ACTUALIZACIÓN: Aunque la historia original no lo menciona, envié numerosas solicitudes a Dan Busby para una entrevista a través de su agente, Anna Hutstell de la firma de relaciones públicas DeMoss. En lugar de una entrevista, Hutsell me envió la declaración de ECFA citada en este artículo.
como presidente de la Consejo Evangélico para la Responsabilidad Financiera (ECFA), Dan Busby es responsable de hacer cumplir los estándares de ética de ECFA entre los 2300 grupos sin fines de lucro e iglesias que ECFA acredita. Busby también habla a nivel nacional sobre responsabilidad financiera. Y ha escrito numerosos libros, entre ellos, CONFIANZA: El fundamento firme de la fecundidad del Reino—un libro que equipa a los líderes de "ministerios centrados en Cristo" para "ser intencionales en la construcción y el mantenimiento de la confianza".
Dado que ECFA y la plataforma de Busby se basan en la confianza y la integridad, uno esperaría que Busby fuera irreprochable. Sin embargo, de acuerdo con el Junta de Contabilidad de Virginia (VBOA), Busby fue multado con $9,000 en 2016 por el uso sin licencia del título de CPA (Contador Público Certificado) en al menos 38 publicaciones, su sitio web personal, el sitio web de ECFA y el Derecho e Impuestos de la Iglesia sitio web.
La VBOA también exigió a Busby que pagara una tarifa administrativa adicional de $1,000 para cubrir la investigación de la VBOA. Y la junta ordenó a Busby que eliminara el título de CPA de todos los "letreros y todos y cada uno de los listados" hasta que Busby obtuviera nuevamente la licencia.
[pullquote]”Given that the ECFA and Busby’s platform rely on trust and integrity, one would expect Busby to be above reproach. Yet according to the Virginia Board of Accountancy, Busby was fined $9,000 in 2016 for the unlicensed use of the CPA title . . . “[/pullquote]According to the complaint submitted to the VBOA, Busby allowed his CPA license from the state of Kansas to lapse in 2000, two years after moving to Virginia. Then from 2000-2015, Busby was not licensed as a CPA, though he repeatedly claimed he was. In December 2016, Busby obtained a CPA license from the Virginia board, which remains active.Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of “Hurt and Healed by the Church” by Ryan George. To donate, haga clic aquí.
Según la denuncia de VBOA, Busby se presentó falsamente como CPA en varios libros publicados por Zondervan entre 2000 y 2015. Estos incluyeron "La guía cristiana para la administración del dinero sin preocupaciones" y numerosas ediciones de "La guía financiera y de impuestos del ministro de Zondervan" y la "Guía financiera y de impuestos de la iglesia y sin fines de lucro" de Zondervan.
Me comuniqué con Zondervan para hacer comentarios, pero el editor no respondió.
Busby también figuraba como CPA en numerosos libros publicados por la ECFA entre 2000 y 2015. Estos incluyeron la "Guía de donaciones benéficas para misioneros y otros trabajadores", "Donaciones restringidas por donantes simplificadas", "La auditoría independiente y el comité de auditoría" y varias ediciones de "Preparación de declaraciones de impuestos para clérigos" y "Procedimientos de informes para congregaciones".
Busby también apareció como CPA en los boletines de ECFA entre 2000 y 2015, así como en varios sitios web, el Directorio Nacional de Preparadores y Profesionales de Declaraciones de Impuestos Registrados y la cuenta de LinkedIn de Busby.
Brian Taylor, ex CPA que ahora trabaja para una pequeña empresa de consultoría en Dallas/Ft. Worth, me envió la queja de VBOA, que dijo que investigó y presentó hace cuatro años. Taylor señaló que Busby había trabajado como contador público durante 31 años antes de llegar a la ECFA y dijo que su tergiversación fue intencional e inexcusable.
“Con Busby, fue un patrón de 15 años de incentivos fraudulentos intencionales para vender libros y enriquecer su bolsillo y su reputación”, dijo Taylor. “Esto no fue un accidente. . . . Sabía que no tomó ninguna clase de CPE durante 15 años. No puedes hacerlo durante 31 años y luego olvidarlo de repente. Los CPA se recuerdan anualmente”.
