City Harvest's founder Kong Hee & 4 others arrested/charged
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cel-tang:
But then, how do you know there aren't people who have given, regretted and was silenced? example, was the member who accused and was made to published an open apology.
In this case, I am not for or against Pastor Kong, but I do feel the anger that rises up against him is a little uncalled for especially when the people who are so angry are ones that are not even in his church and have not given to the project. They have not solicited funds from the public. Yet the people who are most upset are people who do not know them and have not given.
I think this article expresses how I feel:
http://therealsingapore.com/content/most-sensible-and-balanced-article-so-far-kong-hee-saga
How do you know there aren't non-members who have family members involved in the church and are affected? -
cel-tang:
:goodpost:
I would like to say that whatever ruling party we have, we should have the right of free press. When the press is controlled in such a way, we as Singaporeans do not really think about an issue from different angles. We just swallow all that we read as the truth without thinking that every article written is not written merely about the facts but it is written to push a certain agenda or written in a certain slant. The Mohd facebook article is also written with a certain agenda. However, it provides differing points of view. In most countries, people would buy several newspapers to get differing viewpoints but here we only have one from the ST and that is our govt's view on things.
Not to say I am anti govt but I find they are too controlling on how we think.
In this case, I am not for or against Pastor Kong, but I do feel the anger that rises up against him is a little uncalled for especially when the people who are so angry are ones that are not even in his church and have not given to the project. They have not solicited funds from the public. Yet the people who are most upset are people who do not know them and have not given.
I think this article expresses how I feel:
http://therealsingapore.com/content/most-sensible-and-balanced-article-so-far-kong-hee-saga
Personally, I can better relate to the comment made by Cheryl Marie Tay on the same article, even though I am neither a protestant nor a member of CHC. -
Lilac66:
One word described it all.......BRAINWASHMy niece is actually still attending CHC. My advice ,reasoning etc to stop her from going have fallen on deaf ears. Whenever I question her on the need for SH to appear in such MTV with that kind of image in order to minister to the non-Christians, her answer is always that I do not know how many souls SH has saved. :roll:
She claimed SH has used the money from her CD sales to help build schools in rural China. And SH did NOT do anything wrong in appearing like that coz it's her work. :slapshead: :stupid:
Must have been told by CHC to produce such standard answers when others are doubtful of the church's intentions.
I've come to a conclusion: They're taught that if your work is done in the name of GOD, do not worry about how it's done. :siao: liddat also can ah? -
cel-tang:
Agree! Have been reading the posts, and they mostly seem to condemn KH and CHC with great relish. This article is much more balanced.
I would like to say that whatever ruling party we have, we should have the right of free press. When the press is controlled in such a way, we as Singaporeans do not really think about an issue from different angles. We just swallow all that we read as the truth without thinking that every article written is not written merely about the facts but it is written to push a certain agenda or written in a certain slant. The Mohd facebook article is also written with a certain agenda. However, it provides differing points of view. In most countries, people would buy several newspapers to get differing viewpoints but here we only have one from the ST and that is our govt's view on things.
Not to say I am anti govt but I find they are too controlling on how we think.
In this case, I am not for or against Pastor Kong, but I do feel the anger that rises up against him is a little uncalled for especially when the people who are so angry are ones that are not even in his church and have not given to the project. They have not solicited funds from the public. Yet the people who are most upset are people who do not know them and have not given.
I think this article expresses how I feel:
http://therealsingapore.com/content/most-sensible-and-balanced-article-so-far-kong-hee-saga -
Quintessential Mum:
:goodpost:https://temasektimes.wordpress.com/2012/06/27/an-analysis-into-the-wealth-of-city-harvest-church/
An analysis into the wealth of City Harvest Church
Posted by temasektimes on June 27, 2012
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 $310 million dollars 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.
*The above article was contributed to us by the writer and was first published in 2010 here -
WeiHan:
We are free thinkers and will let our kids choose their religion. DH was educated in catholic schools for most of his life. While myself, have gone to buddhist and catholic school. During my teenage life, I was involved in church going due to curiousity and peer pressure. But eventually... I still remain a free thinker.
But then, how do you know there aren't people who have given, regretted and was silenced? example, was the member who accused and was made to published an open apology.cel-tang:
In this case, I am not for or against Pastor Kong, but I do feel the anger that rises up against him is a little uncalled for especially when the people who are so angry are ones that are not even in his church and have not given to the project. They have not solicited funds from the public. Yet the people who are most upset are people who do not know them and have not given.
I think this article expresses how I feel:
http://therealsingapore.com/content/most-sensible-and-balanced-article-so-far-kong-hee-saga
How do you know there aren't non-members who have family members involved in the church and are affected?
With regards to comments as to why should those non-contributors have a right to comment. I do feel for it. I was just thinking what happens if my kids reach teenage stage and are involved in church going like what I did? Will they potentially become one of those who are blinded by what is happening now? So I personally feel that this case should concern the general public as well. I view it as a wake up call to all. -
Quintessential Mum:
In my faith, we contribute whatever our heart tells us. Everything is voluntary and the organisation never explicitly or implicitly asks for money. In fact, we are told that praying for money and to get rich is against our practice. Whether we get rich or not, it is pre-destined. But we can alwaus pray for a stable life-force to get us through our existences.4. 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold returns on your church donations
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. -
MMM:
We are free thinkers and will let our kids choose their religion. DH was educated in catholic schools for most of his life. While myself, have gone to buddhist and catholic school. During my teenage life, I was involved in church going due to curiousity and peer pressure. But eventually... I still remain a free thinker.
But then, how do you know there aren't people who have given, regretted and was silenced? example, was the member who accused and was made to published an open apology.WeiHan:
[quote=\"cel-tang\"]
In this case, I am not for or against Pastor Kong, but I do feel the anger that rises up against him is a little uncalled for especially when the people who are so angry are ones that are not even in his church and have not given to the project. They have not solicited funds from the public. Yet the people who are most upset are people who do not know them and have not given.
I think this article expresses how I feel:
http://therealsingapore.com/content/most-sensible-and-balanced-article-so-far-kong-hee-saga
How do you know there aren't non-members who have family members involved in the church and are affected?
With regards to comments as to why should those non-contributors have a right to comment. I do feel for it. I was just thinking what happens if my kids reach teenage stage and are involved in church going like what I did? Will they potentially become one of those who are blinded by what is happening now? So I personally feel that this case should concern the general public as well. I view it as a wake up call to all.[/quote]Well said. If we have a religious organisation talking about money, money and just money...............we have to fear for our kids' future if they are allowed to perpetuate such deviant teachings! -
Quintessential Mum:
Big banks can also fail as have been witnessed many times in the recent past. Why?????........................GREED of course!
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. -
I am unabashed ex CHC member who stands with Pastor Kong Hee. So if you are really upset with them, don't read what I have to post. I see that many parents here are reasonable and have a right to be worried and upset. I understand but I guess every story has two sides to it.
I am not here to change anyone's thinking but just want to share some youtube videos on how Crossover project has impacted lives and how secular Christian artists can impact the world through what they do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2pJySvrdsQ&feature=relmfu
http://www.scoop.it/t/crossover/
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