Thanks for the article. There are too many Christians who love to attack other Christians. These people are like cancer cells that try to destroy it’s own Body. Sad really…but I’m glad that you’re defending City Harvest even if you don’t regard yourself a Christian anymore.

Besides, there is a huge difference between a Christian, and a Follower of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Crusaders of the last millennium were Christians, but their murderous nature showed they were the ‘children of the devil’, or people who acted according to evil rather than good.

Mahatma Gandhi on the other hand, was not a Christian. He was a Hindu. But he said this:

“Jesus occupies in my heart the place of one of the greatest teachers who have had a considerable influence on my life. I shall say to the Hindus that your life will be incomplete unless you reverentially study the teachings of Jesus… Make this world the kingdom of God and his righteousness and everything will be added unto you.

…what passes as Christianity is a negation of the Sermon on the Mount… I am speaking of the Christian belief, of Christianity as it is understood in the west.”

A Follower of Jesus is very different to a Christian. And it’s better to be a Hindu Follower of Jesus than an un-Christlike Christian. (Of course, there are also Christians who are indeed Followers of Jesus.)

A Follower of Jesus is someone who focuses on what was important to Jesus, such as Love, Social Justice, and Wholeness. To be a follower of Jesus is to treat people the way he did, to love people the way he did, to have compassion for people the way he did.

Personally, I think that anyone can be a Follower of Jesus without having to believe in the particular theological doctrines of this or that denomination. (e.g. Tongues vs. no tongues; Catholic vs. Protestant; Temporal vs. Eternal Hell etc.)

A Follower of Jesus will believe Jesus when He says “By this shall all people know that you are my disciples (students), that you have love, one for another.”

Perhaps you may no longer call yourself a Christian or be a part of the Christian religion, but perhaps, like Gandhi, you are a Follower of Jesus.

If you have the time, maybe have a look at “Jesus Before Christianity” by Albert Nolan. You might enjoy it.

Take care, and Love everyone!

is really suprise me on the topic tat all of you are discussing ! Dont worry !I’not a leader nor a Pastor.

as you know since the fall of man, no one is perfect. “the CHURCH is perfect until I & You come in.”(all church in the world)

Who are we to judge the servant of GOD(ofcouse the word of God remind us DONT be deceive by false prophet & teaching)

So what does Jesus say ??

JUDGE on my fruitss!!

dear breathen,
i hope you understand what i mean !!???
lets embrace in Unity, Love, Hope no matter which church are you from ?? We are call the body of Christ for a reason

God bless

http://www.ministrywatch.com/pdf/Article_092706_TerryAustin.pdf

regarding justin’s post, there is nothing wrong to encourage people to give as the church needs donations in order to function.

but it is not commendable when the pastor actually ‘entices’ the congregants to give with the promise that ‘God will repay your offerings in many folds’. if giving means present voluntarily and without thoughts of compensation, dont you think that the message behind the prosperity gospel perverts the true meaning of giving?

likewise, i find that the pastor likes to make use of the ’sacrifice’ word during the offering and he will add on about how Jesus died on the cross for us, sounding as if when we do not give to the church, we do not deserve God’s love. with the pastor’s emotional blackmailing and his outstretched hands soliciting for donations, it seems that we are giving offering not because we want to but we ae compelled to?

therefore i say, instead of giving youself in to your pastor’s constant bombardment for offering, we should be instead supporting many of the community outreach programmes organised by our church. surely i believe that the money can be put in better use to help the poor and the needy than to purchase expensive multimedia system to attract young converts.

lastly, i really do believe that Jesus is more interested in feed the hungry and clothe the naked than to enrich the ordinary city harvesters.

just a two cents from an ordinary city harvester who does not subscribe to the prosperity gospel and the coercive offering collection method employed by the church.

why do city harvest support fraudulent pastors?