Pastors avoid ‘controversy’ to keep tithes up, author says – Confirms What I’ve Been Saying All Along, Re: Churches: Contrary to Progressive Christians, Churches / Christians Do Not Support or Idolize Sexual Purity, Virginity, or Celibacy – they attack these concepts when not ignoring them
Pastors avoid ‘controversy’ to keep tithes up, author says
(Link): Pastors avoid Biblical positions on today’s issues to keep tithes up
(Link): Barna: Many pastors wary of raising ‘controversy’
(Link): Study: Pastors avoid controversy to keep tithes up
I linked to this same article in my previous post and discussed it from another angle,
This time, I am bringing this story up for another reason.
(Link): Pastors avoid ‘controversy’ to keep tithes up, author says
I’m not surprised. Every time I see the progressive Christians, the ex Christians, and left wing secular feminists complain that Christians over value a woman’s virginity, I want to laugh. I see the total opposite.
Virginity for men and woman is being attacked by Christians, not upheld, defended, respected or esteemed.
(Usually, the entire subject is ignored FOR MEN. Men are not expected to be virgins by anyone on either side of the debate. Men get a pass, even from progressive Christians and secular feminists; ironic.)
Virginity, celibacy, and sexual purity are being written off even by most conservative Christians as being unrealistic, impossible standards for any man or woman to meet, so they have reversed course and say fornication is really not such a big deal.
Further, Christians have sanctioned phrases such as “born again virgin” or “secondary virginity” to console sexual sinners.
With the exception of a tiny minority of far, far out fringe kook groups, like the weirdos who want to see the USA governed by Old Testament laws and penalties, I am not seeing Christians who are demanding that people stay virgins until marriage, speaking out against pre-marital sex, or making sexual purity an idol that they insist Christian girls pursue.
Here are some excerpts from:
(Link): Pastors avoid ‘controversy’ to keep tithes up, author says
- by Tom Fontaine
- Aug 24, 2014
- Few pastors preach about today’s most challenging political and social issues because they worry about losing members of their flocks and the money they donate, according to a researcher who focuses on issues of Christianity.
- “Controversy keeps people from being in the seats. Controversy keeps people from giving money, from attending programs,” California-based researcher George Barna said this month in an American Family Radio interview.
- Barna, who has written more than 50 books about matters of faith and culture, said his research shows that fewer than 10 percent of pastors talk about political and social issues from the pulpit — even though 90 percent think the Bible speaks to every one of the contemporary problems.
- …“The fact that so many pastors are more concerned with the size of their buildings and church bank accounts than with the condition of the souls they shepherd is without excuse,” Rohr said. “If the primary goal is to see people leave on Sunday morning feeling good about themselves and feeling comfortable rather than seeing the holiness of God and the ugly reality of sin, then a pastor will answer to God.”
(Link): Study: Pastors avoid controversy to keep tithes up
- ‘When we talk about the separation of church and state, it’s that churches have separated themselves’
- Pastors generally believe same-sex marriage and abortion are wrong, but most of them won’t talk to their congregations about it for fear of losing members.
That’s a basic takeaway from a recent Barna Group study. Research expert George Barna was on American Family Radio’s Today’s Issues broadcast to discuss what he discovered.
“What we’re finding is that when we ask them about all the key issues of the day, [90 percent of them are] telling us, ‘Yes, the Bible speaks to every one of these issues.’
- Then we ask them, ‘Well, are you teaching your people what the Bible says about those issues?’—and the numbers drop … to less than 10 percent of pastors who say they will speak to it,” One News Now reports Barna saying.
Related posts:
(Link): Christian Preacher Admits He Won’t Preach About Sexuality For Fear It May Offend Sexual Sinners
(Link): No, Christians Do NOT Support or Idolize Virginity and Celibacy, they attack both)
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