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Breaking News!Pastor Kong Hee And Pastors Arrested And Charge!
- Thread starter Talking Donkey
- Start date
someone pls start a 'recovring CHC addicts' face book page
since they delete the true bad things about them
we must have a place for the former CHC members to express and warn others
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M
Mdm Tang
Guest
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More checks and balances not the solution: fraud expert
By : By Joanne Chan | Posted: 29 June 2012 2130 hrs
Date : 29 June 2012 2130 hrs (SST
SINGAPORE: Despite the latest high profile case involving the alleged misuse of S$24 million by senior members of City Harvest Church, more checks and balances are not the solution, says a fraud expert. Instead, the public needs to be more vigilant and report wrongdoings.
The City Harvest case is the biggest financial scandal involving a registered charity in Singapore to date.
S$24 million from the church's building fund was allegedly invested in two companies.
The prosecutors said that these investments were "sham transactions", and the money was instead used to fund Sun Ho's music career - an unauthorised use of the fund.
The prosecution said the group misappropriated another S$26.6 million of the church's funds to cover their tracks.
The term "round-tripping" introduced in court papers, also referred to as "lapping", can be used for fraud, said fraud expert Peter Coleman, who is the head of forensic services at Deloitte (Singapore & Southeast Asia).
He said: "Fraud always involves money. So the money has to be moved from point A to point B. It has to be transferred from one bank account to another bank account, one journal to another journal. It takes an overt act of a human being to do that. If the funds are being used other than for the direct benefit of the organisation itself, if the funds are being used for the benefit of the management committee on a personal level, that's never going to be okay."
Many fraud cases can go on for years without detection. Mr Coleman said non-profit organisations go through less vigorous auditing processes.
He said: "We don't want to think of them as not being honest, so therefore we give them a fair amount of leeway. And it would be a difficult job and it would be costly to require not-for-profit organisations to go through the same rigorous and onerous audit procedure that a public company has to go through. Because then you're taking the funds that have been raised to benefit the members or the beneficiaries of the fund, to pay for auditors.
"And then it becomes more difficult, because it gets into this cycle that, I'm paying a lot for the administration of this organisation. If only 60 per cent of my dollar is going to serve the people or beneficiaries of this fund, I'll give my money to a different organisation."
Still, Mr Coleman does not believe more regulation is needed, and said the high profile nature of the recent cases has resulted in more scrutiny and publicity on the governance of charities. The numbers of such cases though, are small.
"There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of not-for-profits in Singapore who never cause any problems at all. They are run by decent, honest, hardworking people who have their heart in the right place.
"And the difficulty is, it's like using a sledgehammer to crack a cashew nut. If you are going to apply the standards that these high profile cases would have required to keep them under control, to every not-for-profit, then you will lose 80 per cent of them," said Mr Coleman.
He added that the public needs to be more vigilant, and be more comfortable with whistle-blowing - something he said, is increasingly prevalent in Singapore.
-CNA/ac
.
More checks and balances not the solution: fraud expert
By : By Joanne Chan | Posted: 29 June 2012 2130 hrs
Date : 29 June 2012 2130 hrs (SST
SINGAPORE: Despite the latest high profile case involving the alleged misuse of S$24 million by senior members of City Harvest Church, more checks and balances are not the solution, says a fraud expert. Instead, the public needs to be more vigilant and report wrongdoings.
The City Harvest case is the biggest financial scandal involving a registered charity in Singapore to date.
S$24 million from the church's building fund was allegedly invested in two companies.
The prosecutors said that these investments were "sham transactions", and the money was instead used to fund Sun Ho's music career - an unauthorised use of the fund.
The prosecution said the group misappropriated another S$26.6 million of the church's funds to cover their tracks.
The term "round-tripping" introduced in court papers, also referred to as "lapping", can be used for fraud, said fraud expert Peter Coleman, who is the head of forensic services at Deloitte (Singapore & Southeast Asia).
He said: "Fraud always involves money. So the money has to be moved from point A to point B. It has to be transferred from one bank account to another bank account, one journal to another journal. It takes an overt act of a human being to do that. If the funds are being used other than for the direct benefit of the organisation itself, if the funds are being used for the benefit of the management committee on a personal level, that's never going to be okay."
Many fraud cases can go on for years without detection. Mr Coleman said non-profit organisations go through less vigorous auditing processes.
