As usual, rrmoderator has hit the bullseye. Here is the "financial statement" for the church which you can see makes them as transparent as mud:

[www.liquidchurch.com]

Yup, absolutely!

Actually - Thomas Kang, the Pastor of Morristown went to theological seminary.

As for the financial piece, their financial FAQs are available online ( [morristown.liquidchurch.com] ) and they had a FULL financial review by the CPA firm of Alston & Company in June of this year -- the results they received were excellent. If you have any questions about it, you can email [...] (as the page says).

As I said in a previous post, the Executive Management Team leads Liquid -- and then there is another Management Team (comprised of the Campus Pastors and other Pastors) that leads at the next level. So there is accountability across the board!

[Moderator Note: Don't post contact information, which is against the rules agreed to before posting here}



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2009 12:17AM by rrmoderator.

See [morristown.liquidchurch.com]

There is just a pie chart with no detailed disclosure.

It says that the church takes in about $3 million dollars annually, which is consumed by "expenses."

No details regarding salaries, compensation, etc. for example salaries paid out to staff.

"Executive Management Team"?

Are they elected to fixed terms by the general membership?

What accountability do the team have per the bylaws of the church?

How can they be removed?

What "theological seminary" did Thomas Kang attend? Is it accredited?

See [morristown.liquidchurch.com]

Education disclosed is that Kang attended "Johns Hopkins, Columbia, DTS" and is currently involved in "doctoral studies."

Quote
lhardingly
As for the financial piece, their financial FAQs are available online ( [morristown.liquidchurch.com] ) and they had a FULL financial review by the CPA firm of Alston & Company in June of this year -- the results they received were excellent. If you have any questions about it, you can email [...] (as the page says).

lhardingly, thanks for your response. I can speak from experience that con-men and crooks use 'financial disclosure' and even cite real auditing firms/CPAs as proof. I investigated one such con that a group I belonged to was subjected to by their 'leaders' and found, upon calling the accounting firm, that they had prepared nothing for the said entity...and of course many upon many of thousands of dollars were missing.

I was instrumental in having them shut down and punished by the State's Attorney General.

Anytime I see someone say "And look! We had a real-life accounting firm look over our books and give us a thumbs up" and the financial disclosure is a crappy sparse pie-chart of absolutely NO value like Liquid Church puts online, I for one have alarm bells ringing in my head.

This was very VERY similar to the information the con-artists I had legally shut down and punished provided to our group.

The similarity is frightening really. Especially frightening is the adage on the website FINANCIALS section : "If you have any further questions on finances you can email..." Rrrrrrrright. Sorry this is EXACTLY what the crooks perpetrated on us. "We'll get you more info, etc" "Gee, I'm out of the office but I'll get right on that" etc.

Look at any corporation's website. They ALL include a DETAILED set of financials. Why? Because they have nothing to hide.

The silence of the "financials" provided by Liquid Church is DEAFENING. And trust me, that is not a good thing.

The "financials" alone would make me reconsider any and all involvement in Liquid Church.

Liquid Church doesn't have a monopoly on salvation.

Any current members reading this who may be confused about "alarm bells" that have been going off in their heads for some time should take this advice and run for the exits.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2009 09:08AM by Sparky.

Well it sounds to me like a lot of conclusions are being made without any real proof. What makes you think that Liquid Church is silent in their financials? Because their full financial information is not posted online? I think that's a bold jump! Many churches I know of don't even have a website muchless postings of their full financial info. In addition, they do not claim that the pie chart provided online is a full financial disclosure =).

I'm guessing you haven't called or emailed or even explored it further than browsing their website!

Here's what I'll leave you guys with (because this back and forth could go on and on =)... if the person who posed the first inquiry is truly concerned about their legitimacy then do the research! Feel free to call up the agency, request the full financial details, attend the church, check up on the Pastor's claim to have attended a specific seminary. Perhaps spend some time going through their media archive =). You'll find it all checks out.

I totally understand that there are organizations out there that are shady and make claims that are not truthful -- and I agree, we have to be careful and cautious! But remember -- that fact alone hardly makes this one fall into that category!

Also, Sparky, please be careful to stick with the facts. Liquid Church never claimed to have a monopoly on salvation (e.g. "You must come to Liquid Church in order to be saved") -- that's your claim!