[ActYourWage]

Originally Posted by JimInOK

I can only speak for the Baptist Church, but yes, those in local Baptist churches are given every opportunity to see just what the church's finances are and where the money is going. There is a monthly business meeting, generally replacing one Wednesday night service. Copies of the financial statements, including check registers, are available for everyone who attends and are placed in the foyer for anyone who did not attend the service to later pick up.

Our pastor does not handle the church's finances. That is handled by the deacons after being brought to a vote by the membership. The deacons are elected by the church body and come from the church body. The deacons are regular people, just like those in our local C of C. Even such mundane things as who is going to handle the janitorial duties and how much we will compensate them comes before the church body.

I believe too many people on here are confusing televangelists and radio evangilists (many of whom are actually very reputable) with the way local church finances are handled.

Those who maintain such a high level of cynicism about giving to the church should get more involved in a local church and learn for themselves just how these things are handled before criticizing them. It just bristles me to see somebody liken the leaders of these bodies to the Jim Bakker's of the world. Get to know some of them yourself, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Nice post. I Agree.