Cool-Beans said:
OK, this seems a little silly.
If trusting God to provide is a sign of maturity, shouldn't the church not collect money, but instead trust God to meet its responsibilities? Shouldn't the church itself display the greatest Christian maturity?
I understand that churches need some dough to keep up the buildings. And that they need more to give to those in need and do good works, etc. IMO, that's what they ought to say when asking for money. The arguments that it is mature to tithe or that you're giving to God (like God needs money) seem contrived...and a little Reverend Tilton-like.
I'm all for giving money to the church (not my parish, like I said, but the church)...they do a lot of good things with it, and I'm proud to be a small part of that. But I'll give more to people who say, "Here's what we want to do...we need your money to do it," than I will to those who make me feel like they're trying to con me out of it.
Please allow me to provide an alternate point of view. I am a member of our Churchs administrative council and before I start, let me state that no one should EVER be presured into giving. A gift given under presure is really a bribe, and God doesn't take bribes. That said, I must admit I am a bit confused about how upset some Christians get when people talk about the spirituality and necessity of giving.
For many years, my wife an I did not Tithe. We started doing so 4 years ago because a minister taught us about God's desire to bless all that we do in his name. He taught us that God returns to us much more than we ever give in his name, be it love, time, skills or money. We always get back (in some form) much more than we give, and in giving we help so many others that we could not help any other way.
I feel that learning this and experiencing one way of maturing as a Christian. I am sorry if that idea offends some folks, I really dont intend it to, but I can find no other way to describe it. Learning and experiencing this helped to strengthen my faith and grow closer to God. What is that if not maturing as a Christian? To offer your gifts to God (be they monetary or otherwise) and actually experience the pouring forth of blessings (and I am not talking about material or monitary blessings here) is a very spiritual and profound experience. Its not the only way to mature or grow closer to God, but I have found it to be an important way in my life.
BTW: I dont feel that that these blessings are reserved for Christians alone. As Cardaway points out, people of all faiths and those who dont practice a faith have all come to understand the gift of giving, but justr becuase it is important to non-Christians does not rule it out as an important part of Christian maturity as well.
I know you may not agree, but these are my beliefs which are drawn from my personal experience, and the experience of many Christians I know. Most ministers I know try to communicate that giving to God is another way of growing closer to God. The Bible clearly states this, and many people willl atest to it being true, but when a ministewr tries to share this, they are often accused of being greedy or trying to "con" people. Why?
As for Consecration Sunday, it would be nice if the church could ask for money only for specific things, but the fact is that there are many day to day expenses that simply cant be approached that way (office supplies, salaries, utilities, etc.). We either need commitments so that the money is there when it is needed, or we would have to call people each week to ask for money to fill a specific need like paying the phone bill (I suspect that would get old fast). It has been my experience that most people are willing to give to feed the poor, but very few are willing to make the very needed commitment to give more than a few dollars a month to keep the lights on and the phones answered. It is this need that Consecration Sunday is aimed at addressing.
Just like Zippy, our church is always in debt. Some months we have dont have enough money to pay the staff, yet when we go to the church and say we need folks to make a regular commitment as members of the body of Christ to meet our administrative costs, we get acused of being greedy or only being interested in their money. Likewise, when we try to talk about the blessings the Bible describes that springs from regular giving, we a again get accused of being greedy or trying to con people. I just dont understand. When we say that the Bible says we should love people, everyone nods in agreement. When we say that the same book calls on Christians to Tithe, people get annoyed, as if we made that part up or that those parts of the Bible somehow shouldn't be taught.
Giving money to God (via the church or whatever other means) is just one part of being a Christian. It shouldn't be stressed in every sermon, but it shouldnt be avoided either. Once a year is not too often to highlite this part of God's message, in my opinion.
And yes, the Church does need to trust God that the money it needs will come from somewhere, but remember, the church is you and me. We are the body of Christ. We are the Church. We need to trust that God will provide, but we also need to employ that trust by giving in his service so that we can feed the hungry, cloth the naked, aid the poor and also pay the church secretary, pay the utility bill, print the church bulliton, etc. We also need to learn about the spiritual growth side of giving that the Bible talks about.
God says "Test me in this". He was specifically talking about tithing (the regular giving of 10% of ones income). Why is it such a sin to say that we should do what Gods says we should do? Why is it such a sin to say that God promises to bless those who give, and that you can and should test this? I just dont understand.
). I can only speak for my church - the reason we value tithing is because it is commanded by God, and we care very much that our members are following God's commandments. As members, we also open ourselves up to being confronted when we do anything that is in violation of what we believe Scripture asks of us - if we are stealing, having an affair, gossiping, battling an addiction, etc. For me and the members of my church, it's part of the expectation of representing Christ. That's a pretty big thing to proclaim to the world - "We are the ambassadors of Christ." Well, if we are going to say that, we need to be ready for someone to point out to us (hopefully in love) when we're not meeting that proclamation, because being hypocritical and saying one thing and doing another is a big problem in the western church. No one but the treasurer in our church knows who gives what, and that includes the pastor, and the treasurer DOES NOT compare what people give with what they should give - he does keep track for the financial statements we get at tax return time to include on our taxes. 
--whatever it just seems hypocritical in my opinion.
