FreeGoodNews.com PROGRAM DETAILS: Greed in the Church

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Update 3-30-05: Click here for an analysis of the 1-20-05 study of executive pay for 27 high profile "media ministries."  See the best and worst!
Update 1-20-05: Click here for a 1-20-05 study of executive pay for 27 high profile "media ministries."  It's vital to reward the good and shun the bad.
Update 1-9-05: Click here for a 1-6-05 study of executive pay for 59 nonprofit corporations that do good works. 

Update: I will have to back-up and focus on "The Deception of Wealth" as supported in Scripture (primer).  Otherwise, there is no basis for recognizing misuse of funds. This knowledge can't be assumed for the listener, as even many Christian teachers aren't aware of it (all the ones that I've talked to, including a Seminary Professor).  The more I look into the "Deception of Wealth" the more I see how the American Church has been thoroughly leavened with the "deceitfulness of wealth," no doubt thanks to a double hit of capitalism and "Prosperity Gospel" teaching.

Previous plan:
Plan for 11/17/04 show:
-- Overview
  -- Stewardship demands research
  -- Nonprofits are accountable to the public
  -- How Boards operate; not as "participative" as you'd hope (Intel example)
-- Bad case in point: CRI (Hank & Kathy Hanegraaff)
  -- No pass for simply being Evangelical
-- Good case in point: Corel Ridge Ministries
  -- Show documentation
-- Summary
  -- You have a right and responsibility to check out organizations
  -- Don't feed scoundrels like Benny Hinn, TBN ($700K)
     (Benny Hinn finances estimated, show TBN's financial info)
  -- Reward good nonprofits, such as NW Medical Teams, Corel Ridge Ministries, Focus on the Family
  -- If extra time, go over Scriptures with importance of choosing God over money; beware deception

Some people think I shouldn't talk about this Christian "dirty laundry."  What should I do?  I think I'll follow the Apostle Paul's advice to Timothy.

Test:

1. Which Christian TV Preacher is paid $900K per year ($430 per hour!)?
2. Which Christian TV "minister" pays himself over $400,000 per year, and pays his wife over $300,000?
3. Which Christian radio "Bible Answer Man" pays himself $280,000 per year, and his wife $130,000 per year?
4. Which famous Evangelist is known the world over by holding major "crusades" and is paid over $400,000 per year?
5. Which famous Evangelical radio preacher is paid $300,000 per year?
6. Which famous Evangelical, that focuses on the family, gets zero salary from the ministry? 
7. Which famous Evangelist traveled around the world mostly at his own expense, and supported himself by a secular job, and encouraged other Christians to follow his example?
8. Which Evangelists gave up family, the good life, etc. for the sake of preaching the Gospel?

(I'm not saying preachers should be poor.  I'm saying they should be paid reasonably, with the standard from the Bible, not the world.)

Answers:

