What it all boils down to is membership in their corporation.
I don't care for membership in their corporation. Membership in the family of God is sufficient.
If a letter is required to be a member of their corporation and you don't want to sign the letter then don't support a corporation which you are not considered a member of.
You will have no vote... except for that vote you put in while on your knees... I think God still has veto power if we still have the faith and patience to wait on Him to do it in His time.
I understand that some on this forum have been hurt/abused by oppressive leadership, however I cannot agree with some of the rhetoric I see spewing out from that hurt. Whether you believe in tithing as a biblical commandment or not is of little consequence to me; I just don't believe in eating at Ruth's Chris and sending the money for the bill to McDonald's. If I am being fed, blessed, and growing in my relationship with God then I should support where I am being fed.
I understand that some on this forum have been hurt/abused by oppressive leadership, however I cannot agree with some of the rhetoric I see spewing out from that hurt. Whether you believe in tithing as a biblical commandment or not is of little consequence to me; I just don't believe in eating at Ruth's Chris and sending the money for the bill to McDonald's. If I am being fed, blessed, and growing in my relationship with God then I should support where I am being fed.
What posts would you be talking about. I haven't seen anyone suggest to send money to another ministry etc. And most of the commentary comes from hours of study... not years of hurt
I won't sign an agreement to become a church "member"... You can just count me in as an "attendee" (or even a "rebel" if you prefer... I don't care). But by the same token, my tithes don't necessarily go to a church organization either. (Especially if that organization has silly mandates hung to it.)
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Originally Posted by Fiyahstarter
I agree. But sometimes I feel guilty about it... something along the lines of "my tithes are supposed to go to the House of God" or at least that's what the Man of the House says! LOL!
Granted, somebody has to pay the electric bill and what not... If I knew that the money stayed at my local congregation, it would be different. But I've heard it spoken that our church tithes UP to the mothership... and I have a problem with mother! LOL!
(I wish we'd leave UPC in case you haven't guessed.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhoni
Tithing is not a New Testament principle but a western civilization practice to support church ministries. I will put my money where my heart is and it sure isn't in some of the churches I have seen in the past several years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Digging4Truth
You know...
What it all boils down to is membership in their corporation.
I don't care for membership in their corporation. Membership in the family of God is sufficient.
If a letter is required to be a member of their corporation and you don't want to sign the letter then don't support a corporation which you are not considered a member of.
You will have no vote... except for that vote you put in while on your knees... I think God still has veto power if we still have the faith and patience to wait on Him to do it in His time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Digging4Truth
What posts would you be talking about. I haven't seen anyone suggest to send money to another ministry etc. And most of the commentary comes from hours of study... not years of hurt
D4T,
If I have read these posts and misunderstood their meaning then I will be the first to apologize. However it appears to me that much of the comments here suggest that some have no intention of leaving and finding a place they can support, they just choose to not support the place they are being fed. The reality IMHO is simple, if the situation was really so bad that you were not being fed and you could not stand to be there then you should leave. Otherwise by your continued attendance and receiving (eating) from the ministry of the "bad" church/leadership you are in essence someone who is eating and dipping out without paying.
25 years ago I was at my job in a auto dealership where there were 8 or 9 guys who had joined a "no tax" group and had notified payroll not to deduct any taxes from their checks going forward. I will never forget one day the owner of the dealership came out to where these men were and he made a statement that has stuck with me o this day. He said "If you don't want us to deduct taxes from your checks anymore, that's fine! Just don't let me hear you complain ever again about the pot holes in the road, about poor educations, about the parks not being maintained," and so on. I feel the same about the church if you're not going to support it you have no right to complain about it. JMHO
What it all boils down to is membership in their corporation.
I don't care for membership in their corporation. Membership in the family of God is sufficient.
If a letter is required to be a member of their corporation and you don't want to sign the letter then don't support a corporation which you are not considered a member of.
You will have no vote... except for that vote you put in while on your knees... I think God still has veto power if we still have the faith and patience to wait on Him to do it in His time.
or if you don't pay your dues in the Country Club
you can't vote in the business meeting
I was made aware a few weeks ago that at the church my parents are a member of the pastor has issued membership letters. And if you dont sign the letter you are not a voting member but your still on the books. This letter contains some very questionable wording. The pastor told some of the founding members of the church they were not "members". Have any of you had to sign any membership letters?? And if you are not a voting member should you still pay your tithes there?? This is the same church in the MS district that there is a thread on about being sued.
If you don't sign you can't vote to vote the idiot out.
But if you don't sign he will take your money.
Well if you have to go there for whatever reason.
Stop giving a penney to this church in the name of keeping this man's honest.
A vote is onething money to pay the bills is another and most often more powerful...
Is there an assumption that one must be a "member" to be in the body of Christ??
__________________ "It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity." Dave Barry 2005
I am a firm believer in the Old Paths
Articles on such subjects as "The New Birth," will be accepted, whether they teach that the new birth takes place before baptism in water and Spirit, or that the new birth consists of baptism of water and Spirit. - THE PENTECOSTAL HERALD Dec. 1945
"It is doubtful if any Trinitarian Pentecostals have ever professed to believe in three gods, and Oneness Pentecostals should not claim that they do." - Daniel Segraves
Is there an assumption that one must be a "member" to be in the body of Christ??
1Cr 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
Eph 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
We are, indeed, members of this one body. I don't think the "membership" being discussed here has any authority in the realm of the membership spoken of in the verses above and the many other verses like them.
When letters such as the ones being discussed are required for "membership" then this should be viewed in it's true context. This is about membership in a legal corporation.
A pastor can control my voting rights in the legal corporation but these letters hold no weight in anyone's membership in the Body of Christ.
Hybrid Mode
