whatsup?: September 2010

Whatsup With Eddie Long?

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Manipulation and Spiritual Molestation
http://imspeakingtruth.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/manipulation-and-spiritual-molestation/

September 29, 2010 UPDATE

October 5, 2010 UPDATE

Please note, this blog is dedicated to exposing false gospels while presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ uncompromised. My goal is to present the true Gospel in such a way that the counterfeiters appear painfully obvious. This is not a blog dedicated to the downfall of Eddie Long, and I look forward to not dedicating so much time in feeding his ego - he just happens to be the wolf-de-jour lately.

That said, when my wife and I joined Club New Birth in 1996, the “theme” for the year was “Putting The House In Order”. This theme was in reference to Eddie Long’s sweeping power grab around 1994-1995. Eddie had been leading New Birth since 1987, and he grew tired of seeking approval from the Deacon Board – after all, he had been the pastor for 7 years…he shouldn’t have to answer to anyone.

Eddie summarily dismissed the entire Deacon’s Board and removed all structure of accountable from CNB - making himself the Chief – and appointed a “board” of minions to rubberstamp his proclamations. More than twenty years later, this board is still rubber stamping Eddie’s narcissistic cravings (even after exposure in a scathing Atlanta Journal-Constitution article from 2005 detailing Eddie’s lucrative earnings from his “non-profit” organization). Eddie revised the church’s constitution making clear that he was/is the Head Negro In Charge.

I clearly remember how Eddie bragged from the pulpit and preened about taking “control away from the Deacon Board” – under the guise of making leadership more transparent. What he did, however, was establish a fiefdom where all power emanated and rested with him and his hand-picked “amorbearers” and hangers-on. Certainly a Deacon Board should not control church operations, but the bible does specifically call for church polity (or government).

Christ is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18 and more…). The Church is to be free from external authority and control (again, Titus 1:5), but two offices were clearly established to help maintain order: Elders (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; 1 Timothy 5:17 and more…) and Deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13; Acts 6).
In fact, if Club New Birth had any polity, they would deal with Eddie’s alleged sex scandal according to scripture (emphasis added):
1 Timothy 5:19-21 (New American Standard Bible)

¹⁹Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.
²⁰Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.
²¹I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.

So according to scripture – you know, the bible…that “thing” that Eddie’s club is supposed to use to govern spiritual matters – Eddie should be protesting his innocence FROM A PEW IN HIS CLUB – NOT FROM THE PULPIT! But what do you expect from an oligarchical pimpistry?

Eddie’s power grab is old history – I saw some of this firsthand. After reading my community newspaper today recently, however, I was surprised to learn that Eddie revised Club New Birth’s articles of incorporation with the Georgia Secretary of State in 1997 – declaring that the church was now a corporation whose purpose is “to receive and maintain real or personal property”:

No say for New Birth members

Talk this week about whether Bishop Eddie Long might step down from New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the wake of the gay sex scandal that has dominated the airwaves, raises a single question.
If it came to that, who can make Long leave his church?
According to New Birth’s restated articles of incorporation, filed with the Georgia Secretary of State on April 14, 1997 – none of its 25,000 members.
In fact, according to those articles, New Birth, the corporation, has no members, and its purpose is “to receive and maintain real or personal property.”
None of its 11 Articles of Incorporation indicate anything about it being a church or propagating Christianity.

That is in stark contrast to the church – Travelers Rest Baptist – that it succeeded in 1984.

As a point of history for all you non-Dekalb County (GA) residents, Travelers Rest became New Birth in 1984 after some members left to follow Ken Samuels, the then pastor (Samuels now leads the gay-leaning Victory Church in Stone Mountain, GA). New Birth hired Eddie in 1987, and the rest is history…

Not much surprises me about Eddie Long anymore – including that dead racoon he now let’s ride atop his skull – yet this revelation blew me away. The article goes on to say:

Article 9 of the restated articles states:
“The purposes for which the corporation is organized are to receive and maintain real or personal property, or both” and “to use and apply the whole or part of income for charitable, religious, scientific, literary or educational purposes” related to the corporation’s nonprofit status.
Article 6 reads:
“The Corporation hereby elects to have no members.
“Any action which would require a vote of members shall require only a vote of members of the Board of Directors, and no meeting or vote of members shall be required for this Corporation, any provision of the Articles of Incorporation of this Corporation or the Bylaws to the contrary withstanding.
“All rights which otherwise would vest in the members shall vest in the Directors.”

Conversely, other churches in the area include specific language regarding their purpose:

The Ray of Hope Christian Church has members, and no CEO. In its June 24, 1988, incorporation, it states that it is a “non-profit religious organization” formed to “proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Church in faithful response to God’s Will and purposes as revealed; to seek in all persons a faith and commitment to Jesus Christ, to serve the community of which it is a part; and to bring the Gospel message to bear upon society….and in all ways to seek to make known the love of God.”