[pullquote]”This was no accident. . . . He knew he didn’t take any CPE classes for 15 years. You can’t do it for 31 years and then suddenly forget. CPAs are reminded annually.”[/pullquote]In his complaint, Taylor also asserts that Busby’s misrepresentation was especially egregious because of his position with the ECFA. “The Virginia Board of Accountancy must take into account that Mr. Busby is not just a simple tax preparer who didn’t keep up on his CPE (continuing professional education),” Taylor wrote."Señor. El papel actual de Busby como presidente de ECFA es hacer cumplir (Los siete estándares de administración responsable de ECFA) entre todas las organizaciones sin fines de lucro miembros, como base para la confianza pública en la recaudación de fondos sin fines de lucro y la administración responsable de los fondos fiduciarios en todo Estados Unidos. Y todavía . . . El Sr. Busby eligió libremente cometer actos intencionales de mala conducta durante toda su permanencia de 15 años en ECFA, que violó repetidamente los Estándares de ECFA, el Código de Virginia y el AICPA (Instituto Americano de CPA) Código de Conducta Profesional.”
La ley de Virginia prohíbe que una persona que no tenga una licencia de CPA de Virginia use el título de CPA en Virginia. De manera similar, el Código de Conducta Profesional de AICPA establece que un miembro desacredita la profesión si la persona “hace afirmaciones sobre la . . . calificaciones de una manera que sea falsa, engañosa o engañosa”. Esto incluiría “cualquier representación sobre la licencia de CPA. . . que no cumple con los requisitos de la autoridad de licencias correspondiente”.
Recientemente, Busby y la ECFA han sido objeto de un mayor escrutinio por su larga acreditación de Capilla de la Biblia de la cosecha, a pesar de deslumbrar irregularidades financieras allá. El miércoles pasado, yo se enfrentó a la ECFA públicamente por acreditar a Harvest. Y el sábado, la ECFA finalmente suspendido Acreditación ECFA de Harvest. Pero la debacle de Harvest ha planteado dudas sobre la eficacia de la ECFA para responsabilizar a los grupos miembros.
En un comunicado publicado hoy, la ECFA defendió a su presidente. El comunicado dice que Busby se enteró de que no cumplía con las leyes contables de Virginia en 2015 y desde entonces ha corregido el problema. “Si bien el uso de la designación de CPA por parte de Dan cumple con las leyes de Kansas, donde estaba originalmente y todavía está certificado, no tenía idea de que su uso de la designación podría no cumplir con la ley de Virginia”, dice el comunicado. “Dan, por supuesto, se mortificó al enterarse de cualquier posibilidad de que no cumpliera plenamente, ya que ha hecho que el trabajo de su vida sea ayudar a las organizaciones a buscar la integridad”.
La declaración agregó que Busby “nunca se ha ofrecido a ofrecer servicios de contabilidad pública como CPA de Virginia”. Y señaló que desde entonces Busby completó más de 180 horas de educación profesional continua y resolvió el asunto con la Junta de Virginia. “Dan está contento de haber resuelto el asunto y lamenta profundamente el descuido”, dijo el comunicado.
[pullquote]”Dan, of course, was mortified to learn of any possibility that he was not in full compliance as he has made it his life’s work to help organizations pursue integrity.”[/pullquote]However, the ECFA statement is not completely accurate. To use the title of CPA en Kansas, se debe obtener un certificado de CPA, así como un permiso para ejercer. Aunque Busby tenía un certificado de CPA de Kansas activo de 2000 a 2015, su permiso de Kansas caducó en 2000 y sigue caducado.Asimismo, de acuerdo con el AICPA, “cualquier acción iniciada por un miembro que informe a otros de su condición de contador público certificado. . . constituye mantenerse como CPA”. Busby no solo usó la designación de CPA de 2000 a 2015 en su sitio web, biografía y en sus libros, sino que también preparó las declaraciones de impuestos ECFA 990 y fue incluido como CPA en directorios en línea.
