still in spring. We need a New Moon that’s in summer.

And just like that, one prophetically timed season snaps to become another. The Pentecost backpedaling continued in Part 520 with obvious sleight-of-hand excuses.

Part 520 – June 22, 2024
@ 17:02 And and so, I thought because of so many verses on dawn I’m gonna show you I thought, “Well, maybe it is Pentecost." Rather than, it was a shadow.

@ 1:29:17 It's very important for the picture of what was seen on Pentecost. We we know that it carries many elements of shadow. Now think. Here are some of the areas of shadow. And I got confused near the end because I thought, “Well, okay, it has to be a great day. Pentecost is a great day.” 

@ 1:29:51 And so it's I I I I'll hope you'll excuse me. I'll excuse myself for getting confused. I wish I hadn't.

David C. Pack is quite generous when it comes to forgiving himself. His most merciful leniency is reserved for when he looks in the mirror. Not so much for those he would like to see cast into the Lake of Fire.

All of his rationale for why nothing happened on Pentecost is just verbal smoke and mirrors.

 


With an uneventful Pentecost in the rearview mirror, it is time for Website Services to strike these from Member Services:

Flashback Part 514 – May 25, 2024
@ 1:13:42 I told you I knew exactly when this was, and that’s true. I know it’s in spring.

Flashback Part 517 – June 8, 2024
@ 40:15 It would almost be an act of deception by God to lay out all of this and say, “Sorry. Fooled you. Joke’s on you.”

@ 1:09:59 In fact, could we even learn that every 10th of the month, goin' backwards and forwards forever, is a New Moon?

This fleeting New Moon heresy was conjured by a mentally corrupt sorcerer and his whipping boys in the Third Floor Executive Imaginarium. The wooden walls encase a perverse think tank where biblical truth is twisted to death.

Flashback Part 518 – June 11, 2024
@ 49:32 All those things began to build up in my mind, and I think God was preparing me for years to come to understand the 10th, but not until it was we were ready.

David C. Pack's Pentecost 2024 failure proves God was NOT preparing him for years to understand this. The lying false apostle's plain words accuse himself, and the RCG brethren will not hear it. He tells everyone what they need to hear to judge whether he speaks the truth or not.

@ 1:29:50 This is some of the deepest things of God I’ve ever been blessed to teach.

Time exposes that there was no blessing and the doctrines were not from God. Yet, the picnics are sometimes fun, so keep paying this man to lie to you, brethren.

 



During Parts 519 and 520, David C. Pack’s list fetish was fully engorged as if waving his worthless and partially recycled lists provided any credibility since all the previous lists failed to produce accurate results.

David C. Pack holds his lists up before the entire congregation, and he strikes the rock with promises that water will burst forth. But none ever does. During Old Testament times, that would have justifiably been stone-picking time.


@ 39:04 Now, we’re gonna examine dozens. Actually scores of points, and it’s time to get it right.

@ 56:15 I don’t know how many points. I got about 60 points here, and we've covered 6. So, we’re about a tenth done.

About an hour into Part 519, he is only on Point #6. I left RCG three years ago, but I still feel that sinking internal cringe of anticipating hours more of pointless suffering in the Main Hall meat locker. Brethren endure countless ruined Sabbaths at Headquarters in The Restored Church of God. That is lost time, and we will never get back.

David C. Pack admits something that should embarrass everyone in RCG in 3…2…1…

@ 1:20:06 Now, there are some [Tammuz 1] points that roll right over from the Pentecost list.

His proofs can be swapped between differing conclusions, illustrating their flexible worthlessness.


Part 520 – June 22, 2024
@ 42:09 But I told you, the list of things I’ve been looking at for a long time was that long list, and over time, it kept growing.

When God charges a chosen servant to relay vital information to His people, it is God's responsibility for them to get it right the first time. David C. Pack adopted the "trial and error leads us closer to success” philosophy, which may work in entrepreneurship but is proof of false leadership in prophetic theology.

The Bible gives anyone a single chance to prove God is backing them. David C. Pack was revealed to be a prophetic fraud on August 30, 2013. He is forever invalidated, and nothing biblical will happen on July 7.


