Nepotism in the Church

Nepotism widely exists within the Church and churches, a good example of it could perhaps be Joel Olsteen, if you know anything about his biography; however, is this good thing or bad? I plan on perhaps doing a more in depth research on the matter because it is an extremely serious issue that faces us all. I wonder if all the graduates that obtain theology degrees every year are getting the interviews they should, and I wonder if the church members are really getting the best teaching they should because of this problem. The following is an excerpt from Don G. Brock's blog, and I personally think it great to see people speak up on this matter. The posting is titled: Nepotism in the Church and it reads as follows:



"In an organization which promotes very high standards of ethics and morality, the church is practicing nepotism as being acceptable. For years, church leaders have hired, promoted, paid, and protected their wives and family members - effectively doubling their household income. Leaders that pay their wife as secretary, administrative assistant, or office manager with church funds, claim the benefits of loyalty and confidentiality. God only knows how often it also protects secrecy.

Nepotism is the practice of allowing employment and economic policies that permit favoritism toward one's family. It includes giving favored employment positions to family members as well as encouraging business transactions with other family members.

I don’t think it’s possible for a leader to fairly evaluate the work of his or her spouse. Even if it were possible (and I don’t think it is), the simple perception of wrongdoing that arises in the minds of the others is reason enough to consider such relationships to be inadvisable and unethical.

Church leaders are more involved in the business of the church today than ever. Some even appoint their own Finance Committee (which opens the door to conflicts of interest, and closes the door to independent thinking and review). Some pastors even appoint their wife as local church Treasurer, a clear conflict of interest which should never happen.

Clergy leaders are expected to establish a reputation (and live up to it). Their conduct determines their reputation. And the people they serve expect their conduct to be scrupulous.

Conflict of interest refers to a situation where a person’s financial or professional loyalty or objectivity in doing his job may be compromised by an outside interest of the person. We are used to hearing the term used with respect to outside business ownership interests of executives or public officials. For non-executives, the concept comes up more vaguely in conjunction with issues like trade secrets, confidentiality, and non-compete clauses. The term also refers to nepotism (Don G. Brock)."




Well, I hope you have enjoyed reading this article, and I also hope that it raised questions in your mind about the matter; I also hope you start doing something about it…if anything start asking questions. God bless!

Reference:
http://don-brock.blogspot.com/2009/02/nepotism-in-church.html