So we already knew that Eddie Long is NOT a real bishop in accordance with 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, but at least we can confirm that he is officially a CEO – and Club New Birth is nothing more than a company (that enjoys tax exempt status, by the way). Incidentally, this company is artfully skilled at developing managers to spread Eddie’s false gospel in satelite churches, essentially making Eddie a franchise owner-operator. This revelation completely aligns with an article in this weekends Atlanta Journal-Constitution explaining Eddie’s “branding power” and how the sheeple at CNB are more faithful to Eddie than they are to God:
Bishop Eddie Long | Brand pastor built fosters fierce member loyalty

ATLANTA — A billboard near an Atlanta highway reads, “Love Like Him, Live Like Him, Lead Like Him.” The motto refers to Jesus Christ, but the smiling face next to it is that of Bishop Eddie Long.

Long built a humble suburban Atlanta congregation into a giant TV ministry on the strength of his charisma and his interpretation of the Gospels, including the magnetic idea that the faithful will be rewarded with wealth. It’s a doctrine the architect and leader of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church embodies with his own luxury lifestyle, including a private jet, jewels, a luxury automobile and a mansion.

“It’s like the ‘in’ church to be associated with,” said Terry Belton of Charlotte, N.C., who has attended the New Birth church there with his wife. “You feel like you’re going to prosper by being associated with that church. A lot of people go there because of him. We went … because of him.”

Oh, it get’s better (or worse):

“Eddie Long is the embodiment of their way of life, the pathway to their salvation,” said branding expert Goldie Taylor, who lived for years in the neighborhood where New Birth is located and has watched the church’s phenomenal growth.
“If something happens to negatively impact the power of the brand that is Bishop Eddie Long, you have to ask yourself, where will New Birth be?” Taylor said. “If they can’t believe in him, what can they believe in?”

Now call me stupid – but I thought the point of attending church was to express your belief in God and worship with other believers…oh wait, I forgot – Eddie told the State of Georgia that CNB IS NOT a church…forget what I just wrote. I always knew that Eddie was a master marketer, so the fact that he leads a “corporation” makes more sense to me now.
Now, slowly read this tidbit from Carlton “The Heretic” Pearson – I told you, Pearson and Long run in the same circles (literally and figuratively):

“He’s top of the line, one of the best at it,” said Bishop Carlton Pearson, a friend of Long’s for 20 years. “He’s a tall, muscular, well-spoken, handsome black man with power and influence and authority. It’s very intoxicating, both for him, and for those who drink from that same spiked fountain.”

I’m trying to suppress my inner 3rd grader, otherwise I could crack jokes about Pearson’s attraction to Eddie…I’ll just leave his quote with you for a moment…
Alas, the sheeple of CNB will more than likely stand by their embattled CEO, as dutiful representatives of a company are apt to do:

Whatever comes of the lawsuits, members of New Birth may be inclined to stand by their leader because of how he transformed their church, which Spelman College professor William Jelani Cobb called “the spiritual equivalent of Yankee Stadium.”
“To say that you’re a member of New Birth has a certain cachet,” Cobb said. “When you see the plain size of the grounds and the campus, if you’re one that believes in this idea of God’s elect, that’s the most compelling argument that they must be teaching a valid gospel.”

So sheer stadium size is an indication that Eddie Long and wolves of his ilk are “teaching a valid gospel”? No, it’s validation that Eddie and his ilk are speaking what the tickling ears want to hear.

Thank God through His Son Jesus Christ that He is exposing this wolf (and other wolves) as true enemies of the Gospel of Christ. I ask that you prayer for the people of CNB and that the Lord remove their delusion long enough for them to flee this “corporation”.

--- end ---

December 8, 2010 UPDATE

If it walks like a gay bishop, and talks like a gay bishop…

Published December 8, 2010

…then it must be a gay bishop.

Eddie Long (the “bishop” pictured above with “Ms. Sophia”, a well-known transvestite here in Atlanta) is apparently ready to mediate with his accusers and provide them with a financial settlement to make this whole sexual coercion and abuse story go away.

I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t think that people seek mediation to settle a case that alleges heinous activity if THEY ARE NOT GUILTY IN SOME WAY.

I wouldn’t even agree to settle a fender-bender if I wasn’t guilty. If someone accused me of inappropriate sexual contact with boys/young men I “mentored”, then I would demand a jury trial and vigorously depose my accusers to defend my honesty.

I mean, if you’re innocent, wouldn’t YOU fight to clear your good name?

And what happened to “I feel like David against Goliath…I’ve got 5 rocks, and I haven’t thrown 1 yet!”? Did I miss something in 1 Samuel 17 - or did David enter into mediation with Goliath?
In his most recent article for Huffington Post, syndicated columnist Morris O’Kelly wrote:

Mediation of sexual allegation grievances is tantamount to an admission of “some” guilt, “some” form of ministerial misconduct. Innocent folk don’t make deals if the claims against them are baseless and untrue. Mediation for the accused is a forfeiture of the right to ever claim innocence, and readers should be absolutely clear on this point.
Did you hear that?
That was the sound of Long publicly admitting to some degree of guilt when he agreed to mediation. The public wanted Long to thoroughly address the allegations. Well, there you have it. He said it all, you just had to have been paying attention to hear it.

In New Birth’s response to the lawsuit (the accusers sued Long and the church), the church’s attorneys seem to corroborate Kelly’s assertion (and my personal belief) of Long’s guilt. The church “understands that Bishop Long often shared hotel rooms with members of the congregation while traveling,” but would not confirm or deny the allegations made by the accusers.

