Televangelist verses home church

[Peterthepebble]

Hello,

I do not know if this is the correct thread for this but something has been bothering me over the last few years. I am from the UK and I get SKY. I watch most of the Christian channels, especially CBN, TBN, Inspiration. I get a monthly mag from Jessy Duplantis Ministries and others. I am perplexed that when people call or write in stating that they have become partners of such and start giving to these ministries, I hear of testimonies from some people how they have been touched by favour, blessed financially, health wise, jobwise and every which way. Haven't these same people tithed to their local churches, maybe for years, but all of a sudden as soon as they give to these TV ministries, after much cajoling and promises of blessings if they sow a seed, get blessed. What's wrong with this picture?? Have I got it wrong? It just seems strange that you can give for years to your local church but as soon as you give to these ministries, your suddenly blessed. I don't understand and I never hear these ministries state that these believers should give to their local church first as a matter of course or that the believers who have been blessed ever promote their local churches. I just think that the Lord would be more inclined to bless believers who tithe locally than get starry eyed by Televangelists promises of "sow and it shall come back to you multiplied!!" Someone please enlighten me!

 

[Lpe04]

There are too many variables you are mentioning. It's kind of complicated to get into, haha.

How about someone who gives to a televangelist for years, then gives to a local church and gets blessed? God is not limited!

Lance

 

[Lpe04]

For instance, were they giving to their local church out of "obligation". Was it truly from the heart? Were they doing it trusting God? So many factors, it's hard to explain

By the way, I like your name It's clever, haha

Lance

 

[Peterthepebble]

Hi lpe04, thanks for the reply. Well for instance I was watching 700 club and there was this testimony where this woman was about to lose her home and car. She saw the 700 club, decided to partner with them and almost immediately got blessed with retaining her house, he car and I think got a new job. It just appears to me, according to testimonies that I have read that they always court the ministry that the have partnered with and thee is no mentioning of the local church that they tithe too. I suppose you could be correct that some give out of compulsion and not cheerful givers, so giving out of expectation to another ministry as well would indicate a reason for God to recipricate. Yes too may variables and God does look on the thoughts and intentions of the heart...

 

[Johnnz]

All these people give only the positive stories. We don't know the circumstances either. Maybe for some changes were afoot anyway.

The basic teachings of most prosperity tele evangelists is pretty shallow and in many cases not very accurate biblically either.

John
NZ

 

[Amethystia]

How's this for a twist? A local church in my area had a substantial amount of money left after using what they obtained in a fundraiser. They divided the money among those on their membership list, and told them to go bless someone with it.

 

[drich0150]

You bring up a good point. But if you take these "testimonies" and hold them to the light of a good marketing campaign, that has "Faith World industries or 700 club Incorporated" as it's core concern, Most of your queries will be answered. Religion is a billion dollar a year business. whether these companies sell petroleum products or Jesus there bottom line IS the Bottom line. They will do what ever it takes to keep profits up and share holders happy.. It just so happens there doing it by spreading the gospel rather than consumables.

(Also know that just because they do what they do for money it is not impossible to find Jesus in what they teach. Sometimes to the right people this can be an effective tool in spreading the good news.. Sometimes.)

 

[Trial]

There are so many of them out there too.

 

[homewardbound]

Peter, I don't know where to begin other than to urge you as strongly as I can to not watch those programs. I believe that prosperity preachers or word of faith preachers, whatever you want to call them, are possibly the greatest threat to Christ's church today.

As I stated in another thread, the give-to-get mentality of these preachers is an abomination. Imagine being terribly thirsty and given a canteen of water, only to find out it was filled with vinegar. That's exactly what these guys offer. They take a grain of truth and fill it with lies, hoping that those who are "thirsty" and searching for hope will find comfort in their sick, twisted theology. I know these sound like strong words, and anyone who has seen my posts know that I almost never speak out this strongly. But these are wicked people we're talking about and it breaks my heart to see people deceived by them.

To answer your questions, what's wrong with this picture? Everything. Do you have it wrong? No, your instincts are right on. I urge you to never watch them again unless it's to study their techniques so that you can help steer others away. The testimonies you see are almost always exaggerated, and in many cases completely bogus. No one gets rich because they gave to a ministry. That's not the business of God. His desire is that we be reconciled to Him. He will meet our needs, but no one "needs" to be wealthy. God wants us to give cheerfully for one reason only -- because it brings him glory when we help meet the needs of others.

 

[Ange27]

Peter, I don't know where to begin other than to urge you as strongly as I can to not watch those programs. I believe that prosperity preachers or word of faith preachers, whatever you want to call them, are possibly the greatest threat to Christ's church today.

I'm not sure I understand which type of preachers you are talking about?

 

[ranyhyn]

I'm not sure I understand which type of preachers you are talking about?

He's talking about the televangelists that get on TV and tell you that if you send them $$$ they promise that you'll get much more in return. If you buy some kind of anointing oil, prayer cloth, etc from them that whatever you ask for when you pray you'll get it.

