Faith Promise Giving, once more

Awhile back I had an anonymous commenter challenge my blog post about faith promise giving as “a total misunderstanding of what Oswald J Smith taught.” The person writes:

“This is a total misunderstanding of what Oswald J Smith taught on the matter. Furthermore, if you listened to him carefully, you’d have known that he wasn’t the creator of the idea.

“A faith promise was a promise one made to God to trust him to provide for them to give more than they thought their budget would allow. They would then believe God to provide for them to give what they had promised. He never asked anyone to be foolish or unwise but only to trust God to help them give more than they themselves might be able to without His extra provision. Respectfully presented. Nothing unbiblical about that.”

I replied briefly then, but make these additional remarks. Let us look a little further. Below is the 2-page tract of Oswald J. Smith (in Times roman type) and some responses from me (in Arial italic type).

A FAITH PROMISE OFFERING

Oswald J. Smith, Litt. D.*

A Faith Promise Offering is a Scriptural offering; it is a Pauline offering, and, therefore, God blesses it (2 Corinthians 8-9).

The Apostle Paul took up Faith Promise offerings. He would get the Church to promise a certain amount and then he would give the Church a year to pay it. Then, you remember, as the year drew to a close, he would send Titus, or someone else, to remind the Church of the promise that had been made, so that he would not be ashamed when he arrived. He wanted to be sure it would be paid. Then, at the end of the year, he came and collected it.

In this tract, Oswald Smith grounds his system in the practice of Paul, the apostle. Does his explanation match the practice of Paul? Only in a caricatured way. Of course, the Bible mentions no such thing as a “Faith Promise Offering.” No doubt, Smith would likely admit that and say he put a name to a principle he found in the Bible. Does this principle and practice exist? While Smith says Paul “would get the Church to promise a certain amount,” the text of 2 Corinthians 8-9 says no such thing. In fact, it is much the opposite. The churches of Macedonia were willing of their own liberality, and asked Paul to receive and distribute their gift (8:3-4). Further, Paul said that he spoke “not by commandment” (8:8).

In this tract Oswald J. Smith presents Faith Promise as a scriptural manner of giving. However, in Smith’s personal testimony “How God Taught Me To Give,” we find he did not discover this method through Bible study. Rather than taught from the word of God, he says that God spoke to him and told him to give a faith offering (and how much to give). All told, this gives the smell of an adopted practice that went searching for scripture to back it up – and 2 Corinthians 8-9 was the best available.

Have you ever in your life given a Faith Offering, or have you only given a cash offering? It doesn’t require any faith to give a cash offering. If I have a dollar in my pocket, all I have to do is tell my hand to go into my pocket, find the dollar, take it out and put it on the [offering] plate. I don’t have to pray about it. I don’t have to ask God for it. I don’t have to trust Him for any definite amount. I just have to give it.”

In encouraging to offer by “faith” what they do not have, Smith disparages those who give out of what they have – even though Paul said, “it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not” (8:12). Such a standard also disparages the “cash offering” of the poor widow who threw in her two mites, all that she had (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4).

But with a Faith Promise Offering it is entirely different. I have to pray about it and ask God how much He would have me give, and then trust Him for it, and month by month go to Him in prayer and ask Him for the amount promised, and wait upon Him until it comes in. that is the offering that brings the blessing.”

Smith would have us believe that those who do not give faith promises are not spiritual in their giving – they are not moved by faith in God, and they do not pray about their giving. This disparages the faith and practice of all those who do not follow his method.

That is about the only kind of an offering I have taken up for Missions in all these years, well over a quarter of a century now—a Faith Promise Offering. I would never go back to a cash offering. With a cash offering I could only get a very little, but with a Faith Promise Offering I can get much. In our Annual Missionary Convention we never get more than $7,000 in cash, but we get a quarter of a million or more in Faith Promises.

The testimony in this paragraph has nothing to do with scriptural or spiritual giving, but descends into pure pragmatics – we get a lot more money this way.

There is many a church that will not give a Faith Promise Offering. They are not interested in Scriptural giving. They will not obligate themselves for the definite support of their missionaries. They will not promise a certain amount to any one worker. They simply divide whatever comes in, in the way of cash, between various missionary societies. They don’t have to trust God for anything. If it comes in, they give it. But since there is no need to exercise faith, therefore there is no burden, no responsibility. I have no use for that kind of giving. I believe that every individual church should obligate itself in faith before God for a certain definite amount, and pray until that amount has been received.

