Other Form of Name
Foote, Henry Wilder, 1875-1964; Cole, William Morse, 1866-1960
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1915
Abstract
Business-like methods in the financial administration of a church are of vital importance to the welfare of the society. Inefficient administration, hand-to-mouth ways of raising money, carelessness or tardiness in the payment of bills, usually indicate low vitality in a church, and are a constant source of danger and invitation to financial calamity. They are the result sometimes of ignorance or of timidity on the part of the minister, but more commonly of negligence and indifference on the part of the laymen, who do not consult the minister about the business affairs of the church and who resent or disregard any suggestions from him. The financial problems of many a church would be well on the way toward solution if the business men of the parish would hold themselves responsible for the establishment and faithful administration of sound business methods in the parish.The theory that the minister should have nothing to do with the business affairs of the church is a sound one in so far as it means that he should be relieved of all responsibility for raising or administering the income of the church. His relation to the trustees of the church, however, is not very unlike that of the manager of a cotton mill to its board of directors. He should feel free to sit with the board and enter into its counsels save on exceptional occasions, and he is entitled to a thorough acquaintance with the affairs of the parish to which he ministers. It is true that a minister of deeply spiritual nature and gifted with unusual preaching ability may cause his church to grow in spite of the handicaps of inefficient administration by the laymen, but poor business methods will be an unnecessary drag upon an otherwise successful ministry. Fortunately it sometimes happens that vigor and spiritual power in the minister so stimulate his people that they develop into a careful and well-managed church. Such a result is almost certain evidence that the church is spiritually sound, whereas continuance in slipshod methods is almost equally positive evidence of spiritual decay. Efficient administration in raising money so that an adequate income is secured for the work of the church, in prompt payment of bills, and in making a complete public report of income and expenditure, will build up the self-respect of the parish, and the respect of the community, which unhappily has only too good reason for surprise when a church transacts its affairs with scrupulous care.
Relational Format
pamphlet
Recommended Citation
Foote, Henry Wilder; Cole, William Morse; Clarke, Walter H.; and American Unitarian Association, "Report on church finances and accounting" (1915). Publications of Accounting Associations, Societies, and Institutes. 95.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/acct_inst/95