Leadership, Lecture 5. We're looking today at the honest steward, a man with a calculator. Almost everything we buy today comes with warnings on it, whether it's something electronic or mechanical or even a child's toy. Obviously there are things that are clearly dangerous that carry warnings as well. Cigarettes and alcohol carry government health warnings. But there's one thing in this world, probably about the most dangerous thing in the world, that doesn't carry any warnings. It's the dollar, or whatever currency we use, money. Paul said that the love of money is the root of all evil," 1 Timothy 6 verse 10. It's not a coincidence that he said this in a pastoral letter to the young Pastor Timothy. Pastors and other Christian leaders are also subject to this great temptation. In fact, as we shall see, they may be more susceptible to it in some ways. And if they fall into this temptation, they usually damage not just themselves, but their ministries and even their whole congregation. Let's look first of all at the roots, fruits, and weed killer of evil. We'll start with the root of all evil. When Paul says that the love of money is the root of all evil, he doesn't mean that every single sin in the whole world can be traced to the love of money. No, all can mean all kinds of evil, multiple evils or numerous evils. Notice also that it doesn't say that money is the root of all evil, it's the love of money. Just having money is not evil. Even having lots of money is not evil. Notice verse 17 in 1 Timothy 6, where Paul says to Timothy, charge them that are rich in this world that they get rid of all their riches. No, it doesn't say that, does it? It says that they be not high minded nor trust in uncertain riches. Then he goes on to speak about the right attitude that even a rich person can have with lots of money. In other words, Paul is saying that you can be extremely wealthy and not sin regarding money. You can be very poor and sin much more regarding money than a rich person. A poor person may have far greater love of money than a rich person. It's not just being rich then that Paul says is evil, and neither is it even the desire to have money that is evil. That is so. Who could live in this world? Who could function? Because there's a natural desire, a God-given desire to earn money, to fund provisions for ourselves, our families, and the church of Christ. So again, it's not just the desire for money that is evil. You can desire money without sinning. It's a certain kind of desire, a certain kind of longing, and a certain kind of love for money that Paul says is the root of all kinds of evil. It's loving money above everything else. It's a loving of money that puts money number one in our priorities. It's a loving of money that makes us pursue it at all costs. It's a kind of loving of money that will make us try to get it by fair means or foul, by good means or bad. It's a love of money that dominates and overwhelms. It's that kind of love of money that's the root of all kinds of evil. Secondly, what about the fruits of all evil? What kind of fruits are produced by this root? Well, there are innumerable fruits. They cannot be counted, there are so many. There are biblical examples of this fruit in the lives of those who were God's servants. In the Old Testament, we think of Gehazi, Elisha's servant, who had the love of money in his life, which led to evil. We can look at Judas, who was greedy, was a thief, and betrayed his Lord for money. There's also Ananias and Sapphira, and Demas, who Paul says, has forsaken me, having loved this present world. 2 Timothy 4.10. So what kind of fruits should we be looking for in our lives to examine ourselves, to see Do I have this evil root? Well, ask yourself these questions. Do I envy other people's lives and covet their possessions? Do I steal through my expenses or tax returns? Am I building up debt by impatience and overspending? Am I taking on commitments just for the monetary reward? Do I trim my sermons in case they offend rich donors? Is my church more of a marketing operation than a ministry? Am I gambling or playing the lottery? Am I taking risky investment decisions? Am I acquiring a reputation for driving too hard a bargain? Do I try to get something for nothing? Do I cut back on givings to the Lord? Ask yourself these questions. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. The love of money produces all these rotten fruits. That's why Paul says that money should come with governmental health warnings. If only on every dollar we earn there was that warning. Whether or not the government puts it on, God puts it on. Notice what Paul says should be written on every note of currency. For example, he says that it should say, I am a great temptress. Verse nine, but they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. Some temptations come so obviously, some come so stealthfully, so beautifully dressed, so innocently, so excusably. If only we could see behind them, I am a temptress, I am a seductress. The next thing the dollar should say on it is, I trap. Paul goes on to say, they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare. If we knew that we were going through a forest where hunters had set traps and snares everywhere, how carefully we would go, how slowly, how gently, how thoughtfully. Yet here Paul says this love for money puts traps everywhere that can grab us damages and injures. I trap. Then he says it should say I fool. He says it leads into many foolish lusts. Foolish here means irrational and illogical. He's saying, if only people could see how irrational and illogical this love for money is. It looks reasonable, it looks logical, it looks normal. He's saying, no, it's irrational, it's illogical. If only you could see what it's doing to you. Then he says the next thing that should be on the dollar is, I endure. He says, he speaks not just about foolish lusts but hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. He says, you think this money is raising you up, promoting you and making you big and high? No, if only you could see it's drowning you, it's taking you down, it's suffocating you, it's sucking the oxygen out of your life and you are slowly dying. The next thing it should say is, I can make you an unbeliever. Verse 10, for the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith. They've strayed off from the path of faith. The dollar can turn you into an unbeliever. Then it says, I can impale you. I can pierce you. Paul says of them, they pierce themselves through with many sorrows. It's almost a picture here of someone crucifying themselves. What Paul has in view here is that every dollar gained, that was thought to bring comfort, pleasure, happiness, is actually going to be turned into a knife that will stab through all eternity. If misused, and ill-gotten, these dollars pierce you with many sorrows." So imagine if we picked up that dollar and it said all these things before we wanted it, before we got it, and as we thought about how we were going to spend it, it would be saying to you, I tempt, I trap. I fool, I hurt, I drown, I create unbelievers, I impale. Well, that would make a difference in our desire for it, wouldn't it? It'd also make a difference with what we do when we're given it by God, how we use it. So how can we be delivered from this love of money? You might say it's become the root in my life and these are the fruits in my life. Is there a weed killer? Is there a way to round up these weeds and these roots to kill them? Or are we just left to our own efforts trying to kill these weeds in our own strength? Well, thankfully not. Let's look at the weed killer of all evil. Notice in verse 6, the context, it says, but godliness with contentment is great gain or great wealth. Now, that phrase can mean two things. Contentment can mean an outward sufficiency. So godliness with an outward sufficiency is great gain. We have enough, we have sufficient for this life. It's the sufficiency we find in the prayer of Proverbs 30, verse eight. Remove far from me vanity and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient or sufficient for me. And here's a lovely balanced prayer. There's a desire for wealth in it, for things, but it's only that I might have sufficient for my family, myself, and for doing good in this world. Solomon is saying, don't give me poverty, don't give me great wealth, just give what will suit me, what will be sufficient for me, just give. what I can handle. Seeking godliness with an outward sufficiency is a biblical prayer and desire. But I don't think that's what's meant here. I don't think this is speaking of so much an outward sufficiency but an inward attitude. Because the context is one of desire and longing What it really means is a godliness that includes contentment with what God has given me. A contentment that frees me from the pursuit of wealth above all else. A contentment that frees me from the desire for another thousand or another ten thousand. If we can have the kind of contentment that frees us from these evil desires, it is huge wealth. This is true riches, to have that contentment that is combined with true godliness. Remember that Paul is actually combating materialistic preachers who said that gain is godliness. Notice, he said that in verse five, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness, from such withdraw thyself. And this is still here today, isn't it? It's known in our day as a health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. If we have much, then God is pleased with us. Therefore, let's have a lot. And it shows God's favor toward us. Gain equals Godliness. Paul says, no, godliness equals gain, not gain equals godliness. Paul tells us in verse seven, we brought nothing into this world and it's certain we can carry nothing out. Someone once said there are no U-Haul trailers behind hearses. We come into this world empty, we leave this world empty. The question for all of us is not how much have we accumulated in this world, But how much have we accumulated for the world to come? It's only inner riches that can go with us to that other world. Faith, love, patience, joy, a Christian family, an inheritance incorruptible that fadeth not away. Death actually enhances these riches. It adds interest to them and it perfects them. inner riches, godliness with Christian contentment goes along with us. Everything else must be left behind. So, these are the principles really I'd like us to carry with us as we approach this subject of the pastor as an honest steward. To really get a grip on money and how it It can be the root of all evil, how it can produce such fruits of evil, but also how to kill these roots and these weeds of evil in our lives. So let's move on then to personal, professional, and congregational stewardship. Having laid the heart foundation for financial stewardship, Let's now look at how this works itself out in our lives, in our personal, professional, and congregational stewardship. Pastors are not really that good at preaching about money. Often they're not good at handling it. In contrast to some of the excesses of the prosperity gospel movement, some pastors have actually gone to the other extreme. and have portrayed their lack of concern or care about their own personal finances as a mark of godliness. So, you know, the more careless and thoughtless I am financially, the more godly I am. Well, the Christian life in general, and the Christian leader's life in particular, is repeatedly portrayed as a stewardship. The New Bible Dictionary says that The Bible translates two words as steward. Epitropos, Matthew 28, Galatians 4, 2, is one to whose care or honor one has been entrusted, a curator or a guardian. Then there's oikonomos. We find that in Luke 16, 2-3, 1 Corinthians 4, 1-2, Titus 1, 7. That really means a manager