Pastor of World’s Largest Church Convicted of Embezzlement

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00:00:05.000 | In South Korea, a 78-year-old pastor was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of embezzling millions of dollars.

00:00:12.000 | He's also the pastor of the largest church in the world.

00:00:15.000 | Pastor John, I know you've been following the situation, and you want to say something about it here on Ask Pastor John.

00:00:20.000 | Yes, I do.

00:00:23.000 | With every public dishonoring of Christ, and every public dishonoring of His Word and His Gospel and His Church,

00:00:32.000 | it makes me angry and it makes me sorrowful.

00:00:35.000 | I once heard David Hubbard, the former president of Fuller Seminary, say,

00:00:42.000 | "We pay people according to how many dishes break if they drop the tray."

00:00:46.000 | And I thought at the time, "That's right. I guess in American culture that is what we do."

00:00:51.000 | And here I say, "Yes, and the more dishes break when you drop the tray, the more indignation the restaurant owner has

00:01:00.000 | or the people who depend upon the waiter to carry the tray."

00:01:06.000 | And so when a pastor drops the tray again, well, here are the facts.

00:01:11.000 | Maybe people don't really know about the situation.

00:01:13.000 | David Yong Hee Cho is the pastor of the largest church in the world, Pentecostal Congregation in Yeouido.

00:01:18.000 | It's called Yeouido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea, with a million members.

00:01:22.000 | He's been sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling about $12 million in church funds.

00:01:29.000 | And his son was found guilty.

00:01:32.000 | As far as I know, his son is already serving his sentence,

00:01:35.000 | and the sentence of David Yong Hee Cho has been suspended for five years.

00:01:42.000 | And my response to this is really not to pile on with any additional condemnation of David Yong Hee Cho,

00:01:53.000 | but rather to try to respond for the rest of us in a way that prevents this kind of thing as much as possible.

00:02:01.000 | Paul said in Galatians 6, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in a transgression,

00:02:06.000 | you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness."

00:02:09.000 | Now that's what I assume is happening with his elders and his leaders.

00:02:13.000 | I can't do that from America. I'm counting on the church there to do that.

00:02:17.000 | But then it says, "Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."

00:02:22.000 | Okay, now that we can do. That I can do.

00:02:25.000 | And so I want to keep watch on myself, and I want pastors to keep watch on themselves.

00:02:31.000 | So, Tony, I have five pleas. I want to give five pleas to pastors.

00:02:37.000 | My hope is that pastors will listen to this, and they'll take this 68-year-old pastor's heart,

00:02:43.000 | aching that we not bring this kind of reproach upon the name of Christ.

00:02:49.000 | So plea number one is kill every desire to be rich and get rich.

00:02:56.000 | Don't want this.

00:02:58.000 | If you see the desire in your heart, take aim at it with the words of Christ and the words of Paul,

00:03:04.000 | and put it to death with a swift blow of the sword of the Spirit.

00:03:08.000 | Jesus said how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom.

00:03:12.000 | In other words, don't want this.

00:03:14.000 | It's easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom.

00:03:18.000 | Why would you want to be rich?

00:03:20.000 | And Paul said those who desire to be rich pierce themselves with many pangs in 1 Timothy 6.

00:03:27.000 | So that's number one. Kill every desire to be rich in the ministry.

00:03:33.000 | Number two, I plead with pastors that if you see your income starting to grow,

00:03:40.000 | set a governor on it and keep away from accumulating more and more

00:03:46.000 | and communicating to your people that you lay up treasures on earth.

00:03:50.000 | One of the best ways to do this, I think, is to grow the percentage of your giving.

00:03:56.000 | I'm not impressed with pastors who give 30% of a million-dollar royalty check

00:04:01.000 | and keep 70% of it to buy luxuries with.

00:04:06.000 | I've heard pastors boast that they give 30%, 40%, or maybe even—

00:04:11.000 | I'm not even impressed with giving 90% of a 10-million-dollar royalty check

00:04:17.000 | and keeping a million dollars to play with while you look like every other millionaire

00:04:23.000 | and think that you've done a virtuous thing because you've given away 90% of your money.

00:04:29.000 | That's just not the issue. Money is insidiously deceptive.

00:04:33.000 | We've seen it over and over again, and I'm pleading with pastors,

00:04:36.000 | be content with what the church pays you and give the rest away with joy and strategic wisdom.

