Two questions can be asked when trying to determine how much money you should give to support the Kingdom, the Church and the Poor.
One is biblical. The other is greedy.
Q1. How much can I give without placing excessive strain on my family?
2Co 8:12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. 13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality.
1Ti 5:8 But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.
Php 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything…
Q2. How much do I have to give to the church in order to justify lavishly spending on myself and my family?
James 4:3 …your motives are all wrong––you want only what will give YOU pleasure.
When we seek to justify our own exclusive pleasure rather than what is mutually pleasurable with God we will lack the joy that Hudson Taylor claimed as his “Spiritual Secret”, which is simply this: “The more I give, the more joy I have.”
Be responsible. Be joyful. God bless.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
So! You’ve Decided To Leave The Church Part II
This is an email conversation that I post with permission that stems from the Monday, March 30, 2009 blog entitled, “So! You’ve Decided To Leave The Church”
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 12:40 PM
In response to your blog about leaving the church.... I didn't feel comfortable writing on the comments...
Wow, those are some harsh words! Where did this come from? Although I agree with what is written, I can't help but also point out the other side of "leaving a church." We have left a church that we spent many years at, to come to BCC. We found that the teaching/theology had shifted and we were not in agreement anymore. I have heard of others who have left previous churches because they felt "worn out" from ministry involvement and didn't know how else to "take a break". For others, their children had friends at other churches and being a mother of teens, I don't blame them for finding any way possible to encourage your children to be fed the word even if it means moving to a new church. This kind of falls into "finding a church that better meets their needs." I don't know if I am just too sensitive and that is why I found that blog rather harsh or if maybe it was meant to be a reprimand! Do you feel it is wrong to leave a church? If so, how come you explained that [situation regarding a family who left the church] like it was perfectly fine? Sorry for all the questions. You can ask ---, I ALWAYS need to understand things thoroughly and completely, it's just my nature.
Hey Sue
Great questions! And I'm glad you ask them.
I have also had to leave churches, as we all do from time to time.
I have always left with either a celebration or a sober talk with the leadership.
I have no problem with people leaving a church because of distance or changing family needs or some shift in church philosophy or teaching.
My only problem is with people who secretly pull out, without telling a soul so they can test the church to see if it was really loving or not. People then use their test-results to justify their departure to anyone who will listen.
"That church never really loved me anyway!"
I don't think this helps anyone. In my years in ministry I have spent a lot of time and emotional energy tracking down people to do an exit-interview who simply quit after years of attendance without saying a word. After 10 years of ministry here and having seen my share typical sin patterns showing up here I feel it is time to address some of them.
There are a few more to go. I don't want to be unnecessarily harsh, but in this case when people use the sheep rather than love the sheep, I feel compelled to protect the sheep even if it means being a little harsh. I say all of this as prevention, with no particular victim in mind. I say it as I evaluate us after 10 years and before I go on sabbatical.
Let me know what you think, if I'm still being a too harsh...
I hope it could be understood as a passion for the welfare of the people at BCC.
(Lu 10:29) But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Andy,
Thank you for responding so quickly. Yes, I believe I have a better understanding of your blog now. As far as harshness, I am just a very sensitive sort ( I prefer to refer to it as my princess nature!) I can't even watch the news without it disturbing my sleep. I'm sure the majority of people would not have taken the blog the way I understood it. Thanks for clearing things up. Susan
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 12:40 PM
In response to your blog about leaving the church.... I didn't feel comfortable writing on the comments...
Wow, those are some harsh words! Where did this come from? Although I agree with what is written, I can't help but also point out the other side of "leaving a church." We have left a church that we spent many years at, to come to BCC. We found that the teaching/theology had shifted and we were not in agreement anymore. I have heard of others who have left previous churches because they felt "worn out" from ministry involvement and didn't know how else to "take a break". For others, their children had friends at other churches and being a mother of teens, I don't blame them for finding any way possible to encourage your children to be fed the word even if it means moving to a new church. This kind of falls into "finding a church that better meets their needs." I don't know if I am just too sensitive and that is why I found that blog rather harsh or if maybe it was meant to be a reprimand! Do you feel it is wrong to leave a church? If so, how come you explained that [situation regarding a family who left the church] like it was perfectly fine? Sorry for all the questions. You can ask ---, I ALWAYS need to understand things thoroughly and completely, it's just my nature.
Hey Sue
Great questions! And I'm glad you ask them.
I have also had to leave churches, as we all do from time to time.
I have always left with either a celebration or a sober talk with the leadership.
I have no problem with people leaving a church because of distance or changing family needs or some shift in church philosophy or teaching.
My only problem is with people who secretly pull out, without telling a soul so they can test the church to see if it was really loving or not. People then use their test-results to justify their departure to anyone who will listen.
"That church never really loved me anyway!"
I don't think this helps anyone. In my years in ministry I have spent a lot of time and emotional energy tracking down people to do an exit-interview who simply quit after years of attendance without saying a word. After 10 years of ministry here and having seen my share typical sin patterns showing up here I feel it is time to address some of them.
There are a few more to go. I don't want to be unnecessarily harsh, but in this case when people use the sheep rather than love the sheep, I feel compelled to protect the sheep even if it means being a little harsh. I say all of this as prevention, with no particular victim in mind. I say it as I evaluate us after 10 years and before I go on sabbatical.
Let me know what you think, if I'm still being a too harsh...
I hope it could be understood as a passion for the welfare of the people at BCC.
(Lu 10:29) But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Andy,
Thank you for responding so quickly. Yes, I believe I have a better understanding of your blog now. As far as harshness, I am just a very sensitive sort ( I prefer to refer to it as my princess nature!) I can't even watch the news without it disturbing my sleep. I'm sure the majority of people would not have taken the blog the way I understood it. Thanks for clearing things up. Susan
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