As Americans have run up non-mortgage debt of more than $2.4 trillion, churches and Christian radio stations are supplementing their spiritual counseling with financial counseling, often using programs developed by other Christian organizations and marketed in church circles or over the Internet, the New York Times reported yesterday. “For a church not to provide some service for people who are suffocating from too much debt would be burying our head in the sand,” said Dave Stone, the senior pastor at Southeast, a nondenominational church that draws 18,000 worshipers each weekend.  More than 39,000 churches have used debt-reduction programs created by Crown Financial Ministries, a group in Gainesville, Ga. About 3,000 churches have bought a $250 Good Sense program developed by Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Ill. Both are nonprofit organizations.

Yes, a bankruptcy case can be reopened for cause.  Typically, we are seeing a lot of cases being reopened for completion of the two-hour financial management class.  What is happening, is the cases are closing without completion of that class.  The debtor then takes the class, and brings a motion to re-open the case so that the certificate of completion can be filed with the clerk.  Then, the debtor will receive a discharge under Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  Here’s the kicker.  There is an expensive feature regarding reopening a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.  It’s almost the same prices as filing an entirely new case.  However, it is the best remedy, since the debtor does not have to go through the entire process once again.  If he pays to reopen the bankruptcy case, and files the proper documentation, he will receive a discharge under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code.

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