I recently (New Year’s Eve) heard about this pastor and the church there is So Cal for the first time.  A brother in the Lord told me about him and was impressed. I hadn’t had a chance to go check it out, but he said some of his sermons were on YouTube..

thanks for reminding us that not ALL leaders are wolves in shepherd’s clothing.

http://www.preaching.com/resou...../11581216/

“This is one of the best churches I have ever heard of when it comes to money…the stories about what they do with money is excellent. Francis Chan travels all over the country and either won’t accept or gives away most of his honorariums. He drives a 96 Subaru. One of his pastors sold his giant 3,000 sq. ft. house and moved into an apartment because he didn’t want to waste money. During a fundraising campaign they got so convicted for asking for so much money to build a new church, they decided to cut millions out of the budget by not building a roof. They decided because they are in So Cal they can just have an outdoor stadium and save some money. The church posts all of the pastor’s salaries in a public place for anyone to see. No one makes over $60/k, which in Southern California is ridiculous! Wish more churches were more like this with their money. ”
-The Reformer on City Business Church

I’ve been following Francis Chan and how God has been using and continues to use him at Cornerstone for the last couple years. It’s been incredible to watch God provide for them as they seek to love others as much as themselves.

Anyways yes, sorry for resurrecting this old topic but anyways yes. I love their heart and passion for God and others.

And I hope you enjoy the article. =)

Hi. I use SGMspeak when possible on purpose. Ellie posted the definition above-

The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture (often called the “perspicuity of Scripture”) teaches that “the meanings of the text can be clear to the ordinary reader, that God uses the text of the Bible to communicate His person and will.” 1) “The witness of the Church throughout the ages is that ordinary people, who approach it in faith and humility, will be able to understand what the Bible is getting at, even if they meet with particular points of difficulty here and there.”

That’s what I liked about “the early days” of my SGM experience.  Back then the pastors used simple words that all could understand.  Now they seem to think they are doing God’s work by using lingo not used by the average American and speaking above the average vocabulary level (a 12 year olds vocab to be exact).  I just never saw Jesus doing that.  (Not that I speak ancient Greek.)  But he seemed to use stories that related to farmers, fisherman, regular folk.  Ah, how I love my savior. 

Please, don’t get me wrong.  This is just some teasing from a complete stranger who came in here without even having the manners to introduce herself properly… now that I think about it… I still can’t figure the proper way.  If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. 

Thank you and carry on with your big words while I go check my dictionary. 

“When one first reads 2 Corinthians 11:7-12, it sounds outlandish, virtually incomprehensible. Paul preached the gospel of God in Corinth for free. He refused to accept payment for his ministry in that city. He labored tirelessly with his hands to support himself so that he need never take up an offering after proclaiming the truth. And they accused him of committing a sin in doing so! As I said, outlandish and incomprehensible!

Paul’s opponents may have recognized that they were at a distinct disadvantage to him by accepting money for their labors in Corinth and wanted the opportunity to boast that they had ministered on the same terms as he. They no doubt tried to goad him into altering his policy and accepting monetary support. In this way they hoped to eliminate the embarrassing difference between them and him. But Paul refused to yield and thus undercut their desire to be considered his equal with regard to financial support (v. 12).
One thing is for sure: Paul was not for sale! The appeal of money was as powerful then as now. The promise of what it could obtain was alluring and difficult to resist. But such was the depth of Paul’s satisfaction in Christ that the happiness he might otherwise have obtained from great wealth was overmatched and overcome”.

Since teachers, philosophers, and orators in ancient times were expected to charge for their services in proportion to their skill and gifting, Paul’s refusal to accept financial support from the Corinthians exposed him to the accusation of being a fraud. The intruders had put Paul in a no-win situation: if he refuses remuneration he betrays his own awareness of inauthenticity, incompetence, and lack of authority; but if he receives remuneration it is because he is greedy and thus is guilty of peddling the gospel. Add to this the fact that manual labor, such as tent-making (Paul’s chosen trade), was viewed by the Greeks with disdain”.

Interesting hey?!

If the guy you mentioned in #34 is JB, he does joke around a lot, but if you ask him to get serious, he will. I suspect there may have been some seriousness to the

I meant to say-good to see you!

It’s about time you showed your face here

1.
clearness or lucidity, as of a statement.
2.
the quality of being perspicuous.

Concerning your post #24, thanks for the in-depth definition.

What is so wonderful about the Lord is that He redeems our mistakes.

It drives me batty. When we went to our PDI church, we were dirt poor and tithed faithfully up until we were disfellowshipped. We couldn’t afford to take our kids to the dentist and one of them actually endured an abcessed tooth, but we couldn’t afford the dentist but we were tithing faithfully.

They will inevitably(sp) during a tithing sermon, tell you to put
God to the test (because the Bible says to,) and dare Him to bless you (or some such nonsense.)

I am here to say that the minute we stopped tithing legalistically and started using the money that God had given us to take care of our family and *give* to the church, our finances have prospered tremendously.

I think this is a heart issue. I give what I give to the church willingly and with a generous heart. I believe our primary responsibility is to our children and elderly parents.

And to answer the question that is being asked in the title of this post, no, I do not trust my leaders blindly and I would run far away from leadership that encouraged blind faith in anyone but God Himself.

I was in serious error to allow my children to suffer to fulfil the tenents of legalistic teaching.