Dear Ken,

As we get ready to issue this year's receipts, the question always arises: Who should know who gives what? And, what use should be made of that information?

A: Whenever I answer this question, two images appear in my mind. The first is of my father who -- while he regularly supports the Lord's work financially -- has never asked for, nor used, a receipt for tax purposes. He often gives anonymously.

The second is the teaching of Scripture which strongly suggests that our returning to God what's rightfully His is between the individual and God, and that the right hand shouldn't know what the left hand is doing.

For their own political reasons, governments kindly (or wisely) provide us with tax breaks when making contributions to registered charities. Assuming I follow scripture and, as a minimum, tithe, I can now pocket the tax breaks my donations earn, or I can turn around and give their equivalent to my church or to another Christian endeavor.

For this reason, churches must give receipts. Doing so requires someone other than me to know what "my right hand is doing." The task before us as church leaders is to minimize the number of people involved in the process.

My recommendation is that only the following people know who gives what:

• The two tellers counting and verifying the offering (and they'll only know a person's donation in a single offering, not a cumulative or annual amount)
• The bookkeeper or other staff person who records the donation in the books under the donor's name
• The person issuing the receipts (who, technically, should be the bookkeeper)
• The person who signs the receipts

I'm torn on the issue of whether or not pastors should know who gives what. I believe pastors have the right to ask the treasurer if all paid staff and board members are satisfying their scriptural requirement to tithe. In our church, paid staff is informed prior to hiring in the event they're not satisfying this commitment, the senior pastor and/or board chairs have every right to address the issue. God blesses through our leaders, and our leaders can't be a blessing unless they operate in the will of God for their life.

Additionally, I believe senior pastors, as chief fund-raisers of the Church, should be informed when a donation of significant size is made, unless the donor instructs otherwise. The minimum level of donation for this action should be agreed to in advance. It's important for the pastor to be able to work with that individual in furthering the Lord's work in the future.

However, such a relationship and cooperation shouldn't be for purposes of having the donor of large gifts dictate the activities or programs of the church -- simply to exercise his or her gift of giving.

******************

Send your questions to Ken Godevenos at kgod@accordconsulting.com. They will be addressed either directly or through this column, always honoring requests for confidentiality.