I ran out of gas this morning on the way home from church. Literally (not in the emphatically and/or metaphorically cliché sense). While going up an incline toward an intersection. I was stopped at a green light. Dead in the water. Fibrillating over whether to call my wife, a wrecker, or the police...
Just as I had settled on calling my wife to come get me (then the wrecker and then maybe the police), a guy pulled off the road and stopped (a lot) of traffic for me so I could roll backward into a gas station parking lot. Apparently my guardian angel wears a tractor company ball cap, a plaid shirt, and speaks with a twang. In my 53 years on this planet, I have never run out of gas (even during those years when I couldn't see over the dashboard). And my gauge showed an eighth of a tank left (the warning light never came on...). The thought occurred to me that my wife is trying to kill me, but when I asked her, she literally (!) denied it. ;)
Anyway. I wasn't going to write about my near near-death experience, but about something that caught my eye on Twitter on Friday. I was certain that when I read the following on Relevant.com, it just had to be an April Fool's gag:
Perry Noble's Church Will Refund Your Tithe if You Don't Get Blessings in 90 Days
Apparently, this is gimmick is all too real. And there's a website to prove it (I guess):
90-Day Tithing Challenge (with the tagline - You Can't Outgive God)
Once again I must predicate any comments forthcoming with the reminder that I am an unpaid amateur, not a seasoned professional pastor or theologian. Having said that, I must quote David: “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you." (1 Chronicles 29:14 ESV)
This tithing refund hook seems not too far removed from the indulgences of Luther's day. A man-made promise that money is the conduit through which God's blessings flow. This particular money-back guarantee sends the wrong message three ways-- first, it says that your dollars will cause God to bless you; second, what if 90 days of tithing doesn't produce any "tangible" blessings in the eyes of the tither?; and third, tithing is NOT what we do for God but what God does for us!
I am surprised that a Christian congregation would promote such atheology doctrine tenet billboard in order to increase business (so to speak). All things, including money, belong to God and the real question is how much of what belongs to Him are we going to keep for ourselves and how much are we going to use to fulfill His purposes?
The idea behind tithing-- giving of the three T's of Time, Talents, Treasure-- is to live a life of stewardship in which God in Christ comes before all else. Proportional giving is an outward manifestation of sanctified Christian freedom, on a par with showing justice, mercy, and faithfulness. (Jesus had something to say to the Pharisees about legalistic tithes in Matthew 23:23...and Paul certainly favors proportional giving in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9).
God has no need for my money; it's His, anyway. When I give back to Him through the church, I'm putting His resources (that He has generously provided by His Grace) to work to serve Him in His Kingdom.
I think I understand the heart of the matter at NewSpring Church. I also have an idea of what the non-church-goer must think when he or she hears of such a deal (especially if they believe that they are down on their luck and in need of a "miracle"). In my opinion, such a scheme muddies the greater message of Grace alone through Faith alone in Christ alone through which all blessings pour!
P.S. I came across some other blog fodder for another day... LGBT toilet talk and the New Black Panther Party is armed and ready. Check out:
Do ‘religious liberty’ laws protect liberty or bigotry?
Armed clash over black mosque triggers anger in South Dallas
(Okay, NOW I'm out of gas in the metaphorical sense...)
Perry Noble's Church Will Refund Your Tithe if You Don't Get Blessings in 90 Days
Apparently, this is gimmick is all too real. And there's a website to prove it (I guess):
90-Day Tithing Challenge (with the tagline - You Can't Outgive God)
Once again I must predicate any comments forthcoming with the reminder that I am an unpaid amateur, not a seasoned professional pastor or theologian. Having said that, I must quote David: “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you." (1 Chronicles 29:14 ESV)
This tithing refund hook seems not too far removed from the indulgences of Luther's day. A man-made promise that money is the conduit through which God's blessings flow. This particular money-back guarantee sends the wrong message three ways-- first, it says that your dollars will cause God to bless you; second, what if 90 days of tithing doesn't produce any "tangible" blessings in the eyes of the tither?; and third, tithing is NOT what we do for God but what God does for us!
I am surprised that a Christian congregation would promote such a
The idea behind tithing-- giving of the three T's of Time, Talents, Treasure-- is to live a life of stewardship in which God in Christ comes before all else. Proportional giving is an outward manifestation of sanctified Christian freedom, on a par with showing justice, mercy, and faithfulness. (Jesus had something to say to the Pharisees about legalistic tithes in Matthew 23:23...and Paul certainly favors proportional giving in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9).
God has no need for my money; it's His, anyway. When I give back to Him through the church, I'm putting His resources (that He has generously provided by His Grace) to work to serve Him in His Kingdom.
I think I understand the heart of the matter at NewSpring Church. I also have an idea of what the non-church-goer must think when he or she hears of such a deal (especially if they believe that they are down on their luck and in need of a "miracle"). In my opinion, such a scheme muddies the greater message of Grace alone through Faith alone in Christ alone through which all blessings pour!
P.S. I came across some other blog fodder for another day... LGBT toilet talk and the New Black Panther Party is armed and ready. Check out:
Do ‘religious liberty’ laws protect liberty or bigotry?
Armed clash over black mosque triggers anger in South Dallas
(Okay, NOW I'm out of gas in the metaphorical sense...)
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