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.
Read More >Blog - Page 243 of 285 - Church Executive
Highest standards
The mission of the National Association of Church Business Administration
Read More >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.
Read More >How to use financial controls
Churches often see media coverage as a great way to get the word out about their ministry.
Read More >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:
Read More >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
Read More >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.
Read More >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?
Read More >How to write a book
All have stories to tell, most have a dream to write a book one day, some write
Read More >Church Executive, February 2011, Volume 10, Issue 2
Included in this issue is an interview with Jim Garlow, pastor of Skyline Church in California who discusses his new book on death, heaven and the afterlife. Also included is a story about how churches continue to merge and five reasons churches limit the length of capital campaigns.
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