Rick Warren Begs Parishioners For $900K

[tomm2thumbs]

Source: CBS2-KCAL



Evangelical pastor Rick Warren is begging parishioners at his Orange County megachurch to cough up $900,000 before January 1st to keep the parish out of the red.

He asks parishioners to donate before January 1st to keep the church out of debt. A spokeswoman for Warren said the church does not release financial details, so it's difficult to put the $900,000 shortfall in context.

Warren delivered the invocation at the inauguration of President Barack Obama and is the author of numerous books, including the best-selling "The Purpose Driven Life."

Read more: http://cbs2.com/local/Rick.Warren.Saddleback.2.1398380.html

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Posted without comment - but can't wait to see what folks think about this...

[greyl]

1. Maybe he's in Rush's will. nt

[msongs]

2. didn't Jesus kick the money grubbing crooks out of the temple? nt

[No Elephants]

26. Money changers.

[DesertFlower]

3. well i wouldn't give him a dime, but

i wouldn't give a dime to any of those preachers.

[shadowknows69]

12. If I had the money I'd pay people not to pay him.

[Ticonderoga]

52. yeah but man,

if you pay now, you'll have everlasting life LATER. Bwahahahahaha

[onehandle]

4. Let it fail! nt

[WorseBeforeBetter]

5. What a slimy SOB.

It's still hard to believe Obama chose Warren to deliver the invocation.

[TommyO]

6. I think it's clear, if God wanted Warren's church to survive

it wouldn't be struggling the way it is.

[mascarax]

58. +1 - Absolutely!

This is a clear message from God.

(Is Warren going to pull an Oral Roberts "Give or God will off me" threat too?)

[marshall]

61. Oral's first con was to say a 900 foot Jesus appeared to him

You can still see a few "Warning, 900 foot Jesus crossing" signs up in Oklahoma.

[mascarax]

65. Thanks, I didn't know that one...like the signs!

Who put them up?

And: why 900 feet?! Because the bigger the Jesus, the bigger the con?

[EFerrari]

7. That's one ambitious grifter.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

9. Pound for pound, he's one of the best.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Which one was it used to call for people to give money or "Gawd" would call him home?

[shadowknows69]

11. Oral Roberts. See post below.

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. I thought it was him. :^)

[shadowknows69]

10. Worked for Oral Roberts. Did Rickie assure us he would die if fails?

[Downwinder]

14. Sorry Rick, I have to save for medical expenses. n/t

[glinda]

15. Maybe he wants to move to another Country, Hmmmmm...wonder which one?

[Jamastiene]

49. I hear Uganda would be perfect for him. n/t

[BlueIdaho]

16. "Jim and Tammy really need ya."

Those solid gold toilet seats are REALLY expensive - right Pastor Swaggart?

[LatteLibertine]

17. Warren and Limbaugh in trouble?

If there's "good" news about BecKKK tomorrow we might all have a solid year in 2010.

[Bette Noir]

18. Let him put up the money himself, out of his pocket change.

[tbyg52]

73. +1 nt

[MadMaddie]

19. Stunning! He lives the high life and is asking his flock

for a bailout! Say it ain't so!!

[AndrewP]

41. Yes!!! I'm shocked!!!

[jasi2006]

20. Didn't he make enough from his book to cover this?

This is a bad move on his part in my opinion. Just shows him to be another of the properity driven deceitful ones. If you can't open your books to the public then you must be hiding something. Otherwise, open your books at least to the people you are begging money from.

[Hissyspit]

21. The worst part of the inauguration by far.

I turned my back to him.

[Divine Discontent]

29. Thank you, VERY much.

I wish I was coulda been there. One of the early warning signs about President Obama being a pleaser of the hard-right at the expense of teh gays!

I don't think the Admin. realizes how many tens of thousands of people they have lost already who will not lift a finger to help get him re-elected, plus tens of millions in dollars.

Hoping the WH Admin. changes and starts working on the people's behalf, and not the interests of the money-changers...

