End Church Corruption

One can see Jesus in the Temple upsetting things because he saw the corruption and wanted it stopped. Corruption in the Temple leadership happened then and is happening today in churches. Everything that the church does should be for the glorification of Jesus Christ. If your church is doing anything that is not making disciples, then you should consider stopping it.

Look at the financial statements and make sure the leaders are being honest. My first church assignment had a major corruption. The pastor wanted the church to sponsor a refugee family. But the church did not have the resources. A building campaign was on, and what usually happens is that people diverted some of their weekly giving to the building project.

An Administrative Board meeting was held, and when examining the financial documents, the report disclosed that $15,000 was taken out of the building fund and used for the pastor’s wish to bring a refugee family to the area. Wow! The uproar from the members of the Administrative Board was loud. The treasurer was pulverized for doing it. She responded that she was doing what the Senior Pastor wanted. This move caused about 20% of the congregation to leave in disgust. As a contributor to the building fund, I was angry.

I was reappointed to another church before knowing if the $15,000 was ever put back into the treasury.

The bottom line for the church to learn comes from experience with the church before coming to know Christ. “They are only interested in your money.” That is what I heard and what I believed. The church should not be focused on the congregation's wealth. It should be a place where young and old can share spiritual events. All the people in the congregation should be able to learn from each other, keep each other accountable to our baptism vows, and a place where we love each other.

Pray for the church that the corruption of wealth does not rear its ugly head. Jesus said that having wealth is fine. It is not wealth that is the problem but what you do with your wealth. This applies to people as individuals, the local church as a whole, and the denominational hierarchy. The stigma of “the church only cares about your money needs to be removed!! Only you can make that happen.