{"id":21612,"date":"1998-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1998-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/1998\/01\/01\/treasureer-who-wants-to-control\/"},"modified":"1998-01-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"1998-01-01T00:00:00","slug":"treasureer-who-wants-to-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/treasureer-who-wants-to-control\/","title":{"rendered":"The Treasureer Who Wants to Control"},"content":{"rendered":"

J<\/strong>udas served as treasurer for the band of disciples\nwho followed Jesus. He was the one who protested, “Why was this fragrant\noil not sold for three hundred denarii [one year’s wages] and given to the\npoor?” His motive was not a concern for the poor; he trusted in wealth and\nwanted to control how it was spent.<\/p>\n\n

Church treasurers, particularly in smaller churches, can contract the “Judas\nSyndrome.” It begins with a preoccupation with the bottom line, a loss of\nvision for the kingdom, and the temptation to control church finances and\nusurp authority.<\/p>\n\n

Why does this happen? The treasurer must attend to the mundane matter of\npaying the bills, and thus, the treasurer faces unique temptations. He or\nshe knows what others do not: Who gives. Who spends. The internal politics\nthat control spending priorities.<\/p>\n\n

Cynicism can result when treasurers see the inconsistencies between some\nmembers’ talk and their financial walk. The treasurer may come to believe\nothers act only in self-interest. Once a cynical attitude takes root, it\nis a small step for a treasurer to rationalize taking control of the church’s\nspending. The treasurer begins protesting how monies are spent. Other members\nassume the treasurer is in the best place to judge wise or unwise spending.\nThus, over time, a conscientious treasurer can move into a position of undue\ninfluence over the priorities of the church.<\/p>\n\n

Preventing the Judas Syndrome<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. \n \n Recognize the difficult position of the treasurer<\/strong>. \n Pray for the treasurer.<\/li>\n\n
  2. \n Break up the responsibility<\/strong>. Assign two or more people to count receipts\n and make deposits. Have someone other than the treasurer maintain giving\n records.<\/li>\n\n
  3. \n Develop a job description <\/strong>that limits discretion to shift costs between\n budget categories without board approval.<\/li>\n\n
  4. \n Limit the term of office<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n
  5. \n Conduct regular outside audits <\/strong>to ensure proper accounting procedures\n are followed.<\/li>\n\n
  6. \n Meet with the treasurer regularly<\/strong> to communicate and build trust.<\/li>\n\n
  7. \n Support the treasurer when he or she reports the financial reality.<\/strong>\n Then lead the board in making the tough decisions when cutbacks are required.<\/li>\n\n<\/ol>\n\n

    A good church treasurer is a powerful asset. Protecting your treasurer is\nprotecting the health of your church.<\/p>\n\n

    Robert L. Brady\nBakersfield, California<\/p>\n\n

    Copyright © 1998 by the author or Christianity Today\/Leadership<\/em> Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200\nor contact us<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Judas served as treasurer for the band of disciples who followed Jesus. He was the one who protested, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii [one year’s wages] and given to the poor?” His motive was not a concern for the poor; he trusted in wealth and wanted to control how Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[2846],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[154],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[658,156,662],"tax_ctp_tags":[3608,3613,3619,4352,4488],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-21612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-robert-l-brady","tax_publications-1998-leadership-journal","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_publications-winter_1998-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-church-finances","tax_ctp_tags-church-leadership","tax_ctp_tags-church-staff","tax_ctp_tags-leadership-development","tax_ctp_tags-money"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nThe Treasureer Who Wants to Control - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Seven ways to keep the task from becoming a temptation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/treasureer-who-wants-to-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Treasureer Who Wants to Control - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Seven ways to keep the task from becoming a temptation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/treasureer-who-wants-to-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"1998-01-01T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Robert L. 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