Pastor and First Lady Indicted for Gambling Away Church Money
By Raul Rivera
The former pastors of a church in Houston, TX have been arrested and charged with "aggregate theft and misapplication of fiduciary property." The prosecutor stated that the acts were committed between 2004 and 2007 when they allegedly used church money to gamble at casinos, spending a total of $430,000.00 of the church's money.
Being caught by surprise
The indictment has apparently caught many of the church members completely by surprise. Many have testified that the two pastors were always so loving and patient, and examples of servant hood to the community. Yet now, they all face the reality that their former pastors may have misused the tithes and offerings that the congregation members earned with the sweat of their brow.
Things that impede the vision
When I first read this story through many news outlets, I instantly thought about the policies that we as leaders ought to create for our own protection. I have had many conversations with pastors who have full and unfettered access to church funds. While the majority of them properly handle those funds, they are not aware that such policy could lead to the demise of their ministry. Not only can they run into tax trouble with the IRS, they also leave behind a paper trail that could one day be negatively interpreted by a zealous prosecutor many years later.
Good policy empowers vision
When I pastored, I knew that the vision God had given me for the church needed to be managed. It was then that I realized that the policies I adopted would either propel or impede the vision. When it came to money, I made sure that my church bylaws required any expense over $1,000.00 to get board approval. I also took it one step further and required that every receipt for any expenses at the church have a written description of the purpose for which it was incurred. It was always better to write down the description when it happened than having to explain it later. This policy is especially good for husband and wife teams that start a church in their own homes.
The concept of good policy empowering vision extends to all areas of your church. As a leader, you must always cast vision to the congregation, staff, and volunteers. There should always be a steady casting and recasting of the vision that your church is striving to achieve. However, there also comes a time when the HOW must be mapped out. I always found that if I took time to write down the policy of our church concerning a particular situation, my staff and leaders knew exactly how to respond when the situation occurred. If the leadership consistently acted according to the policies of the church, their actions would also promote the vision of the church. Why? Because good policy empowers vision.
The two pastors
While it is truly heartbreaking to hear about a pastor and wife team being charged with theft and "misapplication of fiduciary property," we must be reminded that none of us are so redeemed that we are not capable of falling into the same sin. In fact, we should take the time now to think about our church and ministry positions and wonder if there is a good policy you could create that will keep the tempter at bay and cover you years later if your church gets audited and an aggressive prosecutor tries to rewrite history and accuse you of wrongfully using church money.