Christian Zeal = Salary?

[MainBrain]

Excuse my cynical post. But this has been bothering me for sometime.

I can’t help but notice that many of the on fire “religious leaders” are Christians and/or Catholics who are either making income off of Films, DVDs, Books, Newsletters, Hosting a Pilgrimage for to Holy Sites, or Making a Salary as a Pastor or Priest. Heck, how about websites and other avenues of income… ect… ect… There is even one person who is charging $95.00 to do a Stations of the Cross at a Church! And this is someone well known and respected!!!

**It’s easy to be on fire for God when you are making an income off of the message. This goes for Catholics and Protestants.
** I wonder how positive and on fire Catholics and/or Protestants would if they didn’t an income off of the Gospel, but rather had to struggle like me and you.

Just for the record, I never made a single penny off of my Christian walk… and I was zealous at one time.

 

[Crusaderbear]

That’s between them and God…

 

[pensmama87]

Excuse my cynical post. But this has been bothering me for sometime.

I can’t help but notice that many of the on fire “religious leaders” are Christians and/or Catholics who are either making income off of Films, DVDs, Books, Newsletters, Hosting a Pilgrimage for to Holy Sites, or Making a Salary as a Pastor or Priest. Heck, how about websites and other avenues of income… ect… ect… There is even one person who is charging $95.00 to do a Stations of the Cross at a Church! And this is someone well known and respected!!!

**It’s easy to be on fire for God when you are making an income off of the message. This goes for Catholics and Protestants.
** I wonder how positive and on fire Catholics and/or Protestants would if they didn’t an income off of the Gospel, but rather had to struggle like me and you.

Just for the record, I never made a single penny off of my Christian walk… and I was zealous at one time.

Undoubtedly there are unscrupulous people who take advantage of the Gospel to their own ends.

Still, though, I wonder if in some cases you might have it backward. It’s not wrong to make a living, and many people choose how to make their living based on their passion. People may choose to make a living through spreading the Gospel, and that’s not wrong.

(Interestingly, most people who do this do not get rich at all, and frequently struggle to get by. That to me is a great testament to their faith, because they could choose to do something else far more lucrative. Even those who have a decent amount of fame such as authors frequently don’t make much - the occasional speaking gig and a small portion of profits from book sales.)

The people who make it big with televangelism are very, very rare. I am skeptical of many of them, but frequently that has a lot to do with their message being directly at odds with the Gospel.

 

[LightBound]

Excuse my cynical post. But this has been bothering me for sometime.

I can’t help but notice that many of the on fire “religious leaders” are Christians and/or Catholics who are either making income off of Films, DVDs, Books, Newsletters, Hosting a Pilgrimage for to Holy Sites, or Making a Salary as a Pastor or Priest. Heck, how about websites and other avenues of income… ect… ect… There is even one person who is charging $95.00 to do a Stations of the Cross at a Church! And this is someone well known and respected!!!

Just for the record, I never made a single penny off of my Christian walk… and I was zealous at one time.

What? I looked all over the web and the only thing I could find regarding Stations of the Cross for $95 was a series of framed lithographs of each station of the cross for your home. Please provide a link for what you are speaking about.

Now, about the rest of your post…I for one am glad there are Catholic authors out there, be they professed religious or laity, that are called to use their God-given talents to write books or newsletters and produce films. I would imagine that most people are inspired by them and by reading their material or viewing their works, are further encouraged in their faith. Ministries don’t run themselves and without money, it’s near impossible to finance even the smallest of ministries. The question you should probably ask yourself is “what are they doing with the money left after the expenses?” Are they living large with luxury vehicles (like a Mercedes or Bentley) or are they living in million-dollar mansions? Are they using the profits they have after expenses to support charities? I would take a guess that most of the Catholics are!

 

[nunsuch]

It is also important to remember that secular priests (those not in a religious congregation) do not take vows of poverty. Thus, they are not under the same obligations as a religious priest.

It takes time, exertion, expertise, and effort to write books, speak publicly, etc. Didn’t Jesus say that the laborer was worth his or her hire?

 

[LightBound]

The question you should probably ask yourself is “what are they doing with the money left after the expenses?” Are they living large with luxury vehicles (like a Mercedes or Bentley) or are they living in million-dollar mansions? Are they using the profits they have after expenses to support charities? I would take a guess that most of the Catholics are!

CLARIFICATION- I meant, “Are Catholics with the ministries the OP was complaining about living luxuriously with the profits they receive or are they reinvesting in their ministry and donating to charities?”

I personally believe those Catholics are building their ministries to reach out to more people and donating a great deal of their profits to charities.

 

[MaryT777]

Good question. Subscribed.

 

[MainBrain]

What? I** looked all over the web and the only thing I could find regarding Stations of the Cross for $95 was a series of framed lithographs of each station of the cross for your home. Please provide a link for what you are speaking about.**

I would rather not because the person who charged $95.00 is on individual who I met once and is very nice. But she is well known and she was charging that fee one time on a social media website. I was really astonished.