Expert: Dr. Ronald E. Shultz - 5/3/2010

Question
My mother has attended a small independent baptist church for 35 years.  Unfortunately, the schurch is no longer able to maintain its congregation of about 20.  10 of these peiople are women and the pastors's family and the other 10 are rehab-men who the pastor has allowed tolive in part of the building.  When a mater is voted on, the women cannot vote and the men all vote for whatever the pastor wants.  Consequently, the church is in debt etc.  As the church folds, the pastor had the congregation vote to give him any cash from the sale of the assets.Of course, all of his re hab types were called to show up and they voted in favor of whatever the pastor wanted.  Do the 5 or 6 people left who are committed to the church have any recourse at all to stop this?Does this interfere with non profit law?  How can they get wise cousel to stop this travesty?  Thank you, Kathy Tippie

Answer
Kathy, this kind of thing irritates me to no end. A lot depends on what your Constitution and By Laws state.  Many churches never plan on folding so they do not consider that upfront, but others state that should the church fold all proceeds from the sale go to an organization or church of like faith.  Others just give the building and the "stuff" to a Spanish congregation or whoever may be able to use it for God's kingdom.

Someone can contact a lawyer and have him/her look at your church documents and see if there is something in the articles of corporation or the constitution and bylaws that forbids such actions. If there is nothing then you are probably without legal recourse. You could write the Christian Law Association and see what they say but laws vary within the states and being nonprofit many of the corporate laws may not be applicable here.

If they do give him all the assets be sure there is a 1099 cut to ensure he reports it to the Fed and pays taxes on those funds. If the treasurer is his family member then you may need to contact the IRS directly so they can be sure he reports it. That may be your only option to ensure that at least something right is done.

There is no chance of changing anything within the church protocol at this point.  He has all the votes. If you cannot get copies of the paperwork needed by the lawyer you may have to see if they can be subpeoned if there is reasonable cause for a lawyer or judge to issue one.  

The Scripture does say we should not take a believer to court and if indeed there is nothing in any of the church paperwork to stop this then he is not doing anything illegal.  Is it ethical or moral?  No, but it is not illegal. This would be a good example for you to see how things are written up in your church.

It is right and honorable if the pastor has been faithful in his duties and the church is folding for other reasons than because of him to give him a severance to help him on his way to another ministry or transition into retirement.  What that amount is varies from three months to a year's worth of salary depending on tenure and of course how much the sale of the assets bring.

It is never right for the pastor to have access to all the funds.  That is how cults function. When there is no accountability it opens the doors to all sorts of evil and allows lads to make merchandise of the Lord's work and fleece His sheep. I have virtually no access to the funds of the church that I pastor and that is the way it supposed to be and there is safety for me as well as the church.  There is no suspicion of evil on my part and an evil lad cannot bilk this church.  

There are groups who will find a small church and figure out how many people they need to join to take control to vote the pastor out or if there is none to bring one in and then vote to shut down, sell the place, and then they give the money to the "mother church".   That is evil and wicked but we live in an age of apostasy and charlatans so not much else is to be expected. This is also a good reason for smaller churches to unite and handle the resources correctly before something like this happens.

I am so sorry to hear of this and hope for the Lord's sake there is something in the paperwork to stop it but my fear is that there is not.  May your mother and the others find a good church to worship and serve in!  Blessings to you!