[Jamastiene]

50. Thank you.

:hug:

[salguine]

22. Burying your church in crushing debt is Jesus' way of saying you're an asshole.

[Tansy_Gold]

35. +1

:spray:

[theHandpuppet]

37. +2

:rofl:

[Jamastiene]

51. +1

Zing!

[autorank]

23. What a blowhard k*r

http://www.apj.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2094&Itemid=2

[Downwinder]

24. Who is holding the paper? Chase, B of A, they got bailed, won't they do the same for Rick? n/t

[avaistheone1]

25. Need $900,000, but won't release financial details?!!

Something really stinks.

[gratuitous]

60. Doesn't pass the smell test, does it?

Dang, $900,000 could run my church for 15 years. Might even upgrade the bathrooms and put in a warming kitchen. Nine hundred thousand. Just . . . dang.

[No Elephants]

27. Ya gotta wonder why his church is operating at a loss and he does not have enough money to fix that.

[DRoseDARs]

28. Maybe he could ask his buddy Obama for a bailout...

Oh, I'm sorry, people thrown under the bus and their allies aren't allowed to make any sort of criticisms. Ever.

My bad. :shrug:

[Divine Discontent]

30. yep... they'll just accuse you of all those wonderful little put-downs...

[pundaint]

31. Perhaps he could sell some indulgences.

[mwb970]

32. Q: What kind of fool would fall for crap like this?

A: A conservative one!

[Eric Condon]

33. If only me and Catherine had back the money we sent that TV preacher

who was screwin' the hockey player...

[underpants]

34. Can't he just borrow it from Rev. Moon?

like Falwell did?

[SpiralHawk]

39. That would be the republicon approach, fer sure

eom

[era veteran]

36. I'll send you a check

First sawtooth bank of Bumfuck. Get a real job skypilot.

[Algorem]

38. $900,000?Isn't that what he paid Obomba to let him be Inaugural Holy Baloney Man?

[HillbillyBob]

40. The greed driven kkkreestians

nt

[sendero]

42. Is he a Prosperity Pimp?

Does he promise material wealth in exchange for giving to the church, like most of the sleazy so-called Christian churches have been doing for so long now?

Well, J6P might be figuring out, Jesus doesn't care if you have a tract mansion and a beemer.

[Bluenorthwest]

43. Ah, seems that one reaps as one sews

Hope Fierce Advocate is paying attention. Huge debt and connections to Uganda pogrom laws. Very fitting for a President's honored minister. The company one desires is a huge indication of one's own character. God is in the mix. One man, one woman, 900,000 dollars. Smell that Sacrament!

[Odin2005]

44. Con man and professional bigot.

[undergroundnomore]

45. Friends, I say Ah Friends

Gawd will surely answer your prayers but right now he's a little short on cash. if you could just send us your check........

Where does the money go?

Remember Joyce Meyer using a face lift is a legitimate ministry expense? I seem to also remember she purchased a $23,000 commode with marble top.

Charlatan.

[jsgindc]

46. As of Dec. 2008 Warren has sold 40 million books.

I hope those "followers" aren't that stupid and realize they are being USED!

[Union Yes]

47. May Reich Wing Christian consensus collapse. It is a pox on America.knr nt

[superconnected]

75. They're not collapsing, they've just revived a trick from the 80's - tele-evangelists used to

do this all the time, AND get the money from their watchers.

[Jamastiene]

48. HAHA!!!! Perhaps you should shakedown your Ugandan government friends, Rick.

Or better yet, move there and face the consequences of your own hate, fuckwad.

Hurt, motherfucker. :nopity:

[hamsterjill]

53. Then let Rick himself set the example

Let Rick Warren mortgage his house, or better yet, sell his house and live on the streets. Then I might take his request seriously.

If he wants to keep the church out of the red, let him do what Jesus would have done.

To me, it's really just that simple.

