Blog - Page 242 of 284 - Church Executive


Churches need to be aware of Wolves in their midst

Fraud targeting Christians is an epidemic. Of the $40 billion that Americans lose to investment fraud every year, fraud against the faithful accounts for as much as $1 billion of it. Antiquated notions of why churches fall victim to fraud are at least partially responsible for the epidemic. Old adages like, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” are not only useless as protection against fraud, but also dangerous. Church executives concerned with sound financial stewardship and protecting the flock must reach beyond trite axioms. In this post-Madoff world, where scam artists are smarter and their schemes harder to spot, church leaders must adopt a pro-active, 21st century approach to protecting their church.

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Monday mornings are no longer tedious over data collection

A new generation of software makes collecting and using data so much easier.

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Home(s) sweet home(s): Update on housing allowances

Most pastors are probably familiar with the provision in the Tax Code that allows pastors and ministers to exempt a parsonage, or housing allowance from their taxable income.

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Highest standards

The mission of the National Association of Church Business Administration

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Repetition avoids mission drift

Speak the name of Peter Steinke and what comes to mind immediately is his respected position in church life as a congregational systems consultant who has been a pastor, educator and therapist for clergy. His interest and work have been in helping congregations become healthy and vital. In 2006, he published the book How Your Church Family Works: Understanding Congregations as Emotional Systems (Alban Institute) and earlier Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach.

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How to use financial controls

Churches often see media coverage as a great way to get the word out about their ministry.

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Some leadership styles require a good roar, and Bible shows it

The Bible is not just a guide for your spiritual walk. Tom R. Harper, author of Leading from the Lion’s Den:

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Love thy neighbor

They are your neighbors. When you pull out of your driveway, you wave at them as they water their lawn. Your kids attend the same school; they play touch football in your yard

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Unholy church leaders launch hellish insurance cons

Carva White possessed an unheavenly urge to convert his burned-up church’s ash to cash.

White was the music director at the Sunflower Missionary Baptist Church in Leavenworth, KS. He convinced the head pastor to help hatch a devilish plot: torch the place, fool insurers into paying for repairs, then extract large bribes from contractors who would submit inflated bills for the work.

Pulpit-poisoning insurance schemes by unholy holy men and women such as White are rare. But ministering to insurance fraud does happen, leaving trails of betrayed parishioners, fleeced churches, stolen insurance money and ruined reputations.

Preachers appear to rarely defraud their insurers and worshipers. There’s no known data on the frequency or severity of insurance crimes ministered by ministers, but devilish insurance cons do happen.

Insurance schemes by ministers exact a large toll on congregations who are betrayed by spiritual leaders in a high position of trust. Worshippers’ spiritual and personal lives are disrupted. They’re forced to piece together a damaged congregation when a church burns or the minister suddenly leaves after being exposed as an unholy insurance crook. Sometimes worshippers or bystanders themselves are fleeced out of thousands of dollars. White’s first fire came up short. It caused $20,000 to $30,000 in damage, which wouldn’t soak enough bribe money from contractors, White quickly decided. So he told head pastor Marvin Clay that he’d reload his matches and ignite a bigger blaze to line their pockets with more cash.

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Social networking at work

One question that I seem to be asked on a regular basis is: Do you allow your staff to use some type of social networking at work?

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