Or is it?
It seems that all of us are to blame, including myself, when it comes to this "unmentionable topic". I'd rather have a sex talk with my (future) kids than face preaching a sermon series about stewardship, and I know I'm in good company. And of all issues that the pastor brings to the pulpit, issues about stewardship tend to be one of the least-enjoyed topics by congregations everywhere. This must be why so many books are being published today that center on congregational stewardship. The Cokesbury catalogue even dedicates two to three pages in every issue to stewardship resources. Why do we never see a section on "Holy Spirit resources" or "social justice issues"? Not only do we loathe the issue of stewardship--it's one of our biggest struggles as a church, as a people of God. The fact is, laity and clergy alike, our wallets has become a sacred space that we declare off-limits to God, and therefore the topic of stewardship falls on deaf ears for another year.
The problem is one of enormous consequences, and we've already felt these consequences for some time now. In America, we typically spend one hour twice per month (or more, if we're especially devout) at church, and much of the rest of our time engrossed in service and worship to the almighty Dollar. We work hard to earn more dollars, we spend time exchanging those dollars for goods, and we save dollars for the future. Many of us borrow more dollars for more power to buy more goods, and we have a lot of places we'd like to see those dollars being put to good use. A bigger home; a new car; trendy clothing; more entertainment options; advanced technology; eating out more frequently; the list goes on, and it never seems to end. All the while, "essential" spending has increased to include all kinds and types of insurance, greater and greater education savings, bigger and better stock portfolios, and naturally enough "mad money" to spend on whatever strikes us in the moment.
Entire seasons are dedicated to Dollar worship. Christmas, which in theory is a Christian holiday, has become overwhelmed with a spirit of mass consumption. Easter is no longer complete without plenty of chocolate, an Easter egg hunt and cute pastel decorations. Valentine's Day gifts are bigger and more expensive, and restaurants have doubled their incentives for you to come and dine to celebrate the fact that it's a Friday. Every day of the year is a celebration for America, calling for ever-increasing consumption which is literally clogging our arteries, bankrupting our grandchildren and destorying the earth.
If money remains a topic which is sacred and off-limits in the pulpit, then how will we ever be able to address our dangerous system of endlessly increasing consumption? If we can no longer talk about stewardship of our resources, given that most of our resources can be monetized, how will we ever be able to work towards social holiness and healing of our communities where thousands upon thousands of people live in dire poverty? If we cannot allow Jesus Christ to enter into our finances, why on earth would we trust him with our salvation?
At this point, we could talk about how often Jesus speaks about money and stewardship of other resources (such as food, valuables, etc.). Certainly we could see some good fruit from such a discussion, because Jesus talks about money a lot in the four gospels. And, perhaps unbeknownst to the majority of Christians, Jesus incessantly urges us to be generous to the point of total self-sacrifice with our money. Yet, as pastors, our knees begin to knock when we think about preaching the concept of the tithe, or an offering of 10% of income.
Since most Christians--scholars, pastors, and congregations alike--will agree that Jesus was radically generous and challenges us to be more generous in his footsteps, I will not digress into a Scripture discussion here. We need to talk about why we're holding back and how we can move forward to allow this Scripture to truly change us and how we live our lives.
1. First and foremost, everyone needs to understand the simple fact that money is not a personal matter where God is unconcerned. I think most people would agree, but many do not act upon it. Some people are only interested in their personal benefit, like guaranteed salvation or a nurturing environment for their children, but as Christians we are called to live a life of personal sacrifice in accordance with the will of God. The Bible is very clear in both the Old and New Testaments that God is very concerned with the proper cultivation, collection and use of all resources which we possess, and goes so far as to claim that all of our possessions belong to God. They do not belong to you; you did not earn them (from God); they are merely entrusted to you to use properly.
2. Next, we all must embrace the fact that in our baptism, through Jesus Christ, we have become one body, one family, and we are no longer our own person. Now that Christ has paid everything for us to be restored and reconciled to our Father in heaven, we are God's own; our identity, our self, our person, and yes, our resources are all fully God's. What's more is that because there is one baptism, because there is one loaf which we break together at the Lord's table, there is one salvation through which we all receive, together. Therefore we are to be like-minded; we are all to conform to the one will of God; and we are called to pull our resources together to carry out God's mission here on earth. To be fair, it's not the same as socialism, but you might think it looks similar. Socialism is a form of human-inspired government where all members of society are required to pool resources together to ensure the welfare of all. Christian stewardship properly understood is a God-inspired plan whereby all members of the body of Christ together pool resources together to help carry out God's mission to show love to a broken world. Whereas socialism is motivated by fear for survival, Christian stewardship is motivated by hope for the kingdom of God. As Christians we reject the idea of limited resources because we have faith that God provides in incredible ways; if only we allowed ourselves to live without all of the comforts of modern America, we might see God's miraculous works more often.
