There were a lot of stories in the 80’s about Jim and Tammy Baker embezzling millions from their church. Closer to home, there have been stories about UPCI preachers embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from their local churches. When I hear stories about church embezzlement now, as someone who has been deeply involved with a church for 30+ years, I’m realizing that it’s not just about the money that was selfishly and illegally extracted out of the church. There’s an additional “opportunity cost” of what that money could have done in the mission of the church: more staff, more programs, more outreach; more of the work the church is supposed to be all about. And as someone who supports the idea of the mission, it’s an added disappointment to an already-dismal occurrence.
Tag: UPCI
Big Companies
Have you ever worked in a big company? Say, more than 1,000 people? I’ve spent the majority of my 30 years so far working at three Fortune 250’s.
Have you ever seen a manager do things that promoted their personal success, knowing it was at a cost to their peers or their subordinates? Have you ever seen decisions get made that you know are going to hurt the company in the long run, and which run counter to the company’s stated goals? Have you ever watched people do things to better their careers and boost their compensation packages, and then exit the organization, and leave a giant mess for everyone else?
Boy, I sure have. I’ve actually seen this sort of thing A LOT. I could write a book about it.
With all of this in mind — and while still trying to make sense of some recent events in my life — it has occurred to me that every corporate church organization is — at its core — just another big company.
Oh, wait, someone already wrote that book: https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-or-the-office-according-to-the-office/