February 22, 2007
Keeper of the Money Bag
I’m sure the Apostles were surprised and disappointed to learn that one of their own was less than trustworthy. Judas, “…was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:6b NIV) In my church the leaders have confidence in the checks and balances they’ve implemented for the financial ministry. Those working with church finances have been deemed trustworthy, and I’m sure they are. I do however believe that we are naive if we allow authorities to keep us from scrutinizing financial income, expenses and budgets. Apart from being privy to one another’s contributions, church financials should be open and transparent. Because my request for past and current financial documents was refused, I’m asking myself, ‘Why? What is being hidden? What do they not want me to see?’ I’m now suspiciously looking for motives behind actions. I think President Ronald Reagan had it right, “Trust but verify”
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Gail;
Within the Greek term from which “church” (a called out to gathering) is translated is the implication of the calling’s purpose. The term leaves the supplying of the calling’s particulars to context. In I Corinthians 16:15 Paul lifts up the household of Stephanas for their devotion to the service of the saints. Your church has narrowed its purpose to attending the issues of young families. The efforts of each are more or less directed by men, and those in proximity to each are exhorted by the Bible to submit to such who labor in the Lord (I Cor 16:16, Heb 13:17, I Tim 5:17).
Some churches do narrow their focus on missions, others on the poor, others on gangs in the streets and alleys of their own neighborhoods. And they each are proper in holding a narrowed focus in the purpose of their service, according to the import of I Cor 16:15&16. In the same reasoning, what your church is doing in the narrowing of its focus becomes more and more proper as the leaders there are more and more able to silence their brethren who took offense to this entire shift in church paradigm begun several years ago.
It then follows that the budget and financial activity of that church will be proper also if it indeed operates within the bounds of their chosen focus. As such, there should be no hesitation about full presentation of the financial information. There should rather be some sense of honor in effectively using those funds for the purpose in the heart of the gathering. This is where the elders’ hesitation to be open and transparent about the budget becomes a bit revealing.
The elders know a division caused by their shift of the church purpose still remains. They know that by looking at full disclosure some people could easily see that the church has embarked upon a whole new philosophy regarding how to best serve the Lord. I honestly believe it scares them to death for details of the ministerial salaries to be known. They may also be uncomfortable with the implications of communicating a tight and low budget to the people on the one hand, while hording up a few hundred-thousand dollars in cash and cash equivalents on the other hand. But both of these serve the purpose in which they are trying to serve the Lord. The fact they are wary of making full disclosure reveals that they are still aware of the division over their remake of the church. And they understand that doing anything which causes division is wrong.
But they are fully convinced they are doing right, and that is what Paul says we should be (Rom 14:5.) As more and more they become the people who use that church facility to serve the Lord, then those who come into their proximity, according to I Cor 16:15-16, should submit to them. What to do with the reality that the church facility was taken from others, what to do with the reality that their leadership style is authoritarian (in Peter’s terminology: domineering), what to do with the reality that agreement in that church is expected to be with them rather than with one another, and the many other issues that can be pointed out require the same patience, perseverance, faithfulness, humility, and communication as do other problems in other churches, and as do all the problems of my own life. While we are all figuring that out, the Lord has sufficient mercy for each of us so that we can continue to at least accomplish something. And full disclosure of our finances should be a reflection of the full confidence we have in the good of those accomplishments.
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