David C. Pack was never commanded to hit the rock, talk to it, or drop it on his foot. No water will ever spring forth. He was not sent, yet he ran. He rushes to call out lunacy with his arms waving in the air.

His endless lists will never produce fruit. Compiling, reading, and holding them up is a smoke and mirrors technique devoid of substance that is no more valuable than the hot air that blathered them.


 


When brethren flee The Restored Church of God, they do so because they have proven from the Bible that David C. Pack is false. They know the cowardly enablers at Headquarters willfully support their human idol with feigning lips, spreading wickedness with lying tongues.

That truth is distorted through smoke and mirrors.


Part 519 – June 20, 2024
@ 11:36 We know that 90% 90% of Israel will blow it off. That’s why I I I’m often comforted when I see people who understand this [7-Year] Kingdom is set up, and no other church on the face of the earth has or ever has, does or ever has understood it. They’ll just blow it off, and I I, and I don’t take it personally. I know they just simply don’t believe God.

Dave absolutely takes it personally. Former ministers tell many stories of him getting incensed when someone openly disagrees with him in the most minor matters. David C. Pack’s Greatest Hissy Fit during Part 430 is an appropriate reminder of how Dave reacts to indifference.

@ 12:21 You know, we have modern scoffers today. We know they’re gonna be scoffers in this Kingdom. They just don’t believe.

We do not believe you, Dave. You are a documented hypocritical liar and blasphemer.

@ 22:34 And I we have people leave us all the time. [chuckles] Many come in, but we have people leave us all the tuh. They absolutely want nothing to do with what God tells them to do.

It is easier for him to accept people leave because they disregard God rather than he is wrong.




Still deceptively beating the drum that he is not a false prophet by being born again as a staunch Elijah-denier (wink wink), he gives the unpaid field mollusks more quotes to hide behind when quizzed.


Part 520 – June 22, 2024
@ 1:36:13 Apparently, the Series, in some way, prophesied. If it if you prophesy again, then you prophesy again. I I do not claim to be a prophet. But why people all believe That Prophet would first be human?

@ 1:36:45 John the Baptist. “Are you That Prophet?” He said no. If somebody asks me, I’ll say the same thing. I won’t I I I won’t claim to be a prophet.

His insatiable ego craves biblical specialness so desperately, Dave wishfully projects the accolades of the brethren in 3…2…1…

@ 1:36:53 “Well, you should, Mr. Pack!” Well, maybe I should, then, pray for me because I’m not gonna do it. Was it inspired preaching?

That is like a man adamantly asserting he will not commit adultery after having already committed adultery. History on the internet is hard to erase, Dave.


@ 1:37:56 Either way, prophesying or inspired preaching would seem to add credence to Tuh to Tammuz. I mean, tell ya, you you you judge what you think my words are.

David C. Pack's words are neither prophesying nor inspired preaching. His prophet denials are smoke and mirrors tricking new or amnesiac brethren.

 


The self-appointed apostle is so woefully inept he never considers the implications of his own words. David C. Pack is screaming to the members of The Restored Church of God that God is not guiding him, nor is he moved by the Holy Spirit to preach what he does.


@ 1:43:42 'Cause this, remember. If you wait, if you wait one month, boy, that’s it for eternity. You think that didn’t weigh incredibly heavily on me. I mean, it was it was one of the most stressful periods of my life trying to put all this together. I’ll just say that. …So, but I’ll just tell ya, you know, when when you when you when YOU settle on a date, you are settling on an eternal date. You don’t want that pressure on you. I promise you.

An authentic, inspired spokesman for God would not feel pressured because the man is not settling on any date. He is only conveying what God already chose. The pressure is on God to get it right, not the human conduit. A faithful end time messenger would not feel such stress about what God is doing because God is doing it, not him.

This demonstrates David C. Pack does not believe God is revealing this to him, but the self-assigned mouthpiece has to “figure out” what God wants. That is the fatal flaw in believing he can receive an utterance from God without actually hearing an utterance from God.

David C. Pack does not believe David C. Pack because nobody should.

If you think he does not take reasonable opposition personally, ask yourself why he keeps the victimhood card in his back pocket. Anyone who reminds Dave of what he said is counted as an enemy.

@ 1:44:14 You have no idea how many of our enemies are sitting out there mocking what I took on there nobody else even saw. You have no idea.

