No Tithe No Church Membership
Dr. Karry D. Wesley Kicking Out Members
For Not Paying Tithes.
PimpPreacher.com
Dallas Bureau 06/20/2013
Anyone who
has had their lights, cable or phone turned off for Non-Payment knows how
frustrating and humiliating it could be, but having your Church Membership
turned off for Non-Payment of Tithes is a new one to me.
Dr. Karry
D. Wesley (Antioch
Fellowship Missionary
Baptist Church)
is now in the
process of disconnecting members who have failed to send in a monthly tithe to
his church. One of Pastor Wesley members sent us a copy of their Disconnect Notice for failure to pay monthly tithes –
and we noticed that the letter made it very clear that the members are required
to Pay in order to Stay.
PimpPreacher.com
received a copy of the letter on yesterday and we immediately called the member
to find out what’s really going on at Antioch
Fellowship Missionary
Baptist Church
in Dallas.
“Pastor
Wesley is really trying to keep up with the other growing ministries in the
area, therefore he has placed pressure on the members to increase their tithe
in order to pay off the church in 7 years. The only reason he is pushing us to
pay off the church is so he can build a bigger church."
The member
also sent PimpPreacher.com a copy of the Disconnect Notice she received in the
mail notifying her that her membership at the church is in the process of being
“Turned off.”
“He
doesn’t care if I am sick & shut-in or have lost my home as long as I send
in my tithe. What really makes me upset is no one from the church has even
visited or called to check on us. I could be in a crack house for all he cares
– as long as he receives my tithe from that crack house.”
We have
often referred to the organized
religion as a club with membership, but this is the first time an actual church has
validate that claim for us.
Whenever we
receive Pimp Preacher Reports like this one our goal is to allow our readers to
hear directly from the members of that congregation. Straight from the Pews of Antioch Fellowship Missionary
Baptist Church.
Ok
all…this is so very offensive to me! We have not attended
Antioch when the pastor did a campaign demanding that everyone increase
their tithing for the Debt Free in Jubilee campaign so the new church
could be paid off 23 years early, and then got mad and cancelled already
in existing programs in retaliation when tithing didn’t go up.
At any
rate, we receive this letter in the mail regarding verification of active
membership. As you see the bylaws state that in order to be considered an
active member you have to:
1.
Attend two services per month for 6 consecutive months and/OR
2. Make
a financial contribution at least once a month (meaning even if you never
attend a service you may send money and be counted an active member).
Per
the letter, they have decided to do an outreach based on financial contribution
and base the determination on membership on financial contribution because
apparently taking attendance it too hard. Why not hire a consulting firm
(because they most certainly have the money) to develop a census and everyone
that received these letters could have been sent a census or a postcard to be
returned stating via checkboxes whether they consider themselves active
members. As an educated and trained legal professional AND/OR means one
or the other or both. So if I chose to be in attendance and not make
financial contributions but instead tithe my time, or work as a missionary,
etc. they are saying I cannot be a member.
So
what is being communicated is that they are not concerned about my well being,
or spiritual growth or whether I am missing in action because I am sick and
shut in or maybe unemployed and need the church to help me. They are NOT
contacting me about membership. They are contacting me about money.
What if I am on a fixed income or a part of the 99ers laid off? I can’t stay on
the membership role?
This
is what is wrong with the black church today. Further what do they do
with the money…they don’t put it into mission work, they don’t disclose
financials, they don’t fund after school programs in the community surrounding
the church that is impoverished and drug infested, they don’t provide tutoring
to kids after school, they don’t have a daily soup kitchen to feed the hungry.
Oh but
they did offer to let me sit down and provide them an explanation as to why I
have not given them money.
