The Sunday Mail
Pastor I Rea
I cannot think of anything that damages the church more than leaders who commit adultery or those who abuse church finances.
The love of money is one of the main marks of a false teacher, and Paul writes that false teachers see “godliness as a means to financial gain”(1 Tim. 6:5). For this reason, I would like to address the issue of financial accountability. How can church leaders be financially accountable to their congregations?
In its broadest sense, this question refers to both the way a leader stewards his personal finances as well as those of his congregation. For the purposes of this article, however, we will only focus on the latter.
To begin with, we need to consider if leaders obliged to be financially accountable at all.
The answer is yes!
There is Biblical evidence to back up this assertion.
In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul asks the church to start collecting money for an offering to help the poor in Jerusalem. He then goes on to show that he plans to handle the gift in a transparent and accountable way.
Since the motivation for the gift was “to honour the Lord himself and to show eagerness to help (those in need) — v19”, Paul recognises the importance of avoiding any kind of scandal or accusation.
Therefore he writes, “We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men (v20&21)”.
It takes humility to do what is right in the eyes of men, but even one of the greatest Christian leaders of all time did so. And he did it so that the original God-honouring, family-loving motivation for giving the gift would not beviolated.
Take a look at the steps Paul takes to “do what is right”.
He plans to send the gift to Jerusalem in the care of Titus and two “brothers”. Titus was Paul’s “partner and fellow worker among the Corinthians” and the brothers were 1) “praised by all the churches”, 2) “representatives of the churches and 3) an honour to Christ”.
In short, by sending a number of well-known men who were respected by all who were involved, Paul was showing that the money would not be stolen or misused.
Since Paul models financial accountability, what practical steps can church leaders take to be financially accountable?
Here are a few suggestions:
Appoint members of the congregation (working in pairs) to count the collection. This shows that the pastors have nothing to hide.
Collection counters should count the number of each denomination of note in the offering, enter the details on a specially designed form, and sign their names at the bottom.
A bookkeeper should be assigned to keep the church accounts up to date, and these should be available for inspection by any bona fide member of the congregation.
It may be appropriate — particularly in ministries with many congregations – to have the accounts audited regularly by an independent auditor.
There should be no secrecy about how the tithes and offerings are being used.
Pastors and workers paid by the church should not determine their own salaries.
Give the congregation regular financial reports.
Churches should undertake to support other ministries that are not connected to their own — for example a para-church organisation or charity. This gives the congregation a model of giving.
Again, if your church is a member of a denomination, the denomination will probably have instituted requirements for financial accountability. Secondly, Paul teaches the Corinthian church a certain principle.
Paul writes in 2 Cor. 8:13-15:
Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”
In short, there will be seasons when your congregation will “gather much”.
In fact, your congregation may consistently “gather much” because your members are wealthier than those of a church in a poorer area.
In either case, you should be giving to those that have “gathered little”.
No genuine leader wishes to use godliness as a means to financial gain. Therefore, it is essential to put in place a system that enables you to be financially accountable.
By doing this, you will keep yourself from falling. Furthermore, you will short-circuit any attempt to destroy your church with slanderous accusations.
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