Sell Your Gold at Church

[Alan]

Amazing

http://www.calvarydothan.com/content/content.cfm?coid=27328

[Keeping Alert]

Truly Amazing. I am speechless.

Very soon, they will start auctioning things...

[Justasheep]

You know what I found most odd? I navigated around that site quite a bit, and never once did I find the name "Jesus".

huh? What's with that?

[Swayde]

Truly Amazing. I am speechless.

Very soon, they will start auctioning things...

Lots of churches hold auctions around here and have been for years. They hold auctions, garage sales, bake sales, and other fund raisers.

Personally I think it's okay, as long as they are being honest and fair and it's not interfering with any worship time. I think it just depends on where their heart is. Are they really trying to help people, raise money for missions and bring Glory to God? Or are they just trying to make a buck to line their pockets and are motivated by greed?

[Mttw633]

i'm curious, how many of you have cash machines at your church? Unfortunatly, we do.

[Swayde]

i'm curious, how many of you have cash machines at your church? Unfortunatly, we do.

That's a new one to me.

[mark s]

If someone were to try to put one at our church, I think it would be quickly pitched onto the street.

[Keeping Alert]

Truly Amazing. I am speechless.

Very soon, they will start auctioning things...

Lots of churches hold auctions around here and have been for years. They hold auctions, garage sales, bake sales, and other fund raisers.

Personally I think it's okay, as long as they are being honest and fair and it's not interfering with any worship time. I think it just depends on where their heart is. Are they really trying to help people, raise money for missions and bring Glory to God? Or are they just trying to make a buck to line their pockets and are motivated by greed?

Thanks, Swayde. Exactly what I was thinking actually.

I have been in third world countries and Asia for too long to remember how churches raise money. Anyway, what I had in mind were many religions in Asia have big time auction of their idols and lucky charms and other auspicious items to raise funds... I hope our churches don't start doing that because I see on TV lots of preachers selling their cloths and rugs with verses sewn onto them and claiming to individually pray over each and everyone of those cloths and rugs and selling them - things are getting wild nowadays IMO...

[beeps]

The kingdom of the anti-christ is about 'buying and selling'

The kingdom of God is of 'giving and recieving'.

Personally if my church had a cash machine in it, it would not be my church.

The only reason they have a cash machine is so that you can get yours out easily after they have manupulated you with their emotional music and sermons.

Is not our treasure is supposed to be in heaven, we are not supposed to be concerned with the things of this world.

What will happen when the mark of the beast comes, what happens when attending church, will they just deduct the offering as the chipped arm passes through the scanner at the door. The mind boggles.

In Love
In Jesus

[burien1]

Unfortunately Beeps, that is exactly what will happen in the liberal Churches. Or something similar to your point.(since I don`t know yet what the mark will be)

[beeps]

Good point, I dont know what the mark of the beast will be either, though I suspect that the chip will be part of the mechanisam of it, but not the actual mark.

[Keeping Alert]

Talking about cash register... I know of some churches that have gone "cashless". They have these bank machines within the church and people can transfer money to the church and even instruct the bank to regularly transfer a fixed amount of money every week to the church... No excuse that you forgot your wallet this time!

[Abiding in His Word]

Talking about cash register... I know of some churches that have gone "cashless". They have these bank machines within the church and people can transfer money to the church and even instruct the bank to regularly transfer a fixed amount of money every week to the church... No excuse that you forgot your wallet this time!

Then I've been a one or two that don't even take up a collection. They simply have baskets at the rear of church for those who want to contribute. .....trusting God to meet the need.

[Mttw633]

That's the conundrum for me; the church is a solid, Bible-believing church. I can give you a pm to listen to any sermon and you would be hard pressed to find anything wrong. I just have a hard time with it. I should bring this up to the leaders rather than airing it here, but I haven't listed the name of the church.

[beeps]

Is the money that is collected in these churches given out to the poor of the church so that there is no one in need, just like they did in the new testament churches, or is it spent on big flashy buildings, sound systems, an army of paid staff. The money in the church is supposed to be for the poor, the orphans and the widows.

We must remeber that when we give to those who are in need that this translates to an eternal action, the buildings of this world are all going to be burned up by a feverent heat, they will mean nothing in eternity. Jesus says at the judgment of the sheep and the goats, you gave them drink, you visited them in prison, you did this to me. Its all about the eternal souls, is your pastor building an empire in this world, is there pride over the church building?

