Extra Funds: Why and What for?

by Gayland L. Osburn
1993 Preacher's Study Notes

The title of my subject is "Extra Funds: Why and What for?" I appreciate the opportunity of speaking here on this occasion. I am thankful to have this opportunity I hope that by our study and examination of the Scriptures on this subject, that we can all be edified.

First, I want to give a definition of the word "fund." We need to understand what we are talking about. Its definition is: "A sum of money, especially one the principal or interest of which is appropriated or devoted to a specific object, as the carrying on of some commercial undertaking; stock or capital; as, the fund of a bank or ecclesiastical society; a pension fund etc." If you will notice the definition, it says "a sum of money," and then it says "especially." We could determine that even the church treasury is a fund. I think we refer to it sometimes as such. But what we are talking about today is a fund, let's say, a working fund or an expense account that the churches give to a preacher. That is mainly what we are talking about. What we want to show today is that we have something to learn from the Bible about a fund. That is, when money is taken out of the church treasury and used in a fund for a special or a specific purpose.

There is no Scripture for funds belonging to the church to be invested in secular businesses or to be used to draw interest in a secular, profiteering manner. What the church has in its treasury should be only money which has been donated to the church. Christians donate this money to the church upon the first day of every week as God has prospered them (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). There has been money of the church lost through investment. When this happens, brethren then realize that they did some thing they should not have done. Losing the money is not what made it wrong. It was wrong to invest the Lord's money like that in the first place. We are not to take the Lord's money and use it in private or public secular business. That is not what it is for.

Laying a foundation for our study, we understand that money given to a preacher by the church for his support is not considered as a fund of the church. When he receives that money, it becomes his personal income.

Most all preachers will use a sizable amount of that in church work, but how he spends it is for him to decide. It belongs to him. So we want separate the idea of a fund from that money paid out to a preacher for what we commonly call his support, which is for his living. Although he might use this and does use it in church work, it is still his to decide how he uses it and where he uses it.

What about taking money out of the local church treasury and using that money as a fund for a special purpose? To begin with, I want to give us some examples so that we can understand how our churches have been practicing the use of such funds for years.

Many times in our brotherhood, a church has asked for help in building a church house. Other churches will take out of their treasury and send money to that church. Of course, it is specified for a certain purpose. It is handled in the manner of a fund. I will give you an example of this. Up in Oregon, the Forest Grove church, when they had the opportunity to buy a place to use as a church building, sent letters out to the brotherhood asking for help. Money was sent, and there was so much money received that they were able to pay cash for that building which reduced its cost, and they had money left over. The brethren consulted with me about the excess money, and what they did was send that excess money back to the churches. They did not keep it because it was in the form of a fund. It was sent for a specific purpose and so it was sent back because it was no longer needed for that purpose. I thought I would mention that to show how that was a fund. It really did not become the regular treasury of the church that received it.

Also, we have used church money in this manner to help a brother who had a certain catastrophe, and I know of one case where money was sent to a certain brother who had cancer. His wife spoke to me and told me, "You tell the brotherhood that after these expenses are paid, this money will be returned." You see, she was keeping it separated. She was not treating it as her personal money, and she was using it strictly for his medical expenses. Again, we see how we use the church money as a fund.

We now come to the question: Are there Scriptures which teach that we may take money out of the local church treasury and then use that money as a fund for a specified purpose? We must go to the Bible to answer this question.

I want to take us through the third missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. He was in Asia, and there he came to Macedonia, and then down to Achaia, where he came to Corinth. I also want to notice how that the money was taken from this area to Jerusalem.

When the Apostle Paul first mentioned a plan to the church at Corinth concerning their sending money to the poor saints at Jerusalem, he said in 1 Corinthians 16:3-5,

"And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem. And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me. Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia."

Things we notice in this passage are: Paul wrote this letter when he was in Asia, and he writes this letter to Corinth which is located in Achaia. You notice here in verse 5, he says, "Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia." This is exactly what he did. What do we learn from the passage above?

1. At this time, Paul did not know whether he would even go to Jerusalem, when this money would be taken there, and therefor had not made certain plans to go (vv. 3, 4).
2. Paul did plan to go to Corinth by way of Macedonia (v. 5).
3. The church at Corinth was to choose ("approve by your letters") men to bring their liberality to Jerusalem (v. 3). Let us carefully read verses 3 and 4 again: The plural pronouns "them" and "they" indicate that they were to choose more than one man to bring their gift to Jerusalem. The Scriptures do not specify that these men had to be members of the congregation at Corinth. The only requirement given was that they be approved ("approve") by the church there. According to this plan, those brethren would be the carriers of the gift.
4. When Paul would come to Corinth, and he did not go from there on to Jerusalem, he would send those chosen by the church at Corinth to Jerusalem with the gift (v. 3).
5. Paul said in verse 4, "And if it be meet (In other words, this is a possibility. It was not absolutely in the plans yet to go) that I go also, they shall go with me."

So, it was one of two things. He says, "When I get there to Corinth, these brothers whom ye choose, I will send them to Jerusalem with the gift, that is, if I don't go;" (No. 4 above) or, if Paul did go to Jerusalem, his plans were that the carriers of the money would go with him (No. 5 above).