He said: "We don't want to think of them as not being honest, so therefore we give them a fair amount of leeway. And it would be a difficult job and it would be costly to require not-for-profit organisations to go through the same rigorous and onerous audit procedure that a public company has to go through. Because then you're taking the funds that have been raised to benefit the members or the beneficiaries of the fund, to pay for auditors.
"And then it becomes more difficult, because it gets into this cycle that, I'm paying a lot for the administration of this organisation. If only 60 per cent of my dollar is going to serve the people or beneficiaries of this fund, I'll give my money to a different organisation."
Still, Mr Coleman does not believe more regulation is needed, and said the high profile nature of the recent cases has resulted in more scrutiny and publicity on the governance of charities. The numbers of such cases though, are small.
"There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of not-for-profits in Singapore who never cause any problems at all. They are run by decent, honest, hardworking people who have their heart in the right place.
"And the difficulty is, it's like using a sledgehammer to crack a cashew nut. If you are going to apply the standards that these high profile cases would have required to keep them under control, to every not-for-profit, then you will lose 80 per cent of them," said Mr Coleman.
He added that the public needs to be more vigilant, and be more comfortable with whistle-blowing - something he said, is increasingly prevalent in Singapore.
-CNA/ac
Would it be leegal to subject the Singapore Government to the same level of comfort in whistle blowing? Why had so much land that is, Land belonging to the Citizens held in Trust by the Government been sold in recent years? Maybe I am wrong here. Land in Singapore don't belong to the People. Some SHORTsightness perhaps?
More checks and balances are not the solution because there is collusion among the management and the people managing the finances.
They are doing it in co-operation because they have been convinced by the charismatic leader that it is for "a greater good", which could simply mean making them richer and/or more famous.
Don't be surprised if 1 year later, the people involved and arrested still don't understand what they have done wrong.
And the followers don't understand why they were arrested.
Sometimes, rather than trying to convince them and make them understand, perhaps just "let the matter go through due process, and anyone who has broken the law will be punished to the full extent of it".
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I believe if another 'Sun', Stefanie Sun, was the protagonist of the Crossover Project, as opposed to the auntie-looking Sun Ho, the public might be less skeptical over the motivation behind the Crossover Project. To make it even more worse, Sun Ho is the wife of the most senior figure in the church.
SINGAPORE: Founder of City Harvest Church, Pastor Kong Hee has maintained his integrity in the face of allegations that he and other senior members of the church misused millions of dollars of church funds to finance his wife, Sun Ho's music career.
He was addressing church-goers for the first time ever since he and four other church leaders were charged in court on Wednesday.
Saturday marked the first service for City Harvest Church after its founder Kong Hee and four other senior members were charged in court with misuse of church funds.
Addressing thousands of church-goers at the Singapore Expo, Pastor Kong Hee said he can't comment further on the case as the matter is before the court.
However, he told the congregation that he maintains his integrity.
"The past few days have been very challenging. Please know that there are always two sides to a story. I look forward to the day I can tell you my side of the story in court," he said.
His wife, Sun Ho, led the congregation in singing hymns.
At the service, some church members spoke up in support of the Crossover Project, which the church said is an outreach programme using Sun Ho's music to engage non-Christians.
Most church-goers Channel NewsAsia spoke to said while they are concerned about the ongoing court case, they also believe in their pastors.
"We are all very concerned... because, (after all) the people who are charged are our leaders. But we trust in their integrity, and we trust that the law is fair," said one church member.
"As Christians, we believe that whatever we donate is to God, and the man is only the custodian. So whatever that is done, once we give the money, to me, personally I don't think about it," said another.
He was addressing church-goers for the first time ever since he and four other church leaders were charged in court on Wednesday.
Saturday marked the first service for City Harvest Church after its founder Kong Hee and four other senior members were charged in court with misuse of church funds.
Addressing thousands of church-goers at the Singapore Expo, Pastor Kong Hee said he can't comment further on the case as the matter is before the court.
However, he told the congregation that he maintains his integrity.
"The past few days have been very challenging. Please know that there are always two sides to a story. I look forward to the day I can tell you my side of the story in court," he said.
His wife, Sun Ho, led the congregation in singing hymns.
At the service, some church members spoke up in support of the Crossover Project, which the church said is an outreach programme using Sun Ho's music to engage non-Christians.
Most church-goers Channel NewsAsia spoke to said while they are concerned about the ongoing court case, they also believe in their pastors.
"We are all very concerned... because, (after all) the people who are charged are our leaders. But we trust in their integrity, and we trust that the law is fair," said one church member.