3. Stewardship of our resources is properly connected to our calling as Christians to love one another and our neighbor as ourselves. I Peter 4:7-11 provides a brief "recipe" of holiness in the Christian life, with three basic summarizing principles: to love one another, to show hospitality without complaint, and to share resources. If we say that we love one another and offer hospitality, but we do not give with a heart of total trust in God and a spirit of generosity, then we are making claims without following through. God's call for us to love one another deeply and unconditionally includes providing for one another's needs, whether they be financial, emotional, spiritual, educational, etc. As one example, imagine a parent who claims he or she loves their child, but then does not provide the child with the support he or she requires, as best as that parent is able to provide. It would sound like the parent is speaking on one hand but dishing out something completely different on the other. Non-believers are especially attune to this discrepancy among Christian people. They are keenly aware that Christians claim to love people unconditionally, but then use their resources to effectively judge the world through withholding and targeted offering. It is critical for the church in America and around the world to be a salty witness to Jesus Christ through sacrificial giving as we have been called rather than the attitude of "I'll give what I have left over" to those in need. God has NOT called us to give our leftovers; we are called to give our firstfruits.
4. Generous stewardship is a lesson which the church must teach in order to remain relevant, fruitful and on fire for God. As I've stated earlier, pastors generally loathe preaching or teaching on the topic of stewardship because it is seen as a fundraising campaign rather than a fundamental part of our lives as Christians. As pastors, we must teach stewardship with a deeply-held conviction that there is no holiness without social holiness, and there is no holiness without stewardship. All areas of our life need and must come into the conformity of God's will, by the cross of Calvary. When we engage in debates over tithing and giving of money, too often we are pushing back asking ourselves, "how little may I give to God to maintain a minimally desired relationship in good standing?" No matter how we respond to these debates, whether we accept the tithe, a portion thereof, or even if we claim a larger amount of giving as "mandatory", we have completely lost the point of stewardship and therefore are not pursuing true holiness. The proper amount of money, time, knowledge, wisdom, love and service to give is as much as you are able to give, with the goal of giving more whenever possible. Our entire lives need to be given as an offering to the Lord, just as our Lord gave us everything he had to save us from the shackles of sin.
5. Finally, it's worth mentioning the church as the place to give to God, or not. For too long Americans in particular have been suspicious of the church's power or authority and have been nervous to give their full gifts through the church. Many pastors, they fear, seek greater financial offerings in order to increase their own salaries and leave an unforgettable legacy in the churches they serve, as a boost to ego and career prospects. I do not deny this as a possibility, or that fact that it has happened in churches before; but in the United Methodist Church, we do have courses of action against such leadership, for we have episcopal oversight that can eliminate much of this drama. Even if this may be the case in isolated scenarios, the proper course of action when you feel there is financial mismanagement in your church is not to withhold your offerings, but rather to hold the leadership accountable as brothers and sisters in Christ. When we withhold our offerings to God because we fear the church, then we are as guilty as anyone we might be accusing, rightfully or wrongfully.
If we believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then we affirm the presence of the church as evidence of the Holy Spirit in our midst, for the church cannot exist without the Holy Spirit. It's true that some churches may "have" the presence of the Holy Spirit more than others, but that does not mean they are unfruitful churches necessarily. God's ways, movements, ebbs and flows are constantly mysterious to us, and are based on our "performance" or good or for ill. Rather, God's presence in a church is based entirely upon God's own will and not our works or desire for God to be with us. Quite frankly, God is going to be close to those who are weary, brokenhearted, alone, and lacking whether we like it or not, whether we choose to accept it or not. So if you know of anyone in this situation in your church on Sunday, you can rest assured that God is with you, and that your church is truly a place fitting to give offerings to God.
