Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben E Lou
This is far more complex than "I'm mad because this mega-church pastor flies around in a jet, so let's punish all churches." Even punishing all "megachurches" would be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The 10,000-member whorehouse I belonged to down in the Lowcountry, for example, puts a ton of resources into reducing crime in an area that--before the church got involved--was one of the most crime-infested in the country, provides free health and dental care to the uninsured, has a huge free food pantry, will feed thousands (little over 4,000 last year) of poor and homeless people on Thanksgiving for the 12th-ish year in a row, and I could go on and on. It's fair to say that hurting that church financially would do serious damage to vulnerable people groups in that area.
Punish the people who break the rules. |
Specifically going back to the mega church pastors that fly around in private jets, they are breaking the rules. The IRS requires compensation for non profit executives to be reasonable and private jets are not a job requirement and therefore should be considered part of their pay.
For the mega churches that are actually run like a non-profit, that's great. They're playing within the rules. However, those that aren't should be punished whether they're saving those within a community or not.