Key Principles on Giving for Believers

1.      As Christians giving is a matter of simple obedience.If you aren’t giving, you’re unfaithful, disobedient and rebellious.  God calls non-givers “robbers” and “thieves”.  Some say that the Tithe is an “Old Testament” expectation and that God no longer requires or expects a tithe in this age of Grace.  In fact, God never abolished the tithe; in fact, even Jesus noted that the Pharisees were still practicing the tithe (which he affirmed them for doing), but that they were tithing for the wrong reasons.  In the New Testament, He raised the standard under Grace as I referenced earlier with the examples of murder and adultery.  So you may not give, but let’s not pretend that such a state is sanctioned by the Lord or that you are right with the Lord if you aren’t.  It is inconsistent with the Christian’s life of grace and generosity to refuse to give to others who are in need and God’s plan has always been that giving is done first and best through the church.

2.      Biblical giving is not about portion, but proportion.

In the Old Testament, it was between 23 1/3% and 33 1/3%.  They had more than one tithe.  So I’m cool with going back to those days, how about you? :-)  In the Old Testament, the tithe was a “regulation” — a constant reminder that God owns all, He is perfect, we are not and that we will ultimately give account to Him because none of us could keep the law in order to attain salvation.  In the New Testament, we give from our hearts – not from our heads.  If it’s figuring out to the exact penny what you should give and not a penny more, you are completely missing the point.  The Christian life is not about rules and regulations and keeping records and making notes.  It’s about wild abandon and personal sacrifice and unabashed joy and insane generosity and crazy love and enthusiastic worship and supernatural priorities.  The little widow lady gave all she had and she was needy!  She gave more than the rich guys with their trumpets and fanfare because they had plenty more at home.  Sadly, there are very few in today’s Western church who have followed the example of the widow who gave her two mites and have given out of their need.  How many of us have every made a genuine sacrifice of our standard of living in order to give?  In the end, most of us will always find a way to do exactly what we want to do.  If we really wanted to obey, to be generous, to sacrifice — we’d find a way to do it one way or another.  But most of us are quite comfortable doing what is easy rather than what is right.  And as I learned as a child, “Right things are seldom easy and easy things are seldom right.”

3.      Giving is a spiritual discipline that will deepen your joy, faith and maturity.Small children are innately selfish.  Grandmothers aren’t.  There’s a reason.  Take away a child’s toy and she’ll cry.  Let an adult see his home burn and often they’ll say, at least we’re all safe.  That’s what maturity does.  If we are still clinging to every shiny bauble and trinket that God has rolled our direction and then with pouty lips and an impudent face shake our heads in defiance or run and hide when He asks for it back so it can be given to others, then we are making a statement about where we are in terms of maturity.  God does not bless us to increase our standard of living, but to increase our opportunity for giving.I have never counseled someone with financial difficulties in nearly 30 years of ministry who had been actively tithing.  Almost also, financial counseling was the result of over-spending, putting non-emergency items on credit cards, living above one’s means, refusing to save for emergencies, covetousness or a combination of all of the above.  The discipline that comes with a planned system of giving spills out to all the area of our lives.  It gives us a plan, categories, direction, goals, accountability and requires thought.  When we think enough about our finances to set aside the firstfruits to the Lord, we’ll also give thought to the remainder of what we have.  We will live better on the 90% by living God’s way than 100% living by our terms.

4.      Blessings follow obedienceI dare you to try this.  Start giving.  This week, plan on being a blessing to someone.  Write a check, buy someone some tires, pay for someone’s lunch anonymously this afternoon, leave some groceries on a doorstep, send a missionary a check, give to the property fund of your church, help some kid in seminary who’s working to go into the ministry – and watch what God does in return to you.

I dare you to try tithing… Even if you’ve never tithed before…test God and see if you don’t live better.  I’m not teaching a prosperity gospel.  You can be the most generous person in the world and still go to hell.  God is not obligated to make you rich just because you’re generous.  I’ve known people who wrote huge checks for spiritual projects and then went bankrupt several years later – and still had no regrets.  But it is the height of arrogance to demand that God make our life easy and to answer every self-centered prayer or to get frustrated with Him when life is hard when on this most basic of issues — how we handle our money and whether or not we are generous toward the OWNER of all that we have — we ignore Him, refuse Him what is His and insist on clutching every speck of material gain as if it will always be there for us.

