Sun. 1-23-05 FreeGoodNews.com E-Letter No. 18

Jude 1:20-23
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Contents:

-- Now available on webcast.

-- Last show.

-- I went too far in my criticism?
-- What I learned in Sunday School today.
-- Financial Support.

Now available on webcast. The interview I did with former Catholic Priest Richard Bennett is now available for free on-demand webcast viewing and downloading. Click here to see the video or just hear the audio. Free downloads of this and previous shows are available here.

Last Show. The last show I did with Director Keith Teasdale (Hideout Ministries) is now replaying on cable TV in Portland's Washington County. Click here for the replay schedule, time, channel, etc. On this show, Brad Butcher of the Luis Palau Evangelism Network also presented the gospel (in the second half of the show).

Did I go too far? I conducted a survey of the top media ministries, to see how they compensate (pay) their top ministers/executives. The results were very surprising to me. Some are very reasonable, some are outrageous. See for yourself here. Some of the best were Focus on the Family and Coral Ridge Ministries. Some of the very worst were Dr. Hagee, Peter Popoff, Billy Graham, Paul & Jan Crouch, and Steve Arterburn.

You know, it doesn't bother me when they are preacher's I don't particularly listen to; but people like Steve Arterburn I really like, so it really pains me to report this nonsense. Ministers like Steve Arterburn are also proficient authors, and royalties from books sold outside of their ministry normally go directly to them (and the amount is unknown). This is also very troubling, as they are paid to write these on company time, get free advertising by the ministry, and yet they pocket the profit. If it wasn't for their publicly-financed ministry, they'd have no name and no sales, since they wouldn't finance their own advertising. (Believe me, there is no end to "would be" authors who would like to sell their books.)

Again, did I go too far? Most of the feedback said "no." I do appreciate the feedback that said I need to better explain my position, but I just don't have time given the part-time nature of this ministry. Therefore, I will do it in two stages.

1. Expose the data to the public.
2: Explain why this is such a problem (for those who don't see the "obviousness" of it).

What I learned in Sunday School today: If you're a Christian, then you're a full-time paid minister. We are all in the ministry. It doesn't matter if your job is preaching sermons at church, designing computer chips, or pumping gas at the local filling station. TAKE THAT TO HEART. "Some people are paid to be good (like pastors), but we are 'good for nothing' ."

Financial Support. Thanks to all those who supported me financially in 2004. I hope to give you receipts in a few weeks. My 501(c)(3) status is still pending (it was supposed to have arrived by now...). When I receive my status, then all previous gifts are recognized by the government (retro-active). So far, this ministry is financed by myself primarily (91%). One of my goals for this year is to prove that my support is broad-based... something the government wants to see in a non-profit corporation.

...Bernie
http://www.freegoodnews.com/
"Providing free materials for spiritual growth"

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