I am/was a "priest". A few years ago, all the priest were called to Maine for a mandatory meeting. One of the things on our agenda was the issue of tithing. Or maybe better put, the issue of people not tithing. In the meeting, it was said by Garry, that if ever audited, people in the "family" would most likely go to jail.
As things unfolded that day, we were given a brake down of where all the money from tithe was going. I don't recall the exact brake down, but I do know that 75% off all tithe goes to NERT. Some Supper Clans pay 20% tithe, and in there case the additional 10% goes entirely into NERT.
We were then asked to come up with a way to try and convince the people in the "family" to start paying tithe again. The solution was to tell the family to revue a teaching from Jack Hickman that was about tithing. The reason was that, people would hear the mans voice and become compelled to listen. Those who lead the discussion did bring up that this would only be a temporary fix, but it would at least get the cash flowing until a more permanent solution was found.
In short, They wanted to use Jack's words to manipulate people into paying up.
What I am bothered by, is that people in the "family" are clearly profiting off of the "family". The family involved with NERT has made that their lively hood, the funding's coming from us. And NERT is only one example of people profiting off of tithe and the "family"
Footnote, I will not refer to Jack Hickman as Abba, I refuse to honer him with the same title I use for my father.
