Pastor Persecuted Because Jesus Provides a Modest House

[Basilissa]

Re: Pastor Persecuted Because Jesus Provides a Modest House

It just makes you sick to see clergy of any stripe being singled out for criticism just because they want a comfortable house. Even the Pope is now playing this silly game.

I say, "Mr. Pope, mind your own business."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...p_ref=religion

Amen, Mr. Mayor!

Frankly, I don't get what all this fuss is about. It's not like the house of this pastor is unreasonably large or anything like that. It seems average-sized to me!

[Johny Joe Hold]

Re: Pastor Persecuted Because Jesus Provides a Modest House

It just makes you sick to see clergy of any stripe being singled out for criticism just because they want a comfortable house. Even the Pope is now playing this silly game.

I say, "Mr. Pope, mind your own business."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/23/pope-francis-german-bishop-_n_4148086.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

[Attila's Wife]

Re: Pastor Persecuted Because Jesus Provides a Modest House

Furtick has refused to answer questions about his salary, his tax-free housing allowance, how much he makes from books and speaking fees promoted by the tax exempt church

Quite right too!

I wouldn't tell them my income - that's private information, between me, Pastor Zeke and the tithing committee. What is it with the commie media that they think they have the right to ask personal questions like this, and of a man of God too? How DARE they?

[Didymus Much]

Re: Pastor Persecuted Because Jesus Provides a Modest House

Nice tie. I'd wondered what happened to my aunt's couch.

[Zechariah Smyth]

Re: Pastor Persecuted Because Jesus Provides a Modest House

Good grief, the guy has THREE KIDS: do people expect him to live in a tool shed?



Besides, I'm sure that if anyone in his congregation needs a place to stay for the night he will open wide the doors and let them in.



I say God bless this man for building a house big enough so that he can help people in need.





YiC,

Zech

[Johny Joe Hold]

Re: Pastor Persecuted Because Jesus Provides a Modest House

Where do these congregation members get this notion they have some right to see audits and learn how the church is governed? They are suppose to tithe then step back and let Jesus go to work.

Pricey houses for pastors are a gift from God. They are not any business of the news media, tithers and anyone else.

[James Hutchins]

Re: Pastor Persecuted Because Jesus Provides a Modest House

I'd like to add, the Pastor Furtick is not using restricted Mongolian Oak harvest hardwoods nor have I transported the materials to or from Lumber Liquidators in VA in any of my trucks. All vicious lies by that catlick bishop Tebartz-van Elst in germany.


I'd like to suggest we set up an account to assist the modest Pastor in thwarting these accussations.

[Alvin Moss]

Re: Pastor Persecuted Because Jesus Provides a Modest House

Charlotte is located in God's country and among His people. It is the only city in America that has more churches than fast food restaurants. Christians hold sway there, though there are many backsliders who favor drinking strong whiskey.

For some reason, the TV news there likes to make a sport of hounding Christian pastors about their housing needs. They did the same thing to the Reverend Jim Bakker some years back. They used to fly over his house up there on Lake Norman in a helicopter and take pictures. They were especially critical of his doghouse, which was evidently costly.

There is no reason to stir up public opinion over the size of a man's house. That pastor probably has all kinds of visiting dignitaries who need to be put up in style. I think this is just another example of the bias in the devilish liberal news media.

[Pastor Ezekiel]

THIS story concerned me because Pastor Steven Furtick is a close personal friend of mine, and because it is wrong to persecute a Man of God. Just because Jesus provides Pastor Furtick with a modest home (9,000 square feet in nothing. My estate is 32,000 square feet!), it doesn't follow that anything illegal or immoral has occurred.

Pastor responds to critics of his $1.7M home

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Four days after the NBC Charlotte I-Team broke the story that the pastor of North Carolina’s largest mega church is building a 16,000 square foot home, Pastor Steven Furtick addressed his congregation saying, “I don’t call this an attack. I don’t.”

Furtick spent about eight minutes before his 5 p.m. Saturday sermon stepping down from the pulpit and addressing the congregation directly, saying he was sorry if the house and surrounding questions caused them, the congregation, to have difficult conversations with co-workers, friends and neighbors.

“Having to have those conversations – that really bothered me. And it made me sad and I am sorry that you had to have those conversations this week,” Furtick said, sitting on the edge of the stage.

Then the audience at the Blakeney location of Elevation Church gave him a standing ovation on camera.

Furtick had referred to the house in a sermon last month as “not that great”, but he delivered Saturday’s message with a distinctly different tone.

“Holly and I made a decision to build a house. It’s a big house. It’s a beautiful house. It’s 8,400 square feet of heated living area to be exact. That’s a big house; no doubt about it,” he said.

Furtick told his followers they could always have copies of audited financial statements of the church but he has yet to make those statements public.

“I have always promised this ministry would be a ministry of integrity,” Furtick said.

And while he once said reporters were trying to make Elevation Church look bad, he now says the news media has every right to ask questions.

“This is a news story and the media is not our enemy,” he told the congregation.

“They have the right to run any story they choose to run and people have the right to have any opinion they choose to have. That’s OK.”

He concluded with a promise that he had no plans to go away. “For the next 50 years we plan on being right here,” he said.

Furtick has refused to answer questions about his salary, his tax-free housing allowance, how much he makes from books and speaking fees promoted by the tax exempt church, and how Elevation Church is governed – which is not by an elected group of elders made up of church members but an appointed “Board of Overseers” made up entirely of other mega church pastors.

Including yours truly.