Are churches really just glorified businesses?
Posted on November 19th, 2007 by catalyst into the Christian Pop Culture categoryAccording to one lawyer, yes:
A judge agreed in a decision published this week to hear arguments on the claim, and he ordered a financial appraisal of the church. Lawyers involved in the case said it could represent the first time anyone in New York state has tried to treat a religious institution as a marital asset.
The wife argues that her husband of 31 years used his Brooklyn church as a “personal piggy bank,” setting his own income, spending the congregation’s tithes as he pleased and running a catering business from the building, according to an account of the claims in state Supreme Court Judge Arthur M. Diamond’s decision….
The wife said $50,000 of the couple’s money went into starting the church, and she should share in value.
“That church is no different than any other business he might have opened,” said the wife’s lawyer, Robert Pollack.
But as you know, God wants everyone to be rich. So move along people, nothing to see here.
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November 19th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
When I was in Eugene at Frank’s church, Eugene Christian Fellowship, there was a conflict between Frank and some others about whether Frank should pay the church rent for having the art designer that laid out his books for him using an office in the church or whether he should be able to use it free of charge…
November 19th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I wonder if that conflict has ever come up here (CBC)? I know at times certain church secretaries have been very busy editing and putting books together. I heard there were three secretaries at one point involved in this. You would think that this would need to happen outside of the CBC payroll since I do not think that the full profit from these books went back into CBC coffers. What do you all think? Anyone have the inside scoop on that one?
November 19th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
David— Were you at EBC when my friend Randy was an elder there for a bit? He never bought into all the shenanigans.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:28 am
Except that money given to a church is not held in any sort of security, like venture capital would. Since there is no money invested, it cannot be divided up as a shared asset in a divorce mitigation.
Being run like a business doesn’t make it a business.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:46 am
Someone I know went through a divorce years ago. In the divorce filing, his ex-wife claimed to earn next to nothing and asked the court for nearly 80% of the man’s earnings. Oddly, the woman bought a new car, so the man took the divorce papers and went to ask the dealer how they could sell a new car to someone with no income.
The salesman, having been divorced and taken to the cleaners a few years earlier, looked up the woman’s application for financing, wherein the woman claimed over $2000 / mo. income from her business. A copy of the application was provided and attached as an exhibit in the man’s response to the divorce petition.
On that basis, the woman’s statement of income and financial need were ignored and her income was imputed by the court, which reduced judgment against the man considerably.
I suspect the court will have to impute the pastor’s income as well, since clearly he hasn’t been honest about his earnings. The pastor’s wife should also be cashed out of her investment to the tune of half of $50K. Would love to follow this story …