Charisma magazine speaks out
This is a great article and good ole Grady has spoken out before. One way to solve this problem would be to not publish ads in Charisma magazine from the very people Grady talks about in this article.
here is the article.
"A CRYING SHAME: CHARLATANS in the HOUSE"-by J. Lee Grady (-Charisma Magazine).Churches and ministries are employing bizarre gimmicks to raisemoney. What has happened to our discernment?You’ve probably heard it on Christian television before. Anevangelist opens his Bible, reads a Scripture and then suggeststhat you send an odd amount of money to keep your favoriteprogram on the air for another month.He begs. He pleads. He cries. And then he tells you that if youhurry and give right now, “while God is stirring the waters,” theHoly Spirit will reward you in an extra-special way.I’ve heard different amounts suggested—such as $64.11, or $72.14,or $53.24, to correlate with some obscure Old Testament Scripturereference. The implication is that if you write a check for thismagical amount, God will release some kind of special blessing onyou, such as the salvation of loved ones or the quick sale of a house.To the untrained ear this may sound like a formula for blessing.Actually it is more akin to superstition—or worse, witchcraft. It’snot even remotely biblical, but those of us in the charismaticmovement are so used to tolerating such shenanigans that wethink this is standard procedure for fundraising.Some ministers who raise money for Christian television stationshave succumbed to the infamous “debt reduction” tactic. It goeslike this: “God says that if you will give a $1,000 sacrificial offeringright now (God always seems to be in crisis mode in thesesituations), you will supernaturally get out of debt! The miracleanointing is here! You can release it by writing that check! And wetake credit cards, too!”Talk about voodoo economics. This kind of manipulation is actuallyagainst the law in Canada. The U.S. government allows Americanevangelists to get away with it, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. Itis a spiritualized form of arm-twisting.And believe it or not, it is getting more blatant and bizarre.A widely traveled minister recently gave a message about what hecalled “the Boaz anointing” at a prominent church in Florida. Hethen invited anyone who wanted this “new” blessing to come to thealtar, where gullible souls were encouraged to deposit a check for$1,500 in the basket. Apparently the Boaz anointing can be yoursif you can afford this hefty price.At another church in my city of Orlando, a self-proclaimed prophetsaid that he would have a personal word of blessing to pronounceover any person who could give $1,000 in the offering. That’s right—he was selling personal prophecies.Those who actually gave theamount (yes, some people actually fell for this charlatan) stood upto receive “words.”I want to rip my shirt in half and throw dust on my head.Why should we be surprised that the church in America is makingsuch a weak impact on society when we are allowing greedyimpostors to pollute our pulpits? They are no different than thesons of Eli, who took the people’s offerings “by force” so that theycould spend it on their own selfish wants (see 1 Sam.2:12-16).They have fallen into the error of the sorcerer Simon, who offeredto buy the power of the Holy Spirit so that he could impresspeople (see Acts 8:18-20).And what happens to the people who buy into this craziness? I’veheard some suggest that “God will bless anyone who gives,” evenif they give to a crook. That’s hogwash. Seed must be sown ingood ground if it’s going to produce. Those who use manipulation,strong-arm tactics or Scripture-twisting to get money, or who sellthe anointing of God so they can buy clothes and houses are notgoing to release any form of blessing.In fact, they just might release curses—of poverty, bankruptcy,fraud and confusion. Such dark forces actually follow ministriesthat have given themselves over to this spirit of financialmanipulation. The Bible actually says that charlatans—those whofollow the “error of Balaam”—will face a harsh judgment in the“black darkness” of hell (Jude 11,13).What can you do about this? You don’t have to stop giving. Godloves a cheerful giver, but He does not want us to give undercompulsion. Nor does He want us to reward the modern sons of Eli.Speak out. Confront those who misuse the Bible to dig for money.Change the channel. Get up and walk out. Give to ministries thatfocus on meeting real needs and maintain ethical accountingstandards. This financial foolishness will end when all of us take a stand.~SOURCE: http://www.charismamag.com/fireinmybones/[Charisma Online is a service of Charisma magazine and StrangCommunications, copyright 2006].
here is the article.
