Archive for the ‘news’ Category

Cash Cult: Destiny Church

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Check out this story.  A ‘church’ in brisbane requested the members to sign up for automatic payments of tithing to be debited out of their account. Yahoo news also stated that, “under the church’s covenant members were encouraged to buy a $300 signet ring, stop buying coffee and give up Sky TV so they could give more money to the church.”

Here’s another excerpt from the News Herald in New Zealand, “Followers were told to ignore people who told them they were too poor to give money to the church. ‘They’ll tell you and try to get you to believe you are too poor and that you have nothing to give. ‘What they’re trying to get you to do, do the opposite and you’ll always be on the right side [with God]. ‘ He spoke of opening up a ‘channel of giving’ to the ‘house of God’. ‘When they [followers] stop giving, the church is poor and it cannot fulfil its wonderful vision or its purpose for God.’

I think one the saddest parts is that they believe the people and the church are actually separate entities. Notice the leader said, ‘When “they” stop giving’ – as if who ‘they’ are and what the ‘church’ is are actually different things?

New Blog Design

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

No your eyes have not deceived you – we have a whole new look. We even tweaked the name and changed the logo! Here’s a list of changes we have made already this year for those who have not noticed them yet

  1. Changed the comment section so that comments are threaded so you can reply to specific people.
  2. Enlarged the width of the website to enable easier reading and cleaner space
  3. Added subscription buttons to both the google and yahoo groups
  4. Added a multi-language translator
  5. re-enabled commentluv so that your most recent posts are linked automatically inside your comment. Can’t say no to a little publicity for yourself.

I am always looking for ways to improve the blog. If there are any suggestions out there that you would like to input, i would greatly appreciate your advice. Thanks for all your support, and participation for this blog!

Charity: Who Cares?

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Mint.com – A visual Guide to Giving

Charity Who Cares-3
budget planner – Mint.com

Tithing & Stewardship Discussion Groups

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

I have just updated our blog to add sign-up boxes for both Yahoo and Google discussion groups that I participate in. These groups are a good compliment to this blog because it is an open format. On this blog, usually the comments stick to the topic in that post, so it might not seem relevant to ask general questions that do not relate. But joining and submitting your questions to any of these discussion groups can be the best way to ask general questions and bring up topics all on your own.

The Yahoo Group was started in 2005 and was started by George Fox. Currently there are 145 members. The Google group was started in 2007 and was started by me. Currently there are 133 members. The sign up boxes are in the right hand column of this page.

Goals for 2010

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

I am astounded at the number of visitors that come to this website. Each month it keeps growing and growing. we have had an increase of 74% more traffic in 2009 over 2008. I will tell you that it is hard focusing on one topic and still keep the blog creative and interesting. So this past year, in 2009, i have tried to include a more of a stewardship tone rather than the monotony of tithing on every post. I think the variations help some of us to get informed about all the news about stewardship and finances within the Church. I must be honest, sometimes i have to force myself to read the recent news and blogs that discuss tithing. And then sometimes find a way to get fired up and energetic enough to write about it because it can be monotonous. Although, many times, it’s easy for me to do all of this. The hard part is finding time.

This past year was the busiest for me. My wife and i have our first born. She is now 14 months old, and is adorable. On top of that, i picked up a part time job working 3-4 days a week from 4AM – 10AM!!! Blah! Yep – daycare $$, diapers $$, clothes $$, doctors $$ . . . sigh. I own a web design business that’s been growing, and this year was busy regardless of the economy(praise God)!

Enough about myself, and more about what the goals for this website are this coming year.

Redesign of website

I own a web design business, and i must admit that my home page is horrendous. I am ashamed. The blog doesn’t look as bad, but it needs an overhaul as well. I am going to make it easier to navigate, find resources, and browse information on the website. I have been taking notes and brainstorming this for a long, long time.

Downloadable PDF book

I have a 150 page book about tithing that i’ve been editing (well trying to) for the past year. I will first try to submit it to publishers and see if they’re interested. Not counting on that, but might as well try, right?  Ultimately, I will create a free down-loadable version on my website. This e-book will be an invaluable asset to those who wish to study what the scripture says about tithing and biblical giving. Most of the book will break down tithing, but the other significant portion will discuss what true, new covenant giving should be like. Some of the misconceptions about anti-tithers is that we just want to stop people from giving, so this book will go on the offense and quench these unfounded accusations against us.

Blog imporovements

Once the redesign is done, the comment section will have capability to reply to individual comments  and be threaded in that order. It will be easily visible to see who has replied to whom in each comment without reading down a long page of responses. Overall, i am satisfied with the performance of the blog. I didn’t think there would be much discussion because a blog about tithing and stewardship seems like one of those things that wouldn’t get much attention.

One thing i would like to advertise is the opportunity for anyone to be an author and post your own blog articles. Sermons, rants, debates, topical discussions, book reviews, cartoons, videos, and questions are all welcome on the subject of tithing or stewardship. For those of you who wish to post your synopsis on an issue, but don’t feel like creating a website for it, well, here’s your chance. Create your very own blog post.  Even if you have your own website, you can write a new article for this blog, and post links back to your own website to help promote it. Go to our contact page here and submit your request. We are looking for unique and creative content that you have ownership rights to.

I’m Back

Monday, October 12th, 2009

So i’ve been pretty absent from the blog. i know. I’ve been really busy. I’ve been catching up on some work. I just wanted to let you all know that i’ll be sharing a new post tomorrow titled, “5 Reasons Why We Need a Recession”. What could we possibly need a recession for? I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

I should be getting back into the swing of things here. Things for my business start slowing down about now. Not that i want it to slow down, but that’s just the nature of the beast around this time of the year.

Anyways, just look for the new post tomorrow(tuesday).

David Cerullo Builds $4M Home While Staff Suffers Layoffs

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Yep, another one of those fleecing the flock moments. This Report from USA Today.

“A religious broadcaster is building a $4 million home in a gated, lakefront community in western South Carolina at the same time that the ministry has cut jobs and reset thermostats in its new headquarters.”

You gotta read this story people. This ministry is expected to reach revenue of 100 MILLION! Not only have Inspiration Networks laid off workers but they froze wages and canceled contributions to employee 401k’s.

“If they’ve got these kinds of assets, does the state really need to offer … tax breaks?” asked Don Weaver, president of the S.C. Association of Taxpayers.

That’s a good question Don Weaver. I am all for the tax exempt status to be withdrawn from non-profits.

CEO David Cerullo’s new house includes more than 9,000 heated square feet, along with a 2,000-square-foot screened porch . . . And it’s shaping up to be one of the priciest houses in western South Carolina. On Realtor.com, just two homes in the greater Greenville area are on the market for more than $4 million.

nuff said.

Athletes & the Prosperity Gospel – 2

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

This is more in-depth video on ESPN’s inquire into Athletes and Evangelists yesterday. I don’t think i could write another commentary on this vomit again after my blog post yesterday. I need some time to cool off my blood pressure.

One thing i want to point out about Randy White response about the prosperity gospel. When the interviewer asked him, “you can look those folks in the eye, and say, ‘your money, if you donate it to this church is not being misused’”. This question comes about 3/4 of the way through the video. Watch Randy’s eyes as he looks up and away to the left (his right). I am not a psychologist, or an expert on telling if someone is lying, but the general rule is, that if someone looks up and away to his right, then they are more than likely trying to visually fabricating the truth in their head.