re: Megachurch pastor buys wife a $200,000 Lamborghini

This was years ago and I told this story once before on here, but a friend of mine at the time was dating a girl whose dad broke away from another church and started his own. He brought a lot of the members from the other church with him and was growing.

He asked my friend to help him get started getting online (this was early 2000s before social media, etc). So one Saturday we were going to the LSU game and he had gone to the church to work on what he was helping him with, so I had to pick him up over there on the way to the game. He was finishing up and asked me to come in for a few minutes. He was waiting for something to download.

He brings me to preacher's office (girlfriend's dad), opens up a drawer and pulls out a manilla folder and told me to look. It was filled with W-2 forms. He requested all members give him a copy of their W-2 so that he could help them determine how much they have to pay and preached that at least 10% must be given.

Apparently, there was one guy who didn't make a lot of money couldn't give 10% of his income because he needed the money, so he gave an old truck he had as part of his 10%. Preacher fixed it up and sold it.

I am not the most religious person you will meet, but in that situation this is what I would do.. Not because I am trying to get into heaven or anything, but just because it just seems like the right thing to do. If the guy was out of work for a few months that year and had three daughters and a wife (i think he told me she was a stay at home mom, they were just not well off people), I would have fixed up the truck, sold it and brought him the money.

Some of this religious stuff just blows my mind.

Yeah, that's garbage. The religion most people experience is man taking it and making it their own to serve their purposes.



"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

James 1:27

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"I don't see anyone screaming about how basketball players drive what they do while you paying $$$ to see them play in arenas and on fields," she wrote in a post Sunday. "We don't live for people! We live for God!"

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Could not be more out of tune with the message of Christ, that they proclaim to know

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What better way to reach them then by driving up in a Lamborghini crossover

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"Gawwwd, wants a Lamborghini!,,, and Gawwwwd wants me to drive it!"

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Have you sat down and taught them about the islam or hindu religions?

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My oldest daughter has asked questions and I tell her what I know, or we look it up. I don't hide it from them.


And I'm not going to throw my 4 year old on the internet and tell them to research. And do I leave them at home when I go to church?

That's talking about the followers of a false prophetess.

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The ONE thing the Catholic church gets right is the vow of poverty for the priests

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and the catholic church is the wealthiest organization on the planet....irony?

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It's also the world' largest charitable organization. Not ironic at all

Oh and only certain orders of priests (Franciscans are one) take a vow of poverty.

These "speaking engagements" people keep bringing up...
Here's how those work:

Pastor A goes to preach at Pastor B's church. Pastor B's church pays speaking fee. Pastor B then goes to speak at Pastor A's church. Pastor A's church pays his speaking fee.

Thus...."I MAKE ALL MY MONEY OFF OF SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS"

Its bullshite. They can hide behind the technicality all they want...but the truth is what the truth is.

ETA: I love Jesus. I hate man-made religion, and I hate prosperity gospel and false doctrine even more.

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they don't get those fees speaking at other churches

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Yes they absolutely do. I am with you in getting and understanding the appropriate context of everything you've said in this thread. But this is absolutely the way the megachurch I was formerly affiliated with worked. Its the same theme across the organizational structure. There is no real organization accountability.

I won't pretend to know how megachurch's work. I attend a moderately sized church, and we might pay someone to come lead a kids or youth conference (would have a registration fee), but never for a guess pastor. At the most, feed them and provide lodging, either a hotel or a member provide a room.