Almost every passage in the NT we use for teaching giving, interestingly sees the giving to meet peoples physical needs. However, today churches do it the temple way; Throw your money in the "temple box" for the support of the temple functions and to support the priests who run and manage it all. Give and let the "Priests" manage it. We grew up and were taught we are to give "Tithes" to the LOCAL church, to support the church. 90% of which goes to pay staff and building etc, just like the OT temple structure.
What we do in church today is actually more reflective of OT "stuff", than NT church practice.
I have even heard it said that we have to "Give up Control" of what we give, to truly give it to God???? Wait, I get it! WE give it up, and YOU get to control it- church leaders. How about you giving up control too?
Where did this crazy idea come form? Not the NT! The people who gave in the NT passages always knew what they were giving to. They could gauge there level of generosity by the nature of the expressed, and KNOWN, need.
So here, frankly, is how it actually works! You give generously to the church, give up control, the leaders then control it for their purposes, to support their vision, whether you agree with that use or not, but no one asks you how they can help support your ministry to others, and that is just the way it is. Do you "have to" give up "control" of your kingdom generosity?
Let me just say this, NOPE! You always get to decide where to support the kingdom in the NT, its always voluntary, what you decide, where you decide to give. It's not like the "Temple" at all.
I noticed this after 20 years of ministry. I give sacrificially to the local church, and many times had little left to help people around me, the mission field around me. For example: I gave very generously to my local church one month and found out a family member was going to have their power shut off. But I had nothing left to give - I man nothing, notta, in the bank. There was no way I could have done both. I would have done both if I could have. Looking after family is required, and I would be worse than an unbeliever if I did not do that. But in "Christendom" the institution superseeds the the individual, and his family.
Are you still with me? So, we give to the church, thinking they use the funds to minister to the people around me.......... right........ well we know better than that. Simple fact for us all is that the local church does beans for the people around us. In that "temple" system of giving, it's about letting the leaders (Priests) decide, not what needs are before us, as the "Priesthood of all believers". Leaders want us to pay for their ministry ideas, but they don't even know, nor care, frankly, about our mission field. Why is that? It's all spent on the "Stuff". They can't afford to see what members give to help them live out missionally, because it's all spent.
If you want to live missionally, start investing your "offering" in the mission, your included. Service to people God is placing in front of you. If you attend a local church, you have an obligation to contribute there too, since you are benefiting from that. However, your ministry to people around YOU is no less valuable. You are a "priest" too! Act like it for the people you live among! Your leaders don't know them and will never have the same opportunity, ability or desire to reach them like you will.
WARNING: Your church leaders do not like this kind of talk at all. This is the kind of writing wil cause people to ostracize you. Dangerous concepts they mutter. But notice they have no NT answer rely. They will simply revert to OT Temple type talk, because they don't have any NT church talk passages to back tis model of giving.
My Advice, say nothing, just start living it!
How should I Live it? Start investing in your mission field - The peopel God placed before YOU.
How do I do that? Buy boxes of bibles for your business or home, and put them out on display for free. Put your phone number and names inside, "Call Grant or Rose if you have questions. We will help you!" Buy study guides for a group of interested people and lead them. Supply resources or books to help people asking questions.
Host a community BBQ and pay for it all.
Buy a ton of groceries for a single mother you know.
Give a stressed out young couple a night out for dinner, and free baby sitting.
Send the oil truck to deliver oil to that needy family, and tell him not to say who it's from.
Support Mission church planting in Africa, or community development to reduce poverty.
You are free to be generous in funding your ministry, and help others in their ministry too.
GIVE - GIVE ALL YOU CAN to this end. You will never lack for opportunities to talk about Jesus if you live like this. Here is something else Jesus said to do with your resources, money or wealth.
"Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home." Luke 16:9 (NLT)
This quote is insightful of how people are skeptical of the whole system, and church people are not even aware of the skepticism, because its automatic to us now, as we assumed this is always the way it's been done.
"Many people outside and inside the church are skeptical of where church resources are going.. . and for good reason. When people give faithfully for years and never see a church extending benevolence or making a genuine impact in a community, it’s quite natural to lose motivation. Yes, we should be able to trust our church leadership, but it’s also okay to measure the way we use our corporate resources against how the ancient communities did. Why were they so jubilant about giving? Simply, they got to see it change lives!........
If someone needed his car fixed, if someone couldn’t pay a medical bill, if someone wanted to move out of a bad living situation, or if someone needed a plane ticket to get home to help with a family situation, people just pitched in and did what needed to get done to alleviate the now problem. Once Matt and I realized what was going on, we found great solace in knowing that God’s heart was becoming the heart of our people.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s always a lot of room to help people excel more, and we wouldn’t be able to give flight to spontaneous giving without some infrastructure funding. But we’ve learned that eveything gets taken care of if you give people visjon and, permission to spend their money wisely on real people. So far, our general fund needs have always been sufficient to keep this practical needs co-op on the move.
This is a good time to ask some what if questions: What if every church was able to get every person to commit 5 percent of their income to the general church fund, but mobilized the other 5 percent to all the needs of their communities? How might that change how people view Christians? How can we give people more freedom and creativity in their giving? How do we help people’s giving become more closely tied to their hearts?
(Tangible Kingdom. Hugh Halter, pg 174-175. 2008, Jossey-Bass)
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