When money is handled properly, those handling the finances should count it a joy and privilege to share the details of what the church is doing with spending their money. Just as we teach our members how to pray by praying together on Sunday mornings, we also teach our members how to view their money by faithfully spending the resources entrusted to the church. It reminds us that giving is meant to lead to worship. This kind of transparency invites everyone to observe how God is advancing his kingdom through faithful giving of your fellow church members. Transparency is a core building block of trust it communicates that leaders are committed to faithfully stewarding the church’s resources-not merely saying that intend to. Sometimes, there may be a thoughtful reason for not sharing a specific detail but generally speaking, make as much information available as possible. But also should a regularly updated report that offers a snapshot of recent spending and giving. In other words, yes, the budget should be visible to church members. A church should be transparent not only about its intentions but its actions. To that end, here are three basic principles that I’m convinced lead to a healthy financial culture, especially in a local church.Ĭhurches should lean into transparency about how money is allocated and spent. That includes modeling his integrity in our handling of money. We are called to be imitators of Christ in all we do (Eph. 5:1). He is faultless, sincere, righteous, and without blemish. Jesus is the perfect example of a man of integrity. And we’re trusting that the elders in charge of stewarding the church’s finances are doing so with the utmost integrity. When we give, we’re not just investing our money we’re investing our allegiance. When Jesus warns us about our hearts and our treasures, he’s not condemning money in and of itself, but rather the greediness that so easily grabs our hearts and convinces us money is all we need.Ĭhurch members tithe their hard-earned money they give sacrificially, trusting those in charge that their gifts will be stewarded to serve God’s kingdom. Pastors often caution their church members about the dangers of money. To make matters worse, there were obvious areas where we could and should have pulled back spending.Īgain, how we spend money reveals what we value. We were consistently operating in the red. Unfortunately, this led to ballooning operating expenses that regularly outpaced the church’s giving. Even between staff and lay elders, there was a tremendous lack of transparency regarding how church finances were being handled and how money was being spent. There was no transparency, which meant there was no accountability. During that time, I saw the pastors take on a private posture when handling the church’s finances. Several years ago, I found myself handling finances and administration for a rapidly growing church with multiple campuses. How should this shape the way we think and talk about how the church spends the Lord’s money? In fact, we see in the Gospels that of his thirty-nine parables, eleven of them talk about money. Jesus didn’t shy away from talking about money. We get squeamish when the topic of money comes up. And yet, we find ourselves living in a world where it’s hard to talk about money. How churches spend the money entrusted to them should matter greatly to believers. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. Jesus tells us:ĭo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. How we spend money reveals what we value.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |