Quote:(I personally wish that there was another group out there living by faith in which it was possible to serve God full time as we used to do - I'd be very interested!!!)
This doctrine of "Living by faith" as taught by Berg, and others, is not trully Biblical. All Christian believers live by faith, it doesn't mean giving up jobs, careers, whatever, in order to be an itinerant preacher. Nowhere does the Bible even suggest such an idea.
Read the New Testament--especially that Acts of the Apostles, and you will see that the vast majority of disciples were working people who were either employed or self-employed.
To live by faith means to live one's life as a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles. Whatever we do is supposed to be to God's glory--right? Remember the old song based on 1Cor 10: 31?
The idea that somehow real "disciples" give up absolutely everything in order to live in communes is elitist nonsense. It comes from spiritual pride and engenders division.
In fact, CoG/TF is, and was, a business that proffits from the "goodwill" of its members. Its financial empire was built on the backs (no pun intended) of its members who were willing to sacrifice themselves, often going hungry, sleeping rough, being mal-nourished, whilst those at the top went from "Rags to Riches". The Bible teaches that the "workman is worthy of his hire", somehow this concept, though often quoted by Berg, was overlooked. To paraphrase an Orwellian novel--"Some seemed to be more worthy than others".
I remember as the ordinary members were spending hours trudging the streets litnessing, being made to stay out until the quota was reached, the leaders would be living in luxury, going out of an evening to the bars and clubs spending huge amounts of the money that was brought in in order to catch some "Big Fish"!
