I received an email on May 31st from my childhood church that floored me. I want to say that it completely blindsided me, but in light of recent events at that church it really didn’t.
It’ll probably be easier if I just post the email so you guys can see the foolery for yourselves.
Yes, you read that correctly he’s requesting $52 from not just from the congregation, but from other people as well. For a blade. For the helicopter that he and the “pastoral staff” use to “get back and forth” between the North and South location of the church. I remember when this helicopter was purchased and that ridiculous excuse was given the congregation. I was still a memeber of the church at that time, I must have been in middle school when that announcement was made and at the time it felt justified in my head. He’s the senior pastor and was expanding the church and wanted to be able to preach at both locations that were across town from each other. Then came the jet that was supposed to be used to transport people (they told us the teens) back and forth to mission trips.
Not a mission trip has been taken.
Then came the Louis Vuitton party for his wife. Yes, you read that correctly. There was a LV cake and the invite read that Louis Vuitton gifts were “strongly recommended”.
The hell!?!?!
I didn’t find out about a lot of these things until I left the church after my mother passed. It was then that I saw the church for what it had become, which was something completely different from the church I grew up in. I remember when New Light was just 2 office spaces, one for adults and one for children and now there are 2 locations in Houston and a location in Beaumont.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for prayer warriors and praying with other people for their needs, but I think that this taking it too far. How are you going to ask someone to give you money for a friggin’ helicopter blade when they need a car themselves?! I can’t.
In my mind this is just as bad as that church who asked their congregation to give the past a love offering of $70,000 for his 70th birthday.
Wow, that would tick me off as well.