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April 21, 2008
Think Christian on The Tithing Minority
Think Christian is a blog that I read frequently. Their mission is to engage Christ, culture and faith in the context of everyday life. (A very worthy goal.)
The Tithing Minority asks the same questions I raise in Barna reveals trends in tithing and church giving.
The reality is this: the level and volume of contributions that the church depends upon is at risk of being diverted to other like-minded organizations as more choices become available to the people in our pews. I'm consistenly surprised at how few church leaders approach this subject with a sense of urgency.
Unfortunately, most are dealing with the tyranny of the urgent instead of establishing an intentional strategy moving forward. Another force that I believe is working against this larger conversation is that most people only respond to "pain."
For a lot of churches, they are currently fully funded or only slightly down in giving. The levels of contributions are enough to sustain the ministry of today. My contention is that our responsibility is not only to ensure that our ministry is fully funded today but also sustainable over a long period of time.
Most complex organizations understand that sustainability is one of the key ingredients to long-term success. The church may be the most complex organization to ever exist. And yet it's also the least likely to be concerned with sustainability.
What does all this have to do with tithing? Money offers churches the ability to accomplish the ministry that God has laid on the hearts of the people. Where the people in the pew place their dollars demonstrates what they believe about the church's ability to accomplish the ministry or work that they are most concerned with.
If that place isn't the church, then we as church leaders must take a step back and evaluate the places of ministry we've decided to invest in to ensure that it matches what God has placed on the hearts of the people in the pew.
But most church leaders aren't likely to do that. Why? Because most church leaders are highly skilled at talking--not listening.
And the irony is that what the people in the pew are asking of church leaders is the very thing church leaders are asking of the people in the pew.
Maybe it's time we start listening to each other. Can we really afford not to?
Posted by bstroup at April 21, 2008 1:18 AM
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