I close this serious out now with the challenge to seriously think about how you handle your money.  I know people don’t like to talk about sex, religion, politics and money.  But if you hold a Biblical worldview, you’ll know that God very specifically has standards and expectations for each of those areas.  The wise believer, searches the Scripture and is not satisfied with “just getting by” or “staying on the good side of the line”, but instead — confidently trusts God’s plan and His promises so that we will be positioned to enjoy His best blessings for our lives and all that we do.

Excuses We Give for NOT Giving – 

1.      I can’t afford to give because of my debt. 

The Christian in debt has an obligation, not only to his creditors but also to God, to pay off his debts and, what is more, to stay out of debt in the future (Roman 13:8). But the responsibility to pay off debts does not cancel out the responsibility to give to the Lord. Specifically, the Bible tells us to give to the Lord from our “firstfruits,” that is, the first and best of our income (Proverbs 3:9).  

As Larry Burkett used to say, the first check we write belongs to the Lord and no one else, not even a creditor. Perhaps it sounds harsh, but in fact, giving like this turns out to be in our own best interest. We refrain from giving because it feels financially insecure. But in fact, God promises that giving to him is the most secure financial move one can make. If he gave up his own Son for us, surely we can count on him to give us all things (Romans 8:32). For those who give, he will provide all they need at all times, even making them rich so that they can keep on giving (2 Corinthians 9:8-11). We should make it a high and immediate priority to pay off ourdebts, but we should also give whatever we can in the meanwhile. 

One of the most common questions I’m also asked is “Should I tithe on the gross or the net of my paycheck.”  Someone I know once shared that when he first asked that question, his friend had said, “It depends.  Do you want a “gross-” or “net”-sized blessing?”  My mother put it this way, “ If obeying God’s guidelines to give a portion of the blessings we receive from him is a matter of demonstrating our first priority love and submission to Him, then giving out of our gross demonstrates that we love and revere God more than our government.”  Every person must give account of his or her own decisions, but as for me – I decided a long time ago that “first fruits” meant just that – so I use the gross.  I shouldn’t be interested in how little I can give, but in how much I can give.  

2.      I’ll tithe later when I can afford it, but it isn’t possible now. 

Generally what that means is not that we can’t afford it, but that we can’t afford it and maintain their current standard of living.  Every one of us will eventually give account for what we have done with what we have – money, time, opportunities, talents, spiritual gifts, personal abilities.  Christ made Himself “poor” so that WE could be made rich (2 Corinthians 8:9)  Christian giving SHOULD involve sacrifice of personal comforts and preferences for the sake of the kingdom of God – it’s just that simple.  A Christianity that costs little will accomplish little.  God is not revealed strong when we are strong, rather God is shown strongest when we are at our weakest and most needy. 

No stage is ideal for giving – we are always preparing for something — college, the first house, the new baby, mom staying at home, investments, kids college, retirement, long-term care, parent care, etc…  If we wait until it is convenience to give, we will never start giving.   

I’m grateful that my parents taught me the principle of tithing from an early age.  They did it by giving me my first allowance in pennies.  (My allowance was one whole dime per week.)  One was put in the Sunday school offering each Sunday.  When I received a raise to fifty cents, I was given nickels.  When it reached a dollar a week, I was paid in dimes.  (Interestingly, I never got more than a buck a week in allowance which was quite the burden when I was in High School.)  But seriously, when I received my first job, I was shown how to move the decimal point over one digit to arrive at my tithe and I began writing checks.  Therefore, tithing and giving have never been as difficult for me as for some others, because I didn’t have to fight the battle of the “first time tithe” like so many do.  Wise parents help their children establish these patterns early so we all learn the practice of living on the 90% and not seeing the 10% as our own. 