"As Christians, we believe that whatever we donate is to God, and the man is only the custodian. So whatever that is done, once we give the money, to me, personally I don't think about it," said another.
First side: KH asked his people to transfer the money
Second side: SH used for her music career
Two sides
I recall reading a report where KH was said to have told the congregation that he did not want to hear coins jingling during donation time.
Is this the jingles u are referring to?
Should have thought that would have been a warning sign for the followers.
Below is a very impressive and in-depth analysis from a enterprise perspective by a christian blogger from http://therealsingapore.com/content/depth-analysis-wealth-city-harvest-church ::...
An in-depth analysis into the wealth of City Harvest Church
Although I am aware that City Harvest is one of the richest churches in Singapore, I am still shocked that it is rich enough to pay SGD310 million for a stake in Suntec City. Nevertheless, an entity which is able to amass such wealth is certainly worth studying. I was determined to understand the secrets to the church's wealth.
I apologize upfront if the points raised give offense to loyal followers of City Harvest Church. Please regard this article as a business analysis of the factors that contribute to the wealth of City Harvest Church, not as an insinuation that the Church got rich through questionable means. The fact is that CHC is very rich and this makes for a fascinating academic exercise to examine its sources of wealth. Just treat it as a business case study. I have tried my best to stick to the facts. Please correct me if there are factual mistakes. However, if there are differences in opinions, please disagree with courtesy.
1. Clever packaging of Sunday services
The income of a church is dependent on the tithes collected (10% of income from church-members). Therefore, the earning power of a church is highly dependent on its ability to retain its existing church members and attract new ones. The larger the church membership, the greater its earnings.
I watched a sample of CHC weekend service on its website. Compared to the boring Sunday classes I attended as a kid, CHC church service was most refreshing (Watch "The 10 Laws Of The Harvest"). The beginning part resembles a rock concert with good singing and enthusiastic audience. It is an entertaining way to enjoy your Sunday mornings. Going to church becomes a weekly event to look forward to rather than a chore to attend to.
With church services so well packaged for its customers, its customer retention rate and new customer acquisition figures should look good.
2. Extra revenue in the form of advertisements, sales of CDs
This church is unlike the other churches I know. It generates extra revenue through advertisements during its Sunday service(watch the videos). It sells audio CDs on its website. There is an online shopping cart for convenience to those who want to buy online.
3. Efficient collection of tithes
Church-members can pay their tithe online via credit card, eNets or even Giro!! Once members started donating using Giro, the earnings quality of the church improves. Donation collected via Giro tend to be more stable.
With a globalised economy, people travel round the world a lot and may miss Sunday services. In the past, the churches will lose income when these members fail to turn up to pay their tithe. Now, with online payment, they can continue collecting the tithe even when the church-member is working overseas for an extended period of time. With Giro, the church can continue collecting tithes for a few more months even when the member leaves the church as people have a habit of forgetting what they pay on Giro.
4. 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns on your church donations
This is where the genius of CHC lies and the secret to its superior earning power. In fact, I have yet to encounter any public-listed company on SGX, HKSE, NYSE, Nasdaq that demonstrates better potential.
The pastor preaches that God will give 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns on your tithe. But, you have to be generous in your donations first so that you will receive in harvest proportions. I guess that is the origin of the name City Harvest. Please watch the video "The 10 Laws Of The Harvest" yourself in its entirety and interpret for yourself.
It is a message that cleverly uses an astute understanding of human nature to maximize profits. If I were a CHC member, I will be tempted to increase my tithe as much as possible. Not mincing my words, I am doing it out of pure greed. I do not think I will be alone. It is perfectly fine if members of CHC strongly disagree and thinks that I am not representative for most of them. After all, I can only speak for myself.
5. Quality of customers
With the 100-fold return message, the kind of church members attracted will be most conducive to profit-making. Money-minded people will be attracted to the church. These money-minded people tend to be ambitious and have a great desire to make lots of money. Millionaire minds have a higher chance to become rich. Hence, the quality of customers that CHC attracts are of the highest quality. The richer the church-member, the higher is the church's tithe per member.
Customer quality will be enhanced through the passage of time due to survivor bias. Suppose out of this pool of Millionaire-Mind Christians, 50% become satisfactorily rich and the remaining 50% still unsatisfactorily middle-class. The 50% who got rich will donate even more because they think their source of wealth comes from their donations. It is most unlikely they will cut back on their tithes because they will be afraid God will punish them by cutting back the returns. If they are not afraid, the church will be there to warn them not to do so. The remaining 50% who did not get rich will be disillusioned and probably leave the church. The loss is of little significance to the church. These people are not rich and their tithes will not amount to much.
