Faith leaders worldwide are being arrested on charges ranging from pedophilia to fraud. Parishioners can help end the pulpit to prison pipeline by watching their leaders closely and helping them resist temptation.
—
Aaron McGruder’s Black Jesus, while one of the worst pickaninny productions I’ve ever seen, isn’t as big a threat to the Christian faith as the pulpit to prison pipeline that society is refusing to acknowledge.
What’s the pulpit to prison pipeline? It could be a myriad of things from male faith leaders being arrested for the molestation of boys – despite their fiery homophobic sermons – to clergy being arraigned on embezzlement fraud.
The latter is ironic, in the sense that while tithes and offering is usually marketed as “pay or you’re robbing God,” many of the churches worldwide who receive donations aren’t transparent in how the funds are managed, which resulted in a line item for “Ecclesiastical Crime” in the Status of Global Mission 2013 report, which neared $40 billion or roughly 6% of the total $594 billion given to churches.
Todd M. Johnson, PhD, Director, Center for the Study of Global Christianity, said recently in an interview with Forbes that “as much as 95% of fraud within churches goes undetected or unreported.”
When asked why these churches aren’t reporting it, Johnson said “part of it is a reluctance to see the bad side of a nice pastor, a secretary or a board member of the church.”
Speaking from experience, I can say that Johnson is right. I’ve seen and I know many parishioners who attend churches despite their pastor/priest defrauding them and/or participating in acts that he/she openly condemns from their pulpit.
A church in South Philadelphia, for example, has a pastor who has stolen more than $10,000 to feed his gambling and alcohol addiction. And when the news broke internally that the money was missing, the chairman of the deacon board, instead of reporting the crime, dipped into his personal funds to replace the money, temporarily sparing his “Man of God” a trip to State Rd.
I could go on, but I’ll just say this: like police, not all faith leaders are corrupt; but all faith leaders are overseeing an institution that’s receiving donations, and according to the U.S tax code, they’re not required to file an annual report. So it’s up to you, the parishioner, to maintain checks and balances. If you approach your clergyman about financial oversight and they respond defensively – like pulling out a gun, hiring armed gun men or kicking you out of the church – then run away quickly because that’s not where you want to be. Your pastor is a spiritual leader, not God, and they’re damn sure are not above reproach.
And if you need proof of that, Matthew 18:15-17 states the following:
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
Saints, you can break the pulpit to prison pipeline and it won’t require you to speak in tongues and fast for 40 days, it’ll require you to hold your faith leaders accountable and do more than just pray for them, but watch them, know them, and prevent them from giving into temptation.
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” – Ephesians 4:25
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
—
Photo: GlasgowAmateur/Flickr