Taylor dijo que mantiene su afirmación de que la violación de Busby fue intencional y no un "descuido". Además de los hechos ya citados, Taylor señaló que Busby no usó el título de CPA cuando firmó una carta en 2011 que se envió al IRS, ni en un informe de 2013 que se presentó al senador estadounidense Chuck Grassley. La "conclusión lógica", afirma Taylor, fue que Busby "temía que lo descubrieran y se avergonzara, por lo que ocultó el CPA donde el riesgo era mayor".
Según la declaración de ECFA, la junta de la organización fue informada de los problemas con la junta de Virginia "a medida que se desarrollaban". La declaración agrega que la junta "continúa apoyando incondicionalmente a Dan en su papel como presidente de ECFA y en todos sus esfuerzos".
Curiosamente, el salario base de Busby en ECFA en 2015 fue de $193,218, según el ECFA 2015 990 formulario de impuestos. Sin embargo, en 2016, el año de la sanción de la junta de Virginia, saltó un 26 por ciento a $242,563. Y en 2017, los últimos 990 disponibles en línea, el salario base de Busby era $254,979.
Una de las siete áreas cubiertas por los siete estándares de ECFA es el establecimiento de compensaciones para los líderes de sus organizaciones miembros. Los otros estándares tratan sobre el uso de los recursos y el cumplimiento de las leyes, cuestiones doctrinales, gobernanza, supervisión financiera, transparencia y administración de donaciones caritativas.
Declaración de ECFA:
El presidente de ECFA, Dan Busby, se enteró en 2015 de que no cumplía con las leyes de contabilidad de Virginia en relación con su uso de la designación de CPA. Si bien el uso que hace Dan de la designación de CPA cumple con las leyes de Kansas, donde estaba originalmente y todavía está certificado, no tenía idea de que su uso de la designación posiblemente podría no cumplir con la ley de Virginia. Dan, por supuesto, se sintió mortificado al enterarse de cualquier posibilidad de que no estuviera en pleno cumplimiento, ya que ha hecho que el trabajo de su vida sea ayudar a las organizaciones a buscar la integridad. Nunca se ha presentado como un CPA de Virginia que ofrece servicios de contabilidad pública. El asunto se resolvió con la Junta de Contabilidad de Virginia en 2016, y Virginia le otorgó una licencia para ejercer la contabilidad y, por lo tanto, el privilegio de usar la designación de CPA. Completó más de 180 horas de educación profesional continua en 2016 y 2017 (en contraste con las 40 horas requeridas por año). Dan está contento de haber resuelto el asunto y lamenta profundamente el descuido. La junta directiva de ECFA estaba completamente informada sobre el asunto a medida que se desarrollaba y continúa apoyando incondicionalmente a Dan en su papel como presidente de ECFA y en todos sus esfuerzos.
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I am so surprised! NOT!!
“And in 2017, the last 990 available online, Busby’s base salary was $254,979.“
So the $9k penalty was a slap on the wrist.
You simply cannot make this stuff up… what a lying shyster!
One criminal organization HBC sleeping with another criminal organization ECFA … two perfect soulmates made in hell.
If this series of HBC/ECFA events does not call into question the entire US “Christian” Industrial Complex, I don’t know what does…
Mrs. Roys, as insane as the last few months have been, I think you are only beginning to scratch the surface… methinks that there are many more HFC et.al. /ECFA scandals awaiting the light of day…
PLEASE keep up this amazing work!
Well what do we have here? Such a cute little WOLF ! Baaaaaaaaaaaad!
Hey everybody, just so you know , I did a search — “who created ECFA” and I used DUCKDUCKGO to do it , did you know that JULIES BLOG came up 2nd!!!! after Wikipedia ? Well it did , so then I said to myself ,let’s try google , well wouldn’t you know it JULIES BLOG could not be found in the first 10 pages!!!!!!!!! Everybody needs to start thinking about what the big industrial complex world system of North American church is all about and RUN RUN RUN AWAY!
