DALLAS (ABP)—For some, Tammy Faye Messner's death July 20 stirred fond memories of a joyful Christian TV personality, and for others, painful memories of the sex-and-money scandal that destroyed her former husband's popular Christian television network. Her death also reminds Christians that financial scandals still are very much alive in the church.
In 1989, Jim Bakker was convicted of 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to 45 years in prison (he served five). Messner—known as Tammy Faye Bakker before her remarriage—was not included in the indictment, which accused Jim Bakker of conspiring to defraud partners of his PTL cable TV network out of $158 million.
The story of how Bakker stole from those he led in Christ's name captivated the nation's attention and epitomized a decade of televangelist scandals. Eventually they all faded from the headlines.
But while televangelists no longer are the focus, stories about clergy theft in general have not disappeared.
In fact, 20 percent of American congregations lose money to people entrusted with church finances, according to a 2005 Newsday article.
The worst cases capture media attention. But experts say some instances of misappropriation of church funds occur for reasons other than theft and deception.
Dalen Jackson, associate professor of biblical studies at the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, said many instances of financial misappropriation are unintentional, due instead to laziness or lack of understanding about tax laws.
Steve Clifford is a financial planner who specializes in clergy tax returns. He said that of more than 10,000 tax returns he's filed involving clergy, he has found only one misappropriation of funds. And in that case, Clifford said, it was clear the minister was guilty only of being sloppy, not doing wrong.
“Greed is a temptation for anyone but not for most of the pastors I work with,” Clifford said. “Most of them are self-sacrificing.”
Pastors tend to get in trouble when they focus all their energy on ministry duties, he said. The business aspect of managing a church sometimes gets pushed aside because pastors usually don't have formal training in finance.
Gifts are one area where pastors should tread carefully, experts say. Congregations often feel a close connection with their pastors. But when congregants try to express their appreciation to pastors by giving gifts, it can put a pastor in an uncomfortable position.
According to Clifford, tax regulations state that unsolicited gifts from one person to another out of love and affection are nontaxable, nonreportable and nondeductible. But when the value of such gifts becomes a regular or substantial part of the pastor's or any employee's income, then a line has been crossed.
Gary Fearn, a pastor from Pueblo, Colo., and part-time tax appraiser, said it's often difficult for pastors to turn down gifts because they don't want to offend congregants. But many congregants are just trying to practice Jesus' message to “bear the burden of your brother,” Fearn said.
The best way for pastors to increase accountability with their congregations is to increase the financial transparency of the church, since the practice builds trust and credibility, Fearn said.
For instance, he said, business meetings should be more a matter of public record than of secrecy. Inviting guests to board meetings or publishing transcripts of the discussions can help, Fearn said.
And financial statements should be published and broken down into specific terms so everybody knows exactly where the money goes.
Sometimes, even with all precautions, mismanagement happens in churches.
And ultimately, say experts like Bob Baker of Lexington, Ky., all cases involving outright corruption have one thing in common—in the end, everyone losses. “Whenever a pastor falls I'm saddened because it really hurts all of us,” he said.