The disparaging continues. Those who will not give a “Faith Promise Offering…are not interested in Scriptural giving.” Those who do not give this way are not trusting God. How arrogant, how high-handed! 

I do not believe in pledges. I have never taken up a pledge offering in my life. What is the difference, you ask, between a pledge offering and a Faith Promise Offering? All the difference in the world. A pledge offering is between you and a church, between you and a missionary society, and some day the deacons may come along and try to collect it, or you may receive a letter asking for it. In other words, you can be held responsible for a pledge offering.

A Faith Promise Offering, on the other hand, is between you and God. No one will ever ask you for it. No official will ever call on you to collect it. No one will ever send you a letter reminding you of it. It is a promise made by you to God, and to God alone. If you are unable to pay it, all you have to do is to tell God. Give Him your excuse and if He accepts it, you are free. You do not have to pay it. That, I say, is a Faith Promise Offering. That is the kind of an offering I preach and teach and take everywhere I go. I want to be Scriptural in all I do.

In these two paragraphs, Smith unconsciously contradicts his foundational text. Paul’s practice is like the pledge offering, between the church at Corinth and the missionary society (Paul and his co-laborers). Like the pledge, where someone will come along and try to collect it, so Paul “came and collected it.” In Smith’s “Faith Promise” system, “no one will ever ask you for it” – but in his description of Paul’s system, someone does ask for it! His text will not bear the weight of his teaching.

I have gone to many a church that has been opposed to a pledge offering, but as soon as I have explained the nature of a Faith Promise Offering, all opposition has disappeared, and those who have been most antagonistic to a pledge of any kind, have been perfectly willing to accept the plan of a Faith Promise Offering, and God has accomplished wonders.

I believe we could get all the missionary money we need if we would take up Faith Promise Offerings in all our churches.

These two paragraphs once again appeal to the pragmatism of the practice. I have no problem believing that doing things God’s way is practical. However, that is not the reason we do those things. And in this case, Smith fails to clearly establish that his practice comports with Scripture. 

Interestingly, Smith promotes this as a marvelous missions munificence, while never bothering to explain that this New Testament era collection was being taken for the saints at Jerusalem, not missions.

Have you ever given such an offering? If not, do it and you will be amazed the way God will bless you.

* Dr. Oswald J. Smith was the originator of the idea of a Faith Promise offering for missions. For many years, he was pastor of The Peoples Church in Toronto, Canada, where he challenged that congregation to raise $1 for missions for every $1 they spent on themselves. That story still continues today with his son as pastor.

The anonymous respondent claimed that “if you listened to him carefully, you’d have known that he wasn’t the creator of the idea.” Yet this tract plainly credits Oswald J. Smith as “the originator of the idea of a Faith Promise offering for missions.” I didn’t make that up.

Perhaps “anonymous” can equivocate because there were some antecedents before Smith created the “Faith Promise offering for missions.” 

In “Faith Promise Giving,” Eugene Gurganus says it originated with A. B. Simpson and was refined by Oswald J. Smith (Missions in the Local Church, Melbourne E. Cuthbert, Jeannie Lockerbie, 1998 p. 147). I think the clarity is found that Simpson was using a form of pledging which Smith refined and named “Faith Promise.”

“How God Taught Me to Give” by Oswald J. Smith is his personal testimony that shows he does not credit the word of God for showing him this truth, but a sort of subjective experience in which God told him to give a faith promise offering.

In the video How God Taught Me to Give, Oswald Smith tells his experience, beginning with the Proverbs 11:24-25. Despite starting with a text, the testimony is based on an experience, not from studying the Bible.

Perhaps Smith’s own son helps clear up the timeline. He writes about it this way:

The first faith promise offering in our times was probably organized by a Presbyterian minister. Dr. A. B. Simpson founded the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination — although a denomination was not a part of his original vision. Dr. Simpson was greatly concerned about world evangelization and the older Alliance churches existed primarily to promote and support foreign missions.

To do this they had a missionary convention every year at which their people were urged to designate a large percentage of their total giving to missions. They still do this. The offering is a commitment of what people will trust God to enable them to do win the next twelve months and it is generally called a pledge. The Christian and Missionary Alliance churches established the system and led the way for the rest of us in this kind of giving for missions.