David, a search engine shows the topic you are seeking and in order of preference and latest entry. Thus Julie Roy being 2nd doesn’t mean anything that you are trying to instigate to no avail. Thank You in trying to look smart with minimum effort.
Think you missed the point Son
First, everyone must understand that CPA’s are the LAST LINE OF DEFENSE against evil and immorality. In a business deal, the CEO, the Sales guy, the COO, even the HR person, can stretch the truth, exaggerate, spin tall tales to convince the world that the company is doing fine to keep the game going. The CPA is bound by professional ethics. If they violate their ethics, they are done for. Our society depends on the ethics of CPAs to be the one person, often the last person in the room to say, “No, we can’t do that, that’s dishonest, that’s fraudulent, that’s wrong to lie/hedge/spin/not tell the truth” to the SEC, the investors, the customers, and employees.
A CPA can get into some borderline ethical situations. But this was not borderline. This is fundamental. This is lesson #1 of being a CPA. You have to have a license. If you practice without a license, you are guilty of ethics violations, misrepresentation, and fraud. The licensing of CPAs is to protect the PUBLIC GOOD. CPA’s play a very important role in society. If every CPA was lying, the entire stock market around the world would crash. The world’s economy would collapse. CPA’s can’t lie about anything in business. If they’ll lie about the fact they’re even a CPA, what does that say about ANYTHING ELSE they say? They can’t be trusted. Ever again.
With Busby, it was a 15-year pattern of intentional misrepresentations to sell books and get rich. This was no accident. It was intentional. He lied to get the job at ECFA. ECFA apparently didn’t check his license, or didn’t care, or worse, thought him lying about it was a good idea. This tells me that NOBODY on the ECFA board or workforce knows right from wrong. They are in concert in protecting the wolves to fleece the flock. The idea that ECFA is a watchdog group is a TOTAL LIE. They are bigger crooks in some regards, that the megapastors who enrich themselves. They are like corrupt cops and politicians. We trust them, they preach trust, and they have been lying all along. They serve themselves. This needs to be shouted from the rooftops!
The reason this is a ‘big deal’ is that if the CPA’s in our society are corrupt, then the whole society becomes corrupt. So when not just any CPA violates ethics, the one CPA who sits ON TOP of the Christian ECFA mountain, who is the top guy who tells everyone else that they have to follow ethical principles, who says you must have integrity, the guy who wrote a book called TRUST, because he claims to believe in God and the Bible, and the ECFA’s mission isn’t just accounting records and financial statements, their stated mission is to help evangelize the world for Jesus Christ – when THAT GUY is found to be corrupt, for 15 years, lying about his personal record, his professional accreditation, his raison dete, it’s a MASSIVE CREDIBILITY CRISIS. Busby must resign.
These guys are supposed to read the bible, believe in the bible, preach the bible, and obey the bible. None of that is true. It’s all lies. After Busby lies and cheats, the door is WIDE OPEN for everyone else to just lie and cheat, and do it in the name of Jesus. It’s sickening. So not only does business and commerce crumble away, the church crumbles away, and civilization crumbles away. We need to call out the ECFA, their board for backing Busby, and his co-author Van Drunen for standing by and profiting off of Busby’s lies to enhance their book sales and personal profits, all while claiming to be the guardians of ethics and integrity and believers in Christ.
The State of Virginia thought it was a big deal. They fined him $10,000, which is a very large fine for that agency. The State of Virginia confirmed the facts that Busby profited off of books that falsely claimed he was a CPA when he knew he wasn’t.
Concerned Citizen,
amazing comment. I second all of it.
Concerned Citizen … I’m sorry, but as a CPA I can assure you that the idea that CPAs are a last line of defence against evil is bizarre, likewise the claim that if CPAs are corrupt then our whole society becomes corrupt. The idea that some Code of Ethics will make a person lacking integrity behave honestly is simply naive. CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, etc. are all positions/roles, not professional designations. A CPA could be employed in any of those roles and there is no reason to believe that he/she would behave with any more (or less) integrity than somebody who does not hold a professional designation.
