Everyone by now probably has received their letter from Mac Brunson about the "Media Evangelism" special offering to be taken this Sunday.
Church, I sure hope you decide to NOT give ONE DIME to this offering.
- Mac just a week ago held an unannounced business meeting to ask for the church to vote on giving $500,000 for start-up costs for the First Baptist Academy. He asked us in December to pray that "God would unleash the financial resources of the church", and it sure looks like instead of waiting for God to "unleash", Mac took matters into his own hands and himself unleashed them in a quickie business meeting moderated by the president of the Trustees. Although Mac has repeatedly told us that the school is absolutely necessary in order for us to reach people for Christ, we know that is not true. The school may very well be a great idea, but to take $500,000 from money given by God's people for the ministry of our church in order to fund a school start-up is not right. I submit that the $500,000 would pay for any of the local media evangelism that he proposes. Mac has it backwards - instead of siphoning off money for ministry given by God's people to fund a school start up, let's instead use special offerings for new ministries or capital projects such as schools and pay from the budget those ongoing ministerial expenses like advertising and TV air time.
- Mac says that we should be on the cutting edge of using technology to reach people. Is he really interested in "cutting edge" technology, or getting himself on TV to a nationwide audience? If he is interested in "cutting edge" technology to maximize our reach an obvious question is: Why are we not maximizing the reach of our church's music and preaching ministry by making our recorded church services available 24/7 on-demand either at our website or at the 316network website, like most every other mega church?
- Mac says that giving is up. If so, and if we've always paid for our TV and advertising in our regular budget, then why now do we need a special offering for local media evangelism? Where did this money previous earmarked for local media expenses go? Are we perhaps paying too much to the Agroup for their "marketing" services?
Bottom line: don't take $500,000 from our church Mac for a school that is NOT necessary to reach people for Christ despite your insistence that it is, and which will provide a ministry to relatively very few people in our local area (most of whom will be the very wealthy who can afford $8k per child tuition), and then come holding your hand out for a special offering for items that should be in the budget anyways since they reach poentially thousands world wide! Particularly when we aren't fully utilizing our infrastructure to maximize our reach through the Internet and archiving all video streams for 24/7 world-wide viewing.
Consider this church: after the sermons he's preached lately blasting his congregation and talking to us like we're biblically illiterate morons, how excited are YOU about funding nationwide broadcasts of those sermons?
Just my opinion.
I'll place my envelope in the plate...with a slip of paper with the word "Icabod" written on it.
ReplyDeleteWatchdog,
ReplyDeleteThank you as always for your efforts to expose the abuses that Mac Brunson is committing in our church. Isn't it sad that during the Easter Season we have a pastor who is not focused on celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and attempting to bring others to him, but would rather send out this letter asking for money to promote himself.
I wonder church, if we were all to pray for people to accept Christ, and God would bless our prayers with a number of people coming forward, if Mac would consider this Easter Sunday a failure if he doesn't get the money he desires to promote himself nationally.
Let's all be in prayer for this Easter Sunday and focus on the true mission of our church, while Mac spends his Easter season focused on trying to get money to benefit himself.
Voice of Reason says:
ReplyDeleteMembers of FBC Jax and those thinking about returning or visiting for Easter. He is waiting to fleece you. So many don't come already because they think the church is "just after their money." Well, Mac mentioned in his sermon that it is always true that many visitors and people who have not come to church in a while will come on Easter Sunday. Is he planning on doing something to especially welcome them, encourage them, or love them? NO! What does he have planned? He said that knowing we will have more people here than usual, lets have a special offering! In other words, let's fleece em while they are here since they probably won't be back!
Also, he is being dishonest by selecting a few emails that praise his preaching ministry on TV and internet. He has not read mine! I wrote and specifically told him that I would NEVER listen to him again since it seems all he ever does is lash out at people and preach according to his own personal agenda. Why hasn't he read that email?
He thinks that you are so gullible that you will say, wow, some couple in Ohio is blessed by his preaching, let's give more of our limited income so he can do what he wants with it. My guess is for every "good" email he reads, he gets dozens telling him to grow up. So, don't give any more to this man and his family business!
HEAR ME, FBC JAX!: GOD HAS PROVIDED AMPLE RESOURCES FOR FBC JAX TO MINISTER AS HE HAS CALLED THEM TO MINISTER! YA HEAR ME!? IF Mac and his yes men can't use the funds that are given (over $1 million per month), don't let them "borrow funds" and continue to "raise" it from YOU! WAKE UP!
Church: You do know that VICTORY probably has already been declared. It is my opinion from watching how funds are "disbursed" that the money may have already been put in place for Mac's tv show. Failure to receive these funds Sunday would be embarrassing. So I am sure they will be received as an "answer to prayer", whether funds are actually given or not. This is just a guess but methods of operation are becoming transparent.
ReplyDeleteAnon 10:12 - you mention "watching how funds are disbursed"...how are you able to watch how funds are disbursed? You are a member of the finance committee?
ReplyDeleteI agree with "ghost 5:39". Easter has always been centered around the CROSS. JESUS died and rose again for our sins. This is a time to think on this wonderful gift of Salvation. This is the first Easter I can remember down there that something other than the CROSS has taken the focus. I find taking up a "donation" for Mac to be on tv at Easter time glaring and in very bad taste.
ReplyDeleteIt is bad taste. I guess it could only be worse if we rolled out the "mangers" and we all marched by the mangers to put our envelopes in...or perhaps we could put replica computer monitors and we drop our envelopes into the computer monitors.
ReplyDelete