Superstar preachers

[reverend B]

maybe you are right nate, but Christ told his followers to go out with a pair of sandals and nothing else and spread the word, living on the kindness of those who would hear them. there are a couple of ways of being without worry regarding money. one is your strategy of having so much you don't need to worry about it. Jesus repeatedly warns of the pitfalls of such a plan, but it is one way to accomplish your goal. the other is to have so little that your needs are almost nothing. to be the least, and so receive the most. to throw oneself into service of others completely without the concern of the return on those efforts, and let the Lord provide as He sees fit. this is what paul did, and he died alone in jail. this is what stephen did, and he was stoned to death as saul looked on. was there any asset that Jesus could not have commanded? yet he died penniless. and legend has peter nailed to the tree upside-down. these are the true heroes of the faith. what lessons are they teaching?

 

[spinto]

What do you think of Superstar preachers? Does it go against the ideal of being humble and sold out to God to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? What about these pastors that have their "insert my name here" Ministries? And is it just me or is Christianity the only religion that has this phenomenon?

Seems like Christianity is the only religion (at least in America) that has that phenomenon. It's not unusual though. Christianity brings a huge pulling of group worship--fellowship is encouraged. When you get that many people in one room, all ready to believe the same thing, you have a highly marketable situation. A aunt and uncle of my partner live in San Diago. They run a HUGE church and their services are televised. They make millions a year, apperently. Ironically, they are the most horrible people I've ever met. They are selfish, cruel and rudely "holier than thou". I don't believe they represent all of Christianity, but it is odd they claim to uphold the "highly esteemed" Christian religion, yet seem to be any thing but decent representatives.

 

[*Starlight*]

This is a weird thread... Is there something wrong with some famous Hollywood actor/actress admitting that they are Christians and trying to bring other people to Christ?

It seems that many people think that being famous somehow automatically makes someone evil and unworthy of being a "true Christian". In my opinion, no one should assume so much about a person you don't even know personally...

 

[JustJack!]

They are good businessmen. A good businessman knows how to capitalize off abundant resources and use them to their gain. Food, oil, wood, ext.

"Superstar preachers" capitalize off something significantly more abundant, human stupidity and gullability.

 

[JustJack!]

They are good businessmen. A good businessman knows how to capitalize off abundant resources and use them to their gain. Food, oil, wood, ext.

"Superstar preachers" capitalize off something significantly more abundant, human stupidity and gullability.

 

[non-religious]

[spinto]Seems like Christianity is the only religion (at least in America) that has that phenomenon. It's not unusual though. Christianity brings a huge pulling of group worship--fellowship is encouraged. When you get that many people in one room, all ready to believe the same thing, you have a highly marketable situation. A aunt and uncle of my partner live in San Diago. They run a HUGE church and their services are televised. They make millions a year, apperently. Ironically, they are the most horrible people I've ever met. They are selfish, cruel and rudely "holier than thou". I don't believe they represent all of Christianity, but it is odd they claim to uphold the "highly esteemed" Christian religion, yet seem to be any thing but decent representatives.

If people want to fund these ministries by purchasing the books, cds, tapes and/or tithing into the church then that's entirely their perogative. I'm sure there are many Christians the world over who are far from Christlike and if we scrutinized every word and action of many of our so-called humble, lowly Christian teachers I'm sure we would find fault and something negative to say about them also. I have no time for the Creflo Dollars of this world, but at least their upfront about their motivation for prosperity and speak directly to the peoples wallets. If Joe Smo wants to then give x-amount of his hard earned cash to this millionaire preacher, in the vain hope that he will also profit from this transaction, then hey I guess Joe Smo deserves what he gets.....

Nothing.....Certainly not a ten or hundred fold increase......

 

[The_Horses_Boy]

What do you think of Superstar preachers? Does it go against the ideal of being humble and sold out to God to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? What about these pastors that have their "insert my name here" Ministries? And is it just me or is Christianity the only religion that has this phenomenon?

Generally speaking, Christianity is the only religion that has a serious hold on the successful parts of the world, which may help to explain it. I am in no ways saying that it is right.

There are people like Mel Gibson and such that do wonderful things and have stardom.

There are others I'd like to smack, namely the ones who say, "I've met Jesus, and you can too for a limited time offer of only $19.95!"

 

[fanatiquefou]

This is a weird thread... Is there something wrong with some famous Hollywood actor/actress admitting that they are Christians and trying to bring other people to Christ?

It seems that many people think that being famous somehow automatically makes someone evil and unworthy of being a "true Christian". In my opinion, no one should assume so much about a person you don't even know personally...

We're not talking about famous Hollywood stars who are Christians - we're talking about evangelists and preachers who are wallowing in cash and whether that's appropriate for someone whose self-proclaimed job is to spread the Gospel of Christ.

 

[knightlight72]

I think it was about preachers in general with large memberships. I don't think the OP was specific to say that all were corrupt, just that they were succesful in general. I think there was one pastor of a mega church who tithed his entire salary back to the church. I can't remember his name, but remember seeing him on tv, and speaking of that.

 

[spinto]

I think it was about preachers in general with large memberships. I don't think the OP was specific to say that all were corrupt, just that they were succesful in general. I think there was one pastor of a mega church who tithed his entire salary back to the church. I can't remember his name, but remember seeing him on tv, and speaking of that.

Right.... Saw him on TV huh? That was a PR stunt if I every heard of it. Of course he mentioned the money "he's" given. He had to make sure everyone knew what he did. How else could get get everyone else to do the same? He probably got a huge return when all was said and done. That, I'm sure he kept very quiet about.

I have never met a preacher I really felt was honest, especially one that appears on TV. I'm sure there are some that are not scammers. But I feel most fall severly short of the facade they put on for everyone to see.

 

[heron]

I shuddered when I saw Juanita Bynum air her wedding. It dripped with opulence. Jan's pink hair and goldplated sets had nothing on this wedding. I was sick to my stomach, and prayed that God would bring justice to mind, the needs of her parishioners... conviction.

The next time I ran across Bynum on TV, she was telling how God asked her to drop all her speaking engagements and sign up for time slots in her church's prayer room. She sounded very frustrated with being humbled, but was willing to listen to God. I have never seen such a drastic answer to prayer (not just mine, I'm sure...probably tens of thousands of us praying the same thing!)

God knows.