i was reading an old church column of a church newsletter that i follow from time to time. i was looking back at an old column about giving to the church - both financially and with time and talent. the pastor wrote that while growing up, the home congregation emphasized on the financial giving but not necessarily the time and talent. that they didn't know where the money that was given went after it received.
this is a load of shit. while during budget time our church treasurer did talk about cuts to different funds, they were usually to things that could afford to be shaved down to accommodate moneys to go to other more important things. usually the first things that had their budges slashed were office things - postage, office supplies, etc. lord only knows how many times my dad or mom paid for paper, office supplies, etc out of their pockets instead of turning the receipt in for reimbursement. another area was always choir music. while it's nice to have new music to listen to, the music coffers burst at the seams with old sheet music of hymns of the past. some church staff refused payment for their services, using their "talent" as payment for the church. and during recent years, there have been emphasis on time and talent in leiu of financial payment. yes, it's important to tithe your "tenth" but if you're a good painter, cook, etc, and can't afford to tithe a lot, your time and talent is quite worthy of any financial payment.
where does the money go? if anyone has ever paid attention to their budget, they'll find that heating, electricity, etc has skyrocketed in recent years. of course offering is going to go to cover these bills. want to stay warm in church in the winter? gotta pay the oil bill. like to have a service or activities in the evening when it's dark? electric bill needs attention too. my church has taken a lot of steps to make these bills more affordable, such as keeping the heat turned back, turning lights off when the room isn't used, etc. you'd do the same thing in your home, wouldn't you do that in God's house too?
our church has never wanted for money. when there is an emergency, it's incredible how the money comes out of the woodwork. while there are many good tithers at my church probably half don't contribute anything during the year AT ALL. if everyone tithed a dollar a week (and at over 500 members, this is doable and would give a great boost to the money already coming into the church) our treasurer wouldn't have to cut the budget to the bone. we wouldn't have to skimp on a piece of paper. the problem is that many people have no faith in tithing and don't realize that when you give, you get it back, sometimes many fold.
the problem with the person who made this insipid comment is that they are very young (gen y, the selfish head up their asses generation) and probably has not seen how a church worked until they became a pastor themselves. maybe they should have opened their mind during budget season to see how the church really works.
it wasn't until we were looking at buying the van that we realized how much my family tithed. last year we made the choice to give our full tenth (up until that point we tithed using my old budget when i was working). our tithe went up almost 20 dollars. for what we tithe a month, we could afford to buy an luxury SUV, or be able to buy that bigger home. we'd have no credit card debt. our tithe is actually higher than our mortgage payment. no wonder no one tithes when they have to pay for their big ass vehicle, mcmansion or vacation of a lifetime.
i tithe becos i believe that what i give comes back to me and my family. not that i'm paying for salvation. but when i look back at all the miracles in my life - my children, my family - a few extra bucks is not hard to give up. unfortunately not many think the way i do.
i do wonder, however, how much this person tithes. they had financial assistance during school. from my church no less. thanks for the appreciation. a kick in the balls would have been less painful.
this is a load of shit. while during budget time our church treasurer did talk about cuts to different funds, they were usually to things that could afford to be shaved down to accommodate moneys to go to other more important things. usually the first things that had their budges slashed were office things - postage, office supplies, etc. lord only knows how many times my dad or mom paid for paper, office supplies, etc out of their pockets instead of turning the receipt in for reimbursement. another area was always choir music. while it's nice to have new music to listen to, the music coffers burst at the seams with old sheet music of hymns of the past. some church staff refused payment for their services, using their "talent" as payment for the church. and during recent years, there have been emphasis on time and talent in leiu of financial payment. yes, it's important to tithe your "tenth" but if you're a good painter, cook, etc, and can't afford to tithe a lot, your time and talent is quite worthy of any financial payment.
where does the money go? if anyone has ever paid attention to their budget, they'll find that heating, electricity, etc has skyrocketed in recent years. of course offering is going to go to cover these bills. want to stay warm in church in the winter? gotta pay the oil bill. like to have a service or activities in the evening when it's dark? electric bill needs attention too. my church has taken a lot of steps to make these bills more affordable, such as keeping the heat turned back, turning lights off when the room isn't used, etc. you'd do the same thing in your home, wouldn't you do that in God's house too?
our church has never wanted for money. when there is an emergency, it's incredible how the money comes out of the woodwork. while there are many good tithers at my church probably half don't contribute anything during the year AT ALL. if everyone tithed a dollar a week (and at over 500 members, this is doable and would give a great boost to the money already coming into the church) our treasurer wouldn't have to cut the budget to the bone. we wouldn't have to skimp on a piece of paper. the problem is that many people have no faith in tithing and don't realize that when you give, you get it back, sometimes many fold.
the problem with the person who made this insipid comment is that they are very young (gen y, the selfish head up their asses generation) and probably has not seen how a church worked until they became a pastor themselves. maybe they should have opened their mind during budget season to see how the church really works.
it wasn't until we were looking at buying the van that we realized how much my family tithed. last year we made the choice to give our full tenth (up until that point we tithed using my old budget when i was working). our tithe went up almost 20 dollars. for what we tithe a month, we could afford to buy an luxury SUV, or be able to buy that bigger home. we'd have no credit card debt. our tithe is actually higher than our mortgage payment. no wonder no one tithes when they have to pay for their big ass vehicle, mcmansion or vacation of a lifetime.
i tithe becos i believe that what i give comes back to me and my family. not that i'm paying for salvation. but when i look back at all the miracles in my life - my children, my family - a few extra bucks is not hard to give up. unfortunately not many think the way i do.
i do wonder, however, how much this person tithes. they had financial assistance during school. from my church no less. thanks for the appreciation. a kick in the balls would have been less painful.
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