Joyce Meyers’ Official Statement About “The Bling”

The bling is, of course, just a term I have used to talk about money and items used for ministry in the past few days. Great huh? haha. Anyway, earlier this week I posted about different TV ministries that were under financial investigation. Below is a section of the official statement made by the Joyce Meyer Ministries regarding the inquiry letter they recieved for financial things.

I’m very proud of the way they handled it on the ministry end and respect them for it! Check out the article or just read the section below!

What do you think?

“JMM has been committed to helping hurting people for more than 20 years, and is proud to point out that in 2006, 82% of its total expenses were used for outreach and program services directed toward reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as attested by independent accounting firm Stanfield & O’Dell, LLP.

JMM provided more than 11 million meals in 2006, and built nearly 200 freshwater wells and churches in underdeveloped countries. The ministry fully funds and operates more than 50 orphanages around the world, and presents the Gospel to a potential audience of 3 billion people every day via its television program.”

Are My Neighbors Going to HELL?

It’s a question that many believers ask themselves on a regular basis.  It appears to be a fair and valid question for those of us living in the USA since 70 to 80 percent of people identify themselves as Christians!   But what is the truth?

Check out this Leadership Journal article that talks about the 5 different types of “Christians” in today’s world.

While between 70 and 80 percent of people in the United States identify themselves as Christian according to a number of studies, what those people mean by the term varies widely. Respondents to our new survey were almost evenly divided among five categories:

* Active Christians (19%): Committed churchgoers, often in positions of church leadership; believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ; Bible readers.

* Professing Christians (20%): Similar beliefs to Active Christians, but less committed to church attendance; focus more on personal relationship with God and Jesus, less on Bible reading or faith sharing.

* Liturgical Christians (16%): High level of spiritual activity; regular churchgoers, recognizing the authority of the church; predominantly Catholic and Lutheran.

    * Private Christians (24%): Largest and youngest segment; believe in God and have spiritual interest, but not within the church context; only one-third attend church at all, almost none are church leaders.

    * Cultural Christians (21%): God aware, but do not view Jesus as essential to salvation; affirm many ways to God; express little outward religious behavior.

Now that you know, what will you do about it?

Christian Leaders and the BLING BLING

A CNN video article reported that several of Americas TV evangelists are under investigation for how they handle funds that are donated to their ministries (non-profit organizations)

Hmm. It’s an interesting time when outspoken Christian leaders find themselves under investigation for financial things. I’m not sure how to feel about this. I don’t think there is anything wrong with being well off, but where do we draw the line in the sand and say driving a Bentley, as a pastor, is too much?

The Green Faith: Churches going NUTS over the environment

I have been thinking seriously about the idea of green ministry.

You look at churches such as Imago Dei, in Portland Oregon, that are leading the way in the church movement saying we understand and see a real value in stewarding the physical world around us.

By offering alternatives to the community in organic foods and other environmentally friendly ministries, they are creating a culture within their church that is far different from most.

The tendency of most church leaders is to say that as Pastors and leaders we have no right getting our noses involved in something that really has nothing to do with our purpose of sharing the gospel with those around us.

I couldn’t disagree more.

The CHURCH of the Future?

Something that i have been contemplating with over the past few months is relational outreach.

For me this concept and way of thinking has developed out of much thought and debate on a topic that is very progressive in our lives as people, and even more progressive in the church leadership arena.

After hearing a podcast, in which George Barna speak very freely about his book Revolution, I was left in a place of digesting and thinking about what he said.