Away With Registration Fees for the Word of God!

                            Money Hungry Abusive Preachers                         

I could not believe what I was seeing......four offerings, PLUS a registration fee of $45 was taken up during one church service!  I was visiting a local church while the pastor and his wife sat on the platform and watched the guest speaker's hustle the congregation, one being a man with a foreign accent who attempted to call 100 people to give $33 each to the pastor and his wife for the conference expenses .....I thought the $45.00 registration fee was for that!   Hmmmmm?  

This man held up 100 envelopes that he  told the people he brought "especially for them."  Prior to working his $33 heist, he had already called for a 'love offering" for the speakers and the tithers.  Then came the keynote speaker of the evening who was a female, so called "prophetess" and "apostle." 

This woman was the last of the evening to collect the fourth offering.  It was unbelievable!  She had absolutely no shame nor any discernment to sense that the people were "ALL moneyed OUT" from the third offering that the facilitator took right before she was called to the microphone 35 minutes prior.   She did not care, she was going to get in on the money action too!  The interesting thing to note was that this woman did have a doctrinally sound message, BUT, she revealed her MONEY HUNGRY spirit at the end of her message as she attempted to hype the people to receive a prophecy from her as she called those who could write a $1,000 check and could come and put it in "her" hands.  TRICKERY!  Witchcraft, and manipulation at its best for the weak and unlearned.

My friend, do not believe the hype!  NEVER GIVE YOUR MONEY UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES!! NEVER!!

Many pastors will 'scold' there congregations for their lack of support of their conference ideas that they impose on their follower's and expect them to pay for it.  They are upset!!

Naturally speaking, if a person throws a party and invites guest, the guest are not expected to pay for the expense. They did not ask you to have the party. You decided to have the party, so you should pay for it! Can you imagine going to your families Thanksgiving party and after you finish eating that turkey and stuffing, your father goes off on you for not helping him pay for his turkey?  The next year your father invites you and your family over again. This time he sends out a special invitation that tells you that there will be a pre-registration fee for all that plan to attend due to the lack of financial support the following year. This sounds crazy right? I do not know about you, but I would be concerned that my father has an unhealthy love of money, rather than a genuine love for fellowship with the family, wouldn’t you?  How much more shall we question the motives of those that are charging enormous fees to enter fellowships to hear the Word of God?? 

It does not matter who does this pre-registration of financial fees, it is wrong! If the meeting is going to cost you your money before you enter, it has not been called by God.   Fellowship of the saints is not like a worldly concert or a secular business workshop that you register to come too.  These practices are corroding the hearts and minds of God’s people, tempting them to become merchandisers’ too! We are being seduced to be like, and act just like the world.  Greed, lack of faith, and selfish ambition fuels these ungodly methods, while disregarding the poor and the brokenhearted that cannot afford our “symposiums” and conferences.  I find it very interesting to note that most of the “big” preachers are the very ones that have these financial fees and for some, you will find on their web sites where they tell you the cost of their conferences as they solicit you to pay for it!  Talk about arrogant!  Talk about greeeeeeedy!  It’s your party, YOU PAY FOR IT!

Listen to what Jesus teaches us in Luke 14:12-14, “When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and recompense be made thee.  But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee, for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” 





It must have been about 7:40 p.m. when my son and I arrived as visitors for the first time during this mid-week service that I thought was a regular bible study, that turned out to be the first night of a 5 day 'revival.'   We were dismissed about 9:30.  Between these times the congregation had been prostituted/solicited 4 times to give their money.  We obviously walked in the service without being stopped for our 'registration' verifications. 

Why has this become popular for many mainline church conferences?   Because the men and women who facilitate these conferences do not LIVE by faith as they exhort others to do so.  Simply put, registration fees and excessive offerings are for the pockets of the host and facilitators who are using the conferance as a front to get paid....its a hustle!  It is anti-Christ no matter how we look at it.  What do we really think Jesus would have to say about this meeting and the constant fleecing of these precious people?

NO MORE REGISTRATION FEES!!  AWAY WITH THEM!!

Freely we receive, freely we should give, and if we can't afford the conference, DON'T HAVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!