Sayah sempet tinggal cukup lama di Jurong East Ave. Di rumah pak haji. Itu pendeta kayaknya demen main di gey lang ... :-0
heu heu :-) --- In [email protected], "johny_indon" <johny_indon@...> wrote: > > > > gereja city harvest ini ampir tiap hari gua lewatin waktu > gua tinggal di singapur karena lokasinya di jurong west deket kampus ntu. > ngga nyangka ternyata pendetanya tukang tilep duit jema'at. > ngga tanngung2, duit yg ditilep sampe SGD 23 juta atau sekitar 172 miliar > perak. > > haleluya! > > oh iya sampe lupa, city harvest ini gereja kresten protestan > aliran karismatik/pantekosta tempat si bleki ngadu...eh...jadi domba. > > (si bleki pasti pura2 kelilipan matanya baca fakta ini). > > --- In [email protected], holy uncle <holyuncle@> wrote: > > > > ***In a religious setting, people tend less to be on their guard and can be > > more easily persuaded to part with their money. > > > > ***âYou may be poor today, but you will not be poor all your lifeâ. > > > > An analysis into the wealth of City Harvest Church > > > > Posted by temasektimes on June 27, 2012 > > > > Although I am aware that City Harvest is one of the richest churches in > > Singapore, I am still shocked that it is rich enough to pay $310 million > > dollars for a stake in Suntec City. Nevertheless, an entity which is able > > to amass such wealth is certainly worth studying. I was determined to > > understand the secrets to the churchâs wealth. > > > > I apologize upfront if the points raised give offense to loyal followers of > > City Harvest Church. Please regard this article as a business analysis of > > the factors that contribute to the wealth of City Harvest Church, not as an > > insinuation that the Church got rich through questionable means. The fact > > is that CHC is very rich and this makes for a fascinating academic exercise > > to examine its sources of wealth. Just treat it as a business case study. I > > have tried my best to stick to the facts. Please correct me if there are > > factual mistakes. However, if there are differences in opinions, please > > disagree with courtesy. > > > > 1. Clever packaging of Sunday services > > > > The income of a church is dependent on the tithes collected (10% of income > > from church-members). Therefore, the earning power of a church is highly > > dependent on its ability to retain its existing church members and attract > > new ones. The larger the church membership, the greater its earnings. > > > > I watched a sample of CHC weekend service on its website. Compared to the > > boring Sunday classes I attended as a kid, CHC church service was most > > refreshing (Watch âThe 10 Laws Of The Harvestâ). The beginning part > > resembles a rock concert with good singing and enthusiastic audience. It is > > an entertaining way to enjoy your Sunday mornings. Going to church becomes > > a weekly event to look forward to rather than a chore to attend to. > > > > With church services so well packaged for its customers, its customer > > retention rate and new customer acquisition figures should look good. > > > > 2. Extra revenue in the form of advertisements, sales of CDs > > > > This church is unlike the other churches I know. It generates extra revenue > > through advertisements during its Sunday service (watch the videos). It > > sells audio CDs on its website. There is an online shopping cart for > > convenience to those who want to buy online. > > > > 3. Efficient collection of tithes > > > > Church-members can pay their tithe online via credit card, eNets or even > > Giro!! Once members started donating using Giro, the earnings quality of > > the church improves. Donation collected via Giro tend to be more stable. > > > > With a globalised economy, people travel round the world a lot and may miss > > Sunday services. In the past, the churches will lose income when these > > members fail to turn up to pay their tithe. Now, with online payment, they > > can continue collecting the tithe even when the church-member is working > > overseas for an extended period of time. With Giro, the church can continue > > collecting tithes for a few more months even when the member leaves the > > church as people have a habit of forgetting what they pay on Giro. > > > > 4. 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns on your church donations > > > > This is where the genius of CHC lies and the secret to its superior earning > > power. In fact, I have yet to encounter any public-listed company on SGX, > > HKSE, NYSE, Nasdaq that demonstrates better potential. > > > > The pastor preaches that God will give 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns > > on your tithe. But, you have to be generous in your donations first so that > > you will receive in harvest proportions. I guess that is the origin of the > > name City Harvest. Please watch the video âThe 10 Laws Of The Harvestâ > > yourself in its entirety and interpret for yourself. > > > > It is a message that cleverly uses an astute understanding of human nature > > to maximize profits. If I were a CHC member, I will be tempted to increase > > my tithe as much as possible. Not mincing my words, I am doing it out of > > pure greed. I do not think I will be alone. It is perfectly fine if members > > of CHC strongly disagree and thinks that I am not representative for most > > of them. After all, I can only speak for myself. > > > > 5. Quality of customers > > > > With the 100-fold return