So…umm…a man who lives in a $1M home, drives a $400,000 Maybach (as well as a Rolls Royce) and owns his own private plane shares rooms with congregants on long trips?

For what…to save money?

Yup – that thud you just heard was the sound of common sense falling to the floor.

Unfortunately, again, none of this matters to the sheeple who worship Eddie Long (and those like him). As I said before, Eddie could do the “Dougie” (Google it) on the way to the pulpit holding hands with his male lover and blowing air kisses while snapping his fingers in “Z” formation – and these people would still stand in line to hear him butcher the Word of God with impunity.

Keep praying for Eddie’s repentance, and the will of the Lord being done at Club New Birth.

Source: http://imspeakingtruth.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/eddie-long-mediation/

Another Tragic Shooting

Family members told KIRO-TV (http://www.kirotv.com/news/25134283/detail.html) that the woman was mentally ill, been in and out of institutions or hospitals and had stopped taking her medication.

RED FLAG: "SWAT team commandos who happened to be in west Seattle on another mission rushed to the home after neighbors reported gunshots" (source)

source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/video/mediacenterbc3.html?bctid=616436366001

Relatives say Chhouy Harm, middle, shot and killed her two granddaughters, Jennifer Harm, far left, and Melina Harm, far right, before killing herself Thursday

'My mom has gone crazy': 4 die in W. Seattle shooting
A woman fatally shot three family members before killing herself Thursday afternoon at a house in a West Seattle neighborhood.

September 23, 2010 at 2:17 PM
By Seattle Times staff
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012980349_shooting24m.html

The grandmother told one relative to lock herself in her room. She then went downstairs Thursday afternoon and killed her son-in-law, as her panicked grandchildren began fleeing their West Seattle home, screaming and crying.

Next she went into her daughter's bedroom, where two of her granddaughters were hiding, and shot them, too. As her daughter fled, Chhouy Harm took aim and fired into her back.

"Grandma just shot them for no reason," said 17-year-old Tony Sun, a member of the family who arrived home shortly after the shootings to see police lining his street.

Next thing he knew, he and his surviving family members were gathered in a police bus. His relatives told him about the carnage they had witnessed.

In the end, four people were dead, including Harm, who shot herself as police massed outside the home. Her daughter survived her bullet wounds, frantically telling officers outside the home, "My mom has gone crazy," police said.

Sun said the wounded woman is Thyda Harm, who was taken to Harborview Medical Center and is expected to survive. Killed were Thyda's husband, Chean Harm Phan, and two of their daughters, Jennifer Harm, 17, and Melina Harm, 14.

The motive is unknown. It is the deadliest shooting in Seattle since Kyle Huff killed six people on Capitol Hill before killing himself in March 2006.

A relative said tempers had flared in the family's crowded West Seattle home on Wednesday night, although she could provide no details.

Family members said Chhouy Harm, a Cambodian immigrant in her 50s or 60s, was the family matriarch. But several relatives also said the woman was mentally ill and had been in and out of institutions or hospitals.

Still, the rampage came out of the blue.

"No one knows why," Tony Sun said. He said he knew the woman he knew as "Grandma" had a gun, but he had never seen it.

Authorities had not released the identities of any of the family members on Thursday, but Sun and other relatives confirmed the names.

The house, in the 9400 block of 14th Avenue Southwest, is in the Highland Park section of West Seattle, an ethnically diverse neighborhood where signs for businesses are written in Vietnamese and Cambodian, as well as English.

Quarters were cramped. The property records indicate there are three bedrooms, but Sun said they had been partitioned into seven separate sleeping quarters. Eleven people from two families were under one roof, trying to make ends meet, family members said.

They had all moved in last month.

Chean Harm Phan, the son-in-law, was a landscaper, and Thyda Harm worked at Magic Lanes Bowling & Casino just down the street, and together they supported the three generations, Sun said. In their time off, the whole clan went down to Spokane Street, underneath the West Seattle Bridge, where they caught crab and salmon.

Police say that at about 1:30 p.m., someone in the home called 911 and reported that his grandmother had opened fire. Police arrived a short time later, as did the shooter's husband, who charged past police and ran into the house, according to Travis Rowland, who was about a block away when the gunfire erupted.

There were more gunshots from inside the house, according to Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb. The husband came back out; he had not been shot. He told police his wife had shot herself.

When medics got inside, they were unable to save any of the gunshot victims.

According to Tony Sun, his aunt, Lisa Sun, 28, was upstairs when Chhouy Harm told her to go into her room and shut the door. She did, but waited at the door. Then she heard gunshots and ran downstairs and out of the house. She was followed by Thyda Harm's son, Kevin, 16, who scooped up his 6-year-old sister, Neveah, and fled, Sun said.

Thyda Harm had been sick for the past couple of weeks, and several of her kids had just come down with a similar ailment. That's why so many people were home on a school day.

Two handguns were found at the residence, Whitcomb said.

Thyda Harm, 40, was taken to Harborview and is expected to survive, according to hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson. Gregg-Hanson said Thyda Harm was awake and alert when she arrived.

"She's going to be OK," Gregg-Hanson said.

Whitcomb said detectives expect to be working at the scene of the shooting into the night. He did not expect to release additional information until Friday.