1. John Hagee, of "Global Evangelism Television."  Evidence.  Imagine what you could accomplish with this money for the Kingdom of God, as the donors intended !!!
2. Paul & Jan Crouch, of TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network).  Click here for evidence (tax return).  You can view their tax forms online from this free service, here (sign-up for a free GuideStar account).  TBN's EIN number is 952844062 (used for look-up in the GuideStar web service).
3. Hank & Kathy Hanegraaff (The "Bible-Answer Man").  Evidence (here is the tax return).  According to the 2002 form 990, Hank made a total of $280K (including his $53K expense account).  He paid his wife a total of $130K, including her expense account.  They both report that they work 50+ hrs. per week (remember, they also have 9 kids, some still quite young) .  Additional (shocking) info is here and here.  (Note: I found out this scandal on my own, and was surprised that someone else has documented it already, with additional info.)  Hank is a living dictionary definition for nepotism (there's nothing wrong with hiring family, until you pay them far too much for what they're worth, simply because they are family).  Kathy and Hank are the only ones with a significant "expense account" (Paul Young, the Exec. VP, also has an expenses account, but it is 1/5 of Kathy's, and 1/70 of Hanks).  Kathy is the third highest-paid employee; paid twice as much as the Editor (Elliot Miller) and Operations Manager (J. Stoffel).  This is very unfair to their own staff.  Also unknown is all the royalty money he may be getting from his books that he freely markets on his network.  Here's an article about some admitted wrong-doing.  Here is some info on a past lawsuit against Hank (this also talks about another private company that Hank owns called "Memory Dynamics," and he's accused of taking advantage of the "Bible Answer Man" ministry for this business).  Here is more info on Hank from a watchdog group (MinistryWatch Wall Watchers).  Walter Martin founded CRI, but died unexpectantly abd quickly; what would he have thought of Hank Hanegraaff as the new leader?  Click here for info.  (Note, personally I like Hank, and the job he does; that's what makes this particularly practice of his sickening for me.)
4. Billy Graham.  Evidence.  Article 1. He collects this outrageous amount of money even when he is sick and in bed... and not working... Why? Simply because he's a Christian celebrity superstar, and he can... at least until the info gets out...
5. Charles Stanley of "In Touch Ministries" Evidence. (Note: per 2002 form 990, salary was $117K, bonus and other was $182.5K, for total of $299K)
6. Dr. Dobson of "Focus on the Family."  Although he takes zero pay, he may be making millions of $$$ off of royalties that come from the books that he wrote and are freely advertised on his network... I would like to know more about how much his royalties are, and how they get to him.  Certainly Dr. Dobson is not living in poverty, or has taken a vow of poverty, but at least he's honest enough to not draw a salary when he has other means of significant income.  I need to do more research, but this may be a role-model ministry for other ministries, although I want to know more about the royalty situation before I really claim that.
7. The Apostle Paul. Evidence from 1 Cor. 9:18 & 2 Corin. 11:7
8. The Apostle Peter, and also the other eleven Apostles, according to Peter. (Evidence from Mark 10:17-31)

Note: I'd like to get some info from Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH org. and Benny Hinn's Ministry (because of greed rumors), but both are extremely difficult to even contact (by phone or email).  All I need is their EIN number.  I can get it from the IRS, but it takes time... Once I get the EIN, I can get all their finance info from http://www.guidestar.org/ .  Apparently, it looks like Benny Hinn has a "church" (this is tax abuse in itself), and as such, doesn't have to report any tax info for his organization  Here's a link that claims gross greediness with Benny Hinn.  Here's a link to a "Dateline" transcript research story on him; snippet:
"Benny Hinn is not an ECFA member. He wouldn't tell us his annual salary, but five years ago he acknowledged it was then between $500,000 and $1 million a year."

How much are nonprofit exec's getting paid?

See this link for a 1-6-05 study of executive pay for 59 nonprofit corporations.  See "the good, the bad, and the ugly" for yourself.

Questions:

1. How much should media "ministers" get paid?  The funny thing is, they know.  Take TBN for example (Paul & Jan Crouch).  Although Paul and Jan make an obscene salary, they pay everyone else decent (even low!) wages.  Funny how the "prosperity gospel" only reaches them... and doesn't "bless" the other hard workers in their organization... (The info above explains how to freely view their form 990 online.)

2. Doesn't the Bible teach we should enjoy money as a blessing?  In the Old Testament, yes; New Testament, no.  In the Old Testament, Job was blessed, as evidenced by his possessions.  Things changed in the New testament (just as it has for the sabbath, circumcison, and tithing).  Now, according to the revelations by Jesus in the New Testament, we are to think of everything we have as belonging to God, not just 10%! (Yes, "tithing" is another topic for another time...)  We are called to be good stewards, and as such, don't own anything.  In this light, it is impossible to love God, yet not use our resources for good things, such as feeding the poor in the name of Christ.  How can we convince ourselves that driving a $60,000 car is fine when lives are lost due to starvation?

James 2:15-17
¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him,
"Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs,
what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

3. Aren't you being judgmental?  No.  Remove the plank, and you can help others:

Luke 6:41-42
⁴¹"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to
the plank in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the
speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see
clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
 

Do you remember the the event of when Jesus cleared the temple area of the vendors who did business there?

