Sine, “Reimagining Whole-Life Stewardship”
August 18, 2008
I really struggled with this chapter. Again, I am not a numbers person, and money stresses me out. But I just don’t understand what the issue is with tithing. I get that people use it as an excuse or a cop-out. That’s valid. But I don’t think the solution is to withhold your tithe from your church in order to distribute it yourself elsewhere. Churches depend on giving just like any non-profit, and without tithes, people will lose their jobs. My family members will lose their jobs. I don’t think the solution is to quit tithing.
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I know giving is commanded, but do you think tithing is commanded? Do you think that we could be able to support local ministry through freewill giving?
Do I think it’s possible? Yes. But things are so structured that if we were to encourage people NOT to tithe, but just to give, there would be a dramatic decrease in giving, and people would lose their jobs. Just think about how many non-profits are struggling right now because of the turn in the economy. Many churches are struggling even to get their congregations to tithe the traditional (albeit only vaguely biblical) 10%. I do think we can educate people into a mindset of God-honoring giving (as opposed to duty or whatever else). What do you think? Or how do you see the church moving in that direction?