Tag: tithe

The Spiritual Discipline of Tithing

Occasionally, I am asked about tithing. Since we are in the season when churches traditionally emphasize faithful stewardship, I thought it might be helpful to share a few thoughts on the subject.

A “tithe” is 10% of something. Tithing has meant several things throughout history, including tribute, tax, and charitable contribution. Years ago, my wife and I came to understand the tithe as a spiritual discipline, by which we acknowledge that everything belongs to our Creator and our role is that of stewards. The discipline of tithing helps us maintain a healthy relationship with our possessions. As we see in the teachings of Jesus, if we are possessed by our possessions, we aren’t truly free and if possessions harm relationships with our neighbors, they undermine God’s vision of a world where people live in peace. As a priest, one of the most important things I can do for the spiritual health of those given into my care is to help them have a right relationship with possessions.

When we give the first 10% to God, we are reminded that everything we have, whether spent, saved, or given away, is a sacred trust from God. Each time we write a check to the Church for the tithe, we are reminded to be faithful stewards of the remaining 90%. We are also reminded that Jesus Christ doesn’t ask us for a small portion of our loyalty – he asks for 100%, "our selves, our souls and bodies."

Because we are unapologetically committed to the mission to which God is calling The Episcopal Church, that is where we bring God’s tithe. Other organizations have many different ways to solicit and raise funds to sustain them. The Church has us. Most secular organizations, governments, community chests, and businesses cannot contribute to overtly religious communities. We consider additional charitable giving to be an “offering.” God’s tithe and our offerings equal about 20% of our gross household income. By the standards of most of the world, the lifestyle sustained by the remaining 80% is luxurious.

Once we saw the difference this discipline could make in our lives and in Christ’s ongoing mission, we set out to work toward the goal of tithing. With God’s help, we modified our spending and saving patterns so we could step up each year toward a tithe. Then, we continued to take steps that would allow us to make offerings beyond the tithe.

I commend the discipline of tithing to you. Try it and discover for yourself how blessings flow in as treasures flow out. It will give new meaning to phrases found in the baptismal liturgy, such as placing our “whole trust in God’s grace and love.” It will change the way you understand our Lord’s summary of the Law, to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Blessings,

The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

September 10, 2020
The Heart of the Matter

In the last several reflections, I have explored various aspects of Christian stewardship. I would like to think that any one of them might inspire you to place more emphasis on the spiritual vocation and practice of Christian stewardship in your life. Now, in summary, here’s the heart of the matter.

We need to give.

God is frequently referred to as “the giver.” For example, we pray to God, the “giver of every perfect gift,” “giver of life,” and “giver of pardon.” The favorite of all Christian Bible verses is “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). God is the Supreme Giver and we, who are created in God’s likeness, are endowed with a godlike and uniquely human capacity to be givers. We need to give!

Our gift to God establishes a pattern that sanctifies what we do with the remainder. One of the offerings in ancient Judaism was the offering of First Fruits. The first portion of the harvest, “first fruits,” was offered to God. (Leviticus 23:10) “Honor the Lord with your wealth, the first fruits of all your increase” (Proverbs 3:9) And St. Paul wrote, “If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy” (Romans 11:16). So when we give God the first portion of what God has given to us, it has a way of establishing a holy perspective on all our treasure.

Stewardship is different from fund raising. Fund raising is giving to some cause that we approve of with the expectation that we will get something out of it. Stewardship, on the other hand, emphasizes giving to God because we’ve already received. Fund raising will always be necessary, but Christian communities are built upon the generous stewardship of their members.

We need to give and we give to God in response to God’s generosity toward us.

We are asked to make a pledge.

In this and thousands of churches, people are asked not only to practice tithing but also to make a written pledge of financial support. Why is a pledge necessary? Perhaps it should not be necessary. But the fellow parishioners you have entrusted with the governance of the parish do a better job of planning if they have a reliable estimate of the giving of all the members. So, after the pledges are in, they develop a mission plan that seeks to balance the spending with the projected contributions toward God’s ongoing mission.

After all, God has made countless pledges to us. Have you ever thought about the origin of the word “Sacrament?” It is derived from the Latin word sacramentum, which means a sacred pledge or oath. Christian Sacraments are God’s pledge to us. In Holy Baptism, God pledges to love us for ever. In the Holy Eucharist, God pledges ongoing provisions for the living of the Christian life. We pledge to God in response to God’s pledges to us.

We are a covenant community. A covenant consists of unbreakable pledges made between two or more parties. Christianity is meant to be lived in such a community. Theologian George Rupp once said, “There is no life without community and there is no community without commitment.” A written pledge to share one’s treasure is an expression of participation in and commitment to the covenant community.

