How does one find a church to pastor?

[Real Realism]

Originally Posted by Originalist

Sudden loss of income due to catastrophic illness or other circumstances beyond his control.

I don't think it should be a blanket disqualification. Life happens, we all go through seasons...but, it should be discussed in open and honest dialogue.

[Esaias]

Just require any wanna be pastor to get a TWIC card. At their own expense of course.

Probably need a DNA sample, fingerprints, maybe a retina scan, all for 'just in case'.

Definitely will have to have a resume. And it better be a good one, too, not just one of those bland, 'I got it off the internet' resumes.

Credit score most definitely needs to be at 720 or better.

No bankruptcies, obviously.

Divorced and remarried, though, is obviously not an issue.

[houston]

Originally Posted by Originalist

Sudden loss of income due to catastrophic illness or other circumstances beyond his control.

oh, that...

[n david]

Originally Posted by Real Realism

Especially when in most churches the pastor is the sole manage of all accounts receivable for the church.

The Pastor should NEVER be the sole manager of the church finances, neither should any family member.

[RandyWayne]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Just require any wanna be pastor to get a TWIC card. At their own expense of course.

Probably need a DNA sample, fingerprints, maybe a retina scan, all for 'just in case'.

Definitely will have to have a resume. And it better be a good one, too, not just one of those bland, 'I got it off the internet' resumes.

Credit score most definitely needs to be at 720 or better.

No bankruptcies, obviously.

Divorced and remarried, though, is obviously not an issue.

ALL of the above is certainly better than a fiery sermon designed to bring down the house. Shoot, I would consider a letter of recommendation from his 3rd grade teacher to be worth more than what he preaches on a Sunday night.

[RandyWayne]

Originally Posted by n david

The Pastor should NEVER be the sole manager of the church finances, neither should any family member.

Which is just common sense.

[Real Realism]

I agree. And even though many churches have boards that are supposed to approve expenses over a certain amount, etc. I've typically seen the pastor as the sole manager of Accounts Receivable. Meaning - he's the only one handling the money that's coming IN to the church.

While I do believe the majority of pastors try their best to handle church funds with integrity...when you're the only one with access to bank statements and receipts, how does the church have confidence that what's being reported is accurate? Sorry, I'm completely derailing this thread...but have you actually been in a church where someone other than the pastor or his family were the ones managing the in-flow of cash?

[n david]

Originally Posted by Real Realism

I agree. And even though many churches have boards that are supposed to approve expenses over a certain amount, etc. I've typically seen the pastor as the sole manager of Accounts Receivable. Meaning - he's the only one handling the money that's coming IN to the church.

.... have you actually been in a church where someone other than the pastor or his family were the ones managing the in-flow of cash?

While I haven't had a Pastor whose been the sole manager of finances, (my father appointed someone who wasn't related to be in charge of finances) I have been in a couple churches where the Pastor had family in charge of the finances; wife or daughter was the church secretary and handled the finances.

[Real Realism]

That's great that you've been in churches where the finances are handled by someone other than the pastor. My parents were very transparent with finances when they pastored. (Showing bank receipts/statements, etc. w/ annual reports.)

I've also been in another church that handles them very openly with a detailed annual report...but the pastor's family is still the only ones who handle the receipts and see any bank statements (and they refuse to show what the total tithes receipts are, for whatever reason).

I've been in another situation where the pastor left the church bankrupt.

Another situation with a very controlling pastor who would never show finances. After we left that church, the building burned down and there were rumors that the church insurance funds weren't handled responsibly (pastor moved into a nicer, bigger house, but the church is still renting a facility instead of building/buying a new facility of their own). Of course, that's speculation, only God knows.

Due to occupation, my family has moved much, and I've seen a lot. I've had a few great pastors whom I trust to handle money responsibly...but their family were the sole handlers of the finances. I've had an overbearing pastor who handled money with questionable integrity (the story above). And I've had an irresponsible pastor who saw the church dwindle over the course of a few years and he left the church bank account with less than a dollar. (Home missions work where he refused to work a full time job while pastoring. His wife refused to work a full time job because he wouldn't help around the house - her words out of her mouth. So I know they were using not just tithes, but also offerings to pay their rent, groceries, etc.)

So, I've seen quite a range of financial responsibilities. But in each case, the pastor and his family were the one ones handling the funds...with mixed success. In the case of the man who left the church bankrupt, if a credit report had been run, I'm sure the district would have had a hint that he may not have been the most responsible candidate.

[n david]

Originally Posted by Real Realism

That's great that you've been in churches where the finances are handled by someone other than the pastor. My parents were very transparent with finances when they pastored. (Showing bank receipts/statements, etc. w/ annual reports.)

I've also been in another church that handles them very openly with a detailed annual report...but the pastor's family is still the only ones who handle the receipts and see any bank statements (and they refuse to show what the total tithes receipts are, for whatever reason).

I've been in another situation where the pastor left the church bankrupt.

Another situation with a very controlling pastor who would never show finances. After we left that church, the building burned down and there were rumors that the church insurance funds weren't handled responsibly (pastor moved into a nicer, bigger house, but the church is still renting a facility instead of building/buying a new facility of their own). Of course, that's speculation, only God knows.

Due to occupation, my family has moved much, and I've seen a lot. I've had a few great pastors whom I trust to handle money responsibly...but their family were the sole handlers of the finances. I've had an overbearing pastor who handled money with questionable integrity (the story above). And I've had an irresponsible pastor who saw the church dwindle over the course of a few years and he left the church bank account with less than a dollar. (Home missions work where he refused to work a full time job while pastoring. His wife refused to work a full time job because he wouldn't help around the house - her words out of her mouth. So I know they were using not just tithes, but also offerings to pay their rent, groceries, etc.)

So, I've seen quite a range of financial responsibilities. But in each case, the pastor and his family were the one ones handling the funds...with mixed success. In the case of the man who left the church bankrupt, if a credit report had been run, I'm sure the district would have had a hint that he may not have been the most responsible candidate.

One of the last churches I was at, the Pastor had a relative in charge of finances. Even at yearly business meetings, members (who had to be current with tithes and offerings or they weren't allowed in the business meeting) weren't given a clear picture of the finances. There was a slide put on the video screen that showed a very non-detailed look of the finances. Basically they had the total church income listed and had "tithes, offerings, etc" next to that; then they had total expenses with just the dollar amount. No itemized list of what the expenses were. People wanted more info, but the Pastor said that was all the church was required to show.

Two other churches I've been at have done the same kind of thing. My father passed out several pages of the financial reports at the church he pastored. Thankfully, the church secretary was very detailed and listed everything, down to any evangelist/missionary offering given, the parsonage expenses and other information.

Come to think of it, I haven't had a paper financial report in my hand since I was at the church my father pastored. Everything now days is just put on the screen, if anything is done at all.