Thursday, August 24, 2006
Should Pastors Know How Much People Give?
Should your pastor know how much you give to your local church?
Some Pastors feel that they have a right to know what their members give. And, believe it or not, some people really want their Pastor and others to know how much they give.
What are the pros and cons of this? In some denominations, the pastor himself receives the offerings and thus may know what individuals give. In certain places in Africa, the giving records of members are posted on large signs outside the church. But Baptists historically have taken pains to keep this information confidential.
Perhaps the original reason for this confidentiality was Jesus’ admonition: “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” [Matt. 6:3-4] But in modern times, the motive is more likely privacy issues. People do not want to feel that their acceptance or approval in the church is based on how much they give. Of course, for some who may give a lot, there could be the fear that if other charitable organizations or individuals find out that they are generous, they might be badgered by them. And some may prefer that no one be able to calculate their income by assuming that their contributions are one-tenth of that income.
There is also the problem of fellowship. Many times in my ministry, I have seen problems develop because of issues of the relative size of gifts, either real or perceived. Everyone in the Family of God ought to be treated with absolutely no hint of partiality.
But the most commonly cited reason that the Pastor should not know what people give is in order that he shows no partiality and none can be imagined from the content of his sermons or in his relationships with members.
It is sometimes argued that Pastors know a lot of other personal information about their members due to counseling and other circumstances. So why should he not also know their giving records? Let me say, “Yes, and sometimes this other knowledge can also cause problems!” But, in the case of giving, it may appear that the pastor himself gains something by knowing how much a person gives. That is, he has a self-serving motivation for wanting to know this information. He may show favoritism to those who give well and ignore those who do not. A person, knowing that the pastor knows he does not give much, may perceive that the Pastor does not like him for that reason.
This does not mean that the Pastor or other leadership should be totally in the dark regarding giving patterns in the church. It may be very useful to know, let’s say, that 30% of the attendees give 80% of the income. This tells you something about the health of the church. Such data should certainly be made available to the leadership. However, it should be striped of all personal identifiers.
To be sure, there might be times when it would be genuinely helpful for a pastor to know something about a person’s giving record. For example, a sudden drop in an individual’s giving might reflect a financial need or even displeasure at something in the church. But, however useful such information might be, I am convinced that, on balance, the Pastor, the church, and the individuals are all better served if giving records are kept strictly confidential. A Pastor, free from the burden of personal financial information, can freely speak God’s counsel to all and minister to all impartially.
Should your pastor know how much you give to your local church?
Some Pastors feel that they have a right to know what their members give. And, believe it or not, some people really want their Pastor and others to know how much they give.
What are the pros and cons of this? In some denominations, the pastor himself receives the offerings and thus may know what individuals give. In certain places in Africa, the giving records of members are posted on large signs outside the church. But Baptists historically have taken pains to keep this information confidential.
Perhaps the original reason for this confidentiality was Jesus’ admonition: “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” [Matt. 6:3-4] But in modern times, the motive is more likely privacy issues. People do not want to feel that their acceptance or approval in the church is based on how much they give. Of course, for some who may give a lot, there could be the fear that if other charitable organizations or individuals find out that they are generous, they might be badgered by them. And some may prefer that no one be able to calculate their income by assuming that their contributions are one-tenth of that income.
There is also the problem of fellowship. Many times in my ministry, I have seen problems develop because of issues of the relative size of gifts, either real or perceived. Everyone in the Family of God ought to be treated with absolutely no hint of partiality.
But the most commonly cited reason that the Pastor should not know what people give is in order that he shows no partiality and none can be imagined from the content of his sermons or in his relationships with members.
It is sometimes argued that Pastors know a lot of other personal information about their members due to counseling and other circumstances. So why should he not also know their giving records? Let me say, “Yes, and sometimes this other knowledge can also cause problems!” But, in the case of giving, it may appear that the pastor himself gains something by knowing how much a person gives. That is, he has a self-serving motivation for wanting to know this information. He may show favoritism to those who give well and ignore those who do not. A person, knowing that the pastor knows he does not give much, may perceive that the Pastor does not like him for that reason.
This does not mean that the Pastor or other leadership should be totally in the dark regarding giving patterns in the church. It may be very useful to know, let’s say, that 30% of the attendees give 80% of the income. This tells you something about the health of the church. Such data should certainly be made available to the leadership. However, it should be striped of all personal identifiers.
To be sure, there might be times when it would be genuinely helpful for a pastor to know something about a person’s giving record. For example, a sudden drop in an individual’s giving might reflect a financial need or even displeasure at something in the church. But, however useful such information might be, I am convinced that, on balance, the Pastor, the church, and the individuals are all better served if giving records are kept strictly confidential. A Pastor, free from the burden of personal financial information, can freely speak God’s counsel to all and minister to all impartially.
[To be published in the Penn-Jersey Baptist in September.]
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# posted by Bob @ 7:14 AM 
