GodsWarriorQuote
I definitely don't think that Pastor David Luster is weak minded. I can't imagine what happened to you in that first year to have so much disdain for the TPC and the Villamors. You seem very hurt after 12+ years. Have you found a good church since then? I also would not assume that all TPC people are weak minded followers. Churches have different beliefs and all from the same bible. For example, I would not want to be part of a church that had the poverty mindset. That would be horrible. Submitting your family to a lifetime of foodstamps and apartment living. It seems you are taking the Prosperity thing to an extreme....is it the same for the Poverty thing? Are we to keep our family in a van down by the river in order to get into heaven?
disdain
/ [dis-deyn, di-steyn]
–verb (used with object)
1. to look upon or treat with contempt; despise; scorn.
2. to think unworthy of notice, response, etc.; consider beneath oneself: to disdain replying to an insult.
GW,
Actually my disdain is not for TPC. It is for the false teaching, deception and lies that thrive in the TPC settings; it is for the manipulation that goes on in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I have been part of a bible teaching church for several years now. My pastor is well respected in our community, has his degree from a reputable seminary, and teaches at a local seminary. He leads a humble, God fearing staff that love and serve the people in the church. Every weekend more than five thousand people gather to hear Truth from God's Word taught by our pastor. I have engaged him in conversation regarding the New Apostolic Reformation, the teachings of "honoring", "spiritual parenting", "covenant relationship", "double tithing"and "covering". He states that all of these are aberrant, destructive and cause great harm to people and bring reproach upon the church at large.
When you say, "Churches have different beliefs and all from the same bible" you reveal your folly and weakminded belief. Do you realize that David Koresh, Jim Jones and many other cult leaders over the years have taken the bible and created their "different beliefs from the same bible" in order to control, manipulate and abuse their followers? You say you would never belong to a church that has a poverty mindset, and yet your church is poor in the Truth of God; poor in the teachings of Christ; and poor in the Freedom found in Christ. Your beliefs are depraved and you fail recognize your own depravity.
If your church's belief in prosperity theology is true then why do you pass an offering plate and beg your members to give? Why not just have "faith" in your "confession" and confess that your church is rich in abundance and then give away that abundance to the poor and needy in your community? Why does your church take from your members under the guise of building a building and then use those funds for other purposes? Your members gave close to a million dollars because your leaders said they needed it to build a church building now there is less than half of those funds remaining. Like the pharisees you place burdens on the shoulders of your members that you yourself are unwilling to carry. How do you explain the poverty of Jesus or Paul or Peter? How do you explain Jesus' teachings when he spoke to the "rich" man and told him to sell everything he owned and give it to the poor? How do you explain Jesus' teaching that "blessed are the poor, for their is the Kingdom of God"? How do you explain Jesus' holding up the poor widow as a righteous example to follow? Yes, I believe your own spiritual poverty runs deep, my friend.
And you mention that I seem hurt after 12 and half years. For the sake of discussion lets address what your church does and doesnt do to those whom they have hurt. What is your church's responsibility to those whom they have hurt? How many people have been hurt by your church? How many people have had their financial resources diverted to the selfish whims of your church's leader? How many parents have lost their children because of your churchs' teaching on "spiritual parenting"? How many husbands and wives have divorced because your church leaders have taught that if a spouse does not agree with the teachings of the church they should be divorced? How many of your members live in fear of asking questions or stating disagreement because of your churchs' teaching on "covering" and "unity"? What has your church done to correct and make amends for the hurt they have caused in many lives?
How does one get to heaven? Is it through "gaining the whole world"? Jesus taught that to gain the whole world was the surest path to losing ones soul. So how does one get to the kingdom of heaven, my friend? Blessed are the poor, for theirs IS the Kingdom of Heaven. How do you, GW, plan on getting to heaven? On a path paved with Gold and Silver stolen from the flock of your 'church'?