or a superintendent. built from two words, oikos, house, and nemo, to dispense or to manage, a household manager. So both words really convey the idea of a delegated responsibility to manage God's how. The Christian was to see all property as a trust to be administered for God's glory and the good of others. In Titus 1.7, Paul calls all Christian leaders to be blameless as the steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to, as the KJV puts it, filthy looker. Unsurprisingly, Paul connects blameless stewardship with, among other things, not being greedy of money, something he underlines again twice in 1 Timothy 3. Peter also connects stewardship with wise and generous hospitality, 1 Peter 4, 9-10. In other places, Paul uses stewardship to describe his entire apostolic ministry, his entire apostolic responsibility, 1 Corinthians 4, 1-2. So, whether it's doctrine or dollars, the Christian, Christian leaders, to view himself not as an owner, but as a steward of a household who is managing it for the owner, to whom he must also eventually give an account. There are three main areas of financial stewardship that the leader must be blameless in. The first is in personal finance, the second is professional finance and the third is church or congregational finance. Let me give you 10 principles for personal finance, and this really applies across the board, but pastors must focus on this too. First of all, study. Look at Proverbs 24, 3 and 4. If someone gave you $2 million today, you'd probably do two things. First, you'd buy a book on money management. Second, you'd call a trusted financial advisor. Well, the average American family will earn $2 million in an average working life. Yet, few study how to manage their money and few take advice on it. No one is born a George Soros. Neither was George Soros born a George Soros. He had to learn by studying and seeking advice, as do we. A pastor should not be a financial expert, up to date with the latest in the stock market and so on. However, a basic level of financial competence should be the aim. And that can be achieved by regular reading, by getting good financial advice. Proverbs 15, 22. Secondly, budget. Proverbs 24, 3 and 4, Luke 14, 28. If you aim at nothing, you'll almost always hit it. And that describes most people's financial strategies from month to month and from year to year. In contrast, the 3% of people who have written financial goals achieve more financially than the other 97% combined. Financial strategy begins with a monthly budget. You add up all income and give every item of income a name. Then, you list fixed expenses. Your tithe, your rent or mortgage, your car insurance, so on. You allocate monthly amounts for annual outlays. For example, car tax, condominium fees, your snowplough, whatever. Then, estimate variable expenses for your utilities, your groceries, eating out, clothes, Medical expenses. Allocate an amount for these variable expenses. Then set aside a monthly amount for miscellaneous general purchases. Birthday presents, books, coffees and so on. And once you've done all that, you've got all your income and then you've got all your expenses. Fixed and variable and annual. Ensure that your income exceeds your expenditure. And track this rigorously to find leakage. If you can, every day, make sure that you allocate daily expenditure to each budget. And also, of course, make sure that you pay your bills on time. A budget involves going back every month, seeing where did I exceed, where can I tighten up, and so on. Thirdly, save Proverbs 21.10, 22.3, Matthew 25, 14 to 30. Most pastors are not going to be able to save much money from their limited salaries. However, they should have five priorities in descending order of importance, and again, it's just as you can. You've got to start somewhere, and you start with short-term savings for emergencies, car repairs, doctor's visits, something goes wrong in the house, you should have a short-term savings account for emergencies. Second, once you've got enough in that account, maybe a minimum of $3,000, move on to medium-term savings for major household purchases. Down the line, for example, things like washing machines, furniture, a computer. Putting aside, if you can, every month an amount for these savings that are going to come in a year or two or three, Third, put aside a reasonable amount each month towards an annual family vacation. Certainly no more than 10%, but don't skimp on it either. This is a vital part of recovering from ministry and preparing again for more ministry. Fourthly, save towards a used car of increasing quality. each time you purchase one, so that you never need to finance a car. You start low, each time try and move up. And lastly, if there's anything left over, in a pastor's salary, it's going to be really tough, especially in early days, raising children. But if there's anything left over, it should go towards long-term savings for retirement, college tuition if possible, and so on. So save. Fourthly, give. Proverbs 3, 9 and 10, Luke 6, 38, 1 Corinthians 16, 2. Just because you work full time for the Lord's cause and probably receive less monthly income than others in your congregation, that does not excuse you from giving generously to the Lord's cause. Giving is meant to be confidential, but details often leak out in a congregation, especially if the pastor's not giving anything near a tenth of his income, yet is preaching tithing. The other trap that pastors can fall into is giving more than is appropriate to prove their self-denial and self-sacrifice, or to improve the financial position of their congregation. In these situations, It's often the pastor that lets the details leak out. Fifthly, insure. Proverbs 22.3 Some insurances are mandatory. Others are wise. The number one cause of bankruptcy in America is uninsured medical bills. Medical insurance is, of course, getting increasingly expensive, but