WakeWorld - Non Profit

Out of respect for the O.P. with the black VLX, and for those that were legitimately trying to offer options and advice, I am replying to you, R F, on a "non-wakeboarding discussion" where this belongs.

you posted "but a real church wouldn't require you give up your money. you can worship god anywhere. you could start a non profit to teach young kids to wakeboard and keep your boat and help people and not be a sucker. "

You make assumptions that are not true:

A. My church, and by the looks of it, his church, do not REQUIRE you to give up your money. They usually designate and area to pray and/or tithe, or they designate time during a song that ushers will walk by with a basket, and if you choose to, you tithe (1/10th) or give what you can/choose to, or place prayer requests. It is asked of you by God, not the church or pastor, to give Him your firstfruits of your labor in the form of a tithe (1/10th)

B. Non profits are great because they take donations that are freely given, and use it for good. Many non-profits use a majority (%50+) of the donations for "administration costs". building, equipment, utilities, paper, pens, advertising, jobs for the full time workers. Only some of the money is actually used for the people or group in need. Every church I have ever attended is a non-profit organization. Donated money goes to rent, utilities, paychecks (for a select few who spend 40+ hours a week) bibles, vehicles, musical equipment, etc... only a small portion actually gets directly to the people we help in the form of: food (groceries), clothes, school supplies, healthcare, child/day care, building/fixing houses, other charities, etc... Either way, a church or secular non profit need people to voluntarily give up money to sustain itself.

I AM a "sheep", I follow my shepherd gladly, and if it wasn't for sheep like Bhyatt, millions of people around the world and in the USA would not receive the help they need.

If Byhatt, in his original post, would have written this "Baby expenses as well as a desire to tithe more to a non-proffit have prompted us to..." instead of writing "our church" would he have received so much flak for giving money? i doubt it.

also R F to your statement that "Christianity is most similar to the Muslim faith. Convert others or else". You never finished that statement, but I will assume you are not saying that christianity is convert or death by beheading. Most all religions are " convert/believe or else...".

Or else (very generalized, of course):
Islam: convert or be beheaded or pay a tax (jizya) to live as an infidel.
christianity: believe in christ and you will have eternal life in heaven, or else you will spend eternity in the absence of God.
Mormon: convert (second level of heaven) and obey (highest level and possibly achieve godhood and get your own planet) or you will end up at the lowest level of heaven (so long as you are not a mass murderer like hitler, mao, che, etc...)
buddism: obey or you will never achieve perfection.
Jehovahs witness: convert others and obey and you may become the 144,000 who truly earn heaven (except that by 1935 all those positions have been filled), so the rest of the JW's spend eternity on earth, and us non JW's (aka: or elses) are completely destroyed in Armageddon.

these are just a few of the worlds religions, but to say that ANYTHING is most like islam is terribly misguided and uninformed of that religion.

I know I am picking on you, but your last post, although short and concise, was full of very incorrect information. I hope you take this as informative and as a discussion, not as an attack.