3.      All churches care about is “money”. 

If that is the case with your church, then you may need to change churches.  Churches should care about the Gospel.  When people throw those kinds of arguments around however, I generally immediately revert to responding as I would to a child or ornery teen – because, quite honestly, this is simply a manipulative tactic designed to distract AND it isn’t true.  It also isn’t true that “all the kids are doing it”, that “you’re the only person who isn’t going” and “no one else is as strict as your parents.”  Nice try, but I’m not buying what you’re selling.  Money is simply one of multiple tools.  We should not give it more importance than it deserves, nor should we give it less than it deserves.  It’s just money.  Acknowledge it, use it, invest it – but don’t hoard it. 

4.      Stewardship is about more than money so giving money isn’t necessary. 

I give my time, I offer my talents, etc…  I once new a retired man who kept careful track of the volunteer hours he spent at our church doing mechanical worker.  When I asked him one day why he kept such meticulous records, he cheerfully explained that he deducted those hours from his tithe.  It never ceases to amaze me to what extent we are often willing to go in order to keep as much of our “stuff” as we possibly can.  If actions indicate belief, most of us do not believe that God will take care of us and that He will honor His Word to supply our needs and that in the end, the only reliable person in our life is US.  It is true that stewardship is a lot more than money, but it is never about less than money either.  

5.      God doesn’t “need” me to give. 

You would be correct…however, we don’t give because God needs us to give, we give because we are instructed to give.  Thus, WE need to give.  Here’s what Psalm 50:9-12 says…

⁹I will not accept a bull from your house
   or goats from your folds.
¹⁰For every beast of the forest is mine,
   the cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹ I know all the birds of the hills,
   and all that moves in the field is mine.
 ¹²“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    for the world and its fullness are mine. 

While God doesn’t “need” our giving, He does “want” it because He knows it is good for us – just like the parent who wants His children to do chores, get a job, speak with respect, etc…  It’s simply part of the discipline of the balanced and successful Christian life. 

It’s time to end this section – I’ll post a few more thoughts soon. 

This was just too funny not to pass along!  Not sure where this came from as there is no copyright or attribution on it.

No one calls mushy-thinking, postmodern, “rock-star”, church-growth-movement gurus to account better than Grace-to-You (John MacArthur) Director, Phil Johnson. Perry Noble is in our back yard (for you Charlotteans) and the more I read about the “goings on” in his work, the more disturbed I get. This recent posting at “Pyromaniacs” is another salvo that exposes the charade.

Read it HERE.

http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2011/09/highway-to-hell.html

Yesterday, I was filling the pulpit of our church in the absence of our lead pastor. After discussing several options for my subject on Sunday, we agreed that it was time to address the issue of Biblical Stewardship and Money with our church and I agreed to take on the topic.  Sometimes, our fear of discussing money, studying about it, even letting others know needs and asking if they can help is indicative of a cultural or personal over-emphasis on money.  My attitude has always been, if you tell me you have a need and I have the ability to meet that need – then I’m willing to help.  If you ask me for something I can’t provide for you – then I’ll politely tell you “no”.  It’s really that simple.  Not complicated.  I’m not offended because you asked.  I’m not offended if you refuse.  I’m blessed if you help.  But I’m also blessed if you don’t – because my blessings come from God not you — sometimes they just come “through” people. 

Different people have different attitudes and responses and phobias and likes.  For example, I could let a spider crawl all over me and it wouldn’t bother me one bit.  If, however, I come within a hundred yards of a snake, I scream like a 6-year-old girl.  Some people HATE politics and refuse to discuss it.  I follow politics like it is a professional sport and love to discuss it – particularly with people who disagree with me.  I think it’s fun and interesting.  Some pastor’s don’t like to talk about money from the pulpit or in private – they are concerned that folks will think that they get paid by commission or that it drives people away or that it’s the only thing that people think of when they think of the church, etc…, etc…

Just for the record, I’m not one of those pastors.

