The Church by T. E. BOWEN.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 22, 1909

The Church

By T. E. BOWEN.

Instruction Pertaining to the Duties and Responsibilities of Officers and Members

Duties of the Church Missionary Secretary and Treasurer

The work of this officer in the church is very important. He is to stimulate missionary activity, so that the church shall become truly a live, active, working band of Christian believers. He needs much tact, devotion, and sufficient steadfastness and courage resolutely to surmount obstacles and steadily to go forward in the work set for him by the Master.

Questions often arise between different officers in the church regarding their work, as to what duties are expected of them, where their responsibilities begin and end; in other words, what they should and should not do. It sometimes occurs that even authorities, or those supposed to be authority, do not agree altogether upon every point; so it is difficult to lay down fixed rules that will govern in every case. But certain principles should be observed, and all may be governed by them as different circumstances and conditions may indicate.

Where a church elects one individual for missionary secretary, and another for treasurer, the question has arisen as to who should handle the funds of the church. Should the treasurer take charge of all the funds, or should the mission secretary collect for supplies ordered for the church by him, and send the same to the State office?

It is a business principle recognized by nearly every one that the responsibility of settlement attaches to that of ordering. In other words, the individual ordering any line of merchandise is expected either to settle bills rendered for the same or to provide for their payment through some other responsible party connected with the firm.

Thus the church missionary secretary should be a person who is judicious and careful, who will not order supplies recklessly of the State tract society, but make careful provision beforehand with every member in the church, so that when accounts fall due, they may be promptly paid. To this end he should keep an accurate account with every individual member who does not pay in advance for supplies ordered. In this case, the State office would open an account with the local society, honoring all orders received from the church missionary secretary, charging the same to the local society account, and crediting it with all money sent in by this officer in payment. This simplifies the work at the State office. Thus the missionary secretary becomes responsible for the collection and payment of all unpaid orders. Cash orders may always be sent by any one. No other officer in the church would like to become responsible for the collection of money to pay the bills of some other officer whose chief duty was to create bills, but who shunned all responsibility in meeting them when they became due. The church treasurer would not like to be held responsible for the payment of accounts for which he had no voice in the matter of creating.

The church treasurer, in the case of a separate officer for this work, would look after the tithe and offerings, or all

money aside from that for the payment of the supplies ordered through the missionary secretary, as already mentioned.

The secretary of the Sabbath-school should order the Quarterly or other supplies through the church missionary secretary, and the pay for the same should be turned over to this officer, to be forwarded with other money on account. All Sabbath-school offerings designed for missions should be paid to the church treasurer by the Sabbath-school secretary, he requiring a receipt for the same. It should be an unvarying rule not to pay money to any one without demanding a receipt, and this receipt should be carefully filed away for future reference, with the papers of record connected with whatever office is held.

In case the offices of the missionary secretary and treasurer are blended into one, and one individual looks after it all, there will be no confusion of duties, but all funds will be handled by the one individual. However, with the revival of the local periodical and tract work, this plan is not the ideal one, as it is generally considered that there is ample work for the two officers in every church; for both carry very important responsibilities.

T. E. BOWEN.