message, the kind of church members attracted will > > be most conducive to profit-making. Money-minded people will be attracted > > to the church. These money-minded people tend to be ambitious and have a > > great desire to make lots of money. Millionaire minds have a higher chance > > to become rich. Hence, the quality of customers that CHC attracts are of > > the highest quality. The richer the church-member, the higher is the > > churchâs tithe per member. > > > > Customer quality will be enhanced through the passage of time due to > > survivor bias. Suppose out of this pool of Millionaire-Mind Christians, 50% > > become satisfactorily rich and the remaining 50% still unsatisfactorily > > middle-class. The 50% who got rich will donate even more because they think > > their source of wealth comes from their donations. It is most unlikely they > > will cut back on their tithes because they will be afraid God will punish > > them by cutting back the returns. If they are not afraid, the church will > > be there to warn them not to do so. The remaining 50% who did not get rich > > will be disillusioned and probably leave the church. The loss is of little > > significance to the church. These people are not rich and their tithes will > > not amount to much. > > > > Many Christians will be disgusted with the concept of using tithes to get > > rich. These people will probably leave the church after attending a few > > Sunday services. Again, the loss is of little significance to CHC. These > > people will not be highly profitable to the church even if they are rich > > because they are not going to tithe as much as the others who believe their > > tithes is the way to wealth. > > > > To the credit of the Pastor, I think he has devised a wonderful process of > > filtering out non-profitable customers and sucking in the lucrative ones. > > There is only so much physical space that a church can have to service its > > church-members. To maximize profits, the church has to ensure that each > > unit of space is used for servicing lucrative customers. > > > > 6. Kill off competition > > > > CHC has tremendous economic moat that kills off competition. In the video > > âThe 10 Laws of The Harvestâ, the Pastor cited Law #5 âYour Seed must > > be planted in Good Groundâ which is an effective weapon in killing off > > his competition â" the smaller churches. Many Christians feel that they > > ought to donate to the needy, smaller churches rather than rich > > mega-churches like CHC. The Pastorâs argument is that you do not get good > > returns like 100-fold in the small churches. You have to donate to > > mega-churches to maximize returns on your tithe because they have a track > > record (rich church members). In other words, the seed is not planted in > > good ground when you donate to the small churches. In his own words, âI > > donât always give to the neediest but to the ground that will give the > > greatest yieldâ. To illustrate his point, he used an analogy on weak > > banks and strong banks. You do not deposit your money in a weak bank > > because it desperately needs > > fresh funds to survive. You deposit your money in a strong bank which > > invests your money wisely and yields good returns. > > > > The church has an iron-grip on its members who believe its message. As > > illustrated previously, its customer base is of the highest quality. This > > is its track record. Existing church-members will definitely not move to > > another smaller, needier church with poorer track record. > > > > It has a very strong economic moat as it is very hard for its competitors > > to get its customers to switch over. > > > > 7. Providing a place where the rich can network > > > > As the Pastor said, his church provides a good ground on which you can grow > > your riches. Rightly so, indeed. For property agents or insurance agents > > trying to hit their sales quota, City Harvest Church will be an ideal place > > to hunt for lucrative clients. This church concentrates several rich and > > money-minded people into a single location. The church offers a unique > > advantage to sell things. In a religious setting, people tend less to be on > > their guard and can be more easily persuaded to part with their money. > > > > Businessmen also like to network in places where there are rich and > > powerful people who will come in handy in future. The Pastor has done a > > good job in gathering such people in his church and it makes good sense to > > make use of this advantage by joining the church. > > > > The rich will attract more rich and the gathering moss snowballs to provide > > an ever-rising pool of donation to the church. > > > > 8. Preach what people like to hear. > > > > As a teenager, I was discouraged when I read Bible verses like Matthew > > 19:23-24 âI tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the > > kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through > > the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.â and > > Matthew 6:24 âNo one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the > > one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. > > You cannot serve God and wealth.â > > > > It seems like if I become rich, I will be condemned to hell. > > > > In the video âRich God? Poor God?