Was Christ Dangerous?

"But he was wounded for transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities,..he was
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, to be
openeth not his mouth."   Isaiah 53:5,7

A concerned parent of one of Christ's first followers could have viewed Him as
dangerous.  He claimed to speak in behalf of God, was critical of honored religious
leaders, and asked for the obedience and trust of His followers (Matt, 10:35-37).

Yet Jesus wasn't predictable. He didn't ask His disciples to sacrifice their wages to
build a bigger house for himself , nor did He merely talk a good line.   He healed
blind eyes and withered limbs, and raised the dead.   He walked on water and
calmed stormy seas.   Over and over, in so many ways, He showed Himself worthy
of a following--not just by talking about faith and self-sacrifice and end-times,
but by the mercies He did.  He proved He was God's sacrifice for our sins when,
after voluntarily allowing Himself to be nailed to an executioner's cross.  He rose
bodily from the dead to show that He was King and Lord of Lords.

Evangel Church (EC) formerly known as Evangel Temple (ET) demanded,
coerced, threatened, and intimidated their members to sacrifice their wages
so that they can construct bigger buildings and buy more properties for them-
selves.   They had over five major building fund drives, namely "Garden in
the Ghetto", the Parking Lot, the Family Room, "Building for God's Family"
and " The kingdom First".   The Kingdom first project was to begin in April
1986 and to be completed in 1987, totaling over forty millions dollars.  The
first phase alone was projected to be eighteen million.   Over ten million
dollars were collected but never accounted for.  Most of the projects were
never completed!   Where did all the money go?   As mentioned earlier,
we do know that the Meares family had numerous private properties and
six figure bank accounts while pressuring members to mortgage, refinance
and sell their homes, cars, jewelry and all their worldly possessions.   Some
members felt pressured to quit their jobs and give their pensions to the
building funds.   The Bishop also tricked members into doubling their
pledges by saying that God told him to double his pledge, so they should
follow him and double theirs.  The truth is that God said, "every man
according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give..." 2 Corinthians 9:7
Wedding rings were given.