Integrity comes from within, not from without. Not having to abide by a particular Code of Ethics will not make a person of integrity do wrong and expressing adherence to a Code of Ethics will not make a person lacking integrity do right.
“I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on here!” Croupier: “…Your winnings, sir.” “Oh, thank you very much!” -Capt. Renault, Casablanca
God is exposing a lot of people with evil intent during this. My prayer is the justice will come for these people who mistake Gods family for easy prey.
This is an unbelievable story. Imagine the head of an accounting org not being a CPA! And they say they are Christian?? No wonder they couldn’t find any irregularities at HBC.
ECFA has every reason to whitewash ministries and say they are complying with ethical standards. If they kick out an organization, that’s a loss of revenue that effects their bottom line. As long as the ECFA seal is up, donors keep giving and both that ministry and ECFA make bank. What a bunch of crooks!
So he had a CPA license in Kansas during this time but let his permit lapse, didn’t have a License in VA , but has since corrected that, prior to this article…. So he is a CPA, that seems confirmed, question is, is he a good one and is he good at what he does currently and should he be in charge of the ECFA.
What was extremely disappointing was the continued certification of Harvest by ECFA, that finally came to end, hopefully for good, as their finances are much worse than what is public, I believe.
I appreciate so much of what Julie has written, and I hope continues to write, at the same time as believers we also must choose our words carefully. I have read a lot of pain in the comments sections of her posts and understand why and pray for healing. I do believe the pain is greatest for those who have misplaced their hope and faith in man’s church and man’s leadership, instead of Christ and His word. The problems with JMac have been known from the start, his temper, and I’m sure other traits, were there in the beginning, people in leadership and in the congregation can claim they were duped now, I just find that to be a little disingenuous.
It seems now this outing of bad & sinful behavior, rightfully so, can quickly turn to sinful behavior itself. If we don’t hold each other, bloggers, authors and others, who profess to be believers, to account, in a biblical way. Which is what, at its core, is the problem with JMac/Harvest/Hybels/Willow/SBC/ECFA, et al.
“last line of defense against evil and immorality / lying shyster / evil intent” These are moral judgments, in the hindsight of history might come out to be true but seem to be ungodly expressions, at this point, based on the facts represented in this blog post.
I’m reminded of scriptures a friend who has been dealing with so much shared with me today;
“Romans 12: 18-19 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord
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Romans 14: 19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”
I know God’s words are sobering to me, as I do get angry when my loved ones are wronged and when I see injustice.
Praying for peace….
David, I can appreciate this point of view and the scriptures.
Good evening David H.
This man is supose to be a professional – it seems that he is very well paid. I don’t buy that your points that lead to a conclusion that this is not a big deal. What would you say if he was part of a team that operated on you wife/family member with as much sucess as monitoring HBC?
This is an extremely upsetting time for a lot of people and many are asking where is the accountability? It doesn’t seem to be here, at GFA, or Mars Hill. How many other churches dark secrets have they missed? What are they doing to earn their fees?
There needs to be as big a house cleaning at EFCA as HBC. This is the start of another big scandal – Remember just because they seem nice, white, professional and profess to be a Christian does mean that they are any of them.
— CJ
Of course everyone needs to hold everyone else accountable. I also think it’s a fair thing to hold you accountable as well. If you think someone here has sinned by pointing out that this guy was engaged in some fraudulent activity, at least regarding his credentials, then by all means tell us how and where, and be specific. Otherwise, we’re going to (rightfully) think that you just want people to shut up and stop shouting the truth from the rooftops (which is kind of a Jesus thing, isn’t it?), and that would, of course, be wrong and sinful itself.
Crooks upon scammers upon cheaters but they all know how to look and sound pious.
This is all so disheartening, but I resolve to press on for Jesus–not for status or riches, but for Jesus. Who’s with me? Please tell me there are scores of believers out there who, imperfect as we are, seek to serve the Lord FOR the Lord. I’ve always thought there are. I believe there are. I hope there are. Please tell me there are.
