Once again another tithing video of someone being tackled for not tithing. Even if i did believe in tithing i wouldn’t think it’s funny, simply for the fact that really people do feel like they are being tackled for not tithing. It’s ironic that i don’t see tackling videos for those who aren’t serving.
Archive for December, 2008
Yule Tithe Santa Video
Thursday, December 25th, 2008Pulpit Pimps Twas the Night before Christmas
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008Don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom for the opportunity to create your very own St. Pimp!
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through God’s house
Not a person was stirring, not even a mouse;
The wallets were hung by the pulpit with care,
In hopes that St. Pimp soon would be there;
The people were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of prosperity danced in their heads;
And mama in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a private jet, and eight tiny pimp-deer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Pimp.
More cunning than vipers his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, White! now, Dollar! now, Long and Hinn!
On, Copeland! on Crouch! on, Jakes and Prince!
To the top of the Steeple! to the top of the wall!
Now pimp away! pimp away! pimp away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the coffers full of wealth, and St. Pimp too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The pimping and prancing of each pimps hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Pimp came with a bound.
He was dressed all in Armani, from his head to his shoe,
And his clothes were all garnished with diamonds too;
A bundle of cash he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pimp just opening his pack.
His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the diamonds on his cuff were as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
As his ego encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, as he pimped like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know this is something to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And pimped all the people; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his pimp-deer gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Pimping to all, and to all a good-night.”
Difference Between Spirit-led, Freewill, & Grace Giving
Monday, December 15th, 2008I hate being picky about terminology, but i feel this issue is important enough to be picky about. Many non-tithers use the terms “freewill giving”, “Spirit led giving”, and “grace giving” to describe how they give. The only problem is that the use of some of these terms to describe their philosophy of giving send out mixed messages. In this post i am going to describe the difference between spirit led, freewill, & grace giving. I will tell you why grace & freewill giving is not a term that clearly describes our opposing view about tithing. In the end i will tell you why “Spirit led” giving is the correct terminology that does illuminate the differentiating properties between tithing and new covenant giving.
Here’s the issue, people who enforce tithing tend to say, “i believe in grace giving and I believe in freewill giving, it’s just that i believe 10% is the starting point.” I would venture to say, that they are probably right – they do believe in grace and freewill giving. Their motivation to tithe may not be as if it were a law; their motivation is because they are under God’s grace and love. The issue is that they are led by a law, not by the Spirit.
Freewill Giving
I’m not going to pull up dictionary definitions, but generally i believe that everyone has freewill. Whether you believe tithing is commanded or not, you believe that God doesn’t force you to do something. So freewill giving is a very broad definition. By nature the term, “freewill” doesn’t describe attributes that are against tithing. Tithing can be freewill also.
Grace Giving
Ok, so grace giving sounds much more definitive right? After all, the Old Testament was under the law and we are under grace, so anyone who tithes is still under the law, right? Well, many tithers claim that they are under grace as well, simply for the fact that they are free from the curse. Typically these are the ones that tell you that the tithe is not a law that you will be punished for, and yet in the same sentence convince you how the tithe is the minimum, and God expects you to give it. Hence they somehow morph an old testament concept to fit under the new covenant relationship. Regardless, yes, we are all under grace whether we believe in tithing or not. So, the term, “grace giving” doesn’t exactly describe the attributes that are against tithing either.
Spirit Led Giving
The most bizarre concept to me about tithing, is that God can’t trust his Spirit to help you make the right decision as to where you can give the first 10%, but he can trust his Spirit to guide you with offerings? Spirit led giving puts the Holy Spirit in control of what you do with every single penny. Don’t confuse, “spirit led” with “spirit filled”. Both terms are totally different concepts. Spirit led is receiving instructions from the Holy Spirit as your source as opposed to using scripture to dictate your actions. Spirit filled is more or less obtaining character attributes of God.
I guess another term that would be safe to use is “new covenant giving“. When you debate others about tithing, this terminology stuff can get nit-picky, and sometimes frustrating. Next time you talk with someone about tithing, i challenge you to use the term “spirit led giving”.
What do you think about all this terminology? Do you think it matters? Do you call your giving something different? If you do, I’d like to hear it.
Giving Statistics
Thursday, December 11th, 2008I fished through some articles and some statistics and compiled the most interesting statistics in one post. These statistics will make you think, question, and doubt the responsibility of your leaders. I will admit, these giving statistics are not pretty, but i hope they make you re-think some things about stewardship in the Church today.
“in its 2008 report found 33.4% of estimated total giving, $103.32 billion, went to houses of worship and denominational organizations in 2007″ (source).
