Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Epley
Can I give the other side without seeming to be excusing any bad business practices? Most Pentecostal churches were built by a handful of folks who sacrificed lead by a pastor who sacrificed much to bring them to where they are. They were honest and kingdom minded. Many had to borrow many against their own names because institutions would not loan churches money. So at times churches would be in the pastor's name not by choice but of a necessity. Pentecostals had seen or denominations hire and fire preachers at whim run by two or three church board members. That would fire a preacher if he stepped on their toes. Thus the set up we have today. Where the preacher was given the right to preach his heart and make most decisions concerning the church. Now these churches are old and the founding pastors are dead or retired and the 2nd-3rd-4th-generation of pastors and saints were given a wonderful heritage and some do not appreciate it nor respect it. Again as sad as this is this is NOT the norm most churches has existed for decades without scandal or impropriety.
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Good points!
Also maybe the reason it is mostly family members working in the ministry is because they are the only ones willing to devote the time (even though this may be because they
have to--if it's their names on the mortgages, their livelihoods at stake, etc. Regardless, shame on the rest of us saints for being perfectly willing to sit on the pews and let others do all the work.)
Oh, I see how we got where we are... But I just don't feel good about the situation.
I think the answer lies here: The saints need to know the ministers are NOT in it for the money. Pastors need to have open reports about incoming/outgoing money and about the good services they provide to the needy community. The paid ministerial staff should not all be family members (and not all family members should be paid ministerial staff). Outreach should be for God's sake, not for share of tithe's sake. Pastors who have $500,000 homes and all the fineries of life should have such because of other-than-church income. (Surely there should be a limit to a pastor's salary, I don't care how big the church gets. If pastoring is about making a living, it has lost its meaning.)
If these reassurances were provided to the saints, they would also provide protection (through accountability) to the pastor, who would be less likely to fall with these such guardrails in place.
There was a day when I felt it was sufficient to say, "Well, if I can't trust the pastor, then I should find another church." Now, the times dictate more than that. Even though, as you say, it is NOT THE NORM, it has happened enough -- and every time these scandals happen, the saints are floored and simply cannot believe that THEIR pastor would do such a thing and they recoil to lick their wounds . . . But worse than that, GOD's reputation takes a direct hit amongst the non-believers who continue to believe that they "sit on barstools with better folks."
Just my opinions...
p.s. I am not a pastor hater. I love my pastor dearly... but guess what? So did these guys.
p.s.s. Oh yeah, and those men who risked everything years ago to build their little church are HEROES in my book. We may not know who they are, but God does.
GOD BLESS!
Re: Prominent Memphis Area Pastor Resigns
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