Matthew 21:12-13
¹²Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He
overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³"It is written,"
he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making
it a 'den of robbers.' "

Why did Jesus have to do this?  Why didn't the religious leaders see it coming?  Weren't the Pharisees (and other religious leaders) in control of the temple area?  Can we see this now in our own age, or are we just afraid to confront greed by religious leaders?  Must we close our eyes to this wickedness within the body of Christ?  These religious leaders are crying our for revival, yet their greed and hypocrisy is partly to blame for keeping others from coming:

Romans 2:23-24
²³You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? ²⁴As it is written:
"God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

4. It's not important how much you make, but what you do with it, right?  Exactly wrong.  What you do with your money has absolutely zero bearing on what your salary should be.  If I'm a minister, can I ask my congregation to pay me 1 million dollars, even if I promise to give $950,000 of it to charity?  Obviously, that's an extreme example, to show the nonsense of the argument. 

But what about Billy Graham? He worked hard to build his ministry, and now he has big medical bills.  Sorry, salary also doesn't depend on one's bills.  People didn't give to the ministry to support Billy Graham's medical bills, they gave to the cause that he requested money for.  How much money would Billy raise if he disclosed that the fundraiser was for his personal bills?

But these people need bodyguards, and secure houses, and they may live in expensive areas.  Don't they need to get paid more for these reasons?  Did any New Testament characters, that we can use as role-models, live in fancy houses or neighborhoods and hire bodyguards?  Why the disconnect?  Also, can you imagine telling your boss you need a raise because you have high bills (nice car and new home, etc.)?  Wouldn't everyone tell you to live within your means?  Your pay is determined by market rates, not by your needs and expenses.  Then how come these guys are getting away with it? Because they either have a Board of Directors that is too weak to stand up to the CEO's, or the Board is corrupted (most of the time the Board members are weak or cronies).

Analysis:

Roots of the Problem (follow the underlined web links for references):

1. Confusion of "business" with "ministry."  There used to be a time (less than 50 years ago), when "ministers" worked for God.  With the creeping influence of materialism in the USA, the minister has been tempted to sell or think of their services no longer as a ministry, but as a business.  Businesses focus on maximizing profit, ministries focus on maximizing growth for God's Kingdom (although ministries do need to have good "business practices").  So a Christian author, like Hank Hanegraaff, looks at the "Left Behind Series" of books and thinks "Gee, look at how much money I could make if I do the same thing, only make it theologically correct."  He prides himself on rooting out all kinds of heresy, but he'll never discuss issues of greed (I know, I tried to talk to him on his show, and he cut me off, regarding TBN's excessive salary payments to the Crouch's).  So today, we have Christians that think they can write the next best-seller book, or hit music album, and not just minister to people, but also make a lot of money in the process.

If this doesn't stop, the next thing you'll see is Christians applying this same technique to the "service" part of ministry (like what's going on in the "teaching" and "worship" parts of ministry) .  "Give to me, and I'll feed the poor, clothe the naked, etc." Yes, they'll do it, but also get rich off the donations.  In fact, this is already happening.  Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son) heads "Samaritan's Purse," and is paid almost $300K per year (evidence). (This is their mission "... providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world.")   Again I ask, would donors give if they knew this?  I doubt it.

By the way, all is not bad.  Let me mention the good.  So far, I really like Compassion International (sponsor a needy child and show them Jesus' love).  In fact, they are the only organization that I've found that is so upfront with their finances, that they post their form 990's on the web (see the bottom of this web page).  Contrast that to some who never respond without a hassle (I had to really push to get one from TBN and "The Bible Answer Man" (CRI) also responded quite slowly).

