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Originally Posted by Ohio
I did watch some of the video.
For 10 years in the LC (towards the end) I was church treasurer. Not at all my choice, but out of loyalty. We always had a category "needy saints," but almost never gave anything to "needy saints." What little we had to work with was always heavily taxed by Cleveland, basically taxation without representation. It was also required of us to send a monthly check to LSM's DCP for their legal expenses.
The next church we attended was worse about money. We were constantly hammered for tithes, gifts, offerings, missions, special needs, TV ministry, endless building funds, etc. I could no longer afford to be a Christian. We couldn't attend a prayer meeting without passing the basket. At one point they even passed out wristbands declaring, "There is no recession in the kingdom of God." It troubled me that Pastor's wife got a new Lexus, but who am I to criticize such a well-respected organization, that did so much good for the community.
I have known the tremendous joy in giving, yet it has been soured by corruption. Few Christian leaders "take forethought for things honorable."
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I also watched some of the video. I think that, post-LC, I am very turned off by talk about "tithing," or anything I see as pressure to give financially. I understand the speaker's point and application, but it is hard for me to get past references like these. I consider modern evangelical teaching on tithing to be false doctrine--a form of legalism, and a total distortion of Old Testament practice. That's just my take on it.