Tithing

Don't have anything new to say on the subject, just thought I would tell folks a bit about our philosophy of tithing. Many may see it as faulty, that's OK. For years, we gave 10% directly to our local church. It was regular and consistent and it stretched us financially. Yet the past 3 years we have felt led to find ministries that directly support the lives of those in poverty. We have been able to give to different ministries and churches that we came across while traveling in 2008-2009. It has been a blessing to us to be able to reconnect with others in the Kingdom who are doing similar work and that we have admired and looked up to as lovers of Jesus. Our reasoning has not been because we don't believe churches do good things for the Kingdom, but rather that we believe that the money God has blessed us with needs to go directly to the poor. It is clear that one of the mandates that both God and Jesus gave was that of giving to the poor. As John the Baptist said: "If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry." It is also clear that for centuries, the early church took the same approach by giving over 90% directly to the poor rather than to salaries and building leases.

Much of our decision to shift away from giving to our local church was based off of writings such as:

EMBEZZLEMENT: THE CORPORATE SIN OF CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANITY?: An Examination of How Local Congregations in the Early Church Spent Their Money and the Implications for Us Today by Ray Mayhew

It is a 26 page PDF, so it will take some time, but I highly recommend this biblical overview of tithing and the early church.

We have also chosen to use a portion of our tithing money to meet the immediate needs of those who we are in relationship with. We call it "relational tithe." It is a blessing and a joy to be able to meet some of the needs of those around us.

Lastly, and this isn't anything new, it was discussed by Ron Sider in his 1970s Christian classic Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, the graduated tithe is a very simple system to follow that allows for us to live at a basic level and increase our giving based on our increased salary / income. Here is a quick overview:

1. You set a starting amount or a base salary. The amount is often your current salary. The assumption is that if you are currently living on your income, you should be able to give away a larger amount of any increase you receive.

2. Commit to increasing the percentage of your giving each time you get an increase in your salary. The easiest way to do this is to increase your giving for every $1,000 you earn beyond your base salary. Again, for simplicity, you can give an extra 5% per $1,000 you make above your base salary. Per $1,000 annual increase, you increase your tithe by 5%, then 10%, then 15%, then 20% …

Just a few thoughts.