Gone are the days when Pastors would bless you even if you don't have anything to give. The "it's your heart that matters" adage no longer echoed within the Church set up. "thou shall not go to the Lord's house empty handed" is now the new motto for most pentecostal Churches.

I don't find it comfortable when I go to Church without having a dime to give. Although I don't see anything wrong with it (since I sincerely don't have), my Pastor would always point it out that it's a sin to come to Church empty. This opinion is also shared by many pentecostal Pastors I've come in contact with.

I've since then decided that If don't have anything to give when going to Church, I might as well stay back home and enjoy my musics. I'm done with Pastors trying to make me look poor or bad. Even If I do have something to give as offering, other petty demands and begging still have to be taking into consideration.

God is good (All the time)

Go, sit and smile through the pressure, look around, find someone who your heart tells you is needy and give him or her everything (offering, gift, whatever). Then thank God, smile at pastor and go home. If NOT led to anyone in church, visit an orphanage - every mite counts.

But keep smiling at the pastor knowing that smile is your offering to him

You no sabi read, or wetin? He said he doesn't have enough to give and you are telling him to still go and give. You well so?

nuclearboy:

Go, sit and smile through the pressure, look around, find someone who your heart tells you is needy and give him or her everything (offering, gift, whatever). Then thank God, smile at pastor and go home. If NOT led to anyone in church, visit an orphanage - every mite counts.

But keep smiling at the pastor knowing that smile is your offering to him

I see you are still as thick as ever.

In more elementary words (for dolts like you), when he has to give (as evidenced by his words that he has atimes), it ought to go to those who "need" help not the thieving pastor.

In effect, his offering henceforth ought consist only of smiles IN CHURCH whether he has OR not.

Is that elementary enough for your low IQ?

^^^^ Please help dilute my "thickness" by telling me how he would smile through tithe collection time when he is practically getting coerced or called out to drop when he has no cash to give? Should he keep smiling like a mumu when tithe bowls are being thrusted under his nose in front of the rest of the congregation? Why not save himself such embarrassment and stay away? Which is the central point of his OP.

^^ Paris goes to church BECAUSE of God! So such as me expects his only concern is God. While you are not a Christian, I am. For me, its very VERY easy to go into church, listen and worship, side-sit to allow the dancing hordes to go pay their god_pastor his dues then be the first to walk up to pastor and say hi after the service. Reason why its simple is because I am looking unto God, not man.

Christians carry their cross. If that is his, he should pick it - its certain a few others are there with the same mindset who are weaker than he is who also are confused and unhappy. Such action might encourage them and bring sanity BECAUSE when pastor "jaguda" sees many sitting through his nonsense, he will likely know the game is up.

Embarrassment is a synonym for Christianity, by the way. Your only reward is knowing you did right and stood against evil

^^^^ Paris does not need to go to a church to find God. He can find God anywhere and everywhere. I think he has realized that what he always finds in churches are aggressively coercive, cash-sucking Pastors who deplete his wallet, not God.

^^ Well, and according to the gentleman Paris, he wants to go to church EXCEPT if he doesn't have cash and that only BECAUSE of a greedy pastor. Rather than tell him not to go, my point is that he should ignore the noise and face God alone

And even use it to help others going through the same experience

I dont know why u have taken this issue personal, anyway, @ op, i want u to know that ur going to church is not because of ur pastor, the issue is that whatz ur motive of going to church, if itz not pastor, i dont know y d pastor's intimidations should have effect on u. I will urge u to be going to church, regardless of what d pastor says or does. Don't allow pastor to hinder ur blessing from God, and to make u lose ur eternity. May God Help u in JESUS name

@gbenga
What has going to church got to do with blessings from God or one's eternity. Kindly answer with scriptural reference.

What the OP is saying some may not understand, there are some churches Pastors will be praying as if cursing when it's issue of offering/tithe.

Is it not better to stay away from such and not be aware of them or stay and be reversing the curses instead of joining the congregation in chorusing amen

stop goin to church altogether. they r looting u. 

its lyk u r feeling sorry for not being looted.

@ poster
We always have something to give to god, jut look around you

another whiner @ topic.

He should stop whining and keep going to church and filling the pastors' koffers, eh, tpia?

tpia@:

another whiner @ topic.

Jenwitemi:

He should stop whining and keep going to church and filling the pastors' koffers, eh, tpia?

hehe

@azibalua
Your god is obviously a beggar who depends of gifts being given to him to exist.

hehe my God doesnt care wat we give to him. However we usually give him offering out of our love and devotion for alwayz being der for us and answering our prayers.

Jenwitemi:

He should stop whining and keep going to church and filling the pastors' koffers, eh, tpia?

is he being dragged to the church?