2. Prosperity gospel and "cognitive dissonance."  Cognitive dissonance is the world's way of trying to explain the same concept of Romans 7:7-25.  It's the spirit vs. the flesh, or the mind vs. the flesh.  For example, one knows that it is a sin to be greedy, yet loves the "finer things" of life.  People can't live with cognitive dissonance... it's just way too stressful.  Therefore, since their actions don't line-up with their words, one will have to change (actions or words).  If the problem is with money, then either they will have to justify why it's ok to have lots of money (hence, the "prosperity gospel"), or else they will change their life and lose the greediness.  You just can't have both (you can't take a stand against greediness, and still do it).

Based on this, I think Paul and Jan Crouch have totally seared their conscience and jumped headlong into the prosperity gospel to justify their greed,  So have their famous cohorts, such as Benny Hinn.  Hank Hanegraaff is a different case, and quite interesting.  He strongly preaches against the "prosperity gospel" and "give-to-get" teaching, yet he has many of his own problems with greed (mentioned above).  My guess, from reading the accusations against him (which he refuses to address), is that he is playing the role of the hypocritcal Pharisee, which Jesus opposed:

Luke 16:13-15 (Jesus talking)
¹³"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted
to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
¹⁴The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵He said
to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts.
What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.

3. The "battle for the mind" (worldview, paradigm).  Everyone "sees" and analyses the world, and their actions, according to a certain frame of reference (paradigm, or world-view).  How should we handle our money?  The "world" (those who aren't followers of Christ) have one viewpoint, and those who follow the teaching of the Bible (referring to the plain and obvious parts of the Bible; I'm not referring to the parts that are open to interpretation and valid differing opinions).  In between these two worlds are Christians who don't know what the Bible teaches (so they have "worldly" thinking coupled with a belief in the Bible, not knowing what the Bible fully teaches.)

When you become a Christian, transforming the mind is one of the top priorities for us (Romans 12:1-2).  Those "in the world" want to "be right in their own eyes" (Isaiah 5:20-22).  As Christians, we study the Bible to understand God's truth (God's Word lights our way, just as a lamp makes light for our feet to travel in darkness, Psalm 119:105).

Romans 12
¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the
pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able
to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
 

Those in the world really love the world.  They love their big houses, fancy cars, and exotic vacations.  In fact, it's what they spend most of their time thinking about (that's the measure to use to determine what's really important to you).  Those who know God, however, realize that everything here is temporary.  It's not that we can't have fun, but it's that we know our purpose in life is not to gratify the flesh (in sexual lust, greed, etc.).  Our purpose in life is to become holy, as God is holy.  Some day all your material possessions will be burnt to a crisp (even the lovely church cathedrals and buildings).

1 John 2:15-17
¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. ¹⁶For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his
eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from
the world. ¹⁷The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does
the will of God lives forever.

2 Peter 3
¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the
elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?
You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹²as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
 That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

James 4:3-5
³When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what
you get on your pleasures.  ⁴You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is
hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of
God. ⁵Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?

4. Shaming the Church.  Am I not putting down the church when I write this in publicly?  I feel like I'm a doctor, telling the patient that he has cancer.  (The Bible says the the Church is the "body of Christ" 1 Cor. 12:27.)  It is not pleasant.  However, to say nothing would show a lack of love and care for the patient, and would hasten the patients pain and suffering.  Imagine if someone accused a surgeon of being mean because he cut into the body of a person to remove cancer! Yet the fact remains that some patients don't want to hear the news, and will resist any changes to their diet or take the necessary medical treatment that is prescribed.  Their doom is evident to everyone else.

Along this analogy, another important concept is the Five Stages of Grief.  The first stage is denial, then the second is anger.  When I write the salary info for Billy Graham, as Evangelicals, our first reaction is "oh no, it can't be."  Do we stay in denial, try to justify it in denial, or move on?  If we move on, the next stage is anger.  You can get mad at me for revealing this, or mad at Billy for being compromised.  As you progress through the stages, if you're healthy, you'll finally get to "acceptance" and deal with the situation.  By revealing this info, I'm doing my part to "deal with it."  I have faith that this will turn out to be positive overall (organizations will realize they can no longer get away with this, and they'll be forced to clean-up their act).  This kind of nonsense can only occur in the darkness, I believe, so a little light will easily chase away the cockroaches we have in ministry. 

