Tag: Issues in the Church

  • chronicles of scam scam

    There is a team of people now investigating the issues that surround the practices of this group that has seemingly popped up out of nowhere within the last month or so.Important changes may mean that there is another possible scam on the horizon:We have been monitoring the website for changes and today there were some important changes that occured.The Registration fee has gone from $150.00 to $200.00And Registration date has moved from December 10 to Jan. 27.PAY REGISTRATION FEE OF $200.00 ONE TIME FEE BY JAN. 27, 2006 – Because we do not have tryouts and because this is a Christian Based League, we will not refuse to accept any young man that desires to play for the XFBA…. But then if not where did these other 11 teams come from?After reviewing what’s been pointed out above I think we should scrutinize their mission statement:“The Xzuberant Faith Basketball Association is a Christian based organization that is governed by Christian principles and character.”Speculations: What I am most concerned about at this point is that due to the overwhelming success of securing 39 teams of people willing to pay $150 registration fee (and bring people to a banquet and pay $25 to get in) that these leaders are on the move to add more teams and earn more money._______________Other information — XFMP says on its various websites that it is in “covenant with” Creflo Dollar’s ministry.

  • when dreams become cheap tricks

    This seems odd to me because one of the selling points of this basketball league is how much the players get paid.There are 39 teams with at least 10 players each who have been promised 1,400 a week for 11 months out of the year.One player would get paid $67, 200A team of ten players (not counting whatever the coach gets paid) is $672, 000The whole league of players are worth $26,208,000 a yearThis is not counting the health insurance they are promised, all the travel costs that the league has promised to pay and then of course all the jerseys, shoes, costs of renting gym space for practices, for games, administrative offices, CEO’s, Officials, and the list continues.And none of this has been picked up anywhere by the press, media, or google.How can this be believable?What I do know is that it targets churches, churches are great places to conduct scams, let’s face it.Christian people are unsuspecting, trusting, can be not highly educated, often middle class or lower, and not well plugged in with the resources to protect them from predators. Its not that any of these characteristics are bad, in fact I fit most of them but they are inviting characteristics for people who are looking to take advantage of others.After being promised to have the contract two weeks before the signing “banquet (where there was no food and the tickets cost $25)??? that took place on January 7th, the players from the small town, never got to review it with a lawyer and signed it blindly last night.Though these league administrators claim to be “strongly Christian,??? they publicly stated at the foodless banquet that the main people who donated all the money to do this ministry are Muslims, an interesting fact for a league that will fine you for not tithing to a local church, cussing, and not attending their weekly Bible study.That’s a lot of money for Muslims to be aiding Christians in their work of spreading the Gospel.

  • Who Goes There? or Knowing the Betrayer…

    I can’t imagine what brings people to come to the point where they strip the innocence of powerless individuals.We must tread carefully on such subjects, for those who are victims forever struggle to regain a self-identity apart from the violating act – and many of those who are victims lay outside our own empathetically solidarity.But we must move away from using dehumanizing terms for one another – terms that tie us to devilish deeds, terrorists, pedophiles, kidnappers, murders, etc. It is when we use these terms that we distinguish us from the other and once we have made those who we fear “the other” than we can dismiss them as human – they become non-redeemable, persons barely human and to be feared.Fear – something that the world is full of, is ultimately existence apart from trust…. And this is it, there is no hard fast solution to these problems, no scan-tron sheet, or standardized test that will fix the world’s problems – if we are to follow Christ we are going to have to get our hands dirty.-a final note- we can only hope to help heal the victim or/and the victimizer if we are first willing to hear the truth from these people – that is we must be willing to hear their own pains and struggles, and then we must be willing to be committed to their healing.

  • Fourth of July in Skid Row

    I found, at least for myself, one of the best places to spend a fourth of July Church service at – an African-American Church located in the middle of the hopeless and Notorious Skid Row of Los Angeles. Emily and I went to Central City Community Church of the Nazarene (CCCN) this Sunday and experienced […]