I like money (I’m not going to say “love” because of what the Scripture says, but I’m not going to tell you that I hate money either — that wouldn’t be honest) – I just don’t think it’s what makes the world go around.  Don’t get me wrong – when I have it, my life is easier and I appreciate that.  I’ve heard people say for years that “money can’t buy you happiness” – well, I’d like to give it a shot myself before I accept that as the truth.  But seriously, perhaps largely because of some things that my parents taught me early on about money – I’ve never been encumbered by an insatiable desire for“stuff” – money or otherwise.  In fact, I actually like to give it away – not everyone is built like me, but I’m one of those weird people whose love language involves wanting to give people stuff. 

I hope it doesn’t sound too much like I’m bragging when I say I’ve always been a hard worker. Because of that, there have been times in the past when I made quite a bit of money.  I’ve never only worked one job – not since I was 14 years old.  There have been other times when I didn’t have much money at all.  My first year out of college I was paid an annual salary as a school teacher in a Christian day school of $9,200 per year.  The first year that Julie and I were married, our salaries were less than $20,000 combined.  We ate plenty of hamburger and macaroni and sat on folding chairs and shopped at Goodwill and garage sales.  I wasn’t less happy then than I was when we lived in a 4,000 plus square foot house in Florida.  In another 50 years, I know that I’ll looking at all the stuff I thought was important anyway and wonder why in the world I was attached to it as I was when I was living on earth.In order to look at this topic from a Biblical perspective – we should know that nothing we have is ours.  It is on loan.  We never truly own anything.  We don’t take anything – not even our clothes – with us when we die.  Once I gave a child my keys to play with.  I told the child that I’d want them back when I was ready to leave, but for now they could play with them.  Later, it was time for me to go and I asked for my keys back.  The kid shook his head no and ran off and tried to hide.  When I finally caught up to him and took the keys from him, the child threw himself down on the floor and began crying.  Let’s just say that he didn’t understand the concept of “Original Ownership”.

Here’s what I mean by “Original Ownership” – God created us with nothing.  All we had was a relationship with Him.  All we desired was a relationship with Him.  All we needed was a relationship with Him.  Then along came sin and everything changed.  Now there was a desire for other things.  Possessions, relationships, materials that would cause us to crowd God out of our lives.  Good things, pretty things, things that God created for our use and pleasure.  Yet, we became so enamored with them that we allowed the things to become more important to us than God.God tests us sometimes to see whether or not we understand who really “owns” the “things” in our life.  Beyond that, He asks that we purposefully acknowledge that He indeed owns them by asking us to give Him back the firstfruits – sometimes called the Tithe. 

Sometimes, people want to glibly dismiss the tithe as an Old Testament tradition that has no application in this Age of Grace.  Actually, that’s not a defensible position.

Christ did not come to earth and die on the cross to “lower the standards” put in place for mankind.  Indeed, He raised the bar — so to speak.  He also changed our motivation from doing so out of obligation to the law and made it possible to do right out of opportunity to demonstrate our faith.  Gone were the days of living solely out of “duty”; the New Testament taught us to obey God’s plan out of “devotion.  Where in Scripture do we find evidence of a “lowered standard” due to the completion of God’s plan for redemption?  Nowhere.  In fact, quite the opposite is true.  In the Old Testament, we are told, “Thou shalt not murder.”  In the New Testament, we are warned that to hate a man with our heart is the equivalent of murder.  In the Old Testament, the command was simply, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”  In the New Testament, it was if you look at a woman with lust in your heart, it is as if you have committed adultery.  The law was never given to us as a standard to meet for Salvation, but it was a standard that revealed our fallen state and condemnation.  The “new birth” of salvation gives us an opportunity to embrace Christian living from a whole new perspective.

The same is true in regard to giving.  While in the Old Testament, it was the “tithe” (though, Scripture demonstrates that there were actually three different “types” of tithes), in the New Testament, the standard is even higher in that He asks us to give generously as much as we have and are able and to be willing to share everything that we don’t need and sometimes what we do need with others.  In fact, the lesson of the New Testament could be succinctly put like this: “If you keep more than you need, you’re guilty of greed.”

By giving generously, we demonstrate obedience and submission and we remind ourselves that we should love God, first—most—best and are wholly dependent upon Him for all good things.  Indeed, giving is like a spiritual “test” which helps us identify were our priorities lie.  Sadly – many believers consistently fail that test.  These tests aren’t for non-believers — they aren’t enrolled in the class.  It only applies to those who claim that He is Lord.

