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By Lediati Tan and Amanda Yong

GIVE.

Or as Pastor Kong Hee, the founder of City Harvest Church, put it in one of his many sermons posted online: "Give until tears stream down your eyes."

That tithe is collected in churches is not new. But how it is used may have changed over time and that is causing some concern.

In 2001, eyebrows were raised when New Creation Church bought East Coast Recreation Centre, through its business arm Rock Productions, for over $10 million. Some of the church members had questioned then the use of church funds for investment purposes.

The church argued then that the business arm is run as a separate entity and that the purchase was in line with the church's constitution.

Fast forward to present day.

City Harvest's investment in Suntec City - where New Creation Church runs its services - sparked a series of letters to the press.

Readers also wrote in to The New Paper pointing out that the investment was substantial - City Harvest had invested $310 million.

Once again, the use of donations, or tithe, for business became an issue among some church members.

The central issue appears to be the complexity of running a religion as a business. The church's founder, Mr Kong, also declares that he is a businessman.