These are facts, or at least at the time of this writing, believed to be facts:
(1) New Creation Church (NCC) - a charity registered under the Charities Act. Thus under oversight of the Commissioner of Charities.
(2) Governance within the NCC - Joseph Prince, the CEO of the NCC was/is also the Chairman of the Finance Committee.
The Commissioner of Charities in the wake of TT Durai would prefer a segregation of duties.
Such segregation is a strong component of a process that keeps the CEO honest.
NCC was strongly against such segregation. Letters to the press then and letters to the press now on this issue and the current Commissioner of Charities ruling, was done by Matthew Kang.
Matthew Kang is currently one of the shareholders of Rock Productions together with Joseph Prince.
(3) Rock Productions is not a charity. It is a commercial company. As the first post of this thread shows, there are 4 named shareholders. Together they run the entire investment portfolio of the NCC.
As Rock Productions is a company, funds transfer and ownership between the charity and the company should be a matter of concern for NCC churchgoers.
As Joseph Prince, Matthew Kang are key members of the Finance Committee AND shareholders of Rock Productions, decisions made to pass funds from the NCC to the company owned by them should be by independent people.
But the Commissioner of Churches felt that a paper policy on 'conflicts of interests' is sufficient.
How that paper on conflicts of interests can be reconciled against funds being passed out of a charity which has strict laws to a commercial company outside of the church's control is something that the Commissioner of Charities understands.
(3) Joseph Prince's sermons are sold under Joseph Prince's Resources. This is again something outside of NCC. It is a commercial entreprise. Also at one time, within his sermons, every few minutes, he will exhort people to buy his dvds. It is not known if he is still doing it.
And of course, Rock Productions is contributing to economic growth through their hugh property investments.
Doubtless, rationale for the above will be given. A charity is not allowed to engage in business. Therefore a business arm is needed. If there are segregation of roles, some people in the Finance Committee will not give their approval or they may want the governance of the business arm to come under strict and independent review. And also there are the issues of continuity of assets and legal ownership of assets.
In the final analysis, these are issues more relevant to the contributing members of NCC. Whatever their values, understanding, it is their choice and their responsibility and stewardship.
As christians, we are commanded to be discerning. We are also commanded not to judge. With facts in hand, we make our choices with our discernment. That is the best we can do in terms of responsible stewardship.
