Dodgy Church Pastor

[observant79]

Since last year June I have been attending a church local to me in Leicester and think the Pastor runs it like his own personal business. AIBU to think that a charity/religious church shouldn’t be run by a range rover driving, designer clothes wearing, council house living, 3 trips a year to South Africa taking, no other job/jncome having “man of God”?

I can’t help but feel the charity commissioner needs to investigate this man.

The church ks completely run by him and his wife and they collect tithes and offerings weekly and emphasise no one will be blessed if they don’t give to the church.

Yeah, him and his wife are charlatans, ripping you off financially and spiritually. It's all a big con.

I don't think anyone will disagree OP

Dodgy as hell.
Is it a C of E church? Report it to the Bishop.

Is the church a registered charity?

If so, gather your evidence and report

If people are daft enough to think they can buy their way into heaven then that's on them 🤷‍♀️

Take the words ‘church’ and ‘pastor’ out of your description and replace them with something non-religious.

How does it sound now?

That sounds awful and so often such churches are exploiting vulnerable people (often very young people) with pressure to donate and ‘commit to God’ (i.e. become tied to the church on an ongoing basis). See the recent BBC article on this, plus look up the Soul Survivor scandal, which involved sexual and spiritual abuse.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8e59zrxrypo

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-66739880

University Christian Unions are also not the amateur student-run societies that you might believe…

You can report the church to the Charity Commission and the fundraising regulator, although be aware that their powers are not as extensive as one might wish. The National Secular Society might also be interested.

On a basic level:

Are they a registered charity?
Is there a board of trustees?
Are accounts up to date?
Do they comply with the Fundraising Code?
Are they breaking any laws?

And she's buying a stairway to heaven..............................

Does it belong to a specific denomination?
Do they have an official over-seeing head?
If yes then report to them.
If not then just stop going.
Unfortunately I believe anyone can set up a religion/church and do what they want and it's up to people if they want to join or not.

My dad was a heating engineer before he retired and had a long standing contract with the local diocese. You would be surprised how many lived like this, it's been going on for decades.

Yes it’s crass.

Stop attending the church and paying tithes. You’re enabling this then complaining

I would imagine that the Charities Commission will only investigate if the church is registered as a charity.
If it is, then the accounts should be available.

It's your choice whether or not to give. You might choose to give only if it is registered as a charity, or accounts shared.

Blessing comes from God. The pastor does not determine who is blessed!

This, absolutely.
They are con artists.

Very dodgy

Definitely report as it's totally out of order and against mainstream Christian teaching, it sounds like he is a disciple of the prosperity Gospel!! Look online to see if it is a charity, if it is go to the charities commission. If not, see if they are they affiliated to anything like the Federation of Independent Evangelical Churches and contact them. Is there a leadership team, do you and fellow congregants have official membership, if you do they must be able to show you the Church accounts. I really hate hearing about this type of so called Church as it goes against everything that a Christian adherent should be taught. I hope you can find an honest new Church with a clear mission and humble mind.

I doubt this is a charity - sounds like this couple have just started their own church, which isn't illegal.

L Ron Hubbard said that the easiest way to get rich quick is to start a religion. Probably the second easiest way is to start a church.

Do you mean they've started up their own church? They're not answerable to anyone else?

There will be business or charity rules about how they use their funds, but it is quite a profitable thing to do even if you stay within the law. So they might be within the law.

Unfortunately, it is very easy to set up your own church and proclaim yourself a pastor, without any training, safeguarding or financial accountability in place.
If you are wanting to attend a church, you are better off attending an established church, such as an Anglican or Roman Catholic one with proper governance and safeguarding procedures.

The church ks completely run by him and his wife and they collect tithes and offerings weekly and emphasise no one will be blessed if they don’t give to the church.

Why is it so important to be blessed by this man?

OP, it’s a racket, trading on the vulnerable. No proper pastor would decline to bless someone because they hadn’t contributed - this is sheer exploitation. I’d report to the charity commissioner, and leave this so-called Church pronto.

I mean obviously get well away from this! There are lots of great churches available.

But if you're determined to stay, give a small amount to the church (it's fair to contribute to running costs). Give the rest of whatever you give to other charities. If questioned (which is outrageous if you are) then just say you do give generously to other avenues which also do God's work. If they complain about this that confirms your suspicions.

C of E parish clergy are all paid the same (with tiny regional variation). The church could be very well funded and the vicar wouldn't be any richer. Clergy spouses have very variable income from nothing to being a ££££ high earner. That's why you'll see a variation in clergy household wealth, with some with high living standards but others are near the breadline.

Nailed it!

The church is a magnet for charlatans, egomaniacs and con artists. In my experience, such people often lie to themselves as well. Their egos tell them they are ‘chosen’ or ‘special’ or ‘prophets’, etc, even while they are cheating and exploiting and sexually abusing their followers.

Shock horror. Religious person is a money grubbing, hypocrite.

Hold the front page!