Mark ,there are people who are sold out for Jesus…God always has his remnant……the CHURCH just isn’t as big as we thought it was.
Why is anyone surprised???? Isn’t Kansas the place where the tin man aka A Mr.Dan Busby (who lacks a heart) and Scarecrow aka HBC elder Steve Huston,(who lacks a brain) along with the Wizard of Oz aka Mr. MacDonald conceived how they would together Harvest everyone’s wallet?
That’s awesome Jacob!
Jacob, you forgot the cowardly lion who are the other pastors, elders, leaders, staff and spouses who had no guts to stand up and speak the truth. They feared man more than God. They will not walk the streets of gold but the yellow brick road thru the wide gates of………
Jacob and Garyabby, thanks for making me smile .
ECFA president Busby’s annual salary in 2017 was $254,979.
Based on recent U.S. Census Bureau figures… The median household income in 2017 was $61,372. (Household income includes all adults in home). – from Investopedia.com
Busby’s individual income is *more than four times* as large as a median USA household. Many Christians are below this median, probably at least 50% like the rest of the country.
Here is yet again another example of how an elite “Christian leader” enjoys an extremely lucrative career; a career that is solely paid for by the hard, honest labor and sacrificial giving of sincere Christians (many of whom have lower incomes).
This whole ECFA organization is unnecessary and a waste of money. Window dressing for ministries, at a price. Christians have been suckered and scammed and guilted from their money for too long in many astonishing ways, as the HBC debacle has demonstrated.
How much REAL ministering happens in today’s mega-charities and mega-churches? My opinion: Most of the money is siphoned off or wasted by predatory leaders who live country club lives, while only a few cents on the dollar trickle down into true beneficence. Real ministry is done by the dedicated, over-worked, underpaid or volunteer Christians who care about others and are living life in the trenches with each other. So, I propose we dispense with all the Evangelical Industrial Complex overhead, and just do church simply. It will cost a lot less and more will get done.
Absolutely true Song of Joy
Very sad but looks like Julie will never run out of material to write about. The line between right and wrong has become blurred. Black has blended w/ white and grey is the accepted norm. Biblical principles has been set aside for compromise. Now Dan Busby must do the honorable thing and resign for the integrity of ECFA. If not, he must be dismissed immediately or all the Christian organizations that rec’d the ECFA stamp of approval will suffer loss in donations. HBC offering is down 40 percent and ministries have suffered. ECFA must do the right thing and protect the many for the sake of the one.
It’s to late The ECFA stamp of approval means nothing now…The real question is why isn’t HBC’s Giving down to Zero…..I can barely believe that there’s 60% still giving to HBC, I think P.T Barnum was a little off, there’s not a sucker born every minute ,Theres a sucker born every second.
You’re not kidding, Dan.
It’s mind-boggling how people continue to stay at Harvest when there are plenty of other healthy Bible-believing, God-honoring churches throughout Chicagoland.
I think people have convinced themselves that by staying at Harvest, somehow it brings glory to God.
To the contrary, I am earnestly praying for members of Harvest to flee Harvest Bible Chapel and make their way over to healthy churches quickly.
And in doing so, maybe, just maybe they will see how God will be glorified in their leaving Harvest.
I wonder if folks at HBC have ever considered that by allowing Harvest to quote-unquote die, they may actually align themselves with what pleases the Lord—By helping people make sense and let go of what’s past; advancing healthiness and holiness in the Church today; and serving as a stern warning to leaders in churches of tomorrow who shirk their responsibilities to the Lord and ultimately seek to serve themselves over serving others.
Unfortunately, the longer people at Harvest continue to somehow think it’s more important to uphold the name of Harvest than the name of Christ; and that it’s a noble cause to see its
doors remain open, the more heartache they are going to be in for.
I may be wrong, but the people of HBC may be fighting against the Lord God Almighty Himself who is far more interested in purifying His Church than propping it up, particularly when people of power continue to conceal and cover up all kinds of transgressions against the Lord.
