Televangelists not in it for the money? Riiiiight…

Hi Mazzie!

I think that these ''televangelists' are a bunch of money-grubbing frauds that steal millions of dollars from their congregations. They are con artists that serve the 'great god Mammon – money'. They let their 'flock' think that they can buy their salvation through 'tithes' and 'contributions'. They 'prey' (not 'pray') on millions of the most vulnerable people in society, earning billions in the process.

Think about it:
1 x 'sermon' (read: 'show')
x ±15000 people (remember that the Joel Osteens and Joice Meyers of the world have congregations of an average of 15000 people)
x average 'tithe' in America: US$120.00
= US$2,250,000.00
x 2 'sermons' per day on a Sunday
= US$4,500,000.00

Not bad for two one-hour shows!
x 4 Sundays per month
= US$18,000,000.00

Some months have FIVE Sundays
x 5 Sundays per month
= US$22,500,000.00
x 52 Sundays in a year
= US$235,000,000.00

Who on earth earns US$234.000,000.00 per year? Televangelists! Praaaaaaaise JESUS!!

Guys like Benny Hinn holds 'three-minute prayer sessions' during his sermons at a minimum of US $1000 'per prayer'! Jesus never charged a penny… Have you ever seen a poor televangelist? Remember that Jesus said that it would be easier for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle than to enter the kingdom of God. While there are true good believers and preachers out there that do very good work in the name of Jesus, millions of people whose judgement are blinded by the 'shows' put on by  televangelists, and are misled and robbed blind.

I am not convinced that anyone earning US$234,000,000.00 per year is not doing it for the money…

Did you stop and research why these televangelists are being taken off the air? They are being investigated for – you guessed it – FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES! That usually means: defaulting on taxes, fraud, theft, embezzlement, money laundering and so on. Even Jesus encouraged ordinary citizens to pay their taxes, remember? This is not an attempt by Satan to get 'God off the television', it is televangelists (probably tempted by greed – and Satan – that have done this.

Keep your eyes (and minds) open, people…

Check out some of these websites:
www.trinityfi.org/investigations/index.html
www.religiondispatches.org/blog/mediaculture/1592/prosperity_televangelist_brought_to_court_on_fraud_charge
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/06/cbsnews_investigates/main3456977.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_evangelist_scandals
http://corporatemediawatch.tribe.net/thread/205e6db1-9095-4cc2-b67a-482bf84fd359
http://nzagainstthecurrent.blogspot.com/2008/01/end-is-nigh-for-benny-hinn-and-friends.html
www.vidchili.com/tag/Televangelist/
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/senate-probes-televangelists-finances/20071106091309990001
www.articlesofinfo.com/article.php/06-11-2007Senate-To-Investigate-Well-Known-Televangelist-for-Fraud.htm
www.scribd.com/doc/1249571/Christian-Tele-Evangelists-Under-Investigation-for-Fraud
www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2004-10-25-scrushy-cover_x.htm
www.digitaljournal.com/article/246711/Should_wealthy_televangelists_be_tax_exempt_
http://desitalk.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=31_07_2009_012_004&kword=&mode=1
www.democracynow.org/2008/3/7/mccain_embraces_anti_catholic_anti_gay
www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/11/06/1078085-grassley-probes-televangelists-finances

Words that happen to rhyme with televangelist (some are quite appropriate): blacklist, cabbalist, necrophilist, nihilist, populist, materialist, diabolist, kabbalist, verbalist, clericalist, vocalist, sectionalist, congregationalist, representationalist, sensationalist, emotionalist, papalist, monopolist, oligopolist, amoralist, moralist, oralist, controversialist, mentalist, capitalist, recitalist, revivalist, hedonist, con-artist (okay, the last one is actually two words, but wholly apropos)

Me and my big mouth…

I never realised that the advertising for the Retail could be so… challenging.