00:04:44.000 | And number three, I plead with pastors to be totally transparent with your fellow elders

00:04:50.000 | from inside your church so that they know what your income is from all your sources.

00:04:56.000 | These elders should not be the wealthy, powerful peers or friends from outside the church.

00:05:03.000 | That's an unbiblical way to lead your flock.

00:05:06.000 | It has no biblical foundation, and it communicates distrust for your local leaders

00:05:11.000 | and a kind of pride that you're above their local accountability.

00:05:16.000 | Let all the books of your income be open to any member of your church who asks the elders.

00:05:22.000 | Secrecy around money is deadly. It's a sign that something is not right.

00:05:29.000 | So work to give your ministry the flavor. We're not like peddlers of God's word.

00:05:36.000 | Plea number four, I plead with you to live simply and to model for your people

00:05:42.000 | a way of showing that your treasure is in heaven and not on earth.

00:05:48.000 | Please don't write this off by calling it pauper theology.

00:05:53.000 | "There goes Piper again with his pauper theology." That is absolutely ridiculous.

00:05:58.000 | The kind of distortion that that makes of what I'm saying is a sign of fear

00:06:04.000 | that what I'm saying just might be true.

00:06:07.000 | You have to distort it with pauper theology to escape the truth.

00:06:11.000 | I've said nothing about being a pauper.

00:06:14.000 | I'm talking about get a car that works and gets you where you need to go.

00:06:20.000 | Get a car that doesn't break down on you every few months.

00:06:24.000 | I'm talking about a modest entertainment budget that doesn't eat out every night.

00:06:29.000 | I'm talking about a refreshing vacation, not an exorbitant one.

00:06:33.000 | I'm talking about clothes that are unremarkable and undistracting,

00:06:38.000 | both for not being shabby and not being brand driven.

00:06:42.000 | I'm talking about a home that accomplishes your family and your ministry purposes,

00:06:47.000 | leaning toward ordinary folks in your congregation, not the wealthiest.

00:06:51.000 | Peter says to the shepherds, me and all the pastors,

00:06:55.000 | "Don't shepherd this flock for shameful gain.

00:07:00.000 | Eagerly, do it eagerly, being examples to the flock."

00:07:04.000 | In other words, handle money in a way you'd like your people to handle it

00:07:09.000 | with a view to showing the world that Christ is your supreme treasure.

00:07:15.000 | And lastly, I plead with pastors to lead your people

00:07:20.000 | to put in place a leadership structure of a plurality of elders,

00:07:27.000 | a council of elders, on which you, pastor, have one vote.

00:07:33.000 | You are a chief among equals in that you have the direction of the pulpit

00:07:39.000 | and the leadership by the word of God, by persuasion,

00:07:44.000 | not by having veto power over everything your lay people say,

00:07:48.000 | not by maneuvering with organizational power.

00:07:52.000 | So, Tony, I am so jealous for these things

00:07:56.000 | because I'm jealous for the name of Christ.

00:07:59.000 | His name is blaspheme, Paul said.

00:08:02.000 | Paul said, it's so interesting, Paul said,

00:08:05.000 | "The name of God is blaspheme because of you."

00:08:09.000 | And what was he referring to?

00:08:11.000 | He said, "You abhor idols and you rob temples."

00:08:16.000 | What was that? That was hypocrisy to the core.

00:08:19.000 | Calling idols bad names and pretending to be real jealous for God's name

00:08:25.000 | and all the while, what you really want is money.

00:08:29.000 | He said, "The Pharisees were lovers of money

00:08:32.000 | and thus the name of God is blaspheme among the Gentiles."

00:08:35.000 | That's what's happening today because of pastors who love money.

00:08:39.000 | Oh, oh, for every pastor to be ready to cut off his hand

00:08:45.000 | before he uses it to bring reproach on the name of Jesus by grasping for money.

00:08:50.000 | Yes, thank you, Pastor John, and thank you for listening to this podcast.

00:08:54.000 | Please email your questions into us at askpastorjohn@desiringgod.org

00:08:58.000 | and visit us online at desiringgod.org to find thousands of books, articles, sermons,

00:09:02.000 | and other resources from John Piper, all free of charge.

00:09:05.000 | I'm your host Tony Ranke. We'll be back tomorrow.

00:09:07.000 | Bye-bye.

00:09:08.000 | [END]

00:09:10.000 | [END]

00:09:12.000 | [END]

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Pastor of World’s Largest Church Convicted of Embezzlement

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