“In proportion as a church is holy, in that proportion will its testimony for Christ be powerful.”
-C.H. Spurgeon
-Mike Medow
Former HBC Member 1999-2011
Dan Busby needs to resign, and resign today! He is part of the evangelical machine that is producing the canker sores to the world. Sad!
What Busby makes is not even close to what Franklin Graham makes:1 million dollars a year
U guys should b going after Graham
I already did so in 2009. I wrote Busby and asked how he could justify a $1.2 million salary for Franklin Graham. You can read his response to m. Essentially, he doesn’t fig a fig about salaries. http://thewartburgwatch.com/2009/10/13/you-can-trust-the-ecfa-seal-of-approval…/
“Freely you received, freely you give”
In Matthew 21 we find Jesus entering Jerusalem, with the crowds shouting
“Hosanna” to him. Then he went to the temple and verses 12 to 13 tell us what he
did there:
Matthew 21:12-13
“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the
temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of
those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called
a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
Western Christianity has created this image of the blond, blue eyes, sweet
face looking Jesus that was there to please everybody. I wonder how the above
passage fits to this image. The place of the above record was the outer side of the
temple, the so called court of the Gentiles. Much trading was going on there.
People were buying and selling, all in the name of worshipping God: they changed
money for those that were coming from afar; they were selling pigeons for those
that needed to offer them as sacrifice. I have also heard that sometimes what was
happening is that the people were carrying their animal for the sacrifice but the
priest would turn it down, with the excuse that it was not spotless and send them
to the traders to get another one, getting a commission from them. I don’t know
whether this is true or not but I’m pretty sure that there were some priests that
would do this, given the fallen nature of man and his propensity to sin. Of course
what the traders were doing was not a charity business. They were doing it with
The Journal of Biblical Accuracy http://www.jba.gr/
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profit and for profit! The last sentence in the above passage i.e. that they had
made the place a den of robbers indicate that not only they were doing it with
profit but their practices approached those of robbers. There is something not
fitting when the things of God are connected to gain, profit, buying and selling for
profit. I don’t want to point figures at any minister, author, artist or company.
Every one of us including myself will give account for his doings to God, not to me.
It is however a fact that the 2 chief Christian and Bible publishing companies in
the United States (and perhaps in the world) are owned by secular owners, being
part of the same group that owns the Wall Street Journal and many similar
publications / newspapers. This is a fact not a rumor. Purpose of the owning
group is to make profits and as big profits as possible for the benefit of its
shareholders. This of course cannot be an acceptable target of any Christian
ministry or organization involved in things that pertain to God. Ministry and
making big profits have nothing in common! Furthermore, how would Jesus really
feel seeing the practices of many “ministries” today: “buy 5 books get 1 for free.
Here I have the truth of the Word. Only 10 $ today. The hardbound is 50% down.
Don’t lose it!!” If what they really have is teaching that God has inspired – and
many times indeed it is – why should it be sold? Why, in the age where everything
can be made available for free on the internet, not also been made available
online for everybody to see? Selling things that supposedly God has inspired
(teachings, music etc.) is not something that is found in the Bible. Jesus very
clearly said to the disciples when he sent them to minister to people:
Matthew 10:8-10
The Journal of Biblical Accuracy http://www.jba.gr/
3
“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received
without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your
belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer
deserves his food.”
God does not request a payment for what He provides to us. It was a gift,
given to you for free and you are NOT allowed to provide it on profit! Are you
gifted by God to sing for him, to write for him, to minister in any way to Him (and
every Christian is gifted for this)? As you received free of charge you should also
give free of charge. I know that many times you have to sell it (books, CDs etc. do
bear printing/shipping costs etc. and many times the publisher and not the author
defines the price). If this is so, then make it also available for free, online, for the
world to see, giving also any royalties away. Freely you received, freely also give!
The price tag for the gospels indeed reads: “for free… not for profit!”
Tassos Kioulachoglou
Why is franklin graham untouchable? Because he’s Billy Grahams son?
