Dear Minister,<\/p>\n
We have been attending a church for the last 10 years. My entire family’s tithe or offering is given to the pastor. The pastor never reveals any facts to church leaders about how much tithe was given by members and how much was used for which purpose.<\/p>\n
We learned recently that he is using the tithe for his own personal needs. A van was bought for the church ministry, although it is being used by the pastor for long trips when he visits his family who live in other states. A computer was bought in name of the ministry, and we have never seen it used for ministry, but his teenage son plays violent games on it day and night. Similarly, the pastor has bought some appliances in name of the church, but they are used in the pastor’s home, while only on Sunday are they used for church purposes.<\/p>\n
There are some people who are having a real hard time with their lives and earning money the hard way, but they still trust in giving offerings for God’s work. Do you think that such use of money by a minister is justified? Do you think that we should ask for the tithe to be returned, or do we leave it in God’s hand, as we gave it in name of God but it’s being used for other purposes?<\/p>\n\t
There are numerous problems in the situation you are describing.<\/p>\n
The fact that this man is using the church’s funds for his own personal use indicates that he is not an honest preacher. I would suggest finding a church that truly follows the teachings of God.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Dear Minister, We have been attending a church for the last 10 years. My entire family’s tithe or offering is given to the pastor. The pastor never reveals any facts to church leaders about how much tithe was given by members and how much was used for which purpose. We learned recently that he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[154,157,123,1511],"class_list":["post-41143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-church-funds","tag-contributions","tag-elders","tag-preachers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8351,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-repeated-adulterer-be-dismissed-from-the-ministry\/","url_meta":{"origin":41143,"position":0},"title":"Should a repeated adulterer be dismissed from the ministry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to know what God's view is on this matter. A pastor in our town who is over a church is committing adultery over and over again. The church keeps taking him from the pulpit but after awhile lets him come back to the pulpit. My opinion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18360,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pastors-and-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":41143,"position":1},"title":"Pastors and Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by James R. Cope via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 3, Jan. 1952. The word \"pastors\" occurs only one time in our English version of the New Testament. More often the original is rendered \"shepherd\" or \"shepherds.\" By implication, the pastoral work is identified with the office of bishops or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39044,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-prophecy-cease-when-people-claim-to-be-prophets-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":41143,"position":2},"title":"How can prophecy cease when people claim to be prophets today?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: First, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to address my questions because it has been bothering me for a while now. I am a born-again Christian and still relatively young in faith. I read on this site that an end to all prophets was declared by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83691,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gods-wisdom-in-church-leadership\/","url_meta":{"origin":41143,"position":3},"title":"God’s Wisdom in Church Leadership","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson God always does it right the first time. Take, for example, church leadership. What church leaders are called in the New Testament What many people do not realize is that in the New Testament, there are at least three terms used synonymously: 1) pastors, 2) overseers (also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50275,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-leave-this-church-where-the-pastor-drives-a-luxury-car\/","url_meta":{"origin":41143,"position":4},"title":"Should I leave this church where the pastor drives a luxury car?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. Thank you so much for taking the time to consider my question. I've struggled with the decision of whether to leave my church. The congregation is very loving and over the past two years, I have developed several good friendships. My dilemma is with the pastor. She is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47886,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-a-pastor\/","url_meta":{"origin":41143,"position":5},"title":"What Is a Pastor?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant The term \"pastor\" is a familiar term to people in most denominations. It is usually applied to the men or women who stand before the congregation and deliver a message from the Word of God as the preacher. 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