We make a pledge to God and one another each year as a way of saying, “You can count on me.”

We are called to put our heart into it.

Jesus had much to say about the relationship between our treasure and our true priorities in life. For example, he said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Isn’t that the truth? Just look at how spend money on things we really love.

The spiritual discipline of Christian stewardship helps to prevent us from loving anything so much that God is squeezed out of our lives. Jesus spent so much time preaching and teaching about our relationship with possessions because he wanted to prevent us from a form of slavery in which we are possessed by our possessions. He wanted to help us avoid putting any idol in the place of our Creator. He wanted us to give God our heart and we just can’t do that if our treasure is in the way. When our giving to God is sacrificial enough, we know if our hearts are being drawn from the love of God.

Some say the heart in the St. John’s insignia symbolizes that St. John’s is the heart of Jackson Hole. That may be true, but other churches and institutions also believe they are the heart of this valley. Some say that the heart signifies St. John’s love for our neighbors. That also may be true. I invite you to consider that it represents the divine call to put our heart into St. John’s and, as the cross inside it suggests, to do it sacrificially. The offering of our treasure will be one of the signs that we mean it.

“For, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I’ll see you in Church!

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. - Acts 2:46,47

October 1, 2015
The Cross of St. George and Tithing

Now as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you-so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. – 2 Corinthians 8:7

As it was a challenge to the original recipients, this exhortation of St. Paul remains a challenge to the Church in any age, including St. John’s today. We are invited to excel in generosity toward God! What is the standard to guide us in such an undertaking? The Episcopal Church teaches that the tithe (ten percent of our income) is the minimum biblical standard for Christian giving. Minimum? The average financial pledge for Episcopalians is about 4% and for members of St. John’s it's about 2.5%. We're being encouraged to step up toward the tithe. And yet, our Church’s teaching suggests that that is only “the minimum.” How much more will be enough?

The reason our Church's teaching is stated this way is that the New Testament standard for giving is one hundred percent. Do you remember the occasion when Jesus pointed out the poor widow who put two small coins in the offering box at the Jerusalem temple? It was an object lesson for his disci-ples. He wanted them to notice that the more prosperous people contributed the mandated minimum portion of their wealth as an offering to God and the poor widow contributed everything she had. “Truly I tell you,” said Jesus, “this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:3-4).

On another occasion, some people asked Jesus whether it was lawful for the faithful to pay taxes to Caesar. He responded, “Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “The emperor's.” He said to them, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's” (Luke 20:24-25). The image and title of the Emperor was stamped on the coin of his realm. Jesus' subtle point was that the image and title of God is stamped on the human being, which is the most valuable asset of God's realm.

It is our purpose and our privilege to offer ourselves to God. Jesus showed us how to do that on the cross. The result of that ultimate offering was resurrection. Our offering is made complete and our lives made victorious when joined with his offering. “Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

In the insignia of St. John’s, the Red Cross of St. George on the white field is a reminder of the English origins of The Episcopal Church. From the thirteenth century until the nineteenth century, the flag of England was a red cross on a white field symbolizing the patron saint of England, St. George. Most of what we know about St. George is legend. We usually associate him with the Crusades or dragon slaying. However, reliable sources suggest that George was a martyr who suffered under the persecution of the emperor Diocletian in the fourth century.

Martyrdom has always been considered the supreme witness for one's faith. Even more importantly, that red cross is a reminder of victory through sacrifice – the sacrifice of Christ and his martyr, George. When Christian art began to depict the Risen Christ holding a triumphal cross-shaped staff with a banner attached to it, the banner was most frequently white, symbolizing purity, with a red cross on it, symbolizing the victory of the risen Christ over death.

Although Christians still die for their faith in many places, you and I will probably never be required to face physical death for our faith. Nevertheless, we are called to offer our lives completely in Christ's service. St. Paul's invitation to Roman Christians is as significant to us as it was to the those to whom it was addressed during a time of persecution two thousand years ago:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).

So, then, how are we to understand the tithe in relation to the radical expectation that we are supposed to give everything to God? Here's a way to look at it. The tithe is the portion we give specifically to God as a tangible sign of our acknowledgement that everything we have – possessions, time, lives, relationships, labors, influence – whether saved, spent, or given away is a sacred trust from God. Giving sacrificially to God is a spiritual discipline, like the disciplines of worship, prayer, sacraments, study, and good works. We give God a portion of what we have that is large enough to be considered sacrificial so that we notice when it is gone. That should make us mindful of what we do with everything else that remains.

