Skip to main content

A New Scam

When I arrived in the office this morning, there was an email waiting for me.  The writer of the email informed me that they had been listening to my sermons online and would like me to be the guest speaker at a special conference they were holding at their church.  They would be glad to cover my travel expenses and would pay me for the services I would preach.  To top it all off, the church was located in London, England.  Who wouldn't jump at a chance for an all-expenses paid trip to London England?

Well, I am not going to England any time soon. 

What appears at face value to be a gracious offer is, in fact, the latest Nigerian scam.  You remember those scams from the first days of email.  They were usually directed at Christians who would stand to make a lot of money if only they would help a dear brother/sister in Christ who lived in Nigeria.  Of course, in order to help, the North American would be required to either divulge bank account numbers, or send some money to help the process along.

What interests me is the change in tactic.  The first scam appealed to compassion followed by greed.  This new scam appeals to pride.  "They heard my sermons and thought they were so good that they want to fly me all the way to London to speak."  Such a thought could stoke anyone's ego. 

It says something of human nature.  What bait works the best?  Even pastors are vulnerable to having our pride stroked.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Families' Fridays

You Cannot Raise Snowflakes in Jesus’ Name David Prince “What you are describing is not a crisis; it is life.” I find myself making that assertion often as I talk to parents. The parent will describe a situation where someone teased their child, or spoke a harsh word to them, and then ask me, “How should we respond?” Usually, what they are describing is normal stuff that happens between children in a fallen world. I tell them what they are describing it is not a crisis; it is life. Their responsibility is to coach their child on how to appropriately respond. Typically, the parent responds to me with shock and I hear phrases like: “But it hurts their feelings.” “They are a sensitive child.” It doesn’t dawn on them that their child’s sensitivity could be the major problem. Frequently, parents place the blame on other children for their child’s reaction. They position their child as a victim. Focusing on the child a parent has no control over while neglecting and opportunity to t...

Death For a Believer

We picture death as coming to destroy; let us rather picture Christ as coming to save. We think of death as ending; let us rather think of life as beginning, and that more abundantly. We think of losing; let us think of gaining. We think of parting; let us think of meeting. We think of going away; let us think of arriving. And as the voice of death whispers,  "You must go from earth," Let us hear the voice of Christ saying, "You are but coming to me."   Norman Macleod

Families' Fridays

From Focus on the Family 10 helpful tips for single parents Imagine this: you’re the sole parent for your children. You get them up, get them fed and send them to school. You do the housework, maybe you go to work yourself, you get home and you’re still the only adult there. There’s no one to relieve you. No one to pass the baton to while you take a shower or take a few minutes for yourself. You make dinner and gather the family around the table to eat. You play with them, read to them, give them baths, get them to bed and there’s no one there to sit with and process your day. There’s no one there to laugh with you or pray with you. Instead you keep working. You clean up the house again. You pack lunches for the next day. And you eventually crash into bed, knowing you’ll be doing the same thing tomorrow. For many, this is not an imagined scenario. When you parent alone – whether due to divorce, the loss of your spouse or having a spouse who works away from home for long periods of...