Even some catastrophic insurance, low premium with a high deductible, will prevent you having to fall back on the generosity of others in the congregation who have foreseen the evil, taken responsibility, and covered themselves. Proverbs 22, verse 3. Six, wait. Hebrews 13, 5, 1 Timothy 6, 6. In a world of easy credit, interest-free credit and free overdrafts, it's very tempting to buy now and pay later. However, the statistics of such lifestyles are frightening. People spend 47% more when using credit cards than when using cash. 88% of 90 days interest-free credit are turned into high interest loans. Almost all three overdrafts exceed three limits and start accruing interest. Patient contentment is so vital for the pastor. Patiently wait until there's enough money to make the purchase and be content while waiting. In many cases, a pastor will be paid less than the average salary in the congregation, sometimes very much less. A pastor and his wife can get bitter when they see other families taking vacations, buying new cars, clothing their kids in the latest fashion, and the root of bitterness can spring up and cause a lot of trouble and pain. Hebrews 12, 15. Bitterness about A personal shortage compared to others can sometimes spill into their family life, infecting the pastor's children with resentment against the church and its officers. Sometimes the pastor or pastor's wife can let his or her bitterness or frustration spill over into more public arenas, in personal conversation with members or complaining in church courts. I'm afraid this rarely works out well, as some people will very gladly and speedily portray the pastor or his wife as greedy and worldly, no matter how unjustified. The pastor may be tempted to leave a congregation purely for financial reasons. Finance sometimes comes into a decision to leave, but it should never be the determining or even major factor. Sometimes a man may cultivate special friendships with the richer members of his congregation and angle for help towards car purchase or vacations. It's very rarely a wise move to become obligated or dependent upon richer members in your congregation and it'll be noticed by the less wealthy, especially if it begins to affect your judgment. It's increasingly common today for a wife to work to supplement her husband's income and in most congregations there'll be very few objections to a limited amount of this. However, the danger is when the wife's work begins to interfere with the congregational work of her husband. There's a delicate balance to find here. One question to ask is, is my wife working to help us live or to help us live well? So in the midst of these temptations, the pastor must cultivate patient contentment. See what I said before about that. And he can do so by considering past ministers and the far less support they had, by considering present missionaries and the sacrifices they are making, by considering the persecuted church and their present sufferings. Above all, meditate on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. who, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you, through his poverty, might be rich." 2 Corinthians 8-9. Some principle is modesty. It may be that the pastor is blessed with a better than average income due to investments, past work, inherited wealth, a wife's income, or other ministry opportunities. It is very tempting to start living up to that level of income. However, if a pastor is living in a much larger house than most in the congregation, or always driving a new car, or always taking exotic vacations, he'll start breeding resentment in the less well-off, and maybe even some of the very wealthy. Maybe you can justify your spending decisions to yourself, but you don't usually get the chance to do that with everyone else. Eighthly, unite. Ephesians 5, 22 to 31. One flesh means one set of finances. Steve Ramsey says, if you're not working together, it's not going to work. Even if you maintain separate accounts, they should be combined in the daily review. When a pastor or prospective pastor is going to marry someone, he should be sure that woman is prepared to live within the means of a modest salary. Ninthly, repay. Proverbs 6.5 and 22.7. On rare occasions, it may be necessary for a pastor to take on a loan. However, it should be repaid as fast as possible, like a gazelle escaping a hunter, as the writer of Proverbs says. In the past, actually, candidates for the ministry were almost always asked questions about whether they were in debt and how they handled their debts. Tenthly, audit, 2 Corinthians 5.10. You can have great plans, but unless you regularly review, you'll never know whether you're sticking to the plan or where the plans need to be adjusted. Husbands and wives should regularly sit down with one another and hold one another to account. Of course, all of this is in the light of the final audit, when every steward will give an account to his or her lord for how they managed His property, for His glory. And that brings me to the necessity of preparing for our death. You should have an easily accessible file of information for what to do in the event of your death. Crown Ministries actually have a very helpful list of documents to have ready for your wife and family. And I've put a hyperlink in the notes for this. If you click on that link it will take you to that page of Crown Ministries. So these are our 10 principles for personal finance. I'm going to spend much less time on professional and congregational finance because I believe if we get things right on a personal level, so much else will fall into place. But briefly, let me touch on professional and church or congregational finance. First of all, professional finance. In addition to the pastor's personal accounts, he'll also usually have expenses and costs associated with ministry, office supplies, gas, so on. In some cases the congregation may repay