Does A Pastor Have The Right

[Giaour]

Isnt there a scripture somewhere that says we will be held accountable if we give offerings to someone that misuses it?

[irishcowboy]

A friend of mine just sent me a very disturbing email.

She has been faithfully paying tithes and giving offering to her church for years.

She has also been very supportive of, dedicated to and involved with many ministries of this church.

Some questions concerning the church's financial records came up.

She said she prayed about her decision to inquire and found the peace of God to do it, so she inquired.

She told her Pastor that the money God gave her to be a good steward over was part of the church's financial records,

but she was denied access to see where the church's money was being spent.

She disagreed and was told that since she felt that way she should just leave the church.

Then, the Pastor told the elders and some of the leaders in the church not to even communicate with her.

These are people she's been friends with for years!

I've always held the belief that God and I choose my friends; not man.

Does a Pastor have the right to tell you who you can and cannot communicate with?

if a person is not an official paper work member of a church fellowship, the financial records can be kept in confidence.....

if a person is an official paper work member of a church fellowship, they have all the right (thats right, RIGHT)... in the world to know how the monies is being spent....

if this is a fellowship of a major denomination, and there is this going on, then that person should report this to the district / area office voicing the concern.....

keep in mind....

there may be a policy that the request must be in writing, and then they would allow the person access in a reasonable amount of time ( reasonable being a realitive term, what maybe reasonable for one might be a day or two, and what might be for another might be a month or so....)

when is the next business meeting? when is the next time the annual budget and spending meeting is? these should be open meetings for those that are official members.... not that they would have a say in the meeting, with out first gaining permission, but they should be able to attend.

the church fellowships i have attended, each paperwork member (at the annual busness meeting) can have a printed copy of the annual spending report (where every penny goes) but.....they have to be present to get one at that time, and only paperwork members are allowed in, for there is voting that takes place and they do not want some one that is not a paperwork member trying to cast a vote....

also.....

a non member has no claim to the printed information about the churchs spending....

if the fellowship is doing something off the wall, then it needst to be brought up before its superiors..... the area/district offices.....

mike

[Floatingaxe]

Good points, mike! She may not even be a registered member of that congregation, even though paying a tithe. An adherent wouldn't normally have a right to view the financial record.

[Guest lovinghim4ever]

Mike,

This is a non-denominational church, and this lady has been a member of this church for more that 13 years.

And, as my first post stated -

She has been faithfully paying tithes and giving offering to her church for years.

She has also been very supportive of, dedicated to and involved with many ministries of this church.

So, yes, she has EVERY right to ask to see the financial records.

Please forgive my ignorance but what is a paperwork member?

[Guest lovinghim4ever]

Isnt there a scripture somewhere that says we will be held accountable if we give offerings to someone that misuses it?

Yes, I believe there is, so if anyone can find this for me I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!

[Marnie]

I guess in a free country, the pastor can tell you whatever he wants, but then you are free to tell him where to get off. In a Christ-like way, of course.

[Guest LadyC]

a "paperwork member" means they have officially become members of the church congregation. that means at some point she filled out a little registration or application type forum, signed her name to it, and was officially recognized by the church as a member, rather than just someone in attendance.

if she's been involved in ministries of the church, she most likely is a 'paperwork' member. this is generally the case, but not always... i was once part of the youth ministry leadership of a church i attended but had not officially joined.

[Guest lovinghim4ever]

a "paperwork member" means they have officially become members of the church congregation. that means at some point she filled out a little registration or application type forum, signed her name to it, and was officially recognized by the church as a member, rather than just someone in attendance.

if she's been involved in ministries of the church, she most likely is a 'paperwork' member. this is generally the case, but not always... i was once part of the youth ministry leadership of a church i attended but had not officially joined.

In that case, yes, she is a "paperwork" member and has been for about 13 years.

[Guest lovinghim4ever]

I am not 100% sure about this, I will have to ask our pastor, but I believe if you have tax exempt status, you are required, by law, to give out a financial report to the members once a year. I know that we do, and I believe it's required.

The church, any church, certainly has a right to know how their money is being spent. Saying anything less implies that they have something to hide.

Please let me know what you find out.

Thank you!

[irishcowboy]

Mike,

This is a non-denominational church, and this lady has been a member of this church for more that 13 years.

And, as my first post stated -

She has been faithfully paying tithes and giving offering to her church for years.

She has also been very supportive of, dedicated to and involved with many ministries of this church.

So, yes, she has EVERY right to ask to see the financial records.

Please forgive my ignorance but what is a paperwork member?

ok, paperwork member

a person that goes to a church fellowship, but has no paper saying they joined the church (no matter how long they have gone) is not a paperwork member

example....

if all the active paper work members of a peticular church would give 12 dollars a week, the church would exceed all the finacial budget requirements for the entire year.....

these are people that officially joined the church fellowship, and actively attend.... (voting members)

this is not the people that attend and have not officially joined, there were several people that attend every service at this church fellowship and every function, but have never put their name on the rolls...(non voting members)

there are others, that have their name on the official rolls, but very seldom attend....(voting members but have no clue as to what is going on)

Part of being a good steward is knowing what the monies is used for, and having a voice in what the monies is used for.....

mike