Many Christians will be disgusted with the concept of using tithes to get rich. These people will probably leave the church after attending a few Sunday services. Again, the loss is of little significance to CHC. These people will not be highly profitable to the church even if they are rich because they are not going to tithe as much as the others who believe their tithes is the way to wealth.
To the credit of the Pastor, I think he has devised a wonderful process of filtering out non-profitable customers and sucking in the lucrative ones. There is only so much physical space that a church can have to service its church-members. To maximize profits, the church has to ensure that each unit of space is used for servicing lucrative customers.
6. Kill off competition
CHC has tremendous economic moat that kills off competition. In the video "The 10 Laws of The Harvest", the Pastor cited Law #5 "Your Seed must be planted in Good Ground" which is an effective weapon in killing off his competition - the smaller churches. Many Christians feel that they ought to donate to the needy, smaller churches rather than rich mega-churches like CHC. The Pastor's argument is that you do not get good returns like 100-fold in the small churches. You have to donate to mega-churches to maximize returns on your tithe because they have a track record (rich church members). In other words, the seed is not planted in good ground when you donate to the small churches. In his own words, "I don't always give to the neediest but to the ground that will give the greatest yield". To illustrate his point, he used an analogy on weak banks and strong banks. You do not deposit your money in a weak bank because it desperately needs fresh funds to survive. You deposit your money in a strong bank which invests your money wisely and yields good returns.
The church has an iron-grip on its members who believe its message. As illustrated previously, its customer base is of the highest quality. This is its track record. Existing church-members will definitely not move to another smaller, needier church with poorer track record.
It has a very strong economic moat as it is very hard for its competitors to get its customers to switch over.
7. Providing a place where the rich can network
As the Pastor said, his church provides a good ground on which you can grow your riches. Rightly so, indeed. For property agents or insurance agents trying to hit their sales quota, City Harvest Church will be an ideal place to hunt for lucrative clients. This church concentrates several rich and money-minded people into a single location. The church offers a unique advantage to sell things. In a religious setting, people tend less to be on their guard and can be more easily persuaded to part with their money.
Businessmen also like to network in places where there are rich and powerful people who will come in handy in future. The Pastor has done a good job in gathering such people in his church and it makes good sense to make use of this advantage by joining the church.
The rich will attract more rich and the gathering moss snowballs to provide an ever-rising pool of donation to the church.
8. Preach what people like to hear.
As a teenager, I was discouraged when I read Bible verses like Matthew 19:23-24 "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." and Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
It seems like if I become rich, I will be condemned to hell.
In the video "Rich God? Poor God?", the Pastor preaches that it is absolutely ok to be rich. Some prophets of God were very rich. (Abraham, David, Solomon)
There is nothing more musical to a money-minded person than to hear that God is on your side in your pursuit of money. The church-members who are more money-minded will love this and donate even more.
9. God pays for the returns, not the church.
The church collects the money, but God pays for the returns. The church does not need to pay a single cent for the 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns on the donations.
This is as good as you do the work for me, but not only do I not pay you, I shall also collect your salary. You toil and sweat, but I shall eat your bread. God must surely be a miracle worker and people will pay handsomely for his service. I cannot think of a more advantageous economic position to be in to be able to collect money rendered by a miracle worker.
10. Social pressure to conform in church settings and ease of influence
If everyone around you donates, it is hard not to. When everyone else makes sacrifice, the one who does not will look like an outcast. There is tremendous pressure to conform in such a herd setting.
11. Tremendous future earning power
Take a look at the congregation and you will notice the large number of young people. The income growth of young people is the fastest in the population. In the Pastor's words, "You may be poor today, but you will not be poor all your life". That is a long-term business plan in cultivating its customers.
Therefore, if CHC can be viewed as a growth stock, its prospects are very bright as its young customers will accelerate its earnings.
12. Stable earnings in times of depression
Besides being a growth stock, CHC can also be viewed as a defensive and safe stock. People pray hardest when they fall in hard times. Strangely, some people have an urge to tithe when they are in financial troubles.
In fact, in the video (The 10 Laws Of The Harvest), a couple came on stage. They talked about the dire straits they were in when they started out. Things change when God challenged them to GIVE themselves out of poverty (exact words from the speaker). Despite not having any money, they still pledged $250 to the building fund. In his own words again, "we often emptied our savings to give to the House of God knowing that this will be the answer to our financial problems". Hence, not only will the church earnings be stable in times of depression, it may even grow.
