It has been suggested that Tithings be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since February 2012.

The English land division called the tithing was a grouping of ten households (Scandinavian: ten = ti, assembly = thing). Allied to this concept was a local administrative unit also called a tithing or tything, with essentially legal responsibilities, exercised by a "tithingman".^[1] Both meanings originated in Anglo-Saxon times, through arrangements for the management of estates, taxation and criminal law, for example in the procedure known as "view of frankpledge." In Kent, the equivalent to a tithing was a "borgh", or "borough", not to be confused with ancient boroughs,^[2] and the equivalent to the tithingman was the "borsholder", "borough-holder" or "headborough".^[3]

References[link]

See also[link]

Look up tithe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Frankpledge
• Head-borough

This article about geography terminology is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article relating to law in the United Kingdom, or its constituent jurisdictions, is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Michael Pearl (born 1945)^[1] is a Christian fundamentalist pastor, missionary, evangelist and book author.^[2] He is best known for his controversial book, written with his wife Debi Pearl, entitled To Train Up A Child.

Ministry[link]

Pearl has a Bachelor of Science from Victory University (formerly Mid-South Bible College). He worked with Union Mission in Memphis, Tennessee for 25 years.^[3]

No Greater Joy (NGJ) is Pearl's 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The organization brings in between $1.5 and $1.7 million a year through product sales and donations.^[4][5] The Pearls state that they do not receive royalties from the sales, and that the profits are used for ministry purposes.^[6]

Pearl has sold or donated over 1.5 million copies of his books, CDs, DVDs, and other materials.^[7]

[edit] Controversy over To Train Up a Child

To Train Up a Child was published by Michael and Debi Pearl in 1994. It has sold more than 670,000 copies.^[8]

The book advises parents to use objects like a quarter-inch plumbing tube to spank children. It also mentions withholding food and putting children under a cold garden hose.^[9][1]

Book cover of To Train Up a Child

The content of Pearl's book has been cited as advocating child abuse and its teachings were linked to the deaths of Sean Paddock^[10], Lydia Schatz^[11], and Hana Grace-Rose Williams. The parents were homeschooling their children and are believed to have read Pearl's book.^[12] Michael Ramsey, a Butte County, California District Attorney who prosecuted the Schatz case, investigated the Pearls' teachings and called To Train Up A Child, "an extraordinarily dangerous book for those who take it literally." "It's truly an evil book," he said.^[13] Pearl has stated, "The book repeatedly warns parents against abuse and emphasizes the parents' responsibility to love and properly care for their children, which includes training them for success."^[9]

Responses[link]

On his website, Pearl issued official responses to the controversy over To Train Up a Child and the deaths of Hana Williams and Lydia Schatz. The responses list quotes from Pearl’s book that warn against abuse.^[14][15] Pearl has also spoken to the media about the controversy, stating that the 15-inch plastic tubing he recommends in the book is “too light to cause damage to the muscle or the bone.”^[16] Pearl stated of the death of Hana Williams, “What her parents did is diametrically opposed to the philosophy of No Greater Joy Ministries and what is taught in the book.”^[17]

The Seattle Times noted that there is no mention in To Train Up a Child of the discipline used on Hana Williams except for spanking.^[18] The New York Times suggests that the Williamses’ other discipline tactics involve Pearl’s book taken to extremes, such as Pearl’s advice that “a little fasting is good training.”^[19]

Janet Heimlich, author of Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment, quoted Pearl as saying, “You are abusing your child when [corporal punishment] starts doing harm to your child.”^[20]

Other publications[link]

Other publications released by Michael Pearl and No Greater Joy Ministries include:

• No Greater Joy Magazine^[21]
• Training Children to be Strong in Spirit^[22]
• Good and Evil^[23]
• Created to Need a Help Meet^[24]

Good and Evil won the Independent Publishers Ippy Award Bronze Medal in the Graphic Novel/Drama category in 2009,^[25] and was a 2009 ForeWord Book Award finalist.^[26]

Personal life[link]

Michael Pearl married Debi in 1971.^[27] As of February 2012, the Pearls have five children and nineteen grandchildren.^[28] Daughters Rebekah Pearl Anast and Shoshanna Easling have spoken about their childhood in interviews.^[1][29]

Michael Pearl is a knife and tomahawk thrower,^[1] and holds the following championship titles:

• 2007 World Champion Frontiersman
• 2008 Gold Cup Winner
• 2008 World Champion Tomahawk Thrower
• 2008 World Champion Silhouette Throw
• 2009 Best Tomahawk Thrower
• 2011 Gold Cup Knife and Tomahawk^[30]
• 2007 National Thrower of the Year^[31]

References[link]

External links[link]

• No Greater Joy Ministries

Francis Chan
Francis Chan
Born	August 31, 1967 Chinatown, San Francisco, CA
Nationality	American and Hong Kong through birthright
Education	Bachelor of Arts— Master's College Master of Divinity— Master's Seminary
Occupation	Pastor, author, educator
Religion	Christian
Spouse	Lisa Chan
Children	five children, four daughters and one son.

