Monthly Archives: August 2008

Home Schooling Wins

Posted on by
7

It looks like the "social retard" brotherhood has struck a final blow to those lefties who think that home schooling is a brainwashing tool for the religious right. 

Back in February, a California court basically outlawed home schooling by holding that parents must have a teaching credential to do so.  A family appealed the ruling and the court reversed its earlier decision last Friday.  The reason for the change of heart is considered a political one because thousands of people protested via email, letters and public gatherings.  The judges did not want to have this decision hanging over their future careers.  As one home-school parent put it, it looks like "God has delivered home schooler's in California from the mouth of the lion."  (Gotta love that Christianese).

I for one am glad for the reversal.  Some young home schooler is out there right now, who someday will be the next great Christian blogger.  I mean, what would we all do if Cat and Pope did not start City Business Church? 

Ahhh, the power of home school.

Is there any good in MFI?

Posted on by
16

A reader recently had this to say:

I left the church and God many years ago, hurt and broken. When I finally came back to God I went back to a church that is part of the MFI organization. I now attend another MFI church out of state. In both of those churches Tithing is encouraged and I do give my 10% every payday…At my church we teach our people to give because we love. Not to get anything. If you don’t want to give, and you can’t give with a grateful heart don’t do it. What you give is between you and God…I give because he gave me everything. I go to church on Sunday because I love it. If I want to take a Sunday off, no problem. My pastor will actually tell you to take a weekend off. A very different philosophy then what I was raised with. I just want to point out….MFI church. Not all of them are bad. Just like not all people at CBC or City Church are bad. I am a mature adult. I have a strong relationship with God. I don’t do anything because someone tells me I have to. Sometime ago I grew up.

I have to agree that there are good churches within MFI and good people within CBC and The City Church.  No one denies that.  However we can't deny the reality that people are who they associate with.  That's just fact.  You can't spend a large percentage of your life apart of something and not have it affect you.  I hope readers out there can realize the error of this persons thoughts.  You cannot be apart of corruption and say that because you are not individually involved in it, that it's OK.  That's the excuse used by people who looked the other way in the 40s, 50s and 60s during racists Jim Crow laws.  A lot of people did not participate in the evil but they didn't work to stop it or fight against it either.  They can claim they were not the bad ones but they still perpetuated the cycle by not acting.  So if a church is apart of MFI, they represent the overall philosophy and doctrine of MFI, even if they don't buy into it 100%.  That church and it's members are still apart of all the bad that comes with MFI whether they participate in it or not.  If a church is really that great they would stand up against MFI and say they don't want to be apart of a corrupt system that's responsible for ruining so many lives.  But by partaking in the money, power and support of MFI they are showing that deep down, they are just as bad as everyone else.  Sold out to a wrong cause for money.  Similarly, if those people at CBC and The City Church were such good people they would say enough of this BS and walk away.  But they too stay and partake in the big and powerful because they like the image that it brings.  The only real way to bring change to these places and show them that they are wrong is to walk away from them.  If MFI only had 3 member churches and CBC only had 100 members, they would be forced to change!  But as this comment shows, a lot of people don't have the courage or the faith to say enough is enough, so they rather try to justify their presence there by claiming that they don't participate in the wrongness.  That to me, is just wrong.

Rep. Karen Minnis gives City Bible $15,000

Posted on by
2

Here is an interesting little tidbit in a Portland Tribune article about how Oregon Representative Karen Minnis spent her campaign money:

Minnis also donated $15,000 in leftover campaign funds last December to her church, City Bible Church.

I like Karen so I hope this all works itself out. And I do know that tracking campaign funds can be tricky. But this certainly looks a little sketchy. Campaign funds aren't personal funds, and thus you have to treat them accordingly. We'll see. 

Signs You’re Free

Posted on by
22

Our friends over at the De-Tox Church Group recently shared with us a checklist of signs you are out of the religious world.  I thought this was a great idea, so I have taken their list of 11 points and modified it a bit to fit in here at City Business.  I hope everyone reading this can say, "yep that's me," because it means you have freed yourself of the lies.  Enjoy.

SIGNS YOU ARE NO LONGER APART OF THE RELIGIOUS WORLD:

1. You believe it's OK to miss church and never look down at anyone who has stopped going.

2. You only submit to God's perfect authority.

3. Your don't care about having a close, personal relationship with your pastor.

4. You're more concerned about serving others then being recognized.

5. You are disgusted by even the thought of watching anything on TBN.

6. You are no longer interested in or even have knowledge of the latest Christian fads and/or books (i.e. Elijah list, The Prayer of Jabez, Purpose Driven Life, WWJD products, etc.)

7. You no longer attend church conferences with topics like "Finding Your Destiny" and could care less what Christian celebrity is speaking there.

8. You spend your time, money and energy pursuing God's unique and individual plan for your life, even if it involves "secular" things (i.e. music, film, sports, etc.)

9. You grieve over the fact that you wasted so much time living under a false gospel and vow to help get others out as well.

