Let me feel you all in with the background of this story. One of the largest Churches in the Pinevillie-Alexandria area of Rapides Parish, which is located right in the center of the state, is a Church Called Pentecostals of Alexandria, POA, you can look them up online.
Now, two unnamed relatives of mine, (through my uncle's marriage), go this church devotededly and attend these Bible Study classes that they hold. What the family found out recently was shocking, and it literally tore it apart. More below.
Two young people, in their mid-to late twenties, both with fine high paying jobs. Her father bought them a house right across the street so that they could look after the kids when they had them. He bought it, and was only asking for half of the monthly mortage payments as rent. Well, for the last four months they haven't been paying him. They'd put it off, or offer an excuse, and he accepted it, this is afterall his daughter.
Then, one day, while he was at their house, he discovered some donation statements for this church and it set him off to discover they were paying more than half of their income to the Church. He demanded to know why, and a big fight ensued.
He found out that the Bible study class has actually encouraged its members to donate far more the actual limits, and even more shocking, it has been giving young, working middle class members instructions on how to get welfare, and how to maximize your welfare benefits, so that they can give more money to the Church. The couple dropped their health insurance for Medicaid, moved out of that house for HUD housing, got on food stamps and got back personal expensives. So, know, (from my estimates), a pair of people making over 50 thousand a year, is giving more than 35 thousand of it to the Church. They are even cutting back on personal luxuries like new clothes, and instead, per instruction of the class, shop at Goodwill and Dollar General.
How I am sure the class did this? Well, her father confronted them, and they admitted and defended all the allegations he made. This church is turning many of its members into government basket cases all to get more money, and they are doing it in an almost cult like fashion. Already they've broken up this family, with the parents and the rest of family trying to talk sense into them, and them refusing to listen and cutting them off from their lives as a result.
What's more disturbing is that under the lax rules of the Pentecostal Church, a central Church does not neccessarily own everything, neither is the Church Community owned. In this case, the Church is actually owned, land, assets and all, by Rev. Mangun, whose family runs it. The land and building are assessed as worth millions, and all this money is going to him and his ministries. His wife, who is the Choir director, sang at both of Bill Clinton's inaugerations, and Clinton even took Colin Powell to hear her sing. The Church is mentioned several times in Clinton's biography, My Life, he even recalls Powell's surprise at seeing a scrawny little white woman making all the music. I have been to this emerging mega-church several times and can testify to her amazing voice.
It's a very well known Church, and Mangun is quickly becoming a political force as well, especially in local elections, where, without actually endorsing anyone, it is made clear who to support. It goes like this, "So and so has just made a generous donation to our mission work, we'd like to give a second to come and speak about his gift and what god means to him, we're proud to have him running for [insert position]." It's a well known tactic, an many Churches do, especially many of the urban black churches.
Just the other day I discovered something that bothered me even more, and got me to the point where I thought I just had to get the word out. The Church has a list of members who die, or so I thought. It's actually just members who will them things, and they have an entire book of dying donations. The senior Pasteurs are literally going to people's deathbeds, preaching to them, telling them of God's rewards for that devote themselves to him on earth, and how they should leave their earthly do his will and bring others to Christ. They get land, money, personal possessions that get sold off in auctions, once they even got a house. This is a very common practice too, in big Churches. It's especially effective with elderly shut ins, which is why many churches put so such effort into reaching out to these shut ins, a despicable practice, but effective.
I write this just to get off my chest, and hopefully spread news, which may eventually get to the right places for a bad publicity article somewhere. I don't right these things as a militant atheist, but as a Church attending Christian skeptic, who is currently Agnostic and being driven more solidly in that direction everyday.
P.S. Please vote in poll. There is no counter, so I use a poll instead. I use it to determind how many people have read a post, so please vote, so that I may satisfy my own curiosities.