Godly Financial Management Part 2
Paying God Part 6
Scriptures: 1 John 3:17-18; Galatians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 5:17-18
Introduction:
My message last week focused on the attitude we should have as it relates to how we give to God. As I shared last week we are to be cheerful givers and in order to reach this status as a giver we must align our hearts to God. To illustrate this last week I used the example of two men purchasing birthday gifts for their wives. The first man was very meticulous in how he chose the gift. He was excited with his gift because he knew his wife’s heart and that the gift would please her. The second man forgot his wife’s birthday and the gift he purchased for her was something recommended to him versus him picking out something he knew his wife would appreciate. The second man’s gift was an afterthought. Our giving to God should never be an afterthought – it should always be at the forefront of our minds as we become God-focused.
This morning we will examine what purposes the offerings taken by the Church should be used. I know it might appear intuitive as to what the Church offerings are supposed to be used for, but unlike in the pass, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is getting more involved in how ministries manage the monies that are donated to them. There are legalities that must be complied with when making any type of payment to a staff member or to an individual – even if that payment is in the form of a love offering. If these rules/regulations are violated the IRS can remove the not-for-profit status of a Church which would mean that anyone giving a donation to that Church could not record it as a charitable donation on their taxes. It is also becoming more common for the IRS to intervene and actually close the doors of Churches when their violations are to the extreme. Therefore we must be careful as to the tracking and use of any monies that are donated to our Church.
There are two areas that I will focus on as they will encompass pretty much how the monies are to be used. We know that part of the money should go to the maintenance of a physical building that is needed to carry out the functional ministries of the Church. Included in this would be all of the day to day operational needs of the building; maintenance/custodial staff; all utilities; etc. I will not go into this area with the exception to say that our building should not hinder us from doing what God has called us to do. Upkeep on a building should not require so much of our funds that we cannot do ministry work; taking care of the needy; outreach, etc. The building should not be a monument that represents my success; but a functional place to carry out the ministry of Christ. We should have the funds necessary to take care of the building without any hindrance on the ministry functions of the Church. That being said this morning I want to focus on how we should be meeting the needs of other saints; the poor; and paying those who serve in ministry. Each of these areas carries some specific guidelines from an IRS perspective but more so how the money is utilized directly impacts the heart of those who give. Let’s begin with the first approved use of the offerings: meeting the needs of others.
I. Meeting The Needs Of Others
I shared with you previously the situation that was recorded in Luke the 18th chapter. There was a rich ruler who came to Jesus and asked what he must do to be saved. When Jesus told him to go and sell everything he own and give it to the poor and then to follow Him, the ruler was not able to do it. Jesus did not tell him to give it to the Church – did you notice that? He told the man to give it to the poor. So many times we think that the only way to do God’s work is to give the money to the Church but thinking this way will limit your gifts to God. I am not telling to you stop giving to the Church and just give to the poor, but I want to make you aware that our giving exists on more levels than just what we give to Church. Each of us has a personal accountability to God for what we have done and will do as it relates to the poor. Remember, there are people that you will come into contact with that you can help that may never visit this Church or come into contact with anyone else at this Church. The fact that they do not visit here should not influence your helping them as God leads you. Jesus has a heart for the poor so the first area where your offerings should be used to help those in need. This is the first test of you determining if the money you are giving to a ministry is being used according to God’s will. Consider 1 John 3:17-18.
Proactive Assistance
John made the following statement in 1 John 3:17-18: “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” John said that whoever has the world’s good should be proactively helping those in need. This includes the Church. So often we wait for someone to ask for help. We might see them struggling but unless they ask we’re not going to proactively reach out to help. The Church sometimes does this. The Church also uses the regulations from the IRS as a means to justify not helping someone in need. We all know that there are people out there who will abuse the generosity of others and efforts must be made to verify the need if it is someone that we do not know. But when it comes to the specific members of the Church, the Church could do a much better job of taking care of its own. We have to be good stewards of the money that people donate so we must be careful; but we can also do a better job of really helping where we can. Consider what Paul says in Galatians 6:9-10.
“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” We have entered times where there is so much corruption that no one trusts their brother or their Church. The Church responds by closing its hands and only helping a few select people if their situation is bad enough. At one time the primary goal of the Church was to foster the work of the Lord and to help those in need. The neighborhood Church was where people went when they needed help and the Church was often glad to do it – especially if there were of their faith. Paul recognized that the day would come as it was then that people would grow weary of helping others as they struggled to handle their own affairs. There have been many Churches that have closed their doors because they could no longer pay their bills based on what they were receiving. There have been many large Churches that have closed because of mismanagement of funds. If we remember that our first obligation is to minister to the spiritual needs of others and then to their physical needs as the Church is able we will reap a reward if we do not give up for whatever reason.
Jesus spent a lot of time teaching on our being willing to help those in need and one of His more memorable messages on this subject were recorded in Matthew chapter twenty-five. In this chapter Jesus speaks of the time when He will return and separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep were defined as those who helped those in need. The goats were described as those who did nothing for those in need. When all was said and done Jesus made it clear that it would not be possible for someone to get into heaven without them having done anything to help someone else along their journey. This applies to the Church as well as the individual. A Church might appear as blessed and prosperous in our eyes but if they are not doing anything to help those in need in God’s eyes they are not as prosperous as they think.
