Posted on 08/29/2013 11:06:02 AM PDT by Gamecock
WINSTON-SALEM — Julie and Bob Clark were stunned to receive a letter from their church in July asking them to “participate in the life of the church” — or worship elsewhere.
“They basically called us freeloaders,” says Julie.
“We were freeloaders,” says Bob.
In a trend that may signal rough times for wallflower Christians, bellwether mega-church Faith Community of Winston-Salem has asked “non-participating members” to stop attending.
“No more Mr. Nice Church,” says the executive pastor, newly hired from Cingular Wireless. “Bigger is not always better. Providing free services indefinitely to complacent Christians is not our mission.”
“Freeloading” Christians were straining the church’s nursery and facility resources and harming the church’s ability to reach the lost, says the pastor.
“When your bottom line is saving souls, you get impatient with people who interfere with that goal,” he says.
Faith Community sent polite but firm letters to families who attend church services and “freebie events” but never volunteer, never tithe and do not belong to a small group or other ministry. The church estimates that of its 8,000 regular attendees, only half have volunteered in the past 3 years, and a third have never given to the church.
“Before now, we made people feel comfortable and welcome, and tried to coax them to give a little something in return,” says a staff member. “That’s changed. We’re done being the community nanny.”
Surprisingly, the move to dis-invite people has drawn positive response from men in the community who like the idea of an in-your-face church.
“I thought, ‘A church that doesn’t allow wussies — that rocks,’” says Bob Clark, who admires the church more since they told him to get lost.
He and Julie are now tithing and volunteering. “We’ve taken our place in church life,” he says.
Cingular Wireless...
oh man
I believed it
I am so stupid
thanks for the truth
Satire aside, I never give traceable funds, always cash or items. The Word says give without expecting return nor boasting. I don’t claim charity on taxes either.
At first I thought their Bishops weren’t going to let them attend their temple unless they proved they were tithing 10%.
Then I realized this was a joke. No one in their right mind would give a bishop the power to deny a church member access to their church’s most holy place. That is between the believer and God.
I LOVE it!!!!!!!
I'm not saying all mega churches are bad, just my experience with the ones I've attended left me feeling like an outsider, very impersonal behavior from supposed Christians.
The horoscope link was hilarious. I thought, “What kind of church would promote horoscopes?”... funny stuff.
More like lampooning the whole mega church phenomena.
*sigh* Great satire.
I should have know it was too good to be true.
And yet I wonder if someone really tried that, if they wouldn’t actually get that result.
Sometimes Christian Churches need to be poked a bit.
Or, in common place vernacular, "Put your money where your mouth is!"
Willow Creek also surveyed it’s membership to see what they wanted more of. A large number said they wanted more doctrine.
Willow Creek’s answer was they needed to teach them to be “self-feeders.”
So much for the instruction to feed the sheep.
I prefer how my pastor handled this issue, by teaching!
http://www.legacychurchnm.com/index.cfm/pageid/2532/index.html#la=loaded&h=860&w=1040
I have yet to hear of any Catholic sect demanding its flock PROVE its members are “contributing”. I have heard some strong sermons about it, but that’s as far as it gets, because the genuinely faithful just need an occasional reminder of their duty.
Must be a proddy/baptist/lutheran/reformed/whatever thing...
Dang, I got sucked in by a satire.
It doesn’t happen often, but I went hook, line, and sinker.
Good post!
Must be a proddy/baptist/lutheran/reformed/whatever thing...(Lark News == satire)
But if the church is not teaching doctrine, what in the world is it teaching, and why? If it is not teaching the Word of God, then it really needs to get into some other business because it is not fulfilling the mission of the church.
I need to think about this one for a while to figure out what spirit this is done with before I could have an opinion to go with my initial reaction.
In the families I grew up in, you were to contribute, not be a burden. Not pulling your own way was definitely a sin in those family situations, as was waiting to be told to do something you saw needed to be done.
OR:
Take your money from where your heart is................
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