…

The Alliance method of raising money for mission captured father’s imagination, but he was bothered by their use of the word ‘pledge.’ …My father searched for some word that would express the concept that had always been used in the Christian and Missionary Alliance churches – a word to take the place of ‘pledge.’

He concluded that the two words ‘faith promise’ would be ideal. This would retain the missionary offering concept of the Alliance people and eliminate the unfortunate connotations of the word ‘pledge.’ Whether or not this was actually originated by father I do not know. However, it is safe to say that it was his ministry that made the evangelical world familiar with the expression ‘faith promise.’ Very few of the tracts or booklets that have been written on the subject can complete their topic without reference at some point to Dr. Oswald J. Smith. (The Senders: World Missions Conferences and Faith Promise Offerings, Paul B. Smith, Burlington, Ontario: Welch Publishing Company, Inc., 1979, pp. 59-61)

So, according Paul Smith, Oswald J. Smith’s son, the “faith promise” system rose out of the missions pledge of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Smith tweaked it, gave it a new name, and new emphasis. The contemporary “faith promise giving” most certainly finds its genesis in Smith, even if he drew on the previous practices of others. Nevertheless, whether it originated with Oswald J. Smith, A. B. Simpson, or someone else is a deflection from the scriptural discussion, and will not make the errors of it scriptural.

“You don’t need any faith to give a cash offering,” says Oswald J. Smith. Says I, “Tell that to the poor widow who gave her two mites.”

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Note: For another writing on Faith Promise giving, see Is “Faith Promise Mission Giving” Bible-Based?

Faith Promises, reprise

Faith Promise Giving—Is It Scriptural?

“Faith promise giving” is a popular modern-day church fund-raising system. It is different from pledging. According to idea of “faith promise,” a person is supposed to promise on faith to give a sum of money that he does not have (nor expect to have) and have the faith that God will supply it so he can give it. This is more than an apostle required, as Paul said that God would accept according to what a man has (2 Corinthians 8:12).

The Baptist Bible Fellowship was the first group which I heard promoting “Faith Promise Giving.” It did not originate with them, but they have been in the forefront of promoting the idea among Baptists. It has spilled over into Independent Baptists, Missionary Baptists, Southern Baptists, and doubtless many others. 

Notice some quotes from a pamphlet distributed by the BBFI – “A Faith Promise Offering?” by Granville LaForge. “The Faith Promise Offering is a free-will offering collected weekly in your church to provide the finances for worldwide missions (p.1).” “First, It is a promise to God. Observe carefully this is not a pledge to the church...However, may we hasten to say that your promise to God should be as binding if not more binding than a pledge to an organization.[i] Secondly, it is an act of faith. You are promising to give beyond your present ability to give...It is simply trusting and believing God to supply the amount He impresses your heart to promise (p.2).” “WHY SHOULD I GIVE A FAITH PROMISE OFFERING?...First to express loving obedience to His commands. (pp.3,4).” “How can I determine what God wants me to give? Ask God, with a submissive will: ‘Lord, what will thou have me to do?’ If you are truly willing to do His will, He will impress your mind with the amount He wants you to give. The amount He indicates may be beyond your personal ability, but remember this verse: ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.’ Mark 9:23 “FOURTH, SUBSCRIBE TO THAT AMOUNT ON YOUR FAITH PROMISE CARD. (p. 8).” “FIFTH, SET THIS AMOUNT ASIDE WEEKLY AND GIVE IT...Knowing that if it is God’s will for you to give this amount weekly it then simply becomes a matter of good stewardship to give it as He has led you to promise. NOTE: God never commanded us to do something He will not enable us to do! (p.9).”

Promoters of the Faith Promise usually insist that it is based on Scripture – “The Faith Promise method of giving is described in detail for us in 2 Corinthians 8, 9, and 10 (pp. 1-2).” Oddly, no one seems to have noticed it in this text before Oswald J. Smith in the 20th century.[ii] The excerpts from this pamphlet (and many other writings that are available) show that it is a very detailed system, and, for the BBFI at least, “You are promising to do something for an entire year, fifty two weeks without fail (p. 3).” [Most Faith Promise promotions find their scripture base in 2 Corinthians 8; most want a promise made for a year; most emphasize this as a promise to God rather than a pledge to the church, implying it is not binding, but then turn around and say that a promise to God is even more binding than a pledge to the church.]

All this may sound good on the surface to some people, but what does God’s word say? 