Loren Nguyen, 18, a friend of the slain teenagers, said news of the shootings "connected some dots" for her.

Nguyen had attended Denny International Middle School with Jennifer Harm and her younger brother Kevin. Nguyen said Jennifer was loud and funny — the talkative one when they'd go out with friends.

Kevin Harm sometimes mentioned family problems, but never went into detail. He did say his grandmother had recently moved in with them and mentioned not wanting her there.

"I always knew something wrong was going on with his family, but didn't want to ask," Nguyen said.

"The Union Jack" Book Written in 1970

"It is the work of British Israel to carry spiritual unity across denominational lines and establishes in each church wherever possible, the common belief or common Bible interpretation that Jesus Christ will unify the world in peace under His personal rule. Of course when they say that Christ will personally put down all rebellion and establish world government, they mean in a material and political sense. Therefore this materialism is just as Communist as that of Karl Marx. Because one thinks that a materialistic and earthly kingdom interpretation of the Bible is Christianity does not make it so, but it does put him in spiritual unity with the Communists whom he wishes to oppose. Hence he is himself a spiritual Communist because his faith in a world government on this earth will lead to the same inhuman slavery as Russian Communism. We say then that the building up of Spiritual Communism (carnal or materialistic Christianity) within the church and in the form of Christianity is the plot planned from the start to finally overcome Russian Communism and establish in its place a Christian Communism or Spiritual Communism. But as long as the world is in the conflict stage of world revolution, Russian Communism must be made to appear the mortal enemy to "Fundamental Christianity," or as we have termed it, Spiritual Communism. The "Christian" or Spiritual Communist and their Right Wing patriotism and conservatism will win over imported Russian Communism, but it will be done in the name of Christianity. It will be made to appear that world government came in through the victory of Christianity over evil Communism. What could be more deceptive than to use Christianity to establish a world Communist state? It is so, and it is being done with this materialistic, futuristic interpretation of the Bible. The scheme is to get this earthly kingdom belief into every church so that spiritual unity can be established upon the belief that world government is to come and that it is to be Divine."

The Union Jack by Anonymous (authorship mistakenly attributed to Helen Peters)

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/UnionJack.pdf

This Book Proposes to Awaken the Honest Seekers to the Truth that:
1. Conspiracy accomplishes most of its purpose under a "Christian cloak".
2. Conspiracy enlists the "patriots" to promote the conspiracy without their knowing it.
3. World Government is already a fact and all nations have bowed their knee to Baal.
4. Baal has a universal religion to deceive the world -- the Kingdom Message.
5. Baal has a world "money" system and it is called monetized debt.
6. The thought police in America have changed our language to deceive us in our own thoughts.
7. The Constitution of the United States of America is an imaginary relic that still deceives the people into believing that they have freedom. The belief that it is still there when it is in fact not there promotes the
illusion of freedom.
8. Government is organized crime and continues in power because it has the
support of the people. It has the support of the people because they have been humanized through the influence of the Masonic Lodges and the "Church of their choice."
9. The Anglo-American Government has stolen the wealth of the world with their paper "money."
10. The Government owes nothing and pays nothing. It simply issues monetized debt (paper "money") for all goods and services that it wants and continues to roll over and expand debt. Government debt is a polite term for theft.
11. The United States Government does not need to collect taxes from its citizens because the citizens cannot pay taxes with monetized debt, called dollars.
12. The work of the Internal Revenue Service is to regulate and control
consumption and to gather information for Big Brother.
13. To keep a nation of willing slaves the Government must control religion, education, and regulate consumption.
14. Governments cannot control and deceive Christians.
15. Governments cannot control people who barter and do not use the paper money debt system.

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/britishisraelhiddenhand10jul05.shtml

http://www.congregator.net/ebooks/union-jack/union-jack-toc.htm

http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/hoax/unionjack_epilogue.htm

Rosewell, NM High School Principal: "I don't like Christians."

That morning, one student had decided to take her own life because of her past decision to abort. When she received a model baby with the scripture "you are fearfully and wonderfully made" she cried and prayed with the students and her life was saved, both physically and spiritually with the forgiveness of God.

Christian students suspended for bible doughnut handout

http://www.kiowacountysignal.com/topstories/x1869673448/Christian-students-suspended-for-bible-doughnut-handout

By Anonymous
Liberty Council
Posted Sep 17, 2010 @ 11:36 AM

Roswell, NM — Roswell, NM - A New Mexico School principal has retaliated against three Christian students by suspending them for giving fresh Krispy Kreme Doughnuts with Bible verses to each of their teachers. This school is already named in a pending lawsuit filed by Liberty Counsel on behalf of families and students who were bullied, and one suspended, for exercising their freedom of religion by distributing abstinence wristbands and plastic models of babies at 12 weeks gestation to bring attention to the life of the unborn.

About 25 Christian students in the group, Relentless in Roswell, expressed appreciation for their teachers by giving them dough nuts. Since the closest Krispy Kreme shop was in Texas, some of the group drove almost six hours round trip, stayed overnight, got up at 3:00 a.m. filled their car's back seat with fresh doughnuts and got back to school on time to deliver the doughnuts. When the doughnuts were handed out, a scripture verse was included. One student was immediately sent home and two others were forced to spend a Saturday morning sitting alone in the classroom for four hours as a punishment.

