The Prosperity Gospel by Global Conversion
Here is a video I came across on the Museum of Idolatry at alittleleaven.com
How Spirit Led Giving Could Transform the Church
If Spirit-led giving is more beneficial than tithing, then there must be an objective list of benefits to prove it. Here is a list of the positive changes that would come as a result of Spirit-led giving as opposed to tithing.
1. Church budgets would require more faith to operate through freewill gifts
The tithe acts as a mandated tax system, which implies that you are obligated by ‘the law’ to pay it. The tithe works out great for church budgets. Granted not everyone tithes, but still, the few that feel obligated to, are consistent and reliable in providing steady income for the church. Regardless of rain, or shine, utopia or apocalypse; these faithful few will tithe.
I can understand how a base salary for church budgets seems to make common sense, but at the same time, let’s look at the pitfalls. Imagine if your leaders want to build a skating rink, bowling alley, and pool hall inside your church. All they have to do is say is the spirit of God is leading them. In the meantime, your consistent tithe enables this poor stewardship because your predictable giving provides no accountability for the spending. They tactfully rely on your tithe because they bet that your fear of the . . . “curse” . . . will keep your money in their pockets. As a tither your money must go towards your home Church regardless of your feelings or desire to give elsewhere.
Imagine a church that will say “we believe that God is calling us to start a homeless ministry, and we believe that He will call others to donate without being forced to do so”? I’m sure all the church accountants will start biting their nails off. According to their faith, it’s seemingly impossible to operate a Church by people who are led by the Holy Spirit.
Spirit led, freewill giving takes an extreme amount of faith to accept. Operating a ministry through a mandated tax system requires very little faith compared to spirit-led gifts.
To practice a faith that believes the Holy Spirit is capable of convincing a missionary to travel to the remote parts of an African jungle but is not capable to direct others to give freely is hypocritical.
2. Many ministries not called by the Spirit will close their doors
Some have heard the old saying, “if God calls a ministry, he will pay for it”. Unfortunately, many church doors remain open today because of the imposed tax system levied upon the members. The mandated tithe guarantees the place is warm in the winter and the lights are on at night, but it does not mean hearts are receptive and God is welcome.
If the Spirit of God were in control of funding the ministries, then the Spirit of God would encourage us to give only to those ministries in which He wishes to work in. If you are unhappy with the financial decisions of your fellowship, then most of us are technically faced with 2 bogus decisions. One is to keep paying our tithe with regret, and the other option is to leave. This doesn’t seem like a great choice. The people of God need the liberty to give to any ministry that their heart is pleased with. Look, I don’t believe that all of us will agree with every financial decision of our church body, which means we should not violate our spiritual conscience and blindly follow a legal law.
At any given time, God’s people need the option to practice discernment when deciding which ministry is best suited for monetary support. Spirit led giving truly practices the cliche statement, that if God calls a ministry, then God will pay for it.
3. More needs would be supplied rather than wants
You don’t have to beg for givers when you see someone in a desperate fight to keep their family healthy because of financial hardship. Within my Church fellowship, we are building homes for poor people in Guatemala. Once you hear their testimonies and hear about their spiritual and physical struggles, many times people are anxious for the offering plate to be passed around.
On the other hand, when you look at 3-D models of the potential state-of-the-art fitness facility, many times the pastor has to preach a mini sermon on tithing prior to the offering plate being passed around. They have to lay the guilt on you and make you feel the pressure. If it’s not guilt they impose on you, then their other tactic is to get you to salivate over this nice new facility. So more than likely your desire to give is out of greed or guilt, and not out of a cheerful heart. Let me be clear . . . I’m not saying that tithing can’t be done with a right heart, or that church buildings are all bad.
Spirit led giving allows us the choice to put your money anywhere. The tithe only allows us one option – put your money in the “local storehouse” offering. The responsibility of church leaders is to distribute your tithe according to needs or wants. Many times, our leaders may do a great job, but on some occasions, your desire may be to give elsewhere.
