The Christian Post reports that Willow Creek’s marketing and communications director Liz Schauer said, “Our team is still exploring the potential program,” and appears to have deleted Morris’ and Dummit’s “money back guarantee” comments from the sermon or replaced the recorded message with another service’s recording.
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Dummit can be heard challenging the congregation to give at least one dollar every week that will be set aside in a designated fund that will help meet the needs of people within the community.
Morris’ ‘Money Back Guarantee’ Suggestion Is Met With Criticism
Commenters on The Christian Post’s Twitter feed didn’t seem to agree with Morris’ money back guarantee tithing challenge. One Chicagoan even warned readers and attenders to stay away from the “gimmicks” coming out of Willow Creek Community Church.
“Having lived in suburban Chicago most of my adult life and Willow Creek not being too far from were I lived the main reason for contributions being down is all the sexual and leadership scandals they had. I would stay away from the gimmicks,” the Chicagoan wrote.
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Other’s questioned Morris’ understanding of Biblical tithing, saying, “So the message being sent is that we tithe in order to ‘get.’ Isn’t that the opposite of the nature of giving…”
“Please repent or stop preaching! God doesn’t need or want money,” another commenter said. “We need it to operate ministries, and God provides through His people. You ought to be encouraging your flock to Climb in the Plate themselves, that’s what God wants us to offer ourselves to Him and His will💯🙏”
One commenter on Julie Roy’s tweet of the story asked the question, “Oh that promise has been used so many times. Who would actually go to a church and ask for their money back?”
The person received a reply, which said, “At this point I would. For example, we used to tithe to a church who used vast quantities of money to build a multimillion dollar building with the latest stage lighting/sound system and 10k art that was supposed to function but did not. What a waste. Meanwhile homeless people who came to the church went home with poor congregants, who brought them home because they couldn’t get the church authorities to respond in any decent way.”
