Woman Confronting Man at Walmart Using Food Stamps

L.T. Fan

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If the church and its congregation and leadership were perfect there would have been no need for the majority of the New Testament writings. Point being, redemption doesn't make you a perfect human but it gives the believer hope. These imperfect converts will also offer this hope to others in need. It would be pointless to just appease the need without the message.

The issue to some is that because there are imperfect people in the church it is a condemnation of the entire structure. If perfection is what one is looking for before they can see any good then they will be disappointed because the church is made up of imperfect people with the hope of someday being made perfect. That's the make up of the church and its actually comforting to know that I am not being judged because I am not yet perfect. I do however have the faith and hope that a plan has been put in place to make me perfect.


So the bottom line for me is that if there is needy I can help them with physical and spiritual needs as well. If it offends them or others then seek assistance elsewhere. It's not self righteousness it's a willingness to show I am no different than anyone else but I have a hope for better some day.
 

Cotton

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Ya know, maybe they only need the physical help and aren't asking or needing spiritual help. Just maybe.
 

L.T. Fan

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Ya know, maybe they only need the physical help and aren't asking or needing spiritual help. Just maybe.
Maybe so and the government is the place to go for that.
 

Cotton

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Maybe so and the government is the place to go for that.
Exactly my point. Some Christians believe that the poor should have to pay for the church's massive generosity. It's a terrible mentality.
 

L.T. Fan

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Exactly my point. Some Christians believe that the poor should have to pay for the church's massive generosity. It's a terrible mentality.
You lost me there. I guess I am not up to your explanation. Old men aren't always real sharp in the mornings. :art
 

Cotton

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You lost me there. I guess I am not up to your explanation. Old men aren't always real sharp in the mornings. :art
Just give the needy a meal without preaching to them. I know it's hard to understand, but one can give without expecting someone to listen to their agenda. Just give for the sake of giving. You may feel you're letting down your god if you don't, but I would bet he would be okay with it since you're already doing a good thing.
 

L.T. Fan

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Just give the needy a meal without preaching to them. I know it's hard to understand, but one can give without expecting someone to listen to their agenda. Just give for the sake of giving. You may feel you're letting down your god if you don't, but I would bet he would be okay with it since you're already doing a good thing.
Some may in fact do this very thing. The food pantry at our church doesn't have any formal session the recipient has to listen to but there is some information that is gather primarily to understand if they are legitimately in need. This is especially true when we are paying obligations for the recipient such as rent or utilities. The missions mostly have a service that is part of the criteria. I can't speak for the entire process but at the same time I cannot condemn a group who would feel they wanted to offer a message of hope in their program.
 

Cotton

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I've already stated that there are churches out there (plenty of them I'm sure) that give with a pure heart. As a kid I was a member of a couple of churches that did just that.
 

skidadl

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Just give the needy a meal without preaching to them. I know it's hard to understand, but one can give without expecting someone to listen to their agenda. Just give for the sake of giving. You may feel you're letting down your god if you don't, but I would bet he would be okay with it since you're already doing a good thing.
I honesty don't know any churches that have some sort of a weird policy that requires preaching to the needy. I've been firmly planted in and around ministry for the last 20 years and consider myself pretty up to date with what is going on. Typically those that serve in any sort of giving ministry are people with hearts of gold; they are people that just want to help. Whatever this idea of all of this forced stuff is is really mostly dreamed up. Almost nobody really evangelizes anymore. Almost everyone takes a soft approach to a fault. This society has become pretty hostile towards the gospel (I'm not complaining about it) and everyone is afraid of offending someone. Of course Christians want to see people come to an understanding of Christ, that is the main tenant of the church. The three biggest commands of Christians are the following:

The Great Commision - Go into all of the world and make disciples.

The Great Command - love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said that this sums up all of the law

True Religion - providing for the hungry and widows and ministering those who are in prison.

To not do these things is missing the mark as the church. Living the Christian life basically consists of doing these exact things. If any of those are offensive to you then I just don't know what to say. Ignoring the needy is honestly what most big churches do because they are generally a hassle and some dont anything. Most poor people don't get better unless you really invest time into them. Poor is a lifestyle and a mentality that is hard to break because poor is in your head and in your belief system often.

I've heard people say a million items that the church panders to money and ignores the poor. I can honestly say that this is the obsolute first time I have EVER heard of someone bitching about churches taking advantage of poor people by offering them hope and food. It just seems ridiculous. Like I said, there is a million valid things to be annoyed about but this one just seems strangely nit picky.
 
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