Barna’s statistics recently came out about giving trends over the past year. I just recently posted my thoughts about that as well. Here is the question, Why is giving down? Is it because of a bad economy? Is it because of gas prices? Is it because pastors aren’t preaching tithing enough? Probably due to the backlash against tithing, i’m sure pastors are preaching more about tithing. they have to keep up with the grandeur religious empires. After all it’s all about building the kingdom of ?_______?
Tithing is a simple solution for stewardship in a church. All a pastor has to do is make sure his people know they are required to tithe, and then increase the number of people. Viola! you have your church a steady budget to grow with. It’s very easy. The more people, the more offering you get. If people start questioning the use of the money, just make them happy with free coffee and donuts for a week or two. I think i’ll make a blog post about how to fool people into giving more money. Anyways, so all that a pastor has to do is make sure his people know that tithing is important to your relationship with God, and then make sure that you have lots of people. On the other hand, if you had Spirit-led giving, you couldn’t get away with that. A pastor would need to make sure that his people are in a right and full relationship with God. Once they were in that position, then the giving would follow suit. Not only that it verifies that the church leadership is going in a direction that the people are being called by the Spirit to pay for.
So why is giving down? Maybe it’s because pastors are less concerned with the relationship that their congregation has with God and are more concerned with keeping their empire flourished. I don’t know. For those of you out there, that are just gritting your teeth about my attitude towards pastors, just take a deep breath, because i greatly recognize that many pastors have kept their church on the right track.
Why should it matter that the economy is bad or that gas is $5 a gallon. If the people of God are right with God then why should our giving struggle?
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May 23rd, 2008 at 6:40 am
Sometimes the giving bypasses the collection plate and goes straight to the receiver. It irked my former paster when I would ask him if there were any financial needs in the body that I could contribute to and I was instructed to just put it in the offering plate and the church would make sure it got to the right person. I did that the first time just to learn that the person who needed the help never got it. So had I followed the Spirit and gave it directly to the need, they would have seen God at work through his people, one oerson at a time.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:37 am
Good comment ken,
I had just made a statement the other day that was along the lines of what you have said. The Holy Spirit is living and breathing in you, not just the deacons that allocate your church’s budget. Don’t promote thoughtless giving through an automated tithe. Promote Spiritual maturity through Spirit-guided giving.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:03 am
I gave to a bum yesterday outside of a Win co foods. I don’t know how he will spend the change that I gave him but I said “Jesus loves you!”. Everytime I give to a homless person or when I give a tip I try to remember to say the name of Jesus to the reciever of my gift. I gave a plummer 30 dollars for doing some off the books work on my sink. He said you don’t have to pay me and I said This is from Jesus. I feel that Christians should say the name of Jesus more often so that people will know who to thank for Christian generosity. Folks would associate Jesus with Charity. Even if Bums and my plumber mismanage my money they know who it comes from-Jesus. The name of Jesus is lifted up better in my opinion when Christians use their imagination while giving.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:39 am
[...] the lack of funds for the church today is a passive way of us telling our leaders that they are not doing their job. Their job [...]
October 1st, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Christian’s are more afraid of the IRS than they are of God ! They don’t tithe because God ‘can’t make ‘ them. They are disobedient , unholy , and robbers.
A non tither has an issue with God NOT with their Pastor.
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Mike. . . Mike. . . Mike. . . (sigh),
What makes you think that God is happy with 10%? What makes you think that pastors devouring widows houses and forcing them to tithe is holy?
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Caring for widows and orphans from those tithes is also Biblical. Not to care for these people is non-Biblical. ‘Devouring widows houses’ ? I am sorry that a pastor somewhere let you down but we must stick with the Bible.
Jesus taught tithing. Mt 23:23
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Lu 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
We are to tithe. This is an OT and NT truth. We are also to give offerings - thus we give God more than ‘10%’. A proper understanding of tithing begins with the fact that ALL 100% belongs to God. As a steward we are to oversee EVERYTHING God has given to us.
October 4th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I have to respond to Mike. Your attitude is a perfect example of the kind of OT style legalism that has infected the NT church since the 6th century. Prior to that, the early Church gave their money, not to building projects, staff salaries, etc., but to aid the poor and the widows.
Perhaps you might want to go to the website: shouldthechurchteachtithing.com to discover what God teaches the NT church regarding our finances. Allow God to fill your heart with grace, rather than judgment and condemnation.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
If giving was done in the NT manner of the 2nd Corithians chapters 8 & 9 passages, which is grace giving or giving in the age of grace, I don’t believe giving would be down at at all.
Mike
Those passages are Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees’ self-righteouness not instructions for tithing.
That is legalism.
Those are weak proof-texts in isolation for the purpose of building a doctrine tithing from the New Testament.
No honest expositor or student of scripture can look objectively at a single New Testament passage or text of scripture, and pull tithing out from their.
October 12th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I just love all this talk about LEGALISM. You ‘ Bible Experts’ don’t even know what LEGALISM is.
By definition : Legalism is a religious system of good works whereby a person hopes ot obtain salvation. Legalism is follwing the law in order to be saved.
Next time you thorw legalism around use it is context.
By the way - all you GRACE GIVERS…
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Grace is an OT/NT truth. You people make me laugh with your lack of understanding. You start with the belief that tithing is wrong and then twist truth to justify your sin.
By the way - I’d love to see your GRACE GIVING record just once. Not only would I guess that your NOT tithing - I would venture to say that your not GRACE GIVING either.
God Bless you wonderful know it all !
October 12th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I CORRECTED MY SPELLING ON THIS ONE BEFORE YOU ATTACK ME ON THAT ALSO !
I just love all this talk about LEGALISM. You ‘ Bible Experts’ don’t even know what LEGALISM is.
By definition : Legalism is a religious system of good works whereby a person hopes to obtain salvation. Legalism is follwing the law in order to be saved.
Next time you throw legalism around use it is context.
By the way - all you GRACE GIVERS…
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Grace is an OT/NT truth. You people make me laugh with your lack of understanding. You start with the belief that tithing is wrong and then twist truth to justify your sin.
By the way - I’d love to see your GRACE GIVING record just once. Not only would I guess that your NOT tithing - I would venture to say that your not GRACE GIVING either.
God Bless you wonderful know it alls !