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Faith that the irs will always "get" their
man and faith that churches or cults will be exposed from the inside and
outsiders not having any responsibility to question is kind of naïve .
Scientology comes to mind as a "church" that could use a closer
look from all of us, how about the cult that moved their
followers to South America and convinced them to drink tainted cool aid?
I am listening to sermons on Elevations website right now and there ain't nothing "cult" or "weird" about what is being preached. What I am hearing is firmly based on Scripture.
SO I maintain that there is a lot of speculation, rumors and misinformation being circulated . . . and I am concerned that other Christians would be so quick to label this church as a "cult."
I don't need to write about this any further, as it seems folks are aiming their anger towards me when all I am doing is what each of you would hope that someone would do for you should you be accused of wrong-doing. People are not guilty until a verdict is rendered and it isn't as though this man and this church are even on trial for anything, other than in the court of public opinion . . . and I still maintain, unless there is something fraudulent going on . . . this is looking like a witch hunt to me, based on Furtick buying some land and building a big (ostentatious) house.
He was, you are right. He still is. However, churches should make sure their ministers and their families do not have to suffer b/c of their service to the church and community. That ain't right, either. Things have changed . . . when I was a child, ministers (in my denomination) never owned homes -- they simply got a reduced salary b/c they were living "rent free" in parsonages. This made it impossible for ministers to ever own their own home where they could live in retirement.
A generous middle class salary of $50-60K should be more than enough.
He was, you are right. He still is. However, churches should make sure their ministers and their families do not have to suffer b/c of their service to the church and community. That ain't right, either. Things have changed . . . when I was a child, ministers (in my denomination) never owned homes -- they simply got a reduced salary b/c they were living "rent free" in parsonages. This made it impossible for ministers to ever own their own home where they could live in retirement.
How true! I have known clergy in many denominations that were just a couple of steps above the poverty line and had little-to-nothing in their "not-so-golden" years! It just frosts me when I read about the "largess" of some holier-than-thou folks. How many Rolls-Royces does Creflo Dollar really need? I guess we all will be "known by our deeds" in the end.
Before I push the keyboard away . . . here's the link to sermons . . . and this was a wonderful sermon. I can see why folks are drawn to this style of ministry, especially young people.
I am listening to sermons on Elevations website right now and there ain't nothing "cult" or "weird" about what is being preached. What I am hearing is firmly based on Scripture.
SO I maintain that there is a lot of speculation, rumors and misinformation being circulated . . . and I am concerned that other Christians would be so quick to label this church as a "cult."
I don't need to write about this any further, as it seems folks are aiming their anger towards me when all I am doing is what each of you would hope that someone would do for you should you be accused of wrong-doing. People are not guilty until a verdict is rendered and it isn't as though this man and this church are even on trial for anything, other than in the court of public opinion . . . and I still maintain, unless there is something fraudulent going on . . . this is looking like a witch hunt to me, based on Furtick buying some land and building a big (ostentatious) house.
well I am not Christian , I did however never write that Elevation church is a cult
but used both the church and cult reference to point out that there is nothing wrong
with a closer look at some of these churches and cults.
no need to take the discussion personally ,on City Data that is all it is anyway , a discussion.
I have been reading all of this and I have to reply. I know I will get beaten up about it, but I don't care. I attend Elevation Church. Not regularly, but it is the one non-denominational church in Charlotte that we have been to that we like. We have gone to many non-denominational churches in the past in Florida. Most of them are split from Baptist churches. Elevation is no different than any of the other churches that we have attended, except for it's size and the broadcast to other locations.
Pastor Furtick preaches stories from the Bible and parallels them to our lives now. This is how our other Pastors preached. We have been to a couple of non-denominational churches in the area that didn't even open a Bible or have one out. We haven't been for a couple of months because of issues out of state with family, but the last time we went was the first time they have ever taken up an offering that we have attended. There are kiosk in the lobby to make offerings if you want to. I don't even think I have ever heard him ask for money anytime that we have gone. They do show videos of all of the good things the church has done for different organizations in the Charlotte area. It's amazing what they have done. It is the first church we have gone to that our sons, ages 10 and 15 actually want to go and don't want to go to children's church, they want to go in with us.
Until it's proven that he has done something immoral or illegal, I will still attend. I don't feel that I've been taken in by a "cult" and I have never heard him preach about wealth or being wealthy making you a better person. His beginnings were humble and he shares his life experiences.
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