Gay and I practice tithing as a spiritual discipline in this way. Years ago, when we struggled with the decision about how much to give to God, we realized that if we tithed and could not live on the remaining 90%, we were living beyond our means. So we made the necessary adjustments to our life-style and discovered that we still have more than enough. In fact, we are still able to save for a comfortable retirement and to support other worthy causes. It is only one way to keep tabs on our spiritual life and values, but a very important one. It helps us see how abundantly God blesses us so that we can bless others.

When you see that red cross, remember the ultimate sacrifice and victory of Christ, St. George, and all the Christian martyrs. Be mindful of the living sacrifice you are called to make and the victorious life you are called to live. Consider how your bold decision to give to God will gladden your heart and make you a more generous saint in God’s household. Envision how together with your fellow saints you can ensure that St. John’s is a beacon of generosity.

“You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11-12).

I’ll see you in Church!

September 23, 2015
Sermon at the Church of St. Raphael ~ September 30, 2012

The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (Transferred)

Listen to the Sermon for September 30, 2012

Read the Sermon for September 30, 2012

September 30, 2012
The First Fruits Principle and Recovery of the Spirit of Generosity

The theme of our stewardship education emphasis at Calvary this fall is “First Fruits.” The concept of first fruits in the Judeo-Christian tradition has its roots in practices that existed long before references appeared in the Hebrew Scriptures. The faithful were expected to bring the first tenth (tithe) of their harvest to the temple and offer it to God. “Put the first of the fruit which you harvest into a basket, and set the basket down before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all the good which the Lord has given to you” (Deuteronomy 26:1-15).

Then, as now, people raised questions about what was to be included in this first fruits offering. For example, today it is not uncommon to hear someone ask, “Is the tithe to be calculated before or after taxes?” The Temple authorities were not hesitant about providing specific answers to questions like that. For example, agricultural product from non-Jews were not to be included in their offering. It had to be from their own crops; not from fund-raising! And, the portion of the crop at the corners of the fields and whatever was dropped in the fields was not to be included in the first fruits offering; that was charity for the poor and foreigners passing through. So, this offering did not satisfy the requirements of charity and hospitality.

In the Christian Testament, St. Paul uses this harvest language to describe the Risen Christ. “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (I Cor. 15:20-23).

St. Paul also draws upon the first fruits principle when writing about the salvation of the Gentiles, “If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; and if the root is holy, then the branches also are holy” (Romans 11:16). Jesus Christ, according to Paul’s gospel, is God’s own first fruits offering on behalf of humanity and creation itself. The original first fruits were the first, the best, the ripest, and the most valuable of the fruits of the earth. For Christians, Christ is the first to rise from death. As the first fruits sanctified the rest of the harvest, represented the whole, permitted and ensured the harvest, so Christ arose from the earth to new life and sanctified this new life for his followers. Our lives in Christ are the rest of the harvest. Jesus Christ, the first fruits, has sanctified us and the life we share with him.

So, what does this have to do with us and our self-examination as we consider our vocation as faithful stewards of God’s bounty? The principle of first fruits is at the I heart of how we think and act as followers of Christ. When we learn to put Christ first and to offer the first of everything we have to him, that offering spills over into the rest of our lives.

Our Church teaches that the tithe (10%) is the minimum biblical standard for Christian stewardship. Far be it from me to object to the canons of the Church! However, my reading of the Bible, especially the New Testament, tells me that the minimum standard is 100%. The tithe, the first tenth offered to God for God’s purposes, represents a spiritual discipline that sanctifies everything else in our lives. It helps us make conscious and faithful decisions about what we do with the remaining 90%. Whatever we have – 100% – whether spent, saved, or given away, is a sacred trust from God. The first fruits, the tithe, forms our perspective in ways that help us remember that everything belongs to God and we have the privilege of being stewards of it. That is a vocation given to no other creature. It is what makes us truly human and is a necessary aspect of civility. We are called to be the givers.

This week, as I have been reflecting upon this theme, I came across the words of a very wise person, Ohiyesa, (Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman) a Wahpeton Santee Sioux. He said, “It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. Its appeal is to the material part, and if allowed its way, it will in time disturb one's spiritual balance. Therefore, children must early learn the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving.” He also said, “As a child I understood how to give; I have forgotten this grace since I became civilized.”

When we look at civilization as we know it today, we’d have to agree with Ohiyesa that many have forgotten how to give. That is a fundamental reason for war, economic woes, crime, violence, the breakdown of families and communities, and a host of other ills that plague us. We, as a civilization, have not done a very good job of teaching our children and one another the necessary discipline of generosity. Like Ohiyesa, many of us have forgotten.

Christians still have an opportunity to change that. And, in order to do so, we must encourage one another in ways that will result in the change, starting with the first fruits. If we will remind one another of this ancient principle and teach it to our children, God will use us to transform the world in ways we cannot begin to imagine. If you are concerned that the remaining 90% won’t be enough, I invite you to remember these words of encouragement from St. Paul, “God will make you rich enough so that you can always be generous” (2 Corinthians 9:11).

