"Delight yourself also in the Lord,
and He shall give you the desires of your heart"
(Psalm 37:4) |
Some Tips For Pastors
Here are a few common sense suggestions for properly handling your sheep when it
comes time to ask them to donate:
Your honesty will overcome any reluctance of church members. Be open with your congregation
about your church's finances. Because the whole church is dreaming of
ways to serve God together. Church members will want to give because they are not
giving to a "budget"- they are giving to do God's will.
Your church members really want to do God's will. They want to help your community.
They want to help your church be all it can be.
Get the whole congregation involved and members will give joyfully, week after week,
month after month. Sometimes the only thing you need to
do is ask them to give. But...you have to ask the right way.
Use Dale Carnegie techniques as taught in his book, "How to Win Friends and Influence
People," that was mandantory reading for me when I was at Bethany Bible College.
People respond to praise and appreciation.
Praise will motivate your church members to give.
When you know how to motivate your congregation to give, you have tapped into the
power of generosity. They will be wanting to give so the congregation can do all
God has called them to do.
Conversely, if you want to be a scatterer rather
than a gatherer, continually criticize your congregation and dump anger on them.
Avoid the 3 G's: Guilt, Gimmicks, and Guile. They don't work, but they are often tried.
Honest, straightforward communication that respects church members is the only
communication about finances that works. Pastors burp the sheep, evangelists skin the sheep.
If a pastor acts like an evangelist, he may not get away with it:-)
When guilt is used, no one ever gives joyfully. Oh, they may give for a short while if church
leaders really lay on a guilt trip but long term resentment may start setting in.
How can you ask folks in your congregation to give? You can
ask them at church, on the phone, in a letter, or in person. Personally speaking, I think
asking them at church is the best. If you have someone else ask for you, take this advice-
only generous people who are trusted completely and who support the cause and can
explain it well in one sentence are the only people who should make an appeal for funds.
People give the most when:
1) they are a part of the process,
2) when they can see results quickly, and
3) when they value their church ministry more than their money.
When you know how to get your people talking, really communicating, you will find
their dreams for serving God and serving the community. Finances are rarely a
problem when people are emotionally supporting ministry they want and believe in.
The Proportion of Giving
Different folks earn different amounts of money, so not all folks pay the same amount of
tithes money to the Lord. Some may think that this isn't fair but what they have to understand
is: the amount of money is different but the proportion of money is the same. The
proportion is always 10% and God rewards you, not only for the money, but also for your
faithfulness. Faithfulness to God- in all areas of life- is the spiritual measure of success
that will yield you rewards on judgement day. If you want medals and rank in Heaven, you
will earn these by your faithfulness to God here on this earth.
CHECK CASHING POLICY:
TO ERR IS HUMAN
TO FORGIVE: $35.00 |
A Few Additional Thoughts
When I was in Bible College I was taught that any congregation must be made aware that
their pastor spends 40 hours per week preparing 3 sermons that he or she must preach on
Sunday morning, Sunday night, and on Wednesday night. He or she deserves a full time pay
check for all of that hard work. Your pastor needs to be paid so he doesn't have to go to
work having to drive a truck or drive nails as a carpenter to make extra money
for his family to live on. And besides the support of your pastor, your money goes to
foreign missions outreaches and various church and community programs.
I also learned that you can tithe your 3 t's if you want to
time
treasure
talents
My paternal grandfather, Jesse James Rice, was a circuit riding minister in Texas during
the Great Depression era in the United States. Many times
the folks that he preached to had no money so they gave tithes to him of what they did have.
One farmer had 40 chickens so he brought four live chickens to church to give to
Rev. Rice, while another dear old saint brought a basket full of raw chicken eggs to
give to him. Others brought fruit, some brought vegetables, and some brought loaves
of fresh baked bread. And Rev. Rice was glad to receive this bounty because he had a
wife and 12 hungry mouths to feed at home. One of them was my father.
Rev. Rice had to work as a carpenter to help make extra money to meet expenses.
Once you give your money to God you turn it loose. You relinquish control of it. You no
longer have any say as to how it is spent. You have given your money as unto God and now
it is in the hands of those He has raised up to help do His work on this earth.
What if you are destitute and poor and cannot give anything to God. Will God condemn you
to hell? No. Under grace, not giving to God is not considered a sin. Under grace, the
penalty of the law has been removed. The motive of giving is love- not law.
If you are poor and cannot afford to pay tithes, be assured it is only a temporary
situation, so don't be concerned about it. You will have opportunity to give again after
things turn around for you.
