Promises Pt. 03

"Great! Now you see it our way! Here you have a man," He pointed to McIvor, "who has sat in your church week after week, who has donated his time, his considerable expertise and money to your church because he was told that the money was being used for the work of God, only to see it spent on your extravagances, to perpetuate the appearance of wealth and success just so you could acquire more money, more wealth, and even more power. And you wonder why we are sitting here in this court?"

"Have you no conscience Pastor Mayotte? Have you no remorse, Pastor Mayotte? Have you no concept of the damage your greedy, avaricious church does to people less fortunate than my client, Pastor Mayotte? Have you not thought, given your claims of good stewardship, that the monies given to you could be better spent helping the poor, helping the sick, the homeless, the substance abusers, the marginalized of society? Don't you think, Pastor Mayotte, that your followers would feel really good knowing that the money they gave you was being used to help those people in this society who, for whatever reason, found themselves in need of help?"

"Pastor Mayotte you use the moneys that you collect to burnish the outside of the cup, instead of cleaning the inside, and do you know why? Let me tell you. Spit and polish on the outside is a visible use of money, the people can see it. But if you spent the money doing the unseen things, like looking after the needy, people cannot see that, they don't know what you spend the money on. It is all about appearances, the outward show. And in Matthew it was Jesus who criticised the church for doing things for show."

Henderson's voice dropped to almost a whisper. "I suppose you have given it the same amount of thought as you give to understanding the Scriptures that you are alleging adherence to, isn't that true, Pastor Mayotte?"

"We teach the word of God!"

"Speaking of the word of God, shall we have a look at the Scriptures that the Pentecostal church holds dearest in its heart, shall we? These are Scripture passages referring to 'riches'. Matthew 13 verse 22, why don't you read it out to us?"

Henderson handed Mayotte a Bible opened at the page.

"Actually, if you don't mind start at verse 18.'

Mayotte found his place and began. "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since it has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble and persecution comes because of the world he quickly falls away."

"Stop there! Now doesn't that sound familiar? Isn't that what we were just now discussing? The seed falls on rocky ground and the new convert is all fired up with enthusiasm but as soon as the going gets tough, as soon as your promises fail to materialize, because there is nothing, no substance, no nutrient rich soil for the roots to take hold in and to draw sustenance from, the seed is blown away, it lasts only a short time. How many people who go to your church, Pastor Mayotte, are there still, how many have moved on because there was nothing in your church to nourish them? Read on."

"The one who received the word that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful."

"The deceitfulness of wealth, the façade of wealth and power, it looks good Pastor Mayotte, but is it fruitful to all or is it fruitful to just a very, very few? You may continue."

"But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it, He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

"What does that mean to you, Pastor Mayotte?"

"If you sow a seed it will yield a hundred times what was sown. That is what my church believes. It is the word of God. It is the truth."

"So because of this interpretation of this Scripture, you tell your followers that the money that they sow into your church will yield a hundred times that sown?"

"Yes, what's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with it? You have taken the small section that seems to fit your agenda, and ignored the rest, and in doing that you place yourself and your church firmly in the part of that parable that doesn't yield the hundred fold increase. You preach a message that is not based on a solid foundation of understanding of the word, so those listening to you also do not understand the word, and the seed of knowledge and truth falls on barren ground for the birds, the evil one to easily pick up."

"The seed sown that does not land on the hard ground, falls on a rocky ground with nowhere to sink its roots. While it flourishes briefly, like a new convert to your church, because there is no substance to the soil in which it was planted, when the going gets tough it moves on or dies. Then there is the seed sown among the thorns of this life, here is a seed that desperately wants to grow, but his path to the light is blocked by the thorns, and because he is worried about life in general, and the deceitfulness of the wealth he sees around him, his efforts do not reach fruition. But the seed that falls on good ground, on a deep rich soil that is nurtured in the truth will grow to maturity and yield abundantly."

"Your church's ideology is not rooted in good ground, yours is a hard ground of obedience to your rules, yours is the rocky ground of a wafer thin theology and yours is the thorns of deceit. You have people coming and going, searching for a truth that is hidden from them."

"Let us stop here and think about this situation that you claim supports your ideology, the hundredfold increase of your 'seed money' as I have heard it described. Now, Pastor Mayotte, this isn't rocket science, it is however logic; If God had the finances to honour the promise made on His behalf by your church, this hundredfold increase, why on Earth would He need to borrow from us in the first place? He can't be a good steward of money if he can turn a one dollar investment into a ninety-nine dollar loss, can He pastor Mayotte?"

