According to CNN, Christians only give (on average) about $35 bucks to their church each year.
I have NO idea if that is true (maybe it is if you average out offerings among all church attenders). But let’s go with that.
According to that source, churches receive about $4 billion dollars in donations a year.
The article goes on to say that if people tithed, churches would have received more like $25 billion.
I’m wondering.
What is the percentage of people who tithe in your church?
What is the average gift in your church per year per household?
Do you keep track of these figures?
And what COULD your church do if you just DOUBLED the number of people who tithe?
Thoughts?
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Tithing seems to be a hotly debated topic, but one that I think is ultimately right. Even if one doesn’t believe it is right, it’s still just good principle. Make a lifestyle of giving and generosity… anyway, to answer your main question. Determining the percentage of people who tithe would be difficult since I’m not in leadership in that capacity, but I’ve heard it’s somewhere above 90% for members in my church. (With around 1,000 members I believe that’s pretty spectacular considering the numbers above)
I don’t have the facts to answer your other questions…
It is a bad principle. That means that a person with a zillion dollars is ‘in the clear’ with 10% giving so it conveys a wrong notion. It totally erases teaching on giving sacrificially which is where real heart involvement is called for. It is nowhere taught as doctrine for the early church. Shall we also say that circumcision. or the Jewish priesthood are good principles too even if we cannot find them connected to the early church in Acts or the Epistles. I vote that we pretty much stick to what has been commanded by our Lord and the Apostles and then we won’t end up with a bunch of dubious tag-on teachings that look something like legalistic Pharisee teaching….. but if folks insist on the tithe as a principally good add to plain New Testament teaching then howzabout we teach all of the tithes which add up to about 23% per year!
After twenty plus years in the ministry, I “typically” find that those who talk about giving from the “heart” in place of the tithe struggle, often times, with giving in general. Why? I believe that the heart can be emotionally moved and manipulated to give less – whereas obedience holds its ground. Yes, the New Testament does not teach tithing as the standard for giving, but it does teach obedience to the giver. Certainly many can do far better than 10 percent – and should as the Lord prompts. However, many, I find, would prefer that the preacher not preach about tithing because ultimately exposes the heart in which obedience is lacking. Ultimately, we are all to be obedient to give what the Lord has placed on our hearts to give. Hence, my prayer is this – “Dear God. Give us Your heart and not mine own.” I believe that a prayer like this will get us to ten percent and beyond.
Well said Brad!
In my last two pastorates, tithing (at least what looked like it as we had know way to genuinely know) held right at 25% of our households.
What a peculiar way to start your comment Brad. Perhaps what you meant is that Steve probably doesn’t tithe or even want to talk about it because he is a cheapskate and wants to argue a Biblical technicality to ease his conscience. I will address that comment shortly in a non-specific but accurate way and may the one who created me deal with me after the fashion of Ananias and Saphira if I lie. If God intended that the tithe be part of the Christian experience I am confident that He would have spoken through the New Testament authors to convey that notion and with clarity. As it is this troublsome teaching has been perpetuated by Pastor types as God’s idea (which it is not for followers of Jesus) and that as a teaching to Christians from the pulpit it is a violation of the 3rd commandment which plainly instructs us NOT to connect things to God’s majesty and authority which He did not give us permission to connect. So if you have ever taught this as binding on Christians (or even as a guideline) you put yourself in the same chair as the Pope in Rome. What man can be bold enough to add or subtract from words breathed by the Spirit of the Living God.
Brad, you said, “ After twenty plus years in the ministry, I “typically” find that those who talk about giving from the “heart” in place of the tithe struggle, often times, with giving in general.” So in the interest of truth telling have you actually studied this out? Have you actually looked at the giving of anti-tithe types and come to the conclusion that they are actually trying to give God the dodge? And would you submit to the Ananias and Saphira test to support your assertion. Is what you said the truth or is it just ‘Pastor talk”, a way to shut down folk who are
convinced that this is a disobedient teaching, like Corban. Mark 7:8-13, “8 You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” 9 Then he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban’ (that is, an offering to God)— 12 then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.”
It is entirely possible that a person-like Steve- might actually be offended by this unscriptural teaching and he may actually be a sacrificial giver. Now to my stuff. I was not always a sacrificial giver. I started with an immature view of giving and have grown in it. I have raised 7 kids and those years were pretty tight but I I still gave. Now I give much more than 10% by examining my taxes and seeing what my giving deduction is and the more is not 10.2, 12, or even 15%. Above and beyond that I have given cars (more than 5 is close enough for a scientific statistician like you) away to people I knew needed them more than I (they weren’t new but they were functional). I haven’t even touched on the non-tax exempt help and blessing that God has allowed me to share which is significant. This would be calculated on my gross income and not my net. I worked about 450 hours of overtime last year to be able to give more. You should be ashamed to talk ‘preacher talk’ on a public forum and get caught at it.
One thing our Lord did teach was when we give do not let the right hand know what the left hand is doing (Matthew 6:1-4). You have caused me to reveal some things that are none of your business because you must have decided that rather than dealing with the scripture on the matter you would resort to name calling and I am aggravated that you would not examine the truth and vailidity of the argument I posed without casting aspersions on the writer.
Let me leave you with a question. If one should keep from the left hand knowledge of what the right hand is giving does any one of God’s children have the right to study the issue of giving in other children of God? Why have you studied the giving of folks that believe the tithe is a wrong teaching and just how did you get your information?
Wow Steve, If we all recognized that any and all of what we have is only from God then generously giving would be out of gratitude and we would not spend so much time trying to figure out the technicalities of it. God loves a cheerful giver.
Actually only 3%-5% tithe (give a tenth of their income)