The church used to be the central place of local fellowship for the whole town. Most everyone spent their time around the church either to hear announced news, or to celebrate some sort of event. Much time, effort, and money was poured into the church and its upkeep. But, over time the church and culture surrounding it no longer mingled the way it had once done. The church became a separate entity, and the society became detached from its life support. Even though our steeples have gotten more noticeable and our pews have gotten longer, society does not attend these chapels for a social gathering. The conventional church building is no longer viewed as a place of gathering and fellowship for the community. Because the church building is seldom used nowadays, it is very hard to discern the amount of effort and support that church buildings should receive. There are many good reasons to develop a facility that’s state of the art and also attractive. There are many times that this money goes wasted. I can’t judge how and what our money is used for. I do know that churches and their building funds will never be satisfied. Then again neither will all the poor be satisfied. When confronted with the decision to improve your furniture in your church or to feed the hungry, feeding the hungry is not the easiest decision. You won’t get a title deed, you don’t get to use it, neither are the homeless attractive to look at. I personally think, that feeding the hungry is a mission that’s a little closer to Jesus. During Jesus ministry, I don’t remember one time putting a roof over somebody’s head, but I do remember him feeding many people. I know that buildings do service some needs, but outside of Sunday service it is not a place of local fellowship, and neither is it a public place for the community.
(Tithe and Offerings Home)
I just read a blog about someone mentioning that Larry Burkett’s book - Giving & Tithing is not very deep. I don’t believe in a tithe minimum or a mandate to tithe, but i do believe in sacrificial giving. I know that sounds somewhat vague, but really is making a sacrifice actually vague? Anyways, it really doesn’t come to much suprise to me that Burkett’s book about tithing is not that a very deep one. There are too many questions about tithing to completely dig into without getting in a tangled mess that won’t make sense. All of the OT practices have a deep spiritual meaning that have been fulfilled by Christ, but when you dig deep into the topic of tithing you start asking the question, “why did the law of tithing change for the church if there was no command to”. This is what happened to me. A friend told me that tithing is not for New Covenant believers, i went on a personal bible study to “prove him wrong”, but in actuality, when i started digging deep into the topic i was more than convinced otherwise. I think what the argument comes down to is did Jesus fulfill tithing to abolish it or confirm it? Then ask yourself is tithing consistent with Spiritual laws of faith and mercy or physical laws of circumcision and blood shed sacrifice.
(Tithe and Offerings Home)
Mission organizations receive donations from around the world. People have freely given them donations, and it’s no wonder why they freely give back. Don’t you think it’s odd that organizations like the Red Cross and Salvation Army are the ones left up to taking care of the needy? Why don’t we think there’s something wrong with that? The homeless are supported by other organizations poorer than the church, and we wish we had more money to better fulfill the great commission.
Whether or not pouring money into our church real estate is right or wrong, the church is definitely not a recognized candidate for charity. We take our tithe check and horde it into something that looks good instead of pouring it into people who are not attractive at all. I agree, I would feel more comfortable as well, if I gave my money towards something more beautiful that could be considered a financial investment. It’s hard to give that bum on the street some money, cause in the back of our head we’re thinking that it would be wasted on some booz.
Demanding a tithe brings no accountability to the leaders of our churches. The mission organizations receive free donations. They know that they might not see that money ever again, but they give it back freely, because they have received it freely. Imagine if our government was supported through charitable donations, how much more honest would it be? We give our lives back to Christ much more freely because we have received it freely. God was under no obligation to give, and neither should we.
Tithe and Offerings home
Because you were faithful in very little, have authority over ten cities. - Luke 19:17
And what father is there among you? Who, if his son asks for some bread, will offer him a stone?- Luke 11:11
I read this blog entry that stated the statistic that church members gave 2.65% of their income. It also went on to say that if we actually gave 10%, then we would have added an additional $164 billion in revenue that could have completely wiped out world hunger from 2005.
I thought about it, and believe that is somewhat true, but really, how much are we impacting the needs of others around us with the little that we can give? In actuality, it’s not little. Most people, including myself, say, “if only god gave me more money so i can pay off my debt and give more to the church”. But also what most pastors say is, “if only people gave more to the church, then we can pay off our debt so we can give to the poor”. Both the pastor and the congregation are in the same boat. World hunger only exists because the pursuit of happiness and the American dream, are its vicious predators
God never commanded us to build structures for fellowship. As a matter of fact the temple was never used as a ministry of outreach, but only a place of worship. But God did command us to provide shelter for those who need it. That is where the philosophy of building church structures fail.
tithe and offerings home
This article stated, “California Pastor Stole the Whole Church“, pretty much explains the whole story. This man just stole a bunch of money, and sold the title deed of his church. In the mean time he was driving around in a BMW. This guy has guts. Is there anyone out there that can discern a little bit better about the wrong and right Spirits? Just continues to show that there needs to be more accountability, with our leaders. I really don’t think this guy is that much worse off than the people who coerce you into giving and call it the Lord’s will. Hey all they did was ask if they could steal your money.
Tithe and Offerings home
I have just one question running through my head.
What would require more faith for church budgets and finances?
1. Teach people to give 10% of their income . . .or. . .
2. Teach people to give what the Spirit tells them to
I don’t want to answer this, but what thoughts run through your head after asking yourself these questions?