God not only gives us what we need for life and caring for our family, but He often gives us more than we actually need.  This is particularly true for those of us blessed to live in the United States.  What should we do with what remains?  God gives us options and we see this emphasized throughout Scripture – from the the story of the “rich fool” we find in Luke 12:16-34, to the parable of the unjust steward who buried his talent, to the real-life stories of the Rich Man and Lazarus and Ananias and Sapphire — we find multiple examples of our relationship with riches. God gives us His resources and expects us to use it for our good and His glory.  They are gifts.  If we have a sense of entitlement to them, then we lose their potential to bless us.  If we misuse them, we sacrifice the benefits that they could provide.  Ultimately, we have three choices with what we can do with those resources….

Spend them
Hoard them
Invest Them

More on this topic tomorrow….

Recently, I’ve been doing some reading regarding unhealthy and even dangerous assemblies which call themselves “churches”, but which possess characteristics that defy the healthy components of a church we see discussed throughout the Book of Acts and many of the Pauline epistles.  Just for the sake of discussion, I offer a few warning signs of what I would call unhealthy churches.  Perhaps after reading these you might want to debate some of my conclusions or add a few warning signs of your own.

1. Does your church leadership tightly control the flow of information within its ranks suggesting that anything that is negative or which questions something is ‘rebellious’ or ‘gossip’?

2. Does the pastor use public shaming as a method to gain the compliance of followers or does he use the pulpit as a place to “call out” individuals who have crossed him?

3. Are all the previous pastors “unwelcome” back to where they once served and is there a rather regular cycle of pastoral resignations or dismissals marked by infrequent long-term pastoral ministries?

4. Is the pastor of the church the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or interpreting Scripture?

5. Does the pastor and leadership foster an attitude that frequently suggests that it is “them/us” against “the world” and that outsiders are constantly “out to get them”.

6. Are you instructed to dis-associate with any former members, being warned that they are “evil” or “back-slidden” and to be avoided and/or shunned?

7. Is leaving your group to join another church equal to leaving God?

8. Is the power of the church held by a single person (usually the pastor) or in a board that is unaccountable or outside of a defined Biblical role or office?  Does the governing board act like a board of directors more than a board of spiritual advisement and leadership or accountability?

9. If the church or leadership is questioned or challenged is it viewed consistently as a “spiritual attack”?

10. Are there a significant number of related parties that serve on the governing board or on the ministry staff?

11. Do you sense fear of rebuke or retaliation for respectfully voicing a contrary opinion or position?  Is there a freedom to disagree agreeably on non-doctrinal matters of lesser significance?

12. Is there a pattern of an inability to get along with others you would clear identify as members of the body of Christ but who may not hold all of the same position on non-doctrinal issues?

13.  Is there an unusual allegiance to a school/university, association, fellowship, tradition or “camp” which promotes a sense of spiritual superiority for those in the “group” and a disdain or spiritual deficit among those who aren’t?

14. Are the primary sermons more often personal diatribes or topical addresses that reflect the position of the pastor or association rather than expositional studies and explanations that examine the Scripture?

15.  Are there political, financial, educational or other non-Biblical demands made of the membership in order to fit within the fellowship or to be eligible for leadership?

 This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but simply to open some discussion.  Feel free to jump in and share your thoughts.  What did I miss and where am I off base.  The lines are open for your calls!

