Tithing is a spiritual discipline!

            In churches across America of all denominations, the people in the pew are enduring those dreaded stewardship sermons. For decades, American churches have scheduled their stewardship campaigns for October and November. This tradition reaches back to ways of life almost forgotten. Churches launched stewardship campaigns in the fall as farmers harvested their crops. The Biblical concept of the tithe is grounded in an agrarian lifestyle, as the people of faith were encouraged to bring the first fruits of their harvests into the storehouse of God. Therefore, this tradition of having stewardship campaigns at harvest time has not changed even though very few church members today pay any attention to the harvest season.

            Talking to church members about money is a very dangerous thing for pastors and Finance Committees. Some church members will accuse the pastor of preaching about money all the time even if he offers a stewardship sermon only once a year. Letters from a Finance Committee reporting the giving patterns of members of a congregation are rarely well received. As people of faith, we are often guilty of an amazing contradiction. We celebrate and enjoy God’s blessings, but we are reluctant to return a portion of our blessings to him for his work in our world through the church of Jesus Christ.

            As your pastor, I have come to see the financial dimensions of the church from two vantage points. The first involves a business perspective. Our life and ministry together requires a certain level of giving to sustain our mission, ministry, and facility. We are often unaware of these costs. For example, from January through October of this year, our utility costs for electricity, gas, water/sewer, and telephone totaled $54,076.47. Through the same period, maintenance of our buildings, care of the property and janitorial supplies cost $29,501.60. Our property insurance for the year cost $27,876.67. In addition to these costs, we had to replace the air conditioning unit for the educational wing at a cost exceeding $30,000.00. I identify these costs for you because I believe we do not consider them very often. We assume the building will be warm, cool, clean, and maintained. Yet, the cost of these is significant.

            These months of the year, October, November, and December, are significant for Immanuel due to changing giving patterns. For the past several years, the last quarter of the year has marked the highest receipts for the year. This pattern often contributes to some uncertainty through the year. This year has been especially difficult. I suspect the economy has contributed to this. Though the experts say the cost of living will increase only 2% for the year, we all feel the increased costs of gasoline and utilities. These moneys come directly out of our pockets. In recent years, we have also encouraged you to give proceeds from the sale of stocks and other investments. The stock market is now only beginning to improve after months of uneven growth. We understand that all of these factors impact giving when we look from a business perspective, and we have monitored spending carefully.

            Some years ago, while serving a much smaller congregation, I realized that my inclination to see church finances primarily from a business model was a sin. By choosing this practical perspective, I was guilty of failing to lead the congregation spiritually. You see, from a Biblical perspective, the tithe has nothing to do with business models. The tithe is a spiritual concept. Tithing is a spiritual discipline for every believer. The tithe helps us to keep our priorities in their proper order. We are reminded of our ultimate dependence upon God when we give our tithe. Ultimately our giving says nothing about our support of the church, but it says volumes about our relationship to God.

            God commands us to give a tithe. A tithe represents 10% of our income. God is very generous. He requests a tithe, and then allows us to keep 90% to invest as we choose. A tithe is the standard to which all believers should strive. If we are not there, we should devise a financial plan that moves us in that direction. If we are there, we may discover that we have been blessed to such a degree that we are able to give more to the causes of the kingdom.

            The tithe is an important spiritual concept because it reminds us of our dependence upon God and nurtures generous hearts. Understood properly, the tithe helps us avoid the sins of selfishness and self-indulgence. You see, giving to the church is not about meeting the costs of doing business. Giving to the church is about being faithful to God and recognizing his faithfulness to us. If we, as a congregation tithed, we would be astounded by the gifts to be used for doing God’s bidding in the world. Let us use this time of the year to grow spiritually by reviewing our giving habits. May God be glorified in all we do.jamie