The Tithing Kiosk

Well, we knew this day would eventually come, as we are a mostly cashless society now. That truth, frankly, is an easy excuse to not tithe, give, or donate. "Oh, I forgot to stop by the ATM on my way to church this morning and I ran out of checks a year ago. Sorry, I can't contribute to the offering plate today."

So, what is the answer to the I-don't-have-cash-on-me dilemma? The Tithing Kiosk.

I wonder...will people start impulse tithing? Will parishioners call the church office on Monday morning demanding a refund because they find themselves suffering from giver's remorse? 

Now that the Tithing Kiosk has been installed, I fully expect giving to go up substantially. We love giving to God's work, we love our debit cards, and we love machines. Well, this is a win/win.

Can We Buy God's Goodness?

On Sunday I attended the 8:00 service at one of the mega churches in the area. The church has been home to our immediate and extended family for 50 years. When our kids were born we felt blessed to have the opportunity to raise them up with this strong Christian heritage. We all grew spiritually, thanks in part to the good teaching at the church.

Ten years ago we were forced to leave that church. Our hearts were broken. If you’ve never experienced separating from a church family, let me just say—it’s more devastating than the worst kind of divorce drama.

The church’s former pastor had led the congregation for forty-five years, but he retired two years ago. After a two-year search, the new pastor has finally been installed. I’ve been drawn back to my former church home.

Last week the new pastor tackled a subject that every church leader has to address now and again…giving. He taught from the old and new testament, and I thought the teaching was really excellent. The Pastor/Teacher brought the scripture into the 21st century and creatively taught the concept of first fruit.

And then…

Just before passing the offering plate (actually, it was a bag) he made the following statement: “I have always given the first ten percent to God—my first fruits. I want you to know that I have lived a favored life. I believe it is because of my faithfulness that God has blessed me.”

Seriously? Was the pastor saying that if we have experienced loss and bad stuff that we are somehow to blame? Maybe we weren’t faithful enough! And how, exactly, do you explain the Biblical story of Job? He was the most faithful and honorable man in all the land, but God allowed Satan to heap tragedy on his life.

We had always been faithful with our giving—our time, talent, and treasure—but we lost so much. We were forced into bankruptcy, lost our church family, and nearly lost two of our children to the ravages of drug addiction. Are we to blame for what happened to our family?

Pastors are people too, and sometimes they are going to put their foot in their mouth. But listen up…the idea that you live a favored life because you give money to the church does not represent who God is! I know this because I know God and I know His word.

So, dear pastor/teacher—get off the pew and take your foot out of your mouth. Biblical financial principles must be taught from the pulpit, but intimating that when we give to God we are somehow buying an insurance policy against pain? That’s ludicrous!

You bet God wants our first fruits. It’s all His anyway. None of it belongs to me! You painted God as a smooth talkin’ insurance salesman who makes backroom deals and outlandish promises. “Slip me a little somethin’, and I’ll see to it that you’re protected…if you know what I mean.”

Get out your Bible, read the book of Job, then get off the pew and encourage someone who has lost everything. God will restore. Now, get off the pew!

Integrity in Business

I am a committed Christ follower. I'm far from perfect, but I desire to be more like Jesus everyday. I absolutely love being around other believers, and I especially love being around transparent and "real" Christians. Confession: I will not do business with a company just because they prominently display the Christian fish on their logo or business cards. I also know many companies who are VERY hesitant to offer their services to a church or ministry because churches often expect a discount, or for the services to be donated. On the other hand, I'm personally acquainted with lots of people who will only work with someone they know to be a Christian. Their reasons are varied - everything from wanting to support a Christian venture, to desiring to work with friends, to a distrust of non-Christians. This post isn't about discouraging people from working with Christians, but rather to ENCOURAGE transparent honesty and integrity in and through your business.

My friend's elderly parents hired a Christian friend and contractor to remodel their vacation home. Three years later, the project that should have taken 9 months was still not done and the contractor was charging the elderly couple by the hour! But he was "a friend" and a believer. The contractor was taking advantage of a friendship and a shared faith. The project was eventually completed, but it went WAY over budget, and the elderly couple will likely never recoup their investment in their lifetime.

A co-worker shared with me the other day that she was struggling with how to help her parents. She had just learned that they had paid a friend and church member a great deal of money to perform a service for them and he had yet to deliver on his end of the contract. Mom and Dad had no idea what to do, as they believed they should not take the fellow believer to court. The contract they had with the gentleman consisted of little more than a handshake.

Many years ago a family member worked for a Christian run company. There were many weeks when the paycheck was late or didn't come at all. My family member would frequently have to ask the boss whether or not he could actually expect a paycheck on payday. It seems unconscionable to me that a professing Christian would run a business that way. Leviticus 19:13 says, " 'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. " 'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight." Withholding wages that have been earned is the same as defrauding and stealing from them! When the paycheck didn't come and the employees asked for their money, they were told they didn't have "enough faith". All the employees of this small company were even required to watch training videos which taught them the importance of tithing. Now, I'm certainly not discouraging tithing, but for a boss that wasn't paying his employees, that seems a bit hypocritical!

Come on Christian business owners and leaders - get off the pew and set an example of integrity and honesty for your community! Costumers should be drawn to us, not because of the fish printed on our Yellow Pages ad, or emblazoned on our business sign or letterhead, but rather because of our integrity. Get off the pew!