Part 2, Court Says Church Cannot Keep Tithes

By Raul Rivera

Last Tuesday I wrote about how the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a bankruptcy court's decision and ruled that a church had to turn over to a bankruptcy trustee the tithes and offerings it received from a couple because the couple filed for bankruptcy. The courts went on to use the law in a way that creates a tense climate for donors to churches. (CLICK HERE to read that blog)

The question now arises, "What could the church have done to protect itself?"

In response, I do not think a church needs to go to such extremes to handle this potential problem.  I believe that there are two things a church can do.

1.  Set up a “give-back” fund:  This is a type of fund that you establish in order to create a financial cushion for the church in the event that one of your tithing members files for bankruptcy.  Based on research I got from many different sources, I think it is a good idea for a church to set aside the tithes and offferings of 1 person for every 200 tithers (not just givers, but tithers) in the church.  The amount to place into this fund is done by averaging the total amount given by tithers.

2.  Be wise concerning givers:  In all of the years that I was a pastor, I encountered many flamboyant givers.  These are givers who try to attract the attention of the pastor and other church leaders by their exuberant giving.  In my humble opinion, I recommend that pastors be wise about how they accept money from such givers.  There were times that I had to exercise the discipline of telling some givers that I believed their commitment to future giving or the amount they recently gave was not logical and that they may have been moved too much by the emotion of the moment.  This requires discipline and trust in God, that He will always be faithful to provide, even if every once in a while I turned away someone's giving.  Let me explain.  When we were in the middle of our first-ever building campaign, a member of our church wanted to give us $10,000.00.  For a small fledgling church that would have been a big and impactful gift.  Yet, I felt a nudge from the Lord to turn that gift away.  There was no need for him to empty out his savings account and give it to our church.  I very gently informed him how grateful I was that he would do that, but that he should keep it and only give a much smaller amount.  He received my advice and gave a smaller amount.   One year later he filed for bankruptcy as he went through a job loss and a marriage crisis.  I am not recommending that we turn away all big givers, but that we use wisdom that comes from God to know when to accept and when not to accept, and what to do with large funds given by flamboyant givers.  There are times when we should follow the advice of the court and understand that there is a risk to receiving flamboyant contributions, and then set those contributions aside for a period of two years.  For that you must seek the Lord and His awesome wisdom.  

Closing thoughts

Pastoring requires us to continuously grow in our knowledge of God and of the legal landscape that surrounds us.  I encourage you to make 2014 a year that you grow in the knowledge of God's law and man's law so that your ministry flourishes to its fullest. Our conferences are set up for pastors to come and easily understand the laws affecting their churches today and the steps they can take to protect themselves. To see when we are coming to your area, CLICK HERE.