Its all about where the focus is, if it is on Jesus and his word, then the rest is not really that important, if its all about the cash, and the building, then take it to the Lord.

In Jesus

[SueAnn]

Talking about cash register... I know of some churches that have gone "cashless". They have these bank machines within the church and people can transfer money to the church and even instruct the bank to regularly transfer a fixed amount of money every week to the church... No excuse that you forgot your wallet this time!

Then I've been a one or two that don't even take up a collection. They simply have baskets at the rear of church for those who want to contribute. .....trusting God to meet the need.

The first time we attended a Quaker Meeting for Worship, we left afterwards with our envelope still in our posession. No plate had been passed the entire time and there was not one word spoken about where to put our envelope. The following week we added another check to the envelope and again walked out with the envelope. Both of us had been raised in churches with the traditional "plate passing". We knew not what to do. The following week, after yet another Meeting For Worship with no request for money, I took matters into my own hands. I approached the person who seemed to be in charge and asked where to put the envelope. This very gentle, very kind man was so suprised by my question, he had to think for a minute before answering. He finally introduced us to the person who handled all the finances for the Meeting. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and wrote his name and address on a scrap of paper. He directed me to send our tithes to the address on the paper. Checks made payable to the Meeting House. He also kindly explained that our $$ to the Lord is a very personal matter, just between us and the Lord. They do not pass the plate publically because Meeting for Worship is for worship only. They don't even hand out boxes of envelopes each year.

Ever since, it drives me crazy when I attend a church that passes the plate. It just feels wrong.

Quakers are serious tithers. They have small congregations. They have really old buildings that require constant upkeep. Yet they always have enough money to pay for everything, as well as give generously to various community charities. But I have never heard any requests for money for the Meeting.

Amazing.

[Abiding in His Word]

Thank you for sharing that, SueAnn. That's a very interesting way to handle money matters in church.

[Swayde]

Talking about cash register... I know of some churches that have gone "cashless". They have these bank machines within the church and people can transfer money to the church and even instruct the bank to regularly transfer a fixed amount of money every week to the church... No excuse that you forgot your wallet this time!

Then I've been a one or two that don't even take up a collection. They simply have baskets at the rear of church for those who want to contribute. .....trusting God to meet the need.

The first time we attended a Quaker Meeting for Worship, we left afterwards with our envelope still in our posession. No plate had been passed the entire time and there was not one word spoken about where to put our envelope. The following week we added another check to the envelope and again walked out with the envelope. Both of us had been raised in churches with the traditional "plate passing". We knew not what to do. The following week, after yet another Meeting For Worship with no request for money, I took matters into my own hands. I approached the person who seemed to be in charge and asked where to put the envelope. This very gentle, very kind man was so suprised by my question, he had to think for a minute before answering. He finally introduced us to the person who handled all the finances for the Meeting. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and wrote his name and address on a scrap of paper. He directed me to send our tithes to the address on the paper. Checks made payable to the Meeting House. He also kindly explained that our $$ to the Lord is a very personal matter, just between us and the Lord. They do not pass the plate publically because Meeting for Worship is for worship only. They don't even hand out boxes of envelopes each year.

Ever since, it drives me crazy when I attend a church that passes the plate. It just feels wrong.

Quakers are serious tithers. They have small congregations. They have really old buildings that require constant upkeep. Yet they always have enough money to pay for everything, as well as give generously to various community charities. But I have never heard any requests for money for the Meeting.

Amazing.

That's how it should be in all churches IMO. I hate going to church and the entire sermon is about money and pressuring you to give. I am a very generous person, but I really get upset when that's all they preach about. I want to LEARN not be coerced into filling up the offering bucket to help pay for a building that was unnecessary in the first place. I find building larger buildings when you aren't filling up the one you have to be an unnecessary expense, but that's apparently because I lack "vision".

[JFaron]

You know what I found most odd? I navigated around that site quite a bit, and never once did I find the name "Jesus".

huh? What's with that?

Found the name Jesus precisely once on their entire site buried near the bottom of their ministries page.

http://www.calvarydothan.com/services/index.cfm

Hope that comes up as a link. Just use your find on this page function in Internet Explorer and you should find the Lord's name "Jesus" on the lower right column. Kinda wonder where their priorities are though. However, the Lord knows from time to time I go off on a weird tangent, the Lord Jesus knows their hearts and can figure out their situation without my help.



JFaron aka Alan Hanson