To begin with, the system is built on a faulty foundation. There is no New Testament teaching of two ways of giving: tithes which are owed to God and offerings over and above the tithe which are not owed but freely given. All we have belongs to God. We are stewards of it all. Even the Old Testament tithing proof text (Malachi 3:8) states that the robbers of God were robbers “in tithes AND offerings.” How so, if only the tithe belongs to God?

Faith Promise Giving is inconsistent with and ultimately violates scriptural principles of giving.

Faith promise giving contradicts the principle of giving “out of that which ye have” (2 Corinthians 8:11). This principle rules out pledging OR promising what we do not have, and faith promise giving is exactly that – promising to give what one does not have. God accepts our gifts according to what we have, not according to what we do not have (2 Corinthians 8:12).

Faith promise giving disregards the instructions of 1 Corinthians 16:2, which teaches us to give as God has prospered us. God only asks us give out of that with which he has already prospered us. Faith promise giving asks us to give that we hope or expect God to prosper us with in the future (because we have made a promise to give based on it).

Faith promise giving removes the prospect of giving sacrificially, as did the Macedonians (2 Corinthians 8:14). On the one hand, the faith promise giving scheme seems to call for sacrificial giving. On the other hand, the faith promise system actually guarantees that God will supply extra funds to you in order for you to keep your pledge to him. No sacrifice, no cost. David said, “Neither will I offer...that which doth cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). The poor widow described in Mark 12:41-44 cast into the treasury all that she had, without any promises or expectations.

To make a faith promise is to promise (which is a pledge) to perform a certain amount of giving for an entire year. However, we know not what shall be tomorrow (James 4:13-14). This seems more an act of foolishness rather than an act of faith...

...Let us cheerfully give out of what we have as God has prospered us, and leave off the “faith” promises.[iii]

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[i] While on the one hand saying it is not a “pledge,” it seems churches that adopt “Faith Promise Giving” adopt the promises as part of their budget.
[ii] It is surprising how many promoters of “Faith Promise Giving” also claim to be expository preachers. The system, however, cannot be found under careful consideration and faithful exposition of the scriptures used to promote the system. Through research on the internet, I found that Faith Promise giving originated with Oswald J. Smith, a Canadian non-denominational preacher of Presbyterian background. He was also an evangelist, hymn writer, and author. Its origin is some 1900 years too late. “Dr. Oswald J. Smith was the originator of the idea of a Faith Promise offering for missions. For many years he was pastor of The Peoples Church in Toronto, Canada, where he challenged that congregation to raise $1 for missions for every $1 they spent on themselves.” – from “A Faith Promise Offering,” Oswald J. Smith, page 2.
[iii] The faith promise system is self-promoting, because it raises lots of money. It is more about what “works” than what is biblical. Oswald J. Smith, the originator wrote, “That is about the only kind of an offering I have taken up for Missions in all these years, well over a quarter of a century now—a Faith Promise Offering. I would never go back to the cash offering. With a cash offering I could only get a very little, but with a Faith Promise Offering I can get much. In our Annual Missionary Convention we never get more than $7,000 in cash, but we get a quarter of a million or more in Faith Promises.” (p. 1)

Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5

Troubles within the Jerusalem Church: the strange case of Ananias and Sapphira, 1-11

Verses 1-2: The peace, prosperity, and community of goods of the church is now abused. Sin takes its toll. Ananias and Sapphira enter a conspiracy to defraud the church at Jerusalem through a lie. Like Joses Barnabas before them (4:36-37), they sell a possession, bring the money and lay it “at the apostles’ feet.” The fraud was in claiming to give all though only giving a part. It seems they wanted the show – the “glory” –without the sacrifice.

Verse 3: Peter exposes the deception as the work of Satan, the devil, “a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).  Further, the deception is not merely to men, but a “lie to the Holy Ghost.”

Verse 4: Keeping “back part of the price of the land” is not a sin in itself. The possession was their own, and the sale and disposal of income was “in thine own power.” Peter’s commentary emphasizes private ownership and the voluntary nature of the community of goods in the church at Jerusalem. The sin was in the deception, the lie. The lie was not merely in men’s secular matters, but in spiritual matters – “but unto God.” A lie unto the Lord’s church was a lie unto the Lord (Cf. Matthew 10:40-42; 25:40, 45; Luke 10:16; Acts 9:4).