At this time, we are not told about any plans having been made which involved the churches of Macedonia having a part to play in this ministration. But, after Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, he entered Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:13; 7:5). It was while there the Apostle Paul writes, telling the Corinthians how plans were made involving the churches of Macedonia with this ministration. Now we have the Apostle Paul writing his second epistle, 2 Corinthians, to the church at Corinth:

"Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift (Now, notice that: "that we would receive the gift" g. o.) and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God." (2 Corinthians 8:1-5)

Things we notice in this passage are:

1. In 2 Corinthians 8, in referring to the brethren in Macedonia, to the decisions they made and to the actions which they took, the Holy Spirit chose to refer to them as "churches" (in the plural). Throughout that eighth chapter, the word "church" is used in the plural. He refers to those things that happened in Macedonia as what the "churches" did. He did not indicate that only one church was involved in the making of those plans or in the actions taken.

2. The churches of Macedonia asked Paul and his company to "receive the gift" (v. 4). Now folks, that means just one thing. That means they were offering the money to Paul and were asking him to receive it, "receive the gift." The "gift" here referred to is the money that the churches of Macedonia had collected to be sent to Jerusalem. These churches wanted to give this money to Paul and his company, so they asked them to take it: "Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints." In this way, Paul and those with him would become carriers of the money.

3. Paul had not planned this to happen and said, "And this they did (Who did this? Paul said "they did." g. o.), not as we hoped," in other words, "not as we had planned" (v. 5). The plans were now changed. We know this to be true when we read and compare 1 Corinthians 16:3, 4. There he indicated that he did not know whether he was going to go to Jerusalem or not. He said that he would send those approved by the church there to Jerusalem with the money. He further said that if he went, they would go with him. Now then, when they came to ask him to take the money, it was not as he had hoped. That was not his plan. It was their idea.

Paul, accepting the gift to take to Jerusalem, would now go to Jerusalem as a carrier. He referred to this in his words of inspiration when he said in verse 4: " . . . and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints." He says in 2 Corinthians 8:19-20: " . . . this abundance which is administered by us." He is now a carrier of this money; he and his company are the carriers. So he said, "This is now being administered by us."

Again, in consideration of number 1 above, concerning the use of the word "churches"; I invite you to carefully study with me 2 Corinthians 8:18-19. The Apostle Paul there writes: "And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches; and not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches (plural g. o.) to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind."

Let us consider the truths we learn from this passage:

1. A certain "brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches . . . was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace" (vv 18-19). Who chose this man? Was it his home congregation, or maybe one of the other congregations? No, it was not. Who was it then? A Bible question deserves a Bible answer. I am not going to give you my opinion. The answer is in verse 19. It says, "The churches" (plural: more than one church g. o.) chose him."

2. Does Scripture tell us how the churches chose him? Yes it does, and the answer is found right there in verse 19 in the meaning of the Greek word translated "chosen". The Greek word found there is cheirotoneo. The definition is:
a. primarily used of voting in the Athenian legislative assembly and meaning 'to stretch forth the hands' (cheir, 'the hand,' teino, 'to stretch') . . . " (Vine's Expository Dictionary, p.34).

b. " . . . a. prop. to vote by stretching out the hand . . ." Now, I want us to stop right here brethren. Is it scriptural to vote? There is a Greek word that says that they voted, and I am not going to say it is unscriptural when it is in the Scriptures. I am not going to do that. Now, back to the definition: "a. prop. to vote by stretching out the hand

c. to create or appoint by vote. . ." (Thayer's Greek- English Lexicon, p. 668).

d. Benjamin Wilson's Version from the "Emphatic Diaglott" reads: "19. and not only so, but also he has been voted by the congregations our Fellow-traveler with this gift,"

Now listen, many Greek words or many English words have got dozens of meanings, and figurative meanings, and literal meanings. This word is used literally here and it literally means "to vote." That is what it means.

3. Why was this brother chosen by the churches to travel with Paul and his companions on their way to Jerusalem with this money? I believe the answer to this question is in the next two verses, verses 20 and 21: "Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men." What could have happened if Paul would have asked all of these churches to give him the money, and then he would have taken it to Jerusalem by himself? He could have done that and by so doing provided things honest only in the sight of the Lord. The Lord would have known that everything he did was honest and upright, but that does not mean that all of the brethren would have been satisfied as to his honesty and accountability. In the first place, he did not ask them to give him the money. He did not do that. He waited until they asked him to take it. He also saw to it that other brethren were involved so that there could be no blame as to his integrity

Several of us, probably, have taken care of church treasuries. Not now, but in the past, I did it for years, and I always gotten other brethren involved. Whenever I counted the money after church was over, I always had someone else there counting it with me. I don't say that they did not think I was honest or anything. But the thing is, by having somebody else involved, there was not any question about it. There can be no blame as to one's integrity Paul was doing this, as he said in the verses 20 and 21 above, " . . . that no man should blame us in this abundance . . . " and also, "providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men."

