Helping Members to Make Their Wills

A PASTOR carries many responsibilities in his work, but one of the most delicate is guidance at the time a mem­ber is making a will.  Recently T. K. Thompson, executive director of the department of stewardship and benevolence of the National Council of Churches, pre­pared an article in this field that we believe will be read with interest.

A question sometimes asked is, Why should a pastor help his parishioners in making a will? And further, Should he en­courage them to remember the activities of the cause of God at such a time? It is inter­esting that even The Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church makes ref­erence to this. It reads:

The Minister is ordered, from time to time, to advise the People, whilst they are in health, to make Wills arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, and, when of ability, to leave Bequests for religious and charitable uses.—Page 320.

Some might suggest that this is none of the pastor's business. But anything that touches the kingdom of God is his busi­ness. A number of our conferences here in North America have ministers appointed to serve in the capacity of counselors. This has proved a great blessing, and the plan might well be followed in other areas of the world field. One with a real back­ground of pastoral or administrative ex­perience, but who has laid down his heav­ier burdens, can render truly valuable service to the cause in this capacity. We certainly need the guidance of God's Spirit as we seek to help our dear members to invest in His cause and thus hasten the coming of the King.

In Dr. Thompson's article he lists certain criticisms that may be heard from time to time, such as The church is getting; too commercial. He reminds us that, "In the time of Henry VIII, clergy were often instructed not to officiate at the fu­nerals of the deceased unless the deceased had written a 'mortuary' in his Will. The 'mortuary' usually consisted of ten per cent of the total of the temporal goods, and was given to the Church or to a Church Order. Thus we have graphically displayed the 'commercial' tendency inherent in any church emphasis upon making a Christian Will. The Church is definitely tempted to sell its services for a price, and in the case of ten per cent of an estate, the price is pretty heavy. The rebuttal to this argu­ment is very simple. The Church should completely abstain from any kind of sell­ing its services in order to gain a bequest."

Another criticism is that "undue influ­ence" is sometimes brought to bear on in­dividuals. His rebuttal is that

"All older people of means are under 'undue influence' from philanthropic in­stitutions of all kinds and most especially under the influence of aggressive relatives who seek to gain a bequest."

The attitude of relatives is touched upon, to which he replies:

"The answer to this argument is simply that the testator should decide what causes and what persons come first in his scale of values. The pastor [or the advisor] has a definite responsibility to present the needs of the Church in this situation." A loyal Adventist will have no difficulty in sensing the needs of God's cause.

"A final criticism," he says, "is the in­vasion of privacy. The making of a Will is a highly private matter between a husband and a wife and their immediate family. In many respects a Will is the most serious document a man ever frames. To have the pastor of the church, an outsider, come in with a 'sales talk' is in extremely bad taste.

"Again, the answer here is basically a matter of a man's religious faith and his devotion to the Christian Church. If the testator is a practicing Christian, he will want to seek the counsel and guidance of his minister on this, one of the most im­portant decisions of his life.

"All will agree that the pastor is a leader and counselor in the field of Christian stewardship." That has been defined as " 'the practice of systematic and propor­tionate giving of time, abilities and mate­rial possessions, based upon the conviction that these are a trust from God to be used in his service for the benefit of all man­kind, in grateful acknowledgment of Christ's redeeming love.' "

Defining Christian stewardship, certain matters become apparent, such as the fol­lowing:

"Will making is an essential part of Christian stewardship. Every Christian comes to church on Sunday morning and makes his weekly offering as an act of wor­ship. Giving is as necessary to the Christian life as breathing is to the physical life. Giv­ing is a form of prayer in which we pray, 'Thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven, through me.' In the course of the years, a careful, thrifty Christian will save some money beyond his immediate needs; and as he faces the sunset years of life, he will want to con­tinue the Christian stewardship conviction which he has actively followed in his weekly offering envelopes—by making a Christian Will. All of a Christian's time, talents and possessions are to be used to the glory of God. When it comes to the final disposition of his temporal resources, the Christian will want to use them to the greater glory of God.

"Will making is a matter of faith. The Christian believes that all he has came first from God: his life has been mediated through his parents; his Christian faith was mediated through his church and church school; his money and other earthly possessions came as a result of God's goodness in creation and man's work with God. The Christian believes that God's greatest gift is Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Lord. Recently, a distinguished Protestant lay­man retired from his work in New York and returned to his native state in the "West. He made his Will, which in part read, 'I, John Doe, of New York City, believing as I do in the just, creative and sovereign God Almighty, the Father of all mankind, and in his Son, Tesus Christ, my personal Lord and Saviour, and in the Holy Spirit, who moves everywhere upon the hearts of men to enlighten and guide them in all Truth, and accepting as I do the Judaeo-Christian philosophy of life, from which comes our concept of moral values which are so basic for the establishment of Law, Order and Justice, as well as for our cor­porate and personal conduct, and also for the freedoms and privileges we enjoy un­der our Constitutional Democracy . . .'

"This outstanding layman continued, 'The time has come to close this trust and give a final accounting of the temporal property which he, the trustor, and creator of all things, has placed in my care as the trustee.' This unusual man, in a very clear and direct way stated what most Christians feel, but express less dramatically. A Chris­tian's Will should witness to his faith in both its words and its intent.

"Will making is a matter of values. The way a man spends his money is the surest clue to the kind of person he is. Making a Will is, in reality, spending money. The same criteria of values, both negative and positive, which have influenced the Chris­tian in his daily decisions for stewardship should also influence the decision as to where his money goes at his death.

"Will making gives a larger opportunity for Christian witness and work. Most church people have only modest means. They give regularly and systematically a portion of their income throughout their lifetime, but in the sunset years, they have the unusual privilege of giving a consider­able bit of money in one lump sum in the making of their Wills. Oftentimes the children are well established and there is no further need to take care of the family.

At least on this occasion, the modest Chris­tian can become a 'big' philanthropist. He can make a sizable gift for ministers' pen­sions, building new churches, or sending out missionaries.

"Will making, if it is Christian, provides for both family and the Church. Certainly, the family with its children and grandchil­dren are among God's greatest gifts. At each stage of a Christian's life, he will have different family responsibilities. When the children are young and in need of care, the Will should reflect this situation. As the children grow up and found homes of their own, the Will has a different place. Every Will should be reviewed at regular intervals of four or five years. Remember­ing the Church in a WTill is not a matter of excluding the family and remembering the Church. It is a matter of remembering both, and from the same motive of fulfill­ing one's Christian responsibilities.

"The stewardship ministry of the pastor is one of the basic responsibilities of his vocation. If a divorce is threatened be­cause of the mishandling of money, the pastor brings good financial counsel into the picture. If a man's niggardliness is de­priving him of great joy in Christian serv­ice, it is the pastor's duty to lead him to a higher standard of giving. If a man's Will does not reflect the basic Christian con­cerns of his life, it is the [counselor's or the] pastor's privilege to counsel with him in this situation."

Helping our members to enter into all the blessings of Christian living is part of the minister's high calling, and in doing this he will naturally consult with the con­ference treasurer, for the financial officer of the conference will be able to give valuable counsel in all such matters. Paul said, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God," and that counsel also includes the disposal of our earthly possessions. It is not a mercenary spirit that moves us to emphasize this, but like our Lord, we seek to be diligent about our Father's business.

R. A. A.