Most churches are setup to appeal to our greed because when we walk in we expect cushioned chairs, hi-def screens, marble flooring, and fancy sight and sound. If we stop seeing these amenities, we begin to wonder where our tithe is going. We give our tithe partly because of the luxurious benefits we receive from it. When people aren’t seeing any new TV’s or equipment in the church, then we start questioning where our tithe is going. This cycle causes most of our tithe to be spent on church amenities and not on the real needs. No wonder recent giving statistics have stated that 85% of what religious organizations bring in is spent on the internal operation.
4. People would pray more
Tithing is so easy! No thinking is involved. No questions. No doubts. Just take your paycheck, multiply by .10, and now you have your tithe. You don’t need to pray or ask God about anything. This is the epitome of automatic Christianity.
Christ didn’t die so that we can continue to blindly follow rituals that require no communication with Him. Christ died so that he could repair the relationship between God and man. He tore the veil for a reason. If he wanted us to continue the traditions that enable automated worship, then he would have kept the veil intact in front of the holy of holies.
Spirit led giving is an opportunity for God to confront you individually about your giving, and an opportunity for you to listen. What a boring relationship would i have with my wife if all my deeds were spelled out in my vows. A romantic relationship is spontaneous, sacrificial, and creative. If you were to treat your spouse the same way you treat God with your tithe, I believe many of you would be sleeping on the couch.
It takes work, communication, and listening to understand and hear what my wife’s desires are. I give my unknown acquaintances the same fruit cake year after year for Christmas. But the reason why I can give my wife things that mean something is because “I KNOW HER“. Do you know God? Tithing is just like that stale fruitcake you give to that person year after year. The absence of a personal relationship is an excuse to forgo sacrifice, creativity, and spontaneity.
Same time, every week pagans come to their stone god and present a sacrifice. They don’t know if that’s what the Buddha wants, because he is dead and his memories are made of stone. On this note, Christians are great at pagan worship because we forget that our God is actually living as well. We have an opportunity to communicate with a living God, but instead we are satisfied with returning every week with the same gifts, even though God is looking for something else. He might as well be stone because somewhere between his lips and our ears His requests seem to hit some mortar.
Tithing can be an escape route to avoid communication with God- “I don’t have to talk to God, nor do I have to come face to face with his holiness. All I do is just sign my name on that line, and now I have one thing accomplished without even confronting God!”
We have to ask ourselves if tearing the veil to the access of the throne room of God was actually intentional?
Spirit-led giving is a great opportunity to pursue what God wants you to do with His money. Many of us hate confrontation, and even more of us hate confrontation with a holy, powerful God. Spirit Led giving requires us to counsel with God on our giving. Sure, a set standard, such as tithing, can eliminate the battle with excuses, but it cannot eliminate greed that dwells in your heart.
5. Spirit led giving does not appease the hearts of those who could afford more than 10%
Tithing kind of works like an alibi. It’s the sort of evidence you present to the defense proving that you are innocent. Not that you couldn’t have done more, but who could point the finger at you and exclaim, ‘guilty’. You paid your tithe, so you are covered.
If I believe my tithe protects me from the curse and the devourer, then why would I care to give more than 10%? But if i believed in Spirit-led giving, I have no security blanket to protect my conscience from poor giving. Either I will have to ignore God and my conscience or will need to give what God is telling me to. Tithing is not there to fall back on as a safety net.
6. More would be able to pay off debt
I’ve written a few blog posts already about tithing and debt, but this always needs to be reiterated. Tithing, while in debt, does not protect your testimony from poor stewardship. Actually, it would just prove that you have a problem with money leaving your pockets too often. You are not a good steward if you serve God with your tithe and yet you also are a slave to debt. You cannot serve two masters.
I’d rather that you pay off debt, and learn from the guilt and embarrassment while you are empty-handed as the offering goes by. Tithing does not teach good budgeting skills, nor can it promise to teach you self-control. Get your budget and spending under control first, because that’s what the world will see. Then begin to enhance your giving. We are so worried about what Johnny Steeple and Mary Chapel are thinking about us in the church. The world does not need to see you giving tons of money to the church while ignoring practical stewardship principles. They are going to think you are in a cult ;)
One story I always state as a reminder to tithing while in debt. Remember the master who left 3 servants with talents while he went away. The first two servants invested their talents and gave the master more than their initial amount. The third servant buried his talent and gave all of it back to his master. The thing to remember is that the third servant, who gave 100% of it back to his master, was considered the ‘wicked’ one.