The church members in the public gallery turned to each other, the silent question asked and answered; 'Why would God need to borrow our money? If He had that much He could give the church all that it needed and still have money left over.'

"The next passage I would like you to read out is Mark 10 verses 17 to 31."

"Why am I reading this out to the court?"

"Because if you read it out loud it means that you at least hear it all, where if I were to read it you would probably hear less than half. Please proceed."

"As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up and fell on his knees before him. 'Good teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?' 'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered, 'no-one is good - except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother.' 'Teacher,' he declared, 'all these I have kept since I was a boy.' Jesus looked at him and loved him. 'One thing you lack,' he said. 'Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, 'How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.' The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again 'Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, 'Who then can be saved?' Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.' Peter said to him, 'We have left everything to follow you!' 'I tell you the truth,' Jesus replied, 'no-one who has left home or brothers or sisters, or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters mothers, children and fields - and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.'" Mayotte stopped, a triumphant look on his face. "There! It is there! If you give it all up you will receive it all a hundred times over. What do you say to that?"

"There you go again, instant coffee theology, taking one scrap of teaching, one small sample in the overall passage, and you use it to justify your agenda. At the beginning of this passage Jesus tells the young man that, even though he has obeyed the Ten Commandments, because his wealth was more important to him than doing the work of God, looking after the poor, he would not get his reward in heaven. It was Paul in his letter to Timothy who said, 'the love of money is the root of all evil.' Don't you put the love of money ahead of all else, Pastor Mayotte. Think about this, Pastor Mayotte, your church in its never ending quest for riches and power, how does that fit in with this Scripture? Are you not the same as this young man, thinking more about your riches than doing God's work? Do you think that you'll go to heaven? It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Now I'm not going to put myself above God, as you do, by telling him not to let you into heaven unless you mend your greedy ways, I'll leave that to your conscience."

"My conscience is clear."

"If you say so. The other bit that I find interesting in this passage is that Jesus is saying that he is not the Son of God. He tells the young man that he, Jesus, is not good, only God is good. Now if he was claiming to be the son of God, or as your church would have us believe, a part of the triune, the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, that is Jesus who we have just read telling us that he is not God the anything, and God the Holy Spirit. If Jesus was claiming to be God or a part of God then would he not say so here? Surely he would claim to be God and also good."

"Jesus is the Son of God! He is the human part of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit! If you are a Christian you must believe in that and if you don't believe in that truth you cannot be a Christian and will not get to Heaven!"

"Whether or not I am a Christian is irrelevant. For your information; the Trinity or Triune that you hold so dear, did not come into existence as Christian doctrine until the conference at Nicaea, three hundred years after Christ died. I am not on trial here, you Pastor Mayotte are on trial here today. You and your beliefs are on trial here today. You and your teachings are on trial here today. You and your ideology are on trial here today. You and your promises are on trial here today."

"Now, the next passage is one of your favourites, and it is one of mine but for a different reason. Would you turn to Mark Chapter 12 starting from verse 41 through 44."

Mayotte flicked over the couple of pages he needed to and found the passage. 'Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd their putting money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on."

"Pastor Mayotte, I have heard your fellow Pentecostal Pastors urge poor people who could least afford it to go into debt and give generously to their church, while at the same time they lived a life of luxury, the very point that Jesus was making, they could have given more and still live in luxury but did not, while she gave what she had from the heart, not looking for reward, either financial in this life, or spiritual in the next. Jesus teaches us that you should give without the expectation of a reward, while you teach us to give with the full expectations of a reward from God. Now don't tell me that you tithe, I've heard that message before. The difference is that the money that you need to live, and the money that you want to live a life of luxury is great, just as difference between the money you give and the money you could give is great. The obscenity of this situation is also great, if you were truly doing the work of God you would give more to support that work and less to support the appearance of doing that work. Your arguments are purely academic because, as Christians we, as Paul tells us on several occasions, are under no obligation to tithe at all. If you were obedient to the word of God you would at the very least obey Paul and not force your followers to tithe."

"I do the work of God by bringing the unchurched to Him! I do the work of God by opening up their hearts to Him! How dare you try to tell me that I do not do the work of God!"

"If you really had God in your heart you would be sitting there taking this criticism to heart and searching for ways that you could better do the work of God. Instead you allow your ego to get the better of you, you allow your anger to get the better of you, you allow your guilt to get the better of you, and you allow the hurt of the truth to get the better of you. You are spiritually poor, spiritually bankrupt Pastor Mayotte and yet you cannot give even a small portion of your all, spiritually, to God."

The gavel interrupted proceedings. "I think that it is an opportune time to adjourn for lunch, so that we can all calm down before we come to blows. Court is adjourned until 2 o'clock." The gavel didn't wake anyone up because no-one had even thought of nodding off.