10. You only care to please God and pay no attention to what church folks think of you.

11. You work daily to purge your vocabulary of any and all Christian lingo.

12. You follow God's prodding and give your money to those He directs you to, in an amount that He tells you to.

13. You use prayer and bible study as a way to commune with God and others, not as religious practices to earn brownie points in heaven.

14. You live by grace alone and don't get hung up on the small stuff (i.e. beer & cigars)

15. You have a stronger faith in God now then you have ever had before.

Stuff Educated Black People Like

Posted on by
5

Because evidently, I can't get enough of these lists. Here is some stuff Educated Black People Like: 

- Moving to Atlanta

- Howard University

- Neo Soul 

- Correcting Others

- Talking About Uneducated Black People

And the best thing educated black people like is: 

- Mega Churches

Here's my favorite part:

Attending services is very stressful on the EBP because it is difficult to concentrate on “the word” and not talk about others. However, Mega Churches have a solution for this problem – the overflow room. The church’s staff of ushers, all wearing white gloves, usually directs those that are inappropriately dressed to the overflow room. Yes, it says “come as you are”, but please don’t go out and buy and outfit that is club-worthy to wear to church.

When it comes to tithing, EBP are very careful to always give the full 10% as it serves a dual purpose. Tithing gives them the opportunity to follow the scripture and it also allows them to show off their salary to the finance committee without actually “showing off.”

I don't really know if this is  true, as the only mega church I attended was 99% white people, but I still laughed. 

Biblical Bling

Posted on by
12

Here's a book excerpt "Biblical Bling" from Forbes.com. For those of you who want the cliff notes, it is basically about the history of fund-raising in mainstream American churches, pioneered by Jerry Falwell back in the 1970s.  It examines the book "Falwell Inc.: Inside a Religious, Political, Educational and Business Empire." Some highlights:

"Hundreds of millions of dollars poured into the ministries of Bible Belt televangelists in the 1970s-80s. But these fortunes would never have materialized without a secular weapon from the North–a Massachusetts marketing outfit begun by a group of twenty-something Harvard business school grads called Epsilon Data Management. Falwell began using the company in 1976; he was the first televangelist to sign up. When his contributions exploded, other preachers like Pat Robertson, Jim Bakker, Oral Roberts and Rex Humbard contracted with Epsilon and made a pile, too.

One of the boldest campaigns Epsilon conducted for Falwell was the attempt to raise $5 million by "Miracle Day"–September 24, 1978…Epsilon's direct mailings went into overdrive, offering a new premium: 'Faith Deeds.' These were personalized certificates resembling land deeds sent to donors who contributed $100 or more to 'purchase' a piece of the mountain. Falwell could not print them fast enough. By Sept. 24 the campaign had produced not $5 million, but $7 million. Falwell was astounded–it was more money than he had raised from contributors during the entire previous year.

Besides Epsilon, Falwell had the formidable talent of Jerry Huntsinger. A former minister who [took] advertising concepts from the for-profit world and [applied] them to nonprofit religious ventures. He considered every fund-raising letter a short story…a problem that seems insurmountable, a sympathetic character that is a victim of the problem, complications and obstacles, [and] a resolution. He encouraged Falwell to focus on wedge issues in his mailings, excoriating the feminist movement and attacking homosexual rights, often equating both with the dangers of communism. As one letter stated: 'Dear Friend: Homosexuals are on the march in this country. Homosexuals do not reproduce, they recruit, and many of them are after my children and your children….This is one major reason why we must keep "The Old Time Gospel Hour" alive…So don't delay. Let me hear from you immediately. I will be anxiously awaiting your reply."

No matter what you think of this man, it's pretty amazing how he was able to manipulate so many people into giving their money. To me its ironic that the same people who preach so strongly against worldly ties, are the first in line to partake of its influences when it comes to money.  With the amount of idiots out there willing to write checks in the name of stopping gays and abortion we here at CBC have a very high mountain to climb. Maybe it's time for us to start fund-raising too? I wonder what our marketing campaign should be?

I Kissed a Girl

Posted on by
15

So you know that song by Katy Perry that you can't get out of your head. The song that is played everywhere and you secretly like it, but you can't admit you like it or all your annoying friends won't think your cool.

You know the song with the lyrics: 

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it

Yeah uh, turns out Ms. Perry's real name is Katheryn Hudson. And before singing pseudo-lesbian rock, she was a Christian musician , and her parents are pastors.

And a couple of quick thoughts here:

1) Christian music is like most everything else that's Christian in America; it's about money. So no real surprise, here.

2) TOUCH NOT THY ANNOINTED!

If this is how a Christian musician wants to lead people to Christ, then who are we to judge. She's using her good looks and ambiguous sexuality to reach men all over the world. Men who might not find Christ any other way. It's Missionary Dating on a global scale. And she is reaching millions of people with her message of female sexual experimentation.  

So all you haters, just need to get a life, and let our girl Katy work her magic for the Lord. Stop being bitter and get a real hobby.  She's ministering to the lost. What are you doing? 

Sunday Word

Posted on by
25

Here is a Sunday message if anyone is interested in discussing. Disclaimer: I never went to bible school and have a pure secular education (oh the horror) but I do read my bible and my focus here will be more then 5 points on how to break down a verse.