13. Using Prosperity as a theme to appeal to customers
The Pastor preaches Prosperity Gospel which resolves around money. His business genius lies in choosing this theme for his church. Money has universal appeal. Everyone worships money regardless of race, culture, age, gender, sexual orientation. In one fell swoop, he has enlarged his market to cover the entire world. It is much easier to convert people to your belief by dangling money and promising great prosperity. After all, who does not love money?
By enlarging his potential market catchment with a greater chance of increasing membership, more donations will flow in.
14. Tax benefits as church is registered as a charity
This creates a huge, unfair advantage compared to all other businesses. This is what landed CHC in controversy. Enough has been said.
If one day the Pastor switches to become a businessman, I will definitely consider investing in the company that he heads and founds.
If City Harvest Church is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, I will certainly buy it. It will be one stock that I am confident of hitting a return of 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns.
PS: People tend not to question critically when it comes to religion. A charming smooth talker can easily sway minds with his interpretation of the Bible. In the final analysis, Faith is about simply believing. You cannot approach it scientifically because there is no way to test religious theories using the scientific method. We will only know the real truth when judgment day comes.
The danger is that there is no accountability on the part of the preacher on whether his teachings are true or not. Even he himself cannot be sure that his interpretations is 100% correct. Given human nature, the interpretations will tend to be self-serving. In fact, it is not only dangerous to the students but to the teacher as well. People will believe their own lies if it yields tempting benefits. That was how Wall Street drank its own Kool-Aid.
While I respect the Pastor for his business savvy, I cannot agree with his interpretations of the Bible. I pray for good health, peace and harmony for my family. Money-minded as I am, I am not comfortable with commercializing my relationship with God by asking for money. The Christian God that I know from my own reading of the Bible is not 财神爷. Of course, if God wants to drop money from heaven on me, I will be more than happy to embrace it.
Source: http://thinking-free-and-fair.blogspot.sg
An in-depth analysis into the wealth of City Harvest Church
Although I am aware that City Harvest is one of the richest churches in Singapore, I am still shocked that it is rich enough to pay SGD310 million for a stake in Suntec City. Nevertheless, an entity which is able to amass such wealth is certainly worth studying. I was determined to understand the secrets to the church's wealth.
I apologize upfront if the points raised give offense to loyal followers of City Harvest Church. Please regard this article as a business analysis of the factors that contribute to the wealth of City Harvest Church, not as an insinuation that the Church got rich through questionable means. The fact is that CHC is very rich and this makes for a fascinating academic exercise to examine its sources of wealth. Just treat it as a business case study. I have tried my best to stick to the facts. Please correct me if there are factual mistakes. However, if there are differences in opinions, please disagree with courtesy.
1. Clever packaging of Sunday services
The income of a church is dependent on the tithes collected (10% of income from church-members). Therefore, the earning power of a church is highly dependent on its ability to retain its existing church members and attract new ones. The larger the church membership, the greater its earnings.
I watched a sample of CHC weekend service on its website. Compared to the boring Sunday classes I attended as a kid, CHC church service was most refreshing (Watch "The 10 Laws Of The Harvest"). The beginning part resembles a rock concert with good singing and enthusiastic audience. It is an entertaining way to enjoy your Sunday mornings. Going to church becomes a weekly event to look forward to rather than a chore to attend to.
With church services so well packaged for its customers, its customer retention rate and new customer acquisition figures should look good.
2. Extra revenue in the form of advertisements, sales of CDs
This church is unlike the other churches I know. It generates extra revenue through advertisements during its Sunday service(watch the videos). It sells audio CDs on its website. There is an online shopping cart for convenience to those who want to buy online.
3. Efficient collection of tithes
Church-members can pay their tithe online via credit card, eNets or even Giro!! Once members started donating using Giro, the earnings quality of the church improves. Donation collected via Giro tend to be more stable.
With a globalised economy, people travel round the world a lot and may miss Sunday services. In the past, the churches will lose income when these members fail to turn up to pay their tithe. Now, with online payment, they can continue collecting the tithe even when the church-member is working overseas for an extended period of time. With Giro, the church can continue collecting tithes for a few more months even when the member leaves the church as people have a habit of forgetting what they pay on Giro.
4. 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns on your church donations
This is where the genius of CHC lies and the secret to its superior earning power. In fact, I have yet to encounter any public-listed company on SGX, HKSE, NYSE, Nasdaq that demonstrates better potential.
