Comments on: Silver and Gold Have We–Oops!

By: Money and Me « Awaken Me

Money and Me « Awaken Me — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 03:27:45 +0000

[...] Silver and Gold Have We – Oops at Subversive Influence by Brother Maynard [...]

By: fernando

fernando — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 02:55:33 +0000

The hip-pocket – ahh yes. I actually held a youth pastor role where the church deducted the tithe automatically from my pay. The really cool thing was that they did it off the top, so it was 10% of the stipend, plus all expenses (which they didn’t end up coughing up for) and the “perceived” benefit from renting us accomodation at a “discount.”

By: jared

jared — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:33:32 +0000

I don’t know even where they get the idea from that you tithe to your church and above that it can go elsewhere? Where does that come from? The tithe wasn’t always brought to the temple storehouse in the old testament, cause some of it was used for feasts, given directly to the levite in their town, or given directly to the poor. Some of the tithe went into the temple storehouse, and some of the offering went into the temple storehouse. the tithing law in the new testament is so full of holes, but all the holes are covered up with the blindspots that pastors have put in people’s eyes.

By: Bryan Riley

Bryan Riley — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:55:49 +0000

“It’s no small task, given that the two views, if we’re honest, are so often diametrically opposed.”

Kinda like saying we can’t serve God and Mammon…

By: Brother Maynard

Brother Maynard — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:20:25 +0000

Robin, Quote away, my friend! I should warn you though — I'm normally considered more self-righteous than compassionate. ;^) The left sidebar links are to other posts on the same subject today at other blogs, part of a coordinated "synchroblog" for the month. There's a topic every month, though I skipped October. This subject has actually come up here in the past though... a non-exhaustive sample of posts in chronological order would be: What would you call it? Christianity: Tweaking A Seriously Failing ROI Reasons for Simple Church On Tithing Tithing Debate Heating Up Fernando, The proof is in the pocketbook! This is actually used as a gauge of people's hearts in many churches, and I'm not exactly convinced it's appropriate. My own CLB used to check the giving records of their leaders to make sure they were tithing. I got talked to once, and I told them I didn't believe in tithing... which, when I explained what I did believe about it, actually seemed okay with them as long as I was still giving. Either that or they knew not to argue the point, the ground being tenuous. In any event, new privacy legislation in Canada would now prevent their use of such records in this way... but I haven't heard if it actually does, in practice. Sonja, Good stuff. The Bible is generally harsh about such matters... this was in fact the worst accusation God had against Sodom. I'm starting to wonder if the most destructive invention mankind ever conceived might be money.

By: More Than Stone :: Hot topic Synchroblog :: November :: 2007

More Than Stone :: Hot topic Synchroblog :: November :: 2007 — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:39:53 +0000

[...] desk Trusting God – A New Perspective at Eternal Echoes Silver and Gold Have We – Oops! Subversive Influence Lord, Won’t You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz at Hello Said Jenelle Walking With the Camels at [...]

By: Headspace @ www.lainiepetersen.com » October Synchroblog: The Bourgeois Elephant in the Emergent/Missional Living Room

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:28:31 +0000

By: sonja

sonja — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:21:09 +0000

My sort of standard thoughts on this (which I did not put in my post because … well … children were talking at me). But I often revert to the prophet Amos and his condemnation of the wealthy which was pretty striking:

1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy
and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”

2 The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness:
“The time will surely come
when you will be taken away with hooks,
the last of you with fishhooks.

3 You will each go straight out
through breaks in the wall,
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,”
declares the LORD.
Amos 4:1-3

It’s kinda harsh … it’s not just tithing, but what we do with our excess and how we treat others. Old or New Testament, it’s pretty clear that we need to be thoughtful, kind, and looking out for others.

By: Coffee Hour Morality

Coffee Hour Morality — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:48:56 +0000

[...] on Coffee Hour MoralityCHARIS SHALOM » Who, or What, Do You Worship? on Coffee Hour MoralitySilver and Gold Have We–Oops! : Subversive Influence on Coffee Hour MoralityThe Church and money – synchroblog « Khanya on Coffee Hour [...]

By: fernando

fernando — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:30:33 +0000

My first mentor at theological college used to always say that a successful minister could point to three things – lots of baptisms, a growing congregation and a steady rise in the weekly offerings (tithes). A few years later I got a lesson in that reporting on my ministry as an associate pastor. For months I was reporting at deacon’s meetings about the steady rises in attendance at the evening service (my core responsibility). It was a mostly older youth and young adult service and the reports were clear on baptisms, conversions, leaders being trained and so on. At one meeting I was able to report that the service had doubled in nearly doubled in about 9 months, which was met with a polite response. Then the secretary added a footnote – that month, for the first time, the evening service’s monetary giving had exceeded the morning service. You could almost feel the air being sucked out of the room. Suddenly, the change really mattered.