I have 16 years' worth of design experience, and I have done just about everything a designer can design, and have applied those design in a myriad of different ways, and I have done catalogues before, but the work here at Johnson Haydenbry Afrika is in a different league. Hectic, rushed, precise, technical, fickle, repetitive, boring, frustrating, driven, all at the same time.

The client is the JD Group of retailers. The 'B-Team' studio all have a single designer that works on a sub-division of the group: Morkels, Price and Pride, Electric Express, and then there's the 'A-Team' studio where we are three designers allocated to one sub-division: Hi-Fi Corporation. Greg has been doing this for about as long as I have, but because it is all he does he has gotten very good at it, and Shannon is just as good. She admits that when she started she also had a hard time adjusting to that particular way of working, but I think she was just trying to make me feel a bit more confident.

Anyway, I could tell that I was falling behind, and the MD Aubrey also told me that I needed to pick up my pace. I did, and Aubrey mentioned that he could see that I had picked up the pace. However I have to work the entire weekend to catch up, and I expect that my work is going to be pulled apart by Greg on Monday. That's his job, and the challenge is mine to live up to those expectations. I have made a little promise to myself not to complain at the office. Nod, smile and carry on working – whatever they want.

It is now 19:10 on Saturday night and I have a crick in my neck and a crack in my butt from sitting and working for 10 hours straight… Three pages to go, but I'll do those tomorrow…

As I was saying…

Just last week I was waxing lyrical about all the things that I can be grateful for.

Today I got an offer from the advertising agency where I had been doing some freelance work to stay on until April 2010. I seriously considering it, and will probably take them up on their offer. Funny how these things pan out…

Gratitude

I have had a difficult year.

The recession has hit me hard financially. I chose to start my own business in March 2008, and for a couple of months things went relatively well. We had a turnover of about R500 000 by October, and things were picking up. Then came November 2008…

Suddenly, clients were playing hard-to-get when payment was due to us. All our invoices were scrutinised and clients wanted 'discounts', even after having signed initial quotes, and the work completed on time. We had to write off about R50 000 in bad debts, and still had to try not to burn our bridges…

We know that the design, advertising and publishing industries are cyclical, with November to March being quiet months. We had made provision financially, but by March 2009 things just didn't pick up again. The recession had everybody by the short-and-curlies.

Thankfully, my wife started a new job at a medical research firm, and it pays quite well, considering that it's only a half-day job. That has been a great means of survival, and she hasn't complained at all… I am grateful…

Thankfully, I have a small group of regular clients that I still do work for. For there continued business I am also grateful.

I have friends (and I'm sure that I also have someone up there looking out for me) that always come through when things seem bleak and hopeless. For them I am grateful.

I am sometimes a little despondent, but I always tell myself that there is always someone a lot worse off than me, and that I should count my blessings, the small ones as well as those that come in disguise. I have more than enough to be grateful for. I have my eyesight, both hands, most of my faculties and a sense of humour, lots of artistic and creative talent, a roof over my head, a car, food in my belly and a wife who, in her quiet way, is always there for me. I am even grateful that I have three dogs and a cat. I am partial to cats, and Alley is the first pet I have ever truly owned. She is a little feral, but I've had her for almost twelve years now. She is timid and aggressive when cornered, especially to strangers, but I love it that she follows me – and only me – around everywhere, and that she chooses to sleep in my arms every night. I am grateful that I've had the privilege of having her around for that long.

I am grateful for my Apple computers. Without them I would be lost. They are my work tools, my link to the outside world, my company and my entertainment.

I know it seems a little soppy and saccharine, but it is a good starting point for my blog. I have a lot to be grateful for, so why not say so? I am counting my blessings, and I seem to have run out of fingers and toes to count the blessings on…

The pressure simply became too much…

I concede defeat…

I've put off blogging for too long, but thanks to my pal – David Teren – I, too am now a blogger. I saw on his Facebook page that he had a link to his blog on music production. I visited the link and saw that it is actually quite an easy process to start a blog. The challenge is whether I can maintain and add to the blog. Hopefully I will have enough on my mind to pose regular topics.

So, here goes nothin'…