While I absolutely affirm the validity and fruitfulness of many other places to give offerings to God outside of the church, it is essential for our work together as saints in the church that we pool many of our resources in our local congregations, where the majority of our prayers, presence, witness and service take place. These ministries require financial and other physical resources, and withholding financial giving is almost always out of fear, spite, anxiety or greed--none of which are gifts of the Holy Spirit.
I pray that you take time to examine how you exhibit stewardship in your life. You may take the Wesleyan model as a beginning guide by considering your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness and critically examining how you are giving--or not--everything unto Christ. But this is only the start; remember that all resources are to conform to the will of God, including our spiritual gifts, our secular education and skills, our wisdom, our worldviews, our time, our bodies and our minds, to name only a few. What a fantastic gift it will be to you if you were to consider each area of life and analyze your giving to grow more deeply in the Spirit! I pray that in doing so you would gain assurance of the peace of Christ, the love of the Father and the mission of the Holy Spirit.
4. Generous stewardship is a lesson which the church must teach in order to remain relevant, fruitful and on fire for God. As I've stated earlier, pastors generally loathe preaching or teaching on the topic of stewardship because it is seen as a fundraising campaign rather than a fundamental part of our lives as Christians. As pastors, we must teach stewardship with a deeply-held conviction that there is no holiness without social holiness, and there is no holiness without stewardship. All areas of our life need and must come into the conformity of God's will, by the cross of Calvary. When we engage in debates over tithing and giving of money, too often we are pushing back asking ourselves, "how little may I give to God to maintain a minimally desired relationship in good standing?" No matter how we respond to these debates, whether we accept the tithe, a portion thereof, or even if we claim a larger amount of giving as "mandatory", we have completely lost the point of stewardship and therefore are not pursuing true holiness. The proper amount of money, time, knowledge, wisdom, love and service to give is as much as you are able to give, with the goal of giving more whenever possible. Our entire lives need to be given as an offering to the Lord, just as our Lord gave us everything he had to save us from the shackles of sin.
5. Finally, it's worth mentioning the church as the place to give to God, or not. For too long Americans in particular have been suspicious of the church's power or authority and have been nervous to give their full gifts through the church. Many pastors, they fear, seek greater financial offerings in order to increase their own salaries and leave an unforgettable legacy in the churches they serve, as a boost to ego and career prospects. I do not deny this as a possibility, or that fact that it has happened in churches before; but in the United Methodist Church, we do have courses of action against such leadership, for we have episcopal oversight that can eliminate much of this drama. Even if this may be the case in isolated scenarios, the proper course of action when you feel there is financial mismanagement in your church is not to withhold your offerings, but rather to hold the leadership accountable as brothers and sisters in Christ. When we withhold our offerings to God because we fear the church, then we are as guilty as anyone we might be accusing, rightfully or wrongfully.
If we believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then we affirm the presence of the church as evidence of the Holy Spirit in our midst, for the church cannot exist without the Holy Spirit. It's true that some churches may "have" the presence of the Holy Spirit more than others, but that does not mean they are unfruitful churches necessarily. God's ways, movements, ebbs and flows are constantly mysterious to us, and are based on our "performance" or good or for ill. Rather, God's presence in a church is based entirely upon God's own will and not our works or desire for God to be with us. Quite frankly, God is going to be close to those who are weary, brokenhearted, alone, and lacking whether we like it or not, whether we choose to accept it or not. So if you know of anyone in this situation in your church on Sunday, you can rest assured that God is with you, and that your church is truly a place fitting to give offerings to God.
While I absolutely affirm the validity and fruitfulness of many other places to give offerings to God outside of the church, it is essential for our work together as saints in the church that we pool many of our resources in our local congregations, where the majority of our prayers, presence, witness and service take place. These ministries require financial and other physical resources, and withholding financial giving is almost always out of fear, spite, anxiety or greed--none of which are gifts of the Holy Spirit.
I pray that you take time to examine how you exhibit stewardship in your life. You may take the Wesleyan model as a beginning guide by considering your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness and critically examining how you are giving--or not--everything unto Christ. But this is only the start; remember that all resources are to conform to the will of God, including our spiritual gifts, our secular education and skills, our wisdom, our worldviews, our time, our bodies and our minds, to name only a few. What a fantastic gift it will be to you if you were to consider each area of life and analyze your giving to grow more deeply in the Spirit! I pray that in doing so you would gain assurance of the peace of Christ, the love of the Father and the mission of the Holy Spirit.
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