I was recently made aware of a Politico article exposing a little known tax scheme aimed at non-profits (including churches, synagogues, colleges and hospitals) that your government has devised to regulate your parking lot.
Yes, you read that correctly…
The United States Government wants to regulate and tax the parking lots of American non-profit organizations. It’s insatiable desire to tax is again aimed at local churches.
Guilty as charged…
I am indeed an unapologetic prosperity preacher…
However, before the epithets of “heretic”, “greedy”, or “gospel pimp” are hurled please have the integrity to read the entire blog. Not all “prosperity preachers” are cut from the same doctrinal cloth. Allow me to paint some context to my confession of prosperity preaching to help the reader understand the place from which I write.
An important documentary/movie is scheduled for release in the near future entitled, Enemies Within the Church, conceived by a good friend, Pastor Cary Gordon of Cornerstone World Outreach in Sioux City, Iowa. To understand the purpose of the film in greater detail you may wish to watch a sneak peek at http://enemieswithinthechurch.com . The synopsis of the film is to produce the evidence which will expose and critique the burgeoning problem of heresy, false teaching, and error being disseminated through the Church. It will bring “light” to an agenda which should be of concern to every faithful Christian. This evidence, by its very nature, will expose teachers, pastors, and ministries which have embraced this heterodoxy, many of whom are incredibly popular and influential. It’s a documentary that needs to be done.
I listened, with no small sense of interest, to the recent interview of Grace Community Church Senior Pastor and author, John MacArthur, by equally notable conservative media analyst and apologist, Ben Shapiro. The interview revolved around MacArthur’s views concerning Western Civilization, American culture, Christian Worldview, and political engagement. The responses from the interview have ranged anywhere from excited affirmation to disappointed denouncement. For me, I found segments deeply troubling especially concerning his views of pastors and churches engaging the civic arena, while simultaneously appreciating his clear articulation of the Gospel. The last few minutes of MacArthur explaining the differences of Christianity to Judaism to a practicing Jew (Ben Shapiro) by using the Old Testament was powerful. I can’t help but think that this presentation made Shapiro think and potentially opened the door for God’s grace to reach his heart. That being said, the earlier interview segments were clearly out of his scope of understanding.
This year’s legislative season in South Carolina is once again demonstrating a significant fissure in the “pro-life” community over the political strategy of ending abortion through the tactic of incrementalism versus immediatism. This is no better revealed than by watching the debate between a House Bill (H3548) labeled “Dismemberment” and a Senate Bill (S217) labeled “Personhood”. There could be no more stark difference presented illustrating the internal debate of the pro-life community than these two bills. However, before jumping into the direct debate on the merit of each Bill, let me define the tug-of-war that exists between the two competing philosophies.
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