The Gift of... Accounting?

While studying the topic of spiritual gifts this week, I stumbled upon a curious path and thought I would share my findings.

Probably, when you think of spiritual gifts, accounting is not the first one that jumps to mind. I promise you that no one gets into ministry because they have a burning passion for budgets and spreadsheets. Still, as I said in a lecture to some college ministry students a few years ago at Oklahoma Christian University, "You can’t do any more ministry than you can afford, so you better learn how to understand a budget."

When you read Paul’s list of spiritual gifts, you will find that in between miraculous healing and tongue-speaking, he lists the less spectacular gift of "administrating" (1 Corinthians 12:28). It is hard to know what the word means because the Greek term is only used in this one verse out of the entire New Testament. In literal terms, it seems to mean something like "helmsman" or "shipmaster," but as Paul is not talking about sailing, that does not seem to be the meaning here.

If we compare this passage to a parallel list of gifts in Romans 12:8, we see a different word. Paul lists the gift of generosity, and afterward, he mentions those "who lead," using a Greek term related to the idea of a generous benefactor or even a manager of money. The same Greek word is used in a later chapter to describe Phoebe as a "patron," a financial backer of Paul and others (Romans 16:1-2).

Paul uses this same word in Titus 3:14, saying, "Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need." The "devoting" described there apparently means something like keeping the books, helping people with urgent financial requests, and providing funds for missionaries like Zenas and Apollos - "see that they lack nothing" (3:13). It is a skill that Paul thinks people should learn so "that they may not be unproductive."

Putting all this together, I would conclude that Paul’s description of the gift of administration describes people who keep track of the funds for the church and Paul’s own missionary efforts. Paul considers this a necessary gift that yields great service to the church and the needy.

Likewise, Paul expresses gratitude to God for someone at Philippi who had helped with the "giving and receiving" of his mission funds (Philippians 4:15). They were not just donors, but also the managers of funds donated by others. They were literally the accounting department for Paul’s missionary journey, ensuring he was financially supported wherever he traveled.

And don't forget that the very first job ever delegated in the early church was managing money. In the early days of the church, people were selling their possessions and distributing them to others (Acts 2:45). Who was keeping track of all the funds? Unfortunately, the job fell to the Apostles. The donors "laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need" (Acts 4:35). It was a big job and not what the Apostles had signed up for, but someone had to do it.

After some time, people came to the Apostles to complain about how those funds were being distributed, because, as we know, no good deed goes unpunished! The disciples were "increasing in number," and the charity process had become a full-time job. Even then, some Greek widows were not getting any funds from the daily distribution (Acts 6:1). I'm sure it was an innocent oversight, but the Apostles saw a bigger opportunity. The Apostles responded, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables" (Acts 6:2).

What we miss in our English translation is that the word "table" is not so much a dinner table as a money-changing table, the kind of thing Jesus famously overturned in the Temple. In modern Greece, you will find this same word printed on the front of a bank. In short, the Apostles were tired of being the church’s bankers, so they told the church to find somebody else "whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (6:3-4).

So again, I will repeat, no one gets into ministry because they have a burning passion for budgets and spreadsheets. But without people who do, neither the Apostles of old nor the ministers of today could do their work.

Thanks be to God for Christian accountants!

Dr. Benjamin Williams is the Senior Minister at the Edgemere Church of Christ in Wichita Falls, TX and a regular writer at So We Speak. Check out his books The Faith of John’s Gospel and Why We Stayed or follow him on Twitter, @Benpreachin.