@pagan9ja:

If you follow african traditional religion, then your god is a beggar - tell me ONE Odu-Ifa that can manifest during consultation yet does not require a gift or sacrifice

My point remains that whether pastor screams curses or not is immaterial - your own faith is what matters

tpia@:

another whiner @ topic.  

Another? Don't blame you! I don't have  to go and  give to the Church every sunday considering the fact that the Lord has blessed me. I do however do more charity donations and work outside the Church. Pastors are the ones who whine and not me. And because they couldn't get from me occasionally, they resort to cursing and scripture perversion.

In a virulently religious nation like Nigeria? I'd say, yes, virtually. But, paris should answer that question by himself.

tpia@:

is he being dragged to the church?

Jenwitemi:

In a virulently religious nation like Nigeria? I'd say, yes, virtually. But, paris should answer that question by himself.

well, too bad if a grown arse man is being dragged to church.

paris10:

Another? Don't blame you! I don't have to go and give to the Church every sunday considering the fact that the Lord has blessed me. I do however do more charity donations and work outside the Church. Pastors are the ones who whine and not me. And because they couldn't get from me occasionally, they resort to cursing and scripture perversion.

well, sucks for you if you cant drag your grown arse elsewhere.

Jenwitemi:

In a virulently religious nation like Nigeria? I'd say, yes, virtually. But, paris should answer that question by himself.

I am not a gullible Christian and will never be. People like @tpia are biased and unreasonable. They professed they know God but lack the foreknowledge. Like I said, the Lord had been faithful to me and I'm thankful for that. Regarding the issue of dragging, I for one reject the idea of compulsion, and being compellable should be out of the question. I'm a free spirit person and can not be subjected to any dictate except that which comes direct from God.

I go to Church not for the Pastor but for the word of God. I do consume these words alone and most times do not actually need any Pastor to tell me God's will for my life, however, to be candid, my main reason for going to Church is to listen to the choir sing and meet friends

^^dont stop your meds.

KunleOshob:

@azibalua
Your god is obviously a beggar who depends of gifts being given to him to exist.

We both know that God is not a beggar
so this response is senseless

^^^
Of course we know God is not a beggar, but the cec god whom azibalua and yourself worship is a beggar and insists on you bringing offerings to church always no matter what difficulties you are facing. On the contrary in the true christian church, it is the church that supports the believers in need and not the other way round.

Offering time blessing time, sorry i think it's been changed to dancing time, pardon me. Nothing stops the OP from 'dancing' past the basket na. True giving is out of faith and love, not pressure or owanbe. We are humans created with a WILL. You can decide not to give even when the pass the bag to you, just pass it to the next person. Every one should learn/grow up to be able to say NO. It's not a tenable reason to stay away from church.
Well since the OP goes to church for choir piece and friends, there's little wonder that any unreason can sway him.

nuclearboy:

@pagan9ja:

If you follow african traditional religion, then your god is a beggar - tell me ONE Odu-Ifa that can manifest during consultation yet does not require a gift or sacrifice

My point remains that whether pastor screams curses or not is immaterial - your own faith is what matters

and your[i] version of [/i] God is a unclothed carpenter with a big mouth who cant even defend himself and ends up getting nailed to a wooden plank for his cheek. First of all, im not a Yoruba and do not follow Orixa. however to come to my brothers defence;   gifts & sacrifices are not compulsory, unlyk urs which is seemingl compulsory owing to the fact that your holymen can[i] talk[/i]. Our holymen hardly ask for money, expensive gifts or private jets. even if we do sacrifice, d sacrificial offerings r not that expensive, e.g. food, vegetables, nuts, fruits, n at times, a small chicken or goat, unlyk u ppl who[b] sacrifice 5-star hotel stayys n A-class vehicles[/b]. 

an understanding of sacrifices: (quoted from another thread)

e.g., a farmer who wants rain will pray to the God of Rain. this is a more personallised way of praying to God, because it develops a more intimate connection since the God is everything for what he is praying for, i.e. rain./ However if you want something, you must give something in return. For example, a person who wants to earn money must give his hard work and strength in return. a student who wants knowledge must in turn repay it with devotion, money or even both. an leopard who wants food, must sacrifice his energy to catch the food. This is one of the simple laws governing the workings of the universe. This is the very point of making sacrifices. The farmer will then usually give sum of his food or sacrifice a small chicken or goat in order to get wat he wants in return.

^^ Your "god" and morals are daft, vacuous, rude and possess a big mouth if the tripe above is all it could provide you in terms of reasoning power as a response. Go ask it for a refund on your mental capabilities

ill showw u whos mental fool. drop ur false pride or ull suffer.