It’s been several months since I’ve done any blogging.  It’s been a very busy six months, quite frankly.  I seem to do much of writing these days in snippets that are more suitable for Facebook or Twitter than the extended articles I used to write on this Blog.  I actually toyed with dropping the blog altogether when I got the bill to renew the domain, but after thinking about it for a few days, I decided to leave it up — at least for 3 more years, which is the term of my renewal.  I’m not as sure that I have anything all that worth reading any more, at the same time, I often joke that if I didn’t write from time to time, I’m highly likely to just simply burst into flames.  It’s one of my primary outlets.  I’ve been enjoying the give and take one gets on the social media sites which has pushed blogging toward the background across the internet, but I’m still gratified that several hundred people wander across the blog on a typical day and scan the archives and often still leave comments.  So, at least for now, I’ll stay blogging and perhaps trying to apply a bit more discipline to it as well.  Facebook is easy for me as I have a strange habit that keeps me focused as I’m grading my papers for my job as a graduate school professor for Liberty University (Seminary).  Reading 20-page papers on the same topic over and over again gets quite monotonous, so I generally give myself a “Facebook Break” every five papers or so while I’m grading and it helps make the time go by faster and keeps me fresher.  If you’re one of my Facebook friends, it’s always easy to tell when I’m grading papers (or eating lunch) as that’s when I tend to pop up a lot of nonsense on my wall. 

But this HAS been a busy year thus far.  I accepted the position of Executive Pastor at Life Fellowship Church in Cornelius/Davidson/Huntersville, NC last Spring and we have relocated from Lake Lure to a nice house that we’re renting in Cornelius.  The church is growing quite rapidly and I’m busy organizing various facets of the ministry and producing policies and procedures in addition to overseeing the education and small group portions of the ministry and managing the staff.  Because this is a church plant, much of what I’m doing involves starting from scratch.  Those who know me, know that administration comes naturally to me, so I’m having a good time and feeling fulfilled.  I have an awesome boss and lead pastor, Dr. Bobby Conway aka “The One-Minute Apologists” and his meaty and extended sermons each Sunday never fail to challenge me thinking and my living.  We have a great team of staff, elders, deacons and church members and we are blessed to be in this ministry.

Then the summer was spent planning and celebrating the wedding of our oldest daughter, Megan, to a fine young man, Justin Mook, on July 23rd on the shores of Lake Lure.  It was a very warm, but beautiful day and the setting was incredible.  We had friends from as far away as Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Florida, Virgina, Missouri, Washington, DC and elsewhere joins us for the special day.  I know I’m biased, but I think Megs could not have been more beautiful.  She and Justin (and the rest of us) had a genuinely wonderful time.  Our photographer, Jean Moree, did an outstanding job.  The catering was done by our friend, Rhonda Tate, and as always it was just incredible.  Our friends, Dave and Diane Matthews from Lake Lure did much of the design and decorating.  Our long-time friends from Oklahoma, Bob and Brenda Byers drove all the way here and served as special coordinators and just went above anything we could have ever imagined in helping us pull of the day — we’d have been a mess without them.  Julie and I both were so gratified and honored to have our siblings and their families, my mom, Julie’s Uncle and Aunt and my Uncle and Aunt and many other special neices and nephews and even a couple of great-neices and nephews join us for the day.  Our special friends, the Toros, the Meldrims and many other former church members also joined us.  It was just a great day of laughter, tears and reconnecting.  Justin’s family are just wonderful (he has 5 brothers and sisters and his dad is just completing his law degree at Liberty University) and we enjoyed getting to know them better as well.

This fall is equally busy.  I’m leading a capital campaign to raise the funds for a 17-acre parcel of land in Cornelius for a future-site for our church.  We also launch a brand-new third worship service at our school site this week-end which I’ve been coordinating.  Josh and Katie are back into the homeschool routine with Julie.  Megan and Justin live one exit away from us and are settling in to married life.  Nathan is working for a company that requires him to travel basically non-stop all of the USA.  In a few weeks, Josh and I are heading to Nevada, Arizona and California for his 13th birthday trip (yes, I realize its 18 months late, but we’ve had an interesting couple of years).  We’ve put our Lake Lure house back on a nightly rental program and that took some work on our part as well.

So…that’s what’s new with us.  Start checking back here if you would and I’ll start putting up some thoughts and articles.  A new feature I’ve decided to start is called “Blog Grafitti” and will consist of some of my tweets, status updates and miscellaneous thoughts that are generally going to be very brief snippets.  If you want to follow me on Twitter, connect with me at DanBurrell and of course, if you’re on Facebook, I’d love to connect there as well.

Stay tuned and buckle your seat belts.  You know I rarely post stuff that doesn’t poke at the way people think.  Let the discussion and debating take off!