Does Bankruptcy disqualify an assistant pastor?

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Inhisdebt

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Ran across this situation. The assistant pastor of an IFB church filed bankruptcy last year and let his house and cars go back to the bank. The reason was his wife wanted to go back to nursing school and she quit her job so the income was cut in half. They decided to go this route to wipe their dept slate clean. Did he disqualify himself for lack of good report in the community? Yes, he kept his job since daddy is the pastor/dictator of the clan. What say ye on this matter?
 
Let me see, they agreed to take a loan for their house and cars, they decided to "better" themselves through education, they filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying their commitment (I assume they are physically and mentally capable of paying their debt) and you are asking what we think on the matter. 

I am ashamed to be associated with such an IFB and I think he qualifies to pastor Low Life Baptist Church.   
 
Just curious how far out of IFB circles you have to go for this to not be a problem considering the various interpretations of the qualifications ( one wife ever or at a time - girlfriend libarian doesn't count ) and this particular point does not get much attention. 
 
By IFB standards? Maybe so, but I don't care about that.

In any other church? In the position of an elder deciding whether to call or keep him? It's something I'd take into account as part of a holistic look at his character, but not an automatic disqualifier.
 
Inhisdebt said:
Ran across this situation. The assistant pastor of an IFB church filed bankruptcy last year and let his house and cars go back to the bank. The reason was his wife wanted to go back to nursing school and she quit her job so the income was cut in half. They decided to go this route to wipe their dept slate clean. Did he disqualify himself for lack of good report in the community? Yes, he kept his job since daddy is the pastor/dictator of the clan. What say ye on this matter?
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If it is as you say, then I would believe he is disqualified.  At the least they are guilty of borrowing without repaying (which is stealing), and of being greedy for the riches of this world.

Now, there are occasions where bankruptcy may be necessary because of situations out of your control.  A pastor I know filed bankruptcy because of medical bills.  That is a far cry from filing bankruptcy to avoid paying credit card bills from undisciplined spending and because of car payments or overextending the line of credit against your house, etc.
 
Inhisdebt said:
Ran across this situation. The assistant pastor of an IFB church filed bankruptcy last year and let his house and cars go back to the bank. The reason was his wife wanted to go back to nursing school and she quit her job so the income was cut in half. They decided to go this route to wipe their dept slate clean. Did he disqualify himself for lack of good report in the community? Yes, he kept his job since daddy is the pastor/dictator of the clan. What say ye on this matter?
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I say he should not be in any place of leadership. It is a dishonest way to live. Not that bankruptcy does not happen to Good Christians, but not that way.  That is underhanded mis-use of the system.
 
It should disqualify him!  Many times assist. pastors and youth leaders are hired on the good ole'boy system instead of qualification. 
 
In my last church my "part time" youth pastor had to declare bankruptcy.  Health issues in the family as well as some admittedly bad decisions with money were the cause. He filed banruptcy to stop the collection agencies and creditors from adding on huge penalties.  Once that was done...I saw him over a 2 year period pay off all his debt to those he borrowed from or owed.  The companies could not believe he would do this...some even had trouble receiving his money because they had no category to receive it.  Almost all them told him he did not need to do this, as he had filed bankruptcy...his reply was, "yes, I do need to do this, as a Christian I must pay what I owe".  What a great testimony!
 
In this circumstance I believe it should, however with Daddy at the helm I doubt it will.
 
What kind of financial qualifications should a pastor/asst. pastor have? No debt? No personal debt? Institutional debt only? All of the above providing it's being paid on time?
 
Bro Blue said:
What kind of financial qualifications should a pastor/asst. pastor have? No debt? No personal debt? Institutional debt only? All of the above providing it's being paid on time?
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I would go with the last one provided it is not incapcitating debt...this whole issue though can be carried too far and people sticking their noses where they don't belong....the church needs to know their pastor is a responsible person in all areas of life, but need to keep their noses out of his private business.
 
The debtor is servent to the lender - does the debt inhibit service? 
Not controlling the fleshly desires for stuff along with no financial training makes for a bad combination. It is sad to see the AP running around with all the latest Apple products knowing they were all bought with intention of not paying for it. The icing on the cake, seeing the christmas bonus being given out to the staff with the AP buying theme park passes instead of paying back his creditors. The downside of IFB - no accountability.
 
Inhisdebt said:

Did he disqualify himself for lack of good report in the community?

I suspect that when the community finds out he gamed the system for his own benefit, his "good report" might go south.

Bankruptcy protection is a shield, not a sword.
 
It would disqualify him from being my pastor.
 
Where's Ebenezer?  He must have an opinion on this.  I think he says that if the value of your house happens to decrease due to market conditions, it's perfectly alright to default on your loan.
 
If the facts are portrayed in the OP accurately, it's grounds for disqualification.  If he knows not how to run his own house, how can he be expected to proficiently operate the house of God?
 
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