In the past, the same student group had handed out sandwiches, hot chocolate, and candy canes to the student body and faculty. They helped staff with the trash and fellow students with their lunch trays. They also distributed rocks with affirming words like "U are wonderful' painted on one side and "Psalm 139" on the other. When the plastic babies were handed out school officials said "It's time to shut this down. Some people are getting offended." That morning, one student had decided to take her own life because of her past decision to abort. When she received a model baby with the scripture "you are fearfully and wonderfully made" she cried and prayed with the students and her life was saved, both physically and spiritually with the forgiveness of God. However, the students were then pulled out of class and instructed by Principal Ruben Bolaños to cease their "Christian" acts because they had made their point. He later said, "I don't like Christians. All they do is smile at you and then stab you in the back."

Pastor Troy Smothermon with the affiliated Church on the Move said, "Our motives were not rebellious. If they were, we would have just bought a box of doughnuts down the street. The whole purpose was to encourage those in the school. We are challenging the constitutionality, but our motive here was to love. Faith without works is dead. We want them to know that we love them and that Christ loves them."

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: "Some teachers are worried about their students giving them bullets, and this school suspends students over a Bible verse! These students are living their Christian beliefs by showing kindness. It is outrageous that the Roswell school officials are mean to these students solely because they are hostile to their Christian faith."

Meet Matthis Chiroux of Iraq Veterans Against the War

US Iraq War veterans protest at Fort Hood
Published 31 August, 2010, 03:49

http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-08-31/iraq-war-veterans-protest.html#

Four US military war veterans and a military spouse blocked a public street near the Fort Hood military base used by the US Army for mass deployments.

Propeller The military convoy was stopped for only about 10 seconds while authorities removed them from the road.

However, the activists have called their protest a "success" and are planning to continue to block the road as an impediment to military deployments in the future.

Matthis Chiroux of Iraq Veterans Against the War took part in the protest and said it was intended to send a message to soldiers that they are taking part in an ‘illegal war’ and committing war crimes against the people of Iraq.

Chiroux said it was a great success since they managed to infiltrate the secure zone the convoy was traveling in and peacefully stop the convoy for a period of time.

“Despite the fact that they moved this deployment back nearly 14 hours to try and in essence wait us out until four in the morning and indeed most of our large demonstration that we had did have to go home, we still adapted as a group and we responded to the military and we still got them. I mean, we managed to be on site the exact moment the busses were pulling off base to go to the airport, get in the streets, get our banners unfurled,” said Chiroux.

He explained that the protest was a success because they were able to get their message out to the solders headed to Iraq, essentially being the last thing they see before getting on a plane.

US President Barack Obama said we are at the end of combat operations in Iraq, however, Chiroux said it was merely rhetoric.

“I myself, after getting beaten out of the street by police and soldiers using riffles and dogs, did in fact see combat soldiers deploying to Iraq. Clearly Barack Obama’s rhetoric is as hollow as George Bush’s was,” said Chiroux.

He later added, “This war’s not over. Because Barack Obama or Joe Biden says combat in Iraq is over does not mean soldiers are going to stop dyeing, it does not mean they are going to stop killing people. The bloodshed will continue until we withdraw. And that’s the only way this is going to end.”

The Tithe

UPDATE
I was wrong as 'pastors' is mentioned a few times in the Bible but my search tool didn't show me this. Many thanks to Michael for correcting me!!

Here it is in the NT:
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers"
Ephesians 4:11

I still contend that the LORD Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church as opposed to one person, i.e. a pastor, which is pretty much how most churches today are setup.

Here the word 'shepherd' is the same Greek word for 'pastor':
"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, [and] one shepherd."
John 10:16

The Greek definition for pastor/shepherd:

1) a herdsman, esp. a shepherd
a) in the parable, he to whose care and control others have committed themselves, and whose precepts they follow
2) metaph.
a) the presiding officer, manager, director, of any assembly: so of Christ the Head of the church
1) of the overseers of the Christian assemblies
2) of kings and princes

PS "tithes" is mentioned more times as well! Click Here.

ORIGINAL POST
Yeah, I no longer believe in the tithe.

I mean, what is the tithe used for today? Paying for a building? Paying for a pastor? Neither of which are scriptural. Any money collected should go to help those in need.

The LORD Jesus Christ is my Pastor. Nowhere in the Bible does it talk about "pastors" of churches. Elders, yes; teachers, yes, but not pastors. Btw, a pastor is a shepherd. The Good Shepherd SERVES the sheep and lays down His life for the sheep; he doesn't fleece the sheep nor beg for money from the sheep.

The word pastor is only found ONCE in scripture & it's in the OT:

"As for me, I have not hastened from [being] a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was [right] before thee."
Jeremiah 17:16

The word pastor comes from the word pasture! Here is the Hebrew meaning:

1) to pasture, tend, graze, feed
a) (Qal)
1) to tend, pasture
a) to shepherd
b) of ruler, teacher (fig)
c) of people as flock (fig)
d) shepherd, herdsman (subst)
2) to feed, graze
a) of cows, sheep etc (literal)
b) of idolater, Israel as flock (fig)
b) (Hiphil) shepherd, shepherdess
2) to associate with, be a friend of (meaning probable)
a) (Qal) to associate with
b) (Hithpael) to be companions
3) (Piel) to be a special friend

The word tithe is mentioned twice in the NT for the same incident when Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees who prided themselves to live under the law.

