Our Father is Not Custodial
I was speaking with some friends over a Skype conference last night. It was the last of 4 meetings some great men and I had over Robin’s book “The Healing Path.” I have many thoughts brewing from that extended conversation but for now I just want to mention a word. It was a word a wrote on my notes pages a couple weeks ago in a previous group chat appointment. The word is custodial. The word was mentioned in the context, I believe, of learning to receive the Father’s love and understand his affection for us as something greater and deeper than simply custodial.
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Missionaries Are Not Second Class
In Nehemiah 13:10 we see that the tithe was distributed by leadership to everyone who was doing work as a Levite. Nehemiah says, “I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields.” This was a very sad note, actually. This was Nehemiah realizing that both the Levites and the rest of the tribes had broken their contract. The Levites no longer claimed the tithe, but went back and worked at the banana stand to earn a living. The people had quite giving the tithe (I am sure this was justified by a dozen cynical judgements) and no longer had any sense of needing to honor their leaders and receive equipping. I could say the same thing today about so many people who are set apart to do the work of the ministry both in our fellowships and in other places around the world. Here is an excerpt from a previous post:
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Four Fundamentals for Understanding the Tithe
This next excerpt from the previous post “Now, To Put It On the Stove” really needs some clarification:
“People who have been set apart to do the work of the ministry full-time are going to need some provision from the people they serve. If we receive tithe gifts through an organization for them then we might consider their account in that budget the “storehouse” for them. If we give them our tithe directly then their own savings account might be the storehouse for them. In either case, trustworthy men are supposed to oversee this storehouse and make sure that they are provided for properly and living in integrity with their provision.”
I see four major points in this short point, and I think I should apologize for cramming that much stuff in such a short space.
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Respect Their Kingdom IQ
Here is some ridiculously practical advice for the elders of local fellowships, that will cost almost no money and will require no major rewrite of your constitution or purpose white-papers. Excerpted from a previous post: “Some have chosen, as a very simple experiment on the above encouragements, to reprint their giving envelopes and reconstruct their online giving options to reflect this better imagination. Some have added the giving line of “Tithes for People In Ministry” and have directed that more specifically to salary accounts. Some have added “Offerings for the Building and Grounds” so that folks may give freewill offerings in a way that inspires that contribution. Some have even added pastors’ and teachers’ names to these giving choices to further emphasize the options, while others have simply separated the words “tithes” and “offerings” to let givers know if their gift is for “people” or if it is for “projects” All of these things show respect to the giver, and inspire more strategic generosity.”
This is a very simple way to respect the kingdom IQ of those who participate in our fellowships.
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Don’t Confuse the Two
So here is the second bullet point, from our previous post, that touches our need to overcome cynicism: “Confusing the nature of the tithe and the nature of offerings is dangerous and has led to all kinds of confusion. Giving to honor people is such a rewarding enterprise that to diffuse it with any other kind of giving is to do a deep disservice to everyone involved. We should not homogenize all giving under one label and demand that it all be put into one slot on a box at the front of the building we meet in. Putting everything into one big pot at the local fellowship under the banner “tithes and offerings” just robs each believer from the joy of a more informed and strategic kind of financial stewardship. I think believers are smart and have good instincts on wise investment. As leaders we must consider meeting their wisdom with better imaginations and applications so that cynicism will not grow around us as a result of our ignorance.”
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Cynicism May Not Help
A bullet point excerpt from a previous post: “Believers will naturally need buildings for a variety of things and this is natural. Asking for offerings for such building is easily Biblical, and we should enjoy the opportunity to give into whatever we need for ourselves as a community of faith for our own meeting places, or for what we believe for others to use as their meeting places like a building in another country or a building downtown for the homeless. Burning down buildings is not a good way to reform the broken money systems of the Church, rather teaching one another about the joy of tithing and the focused responsibility of giving offerings most certainly is.”
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You Are Invited to Join Us
Dear readers and subscribers,
In the spirit of the Churchthink gatherings we hosted for several years, combined with the desire for wild worship adventures and encounters with God as family and friends ala Enter The Worship Circle, we invite each of you to join as at any and all of our Village Gatherings this year!
We are hosting 4 gatherings, 4 different times, in 4 different places throughout the year. Go here to find out more and register.
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Maybe You Should Stop Tithing
Still working out our post containing bullet pointed notes on giving and tithing and kingdom finance, the third point read...
"People who don’t tithe from their heart to their leaders and care-givers are more likely to do one of two things: rage against the tithe as a tyrannical Old Testament tax or give a tenth like a tax to their local fellowship with no joyful understanding of it. If you have been doing either of the latter it could be a great time to repent, stop paying taxes, and start honoring your leaders more personally. Instead of arguing over the tithe like it is a tax, the better questions for all of us are, “Who is pastoring you? Who is helping you in your spiritual growth? Are you honoring them with your money? Are you thanking them in tangible ways?” This is our path to maturity."
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The Kingdom is Both the Map and the Destination
E. Stanley Jones book on the kingdom of God reminds me of the book of Romans and some other of Paul’s epistles where he sets up a massive insight for the people of God click-click-clicking up the ascending side of the roller coaster and then about midway he dives headlong into practical encouragements and talk of basic living in the kingdom. By the time you hit the beginning the third section of Jones’ book you have absorbed all you need to know to take and apply the big idea to a conversation. I recommend you read it.
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From All Directions
Continuing our series of expanding the bullet points from “Now To Put it On The Stove” the second point read:
“Anyone who is bringing bread to your spiritual journey is worthy of some honor. They are worthy of some thanks. They are worthy of the tithe. This might include your personal pastor, a key teacher that you receive from every week, those who administrate the fellowship that is the garden in which you grow, those who prophecy over you, lead your best worship times, teach your children the ways of God in Sunday School, and on, and on. How you choose to do this is up to you and the means by which you deliver your tithe is not as important as the heart with which you give it.”
This is supposed to encourage couple things:
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