Another name some have used for these kinds of folks is "name it and claim it" preachers. They preach that if you name something in a prayer and claim that God will give it to you then you'll get it. If you start praying and ask God for say a new car and then claim it as such then you'll get a new car soon. But it usually entails you sending them some money first before the "guarantee" can be given.

If the preacher spends more time hocking goods than he/she does preaching and teaching the Word then it's probably a good idea to stay away from them. It's more of an infomercial than a service. It's about the product and not about God.

 

[rjmclaugh]

It's so funny to see this post, considering that I've been doing research on many of these televangalists lately. You wouldn't believe the corrupt methods they use to pull people in. I found one that will have his wife read him the prayer requests lists by ear phone, or whatever, so he can pretend to heal those people of the same ailments they wrote about. How sick! What happens when these people get home and realize that they are still sick or injured! Give to your home churches. Chances are they need it more. At least mine does. It doesn't have a lot of members so it gets very little financial support. The second you mail money to those corrupt televangalists, they will start sending you bills for a specific amount. My mom has informed me that much. Her mother sent one guy a dollar and he sent her a bill for $30 a month. Back then, that was alot of money, and my grandma didn't make that much to began with. She didn't pay. Instead she started sending to missionaries. She was blessed with gifts in return, including a hand carved camel from the middle east. My mom still has it.

 

[heron]

I'd walk a mile for a camel. I mean, good story.

It just seems strange that you can give for years to your local church but as soon as you give to these ministries, your suddenly blessed.

Well yes, itisstrange!

Look at the ethics in scripture. Giving to the poor ranked high on the list of places to apply money and effort. Supporting the local priest was just matter-of-fact. There was no NT/OT drive for funding, except to rebuild the destroyed temple.

Jesus healed people, and continually gave of himself, his time, to help people and meet them one on one. He preached, but often to improve reasoning. He was not desperate for head counts. Plenty of people followed Him, and there were times He walked away to get away from the commotion.

Jesus wanted the good news spread, but it was a message of something He was giving to the people. Not taking.

Early in my televangel-watching days, I gave to CBN because it was something I wanted to support and encourage. They were not asking for funds for the show, but for Operation Blessing, which ran regional satellite offices to help people out. The show was calm and informative, and gave people something.

I enjoy Duplantis too, but mostly for the comedy. He comes across as a sweet man, who loves God. Whether he does or not, his show still leads people to connect with God personally. His tele-friends are more aggressive at teaching prosperity techniques. All of them admit wealth, talking about ways they have spent money. Some have gained it off of books and recordings. All of them have substantial salaries.

A media ministry is expensive to keep up. PBS asks for donations too. But should viewers be hoodwinked or guilted into giving to make it succeed? Told their relationship with God changes with money transactions? We should know better.

Non-religious programming survives through advertisers. For-profit companies are free to rely on this outside help. Maybe we should try to change the system that encourages the most demanding, the loudest begging ministries to survive.

 

[Revelation1217]

You want to be very cautious with a lot of people on television these days

 

[heron]

You want to be very cautious with a lot of people on television these days

So true. Re-reading my post, I think I was just trying to provide balance.

Imagine if two million people were on a ministry's mailing list. The show only needs five or ten success stories every month or so to prove their point.

A large ministry is a vehicle -- it has the machinery in place to deliver services to a broad base of people. It is not necessarily better than a 50-member church -- it is just set up to reach more people for 1-3 hours per week. If it is only reaching them with begging, then it is not worth giving to.

We should not be giving to God in order to make a get-rich-quick scheme work. Tithing is a lifelong decision to put the community and God's plans above our selfish gain. It is a recognition that there are people around us who need things. It supports the work of those who are committed to dispensing assistance.

Tithing sets up a system in our community where people can get help... and we recognize that any of us at any time could be in a difficult situation. Scripturally, the spiritual phenomenon behind the tithe is that God will call off the forces that decay what we have established. Any gain is supposed to be about protection from harm.

God offered to rebuke the devourer. He did not offer to be manipulated by humans who want shiny cars.

 

[SilverFire]

Personally, I've never experienced anything positive from televangelists. There's something about television that seems to strain God right out of the whole equation. Is it the need to have constant results? The appeal to the visual senses? The lack of effort required on behalf of the listeners/watchers (how does one participate in a church where there are no people but yourself and the tele)? I think you'd be better off not watching them; try listening to podcasts or tuning your radio to a church's weekly message instead if you're between churches or can't make it.

 

[Aibrean]

I question the spiritual substance with televangelists. They feel fake to me. The only thing I'd watch is Catholic TV (which used to be on DirecTV) if I wasn't able to make it to church. That's the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame. Not fake.

 

[heron]

I agree, and I'm not Catholic. I started watching it when I hit my limit with shouting and hype.

One of the things that bothers me about megaministry vs. home church -- the larger the ministry, the less opportunity the individual has for carrying out their own personal responsibility to minister to others. Believers become audiences instead of participants, teachers, and prophets.

What would be the need for megaministries, other than to reach the unchurched in remote areas? Everything else is better done with human contact. (Feel free to point out things I missed.)

 

[LoneSheep]

There was a movie starring Steve Martin that showed a lot of the tricks they use.

The movie was called Leap of Faith:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_of_Faith_(film)