some of these expenses. Others may be allowable deductions within the IRS. But whether it's for the congregation or for the IRS, you should aim to keep up-to-date records of all professional expenditure and income from other sources. You should keep receipts, deposit slips, Some software actually like Mint.com allows you to mark transactions for expenses claims and others with IRS ramifications. Stewardship Services Foundation, I put a link to that also in the notes, also has lots of helpful information for pastors about the IRS and general financial management for pastors. The director of Stewardship Services Foundation gave an address on how pastors can avoid the potential bondage of personal finance. He gave that address at the 2003 Shepherds Conference and again I put a link to his talk in the PDF and also a link to the audio of that address. You should also keep all your records for at least three years in case of an IRS audit. I'd recommend an accountant to audit your records and even if you only do it from time to time you can learn a lot from these audits about how to keep your own records better. I strongly advise against having someone in your congregation do this for you. The main thing is to keep up to date with your tax and expenses accounts. Leaving it to mount up will result in mistakes. You'll either claim too much or you'll end up failing to claim for what you're entitled to. Lastly, let me move on to church or congregational finance. J. Adams said, I see no biblical warrant for a pastor to busy himself with the details of church finance. Well, I agree. This is the ideal at 6-1-4. However, it rarely works out that way. Especially in smaller congregations, the pastor may have to be involved in keeping the accounts or at least have some role in it. Many of the 10 principles for personal finance can be applied on the congregational level as well. And even if the pastor is not involved in the expenditure decisions or account keeping, he should still be teaching those who are about the biblical principles of financial stewardship, budgeting, setting priorities, records keeping, transparency, communication with givers, and so on. Again, I put a link to a great article by Crown Financial Ministries about congregational finances. Some of it is more applicable to big churches, but lots of helpful information for all sizes of church here. It covers budgeting, record keeping, spending protocols, spending limits, and so on. But let me give you a few extra guidelines for the relationship between pastors and their congregational finances. Number one, avoid fundraising. Even if the pastor has to get more involved with finance than he would wish, he should try to avoid becoming the chief fundraiser. If the pastor's always making appeals for money, it just looks too much like the pastor just wants more money himself. It's much better to get a deacon or an elder to speak about the financial needs of a congregation. Two, don't handle money gifts. The passer should never handle money gifts. You can ask people to send the money to a treasurer or ask them if someone else can come round and collect it. If it's practically impossible to arrange any of this, then make sure that you get an independent person to count the money and give a receipt. 3. Do not co-sign for a loan or put your name on church title deeds. This can cause nightmares if conflict ever threatens to divide your church. 4. Do not use church checking accounts or credit cards for personal purchases. Even if you intend to pay it back immediately as you should, it confuses accounting procedures and opens the door for accusation. Fifth, do not become personally obliged to donors. There may be people in your congregation who wish to bless you and your family with personal gifts or help you with vacations and so on. Be very, very careful about this. I'm not saying you should never accept a gift from someone that you're pastoring. But bear in mind that receiving such gifts can influence your judgment and result in favoritism. You have to be a very wise judge of character. Is this the kind of person that will call in a favor down the line? And you have to be sure also that you have the moral character. to treat this person no different from anyone else in the congregation, that you're willing even to publicly disagree with them and even discipline them if the need arises. Sixthly, set up an annual financial review for all church salaries. Again, I've linked to a helpful article from Crown Financial Ministries on whether and how a pastor should ask for a raise. It should not be left to the pastor to ask for an increase or decrease of salary. Early in a pastor, or even ideally before arriving, the pastor should set in place an annual review of all church salaries, no matter how big or small, a review of all honoraria, paid visiting preachers and so on, of all expense limits for various people. So set in place that annual review And while the pastor may contribute a report to the elders or deacons or board about his finances, he should really absent himself from the discussion about it and certainly from the decision about it. So let me conclude. And let me conclude by asking you to consider how in Matthew 25, 21, the Lord rewarded his servants that were faithful with money, the few things. with greater spiritual opportunity and responsibility, the many things. Crown Financial Ministries say, if pastors prove their honesty and integrity in temporal things, things that do not last, such as money, God then can trust them with the more important things, such as the spiritual well-being of people. However, If ministers prove to be lacking in financial integrity, it's unlikely that they will have a consistent or spiritually auspicious ministry. If God cannot trust them with the lesser things of money, how can he trust them with the greater things of spiritually influencing the direction of people's eternal lives?