Article: Coming Soon to Your Church -- The Tithing Propaganda Movie

"Not only does the film follow the story of Beverly and her tithing journey, it also discusses the history of tithing and money with historians, authors and money experts. It takes an in-depth look at some of the reasons why people don't tithe, and why most pastors have such a difficult time talking about money to their congregations." -- Rich Praytor

It would be fascinating to see if he approaches the history honestly and biblically, which would result in the dismissal of tithing. We can safely assume this did not happen as this is a promotional movie for tithing, not a documentary. The reasons for why people do not tithe vary. Some know they do not have to and refuse to be bullied by the man who is supposed to care for them spiritually. Others give more than ten percent to the work of the kingdom but not specifically to their church. Many give anonymously, not wanting their left hand to see what their right is doing. The main reason however, which is the same reason why pastors have difficulty talking about it, is that the church is filled with unsaved goats posing as sheep. Thus the things of God, such as giving money to His Gospel cause, are foolishness to them. When you enter into the Faustian Bargain that is the purpose driven, seeker friendly church the cost of sacrificing the true Gospel is true conversions. The Bible says no one gets saved without hearing the entire, uncompromised Gospel. So speaking for a half hour about how great they are followed by a faux altar call that does not truly address sin and the need to repent will save no one. Nevertheless, the purpose driven paradigm demands a SHAPE application and plugging them into ministry as fast as possible to get ready for the next batch of suckers, I mean souls. Now worldly people are transactional and as long as the music is cool and the message is relevant they will throw a couple bucks in the bucket but ten percent of my income? That dog don't hunt.

"As I traveled the country talking to and filming experts, two common themes kept popping up. First, people don't give to a church budget; people give to a compelling vision. Second, the church needs to help people win with money--either teaching wise financial practices or job skills. If the church can help its members with that, the church would see an increase in its giving." -- Rich Praytor

This is what it has come to in the end times church in America. God has chosen the church as the vehicle to deliver the Gospel to the lost. It alone has the power of God unto the salvation of men. The very Gospel that God allowed His only Son to be crucified for the cause of. Instead, the experts and leaders think the church should instead be invested in the financial planning business. When you are worried about saving people the Holy Spirit will deal with their giving but when you are just trying to "church" people you are left with the human wisdom and logic of financial planning to encourage giving. The compelling vision portion here appears to be straight out of the Purpose Driven Church model. The shepherd becomes the vision casting leader. Praytor's assertion here is of course spiritual nonsense. Sheep could care less about the vision of the shepherd. The vision of any good pastor will be the Bible -- period. The more it is preached faithfully the more the sheep grow into maturity in Christ and the more that happens the more they will likely give. Giving is a sign of maturity often so it is not surprising that so many leaders are frustrated with the giving of their churches filled with baby goats being fed rancid milk.

"I created The Tithe Project film to literally test God as it's written in Malachi 3:10. In the end, He did prove faithful. Let me be clear though, this is not a formula for increasing your net worth or a type of prosperity teaching. This experiment showed that we are all designed to be generous and God will prove His faithfulness time and again. Are you ready to take God at His word? Will you accept the challenge to test Him? As for Malachi 3:10, yes, when we have generous hearts, God does open His floodgates--sometimes in surprising ways." -- Rich Praytor

As always, the hubris of prosperity and tithing pimps on display. After basically selling God like He was a prostitute, Praytor swears this is not about prosperity or increasing your net worth. You just said the most interesting parts were when the CPA tried to figure out how come Beverly's net worth kept going up as she was tithing! This entire article has been a sales pitch designed to get people to tithe by promising more money in return! The entire movie is a shill piece to get people to give money with the promise of more money! In fact -- isn't "the challenge" that if their financial position has not improved they get their money back! You do not get to offer this and then pretend that this is not about money. God is always faithful but there is nothing miraculous about a debt being paid, a business making money, or someone being able to help with childcare. Those are everyday occurrences in life not divine payback for greasing the palms of the Almighty. So do not worry Mr. Praytor I take God at His word. I believe Him when He says that the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. I believe Him when He says how hard it will be for a rich man to enter heaven. I believe Him when he says to not store up treasures on earth. Mostly, I believe Him when He says hucksters will try to make merchandise off the sheep and the Gospel and you sir are whom He was speaking about.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- February 28, 2018

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