The pastor preaches that God will give 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns on your tithe. But, you have to be generous in your donations first so that you will receive in harvest proportions. I guess that is the origin of the name City Harvest. Please watch the video "The 10 Laws Of The Harvest" yourself in its entirety and interpret for yourself.
It is a message that cleverly uses an astute understanding of human nature to maximize profits. If I were a CHC member, I will be tempted to increase my tithe as much as possible. Not mincing my words, I am doing it out of pure greed. I do not think I will be alone. It is perfectly fine if members of CHC strongly disagree and thinks that I am not representative for most of them. After all, I can only speak for myself.
5. Quality of customers
With the 100-fold return message, the kind of church members attracted will be most conducive to profit-making. Money-minded people will be attracted to the church. These money-minded people tend to be ambitious and have a great desire to make lots of money. Millionaire minds have a higher chance to become rich. Hence, the quality of customers that CHC attracts are of the highest quality. The richer the church-member, the higher is the church's tithe per member.
Customer quality will be enhanced through the passage of time due to survivor bias. Suppose out of this pool of Millionaire-Mind Christians, 50% become satisfactorily rich and the remaining 50% still unsatisfactorily middle-class. The 50% who got rich will donate even more because they think their source of wealth comes from their donations. It is most unlikely they will cut back on their tithes because they will be afraid God will punish them by cutting back the returns. If they are not afraid, the church will be there to warn them not to do so. The remaining 50% who did not get rich will be disillusioned and probably leave the church. The loss is of little significance to the church. These people are not rich and their tithes will not amount to much.
Many Christians will be disgusted with the concept of using tithes to get rich. These people will probably leave the church after attending a few Sunday services. Again, the loss is of little significance to CHC. These people will not be highly profitable to the church even if they are rich because they are not going to tithe as much as the others who believe their tithes is the way to wealth.
To the credit of the Pastor, I think he has devised a wonderful process of filtering out non-profitable customers and sucking in the lucrative ones. There is only so much physical space that a church can have to service its church-members. To maximize profits, the church has to ensure that each unit of space is used for servicing lucrative customers.
6. Kill off competition
CHC has tremendous economic moat that kills off competition. In the video "The 10 Laws of The Harvest", the Pastor cited Law #5 "Your Seed must be planted in Good Ground" which is an effective weapon in killing off his competition - the smaller churches. Many Christians feel that they ought to donate to the needy, smaller churches rather than rich mega-churches like CHC. The Pastor's argument is that you do not get good returns like 100-fold in the small churches. You have to donate to mega-churches to maximize returns on your tithe because they have a track record (rich church members). In other words, the seed is not planted in good ground when you donate to the small churches. In his own words, "I don't always give to the neediest but to the ground that will give the greatest yield". To illustrate his point, he used an analogy on weak banks and strong banks. You do not deposit your money in a weak bank because it desperately needs fresh funds to survive. You deposit your money in a strong bank which invests your money wisely and yields good returns.
The church has an iron-grip on its members who believe its message. As illustrated previously, its customer base is of the highest quality. This is its track record. Existing church-members will definitely not move to another smaller, needier church with poorer track record.
It has a very strong economic moat as it is very hard for its competitors to get its customers to switch over.
7. Providing a place where the rich can network
As the Pastor said, his church provides a good ground on which you can grow your riches. Rightly so, indeed. For property agents or insurance agents trying to hit their sales quota, City Harvest Church will be an ideal place to hunt for lucrative clients. This church concentrates several rich and money-minded people into a single location. The church offers a unique advantage to sell things. In a religious setting, people tend less to be on their guard and can be more easily persuaded to part with their money.
Businessmen also like to network in places where there are rich and powerful people who will come in handy in future. The Pastor has done a good job in gathering such people in his church and it makes good sense to make use of this advantage by joining the church.
The rich will attract more rich and the gathering moss snowballs to provide an ever-rising pool of donation to the church.
8. Preach what people like to hear.
As a teenager, I was discouraged when I read Bible verses like Matthew 19:23-24 "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." and Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
It seems like if I become rich, I will be condemned to hell.
In the video "Rich God? Poor God?", the Pastor preaches that it is absolutely ok to be rich. Some prophets of God were very rich. (Abraham, David, Solomon)
There is nothing more musical to a money-minded person than to hear that God is on your side in your pursuit of money. The church-members who are more money-minded will love this and donate even more.