"But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."
Luke 11:42 (also Matthew 23:23)

We are no longer under the law but grace.

This is how church should happen...

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all [men], as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
From Acts 2

Listen to Former Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack

November 3, 2010 UPDATE: RED FLAG!!!

DO NOT TRUST THIS GUY. Why? Because NO ONE gets on mainstream media unless they are playing by the same corrupt rules as the masonic illumaniti terrorists: Sheriff “Mack” on MSNBC Hardball w/Chris Matthews

MORE ON MACK AND OATH KEEPERS

ORIGINAL POST
"If you're in the military, if you're in law enforcement and especially if you're one of our nation's sheriffs, you took an oath of office to uphold, defend, preserve, protect and obey the United States Constitution. If we had law enforcement in America that were doing that, keeping their oath to do just that, we would have our constitutional republic back tomorrow." Richard Mack

Meet Sheriff Tony DeMeo, Constitutional Sheriff, Nye County, Nevada

Sheriff Tony DeMeo protected Nye County citizen Wayne Hage from illegal federal encroachments. Find out more about this story and Wayne Hage at http://www.morphcity.com/home/80-constitutional-sheriff-tony-demeo for the full article.

Freemasonry in Tom and Jerry Cartoon

MORE...

Come Out of Her, My People

Received this today - thanks Chris!

http://www.watchmanscry.com/forum/showthread.php?p=133127&posted=1#post133127

This call your feeling is from the Lord make no mistake of that. We are in the transition time right now. The truth is, in the end, the church goes bad. Somewhere over the last 20 years Satan convinced the churches it was no longer important to purge sin. Today the entire Corporate Church is leavened. The true church is now in the wilderness.

Isa 32:15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

The organized Church system did have the truth at one time as the remnant were interspersed throughout but now as the "Abomination spoken of in Daniel" is underway scripture is clear that Gods true followers are to flee to the mountains. This is metaphoric, it simply means to come out.

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Every Corporate Church in the world has a target on the roof. God is getting ready to pass his judgment. The judgment is coming down upon the Church first, then the world. Sodom (church) Gomorrah (World)

Eze 21:27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

2 of the 3 overturnings in Eze have already happened. The third is coming soon.

Mic 3:9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.
Mic 3:10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Mic 3:11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
Mic 3:12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.

Gods getting ready to plow (overturn) Zion for the 3rd and final time. Micah describes clearly what is about to take place. The modern Pastors of the Corporate church are oblivious to the coming judgment. The mindset in the Church is summed up in V11. "none evil can come upon us"

Well I'm sorry, yes it can. Zion, (the church) is about to be plowed, overturned, just as in the days of Noah and the time of Lot.
Any Pastor that is not preparing his flock for this is in error.

This is also taught in Isiaih 28. Micah chapter 3 and Isiaih chapter 28 are probably the 2 best chapters in the bible describing the church today. Don't forget, all this stuff repeats. We are seeing a final recapitulation of the Lord dealing with his people, Israel.

Isa 28:7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

The wine and strong drink are metaphors for false doctrine. Today the Church is drunk on them

Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

This teaches the way the Church is illiterate, basically surviving on milk, reading corupt Bible translations if at all, instead of the meat of scripture.

Isa 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

15 is the Church today. "we got a deal with death and hell, no problem we're not going to have any harm come upon us, we're "SAVED" Sorry if you make lies your refuge it means you are not abiding in Christ, the Truth. You are abiding in lies and you are on the wrong side of the plumbline. (Amos 7:8)

Isa 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Isa 28:17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

The hail is referring to an aspect of the Trumpet judgments that is coming down on the Church. The "TRUTH" is about to invade the apostate church, it is going to cause and earthquake.

Isa 28:18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

This is what's coming. The true church in the wilderness will be protected from these things. The Corporate Church is sure no place to be. What was once the "Fruitful Field" is now counted as a "Forest". The Forest is the multitude in the Valley of Decision that Gods judgment is coming down upon. God will get their attention but it sure is a better idea to get out now.
__________________
Chris
There's no such thing as a luke warm Christian.

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Col 3:2

And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the LORD, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: Amos 7:8

"As quick as you kill me, I'll go to heaven and you'll go to hell."

I love this!!!

Explosion and Fire in San Bruno, South of San Francisco

Scroll down for updates

PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE FAMILIES

An explosion near San Francisco International Airport set more than a dozen homes ablaze and sent people fleeing as it spread through a residential neighbourhood.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/7959405/explosion-sparks-massive-fire-in-san-francisco

Flames had spread to more than a dozen homes in the town of San Bruno and people were being evacuated from areas downwind of the inferno.

Local utility officials were investigating whether the source of the explosion was a large natural gas pipeline.

"I heard a sound like a low flying plane, then all of a sudden the house shook," said Tina DiIoia, who was with her baby in their condominium when the explosion occurred about a half-mile away.

"Then there was another explosion. I went outside and there was debris falling from the air."

