Just when you think you've heard it all, you hear another pastor ripping his congregation up one side and down the other for not tithing. I have heard from members at several churches in Jacksonville who have said their pastors preached heretical sermons on tithing.The first one is by pastor Charlie Campbell of The Bridge Church of Jacksonville. In the sermon excerpts you'll hear below, Pastor C uses the story of Jacob and Esau in the Old Testament to tell his congregation if they aren't giving 10%, they are "heel grabbers" and "supplanters", just like 'ol Jacob was. He takes that passage totally out of context, applies it directly to Christians under the New Covenant.
"Jacob" means "heel grabber", or "trickster" or possibly "swindler". Yes, now a preacher is using the Old Testament story of Jacob stealing Esau's birthright to convince people who don't tithe that they too, like Jacob, are swindlers...but not of a man, but actually swindler's of God Himself.
You really have to hear this to believe it. It is on par with Ed Young's sermon from last October. Pastor Charlie's sermon is a grueling hour and 10 minutes, and can be listened in its entirety here. Below are audio excerpts, but here are a few choice quotes:
"If you ain't doin' your money God's way, what do you think you're doin' but heel grabbin' and supplantin'?"
"You need to trust God. You need to get your paycheck, look at what the amount is, take a multiplier, times 0.1, whatever the answer is, write it out, don't think about it, and put it to the local church. You do it with FICA, and you don't complain about them. Or you do, but you don't do nuthin' about it 'cause you can't do nuthin' about it. And if God was just as aggressive you might be blessed. I don't see you calling up Obama asking for your money back."
"'I'm not a heel grabber. I'm not a supplanter. I don't lie and cheat and steal.' You lie and cheat and steal when you don't trust God and do what he says....'God, I don't got 10 percent'. OH GOD KNOWS YOU GOT IT. You may not be heel grabbin' me, but you're heel grabbin' Him. And I'm sorry, you might heel grab me and get away with it, but when you grab the heel of the 'big man upstairs' he don't like that too much."
"'How do you know I'm not doing what I should?' Because I see the finances of this church....If I saw what each one of you all gave, I would get up in your stuff and I'd say 'don't you dare call my phone'....I'd call you out when you start worshippin' the Lord. I'd say, 'stop the music, come here John, sit down, that's all the song you get, you get half a song'.....aren't you glad I don't look at the finances...I would be so upset I would talk about you from the platform."
It gets worse than that. Listen to the complete audio.
Ironically, this church right now has a huge media blitz in our city advertising their Easter service where they will be giving away to 8 attenders a month's payment for their electric bill. They're on TV, billboards, YouTube video, even a special website.
Yes, they want to get you to their church with the idea that you might get free utilities. Perhaps you'll visit their church, and you join their church and maybe accept Jesus, even win a couple of hundred bucks in a raffle. But eventually you'll be presented with the terrible news they won't tell you in their TV ads or in the Easter service: you're a liar, a robber, a heel-grabber, unless you give 10%. Jesus died and rose again, but gosh darn it He needs your 10% and the secret is: Jesus wants you to give it to Pastor Campbell's church.
This quote is sad, from the local news story on the church's raffle:
That is the bait and switch. Does Pastor Campbell really want to ease strains on people's wallets in Jacksonville? Or does he want to entice more people to his church using a raffle and a gimmick so he can eventually convince them to be tithers for the sake of Jesus?"Campbell spends every Sunday on a stage giving people hope during tough times by preaching faith. 'The church is about reaching people, and it's about getting something to people to help them where they are,' he said.And on Easter Sunday he is hoping to do just that through his sermon, and by easing the strain on your wallet."
God help us. Please deliver us from churches who are infatuated more with the money in people's pockets than they are with the needs of people and the souls of men.
31 comments:
Actually, God loved Jacob and hated Esau.
Holy ......
I've been to some churches growing up that had some crazy money-raising comments, but this tops the cake!
I know this man and he is a true man of God!
You are running him in the ground and it is because of the color of his skin. You don't diss white preachers like this!
We are sick of this racism, Jax is full of White people that want to tear us down.
Hey, 10% ain't just in the Black Church, at least we are up front about it.
No weapon formed against us will prosper.
Don't judge me by the color of my skin but the content of my character.
God is saving souls and paying power bills at our Church and the truth keeps marching on.
Anonymous April 3, 2011 7:03 PM,
I think you're gonna be judged by the fact that you don't know what you're talking about. Anybody that follows this blog can recognize it.
You're the kind of person that has caused derision for people pulling the so called "race card".
liberals always want your money.
"You don't diss white preachers like this!"
So Ed Young, Mac Brunson, Steve Futrick, and the like aren't white. People get stupider by the day apparently.
Pass the Plate please, cause I need it to throw up in.
And now turn to page 400 and stand as we sing...
" Oh, what a wonderful
n u m b e r,
Oh what a heavenly thing,
10% is such the magical
n u m b e r,
Forget it if you don't give me anything "
Slow to Speak:
Me thinks you are just trying to stir up trouble.
STS=TROLL
Two words Dr.Dog; "CON MAN"!
I strongly suspect the racialized comment by "Anyonymous" was NOT genuine. I think he/she was just pulling our leg, to get folks riled up...
I must admit, this is a completely new angle but trust me it is not the most outlandish of the lot.
