Just want to link to this story that we heard on NPR yesterday and today. You can either read it or listen to it in 2 parts.
Part 1 is Can a Television Network Be A Church? The IRS Says Yes Part 2 is Onscreen But Out of Sight TV Preachers Avoid Tax Scrutiny.
Even though it points to the tele-evangelists who are raking in the money and not paying taxes on it, it reminds us of what is going on in the last 2 churches we attended as well as megachurches across the US - there is just no accountability for how the pastors are spending the money. More on this in the next few days but just at least want to give the links to the stories while I had them handy.
3 comments:
So glad you posted this as I had listened to it and it made me sick, yet nothing new in the world of corporate church finance. The story centered on televangelism networks but every single thing they said or covered is what we've seen for ourselves in smaller local ministries. A little leaven has indeed leavened the entire loaf!
The article said how they treat it like a family business - imagine that. We've seen that in much smaller local size organizations and churches and it is always the proof that they feel they own it.
It's unbelievable that the IRS chooses to look the other way and not hold Tv ministries and churches accountable - especially the ones big enough to have a steady cash flow of tithe and offering money to squander on the pastor's self-serving lifestyle and pet projects. In contrast, every American household and business is held to account for the money we make and God forbid you withhold what the government deems taxable - we could be slapped with penalties and eventual jail time if we were to break the law like these ministries are doing. But that gives us incentive to toe the line. When these so-called ministries behave like businesses they should be taxed as a business with the same incentive to toe the line like the rest of us. As more and more of us beg to differ and make a public outcry it will draw a line in the sand and Christians everywhere will need to choose what side they are on. Both sides will claim they are on the side of God and it may not be till the day of judgment that God reveals to the world who He sided with.
good post
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