Luke 15:11-32: Almost everyone has heard the story of the prodigal son.  It's right up there with the sermon on the mount and John 3:16.  However, in my many years of sitting in church pews hearing this story I've often heard it preached from the standpoint of the prodigal son only.  Preachers talk all about how we can come to God and He (as the prodigal sons father did) will accept us, clean us up and make us right.  Of course I agree with this, however I don't think Jesus taught this story to only emphasize the prodigal son, but rather the response of the faithful one as well.  You see when the the father welcomed the prodigal home the faithful son became angry (verse 28) and lashed out at his father for not rejoicing over his faithfulness the same way he had over the prodigals return.  And how did the father respond?  He said "son, all that I have is yours" (verse 31). 

Today most people in church are a lot like the faithful son; highly religious, regularly attending to the Fathers purpose, going to church, paying their tithes and dedicating years of service to ministry.  Like the older brother they are faithful and never stray far from God's people.  They toil and labor for recognition and acceptance, climbing the spiritual ladder to gain a position of authority.  They are so focused on living "good" that they never truly live in Him.  The quest for money, position and power in the church dominates their weekly focus.  And after years of living this way they become prideful and arrogant in how they've lived "proper" and "upright."  The problem soon becomes that they don't want to see God openly accept someone who has lived a total train wreck of a life, unless that person conforms to their ways.  This is why they tell you that once you become a Christian you have to stop doing this, avoid doing that, stay away from there, and begin to faithfully serve the church.  They reason that because they have done it for so many years, now that person should to.  This is why you see very little variation in these kind of churches.  They are structured the same, with people who dress, act, talk and look the same.  Eventually they all become mindless robots in a factory line of conformation.

But when we look to the story of the prodigal son, we find that God has a very different standard towards us then we often think.  The truth is that God doesn't care where we came from or what we've been doing, and He doesn't ask us to change for the sake of changing or being good.  This story tells me that the person who thinks his faithfulness makes him justified in Christ is just as wrong as the person who lives reckless in Christ.  That's because there's no pecking order with Him.  All of us our saved under His grace and are on the same level in the eyes of God.  There's no spiritual ladder or preferential treatment.  When He looks at us He just sees red because He's looking through the lens of Christ, who not only died in our place, but lived in it too!  We have been wiped clean and are free to be whoever we want to be.  Now that doesn't mean there are no consequences for destructive behavior but there is a difference between grace and mercy, and God's grace is given freely to all in spite of our actions.  We just have to accept it.  So lets not live like the faithful son thinking everything we do is giving us better standing with God.  All that He has is already ours, there's nothing more to earn.  He doesn't care how we live, as long as we live for Him.

JM…Have at it.

Posted on by
13

JM, a big fan of our little blog here, recently wrote in this comment: 

Thanks for the tip Reformed Pope about the link.

Although after seeing the photos I am even more perplexed that you would lead a blog that makes fun Of Judah's hair.

Here is good parody… put a photo of yourself up and let's see what readers think of it!

Ok, JM, you've been trying to set that comment up for quite some time now…however, you clearly don't know or understand the Morton Family…there is nothing that you or anyone else could say about my appearance that would bother me. I have 6 siblings and we are tougher on each other than anyone else could ever be…so have at it. Enjoy this photo of me…and as a bonus, I've even included the rest of my family. Go for it…my clothes, my hair, my family, its all fair game.

For further understanding of how I work please see this post: How to lose friends and piss off people

Johnpaul Morton and Family

Is Tithing Biblical?

Posted on by
39

Now I know the topic of tithing has been beaten to death here at City Business Church, but some of our readers have recently shown that they still don't get it.  So for those of you who need a little refresher, here are some key points on what the Bible says about tithing.  CLICK HERE for a full scriptural review.

Key Points:

1) There is nothing in the bible to conclude that Abraham regularly tithed on his own personal property or livestock, but rather on the booty from conflict (Heb. 7:1-10).

2) Jacob wouldn't tithe until God blessed him first, not the reverse (Gen. 28:20-22). And when he did tithe it was with his family and for the poor (Deut. 12:6-7, Deut. 14:29).

3) Only Levite priests could collect tithe (which we don't have today) (Num. 18:24-28).

4) Only food from the land was tithable, not the air or the sea (Lev. 27:30-33).

5) Money was not tithed.

6) Christian converts (Gentiles) were never instructed to tithe under the new covenant and at this point in history, Israelites owe no duty to tithe either (Key quote: "Read all thirteen books of the apostle Paul to the gentiles. There is not one verse where he instructed Gentiles to pay one cent of tithe money to anyone").

7) The doctrine of tithing did not appear in the church until centuries after completion of the Bible.

8) Giving is voluntary, not required (Matt. 10:8).

Best suggestion for giving:

"Give to the fatherless, the orphans, the strangers, the widows, the poor, and the needy, the homeless, and the beggar on the street, as God gives to you, the wherewithal. Give to reputable charities if you have extra. Give to your family members and relatives in need—don’t humiliate them by making them ask you first. Give to a neighbor in financial distress. Even when tipping someone, let it be a reflection of the One that you are representing in your Christian walk. Our God is a generous God—may you become generous also."