After writing his second epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul left Macedonia and went to Corinth. There are a number of things written in his epistle to the church at Rome which suggest that the book of Romans was written while he was at Corinth. In this letter to the Romans, he mentions his planned trip to Jerusalem with this gift. He said in Romans 15:25-26:

"But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem."

Let us take note of the teaching here:

1. In verse 26 above, Paul makes reference about the churches of Macedonia and Achaia. There were at least three churches in Macedonia: at Philippi, at Thessalonica, and at Berea. There were at least two in Achaia: at Corinth and at Cenchrea. As Paul gets ready to go to Jerusalem, there are at least five congregations involved in sending money with him to the poor saints there.
2. The money from these five congregations, together, is now referred to as "a certain contribution." To me, that is referring to it as a fund of these five churches. The wording "a certain contribution" is in the singular. He did not say, "I am going to take five contributions (plural) to Jerusalem." He did not say that. He said, "a certain contribution." In this, the individual gifts from the individual participating congregations, together, became "a certain contribution."
3. Now, let us introduce verse 28 and compare it with verse 25, to notice how Paul refers to his position as carrier of this contribution using the personal pronoun "I." Notice verse 25 "But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints." Also notice verse 28 "When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit." That does not mean that others were not involved, but it does mean that he was responsible, since he uses the term "I".

All of the things mentioned here are in the Word of God. Are these things scriptural for us to practice? Certainly they are. The Apostle Paul said that what took place as recorded in 2 Corinthians 8, was done "by the will of God" (2 Corinthians 8:5).

When these men arrived in Jerusalem, what did they do with the money? There is no record in the book of Acts concerning the transfer of this money when they arrived in Jerusalem. Yes, he did make contact with the church there. We know that the money was given to the church there because that was the purpose for taking it there in the first place. There were other times when the saints in Judea were in dire need of assistance. And, one of these times is recorded in Act. 11:27-30. Let us read verses 29 and 30: (Now, this is another account and another time.) "Then the disciples, every man according to his ability determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul."

This money was sent as a fund to Jerusalem.

Now, one thing we do want to notice: Distribution of this fund to the poor saints, took place after it was received in Jerusalem. The churches of Macedonia and Achaia did not send the money directly to the families who benefited from it. They didn't do that. It was distributed to the families after it got to Jerusalem. The fund was then distributed to the "poor saints," that is, to the people who received it or benefited from it (the individuals, families, or preachers). I believe that if there were poor preachers there at Jerusalem, that they were recipients of that money as well as the other brethren there.

The money went from one country to another. There is about a thousand miles distance between Achaia and Jerusalem.

The Church and A Preacher Working Together I think it is a manifestation of love and concern when churches sending a preacher into a mission field or into a foreign land consider giving to him a working fund beside his regular support. Many preachers spend a noticeable percentage of their support (income) on the expenses they incur in doing the Lord's work. A church or churches who take this situation into account, are being thoughtful concerning the work of the Lord and also the needs of the preacher.

As a preacher, we can abuse the use of a work fund. There should be an under-standing between the church and the preacher as to any restrictions (if any), or any specified amounts (if any), to be spent on certain things. A preacher should realize that he is not only answerable to God for what he does with an expense fund, but he is also answerable to the brethren. The Apostle Paul said, "Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (2 Corinthians 8:21). To be honest in the sight of men would be the reason for giving a financial report to the church which provides the expense account or fund. This would be comparable to the treasurer in a congregation giving a financial report to the church every month. The preacher should be sure that he uses the money in a way that the sending church approves of. I believe he has that responsibility.

Different Kinds and Uses of Funds Under this title, we have listed different things for which some churches have furnished extra funds to preachers and also some other funds. Now, I am going to run through this list quickly. I could comment on these, but I had better not because my time is running out. I have two minutes.

1. Parsonage. Here in the United States we use this. Some churches here give the preacher a parsonage account. This helps us with our income tax.
2. Expense account. Some countries levy a very high income tax on missionaries. Any money given the preacher is considered as income unless it is in the form of an expense account.
3. Some congregations would let a preacher give to the needy (poor saints) from a fund.
4. Transportation
5. Car expenses
6. I know of one case where the church paid for a car a preacher bought. The church paid for the car and the preacher was to use it in the Lord's work. Now, here we show how the money for the car was used as a fund. When the preacher left that work, he sold the car and returned that money to the church. Sometimes, there is a difference in expenses here in this country as compared to expenses in some other countries. A car might last a preacher eight, nine, or ten years in this country: But, I tell you what, you get over there in that bush country in Malawi and some other places, if you get a car to last two or three years, you are doing good. It is different.
7. Advertising
8. Printing
9. Church houses
10. Catastrophes
11. Medical expenses

I think I am just about through. I would read 2 Corinthians 9:8-15 if I had time. I will read that last verse, because I think we need the sentiment about this being spiritual and something to be thankful for. After this reading, we will bring our lesson to a close. The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:15, talking about the money which was to be sent to Jerusalem, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." We should be thankful to God for His care and keeping, and financial responsibilities, and things which have to do with funds. Thank you.

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