include doomsday prophecies? Pastor George was sitting at his desk looking forlornly over his church’s dismal financial records. His congregation was shrinking and his church was going broke. He’d maxed out his credit cards, taken a second mortgage on his house and even hocked his dead mother’s jewelry, but he still couldn’t save his church.
A knock on the door heralded Pastor Tim, Pastor George’s subordinate, and Pastor Tim walked in and sat down on the chair opposite Pastor George. “I just finished counting this week’s tithe,” said Pastor Tim, “It was ten dollars and thirty seven cents more than last week.” Pastor Tim was the kind of person who looked for a sliver lining on every cloud.
“Ten dollars and thirty seven cents won’t even cover my dry cleaning bill. We’re doomed!”
“I blame that new natural history museum that opened up last month,” said Pastor Tim, “ever since that abomination opened, parents have been taking their children there instead of here and filling their heads with godforsaken evolution nonsense. Without children to fill in the places of the old people who die, we have no new generation of believers.”
“Come on, you can’t blame the museum; we need to admit that people are just growing bored of Jesus stories and the fear of hell just ain’t the money maker it used to be.”
“We could always name a date for doomsday? My brother’s church in Kansas did that and he’s driving a Mercedes now.”
“I promised my father I would never do that.”
“But didn’t you also promise your father you would look after his church? Doomsday might be our only hope!”
But Pastor George could only cover his face with his hands and shake his head. The temptation of naming a doomsday date and convincing people that the world was about to end was very strong. It certainly was a money maker these days; every time a natural disaster struck somewhere in the world, people became even more susceptible to doomsday scare tactics. However, Pastor George was a good man at heart and he knew he couldn’t live with himself if he resorted to a doomsday scam to make money.
What should Pastor George do?
A knock on the door heralded Pastor Tim, Pastor George’s subordinate, and Pastor Tim walked in and sat down on the chair opposite Pastor George. “I just finished counting this week’s tithe,” said Pastor Tim, “It was ten dollars and thirty seven cents more than last week.” Pastor Tim was the kind of person who looked for a sliver lining on every cloud.
“Ten dollars and thirty seven cents won’t even cover my dry cleaning bill. We’re doomed!”
“I blame that new natural history museum that opened up last month,” said Pastor Tim, “ever since that abomination opened, parents have been taking their children there instead of here and filling their heads with godforsaken evolution nonsense. Without children to fill in the places of the old people who die, we have no new generation of believers.”
“Come on, you can’t blame the museum; we need to admit that people are just growing bored of Jesus stories and the fear of hell just ain’t the money maker it used to be.”
“We could always name a date for doomsday? My brother’s church in Kansas did that and he’s driving a Mercedes now.”
“I promised my father I would never do that.”
“But didn’t you also promise your father you would look after his church? Doomsday might be our only hope!”
But Pastor George could only cover his face with his hands and shake his head. The temptation of naming a doomsday date and convincing people that the world was about to end was very strong. It certainly was a money maker these days; every time a natural disaster struck somewhere in the world, people became even more susceptible to doomsday scare tactics. However, Pastor George was a good man at heart and he knew he couldn’t live with himself if he resorted to a doomsday scam to make money.
What should Pastor George do?