[Joe Bacon]

54. Only 900K?, Rick you're cheap!

Your dear departed buddy Oral set the bar at 8 million for his grand scam. C'mon Rick, go for more. You know you need that extra mansion!

[SergeStorms]

55. PRAYER.............

PRAYER is the only way to get his church out of the red! Only GOD can deliver the miracle needed to make his church more profitable and liquid. If the HOLY FATHER wants his church to be fruitful, then by JESUS the HOLY FATHER will deliver. If not, then FUCK YOU, Rick!

These christian snake oil salesmen are all alike. Why does it take so much money to believe in a god that's free? Rick's "god-share" scheme is getting a little old. He's dipped into that well too many times. But bend over, believers. You're about to be filled by the holy spirit! ;)

[eilen]

56. Suck it Rick

Read your own book and stop begging stupid people for their grocery money.

[Ian David]

57. Isn't "Saddleback" just the opposite of "Bareback?" n/t

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

71. This thread is useless without spurs and leather chaps (nt)

[onager]

59. Some good advice from Ben Franklin...

When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not care to support it, so that its professors are obliged to call for the help of the civil power, 'tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one. - Poor Richard's Almanac, 1754

Disclaimer: I'm an atheist, so I don't have a god - or any money - in this fight. Other than the extra tax money I pay because of blow-dried witch doctors like Warren, that rat-faced little troll Joel Osteen, etc. etc.

[dugaresa]

62. Did he "Purposely Drive" his church into bankruptcy?

hee hee

[La Lioness Priyanka]

63. never mind

i hope he and his ilk rot

[JVS]

64. I'd wager that Rick has more than that in savings.

[NorthCarolina]

66. God has become quite the money grubber in recent years. (nt)

[BR_Parkway]

67. Why can't the ever accept that it's Gawd's will for them to be poor

and humble?

[City Lights]

68. Pray harder, Ricky!

:middlefinger:

[jmowreader]

69. I really feel for Pastor Rick. Surely I do

Is there going to be a new Rick Warren book on the horizon? "What to do when your Purpose-Driven Mortgage Company resets the Purpose-Driven ARM on your Purpose-Driven Church."

Warren has a MAJOR publishing empire going on here--A Purpose-Driven Life has spawned plenty of other books, plus he's got titles that aren't directly related to his main book. (He's got one on Christmas too--"The Purpose of Christmas."

Now check this shit out: In Warren's begging letter, he explained that Christmas Week contributions were half what they normally get, which left the church $900k in the hole. If they were breaking even before Christmas week, this disparity means people donate $2 million a week to this church. They are therefore running on a budget of over $100 million per year, which to me is astounding. Then again...he's got 20,000 weekly attendees plus he webcasts his services. Two million a week. Wow.

[onager]

72. Plus income from his "educational courses."

I have a relative who is the accountant (voluntary/unpaid, of course) for her Methodist church in South Carolina. She complained that their pastor bought Warren's printed snake-oil, which I think is called The Purpose-Driven Church. Consists of books and training courses, etc.

She said it cost her church a lot of money and didn't accomplish much that she could see.

[indypaul]

70. God answers all prayers

Sometimes the answer is NO!

[superconnected]

74. Excuse me, people don't need nearly a million dollars by tomorrow unless

it's a scam. This used to happen in the 80's with the tele-evangelists who would claim, 'God said they would die if they didn't get the money.'

[Thor_MN]

76. Why are all the Right Wing gods so bad with money?

If the church can't prosper, why would its followers?

[CreekDog]

77. I'll be if they don't get it, Warren loans it to the church with interest

:think:

[Javaman]

78. perhaps this snake-oil salesman should crack open his own wallet. nt

[donco6]

79. This skank can go straight to hell. n/t

[sakabatou]

80. Awww, did greed fuck you up too, Rick?

Gave into one of the deadly sins, I see.

[RedCloud]

81. Seems like Phil Collins (or Genesis) had a tune about this

[David__77]

82. "Cough up." lol...

It's editorial comment, but I like it...