Church Giving Away Money To Get People To Come?

[dUSt]

We should appeal to people's souls with holiness, not their senses with an exciting show. There will always be places where you can find a better show, but you will never be able to find a place with more holiness, than in the Church.

[PatrickRitaMichael]

PMR, Jesus preached in the Temple, on the beach, and in fields. He went to were people are, like a shepherd searching for the lost sheep. He doesn't just stand and shout.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't go where the people are. BUT, you don't have to feel as if you need to make God look better. He's great just the way He is, right? Then why do you have to say, 'Hi, meet God, I'll give you $100?' I think 'Hi, meet God' is enough. You do have a good point, though, jas :)

[Sojourner]

jasJis,

Dynamic preacher though this man may be, this particular stunt still sends up all sorts of warning signs to me. My earlier post WAS actually the thought-through reaction; my knee-jerk reaction was, “This guy has come up with a creative way of scamming people.” I’ve been to plenty of fundraisers where door prizes were given away as a means of getting people through the door. Any good fundraiser knows you have to give money to get money. What is this guy really after?

This pastor says, “We’re not changing the message. We’re just delivering it in a way to get people’s attention.” The thing is, this guy IS changing the message. Instead of the draw being CHRIST, it’s money. The Truth of Christ alone should be enough of a draw. I maintain that if this man requires money in order to draw people, he is not preaching Christ.

By presenting the Gospel in this way, he implicitly says the message alone isn’t enough to get people’s attention – he has to give people a chance to win money in order to get people through the door. God DOES of course love and bless us, but he never says that by following the Gospel we will have material wealth, and I hate that so much of the message prevalent in the United States today equates the Truth of the Gospel with material possessions and blessings. I’m NOT SAYING that God doesn’t sometimes choose to bless us materially, but I am saying that equating the two is dangerous. What’s the flip side, then, if God doesn’t give me money, am I somehow on his bad side?

Sojourner

[jasJis]

What if, when the money is handed out, the point is made that it didn't come from the Preacher, or from the Church, or even from the generosity of others, it really came from God, who everything belongs to any way?

(By the way, I am being a little obtuse because I want good arguments. Note in the article, the Church is accross the street from a High School. My neighborhood kids, and kids I know at Catholic Church, go there. I want to be well prepared when I talk with them. Teens aren't dummies, and they'll have friends arguing against them with good reasons why it's a good idea.)

[Sojourner]

What honest-to-goodness church lures people through the wares of the world? Christians who truly know God know something much better, more lasting, than anything the world can give, even money. I am reminded of Jesus' conversation with the woman at the well recorded in the Gospel of John. She asks for water, and he tells her he can give her living water so she will never thirst again. God doesn’t entice us with things that will pass away, but with the lasting Truth of the Gospel.

This man is a charlatan.

[Dave]

People should go to church because they love God and want to serve Him, not because they want to win money!

Ya know, one huge reason people give for not going to church is because of the alleged hypocrites there. They may think that these "hypocrites" only go to church to socialize or something like that. Well, what are such people gonna think when they hear about a church offering money to its members? That's just gonna give them more reason to persist in their self-righteous, judgmental attitude!

[C. B.]

Please do not trust Pastor Tim Dyson. He is a classic smooth talker who took advantage of me when I attended his church in Tempe, Az back in the late 1980's. He is scandalous and a philanderer. I was vulnerable and he took advantage of me. I regret ever going to his church and trusting him. He knows who this is! I can only hope he has faced his demons and has changed. God help those who are his followers.

[Anomaly]

This is a very old tread.

 Jasjis is dead.  

That “church” is long since defunct, years ago.

Sorry if Tim Dyson has hurt you, thirty years ago.  Sometimes it’s up to you to let go of the past to heal.

  Kinda weird to dredge this old thread up from over ten years ago!

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

Jesus fed the 5000. Multiplication, I hope and pray he gets more money to give away, a hundred fold and turns into optimistic prime converting deceptacons on drugs and alcohol who have zero bank balance. 

But i'm unsure the catholic church should do it from inside a church but I do hope and pray more priests have more grocery cards to give away and pray for each person that knocks on there door to collect one.

I honestly don't care as long as he isn't anti catholic and persecuting her in any manner.

 

Edited March 5, 2018 by Tab'le De'Bah-Rye

[Not Catholic]

Nice tactic. Give away money for on night to gain converts who will give the church money on a regular basis. 

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

Poor people can sometimes feel embarresed going to church. I think the christian formula is to help the poor, lonely, tired, weak of there community, not only with prayer but financially. And Christians can cry loafers and judge all they want but please just obey, the holy spirit will drive out the deceived and we can catastrophies all we want and throw the babies out with the bath water but its not right. I rekon there should be a third collection for the poor, widow and orphan in that parish because most don't really give a croutons, I'm poor and numerous in the parishes I've been know that and only 1 soul has offered me $20 out of the blue in 16 years, that's flippen dismal, and 2 guys that help if I ask 1 is also poor but the other isn't but still the other never calls me and asks if everything is ok, no one that has ever had my number which is at least 20 have ever called me actually for any reason. I really can only hope and pray this isn't a world wide thing, we are meant to be a parish community helping each other particularly the widow, orphan and poor, not just praying, miracles and casting out demons, I think Jesus' gunna be cross when he gets back.

I evangelise poor people outside of the church and help them with my limited funds. I'm not complaining I get by but not even a coffee from the majority of the masses. I'm all for paying the poor lol.