{"id":47143,"date":"2016-02-14T19:35:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T01:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=47143"},"modified":"2022-04-28T19:47:16","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T00:47:16","slug":"what-should-we-do-since-we-learned-the-elders-are-misspending-the-lords-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-should-we-do-since-we-learned-the-elders-are-misspending-the-lords-money\/","title":{"rendered":"What should we do since we learned the elders are misspending the Lord’s money?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Hi!<\/p>\n

I have read and searched through your question and answer section to make sure this question hasn’t been asked before, so I hope it has not.<\/p>\n

My husband is a preacher for the church for many years. Recently, he has learned certain information in regard to how our elders are spending the Lord’s money, which is collected on the first day of the week. Without going into detail, I will just say that their hearts are not right to spend the Lord’s money. They are not being good stewards of His money. We know now, for reasons including this, that we will not be staying at this congregation.<\/p>\n

The questions I have for you are: Is it our responsibility to see that our contribution on Sunday is spent wisely (or as far as we can tell)? My husband has thought it might be better to give a very small amount on Sunday, and the remainder that we usually give, to a missionary. But would we be giving as we have prospered on the first day of the week?<\/p>\n

We will leave as soon as we possibly can, but we want to do what the Bible says in the meantime. I hope you can give some insight into the situation.<\/p>\n

Thank you in advance for your help.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Too often today people view elders as a board of directors to a corporation instead of shepherds of God’s people. Elders lead and guide the congregation into making good decisions, but the elders are not the congregation. See:\u00a0The Work of Elders Is the “Critical” Matter<\/a><\/p>\n

The spending of the Lord’s money is something the elders watch over on the congregation’s behalf, but the congregation should know where the money is being spent. There should be monthly postings of the church’s accounts. The congregation should be invited to regular budget meetings so they can hear what is going on and make suggestions about how the money is spent. While this won’t prevent all monetary problems, it will drastically reduce them.<\/p>\n

One of the duties of a preacher is to rebuke elders when they are not following the Scriptures. “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear<\/em>” (I Timothy 5:19-20). If the funds are being misspent, then evidence of that along with Scriptural reasons need to be present. It might lead to the dismissal of the preacher, but at least the truth is brought out into the open for the congregation to discuss.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Hi! I have read and searched through your question and answer section to make sure this question hasn’t been asked before, so I hope it has not. My husband is a preacher for the church for many years. Recently, he has learned certain information in regard to how our elders are spending the Lord’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[154,157,123,1511],"class_list":["post-47143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-church-funds","tag-contributions","tag-elders","tag-preachers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42182,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-divorce-my-husband-for-gambling-away-our-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":47143,"position":0},"title":"Should I divorce my husband for gambling away our money?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I really need advice. My husband will not stop gambling no matter what I say. He gambles every single penny we have. He gambles every single day if he has the money. He will not pay any bills and all the income he gets goes toward gambling. He even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92639,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/churches-preparing-for-elders\/","url_meta":{"origin":47143,"position":1},"title":"Churches Preparing for Elders","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Don Bunting via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 15 No. 2, February 2015 If a prophet is not without honor, except in his own country (Matthew 13:57), then it should not surprise us that it is difficult for churches to appoint and submit to elders. While we may dream about qualified men\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5718,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-i-corinthian-1133-allow-fellowship-meals-at-the-church-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":47143,"position":2},"title":"Does I Corinthian 11:33 allow fellowship meals at the church building?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Brother in Christ, \u00a0 I read your answer to Why is eating in the building an issue?\u00a0concerning eating in the building and have a few questions. \u00a0 First, you quote I Corinthians 11:17-22 where Paul is remonstrating the Corinthians for leaving some hungry and for some getting drunk\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33069,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-article-on-head-covering-was-one-of-the-finest-ive-read\/","url_meta":{"origin":47143,"position":3},"title":"Your article on head covering was one of the finest I’ve read","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just finished reading\u00a0your article on head coverings\u00a0and agree that it is one of the finest written on the topic.\u00a0 My husband and I have been studying this topic for some time now and have read several articles on both sides of the topic.\u00a0 Thank you so much for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38693,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-the-lords-supper-be-passed-forward-from-the-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":47143,"position":4},"title":"Should the Lord’s Supper be passed forward from the back?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am concerned with the way our church serves communion.\u00a0 The elders decided to no longer place the communion plate on the table that says in Remembrance of Me and will pass it from the back of the church. First, they pass the contribution basket and then the wine\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33438,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-short-service-be-held-in-a-shut-ins-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":47143,"position":5},"title":"Can a short service be held in a shut-in’s home?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a dilemma. Our elders have recently approved of an \"abbreviated service\" on Sunday afternoons at the home of one of our members who is home-bound and dying. This includes singing, prayer, and the Lord's Supper. They are encouraging other members to join them for this service. 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