A towering font of flame continued to spout from the ground in what witnesses described as a massive "ball of fire."

--- end ---

Huge fire rips through San Francisco suburb

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/10/3008260.htm?section=justin

A massive fire is ripping through a residential area near San Francisco International Airport, with a local petrol station apparently at the centre of the conflagration, witnesses said.

Footage showed many houses on fire in San Bruno, south of the San Francisco city centre.

Local utility officials were investigating whether the source of the explosion was a large natural gas pipeline.

"I heard a sound like a low-flying plane, then all of a sudden the house shook," said Tina DiIoia, who was with her baby in their condominium when the explosion occurred about half a mile away.

"Then there was another explosion. I went outside and there was debris falling from the air."

The Federal Aviation Administration said it had no record a plane crash near the scene.

CNN reported that some people had been injured while a local hospital spokeswoman told ABC America that her hospital was treating one man and had been told another casualty was on the way.

A local pastor told CNN he witnessed a "devastating explosion" that caused the fast-moving fire.

Pastor Leigh Bishop of the Church of Highlands said two people from his church had lost their homes and at least one person had burns injuries.

--- end ---

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16036179?nclick_check=1

8pm
The explosion was caused by a break in a two-foot-wide natural gas pipeline, the first such incident since a pipeline explosion killed several construction workers in Walnut Creek in November 2004.

A 60-foot pillar of fire erupted from a punctured Kinder-Morgan petroleum pipeline beside Las Lomas High School when a a backhoe digging too close apparently clipped the high-pressure fuel line. Contractors were working to install a massive water pipe for the East Bay Municipal Utility District just a few feet from the fuel line's path.

Two men were found dead after the initial explosion. Five more went to area hospitals with severe burns, including Javier Ramos, who later died in the hospital.

7:55pm
SAN BRUNO -- A massive fire burned homes as it roared through a mostly residential neighborhood in the hills south of San Francisco following an explosion early Thursday evening.

The fire is burning a few miles from San Francisco International Airport, prompting speculation the blaze was sparked by a plane crash. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the agency has no record of a crash.

Spokesmen for local airports also said they knew of no missing planes.

Pacific Gas and Electric, the utility company that serves the San Francisco Bay area, is looking into the possibility of a natural gas explosion but had no additional information, said spokesman J.D. Guidi.

Live footage shown on KPIX-TV showed at least a dozen homes destroyed, with flames reaching as high as 60 feet in the air as the fire fueled itself on the burning homes. Planes and helicopters flew over the neighborhood dumping water in an effort to stanch the flames.

Witnesses say a loud explosion was felt just before the flames erupted around 6 p.m.

Jane Porcelli, 62, said she lives on a hill above where the fire is centered. She said she thought she heard a plane overhead with a struggling engine.

A massive fire burns in a residential neighborhood after an explosion Thursday, Sept 9, 2010 in San Bruno. (John Green / Bay Area News Group)

"And then you heard this bang. And everything shook except the floor, so we knew it wasn't an earthquake," Porcelli said.

"I feel helpless that I can't do anything. I just gotta sit by and watch."

7:15pm
...The area where the fire is burning in a mostly residential area a few miles from San Francisco International Airport, but the Federal Aviation Administration and a spokesman for the airport say they have no record of a plane crash. A caller to KPIX-TV says that the fire originated at a gas station.

--- end ---

September 10, 2010 UPDATE

At least one dead, many injured in San Bruno gas line explosion
By Roman Gokhman
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 09/09/2010 07:02:15 PM PDT
Updated: 09/09/2010 10:10:00 PM PDT
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_16036179?source=most_emailed

10:05 p.m. -- A spokeswoman for San Mateo County OES confirms there has been one fatality and more than 25 homes involved in the blaze. San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Detective Sean O'Donnell said several hundred people have been displaced.

9:45 p.m. -- KGO-TV reports San Mateo emergency services confirming one fatality

9:30 p.m. -- KPIX-TV interviewed a resident who said there have been numerous complaints of gas smells over the past few days and PG&E has been out to investigate more than once.

9:20 p.m. -- Reporter Matthias Gafni spoke with retired Contra Costa Fire Battalion Chief Dave George.

"What makes this fire so devestating and so difficult is essentially it creates the equivalent of an 8-alarm fire in the heart of a residential neighborhood," George said. "It behaves differently than most other fires because it grows in all directions at the same time. Whatever it wants to do, it does."

George said the heat of the fire would be upwards of 1,200 degrees, which could create radiant heat hot enough to burn a couch inside a brick home through the window.

He said that theoretically, firefighters would first help residents escape and gather resources, as they waited for the gas to be turned off. They would then draw lines at areas on the perimeter where they would work on preventing the fire from crossing and slowly work their way toward the center as possible.

"This is really a worst case scenario," he said. "The closest thing to something like this is when a wildland fire hits a residential neighborhood."

9:15 p.m. -- ABC7 reports San Francisco Giant Pablo Sandoval rented a home in the burned area for his mother. She was evacuated and is safe.

KPIX-TV reported that PG&E shut off the gas supply to the area.

9:10 p.m. -- Reporter Sean Maher is at St. Francis Memorial Hospital: At least three people have been transported to the hospital from Seton Medical Center in Daly City, where the patients were stabilized.

