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#31 tessieca

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Posted 26 December 2007 - 03:50 PM

Churches give you statements of your contributions for tax purposes, not to track your performance.
"Sometimes on purpose and sometimes by accident, teachers' unions have a long history of working against the interests of children in the name of job security for adults. And Democrats in particular have a history of facilitating this obstructionism in exchange for campaign donations and votes." . . .Amanda Ripley re "Waiting for Superman" movie.

#32 Darthvader

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Posted 31 December 2007 - 12:01 AM

QUOTE(asbestoshills @ Aug 14 2006, 07:14 PM) View Post
How much does Pastor Brad make at this church and is his total income shown to the members? Does he get a car allowance, travel, housing allowance that can add up.....I have been to this church and there are great people that attend there, however, I wish pastors couldn't draw a salary higher than the median or average income of a community...This would be an awesome standard....Nowadays these mega churches create entertainers that give you a latte and a sermon with a sideshow of various kinds of rock n roll church hymns....I think Lakeside has a great children's program, but lacks in authenticity and sincerity... Also, I don't like the way they give u a statement of how much u donated....Such bs....I guess so they can track the best members just like anything else in life...show me the money and I will show u the way......I was a member for a short time and when I called to see if someone could come to the hospital after my mom had a major stroke....oh, we don't do that.....go to your small group.....I wasn't in a small group so no one came...They did send a postcard that they were praying for her....Wow, how wonderful...maybe next time I can get an email......


Wow, I've never read such hatred about a Pastor and a church. Brad has more honesty, sincerity, and integrity than most people for certain. If you want some doom and gloom "you're going to Hell" preaching church I think you should seek one out, you would be happier there.

BTW, don't those tiny, "real" churches ask for donations as well?

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#33 October15

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Posted 31 December 2007 - 08:24 AM

QUOTE(EDF @ Dec 25 2007, 01:03 PM) View Post
I'm sorry this happened to you... I don't attend church anymore and have thought about going back... but these mega churches bother me...

I'm a single guy and don't have my boys around anymore so I would think this church would be great for families but what is it with this "small group" thing they do... ? do they put you in a group of other church members for some reason...? do they have their own separate meetings.. etc...?

What are the services like.. I'm a "confirmed Lutheran" which is almost like being Catholic and they used to be a pretty conservative church.. especially when I lived in the South and in Illinois...


Sometime in the '80's, churches began to realize that people seemed to experience the most spiritual growth and sense of connection in a smaller group format. Larger churches especially need to "break it down" in order for people to make connections. Small groups have the capablity to tailor their study to their members needs/interests/life stage (such as single moms, addictions, young families, etc.).

Lakesides services tend to be large, friendly, rock n' roll and practical in terms of messages/application to life.

They are conservative in terms of being evangelical and Bible focused. Their style is less so.


#34 October15

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Posted 31 December 2007 - 08:33 AM

QUOTE(Darthvader @ Dec 31 2007, 12:01 AM) View Post
Wow, I've never read such hatred about a Pastor and a church. Brad has more honesty, sincerity, and integrity than most people for certain. If you want some doom and gloom "you're going to Hell" preaching church I think you should seek one out, you would be happier there.

BTW, don't those tiny, "real" churches ask for donations as well?



Before we start slamming Brad in this area, we should probably set up a tour of his home?

I think we'd be embarrassed by some of these comments. Brad and Donna are really simple people. His idea of extravagance is fixing up a classic Mustang. By Folsom/El Dorado Hills standards...they're practically Amish. :-) Seriously,...the church is the result of a passion for reaching people with the message of God's love for them. They chose to do it in a consumer oriented way as that's what they felt would help them be most effective at reaching the most people-- not to make money. It's not necessarily my "cup of tea" for a church, but it saddens me when people take shots at them-- or especially Brad-- who has a huge amount of integrity. Wait...am I agreeing with Darthvader on something? Wow.

#35 October15

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Posted 31 December 2007 - 08:47 AM

QUOTE(tessieca @ Dec 26 2007, 03:50 PM) View Post
Churches give you statements of your contributions for tax purposes, not to track your performance.



Yep. In the churches I've been in, the pastor has no idea of who gives or how much unless the people themselves make that known, which would be unusual. The bookkeeper and treasurer are the people who are aware of these things. Nobody is tracked on "performance". There are SOME churches who set up a faith pledge system...where people have committed to give a certain amount per month...and then the church sends them a reminder based on what they signed up for. I've never been in one of those churches. This might be contribute to the idea of "tracking"? In the churches I've been part of, the pastor is generally one of the less financially "successful" people.

Another thing to be aware of is that Jesus taught that our heart is tied up into our finances. He taught about money frequently. Pastors of churches that say they follow Jesus are bound to speak on the issue of finances/money/giving/sharing/being generous. That doesn't necessarily need to equate to tithing or giving to the local church...but that would be part of it. Our church tries to focus on giving in general-- to our local group, to efforts at helping people in White Rock Village, Downtown Ministries, or Mexico Missions...as well as looking for needs in our neighborhoods.

If the term "prosperity" is used with reference to a church or ministry...this would be a whole different way of looking at giving and the lifestyles of Christians and is definitely NOT the type of church that Lakeside is. As a follower of Jesus, I'd be extremely uncomfortable being part of a church like this. I'm really uncomfortable around ultra-wealthy pastors and a focus on God wanting all of us to be rich-- though this seems to "play well" in our culture.




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