Pilfering from the pulpit

New Life Church was the victim of a theft this weekend: No one's saying exactly how much was taken, but considering New Life attracts thousands of folks each Sunday -- it's the largest church in town with an annual budget in the millions -- it could be quite a bit.

The folks at New Life feel a little embarrassed about the whole thing. Heck, in the church's view, New Life is just a cash-holding middle-man, shuffling congregants' money to do God's (and the church's) work. They feel a little like the Wells Fargo folks would if one of their money trucks was stolen.

But this sort of thing happens, sadly, quite a bit. A quick Web search pulls up hundreds of church robberies -- some involving millions of dollars embezzled by church treasurers, others the pilfering of some low-cash media equipment. And then, of course, there's this, featuring a samuri-wielding would-be thief.