Christians are called to a higher standard of behavior than unbelievers. Throughout scripture, God’s people are given the charge to be holy (Leviticus 19:2, 1 Peter 1:16). In the simplest terms, to be holy is to be set apart. Practicing integrity as a follower of Jesus is critical, and even more so for Christian leaders.
The word “integrity” is drawn from the Latin integritas, meaning whole or complete. It’s where we derive the mathematical term “integer.” To “disintegrate” is to deteriorate or break apart. To be “integrated” is to have all pieces brought together into a seamless whole.
Even for Christians, it’s easier to talk about integrity than it is to practice it. The world is well aware of this. That’s why every pastor or ministry leader accused of fraud, embezzlement, or other criminal activity makes the news. We live in a world where the general mindset is “don’t get caught.” It takes a commitment to principle in order to swim upstream. As followers of Jesus, practicing integrity is about doing what is right—and avoiding even the appearance of doing wrong.
Here are four tips for handling your personal and church finances with integrity.
1. Avoid maintaining private accounts.
There might be some reasonable rationalizations for having a bank account that your spouse or board does not know about, but it only sets you up for trouble. You might open such an account with innocent motives. But even if you keep everything aboveboard, it is hard to justify undisclosed accounts when they are uncovered, and it will result in mistrust. It is better to keep everything in the open.
2. Never secretly borrow money.
When someone is caught embezzling from a church or business, they typically say that they intended to pay it all back. And likely that is the case. The problem is that when no one knows you have borrowed money, there is not a lot of incentive to pay it back. Then the next time you find yourself in a financial bind, it is easy to justify pinching a little more.
3. Run financial decisions through the proper channels.
Whether at home or church, you probably have an accepted course for making purchases. It could be that you and your spouse talk about every purchase over a certain dollar amount. Your church board has a standard protocol too. It is crucial that you respect those formalities. They are not there to curtail your freedom but to protect you.
4. Pay what you owe.
In his letter to Roman Christians, Paul made a point to remind them to…
“…pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything” (Romans 13:7–8 ESV).
This is important advice. We should never create an opportunity for people to accuse us of not paying back debts we have incurred, taxes we owe, or other outstanding areas of responsibility.
Our financial choices matter.
We are stewards of God’s resources (Psalm 24:1). How we manage those resources is incredibly important—not only as responsible followers of Jesus but also as those who want to restore people’s trust in the Church. Making wise decisions that will protect us from mishandling or misappropriating funds is an essential first step.
Let’s journey together.
You don’t need to do ministry alone. You can find opportunities to connect, plus more content and conversations about church administration, at XP Summit: xpsummit.org.
