tithes....whadd yall think......

Originally Posted by Theresa

I believe the tithes are to support the MINISTRY which includes the pastor and the other expenses of the church.....How it's divided up and handled, I trust my pastor and the trustees, or whomever they are, to handle things correctly and in accordance with scripture and of course the IRS.

Our church financials are an open book, anyone, at any time can see how much comes in and where it goes. The only thing you cannot see is who actually gives what..but you can see how much comes in and where they spend it.

Theresa, I am not picking on you. I am quoting you because I have some legitimate questions, and you are just saying things before I have a chance to ask them.

How about this situation: What if a pastor took over a church, Membership dropped from perhaps 150 to 25 in a matter of months due to him running the church as a dictator instead of a pastor.

Church secretary and board members all gave up positions.

Bank required so many signatures on church account for funds to be released from account. Pastor signs the checks. Members who were left were held responsible. Said pastor drains church treasury, there are not enough funds left to pay bills of church.

Pastor is taking in all tithing. Pastor is writing checks on church account from what little offerings are there to pay bills.

Pastor is in charge of the account due to no one filling secretarial position. There's not enough money coming in to pay bills due to members being run off.

About the tithing- Pastor refuses to use his personal account to deposit tithing. He demands another church account be set up to hold those funds, and he wants one board member or someone else to sign blank checks for him to use from that account. If the account is overdrawn, church membership will be held responsible. Anyone have info on IRS laws as pertaining to this kind of thing?

[Theresa]

Originally Posted by Joe Cool

Theresa, I am not picking on you. I am quoting you because I have some legitimate questions, and you are just saying things before I have a chance to ask them.

How about this situation: What if a pastor took over a church, Membership dropped from perhaps 150 to 25 in a matter of months due to him running the church as a dictator instead of a pastor.

Church secretary and board members all gave up positions.

Bank required so many signatures on church account for funds to be released from account. Pastor signs the checks. Members who were left were held responsible. Said pastor drains church treasury, there are not enough funds left to pay bills of church.

Pastor is taking in all tithing. Pastor is writing checks on church account from what little offerings are there to pay bills.

Pastor is in charge of the account due to no one filling secretarial position. There's not enough money coming in to pay bills due to members being run off.

About the tithing- Pastor refuses to use his personal account to deposit tithing. He demands another church account be set up to hold those funds, and he wants one board member or someone else to sign blank checks for him to use from that account. If the account is overdrawn, church membership will be held responsible. Anyone have info on IRS laws as pertaining to this kind of thing?

if the pastor isnt one of integrity and honesty, then your issue is far greater than where the tithes go...I personally think the pastor is obligated to support the MINISTRY of the church with the tithing. I think it's foolish to depend on offerings to support the bills of the church. Everything that happens in the church is MINISTRY and the tithing should be used to support that - the pastor and other persons on staff that get paid, should get paid a fair wage and one that will support him and his family so he can work for the church 100% of the time....If a man who pastors isnt a good steward with the church funds or a man people respect and will follow, well, the issue isnt tithing. But if you choose to stay in that congregation, you are obligated to pay your tithes. It's between him and God if he mishandles the church funds. But I'd be looking for another church..

but from what I understand, the IRS requires that ALL funds that come into the church are put into ONE general fund. There are then other accounts that you can transfer to in order to pay bills that fall in another category - such as Foreign Missions, Faith Promise, Administrative and so on.

The church is also supposed to keep the little envelopes on file for I think 7 years...


and I dont feel picked on Sometimes you have to explain posts on here before folks misunderstand and get all huffy

[QueenEsther]

Originally Posted by Theresa

if the pastor isnt one of integrity and honesty, then your issue is far greater than where the tithes go...I personally think the pastor is obligated to support the MINISTRY of the church with the tithing. I think it's foolish to depend on offerings to support the bills of the church. Everything that happens in the church is MINISTRY and the tithing should be used to support that - the pastor and other persons on staff that get paid, should get paid a fair wage and one that will support him and his family so he can work for the church 100% of the time....If a man who pastors isnt a good steward with the church funds or a man people respect and will follow, well, the issue isnt tithing. But if you choose to stay in that congregation, you are obligated to pay your tithes. It's between him and God if he mishandles the church funds. But I'd be looking for another church..

but from what I understand, the IRS requires that ALL funds that come into the church are put into ONE general fund. There are then other accounts that you can transfer to in order to pay bills that fall in another category - such as Foreign Missions, Faith Promise, Administrative and so on.

The church is also supposed to keep the little envelopes on file for I think 7 years...


and I dont feel picked on Sometimes you have to explain posts on here before folks misunderstand and get all huffy

Amen!!!!