*

"Hoooeee! Does that boy know how to get you riled up!" CC was holding forth in the restaurant where the Shining Light Christian Church team was enjoying, at least some were, a sumptuous luncheon. CC in particular was enjoying it because he wasn't footing the bill, it was being paid for by the church, and he hadn't just had to withstand a couple of hours of intensive grilling. "But let us relax and enjoy this magnificent meal, after all we deserve it!"

They sat in silence, the thoughts of those present wandered off in several different directions. Mayotte's thoughts ranged from how he could get out of this agonizing ordeal to a 'massage' session with Janine. Janine's thoughts were on how she could help Mayotte, and on the fact that the home pregnancy test she used this morning had returned a positive result, confirming what she already knew. Fenton was thinking of Cynthia and how, when this was all over, he could convince her that Matthew must be stripped of his Pastorship and he would take over the church, with her by his side. CC was thinking of ways, some legal, some not, of how he could put an end to this torture that Mayotte was being subjected to, and how to get Cynthia out of the way so that his new friend, and that pretty little filly of his could be joined together at the hip.

The food began to arrive and CC attacked it with a vengeance until Fenton nudged him and indicated that he should wait until the others had been served so that they could say 'Grace' before eating. After his false start and with 'Grace' out of the way CC resumed his assault on the huge steak on his plate. "This is some kind of good beef you boys have here! Almost as good as the grain fed beef we get back home, would someone be so kind as to pass me that bottle of wine there, I could develop a taste for this."

"What am I going to do about that Henderson, he really is building up a strong case, and he just won't let up on me." Mayotte felt Janine's hand on his thigh and her fingers tightened as a show of support for him in his time of pain.

"Hang in there boy. I have a plan. I don't think that you'll be having any trouble from him after today."

*

At another, less expensive, restaurant another strategy meeting was in progress. "What have you found out about CC Jones?"

Bill took a note pad from his jacket pocket. "This is some piece of work, let me tell you. He started life as used vehicle salesman and then he 'saw the light' and found God. That was when the Pastor of his local church came in and bought the most expensive car on the lot. They got to talking and CC realized that here was a racket that was potentially more lucrative than the one that he was in, and it had the protection of being a church, and in that part of the world the church was beyond reproach."

"Very soon he had a gig as an Associate Pastor at some small Assemblies of God church in Georgia. Following the discrediting of the Senior Pastor in spectacular circumstances, involving a certain young lady and some interesting sexual practices, he took over as Senior Pastor, and the church took off big time."

"He based his ministry on the Prosperity through Praise system that had also just taken off in a big way, you know; promise wealth for giving, and use the tithes and offerings to give your church the appearance of a success that would show the followers that you had been 'mightily blessed by God' and the upward spiral begins. It appears that the 'seven-fold increase' so dear to their hearts, was started by Oral Roberts way back in the 50's."

It was necessary to discourage investigation of your teachings and your finances, by insinuating that opposition to your ministry would mean a cessation of God's blessing, encourage additional giving to undertake projects that would gain you maximum exposure for minimal effort, but don't tell the world that you could easily fund those projects from your own funds and your wealth increases exponentially. Great huh?"

"So I was right. Is there anything in there that we can hang our hat on?"

"There's plenty of rumours of dalliances with ladies of dubious reputation, using church funds and property for personal purposes, there are even a couple of rumours that he had been involved in murder, it was never said that he had actually killed someone, just that he arranged it. Then there's the big one. C.C. Jones is good buddies with the 'Bikers for Christ' motor cycle club. A group of bikers who go from church to church with their testimonies of how they used to be 'bad-assed bikers who had found Jesus. They are now reformed and spread the good word around the Evangelical Christian network. But that is not all that they spread, they spread artificial joy in the form of cocaine. They also use the church as a money laundering agency, they make substantial donations to the church and receive equally substantial 'love offerings' in squeaky clean cash. C.C. Jones has been known to ride with them on occasions."

"Nice enough chap, I think I'll invite him home to meet mother." Henderson said, "I think that we should keep a very close eye on the larger than life CC Jones. So they have invited him in to help them. Well people I think that we had better be on our guard every step of the way. Frank, can you and Joan stay somewhere else for the duration, I think you may have visitors in the wee small hours."

"Sure, I can rig the lights and TV so it will give the impression that there is someone at home and I have an infra-red camera set up to watch over the house."

"Good, I've got your mobile number in case I need to contact you, in the mean time I will need to take some precautions of my own. Bill, I have a list of things, could you take care of them?"