Before I move on I want to share with you how the IRS views a Church giving assistance to someone in need. In the past this was not a big deal and the Church did whatever was necessary but that has changed. Today a Church must have a detailed tracking and approval process for giving assistance to anyone. If that assistance exceeds a certain amount it must be reported to the IRS. The Church cannot loan money to anyone and that includes the Pastor. The Church is not a bank and therefore it cannot lend money and keep its not-for-profit status. This practice has gotten several Churches in trouble especially when the loans were never repaid and it was not reported to the IRS. One final point that you may not be aware of as it relates to taking up a love offering. If the Church takes up a love offering and the Church is acting as a whole body, the individual receiving the money must report it as taxable income. This is something that many Churches fail to do. I mention these because whenever a Christian ministry or Church gets in the news because of being accused of misappropriating funds donated to them it opens the door for many to close their hearts to giving which ultimately impacts our ability to do what God has called us to do.
II. Compensating Those Who Serve
I know that everyone here knows that those who serve in ministry should receive compensation for their service, especially those who preach and teach His word. In the modern day Church we have expanded this to include almost any position, especially if it is full time. This is part of the evolving of the Church. As the ministries grew there were positions that needed to be filled by full-time people. The more the ministry grew, the more people that were needed to staff it. This morning I want to focus only on those who are in pastoral leadership. How a pastor and/or minister are compensated has led to the downfall of many Churches and ministries – especially Churches/ministries where the founder was the pastor/leader. Pastors/ministers should be compensated fairly for the service they provide but we must be careful that it is kept within balance. 1 Timothy 5:17-18 says “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing’ and ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.”
As we discussed in Bible study, when the apostles started Churches they would appoint elders to lead the congregations when they left. Paul wrote to Timothy who was the pastor the Church at Ephesus that the elders were worthy of their wages, especially those who were preaching and teaching God’s word. These elders were in full-time ministry and Paul was instructing Timothy on how they should be treated. Some have read these verses and walked away believing that the pastors should receive twice as much as anyone else in the Church but I am not confident that this is the real message that Paul was trying to send. What I want you to remember and understand is that whoever leads the Church should be compensated fairly but they should also fully perform their duties according to the Word of God. Turn to 1 Corinthians 9:6-14.
In his letter to the Corinthians Paul is forced to address an issue about raised about him and possibly the other apostles working secular jobs. The mentality of some is that Pastors should not rely solely on the Church for their support and this attitude existed during the New Testament times also. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he made the following statement: “Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?.....If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? (Vss. 6, 7, 11) When you read this for what it says, Paul is making the case for why those who preach the gospel should be compensated for their work. Paul, as was the other apostles, was in full-time ministry so he was not in a position to provide for his daily need. He could not work in his trade because he was working for the Lord. Again, it seems that some took issue with him not working at another job while also doing the work of the ministry. I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard people make similar comments about Pastors getting rich off of their hard earned money. I mean really, all they do is preach for maybe an hour on Sunday and teach for an hour during mid-week service. Can they not work another job and thus free up more money for the Church to use for outreach? This is truly how some people think. They fail to see the benefits of having a full-time pastor on call to meet their every spiritual need. Believe me when I tell you that there is a lot more to this job than just preaching on Sundays and teaching during a mid-week service. I know that I do not have to make this case for you, but you need to be able to answer the question if anyone should ever ask you about this issue.
I know that there are ministers out there abusing their authority as it relates to how they are compensated. There are Churches out there violating the rules and regulations of the IRS because they are unaware of what the rules are. But please understand that ignorance of the law does not alleviate the consequences of breaking them. Let me give you just a couple of instances where we can get in trouble as it relate to compensating the Pastor or other leaders of the Church. When I was growing up the pastor of my Church would receive a percentage of the offering every week as his salary. Today that would be a violation of the IRS rules. Another area that is very common in Churches today is the Pastor’s Aid Committee. According to the IRS this committee violates its rules if it provides any assistance to the Pastor with donated funds. This would include purchasing clothes for anniversaries; sending them on trips, etc. The Church also cannot purchase the pastor a new car with donated money. If a pastor has a cell phone that is paid for by the Church the cost and monthly fees for the phone must be included in his overall compensation. Are you starting to get an idea of how easy it is for Churches to get into trouble when they “take care of” their pastor?
As I stated previously, I fully believe that the man or woman of God deserves to be compensated fairly according to the ability of the Church. When I say ability of the Church I use this term because the IRS has issued a guideline that the total payroll of a Church cannot exceed 32.6% of the total income. Based on the total income of the Church, the salary of the pastor and all staff members should be established. Regardless of what the agreed upon payroll is for the staff members of a Church, it should not limit the Church’s ability to meet its other obligations, especially the ministry functions of the Church.
I know that I have covered a lot of ground in this series but I wanted to make sure that you had the information you needed to be able to follow God’s leading as it pertains to your finances. To date I have addressed giving from both an Old and New Testament viewpoint; what our attitudes should be when we give; and what the monies should be used for. Next week I will conclude this series with a review of “how” we should give – this will be over and above our being cheerful givers.
May God bless and keep you.
