Being played for suckers
Posted on February 15th, 2008 by catalyst into the Uncategorized categoryOur buddy, Senator Grassley is still at it:
From this weeks US News & World Report:
Grassley sent requests to six televangelists last fall seeking information about such things as credit card spending, offshore accounts, and airplane and car purchases. To date, only one ministry has responded to Grassley's satisfaction. So he is redoubling his efforts.
Last week, the senator was planning to send a second request for information, along with further justification for his probe. "It is the same thing I have been trying to accomplish with all of my investigations," said Grassley, "and that is to make sure that tax laws are complied with."
He said he wanted to make sure that churchgoers were not being "played for suckers."
Ummm, too late.
RSS feed for posts
February 15th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
This whole Senator investigation thing raises some serious questions about the church. Is it wrong to be a pastor and be rich?
I kind of think it is, unless their money comes from somewhere else besides the people, say real estate investments or the stock market. But a church salary of $100K+? That’s just evil! I mean we are talking about men and women who live lavishly on the backs of other peoples hard earned dollars. Maybe it’s just me, but that’s just disgusting. Now you may ask “but what if the church is large with lots of money?” To that I say no matter what a church pulls in each year, the pastor should have a set salary of no more then the average middle class person, say $60K or $70K per year. That’s really good money. Everything else should go back to the local community. Could you imagine what good a church could do if a pastor who pulls in $125K per year decided to give $50K of it back? They could start a weekly food drive and feed thousands a month; buy 5 used cars at $10K a piece and give them to single moms who have to take the bus everywhere; start a $5K a year college scholarship for 10 hard working youth group members; pick a few struggling families each month and pay their bills to help relieve some of the financial stress they face. The possibilities are endless. But instead these A-holes pocket it so that they can drive nicer cars, live in bigger homes, and take more vacations. It makes me want to puke! I hope the judgement of God is swift and strong against these loosers who are sorry excuses for human beings. Now I don’t believe there is anything wrong with being rich, it’s just wrong when you find wealth from other peoples money. If someone wants to be a pastor because its what God has called them to, they should accept the fact that they are never going to be rich from it. Just like teachers and nurses, there should be no expectation of living the high life when one becomes a pastor. If a person wants the green they should seek a profession that will allow them to make such, a la a doctor or lawyer. But a pastor? Come on man. What is wrong with these people!?!