Paul knew that financial accountability was so important for his own credibility as a church leader. Today it is no different. There can be nothing worse for the testimony of a Pastor or leader than financial irregularity, profiting from the church unfairly, all of which falls under the commandment of Do Not Steal.
“Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honour the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 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 man. In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honour to Christ. Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.”
2 Corinthians 8:16-24
Paul did his best to distance himself from the money. This is the inspiration, if we needed it, for the Pastor not to be treasurer. Many years ago, as a Pastor of a small church, I remember being the only person available to take the offering to deposit in the bank. The treasurer had done all the accounting, all I had to do was hand the bag over. Whilst I was standing in the queue, I had a thought, I wonder who writes cheques for the church. The Holy Spirit there and then advised me not to look. I looked. I couldn’t believe it. I found a cheque from a prominent member whose cheque was for £25.99. I kept saying to myself “£25.99! Why did he write it for the 0.99 pence? Why not make it £26?! I began to have all kinds of thoughts and by the time I got to the counter to pay in the £25.99 along with the other cheques I was quite frustrated! As I left the bank, the Holy Spirit said, “I told you not to look.” I never did look again for all the years that came as a Pastor. Distance from the church money is crucial for a Pastor’s happiness.
Paul was at pains to make sure everyone knew though he was the promoter of the collection he wasn’t personally handling it.
He was sending three people:-
Titus – everyone knew him as a leader and fellow worker with Paul
A ‘brother’ – praised by all the churches for his gospel work. Chosen by the churches to accompany not only Paul, but the money.
Another ‘brother’ – The Message speaks of this man using the words dependable for zealous. Paul is communicating that in this man there is a trustworthiness and a heart for God not just integrity over the money.
Staying with the Message there is a lovely line which says, “We don’t want anyone suspecting us of taking one penny of this money for ourselves.”
This whole section is a powerful leadership lesson for all who are responsible for our churches.
- Protect the leader from suspicion. Put distance between the leader and money given as an offering to God.
- Protect the leader from isolation. Place people around them that can hold them and their responsibility accountable.
- Protect the leader from separation from God. There are many temptations. The people around the leader must carry all the kingdom characteristics that keep a healthy culture, not only for the church but for the leader also.
Missions Paul 