Ellen G. White Comments on the Use of Tithe Funds

2. The Clerk and Treasurer of Large Churches

C. F. McVagh, president of the Southern Union Conference, wrote W. C. White on October 24, 1912: EGWCUTF 20.5

“Brethren Nicola, Hart, and others of the older brethren tell me that they distinctly remember that years ago Sister White said that the tithe collector and clerk of the Battle Creek church should be paid out of the tithe, and up to the time of the Haughey administration, I guess it is a fact that the Battle Creek church paid its clerk and treasurer out of the tithe, and then turned the balance over to the conference.”

In responding, W. C. White said his recollections were the same: EGWCUTF 20.6

“My memory of the matter is in full harmony with the statements of Brother Nicola, Hart, and others. In the olden days, when the Battle Creek church was growing, it was found that unless the work of collecting the tithe was followed up regularly that the amount received was very much less than if the matter were followed up in a businesslike way by a collector who made the work his regular duty. We also found that this work demanded more time than it was right for us to ask any one, two, or three of the deacons to give to the matter, and it was thought by the church council that it would be good policy, and for the best interests of the tithe payers, and for the best interests of the conference, to have a good collector chosen and employed and paid a reasonable amount for his time.

“This plan, with the reasons therefore, was placed before Father ¹ and Mother, and received their hearty approval. I cannot name the time or the place, nor can I repeat the words, but I am very positive that Mother gave her hearty approval to this plan, and it seems to me that the wisdom of the plan can be clearly discerned from the business standpoint, and that it should be maintained even though we may not find a written testimony bearing upon the subject.

“In years past there was no effort made to conceal from other churches the fact that Battle Creek managed its affairs in this way. Our brethren largely recognized that different methods must be followed in churches of different circumstances. I am glad to tell you that the St. Helena Sanitarium church employs a faithful tithe collector and pays for actual service done from the tithe. Should this plan be discontinued, I think the conference would lose from five to ten times as much as it paid to the collector. But we do not find that our smaller churches need to follow this plan or that they are brought into perplexity because this plan is followed in our very large churches.”—W. C. White to C. F. McVagh, October 31, 1912.