Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Date: August 26, 2014 12:49AM
It's not ridiculous to expect your clergy to have some higher education, but it is ridiculous to push them to get degrees from your own church university, especially when you are in a "shepherding" relationship with these people. Talk about a conflict of interest!
The simple fact is, official degrees were never valued in The Walk before Shiloh University existed. People have been given clergy positions in The Walk without so much as a high school diploma, and now they are encouraging collegiate study because it furthers their bottom line, while further indoctrinating the flock. It's a win-win for the church, and a lose-lose for the members, who now have less money, and a bogus diploma that isn't worth the paper it was printed on.
With dwindling church attendance, G&M will be forced to extract more and more money from the faithful that remain - it's simple economics. I expect this will continue to increase as the years go by, and more and more people become disillusioned with the emotional and financial burden of being in the church. There will be more and more pocketbook-intensive ventures that church members will be "lead" to participate in when it comes time to see where their shepherd wants them to live, go to school, what to eat, and how to raise their children.