End Church Corruption
John 2:13-23
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
John 2:13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making my Father’s house a 1place of business.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “bZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.” 18 The Jews then said to Him, “what sign do You show us 1as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “destroy this 1temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this 1temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
John 2:23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for he knew all men, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
Corruption had entered the Temple leadership, and Jesus wanted it cleared out. It seems that whenever humans create an institution, it eventually falls into corruption. The priests of the Temple were well off. They had gold and silver, allowing them to live a life of luxury. The leaders become numb to the needs of the people. Jesus saw this and wanted the Temple leaders to reform. He was not looking to create a new religion. He was looking to reform Judaism.
At this point is where I may lose some of you. I firmly believe that corruption has entered the mainline churches. I am making a very general statement. The bottom line is that I can see that about the United Methodist Church Annual Conference that I pastored in for twenty-two years. There is the possibility that if the leaders of the Conference read this, they can cause trouble for me. Perhaps I had to wait until retirement to make such bold statements.
I was elected to the Conference Finance and Administrative oversight committee back in 2012. I worked in the secular world for 22 years. I was the project manager for several large computer projects that had million-plus dollar budgets. I knew what to look for. This situation did not sit well with the Conference treasurer nor the chairperson of the CF&A committee.
At one meeting, I asked where all this “reserve” money was coming from? The churches sent approximately 85% of their ministry shares to the Conference. Simple economics says that the Conference should only spend 85% of its budget. However, that was not happening. At one meeting near the end of 2013, the committee met and determined not to send the 100% shares to the General Conference. Flat out, we did not have the money. The vote passed unanimously. Then two weeks later, the Conference's monthly publication said that the Conference sent all the requested funds to the General Conference.
Wait a minute! The committee voted not to do this because we did not have the money. Nevertheless, the Bishop and Chairperson of CF&A proudly held up a large check. By the way, those large checks are a total waste of money. If you have the time get Max De Pree’s book The Art of Leadership which is the best book on leadership I have ever read. The oversized check is “ice in the urinal.” Hopefully, this encourages you to get the book.
I emailed the Treasurer and Committee chair, asking how they could go around the committee vote. Would you be surprised that I never got an answer? Where did this money come from. Eventually, I was told it came from the Conference reserves. Then they got angered when I demanded to see all reserve accounts. That never happened. The Conference financial audit did not list the reserves. How can this be?
So, I determined that the Conference leaders were corrupt, and I resigned from the CF&A committee. I am not a blind follower. I wanted to know where all this money was coming from and what shortfalls this would cause. Would you be surprised that this happens in the local church? Yes, it does, and I was appointed to a church where the same thing happened.
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.