Right off the bat, the first question is what is the Church doing with the money we have already? This is 103 billion were talking about here? Are we conquering world hunger. Do all the hidden tribes in Africa have printed bibles in their language? Are we taking care of the widows? Sure, there is pressure to give more and more, but are we fiscally responsible and efficient with the resources we are receiving already?
“85 percent of all church activity and funds is directed toward the internal operations of the congregation”. Add in another 2% going to overseas missions to support their budget costs. (source)
In the end this leaves 13% that possibly might be used for practical purposes. Figuratively speaking, this also means that 85 billion dollars us used primarily to keep the lights on!
Granted, minister’s salaries/needs are included in the 85 billion we spend internally, but as you can see there’s very little sacrifice for churches to give outside of their own needs. I see it as, “selfish”, but i’m sure others define it as, “sacrificial”
I think we need to separate churches from the term “ministry”, because 13% of the churches resources actually go towards administering needs.
“”Americans who earn less than $10,000 gave 2.3 percent of their income to religious organizations,” Smith, Emerson, and Snell write, “whereas those who earn $70,000 or more gave only 1.2 percent.” While the actual percentages are slightly higher for Christians who regularly attend church, the pattern is similar. Households of committed Christians making less than $12,500 per year give away roughly 7 percent of their income, a figure no other income bracket beats until incomes rise above $90,000 (they give away 8.8 percent).
In fact, in absolute terms, the poorest Christians give away more dollars than all but the wealthiest Christians.” (source)
Some things never change. The story of the widow and her mite still live today.
“If members of historically Christian churches in the United States had raised their giving to the Old Testament’s minimum standard of giving (10% of income) in 2000, an additional $139,000,000,000 a year would become available assist in Christian based mission work.” (source)
Well let’s see after all the overhead is paid, and we have enough to run the machine, that leaves about 18 billion out of the 139 billion going towards practical needs. If you think that 139 billion is a lot of money, and we could use the tithe to do greater good, just hold your thoughts and listen to this next statistic.
“Christians worldwide in 2007 gave . . . $370 billion, to Christian causes” (source)
Please . . . OH PLEASE! Tell me what a meager extra 139 billion would do? Christian stewards have received 370 BILLION dollars to do missions, spread the gospel, clothe the poor, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and provide ministry; and all we can do is cry about everyone tithing an extra 139 billion? Is 370 billion not enough?
“”Relatively little donated money actually moves much of a distance away from the contributors,” Smith, Emerson, and Snell write. The money given by the people in the pews, it turns out, is largely spent on the people in the pews. Only about 3 percent of money donated to churches and ministries went to aiding or ministering to non-Christians.” (source)
I have said this long before these statistics came out. You wonder why people struggle with selfishness? It’s because they are following their church’s example of giving. As a matter of fact i said that we were “selfish” just above. I said that before i even read this giving statistic. Of course i thought our external giving came to about 13%, but it looks as if i was off by 10%. We only use 3% towards practical ways of reaching the unsaved! Once again we spend only 3% of our budget to show the unsaved how generous our God is!
These giving statistics are sobering, saddening, and sickening. My giving is nothing to be proud of. What about you? How has your giving been? How does your church give? How much do you spend on your own church for yourselves, and how much do you spend on others? What do you think about these giving statistics?
Thanksgiving and Greed
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008Well, i haven’t blogged in a while. . . for good reasons might i add. . . First off, October – November is the busiest time of the year for my website design business. Second, my wife and I just had our first – A beautiful little girl. Next, I contracted the flu. Finally after all that, i got food poisoning. I hope i am now able to slowly get back into the groove.
I’ve been wanting to write about this since the first time i heard about the black friday massacre at Walmart. Yes, as most of you know, someone was trampled to death in a stampede of people. Although, i sincerely doubt people are up 4a.m. buying gifts for someone else. I’m sorry but if i’m shopping that early in those crowds, I’m not shopping for aunt sally. I think it’s safe to say that a majority of those people are shopping for themselves first.
With that all said, here is something ironic. Why is it that the greediest day of the year is the day after the most thankful day of the year? It’s absolutely true. Black Friday should be renamed “Greed Friday”. I’m not saying that if you go shopping on Black Friday that you are greedy. I went shopping on Black Friday, so i guess it’s OK for you too.
It’s just a shame that our time of thankfulness only lasts for 24 hours. It also makes you wonder about the Spiritual powers involved in this evil world system. Do you think it’s a coincidence that Black Friday is right after Thanksgiving? Maybe our spiritual enemy had something to do with its timing? It’s like we are praying to God thanking him for our blessings but at the same time we have our riches still grasped tight in our folded hands.
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