While watching the local news, I saw a commercial for a church in my area inviting people to attend their services. I could not believe this. I had never seen a commercial for a church before, but it does make sense.
It never even occurred to me to consider whether or not churches were allowed to do this. The pastor of the church was featured in the commercial. He was wearing a black suit and tie, and resembled Mitt Romney. He had a very creepy vibe chiseled into his face and was urging me to join his congregation this Sunday.
It made me curious. How much does this guy make to be the pastor of a church?
His advertisement has got to be reaching hundreds, if not thousands of impressionable and desperate people that are viewing this as a beacon for hope. This advertisement could greatly increase the number of people in attendance each week, and with that, greatly increase the amount of tax free contributions they bring in each week as well.
It’s brilliant, and it made me sick. I hopped on Google and searched for “Church Advertisement”…411 MILLION RESULTS. I clicked on one near the top titled “
10 Advertising Secrets Every Church Needs”.
Here's the link
It’s disgusting. They are not candid about targeting people that want to get saved for selfish reasons, and then polishing it up by assuring the reader that the “Altruism” will come later.
This line stood out to me in one of these “secrets” regarding which people to target, who better than the ignorant?
“If someone is not attending church, chances are they don’t think church can do much for them. Maybe they’re skeptical. It’s more than likely they just have no idea.”
The stuff written on this page would make the stomach of any critical thinker turn over. It bothers me that:
A) There are people who are so vulnerable to being preyed upon by these fucking idiots, and don’t see anything coming.
(Look no further than our site for a few examples)
B) These churches are able to do this to people under the freedom that the very military I am enlisted in provides them.
My mind began to wander away from this ad, and I was curious. How much do these pastors make? Clearly they’re not doing this out of the kindness of their hearts (so much for the altruism). How much do they have to gain by spending their tax-free dollars on advertisement that would increase their weekly attendance?
I was shocked. The average pastor in America makes
$86,797 a year!
www.salary.com
Honestly, if the people of these churches only cared about “saving” people, why would they advertise for a specific church of Christ? What if there was a chance that the person viewing their commercial was closer to a different church, but immediately dismissed the church being advertised because they knew it was too far? They would have lost a “soul” that could have been “saved” by alternate means.
Clearly that’s not what they’re concerned about. They want to make sure that people attend their church. They want people to get saved, but only if they’re putting money in the right collection plate.
No doubt, there are plenty of Christians that wouldn’t approve of this, but nonetheless, it’s happening, and it shouldn’t be ignored.
Why does a pastor make money at all? If God is the reason they do what they do, why are they accepting money for it? Is it not a service they are supposedly providing for man?
I don’t seek compensation when I volunteer at a homeless shelter to cook free meals. I don’t expect to be paid when I collect toys for less fortunate children. Why do pastors accept an average of almost $87,000 a year to spread what they advertise as the “way to eternal salvation”? Why not hold a regular job that pays the bills? If the job at a fast food restaurant doesn’t pay the bills of a pastor, then they are living outside of their means, and after all, is it the comfort you receive in this life that’s important to Christians, or is it the eternal life in heaven what they solicit as being truly valuable?
I wait on baited breath for somebody to come to the defense of these monsters. I just don’t understand why otherwise rational people can openly subject themselves to a religion that is so blatantly dishonest, and then defend it as if it is the ones that don’t agree that truly have evil in their hearts. These people need to wake up, and see their religion for what it is. A scam.
This has been a free reality-check. No donations will be accepted.