Shame on u
Hi Mike Medow,
It is amazing isn’t it ! I think it shows quite clearly for all of us that the relationship is with the “church” not the “HEAD” The “HEAD” says to” Come out from her and be ye separate and touch not the unclean thing and I WILL RECEIVE YOU and be your Father and you shall be my sons and daughters.
It only took one disobedient moment in the garden to send the rest of us in need of the Savior.
Disobedience is sin and sin separates us from God.When we are separate we cannot “hear” properly.
There is always an element of truth in most everything, does our enemy know the truth? You bet!
Are his ministers transformed into preachers of righteousness? ABSOLUTELY! By their fruit you shall know them…… were good things done at harvest? ABSOLUTELY! BUT good and evil are from the SAME tree, I have come to understand that very few are eating from the other tree…. The tree of LIFE ! The tree of life could possibly be found in small home groups where the WHOLE truth of God’s Word is shared among equals , no big shots,no names , perhaps just believers that truly love one another that is when one knows they have passed from death unto life. Breaking bread and caring for each individual individually. Working out our salvation with fear and trembling Phil 2:12 because narrow is the way that leads unto eternal life.
Jesus said clearly “you cannot serve God and Mammon” KJV , mammon IS the world system not maybe, IS. Is North American church , specifically harvest a business in the system? ABSOLUTELY!
Which means does it operate like a business in this world would? ABSOLUTELY! Would God have ever asking anybody to do that or is He higher, better, Holier and more sanctified than that? YES HE IS! We have all been deceived from the pure truth but sons and daughters are waking up everywhere to the pure truth of His Holy Word. Not everybody will be saved, “If you love me KEEP my commandments” , as opposed to ” Depart from me you workers of iniquity for I NEVER knew you”
One might think they are known , but could God look upon His son as He was sacrificed for us? NO!
Sin separates us and sin is disobedience
Unless somebody is extraordinarily busy or unless they have their head very deeply planted in the sand, people sense that something is going on in the world and in the church today. Through it all, the most important thing, indeed ultimately the only important thing, is to use this time and these situations to follow Christ more closely and not to move away from following Him. That is the standard for all of us.
I am intrigued that nowhere in MS Roys article does she share the last part of the statement issued by ECFA, “Soon after coming to ECFA, Mr. Busby transferred ownership of previously and currently written intellectual properties to ECFA so assertions that the CPA designation was used for personal gain are false.” Her claim is to present both sides of the debate but all we heard in the blog was a quote from Mr. Taylor who said that the reason Mr. Busby did this “was a 15-year pattern of intentional fraudulent inducement to sell books and enrich his pocketbook and his reputation,”
Ray, the main issue is that Dan Busby stated that he was a CPA which he wasn’t, thus that is fraud. Say that it was not for personal gain, he still lied. As president, he reflect both Jesus Christ and the ECFA. Would you trust this man to do your personal taxes and represent you to the IRS if you were audited?
So you’re claiming he didn’t make a penny off the books? That in no way were they or the success of the sales thereof in any manner tied to his compensation? Fascinating. By the way, if he in no way benefited from falsely claiming to be a CPA, why did he do it, Ray?
That statement is misleading. Please provide the source. Busby split the royalties on books sold thru ecfa.org which was disclosed in ECFA newsletters edited by Busby. There is no evidence of a fee split on books sold OUTSIDE of ecfa.org – e.g., amazon.com, bn.com, and every other place books are sold. So Busby can’t truthfully claim he had no profit motive.
However, it wasn’t just the cash, it was also the STATUS of being an author and an expert, and Dan Busby CPA was splashed prominently across the book covers as an inducement to buy and admire the author’s false credentials, which gave him more speaking gigs, too. Busby chaired a committee before the U.S. Congress based on his false reputation and position.
https://www.amazon.com/Zondervan-2013-Ministers-Financial-Guide/dp/0310330882/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=minister%27s+tax+and+financial+guide&qid=1553055131&s=books&sr=1-7
Very helpful, thank you