ABC7 reports: Emergency Hotline for Shelter Info: 650-616-7180. Evacuation Center: San Bruno Veterans Memorial Recreation Center at 251 City Park Way.

American Red Cross: Evacuation center is also open at the Bay Hill Shopping Center at San Bruno Ave and Cherry Street. Red Cross volunteers on scene to help.

9 p.m. -- San Mateo County Times reporter Mike Rosenberg:

A family of four who did not give their names tried to get into their car to escape but the car was too hot.

Marilyn Siacotos, a neighbor who lives at the intersection of Fairmont Drive and Concord Way, drove by and picked up the family, consisting of a father, a mother, a son and a daughter. The family lost its cat in the fire.

A massive fire burns in a residential neighborhood after an explosion Thursday, Sept 9, 2010 in San Bruno. (John Green / Bay Area News Group)five said the explosion originated at a home in the immediate vicinity of Fairmont Drive, a one-block road enclosed on both sides by Claremont Drive.

"It was like this big ball of flame that was going up the street," Siacotos said of the fire.

They were told by police to head down to Bayhill Shopping Center, where dozens of people are milling around, some crying, some hugging neighbors and loved ones.

The scene at Bayhill is disorganized, residents said, and no command center has been established by emergency responders. Residents lost cell service after the explosion, and many of them are on their phones, trying to connect with friends and family members.

Neighbors whose houses were not immediately affected by the explosion said police officers came by and told them to flee their homes. They did not have time to grab any belongings.

8:45 p.m. -- Kaiser Hospital is reporting 15 injuries. And a spokeswoman with San Francisco General Hospital said there are at least five patients there -- four women and one man -- in critical condition with significant burns.

8:40 p.m. -- Two brothers, Bob and Ed Pellegrini, live near the house at the center of the explosion.

They said they thought it was an earthquake at first, because the ground shook violently, but then they felt the heat from the flames.

"All of a sudden we saw these flames out our window," Bob Pellegrini said. "It looked like hell on earth. I have never seen a ball of fire that huge."

It was too hot to escape out the front door, so the brothers ran out the back and up the hill, the fire chasing them. It felt like a blowtorch on the back of their necks, they said.

The brothers said their house and four cars were destroyed in the fire.

"The house is gone," Ed said. "I have nothing. Everything is gone. We're homeless."

Claremont Drive resident Patty Blick said she knows her house was destroyed.

"My house is gone; I'm just not really here right now," she said, sniffling.

Blick was driving home from work at about 6:10 p.m. when she was suddenly met with flames and heat. She drove to the Bayhill Shopping Center and saw her house burning on TV.

She said she and her husband are not sure what they'll do tonight, but they have a lot of relatives in the area and have been invited to stay with them.

"I just don't want to leave even though I know nothing is there," she said. "I keep thinking I will find something."

Marilyn Siacotos, 76, lives on Concord Way near Fairmont Drive.

She escaped out her back door because the flames were coming down the street. She helped some neighbors get out and then drove away in her car.

"I didn't look back," she said.

As she left she heard windows breaking.

8:25 p.m. -- At least three critical victims being flown to St. Francis.

Palo Alto Daily News Staff Writer Diana Samuels spoke with Claremont Drive resident John McGlothlin at the Bayhill Shopping Center where he was evacuated to.

McGlothlin was at home when the explosion happened.

"To me, it felt like an earthquake -- hearing rumbling, movement," he said.

He saw a few people with burns, but wasn't certain about the extent of their injuries.

He and his wife brought their dog and nothing else to the shopping center. McGlothlin went to a CVS store and bought a sweatshirt.

"We're getting some essentials," he said.

The couple left their cell phones at home, but bought new ones at the Radioshack at the shopping center. Radioshack is charging the cell phones.

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The NWO: Who Are They and What's a Christian to Do?

Holocaust? Lied to Again!

This lively interview from circa 1990 was conducted in Toronto by famed revisionist publisher and prisoner of conscience Ernst Zundel, who talks with journalist Michael Hoffman, the reporter who covered the 1985 thought crime trial of Zundel and subsequently wrote a book about it.

More by Michael Hoffman

The Brotherhood of the Bell - 1970 Movie

This movie shows how easy one can get sucked into a secret organization and how hard it is to get out.

Here's part 1

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL PARTS

Hollywood Triggers

Hollywood or Holly Wood is run by the occult which includes mind control programming.

Not owning a tv myself for years and refusing to view most all current movies, some of the info in this vid is shocking to me. Please prayerfully watch with discernment.

And if you haven't already, may I suggest that you unplug and toss the one-eyed monster in your home today.

MORE HERE
http://bigscreendeception.blogspot.com/

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:12-16

There is Only One Way to True Freedom

Raised on the Last Day and Not Before

In John 6, the LORD Jesus Christ tells His disciples that He will raise up on the last day those who the Father has given him.

Jesus says nothing about a pre-tribulation rapture here nor anywhere in Scripture.

If you still believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, you are deceived. This false teaching can not be verified anywhere in the Bible and is misleading many down a dangerous path.

John 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

J0hn 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

READ MORE HERE ABOUT THE RAPTURE HOAX.