Verses 5-6: The God to whom Ananias lied executed the sentence. Ananias fell down dead at the apostles’ feet, the same place he had brought his gift and his fraud. Despite his deception, they gave a decent burial to one of their own – “the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.”

Verses 7-8: Not knowing the previous events, Sapphira came into the apostles’ presence about three hours later. Peter inquires of her concerning the act of her and Ananias. Though she could have confessed the truth, Sapphira rather sticks to the story they had concocted – “Yea, [we sold it] for so much.”

Verse 9: Here Peter calls the lie an agreeing “together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord” (Cf. Matthew 4:7; Luke 4:12). This tempting, in effect, tested whether God knew all things, and whether they would be found out. Compare I Kings 8:39; II Chronicles 6:30; Proverbs 15:3; Luke 16:15; Acts 1:24; Hebrews 4:12.

• Numbers 32:23 …ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.
• Job 4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
• Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Verse 10: Sapphira is also buried through a kind act by the church “the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.”

Peter plainly declares the sin of this incident – Ananias and Sapphira lied and attempted to deceive even God! The sin was not that they did not sell all. The sin was not that they kept a portion of the sale. The sin was not that they did not give all. At no time were they required to do so.

Verse 11: The details of this incident brought “great fear” – esteem and respect of God, his power, his work, and his dealings with mankind – both within the church and without, “upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”

The How of Christian Giving

According to the New Testament, Christian giving should be done:

• Cheerfully 2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
• Confidently Luke 6:38 give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
• Domestically (Familially) 1 Timothy 5:16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.
• Dutifully Romans 15:27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.
• Genuinely (Without hypocrisy) Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. (See also Acts 5:1-10.)
• Lovingly 1 Corinthians 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (See also Hebrews 6:10 and 1 John 3:17.)
• Personally 1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
• Privately Matthew 6:1-3 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
• Proportionately 1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. (See also Mark 12:41-44.)
• Readily 1 Timothy 6:17-19 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
• Regularly 1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
• Responsibly Luke 11:41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. (See also Luke 3:10-11.)
• Responsively Matthew 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
• Spiritually Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
• Willingly 2 Corinthians 8:12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. (See also Philemon 14.)

Menlo Church Challenge

Menlo Mega Church of San Francisco has instituted a biblical farce of brasen manipulation -- their weird and wacky Tithe Challenge. Sign an agreement to tithe for 3 months -- complete satisfaction or your money back!

God help us survive the fraudulent Christianity permeating our society!

See also MegaChurch Offers Legally-Binding Money Back Tithe Guarantee.

Tithing anecdote

I heard the following story about an old Baptist preacher named C. D. Arnold. (It happened long before my time, probably in the late 1930s or early 1940s.)

In the churches in the area where Brother Arnold lived, some new preachers introduced tithing – that church members must give 10% of their income to the church. This had never been taught in the churches before. It caused quite a stir of controversy. Brother Arnold was in the forefront opposing the innovation. He gave out that he would be preaching on tithing at a certain place and time. This announcement drew a large crowd, so large that all who came could not fit in the church house! When the preaching hour came Brother Arnold ascended the pulpit. After brief comments, he asked, “Are there any Levites here?” None responded. He proceeded, “I intended to teach on tithing tonight. Since there are no Levites present there is no point. I guess I’ll preach on something else.” Then he launched into a sermon that was enjoyed by most of the crowd. (Brother Arnold might have been a little “eccentric,” but he made his point.)

[Disclaimer: Though I put Elder Arnold’s words in quotes, this is simply his words as best I remember how the story was told, and should not be viewed as exact quotes. The story was told to me by either G. V. Hamilton or James Broome.]

Tithing and Levirate Marriage

Tithing[1] existed before the Law,[2] in the law,[3] is mentioned in the New Testament,[4] and neither Jesus nor the New Testament writers ever negate it.

Levirate marriage[5] existed before the Law,[6] in the law,[7] is mentioned in the New Testament,[8] and neither Jesus nor the New Testament writers ever negate it.

Why do preachers and teachers use this type of argument to support continuation of the tithe, but not for levirate marriage?

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[1] Tithing is giving a tenth of one’s increase.

[2] Genesis 14:18-20

[3] Numbers 18:20-24

[4] Matthew 23:23

[5] Levirate marriage is marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother’s widow, when the deceased brother has no children.