5. Jealousy.  Some may think I'm making these points because I'm jealous of the ministries that are bigger and more popular.  I am told, by some, that I need to repent.  Certainly, jealousy is a significant factor when people criticize others.  Does it apply here?  I would challenge the accuser to point out what I wrote that was in jealousy.  Quite the contrary, I love seeing the Church grow, when it is healthy growth.  I cite two role-models of Christian ministry: Focus on the Family and Compassion International (no, they didn't pay me to say this).  How can I be jealous of other ministries because they are bigger and more popular?  Notice I also don't mention just certain denominations-- I'm mentioning, by name, all of those that claim to be Christian.

6. Deception.  All Christians know that the devil wants to deceive them.  But that's one of the problems with deception-- the deceived don't know that they are being deceived, lest they wouldn't allow it!  This simple principle must first be learned so we can be on the continuous lookout for deceptions in our own lives.  If we are convinced that we aren't deceived, then that's a foothold (Eph 4:27) for the devil to use against us.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
⁹Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither
the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
¹⁰nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

7. Choice.  You have a choice in how you spend your money.  Owning a fancy car or a beautiful house is not a "need," it's a "want."  If you could get a very good car for $20,000, but decide to buy a nicer one for $30,000, you just decided to pay an extra $10,000 for a nicer car instead of feeding children that are dying.  Yes, this was a real choice that you made.  Do you want to face up to it, or pretend that you never heard it?  Funny how you don't have $10,000 to feed starving children, yet it can be found to buy a nicer car.

Again, I'm not saying that you have to live like a bum on the street.  I'm saying you should pray about what's reasonable.  It's between you and God.  Just realize that you are making a choice.  That extra money that is spent on exotic vacations, a fabulous home, shapely car, etc. could be spent on saving human lives.  Just look to see what you could accomplish with $10,000 with the Compassion International ministry... ultimately, it would give you more happiness in life than driving a shapely car.

8. Is wealth bad? Most Christians probably think there's nothing wrong with wealth, it's just the attitude about it that's wrong.  After all, it is the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil, not money itself (1 Tim. 6:10).  This may be true, but let's dig a little deeper (inside us, and the Bible) and make sure we haven't deceived ourselves, to see if we've convinced ourselves that it's ok to stockpile money for us and our family.

Let's imagine we go in a time machine back to the times of Jesus and hear him teaching.  We hear this:

Mark 10:17-31
¹⁷As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher,"
he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"   ¹⁸"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered.
"No one is good--except God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit
adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.' "  
²⁰"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."   ²¹Jesus looked at him and loved
him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."   ²²At this the man's face fell. He went away
sad, because he had great wealth. 

 ²³Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"  
²⁴The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the
kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter
the kingdom of God."   ²⁶The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then
can be saved?"   ²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God;
all things are possible with God." 

 ²⁸Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!"   ²⁹"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no
one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the
gospel ³⁰will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters,
mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.
³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

Christian preacher's today are good about writing-off the main teaching of this.  They say this guy was lying about following God's commands, and Jesus pin-pointed his problem.  I don't think so.  Jesus loved this guy (see verse 21).  I think Jesus loved him because the man was genuine.  Ask yourself the hard question: WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE THE RICH MAN?

Is it ok to have wealth?  The early disciples didn't think so.  They shared everything and lived in common:

Acts 4:32-37
³²All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was
his own, but they shared everything they had. ³³With great power the apostles continued to testify
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. ³⁴There were no needy
persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the
money from the sales ³⁵and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had
need.   ³⁶Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of
Encouragement), ³⁷sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

Is it ok to have wealth? Ask yourself the hard question: WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE A WEALTHY BELIEVER AT THIS TIME?  Now ask yourself, what has changed since then?  Has the Gospel changed? No.  Has our Lord's teaching changed? No.  We changed.  Back then, they expected the imminent return of Christ.  So should we.  Obviously, we don't, or we wouldn't be living like we do.