â, the Pastor preaches that it is > > absolutely ok to be rich. Some prophets of God were very rich. (Abraham, > > David, Solomon) > > > > There is nothing more musical to a money-minded person than to hear that > > God is on your side in your pursuit of money. The church-members who are > > more money-minded will love this and donate even more. > > > > 9. God pays for the returns, not the church. > > > > The church collects the money, but God pays for the returns. The church > > does not need to pay a single cent for the 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold > > returns on the donations. > > > > This is as good as you do the work for me, but not only do I not pay you, I > > shall also collect your salary. You toil and sweat, but I shall eat your > > bread. God must surely be a miracle worker and people will pay handsomely > > for his service. I cannot think of a more advantageous economic position to > > be in to be able to collect money rendered by a miracle worker. > > > > 10. Social pressure to conform in church settings and ease of influence > > > > If everyone around you donates, it is hard not to. When everyone else makes > > sacrifice, the one who does not will look like an outcast. There is > > tremendous pressure to conform in such a herd setting. > > > > 11. Tremendous future earning power > > > > Take a look at the congregation and you will notice the large number of > > young people. The income growth of young people is the fastest in the > > population. In the Pastorâs words, âYou may be poor today, but you will > > not be poor all your lifeâ. That is a long-term business plan in > > cultivating its customers. > > > > Therefore, if CHC can be viewed as a growth stock, its prospects are very > > bright as its young customers will accelerate its earnings. > > > > 12. Stable earnings in times of depression > > > > Besides being a growth stock, CHC can also be viewed as a defensive and > > safe stock. People pray hardest when they fall in hard times. Strangely, > > some people have an urge to tithe when they are in financial troubles. > > > > In fact, in the video (The 10 Laws Of The Harvest), a couple came on stage. > > They talked about the dire straits they were in when they started out. > > Things change when God challenged them to GIVE themselves out of poverty > > (exact words from the speaker). Despite not having any money, they still > > pledged $250 to the building fund. In his own words again, âwe often > > emptied our savings to give to the House of God knowing that this will be > > the answer to our financial problemsâ. Hence, not only will the church > > earnings be stable in times of depression, it may even grow. > > > > 13. Using Prosperity as a theme to appeal to customers > > > > The Pastor preaches Prosperity Gospel which resolves around money. His > > business genius lies in choosing this theme for his church. Money has > > universal appeal. Everyone worships money regardless of race, culture, age, > > gender, sexual orientation. In one fell swoop, he has enlarged his market > > to cover the entire world. It is much easier to convert people to your > > belief by dangling money and promising great prosperity. After all, who > > does not love money? > > > > By enlarging his potential market catchment with a greater chance of > > increasing membership, more donations will flow in. > > > > 14. Tax benefits as church is registered as a charity > > > > This creates a huge, unfair advantage compared to all other businesses. > > This is what landed CHC in controversy. Enough has been said. > > > > If one day the Pastor switches to become a businessman, I will definitely > > consider investing in the company that he heads and founds. > > > > If City Harvest Church is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, I will > > certainly buy it. It will be one stock that I am confident of hitting a > > return of 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns. > > > > PS: People tend not to question critically when it comes to religion. A > > charming smooth talker can easily sway minds with his interpretation of the > > Bible. In the final analysis, Faith is about simply believing. You cannot > > approach it scientifically because there is no way to test religious > > theories using the scientific method. We will only know the real truth when > > judgment day comes. > > > > The danger is that there is no accountability on the part of the preacher > > on whether his teachings are true or not. Even he himself cannot be sure > > that his interpretations is 100% correct. Given human nature, the > > interpretations will tend to be self-serving. In fact, it is not only > > dangerous to the students but to the teacher as well. People will believe > > their own lies if it yields tempting benefits. That was how Wall Street > > drank its own Kool-Aid. > > > > While I respect the Pastor for his business savvy, I cannot agree with his > > interpretations of the Bible. I pray for good health, peace and harmony for > > my family. Money-minded as I am, I am not comfortable with commercializing > > my relationship with God by asking for money. The Christian God that I know > > from my own reading of the Bible is not è´¢ç¥ç·. Of course, if God wants > > to drop money from heaven on me, I will be more than happy to embrace it. > > > > *The above article was contributed to us by the writer and was first > > published in 2010 here > > > > http://temasektimes.wordpress.com/2012/ ... st-church/ > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! 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