[6] Genesis 38:1-30

[7] Deuteronomy 25:5-10

[8] Matthew 22:23-33

Stated salaries

"Elder Hume (1807-1891) has always been opposed to ministers having stated salaries for their services. He is sometimes misunderstood in this regard and has been accused of advocating the doctrine that preachers should have no pay for their services. But to the contrary, he holds that it is the duty of every church to minister to the wants of their Pastor and that this should be done in proportion to the ability of each member, and that these contributions should be made not by any law by which members are taxed, but by the free will of persons who pay money on this account. He would not have one cent for his ministerial services if the collection had to be enforced by any law, ecclesiastical or otherwise..." -- General Baptist History, by D. M. Montgomery, Evansville, IN: Courier Company, 1882, pp. 196-197

Credit Card Giving

Because fewer people are carrying cash or writing checks, Green Acres Baptist Church of Tyler, Texas (and an innumerable host of other churches) are devising new and unique ways to obtain their contributions. At Green Acres, in addition to “offering receptacles…situated at most entrances,” ways to give include Apps for iOS and Android, text, online, and mail. Further, “Giving Centers are located in the Worship Center and CrossWalk foyers. These electronic kiosks accept credit and debit card contributions.”

For one reason or another, this can be shocking to us “old-timers,” while many youngsters may be wondering, “What took you so long?” On the other hand it brings about a sincere question from both young and old, “Should a church offer its attendees the option of using a credit card instead of just ‘passing the plate’?” What is the answer?

First, “giving via plastic” is not inherently wrong – no more so writing a check or giving a “Federal Reserve Note” drawn on the United States of America. So if it is not wrong, not sinful, shouldn’t we move full steam ahead? Or should we?

While this offers a convenience for those who are giving anyway, I think this should be a “road less travelled.” Two reasons I recommend we leave this alone are:

• Credit card giving encourages debt giving. Perhaps not deliberately so – many churches’ online giving pages warn against going in debt – but practically so, by holding out the ease of access and temptation to give what one does not have (Cf. 2 Corinthians 8:11-12). When a person falls to the temptation, isn’t the church “bidding God-speed” – playing a part in another person’s financial irresponsibility?
• Credit card giving enforces the perception that churches are “all about money.” Online giving instructions mentioned on a church’s web page may be unobtrusive enough, but giving centers placed all around a church’s facilities reminds visitors of the not-so-subtle push to fund the ministries of the church.

The primary argument for “credit card giving” is convenience. One church’s deacon said, “I rarely have more than a few bucks in my wallet. I don’t use checks. It is an easy way not to forget to give.” Another asked, “Why not make it easy for people to give?” The church sells it on convenience and the congregation buys it. They want and like the convenience. For the church it is a practical way to be sure funds are collected. Yet that convenience and practicality are poor motives to hinder both those who cannot manage their money well and those who think the church cares more for their money than their souls. Like Paul we should not use this power (freedom, liberty), lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ (Cf. 1 Corinthians 9:12).

Some few of us regard the New Testament teaching on stewardship much differently than most modern American churches. The modern American church business model moves in human procedures, forward budgeting and pledge collection. The modern American church theological model is driven by “tithes and offerings” – tithes being the 10% one must give and offerings being all one should give about that. In this model the church is the conscience, collector, depository and distributor of those “tithes and offerings.” Under the stewardship model of the New Testament, individual Christians are stewards of all that God gave them, determining – under the teaching of the Scriptures and the leadership of the Holy Spirit – how much to give to the church, how much to give elsewhere, how much to keep and how to use what is kept.

If your “credit card giving” is a matter of expedience rather than theological conviction, why not consider the leaving it alone?

It's all about the money

I recently noticed one church that has six ways to give (there's probably many of these). If you're fortunate to be a part of this church you can give:

• IN WORSHIP - when the offering plate is passed
• ONLINE – PayPal and other such methods
• KIOSK - Giving kiosks placed strategically on the church "campuses"
• MAIL - Send it to the Business Office
• AUTOMATED/RECURRING - automatic draft from checking or savings account
• TEXT - text your church the amount of a donation and send (not sure how this works?)

We're here to please. Please give.

Lewis's Lesson

"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them." -- C. S. Lewis

Who Tithed in the Bible?

Who Tithed in the Bible? by Robin Calamaio is an interesting look at various occupations who paid the tithe under the law of Moses and others who did not. It might surprise you.