9. God pays for the returns, not the church.
The church collects the money, but God pays for the returns. The church does not need to pay a single cent for the 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns on the donations.
This is as good as you do the work for me, but not only do I not pay you, I shall also collect your salary. You toil and sweat, but I shall eat your bread. God must surely be a miracle worker and people will pay handsomely for his service. I cannot think of a more advantageous economic position to be in to be able to collect money rendered by a miracle worker.
10. Social pressure to conform in church settings and ease of influence
If everyone around you donates, it is hard not to. When everyone else makes sacrifice, the one who does not will look like an outcast. There is tremendous pressure to conform in such a herd setting.
11. Tremendous future earning power
Take a look at the congregation and you will notice the large number of young people. The income growth of young people is the fastest in the population. In the Pastor's words, "You may be poor today, but you will not be poor all your life". That is a long-term business plan in cultivating its customers.
Therefore, if CHC can be viewed as a growth stock, its prospects are very bright as its young customers will accelerate its earnings.
12. Stable earnings in times of depression
Besides being a growth stock, CHC can also be viewed as a defensive and safe stock. People pray hardest when they fall in hard times. Strangely, some people have an urge to tithe when they are in financial troubles.
In fact, in the video (The 10 Laws Of The Harvest), a couple came on stage. They talked about the dire straits they were in when they started out. Things change when God challenged them to GIVE themselves out of poverty (exact words from the speaker). Despite not having any money, they still pledged $250 to the building fund. In his own words again, "we often emptied our savings to give to the House of God knowing that this will be the answer to our financial problems". Hence, not only will the church earnings be stable in times of depression, it may even grow.
13. Using Prosperity as a theme to appeal to customers
The Pastor preaches Prosperity Gospel which resolves around money. His business genius lies in choosing this theme for his church. Money has universal appeal. Everyone worships money regardless of race, culture, age, gender, sexual orientation. In one fell swoop, he has enlarged his market to cover the entire world. It is much easier to convert people to your belief by dangling money and promising great prosperity. After all, who does not love money?
By enlarging his potential market catchment with a greater chance of increasing membership, more donations will flow in.
14. Tax benefits as church is registered as a charity
This creates a huge, unfair advantage compared to all other businesses. This is what landed CHC in controversy. Enough has been said.
If one day the Pastor switches to become a businessman, I will definitely consider investing in the company that he heads and founds.
If City Harvest Church is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, I will certainly buy it. It will be one stock that I am confident of hitting a return of 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns.
PS: People tend not to question critically when it comes to religion. A charming smooth talker can easily sway minds with his interpretation of the Bible. In the final analysis, Faith is about simply believing. You cannot approach it scientifically because there is no way to test religious theories using the scientific method. We will only know the real truth when judgment day comes.
The danger is that there is no accountability on the part of the preacher on whether his teachings are true or not. Even he himself cannot be sure that his interpretations is 100% correct. Given human nature, the interpretations will tend to be self-serving. In fact, it is not only dangerous to the students but to the teacher as well. People will believe their own lies if it yields tempting benefits. That was how Wall Street drank its own Kool-Aid.
While I respect the Pastor for his business savvy, I cannot agree with his interpretations of the Bible. I pray for good health, peace and harmony for my family. Money-minded as I am, I am not comfortable with commercializing my relationship with God by asking for money. The Christian God that I know from my own reading of the Bible is not 财神爷. Of course, if God wants to drop money from heaven on me, I will be more than happy to embrace it.
Source: http://thinking-free-and-fair.blogspot.sg
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sounds very much like how scientologists operate. they go after money by spamming the wealthy with glossy brochures and magazines on travel, lifestyles and living healthy and well. any gullible ones who respond to their spam mail gets more spam mail and knocks on the door. a visit to the nearest facility is the end of your finances. akin to a timeshare pressure sales event.
I would like to put myself in Kong Hee's place and say to all of you......
If I were to be put in jail for my perceived wrongdoings and served it out yet I come back and still lead City Harvest Church with an even bigger congregation who will put money directly into my pocket to spend it as I see fit, would all you Motherfuckers shut up once and for all?
If I were to be put in jail for my perceived wrongdoings and served it out yet I come back and still lead City Harvest Church with an even bigger congregation who will put money directly into my pocket to spend it as I see fit, would all you Motherfuckers shut up once and for all?
U got Kong Hee handsome face or not? Or a horsey faced wife? Whahahahahaha
Besides your oily cheebye you must have a horsey face too. You are still stuck at the end of my 6 and a half inches aren't you? Ah! the power of attraction! Tiu Leh Lo Mo Kor Chao Hai!