From what others tell me, plenty of RCG brethren have an idea because they read these articles on exrcg.org and Banned by HWA. Yes. They have a pretty good idea, Dave. Hi, Brad.

Dave then builds the most colossal straw man argument while standing behind the dead shadow of Herbert W. Armstrong of The Worldwide Church of God.


@ 1:44:28 Nobody thought Mr. Armstrong was a false prophet when he thought the Millennium was the First Kingdom. He wuddn’t a false prophet. You could ask, “Was he?”

Dave offers a series of plastic questions that are apples to oranges comparisons. Hollow questions about the Millennium, the New Heavens and New Earth, and the Day of the Lord are carefully worded because they focused on WCG doctrines, NOT date setting.

His warped logic is easy to discern and is pure smoke and mirrors. Non-critical thinkers like Edward Winkfield may accept it all at the surface level, but that smoke is so dilute you can see the huge cracks in the glass.

It is topped off with more woe-is-me, where Dave finally admits why he relied so much on smoke and mirrors techniques during Parts 519 and 520.

Part 520 – June 22, 2024
@ 1:45:36 He had 59 years. I had under nine years working alone with ferocious opposition. And boy, if I if I don’t tiptoe just right you you you just can’t even believe. You can’t even believe.

David C. Pack had to tiptoe just right due to ferocious opposition. Like all the servants of God in the Bible had to. He is a one-man show doing this on his own steam, brethren. Hear him when he tells you that.

The righteous are as bold as a lion. Biblical frauds tiptoe with verbal smoke and mirrors.


Marc Cebrian




But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were jutisfied...



Washed, Sanctified, Justified, and Glorified in Jesus


Too many of the folks who profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ are ignorant of what his life, death, resurrection, and ascension accomplished for us. Unfortunately, a large number of Christians are operating under the mistaken assumption that their good works will save them from death and eternal damnation. Scripture, however, is explicit about the fact that this is accomplished for us by Jesus of Nazareth. Even so, some of these folks continue to believe that they have a significant role to play in their own salvation! Moreover, they falsely accuse those of us who do understand how we are saved of antinomianism - rejecting or doing away with any obligation on our part to be moral or righteous. They say that we effectively turn grace into a license to sin, but nothing could be further from the truth!

In this regard, one of their favorite proof texts is drawn from Paul's first letter to the saints at Corinth (which they twist and pervert in the same manner they do the rest of the Scriptures). In that epistle, the Apostle Paul upbraided Christ's disciples for squabbling among themselves, and even appealing to the secular courts to settle their disputes with each other (I Corinthians 6:1-8). He went on to write: "do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality (male prostitutes), nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (I Corinthians 6:9-11, ESV)

Paul was pointing out that their current behavior did not reflect the reality of what Christ had done for them. He went on to remind them of what Christ had done for them. Paul said that Christ had washed or cleansed them of their sins, had sanctified them (made them Holy), and justified them (imputed his righteousness to them). In other words, he was pointing out that their sinful behavior was more of a reflection of their former sinful life than one that reflected what Christ had accomplished for them! Instead, they were acting like folks who had NOT been redeemed by Jesus - like folks who would NOT be a part of God's Kingdom. The apostle was effectively reiterating a principle which Christ had taught his disciples during his earthly ministry - good trees produce good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit.

Paul went on to remind them that they were now Christ's, and that the way that they lived their lives should reflect the fact that they had been given the gift of God's Holy Spirit. Hence, once again, things like practicing sexually immorality and engaging with prostitutes was inconsistent with the reality of their new life in Christ (I Corinthians 6:12-20).

Likewise, in his epistle to Christ's disciples at Rome, Paul told them that Jesus Christ had freed them from the Law of sin and death and had given them the Holy Spirit to assist them in their new life (Romans 8:1-11). He went on to explain that the Spirit had made them Sons of God, and that they would be glorified with him someday (Romans 8:12-17). Paul continued: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us...For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." (Romans 8:18-25, ESV) He concluded his thought: "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." (Romans 8:26-30, ESV)

So, we see from Paul's perspective that Jesus Christ accomplished: 1. cleansing us of our sins, 2. making us Holy before God, 3. the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us, and 4. making us able to host God's Spirit. This is salvation through Jesus Christ! Now, we should also state that Paul makes clear that these things are accomplished by Christ both immediately and over the course of our lifetimes on this planet. Even so, it is God who decided that we would be called to Christ and saved - redeemed from sin and death and given eternal life with God. Yes, the wages of sin is DEATH, but eternal life is God's GIFT to us through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23). There is NOTHING that you or I can do to acquire this gift. Nevertheless, if we have truly accepted the gift, our behavior will reflect that reality!

 Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix



Friday, June 28, 2024

Domestic Abuse in the Churches of God

 


Let that sink in!

Over the years, various Facebook exCOG groups have been filled with horror stories from women who were told by their ministers to go back home and submit to their husbands, as "Christ commands", regardless of the abuse they were suffering through. From violent beatings, rapes, and public humiliation, these women were told to bear it as their cross of burden, because God will correct it all in the end. After all, church government is more important!

Sadly, some women did just that an ended up being murdered, having bones broken in their bodies, raped and mentally abused to the point of incapacitation.

How sick could our ministers be?

Thankfully many brave souls did not listen to their ministers and called police on their husbands and had them arrested. Others fled marriages and took their kids and went to other states to start over. 



Domestic abuse is a crime!
Report the abuser and do not listen to a minister tell you otherwise.
99% of the ministry in the Churches of God have had NO legitimate counseling training and very few will report abusers to the police as they are required to.

Here in California ministers/preachers/clergy are mandated reporters by law of child abuse, elder abuse and domestic violence.
If your minister fails to support you and report your abuser, then REPORT him!



Who are Mandated Reporters?

Any person who is required by law to report a particular category or type of abuse to the appropriate law enforcement or social service agency.

Mandated Reporters are legally responsible to report the incident themselves. They are not required to investigate any known or suspected case of abuse.



Mandated Reporters Include...
  • All licensed healthcare professionals, including but not limited to:
– Physicians
– Nurses
– Mental Health Professionals
– ALL employees in a long‐term health facility
– EMTs, paramedics, medical examiners

  • Social Workers, Marriage & Family Counselors
  • Child care custodians / Elder or dependent adult custodians
  • Employee of a protective service or law enforcement agency
  • Teachers
  • Clergy
  • Commercial film & photographic print processors
California Mandated Reporting Requirements




Safety Plan

Be Prepared to Get Away…

        1. Keep a spare set of keys, a set of clothes, important papers, prescriptions and some money with someone you trust.
        2. Keep any evidence of physical abuse (ripped clothes, pictures taken of injuries or destruction of property) or verbal abuse or threats (messages left on the phone or voice mail).
        3. Plan the safest time to get away.
        4. Keep your cell phone with you at all times in case violence escalates and you need to get help. If you do not have a cell phone, contact your local domestic violence agency or police department to see if they have a free 911 phone.
        5. Know where you can go for help. Tell someone you trust what is happening to you so that someone else knows.
        6. Call the police if you or your children are in immediate danger.
        7. If you are injured, go to the hospital or doctor and ask them to document your injuries and cause in your file.
        8. Plan with your children and identify a safe place for them to go or someone to call for help. Teach them how to call 911. Reassure them it is not their job to take care of you, but to stay safe.
        9. Arrange a signal with a neighbor or friend to notify them of danger (such as turning on a porch light in the daytime) so they can call for help.
        10. Contact your local domestic violence hotline to find out about area resources to use during a crisis (such as a shelter) or for support. Christian Coalition Against Domestic Abuse



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.



It is amazing how this blog gets under the thin skins of so many little self-appointed false prophets of the church. The Great Bwana Bob Mzungu Thiel, the Chief Overseer of Africa and the Occasional 100 Caucasians, popped his little cork today over a letter we posted some time back by Harry Eisenberg (see previous post) where Eisenberg discussed how the church covered up the fact that tithing was not a command. 

The Great Bwana Bob, along with many of the other charlatans masquerading as COG leaders claim tithing is a new covent command. They have to do this because they would have no other means to fund their disturbing little "ministries". Trying to prove that tithing is still commanded seems to be one of the times they feel justified lying is appropriate. As hard as they try they cannot disprove that tithing is NOT a new coveant command.


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.