Gross, or net

A young couple without much income was working out a budget. The discussion turned to whether they should tithe to the church on their gross income (total income before any taxes or deductions) or net income (what is actually received after taxes and deductions are withheld). Unsure how they should follow obediently, they made an appointment with their pastor to ask him.

The pastor assured the couple that they should tithe off their gross income. Somewhat annoyed by what he perceived as their rigorous attempt to follow the letter, he bolstered his case, asking, "Well, would you rather God bless you off the gross or the net?"

And that was that.

Or is it? A pastor annoyed by strict interpretation of the tithe in his congregation ought to take a look in the mirror. It is likely that he is the one who incites the legalism, preaching the tithe as law, explaining it by strict and legal assertions, and bolstering it with strong condemnations. No wonder his congregation would attempt to follow it to the letter rather than giving by grace.

Rather than ask whether to tithe on one's gross or net income, ask instead when biblical tithing was ever 10% of any income!

Tithing 101 on the radio

RTR: Tithing 101 with Gary Arnold will be on blog radio this Sunday morning at 10:00am Eastern/9:00am Central. Just click the link and go to the site to listen.

Gary Arnold is author of Tithing Today, a book that presents "an in-depth study of the Levitical tithe," shows "that the requirement to tithe ended at the cross," and teaches "how the New Testament Church is to be financed."

From tithe quotes to the sufficiency of Scripture

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• A Selection of Post-Tithe Quotes: Early 1900s
• Big U.S. Companies You Might Not Know Are Religious
• Biblical and Practical Thoughts on Parenting, Part 8: Parenting As Leading–-Eight Essentials Every Child Needs
• Do You Need a PhD to Understand the Bible?
• Is 10% a "Good Place to Start"?
• Should Christians Legislate the Meaning of Marriage?
• The Sufficiency of Scripture

Tithing before the law

Tithing1 existed before the Law,2 in the law,3 is mentioned in the New Testament,4 and neither Jesus nor the New Testament writers ever negate it.

Levirate marriage5 existed before the Law,6 in the law,7 is mentioned in the New Testament,8 and neither Jesus nor the New Testament writers ever negate it.

Why do preachers and teachers use this argument to support continuation of the tithe, but not for levirate marriage?

[1] Tithing is giving a tenth of one’s increase.

[2] Genesis 14:18-20

[3] Numbers 18:20-24

[4] Matthew 23:23

[5] Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow, when the deceased brother has no children.

[6] Genesis 38:1-30

[7] Deuteronomy 25:5-10

[8] Matthew 22:23-33

Will a Man Rob God

An internal Southern Baptist squabble has brought to my attention two previously unnoticed papers on the subject of tithing.

“Will a Man Rob God?” (Malachi 3:8): A Study of Tithing in the Old and New Testaments

Reconstructing a Biblical Model for Giving: A Discussion of Relevant Systematic Issues and New Testament Principles

These are two parts of the same subject. The first deals with the Old and New Testament verses on tithing, and the second with principles used to support tithing and finally a suggestion for "a more excellent way": or as one of the writers put it -- "...the New Testament contains sufficient guidance for our giving". The papers are written by Andreas Köstenberger (Southeastern Seminary) and David A. Croteau (Liberty University).

A reader at Bart Barber's blog, commenting on the squabble, wrote, "If any good comes from this whole brouhaha, I hope it will be that a few people will read Croteau and Kostenberger's excellent paper." I hope so, too.

Storehouse tithing??

"At the outset let me say that the 'church' is not a 'depository' for the money of the saints nor can it be proven from the scripture that any New Testament church had an ongoing regular treasury. Some have taught that the only way that a person can properly 'give' of their funds to the LORD is to bring them to the 'local church' so that they might be deposited in that organization’s bank account. This idea is generally built on the old testament concept of bringing all the tithes into the 'storehouse' (see Mal. 3:10). The problem with this teaching is that nowhere can a parallel be made between the New Testament assembly of the saints and the Old Testament treasury or storehouse. Nor can it be shown that the New Testament church is an 'organization' (which is a whole new topic to be discussed at another time). On top of that there is no command in the New Testament requiring or asking GOD’s people to tithe their money or any example of an ongoing and regular collection of funds in the assembly of the saints. This is probably quite a shocking statement to those who have long sat under ministries which spend a great deal of time emphasizing 'ten percent' giving even to the point of promising great reward to those who do and certain leanness to those who don’t." -- Mike McInnis, Mike's Wayfarer blog