"A CRYING SHAME: CHARLATANS in the HOUSE"-by J. Lee Grady (-Charisma Magazine).Churches and ministries are employing bizarre gimmicks to raisemoney. What has happened to our discernment?You’ve probably heard it on Christian television before. Anevangelist opens his Bible, reads a Scripture and then suggeststhat you send an odd amount of money to keep your favoriteprogram on the air for another month.He begs. He pleads. He cries. And then he tells you that if youhurry and give right now, “while God is stirring the waters,” theHoly Spirit will reward you in an extra-special way.I’ve heard different amounts suggested—such as $64.11, or $72.14,or $53.24, to correlate with some obscure Old Testament Scripturereference. The implication is that if you write a check for thismagical amount, God will release some kind of special blessing onyou, such as the salvation of loved ones or the quick sale of a house.To the untrained ear this may sound like a formula for blessing.Actually it is more akin to superstition—or worse, witchcraft. It’snot even remotely biblical, but those of us in the charismaticmovement are so used to tolerating such shenanigans that wethink this is standard procedure for fundraising.Some ministers who raise money for Christian television stationshave succumbed to the infamous “debt reduction” tactic. It goeslike this: “God says that if you will give a $1,000 sacrificial offeringright now (God always seems to be in crisis mode in thesesituations), you will supernaturally get out of debt! The miracleanointing is here! You can release it by writing that check! And wetake credit cards, too!”Talk about voodoo economics. This kind of manipulation is actuallyagainst the law in Canada. The U.S. government allows Americanevangelists to get away with it, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. Itis a spiritualized form of arm-twisting.And believe it or not, it is getting more blatant and bizarre.A widely traveled minister recently gave a message about what hecalled “the Boaz anointing” at a prominent church in Florida. Hethen invited anyone who wanted this “new” blessing to come to thealtar, where gullible souls were encouraged to deposit a check for$1,500 in the basket. Apparently the Boaz anointing can be yoursif you can afford this hefty price.At another church in my city of Orlando, a self-proclaimed prophetsaid that he would have a personal word of blessing to pronounceover any person who could give $1,000 in the offering. That’s right—he was selling personal prophecies.Those who actually gave theamount (yes, some people actually fell for this charlatan) stood upto receive “words.”I want to rip my shirt in half and throw dust on my head.Why should we be surprised that the church in America is makingsuch a weak impact on society when we are allowing greedyimpostors to pollute our pulpits? They are no different than thesons of Eli, who took the people’s offerings “by force” so that theycould spend it on their own selfish wants (see 1 Sam.2:12-16).They have fallen into the error of the sorcerer Simon, who offeredto buy the power of the Holy Spirit so that he could impresspeople (see Acts 8:18-20).And what happens to the people who buy into this craziness? I’veheard some suggest that “God will bless anyone who gives,” evenif they give to a crook. That’s hogwash. Seed must be sown ingood ground if it’s going to produce. Those who use manipulation,strong-arm tactics or Scripture-twisting to get money, or who sellthe anointing of God so they can buy clothes and houses are notgoing to release any form of blessing.In fact, they just might release curses—of poverty, bankruptcy,fraud and confusion. Such dark forces actually follow ministriesthat have given themselves over to this spirit of financialmanipulation. The Bible actually says that charlatans—those whofollow the “error of Balaam”—will face a harsh judgment in the“black darkness” of hell (Jude 11,13).What can you do about this? You don’t have to stop giving. Godloves a cheerful giver, but He does not want us to give undercompulsion. Nor does He want us to reward the modern sons of Eli.Speak out. Confront those who misuse the Bible to dig for money.Change the channel. Get up and walk out. Give to ministries thatfocus on meeting real needs and maintain ethical accountingstandards. This financial foolishness will end when all of us take a stand.~SOURCE: http://www.charismamag.com/fireinmybones/[Charisma Online is a service of Charisma magazine and StrangCommunications, copyright 2006].
posted by Tim Wirth | 1:27 PM
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