Here is a funny I heard one time:
One time a rich man and a poor man went to Heaven together. Saint Peter told them each
that they were going to get a dwelling just made for them and had them follow
him. First, Saint Peter escorted them both to a beautiful mansion and said it was for
the poor man. The rich man was delighted because he figured if the poor man could get
such a wonderful place, he would get an even more magnificant place than that. So, Saint
Peter escorted the rich man to a dwelling that was only a shack and told him that this was
his dwelling. The rich man started complaining and wanted to know why he only got a shack
while the poor man got a mansion. Saint Peter told him that they could only build a
dwelling in Heaven with what each man had sent up to them. The poor man had sent a lot up
to Heaven. With that, they were able to build him a mansion. However, the rich man had
been selfish and had sent up little, so with that they were only able to build him a shack.
Rev. Bradford J Mullins of Fair Haven Assembly of God Church had this to say about
offerings:
A Simple Offering
Read Leviticus 5:1 through 7:38
"In Moses’ time, the Lord required several different types of offerings, each
with specific, strict guidelines
(Leviticus 7:37-38). Worshippers had to be very careful to follow the
guidelines exactly to ensure their offerings were accepted and pleasing to God.
Since that time, God has removed the formality and ritual, allowing us to draw
close to Him without multiple offerings given in perfect conditions. Through His
Son, Jesus, God created a direct path for us to Him. No one can claim to come to
God on his or her own; rather, every person who enjoys a relationship with God
must give Him all the praise and glory for giving His Son for our salvation.
Now God requires only one sacrifice: ourselves. Because He has given us His
precious Son, He can expect us to give Him our time, energy, and commitment.
No longer must we find animals or grains to be offered by a priest on our behalf.
Now we can approach God directly and offer Him ourselves. That’s all
He wants."
"If everyone gives a thread, the poor man will have a shirt"
- Russian Proverb |
Conclusion
When you are born into a family here on earth you have certain obligations. You have
an obligation to love and obey your parents, go to school, take care of your siblings,
and learn to get along well with others. Another obligation might be to help
support your family (if necessary), another might be to help protect your family
(if necessary).
In the spiritual world it is the same way. When you are born into the Kingdom of God
you have certain obligations to fulfill because you belong to this family called
the universal church. This is not a denomination but comprise all those who are
born again in Christ Jesus. What kind of obligations? One obligation
is to obey the Lord's Great Commission to win others to Christ. Another is to live a
lifestyle that is pleasing to the Lord. Another obligation is to pay voluntary
tithes to God. And there are other obligations, as well. Why is this so? That is just
the way it is because God has willed it to be that way.
Is tithing scriptural? Yes. Is tithing for today? Yes. Why? Because God would not have
started the church unless He had some way of financing it.
Tithing today is a divine principle, not a mandantory obligation unless you have signed
a church's membership-pledge card. God wants worship from a heart of love from His followers.
God owns it all and He only wants back 10% of it- He lets you keep 90%. He rewards you
amply for what you give to Him. Jesus Christ paid tithes and took notice of the poor widow
who put in all her living in the collection box
(Luke 21:1–4). He also takes notice of how much you and I
donate to Him today and writes it all down in His book of works for eternal rewards. Jesus is our
example in all areas of life including tithing. Money given as unto God will last forever because
it is in a kingdom that will never end.
There are two separate kingdoms that are opposite from one another. Satan rules over the
kingdom of the earth. Satan demands worship from
his followers from a heart of fear. Satan demands his followers to give money to causes
that attack God and His kingdom and that further Satan's aims. Satan starts wars and
demands that human babies be murdered as offerings to him. This especially was the case
in Old Testament days when babies were offered to the god, Molech. Satan receives glory
from idol worship. Money should never be your idol. Satan also wants folks to be
selfish- to spend their money on themselves.
He wants to hurt the kingdom of God as much as he can.
Who you are going to worship depends on who owns you. Who you give your money to also
depends on who owns you. If we belong to Christ, let's worship God and give our money to
Him to help further His kingdom.
Giving is God's way of involving us in His redemptive work of caring for the needy,
teaching His Word, spreading the Gospel, and gathering His people for worship. We
can consider it an honor to be God's partner. Because of the grace we have received,
we won't think, How little can I get away with giving? Instead, we will ask ourselves,
How much can I manage to give? How do you think your life would be different a year
from now if you consistently gave a tenth of your income to God? How would this affect
your lifestyle? How would it affect your inner life?
Examine your budget (with your spouse, if you are married) and ask yourself, How
much can I manage to give? Pray about this until you feel confident that you are
making a wise decision for your present circumstances. Think about non-monetary as
well as monetary gifts.
Quoted from “Gifts from the Heart: Giving to God What Belongs to God” by Larry Burkett.
Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois.
Bread On The Waters (BOW)
www.breadonthewaters.com
or
Getting Right Down To It
I. The Biblical View of Tithing
Old Testament Tithing
New Testament Tithing
Some Scriptures About Giving
II. The Church's View of Tithing
The Semantics of Tithing
Conclusion