7. People would connect more closely with one another
I would consider this point more on the un-obvious side, but I believe is of crucial importance. This is one of the things that I’ve struggled with whenever I began Spirit led giving. Believing in Spirit-led giving is all fine and dandy, but how do I find out where to give my money to? Certainly, God wasn’t going to start appearing to me in dreams or paint a message in the sky. Praying does help to bring some ideas to mind, but that can’t just be it.
Shortly after practicing freewill giving, I began to realize that I needed to find out what other’s needs were. Before, I didn’t know about many financial needs. I didn’t really worry about it either. The church leaders were the ones with that job. I just gave them my tithe and they worried about it. But now, I have to connect with my brothers and sisters to find out their needs. I need to know how they are struggling.
I’m no counselor but most of us have something to contribute whenever we speak with one another about problems in our life. For many of us we can help by paying for someone’s gas to work, or pay for books for school . . .etc. Tithing doesn’t require us to be socially intelligent with our giving. All we have to do is drop it in the plate. There’s no need to listen to your brothers financial problems because you already gave your tithe away anyway and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Spirit-led giving forces me to connect one-on-one with my brothers & sisters. I need to hear what issues they are dealing with in life. I need to know if money would help them start up a ministry. Spirit-led giving requires me to be in tune with those in my spiritual family. This also requires my senses to be on alert. I am more aware of physical needs around me now that I am free to give towards anything. I was so narrow minded prior to Spirit led giving
Tactics Used to Convince You to Tithe
Need more tithers at your church? Here are some methods you can use to get more people to tithe.
1. Tithing chants
Kenneth Copeland had this brainwashing method to have the Church chant a tithing creed. here it is below
“The tithe guarantees financial favor.
“The tithe guarantees your covenant partnership with God.
“The tithe is proof of honor.
“The tithe is proof of obedience.
“The tithe silences the devourer in your life.
“The tithe guarantees consistent harvest on your seed.
“The tithe opens the windows of heaven …”
I want you to stare at the spiraling image and repeat this 50 times every day before you go to bed
“We are a cult and Kenneth Copeland is our leader”
“We are a cult and Kenneth Copeland is our leader”
“We are a cult and Kenneth Copeland is our leader”
2. Tithing pledge cards
I’ve been in a church where I have seen two pledging materials in the pocket of the seat in front of me. One pledge was on an offering envelope. Another pledge was on a commitment card. Was there a bible or a bulletin? No, just pledge cards, and two of them nonetheless as if one pledge card wasn’t enough.
I’m not counting the bulletin that was handed out when you came in the front door, because that was also asking you to commit money to the building fund as well.
I really don’t have anything against making pledges. Many times pledges are committed at an emotional time in one’s life. We need to decipher if it’s the Holy Spirit convincing us, or if our emotions are clouding our judgment.
I’m not a fan of pep rallies in churches that are focused on building campaigns. Look around you at your church’s next pep rally for the building project. See how big people’s eyes get when they show the 3-D models of the new facility. The big eyes . . . um yeah. . . classic sign of the materialism pitfall. Last i checked, eyes only get that big when we see what we’re getting out of this deal, and not when our money is going to the mission center in downtown.
3. Tithing Challenge
**FINE PRINT
This is just some fine print that will tell you that you have done a very bad thing whenever you don’t read this. Just to let you know we are fooling you by making this very very small. Don’t worry your grandma can read this. All she needs is a big magnifying glass. If you were smart you would realize that the larger the print the least important it is. The smaller print is what’s important.
This is acclaimed as a “Win-Win” situation for both the giver and the receiver. Here’s the deal with this. Usually, you commit to giving the tithe over a 3-month period of time. If by the end of that period, you cannot pay your bills or if tithing has brought you debt, then the church will refund your tithe back to you.
That seems fair until you ask for the money back from the church. At that time they will want to probe into your finances and tell you how you spent too much money on going out to eat or buying Starbucks. That’s when you realized that the small print at the bottom of the tithing challenge was actually important. Silly us, we thought it was the large print that was actually the most important. (sigh)
Another thing the church is relying on are those who actually have enough intestinal fortitude to ask for your money back. I mean come on. Who is gonna walk into a church and ask for their money back? It’s almost like stealing candy from a baby. Seriously, could you imagine the guilt trip for taking from a church? Not only that, what about the embarrassment or humiliation of having to ask for your money back? I mean is the Church like a Walmart? I doubt you’ll have long lines in the return aisle.
