by Van Robison

How many of today's pastors would continue to preach if no money was involved in ministry? Very likely not more than a handful of them would preach if they did not get paychecks. Pastors all want you to volunteer your time and especially your money, but how many pastors volunteer to preach the Gospel for free? Did Jesus Christ ever intend that preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God should become a multi-billion dollar business enterprise, such as we see in the world of churches today? The message that Jesus Christ very clearly gave to His hand-picked disciples was "freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8), and yet almost all preachers today think "freely give" means for church goers to "freely give" to the preachers, when Jesus taught His "preachers" to be the ones to give freely, and not to merchandise the Gospel. Elsewhere Jesus taught that "by their fruit you will know them", and it seems the fruit of almost all pastors today is to take your money, and not to give freely. Read more...

From Wikipedia:

Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center is a residential counseling center specializing in the treatment of individuals who they evaluate as having suffered in what they consider abusive religious groups, organizations, cults, domestic violence, clergy and therapist abuse, and manipulative relationships involving mind-control, brainwashing, psychological, emotional, mental, or spiritual abuse. It is accredited by CARF, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. Founded in 1986 by Dr. Paul R. Martin and his wife Barbara, and located in Albany, Ohio, it is the only accredited facility of its kind in the world. It also is the only counseling facility recommended by the Christian Research Institute. Wellspring is also a non-profit 501(c) corporation. Read more...

by Van Robison

There comes a time in the life of every human being, when the allotted time on earth comes to the journey's end. It is somewhat astonishing how much of human life is wasted in pursuits that don't contribute to love, joy, peace and happiness, and just living a life loving the gift of life. I am of the opinion that life on earth is a prison of the minds and thinking of human beings, and that prison has millions of chains of bondage. As human beings we do not know true freedom, except in partial ways. For example, if a person was hooked on drugs in the past and through Jesus Christ they were set free, that is a form of freedom. If we are given eternal life through Jesus Christ, then we also have freedom from the loss of salvation. So while there are forms of freedom, there are endless and countless bondages that we are not free from in this life. Read more...