Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
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I don't check the
financial statements of church members.
I don't even
sneak a peek at pledge cards.
Never have.
Never will.
I know that runs
counter to what a lot of church management types say.
I know financial
stewardship is among the best measures of a person's fidelity.
Checkbooks don't
lie.
Checkbooks betray
spiritual health.
It goes back to
my home pastor The Rev. Harold F. Mante who cautioned long before May 8, 1977,
"There are unavoidable prejudices that emerge when you know how much
people are giving. You'll be surprised by how much some people give and how much some people don't
give. But don't check or you'll be tempted to treat people
differently. Besides, though lots act like they don't believe it, they're
going to have to explain their giving to God in
the end."
Truth is
Christians are generous.
Christians manage
everything entrusted to them by God for His glory.
So-called
"Christians" without generosity are as posing to Jesus by the book as
mainline denominations.
Psst.
While I may be
wrong, I think God entrusts so much to us - especially Christians in America
who have sooooooo much
more of everything than everybody else - to test how we manage what He's
entrusted to us.
Psst.
Now go back to my
home pastor's caution; especially that last sentence.
That's why I've
never checked financial records.
Never have.
Never will.
Though, uh, I do
have some discernments about...
Knowing God
knows, truth is ya don't have to check on the financial stewardship of
Christians.
You don't have to
raise money from Christians 'cause they're extraordinarily
generous.
Christians understand
money matters.
Hmm.
It kinda reminds
me of Jesus talking about how many people actually, you know, get in when the
roll is called up yonder.
Something about
it's easier for a camel to...
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Blessings and Love!
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2 comments:
Years ago, while practicing as a CPA, I was elected church treasurer of a rather large Presbyterian Church. Clayton Bell, our pastor, told me "Ed, you will have a problem in that you now hear how people talk and see what they give." A year later I went back to Clayton and told him he was wrong. I had an even greater problem --- As their CPA I heard how they talked, saw what they gave, and in doing their tax return saw what they claimed they gave. What an education...
Bob
WORD!!!!
Thank you!!!
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