4. Tithing Testimonies
Harmless right? Not if the testimonies are one-sided or in a twisted perspective. If you believe that your situation will play out just like the testimony you heard, then I feel bad for you. Not that everyone believes their own storyline will turn out exactly the way the other people have, but they do believe the results, in the end, will be the same.
For every good tithing testimony you hear, you can easily find a bad one. If you can’t seem to find a negative tithing testimony, then you probably have gotten used to those rose-colored glasses you have on.
Look, i don’t want to just slam testimonies. I guess they have their place.
Jack McConnell’s Generosity
My wife and I read a book together called, “Love as a Way of Life” by Gary Chapman. Here’s an excerpt in the chapter on “Generosity” that I’d like to share
Dr. Jack McConnell grew up in “the last house in the holow” in the coal mining community of Crumpler, West Virginia. His father never earned more than $150 a month and never owned a car, yet during the Depressin, McConnell’s parent’s often served lunch to forty or fifty people a day. Drifters riding the rails saw a mark on the McConnells’ front gate and knew that they could find food there. “We didn’t have much,” McConnell says, “but we had a big garden and they could pick corn and tomatoes and we would find a chicken somewhere and make a meal for everyone.” McConnell remembers that one of his father’s favorite questions to his seven children at the dinner table was: “And what have you done for someone today?”
That spirit of giving made a lasting impression. Today the retired Dr. McConnell is known for starting a clinic on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, that provides free medical care to those who can’t afford it. He donates his time to helping thousands of “friends and neighbors who don’t feel well” and inspiring other local retired doctors and nurses to give their time too. The success of theVolunteers in Medicine has led to the formation of more than fifty similar clinics nationwide. When asked how he likes working for nothing. McConnell responded, “I make a million dollars every day. What i get from this clinic you can’t buy with money.”
- What have you done for someone today?
- Is government health care really our only answer?
- Are you happier with what you’ve kept or with what you’ve given?
- How are you showing your children what Generosity means?
Billboards, Bumper Stickers, & Signs About Tithing
There comes a time when driving home from work during that evening, in bumper-to-bumper traffic that a Church sign catches your eye. Normally, you just keep traveling at 65 m.p.h (“Miles Per Hour” – for you non-Americans) in that 45 m.p.h zone, but since traffic has slowed you down to 25, you take the time to read the eternal words of wisdom from that Church sign.
Once you read it, a few judgmental thoughts might come to mind. One, you wonder if it took them a long time to come up with that clever, analogous poem. A different thought could be that they would have been better off stealing that clever poem from the other Church down the road. Or the other thought might be something completely random; because the bible verse on the billboard about ‘living bread’ made you wonder about what you are going to have for dinner tonight.
So what’s the point here? I don’t know either, but i want to cover 4 different types of church signs that you’ll see about giving money and tithing.
I. The Get Rich Quick Billboard
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This is the one that will make you think that tithing and coming to church is like joining a pyramid scheme that promises their secrets will get you rich (. . . hmmm, i wonder if that could be the theme for a new blog post? )
II. The Political Bumper Sticker
copyright http://www.zazzle.com/
Mama said, no religion and politics at the dinner table, so that gives you the liberty to turn your car into a political and religious motorized billboard. I gotta say this is kind of my favorite. At least i think it’s the funniest. Yes, i vote republican, and no i wouldn’t dare put a bumper sticker on my car or a yard sign in front of my house. Although i am proud that i vote conservative, i do not like to instigate anyone to vandalize my property.
III. The Hostile Church Sign
copyright http://www.travisagnew.org/
Here’s a few things i’m wondering:
– I wonder if that kind of seems like a threat?
-I wonder if their ushers pack any firearms under their suits?
– I wonder if it’s God that needs the cash or if it’s Earl R. Stinson?
– I wonder if he takes credit card?
IV. The Arrogant Church Sign
This is the sign that wants to better than the other Christians who came up with the bumper sticker that said, “honk if you love Jesus”
. . . Anybody know of any other good Church signs? . . .