I don’t know why churches give financial authority to pastors. Common sense tells me that a member run financial committee in charge of financial disbursements is a good idea. Letting the supposed spiritual leader have uncontrolled access to cash may seem like the trusting Christian thing to do, but in reality, it is just naive. I think the members of AME Zion Church in York are thinking pretty hard about this issue right now although it seems like their former pastor worked hard to get around whatever controls that were in place.
The Rev. Vincent Navorro Meekins, 55, of Bowie, has been freed on $20,000 bond after he was charged with embezzling from funds set up to fix his church's roof.
Members of the church say the roof still needs repair. They also want their money back.
Asked whether he believes Meekins should serve prison time if convicted, Crenshaw was philosophical.
"I think that if you are a Christian, there has to be some forgiveness," he said. "But we cannot forgive him without getting our money back."
Good luck with that.
I found this proclamation (pdf) from when Meekins was appointed. Why do cities waste tax payer money with the crap?