Francis Chan (born 1967) is an American preacher. He is the former teaching pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, CA, a church he and his wife started in 1994.^[1] He is also the Founder and Chancellor of Eternity Bible College^[2] and author of the best-selling book, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, which came out in 2009.^[3] He released his second book Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit in August 2009. He also sits on the board of directors of Children’s Hunger Fund and World Impact.

Chan is known for speaking at major national and international events and conferences.^[4][5][6][7]

Cornerstone and Chan's ministry[link]

Chan and his wife founded Cornerstone in 1994 with only 30 people. Within two months, the church had grown to 100 people, and by 2000, Chan was leading a $1 million project to provide for the 1,600 member congregation.^[8] Cornerstone is now one of the largest churches in Ventura County, California.^[9]

In 2005, Francis was the featured speaker in a now international video called Stop And Think (JustStopAndThink.com) which virally travelled, landing in every state and 30+ countries.

Chan regularly uses a variety of approaches to ensure his messages are engaging and relevant.^[10][11]

Chan frequently talks about 'What the Bible is really saying' and really living our lives that way. He is not afraid of confronting lukewarmness,.^[12]

On Sunday, April 18, 2010, Chan announced to his congregation that he felt called to resign at Cornerstone in Simi Valley to pursue what God had laid on his heart. As of April 2010 he stated he was not yet sure what city God had called him to,^[13] but by June 2011 stated publicly he felt called to San Francisco, CA.

Biography[link]

Chan is a self-described Hong Kong native, with his parents hailing from Hong Kong.^[14]

Francis Chan's mother died giving birth to him. Chan's father remarried and his stepmother died in a car accident when he was 9 years old. His father remarried when he was 10. His father then died of cancer when Chan was 12 years old. Francis Chan was then raised by his stepmother Josephine Chan along with his older sister Grace, older brother Paul and much younger half-sister, Gloria. He had family support from his father's younger sister and her husband, Marion and William Wong, along with a large extended family and church family. He did not get along well with his father growing up, but says that his fear of his father has helped him understand a level of fear of God. He also stated he didn’t understand the love of God well until he became a father himself.^[1]

As a high-school and then junior-college student, Chan was active in Christian youth groups which helped develop his faith in Christ and his interest in ministry.^[1]

Before becoming a senior pastor, Francis worked for a variety of employers including Taco Bell, Mic Pizza, Kirby Company, Ralphs Market, Broadway Mens Clothing, hardwood flooring contractors, and the Acapulco restaurant.^[15]

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Master's College and a Master of Divinity degree from Master's Seminary.^[16]

After a three-month leave from Cornerstone, Francis said he felt convicted to sacrifice more for God. Chan gives away about 90 percent of his income, doesn't take a salary from his church, and has donated most of his book royalties, which have totaled about $2,000,000, to various charities. Much of it goes to organizations which rescue sex slaves in foreign countries."^[17] Furthermore, in 2008 it was reported that Cornerstone would give away 55% of its income to charitable causes.^[18]

Personal life[link]

Francis Chan is married to Lisa Chan and they have five children, four girls and one boy.

Bibliography[link]

• Chan, Francis; Danae Yankoski (2008). Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God. David C. Cook. ISBN 978-1-4347-6851-3. 
• Chan, Francis; Danae Yankoski (2009). Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit. David C. Cook. ISBN 978-1-4347-6795-0. 
• Chan, Francis; Matt Daniels (2010). Halfway Herbert. David C. Cook. ISBN 978-0-7814-0418-1. 
• Chan, Francis; Matt Daniels (2010). The Big Red Tractor and the Little Village. David C. Cook. ISBN 978-0-7814-0419-8. 
• Chan, Francis; Preston Sprinkle (2011). Erasing Hell: What God said about eternity, and the things we made up. David C. Cook. ISBN 978-0-7814-0725-0. 

External links[link]

• Francis Chan's Webpage
• Francis Chan's Blog
• Cornerstone Church
• Crazy Love Book
• Eternity Bible College
• Forgotten God
• BooksChristian Author Page

References[link]