Re: Youtube comments supporting Kong Hee!
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sX7zv10ZiVY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Now his speeches sound so insincere and fake.
hexmeohdear 4 hours ago
YOU THIS MOTHER FUCKER! DONT LET ME SEE U! I WILL JUST SHOUT AT U! KONG HEE, UR MOTHER CB! SMELLY CB! GIVE BIRTH TO A LIER LIKE U! FUCK UR MOTHER CHIO CB!
blurrliao 12 hours ago
you mother fucker kong hee, u sue Mr Roland 10 yrs ago! when he point out that, the church has use its funding to support KNNBCCB Sun ho music career! u sue him, and he paid all the money he have to you! now, it has proof he is correct! but... during that time, u insist and u even engage lawyer to whack him! you r rich! u can do whatever u can! but, not now, ... u want to sue me??? come... u mother fucker! let me tell u this, now... its not only me that will call u mother fucker!!!!!
blurrliao 12 hours ago
he know nothing but money! 30 fold 60 fold and 100 fold return
now, its time he return everything to the GOD'S! its time he and his fucking cb wife get some real action from the government!
blurrliao in reply to momothebored (Show the comment) 12 hours ago
Reply ShareRemoveFlag for spamBlock UserUnblock User
no no no, its... his mother fucker x 1000000
blurrliao in reply to CHris Chow (Show the comment) 12 hours ago
Motherfucker
CHris Chow 1 day ago
1 Timothy 6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
shakirhasrik 1 day ago
He approached all youngsters and Brain wash youngsters to join as Christians and he Live a Luxury Life, all those stupid people !!! Buddhist or Taoist don't do that, cheat the public and for own use!!!
HandsomeBoyboy 3 days ago
yup! thats how they got the money to start business in singapore and enjoying life at U.S rent a 7.7 million house, and fund her bitchy wife albrum smart guy
Topdeckable in reply to atarodg (Show the comment) 3 days ago
hahahahaah thanks u yes ofcoz, surely u need to say THANKS YOU! so many ppl get brain wash from you and DONATE so much money to you and your bitchy wife they paid all the expenses while ur bitchy wife enjoying her stay at U.S surely u need to thanks all of ur supporter bro
Topdeckable 3 days ago
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sX7zv10ZiVY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Now his speeches sound so insincere and fake.
hexmeohdear 4 hours ago
YOU THIS MOTHER FUCKER! DONT LET ME SEE U! I WILL JUST SHOUT AT U! KONG HEE, UR MOTHER CB! SMELLY CB! GIVE BIRTH TO A LIER LIKE U! FUCK UR MOTHER CHIO CB!
blurrliao 12 hours ago
you mother fucker kong hee, u sue Mr Roland 10 yrs ago! when he point out that, the church has use its funding to support KNNBCCB Sun ho music career! u sue him, and he paid all the money he have to you! now, it has proof he is correct! but... during that time, u insist and u even engage lawyer to whack him! you r rich! u can do whatever u can! but, not now, ... u want to sue me??? come... u mother fucker! let me tell u this, now... its not only me that will call u mother fucker!!!!!
blurrliao 12 hours ago
he know nothing but money! 30 fold 60 fold and 100 fold return
now, its time he return everything to the GOD'S! its time he and his fucking cb wife get some real action from the government! blurrliao in reply to momothebored (Show the comment) 12 hours ago
Reply ShareRemoveFlag for spamBlock UserUnblock User
no no no, its... his mother fucker x 1000000
blurrliao in reply to CHris Chow (Show the comment) 12 hours ago
Motherfucker
CHris Chow 1 day ago
1 Timothy 6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
shakirhasrik 1 day ago
He approached all youngsters and Brain wash youngsters to join as Christians and he Live a Luxury Life, all those stupid people !!! Buddhist or Taoist don't do that, cheat the public and for own use!!!
HandsomeBoyboy 3 days ago
yup! thats how they got the money to start business in singapore and enjoying life at U.S
rent a 7.7 million house, and fund her bitchy wife albrum smart guy Topdeckable in reply to atarodg (Show the comment) 3 days ago
hahahahaah thanks u
yes ofcoz, surely u need to say THANKS YOU! so many ppl get brain wash from you and DONATE so much money to you and your bitchy wife they paid all the expenses while ur bitchy wife enjoying her stay at U.S surely u need to thanks all of ur supporter bro Topdeckable 3 days ago
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