Then there's the story Jesus told about Lazarus and "the rich man."  What does this story have to say about wealth?

Finally, is it ok to have wealth?  I'll let you decided.  Just pray about it.  And if you ask your Pastor, and he brushes it off quickly, ask him why the lives of the apostles and disciples during Jesus' time is so different than our time (per the Scripture references above).  The most dangerous position to be in, is to not even care or think about this.

The following jokes are from here.

Sympathy

A big big, burly man visited the pastor's home and asked to see the minister's wife, a woman well known for her charitable impulses.
      
      "Madam," he said in a broken voice, "I wish to draw your attention to the terrible plight of a poor family in this district. The father is dead, the mother is too ill to work, and the nine children are starving. They are about to be turned into the cold, empty streets unless someone pays their rent, which amounts to $400."
      
      "How terrible!" exclaimed the preacher's wife. "May I ask who you are?"
      
      The sympathetic visitor applied his handkerchief to his eyes. "I'm the landlord," he sobbed.

(Comment: Is this like Paul & Jan on TV (TBN) saying they need money to preach the gospel, and they'll go off the air if they don't get enough (to pay themselves a combined $700,000 salary)?  Or is it like Franklin Graham raising money to feed the poor, but he takes $300,000 for himself in salary?)

Can You Take It With You?

There was a very rich man who was just about to die and he wanted to take some of his wealth with him. So he started negotiations with God about the matter. God was not sure as it had never been done before and he did not want to set a precedence. Finally after long talks God reluctantly agreed to allow him to bring his wealth to heaven.
      
      Just a few days before he died the rich man converted all his money into gold bullion. He died and the funeral home made sure that the suitcases containing the gold bullion went with him. He arrived at the Pearly Gates with his suitcases and there was Peter. Peter told him he could not bring the suitcases into heaven. But the man said he had already spoken to God and he had said it was OK. So Peter got on the God phone and sure enough it was true. So Peter was curious as to what was so valuable that the man wanted to bring it into heaven. Peter said, "Could I look in the suitcases?"
      
      So the man opened the suitcases and Peter exclaimed, "Why are you bringing pavement to heaven!?"

(Comment: If you don't get it, read the description of heaven in Rev. 21:21)

Union Worker

Two guys and a union worker were fishing on a lake one day, when Jesus walked across the water and joined them in the boat. When the three astonished men had settled down enough to speak, the first guy asked humbly, "Jesus, I've suffered from back pain ever since I took shrapnel in the Vietnam war...could you help me?"
      
      "Of course, my son", Jesus said, and when he touched the man's back, he felt relief for the first time in years.
      
      The second man, who wore very thick glasses and had a hard time reading and driving, asked if Jesus could do anything about his eyesight.
      
      Jesus smiled, removed the man's glasses and tossed them in the lake. When they hit the water, the man's eyes cleared and he could see everything distinctly.
      
      When Jesus turned to heal the union worker, the guy put his hands up and cried defensively, "Don't touch me! I'm on long term disability."

(Comment: Do you want Christ to reform your life and mature you spiritually, or are you comfortable living as you are in this world?)

Not Enough

Two friends met in the street. One looked sad and almost on the verge of tears. The other man said, "Hey my friend, how come you look like the whole world has caved in?"
      
      The sad fellow said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me 50-thousand dollars."
      
      "That's not bad at all...!"
      
      "Hold on, I'm just getting started. Two weeks ago, a cousin I never knew kicked-the-bucket and left me 95-thousand, tax-free to boot."
      
      "Well, that's great! I'd like that."
      
      "Last week, my grandfather passed away. I inherited almost a million."
      
      "So why are so glum?"
      
      "This week - nothing!"

(Comment: It's all relative.  Some of the poorest in the USA are actually rich, compared to those in Africa and other developing nations.)

Where did it go?

A Yuppie opened the door of his BMW, when suddenly a car came along and hit the door, ripping it off completely. When the police arrived at the scene, the yuppie was complaining bitterly about the damage to his precious BMW. "Officer, look what they've done to my Beeeemer!!!" he whined.
      