Let’s give it a try!

September 26, 2012
Faithful Stewards

A little over twenty years ago, a leading authority in the field of church administration advised clergy not to use the word “commitment” around baby boomers. He warned that it would drive them away because commitment in any area of life frightens them. Five years later, the same leading authority reported that baby boomers were attending high expectation, high commitment churches in disproportionately large numbers. Those churches were growing. We discovered that low expectation, low commitment churches like The Episcopal Church were declining. While we were soft-peddling commitment, our members were leaving us for churches where it is required. I resolved at that time that I would never soft peddle commitment again.

When George Rupp was President of Rice University, I heard him say, “There is no life without community and there is no community without commitment.” Think about it. Without commitment, families, organizations, athletic teams, work groups, companies, and nations fall apart.

One task of an interim pastor is to challenge the church community in transition to clarify its present identity in preparation for a new pastor. One way to foster that new sense of identity is to ask the members to measure their level of commitment in light of our Church’s teaching that, The duty of all Christians is to follow Christ; to come together week by week for corporate worship; and to work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God. (BCP, p.856)

I realize that some people may be as allergic to the word “duty” as they are to the word “commitment.” But most reasonable people will acknowledge that fulfilling our duties is a necessary aspect of keeping our commitments in daily life. In fact, the phrase “relieved of duty” carries negative connotations. And why would anyone think that duty to God is any less important than duty to family, team, country, etc.? Throughout history, many people have expressed the conviction that duty to God made it possible for them to fulfill all the other duties of their lives.

I invite you to examine your commitment to your Christian duty. Make this an opportunity to take the next step in your faith journey. Is there a way to follow Christ more closely? Can you join your fellow Christians in worship more often? Is there a place of service to which you are being called? Is there room for improvement in your prayer life? How about your giving? Is it time to move up another step toward the spiritual discipline of tithing?

Do yourself and your church community a favor and reflect on those questions as you prepare for Commitment Sunday. At The Church of the Good Shepherd, commitment cards will be distributed during the services. We’ll complete them together and bring them to the Altar as an act of worship. Make this time of transition a time of renewed and increased commitment. Ask God to use you in new ways to help the Church be all God wants it to be.

September 29, 2011
Having a Right Relationship with God – And Our Stuff

The Canons of The Episcopal Church list thirteen specific duties of Rectors and Priests-in-Charge. Among those thirteen duties is the duty “to ensure that all persons are instructed concerning Christian stewardship, including: reverence for the creation and the right use of God’s gifts; generous and consistent offering of time, talent, and treasure for the mission and ministry of the Church at home and abroad; the biblical standard of the tithe for financial stewardship; and the responsibility of all persons to make a will as prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer” (Canon III.9.5.a.2).

My performance of this duty has never required a canon as motivation! As far as I am concerned, the ability to be stewards is a gift of God that distinguishes human beings from all other creatures. It is a privilege to exercise that gift as an expression of faith in the Creator. There’s no more important priestly work than that of helping those given into our care to develop a healthy relationship with their possessions.

Our Lord had the same conviction. More than half of his sayings concern possessions. He wanted to liberate people from bondage and knew that our possessions have a way of possessing us. If you don't think you've given your possessions power over you, take a moment and consider how you've felt about them – or the loss of them – during the last couple of years. Jesus mission was to restore us to unity with God and one another, so he spent a lot of time helping people sort out their relationship with whatever estranges us – mainly, our possessions. He has entrusted that mission to us.

The invitation to make an annual "pledge" to God for the work of the Church is an opportunity to take a step toward healing our relationship with our possessions. We are invited to make a new commitment concerning what we will give to God, in acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty over our stuff.

One expression of stewardship is to practice tithing, the ancient biblical custom of returning to God one-tenth of what God has entrusted to us. Gay and I learned to tithe from the clergy who taught us in our childhood and from our parents. We do not regard tithing as a law or obligation, but as a spiritual discipline that helps us maintain a healthy relationship with our possessions so that they will have less interference in our relationships, so that we will be free to be stewards. To us, it is a precious vocation and we commend it to you as you consider your stewardship decision. We grew into tithing by starting with a percentage we could live with and then adjusting our lives so we could add at least 1% annually until we reached 10%. We now regard that tithe as God’s. Amazingly, the remaining 90% has always been enough.

Whatever we have, whether spent or saved or given away, is a sacred trust from God. We believe the least we can do is return the first portion of it – for us, a tithe – to God who has entrusted 100% of it to us to invest it in those things that further God’s ongoing Creation. We invite you to join us.

November 4, 2010