Keeping the lamps trimmed and burning...and the lights on too
Giving to the church Deux:
Going back to the discussion on giving, we are in our annual pledge drive. I got some pretty honest and important feedback (see the post 'how to ask' below)from you readers. When you're dealing with a church budget, some of an average person's pledge will go to the rising energy costs to keep the building heated, etc., some will go to my salary (which is modest and for which I am grateful), and the rest will go to the ministries in the church.
Many churches face a crisis in giving and I always get heartburn at this time of year. Your questions:
1. Why do you think there is a crisis in giving to churches?
2. Why do you give?
I love your honest feedack...
posted by fatherneo at 8:37 PM
Post a Comment
8 Comments:
1. Because (my guess):
A. There is a crisis of trust in churches, ie, they've become irrelevant or impotent or corrupt.
B. The poor are getting poorer and the poor are one faithful source of moneys for churches.
2. I dig my church.
I think people allocate resources to their priorities. If their priority is Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, they will fund that first and most. Since we know that they do not fund the church first and most, we can assume that they assign a lower priority. Then what is first? What is the most important thing in their life? Get checkbook out and add it up.
We know from recent stats that the average number of hours in front of media is huge, maybe as high as nine hours a day. So, allocating resources in time, we would say that whatever is being watched is indicative of what is most important to those who watch. Reality shows, drive time radio, movies, computer games, what? I'd say that our priorities are not that hard to read. We don't go without cable TV and internet, but we do short our church pledge when there's too much month left at the end of the money.
We tithe...I think. My wife says we do. We tithe to two churches, so it's kinda hard to tell. We also skimp to the church when things get tough, preferring food and shelter to God's work, I fear. I want our family priorities to be Christ and His kingdom first, last and always. My wife thinks I'm a little bit of a dreamer. Guilty as charged, but I'm also sure that there is nothing more important in life than the work of Christ's church.
Okay, my answers are in reverse order.
2.We teach tithing at our church, but still only about 35% do it. I am a single mother on a very limited income and I still tithe. I think I live extremely well on the little bit I have. In fact, I think i do better than some people on much larger incomes. Is it because of tithing? I beleive it is. But that isn't the real reason I tithe. I tithe to demonstrate my trust in God and my acknowledgement that He is the one that is truly taking care of us.
1. But I was having a conversation in the rectory with my pastor just last night over the excessively opulent lifestyles of some of the pastors that he knows. It really bothered me. I just can't beleive what some people are willing to do in the name of God. He told me of one church where there was a ten thousand dollar cash prize to the one who brought the most people to church. He spoke of massive houses with yachts moored in the back, luxury sports cars and multiple luxury sports cars. Why do we in the church behave as if we opperate in a vacuum in which no one can see what we are doing? Why do we behave as if our actions are above questioning? Why are we trying to store up treasure here on earth? I just don't understand. And I feel so sorry for the innocent people who are caught up in this. My final thought is that people don't give because they don't see their money making a real
impact.
I give regularly to my church in tithes and offerings. I've never lost doing so. A side benefit is that I find I manage better with the 90% than I did with 100. Strange,yes?
Good sermon on this topic here:
http://fatherstace.blogspot.com/
I hadn't commented on this earlier this week and I'm kind of glad now that I didn't because it just so happened that today I went to a lectureship for my job on Stewardship. It was given by one of the Preaching faculty here at the seminary. He gave a few interesting quotes from Robert Wuthnow's article entitled "Pious Materialism: How Americans View Faith and Money" from The Christian Century.
"Money is considered too personal to be discussed openly. The darkest taboo in our culture is not sex or death, but money...The proportion who seldom discussed personal finances with fellow church people was 97%."
Also,
"Among those who attend church every week, only 16% were taught that it is wrong to want a lot of money. 84% said, "I wish I had more money than I do."
This should be contrasted with the biblical attitude of Ex. 20:17: You shall not covet; Luke 12:15: Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; Hebrews 13:5: Let your character be free from the love of money.
The main point that struck me today in this lectureship was that we are to be stewards. I can't tell you how many times I have heard that! We need to be stewards of our time, money, talents, etc. But the context and definitions given today made this concept very different for me. The professor asked for synonyms of steward and those suggested were the following: caretaker, manager, investor. Now, if I had my own personal finance manager, what characteristics would I desire that manager to have? Those characteristics are: diligence, faithfulness, integrity, and loyalty. This is who we are to God. We are simply managers of His money and His possessions. I think the majority of the American church does not have a proper view of stewardship which directly impacts giving practices.
Sorry for the slow response to your question Amy. I have been moving and have had computer issues so it was not deliberate.
Our church teaches tithing in membership classes and our pastor touches on it in Bible study and in his sermons. But when I say he touches on it, that's exactly what I mean. He keeps talking about giving financially to a minimum. And there is no offering taken during some of our biggest services of the year.
Interesting. I think Moody Padawan niece heard a great lecture. If money were not so charged an issue, it would be talked about openly. The fact that it is not is surely recognition of its special status as taboo. I have been a financial planner for twenty three years. For most of that time, I worked for the wealthy. I have NEVER met anyone who was satisfied with how much money they had. If they had a lot, they were embarassed. If they had a little, they were embarassed. It has also been my professional observation that people would rather talk about their sex life than their money, within the church and without. Most churches avoid talking about it, which is a comfort to all. Churches who have a healthy view of money talk about it openly, but they are rare. Some churches talk about money a lot, but it is always other people's money.
Becoming a steward among stewards in a church which had solved this problem in the lives of their congregants would be very freeing. I don't see it happening in our country often. We are devoted to materialism throughout the culture. So, we will avoid discussion and give our reasons.
Post a Comment
<< Home