The most common question I hear in consulting with churches about giving is: "Should the pastor know how much people give?" 

This inquiry conjures up a vision of a minister secretly sitting in the church office studying everyone's detailed giving records and deciding whom to be nice to and whom to ignore. Some pastors even admit that if they knew how much people were giving they might be tempted to treat them differently. 

While discussing this question with a leader at my church he said that if I knew how much people gave, I would treat them differently. I commented that as the pastor I know many dark secrets about people's lives. I know who has committed adultery, who has a drinking problem, who had an abortion, who has had homosexual encounters or relationships, who is on drugs, who is seriously in debt, who has tried to commit suicide, and much, much more. The leader's response amazed me. "But this is different," he said. "We're talking about money."

I assured the leader that regardless of people's dark secrets or their giving habits, I'm called to love and shepherd all the sheep in our church's fold. We tend to forget that the Bible clearly identifies that leaders and others knew the giving habits of some people (I Chronicles 29, Acts 4:37, Nehemiah 7:70, Acts 5:1-2, Luke 8:3) and that even Jesus sat and watched how much people were putting into the offering box (Luke 21:1-4).

However, I think the question of whether the pastor should know how much people give is probably the wrong question. The right question is: "What should a pastor know about people's giving?" The pastor does not necessarily have to know specific dollar amounts, but other giving information will help a ministry. Here are six instances when I think a minister should be notified about giving:

1) When someone new starts giving regularly.

When a person, couple or family begins regular giving, they are making an intentional effort to become connected to the congregation. These are ideal people for a pastor to begin to talk with and find out ways they might be able to serve using their gifts and interests. New givers can also be sent a short note of appreciation for their gifts that could include some helpful information about giving.

2) When someone stops or significantly decreases giving.

This usually happens in someone's life for two reasons: personal hardship or a problem with the church. Both of these are pastoral issues. A change in giving can be an early warning sign of conflict. I read that someone who is upset usually stops giving six months before actually leaving the church. If a church leader is notified that someone's giving suddenly stopped or was greatly decreased, the leader can look for an opportunity to help. If it is a time of hardship, the pastor can pray or possibly mobilize church help for the family. If it is a conflict, the pastor can encourage healthy dialogue and reconciliation.

3) When someone gives for a special purpose.

Missions trip support, funeral memorial gifts, scholarships, renovation project funding, etc., should be acknowledged. When a church leader knows that someone gave a special gift, the leader can be sensitive to make sure the person knows the gift was received, is appreciated and will be being used as intended. Sometimes it will also be appropriate to send a special report documenting the impact of the person's gift (e.g., if someone gave a gift to help underwrite a short-term missions project).

4) When someone is being considered for leadership.

Luke 12:34 says: "Where a person's treasure is, there your heart will be also." In considering people for top leadership positions in my last two churches, we would give the list of potential candidates to our treasurer and ask the question, "Do each of these people show Christian maturity and generosity in their giving practices? Yes or no?"  Notice, we did not ask the specific amount. It has been amazing that the treasurer has had to come back and report "no" on a number of people who appeared to be spiritually mature and were very active and respected in the church. Here's the problem: if they aren't giving faithfully to your church, their hearts are not with you. Actually, their hearts are far away.These are not the type of people you want in key leadership positions. A primary reason involves important financial decisions that will impact your church's future (renovations, ministry expansion, building projects, etc.) Such people will naturally resist anything that might cause them to need to give.

5) When someone has shown the capacity to give generously.

If someone is a great singer, we encourage them to sing.  If someone is a great teacher or youth worker, we encourage them to use their gifts. But if someone is a great giver, we ignore them! Don't all people need to be encouraged in their God-given giftedness? Some people have been spiritually gifted to be generous givers. Romans 12:8 tells us that some people are given the gift of giving and that they must use this gift well. Normally, this means a person has been blessed with abilities to make a greater income than they choose to spend on their lifestyle, so they invest in God's work. If a pastor knows someone is exhibiting generous giving habits, the pastor can connect with this person and encourage them to sharpen their gift of giving through ministries that can encourage and empower them to live and give even more generously (www.GenerousGiving.org, www.GenerousLife.info, and others). Also, in major church projects generous gifts that are normally gained through special meetings with key people can make the difference between success and failure (Nehemiah 2:2-9, I Chronicles 29).

6) When you want to assess your teaching on stewardship.

Most pastors and church leaders have no idea about the giving patterns within their congregation. A number of years ago I developed a treasurer's annual giving worksheet report that can give church leaders and/or the congregation important giving demographics for the church (without any reference to people's individual names). This worksheet has often proved to be very helpful as we realized the need to develop financial ministries to train people how to manage God-given resources and give generously.

Brian Kluth is a senior pastor and the founder of www.MAXIMUMgenerosity.org. He sends a FREE monthly generosity newsletter to 13,000 pastors and church leaders from more than 50 denominations. He is the author of a "40 Day Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life" and many other materials for churches and ministries to advance biblical generosity. Copyright, www.kluth.org.