stewardship

The Loose Ends

Author Lance Morrow wisely noted that “a rattlesnake loose in the living room tends to end all discussion of animal rights." Loose ends, like loose snakes, can’t be a good thing and should be quickly dealt with (when you know you can’t end a sentence with a preposition, but have no other way to say it, well, that’s why God created the parenthetical remark). So today, we round up a few “loose ends” on tithing and giving as we start to bring this series on giving to an end. And to do that, let’s look at one of the premiere passages on tithing in the Old Testament, Malachi 3:7-12. The text reads: “Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are

Carwash Giving

A Preamble There’s a book out there called, The Question Behind the Question. The point is, there is always something going on behind the obvious. Even when a person asks a question, there are all sorts of things lurking nearby that, unfortunately, often went unsaid. And if you can address those lurking, unspoken questions, you are well on your way to success. Now, you may have noticed our budget is not doing great right now. Normally, churches respond to such news with a big push (a fundraising campaign, a stewardship sermon series, a thermometer in the sanctuary and things like that). We’ve chosen not to do any of those things. Instead, I have chosen to write a series of blog entries on giving. “Ah-ha!” you say. “You are nothing but a weasel. You say you aren’t going to do a stewardship drive, but here it is! It’s just on the