Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Epley
It is easy for you arm chair theologians who mostly never make a prayer meeting yourselves muchless every pray anyone else through to slander every good preacher who has given his life-energy-time into the ministry and the caring of others. Some folks have never stayed up all night in hospital rooms unless it was their friends or families. They would never cancel their vacations or family gatherings to go help a saint in trouble or even a member of a saint's family who doesn't come to church. It is us these low down money loving preaching who during holidays are in the waiting rooms comforting the saints. It was us who are in it for filthy lucre sake who our cancel wive's anniversaries and childrens birthdays to encourage folks and many times never get a thank you.
It is us who do without when a need arises at the church and say well we do it another time.
It is those lazy good for nothing preachers who visit the saints family members in jails. Attend wakes and funerals of folks we have never met. Drive untold hours and hundreds of miles to visit and encourage ungrateful folks who have never given you one nickle.
It is we those low down preachers who marry folks-bury folks-counsel folks for free and are happy to do.
It is we us selfish preachers who pay folks rent, make their car payments,"loan" them money(never to get it back) buy their kids shoes and clothes. Give them money to take their wife out for their special occations.
Call one of these armchair minister critics up at 3 in the morning or during supper and see how much sympathy you get?
You guys wouldn't make it a week following a real preacher around. Yes some are selfish and some are frauds. Ans sadly some fail.
Every word a preacher says is scrutized, his wife is never perfect enough, his children are raised in fish bowls and are targets for the disgruntled.
Some of us do what we do NOT because of what we get through a tithing box but we do it because we are called and love the people of God.
Just saying. God bless your stingy heart.  |
Yes thats it. Same ol tactics. If you can't convince with hermeneutics or apologetics of the doctrine itself, attack those who disagree with you.
Listen, not ONE person has said tithe preachers are evil, hirlings, or any of the other things you just implied. Even if someone had, your little rant was a non sequitur. It had nothign to do with the issue. The sad sad story of what poor ol preacher go through does NOT validate a terrible doctrine like the tithing doctrine. Nor does attempting to malign the character of those who oppose it.
I'm no arm chair theologian. I take my studies VERY seriously, even if it means I must disagree with teachings that have been held by my church for generations. If I were simply an "arm chair theologian" I wouldn't put myself through the scorn and unmeritted rebukes I have put up with over the fact that unlike MOST Apostolic preachers/Pastor I know I want to be right BIBLICALLY, not just a water carrier for the "movement". And let's not get into what one's prayer life is or isn't. I suppose many people do pray more than others. As my professor at Bible college said, it doesn't matter if you can pray hours a day and talk in tongues liek a china man. If you don't know the book no amount of prayer can make up for it.
The sad part is that you are so anxious to defend the "tradition" and many a preachers livlihood that you can't step away and objectively look at the doctrine, where it came from, the history of it and then when and how it was applied to the modern church. Instead, you feel much more comfortable just attacking those who dare challenge the doctrine or "the man of God".
The goo dnews is that your generation, and those of that mentality, are indeed aging right out of the spotlight, making way for a generation after them that hopfully is FAR more interested in what the Bible and history actuially teaches and less about what grandpa or some Pastor with a 5th grade education screamed was "thus saith the Lord".
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