A renowned Nigerian preacher has actually preached that those who do not tithe are actually guilty of the sin of Achan (Joshua 7) and would endanger the congregation of which they are a part of. i.e. the entire congregation would come under a curse because of the sin of one man. Sigh!
God help us.
I have sat in many churches where the preaching was equally abusive and I was so offended, while many in the audience were goading on the man behind the pulpit. I remember being so offended at one sermon directed against women, that I thought I had lost my mind or somehow had gone down the rabbit hole with Alice.
I could not stop looking around at the parishoners who were delighted and eagerly imbibing the abuse and eventually I walked out. This led to more abuse from the pulpit. I have often wanted to raise my hand in churches and question speakers "Where do you get this from?" I have spent much time in the church feeling dazed, confused, alienated unable to reconcile what I was reading in the Bible and devotion material with the completely contradictory material being presented by the men on the platforms.
Unfortunately, these little fiefdoms are organized on one principle: Submit unquestioningly to the man in the front of the room or leave.
The lack of true Christian discipleship which exercises accountability and authority over the men in the pulpits has unleashed this wave of charlatans within American church, and worse yet, upon the international churches.
Amen to Francois Moreaneau's comment.
Jacob's name was changed to Israel after he wrestled with God.
And where did he "tithe" in order to get that new name?
This is America, this Pastor is absolutely free to preach this!
Many in the Christian community are like the Taliban.
They disagree with a Pastor and set out to tear him down.
The Pastor is teaching what Charles Stanley, Adrian Rogers, Jim Henry, Billy Graham, Dave Ramsey and others teach.
I don't see you tearing them down?
Yes, you go after Ed Young, Mac, etc.
Why not some of your heroes?
This Pastor is trying to use the money for the right reasons....is someone forcing these people to give?
Are they forced to go this Church?
Is this not a free Country?
Or are you only free if you tow the Line of you Legalists?
To all of you who wish to believe the tithe is still apart of the NT. I Cor 5:4 " Chirst is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace".
A 12 year old can understand this verse why can't older people much less pastors?
And what all of them teach about tithing is a heresy. It is "Jesus +", not Jesus alone.
Well, we heard it yesterday... The lack of tithing could be the cause of the current financial difficulties the United States of America is suffering through! ARRGH!!!
Hey turnyoureyes, don't you get it? The church is not the pastors. The pastors are more then happy to accept the responsibility and authority the church members extend when the pastor is "hired" but heaven forbid these same people who "hired" the pastor are viewed to be full of crap when they question the anointed one! So how can the same people be perfectly correct when they are led to "hire" the anointed one but then be totally off the mark when they dare question the anointed one?? The pastor works for the church membership!
Anon 5:05 - at what church did you hear that lack of tithing is causing our national financial woes?
"The Pastor is teaching what Charles Stanley, Adrian Rogers, Jim Henry, Billy Graham, Dave Ramsey and others teach."
If anyone thinks any of these are hero's they are not following Christ but man.
Charles Stanley once said that anyone who went against him early on in his church got cancer or lost their jobs.
Billy Graham has said several times that one can be saved without knowing Jesus Christ. Don't believe me? google it and watch the video of him telling Robert Schuller this very thing. He also repeated this in a Newsweek interview in the 1990's.
the biggest problem in Christendom is this following of man instead of Christ. It is an epidemic. One would think being in the USA with so much freedom, we would study on our own and understand the priesthood better. But it is easier to elevate man than Christ in your life.
Of course Dave Ranmsey teaches the tithe. Most of his income comes from presenting his course in churches and he teaches the tithe on purpose.
The churches have made him rich. No way would he give up the gravy train.
So they buy his materials and tithe to the pastor and everyone is happy. It is a business deal.
I have never seen Billy Graham begging for money. I have read that from the begging he made a vow
to God that if God wanted him to preach the one thing he would not do was to beg for money, and it would be up to God to provide
The real cause of our economic difficulties is Preachers preaching tithing! This is the real judgment of God. ;)
Billy Graham doesn't beg for money because he has made $500,000 per year for many years. He is making it now and not even working. Every dollar you give, millions go towards the Graham family salaries.
Google it yourself.
They are robbing God's people yet you don't see anyone speaking up about that.
Why?
Because it is easy to go after the Black guy and make him look like a fool.
Who's fool are you?
Shortly before Larry Burkett died I was listening to his program and he actually said that if people aren't paying a tithe, he questioned if they were even saved. I could not believe what I was hearing. I had always appreciated his message about reducing personal debt and proper investment. Boy was I a sucker. It was at that moment that I really understood that the whole tithing doctrine had turned into yet more legalism. Sad, very sad.
The Watchdog has gone after pastors who are Caucasian far more often than any who are not. It is ignorant, and less than honest, to accuse him of racial favoritism in what he posts here. Ed Young, Jr., Mac Brunson, etc., etc.
Of course, heresy is not limited to any one race or status. "Jesus + ", including "Jesus + tithing", is a heresy.
No one said the pastor wasn't free to preach what he wants to preach. But he isn't free from criticism when Bereans compare what he says with the word.
Anon 2:55 pm
The verse is Gal. 5:4 not 1 Cor. 5:4. I agree with your point, I just thought that needed to be corrected. No disrespect intended.
Good to see you post John Wylie. We've missed you. Hope you will post more often.
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