Where Most Needed

Virginia Pastor Ministers with an Iron Hand—and Hot Cars

Leading the same congregation for over 30 years, Pastor Star R. Scott left the Assemblies of God, dismissed the church board, and brooks no dissent among his shrunken but still substantial fellowship.

New York's Largest Soup Kitchen Still Dishing It Out

A New Yorker writer offers an affectionate profile that manages to reveal some of the paradoxes of serving free food in church. 

Big Churches, Small Groups

Mega churches concentrate efforts on developing small group leadership skills to keep their members engaged on a personal level.  Perhaps secular nonprofits need to pay attention. 

Trial Spotlights Lapses in Cleveland Diocese Oversight

The first of two federal trials accuses a former assistant treasurer of the diocese of conspiring with the CFO in an overpriced outsourcing arrangement for accounting and computer services that included kickbacks to the CFO.  But when the CFO was found out, he went to work for the Columbus diocese.  The defense claims that these arrangements were business as usual in Cleveland. 

Dawning of the Dark Side of Philanthropy

A few voices are (re)awakening to the realization that philanthropy is about public relations, not charity.  But they aren't yet ready to abandon the myth of an independent third sector or civil society. 

Habitat for Humanity in the U.S. Faces Mid Life Crisis

Restructuring after the dismissal of founder Millard Fuller has some affiliates longing for a more grassroots approach, but a glance at form 990s and trends in U.S. housing reveals more fundamental perils facing the organization's mission and methods in its home country. 

Head of Ex-Gay Group Exodus International Enjoys Tax-Free Lifestyle

The organization takes advantage of a little-known provision in the tax code to exempt over half of its executive director's salary from Federal income taxes.   

Caught! A Tale of Two Churches in Chicago

Sting operations nab a priest and a church secretary in separate incidents, but the one case cost the congregation more and took much longer to uncover than the other. 

Creation Museum: Let There Be Loot

Having freed themselves from the bonds of both theology and science, the promoters of the museum (which is organized as a charity) seem mostly to be singing from the Walt Disney marketing hymnal.   

Faith-based Group Falters with Katrina Aid

Another group falls far short of its initial projections about the number of people provided with assistance, but few are paying attention.