      "You yuppies are so materialistic, you make me sick!!!" retorted the officer, "You're so worried about your stupid BMW, that you didn't even notice that your left arm was ripped off!!!" Oh my gaaad...", replied the yuppie, finally noticing the bloody left shoulder where his arm once was,
      
      "Where's my Rolex!!!!!"

(Comment: Is your focus on the right thing?  Is your life consumed with materialism and lusts?  In church, are you more worried about new seats and carpets than feeding the poor, clothing the naked, etc.)

Shrewd as Serpents

Three contractors were touring the White House on the same day. One was from New York, another from Missouri, and the third from Florida. At the end of the tour, the guard asked them what they did for a living. when they each replied that they were contractors, the guard said, "Hey we need one of the rear fences redone. Why don't you guys take a look at it and give me your bids."
      
      First, the Florida contractor took out his tape measure and pencil, did some measuring and said, "I figure the job will run about $900 -- $400 for materials, $400 for my crew, and $100 profit for me."
      
      Next was the Missouri contractor. He also took out his tape measure and pencil, did some quick calculations and said, "Looks like I can do this job for $700 -- $300 for materials, $300 for my crew, and $100 profit for me."
      
      Finally, the guard asks the New York contractor for his bid. Without batting an eye, the contractor says, "$2,700."
      
      The guard, incredulous, looks at him and says, "You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?"
      
      "Easy," says the contractor from New York, "$1,000 for me, $1,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Missouri."

(Comment:  It may not be illegal, but it sure is a shame when revealed, just like these overpaid "ministers.")

Genie

A man is walking down the beach and comes across an old bottle. He picks it up, pulls out the cork and out pops a genie!
      
      The genie says, "Thank you for freeing me from the bottle. In return I will grant you three wishes."
      
      The man says "Great! I always dreamed of this and I know exactly what I want. First, I want one billion dollars in a Swiss bank account."
      
      Poof! There is a flash of light and a piece of paper with account numbers appears in his hand!
      
      He continues, "Next, I want a brand new red Ferrari right here."
      
      Poof! There is a flash of light and a bright red, brand-new Ferrari appears right next to him!
      
      He continues, "Finally, I want to be irresistible to women."
      
      Poof! There is a flash of light and he turns into a box of chocolates.

(Comment: See how your wants and desires can affect your entire life?  What are your goals in life?  What are your desires?  The love of money has pierced many with serious wounds (1 Tim. 6:10).)

BOOK:

   Yes, I think I'll write a book about this.  The more I think about it, the more clearly it becomes, and I see how overdue this issue is.  I'm sure you'll never see Hank Hanegraaff write a book on this topic, as well as the prosperity preachers.  It would be impossible for them.  And yes, the book would be free (in internet download form).  It would have to be sold as a regular book for those not comfortable with computers... but it wouldn't be over-priced!

1 Timothy 4
¹⁶Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do,
you will save both yourself and your hearers.

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Charity
Jewish Thought: Maimonides ("my-mon-i-dies"):
Anticipate charity by preventing poverty; assist the reduced fellow man, either by a considerable gift or a sum of money or by teaching him a trade or by putting him in the way of business so that he may earn an honest livelihood and not be forced to the dreadful alternative of holding out his hand for charity. This is the highest step and summit of charity's golden ladder.

Actual form 990 tax returns from the good, the bad, and the ugly:
GOOD:
-- Focus on the Family 2002
-- NW Medical Teams 2002
-- Compassion 2002
BAD:
-- CRI (Hank Hanegraaff)
-- Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (Billy Graham)
-- Samaritan's Purse (Franklin Graham)
UGLY:
-- John Hagee (Global Evangelism Television)
-- TBN (Paul & Jan Crouch)
-- Benny Hinn (Dateline story on him)

PS: Here's an example of a Catholic ministry not reporting the five highest wages (EWTN Catalogue).  I can't see any reason for hiding this info.  I doubt that ALL the work is done by volunteers, as is implied.  EWTN, itself, does a very god job with executive compensation (see report).