The Trouble with Tithing

Stewardship season is upon us once again. Which means that churches will, once more, be talking about tithing (as in giving ten percent of one’s income back to God through offerings to the church). This is a right, good and joyful thing. There are only two small problems:

1. Most people don’t tithe.
2. Tithing is not what the Bible teaches anyway.

We Don’t Tithe
The average pledge in the Diocese of Georgia is $3,200 per year. In a denomination where not cashing CDs in before full maturity may be our only settled doctrine, we can safely assume that such fiscally wise Episcopal households average better than $32,000 per year across the Diocese. Ergo, we aren’t tithing now, at least not in the majority. The average offering to a church is generally listed as somewhere around 2.5%. The book What Americans Really Believe (by Sociologist Rodney Stark) lists the following breakdowns:

• Poor people are more likely to tithe and give a higher percent of their income that wealthy people. Thus, Americans who make $10,000 or less give 11.2% of their income, while those who make $150,000+ give 2.7% of their income. There is a basic descent of percent of income given from the poor to the wealthy.
• Denominationally, the spectrum moves from Roman Catholics (2.2%) to Liberal Protestants (3.0) to Conservative Protestants (5.5) to Black Protestants (5.7) to Mormons (7.1) in percent of income given to the church. The percent giving a tithe goes like this: Roman Catholics (2.5), Liberal Protestants (5.9), Conservative Protestants (14.4), Black Protestants (13.5) to Mormons (34.0).

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The Bible Doesn’t Teach Tithing
While we find very clear scripture in favor of giving ten percent of our “first fruits” to God. The picture is not that simple. First, I should say that I believe in tithing and my wife and I have tithed 10 percent of our gross income to the church since long before seminary. I just want to make it clear that scripture does not teach that we cut a check to a church and can check off our responsibility to God when it comes to stewardship.

Scripturally, we are taught that we are to give 100 percent to God. This we see clearly (among other texts) when Jesus takes the denarius in the Temple and asks whose image and likeness are on it. When told Ceasar’s, Jesus famously states, “Give to Caesar, what is Caesar and give to God, what is God’s.” Jesus is reaching back to Genesis 1 when we are told that man and woman were created in the image and likeness of God. We who are created in God’s image and likeness are to give back to God what is God’s. In the language of the Rite I Eucharist, we are to give “Our selves, our souls and our bodies.” This is the teaching that sets stewardship in its proper perspective. We own nothing. We are stewards of all we have. And as a sign that we know that to be true, we give back to God of our time, our abilities and our money.

This broader view of stewardship is foundational to any stewardship campaign. It is important to teach stewardship, not giving toward a budget. Certainly, the church has a budget and it needs income. But my need to give back to God of my time, abilities, and money is more important to me and my relationship with God than that budget. My getting a right view of the gifts I have received from God leads naturally to cheerful giving. Even if the treasurer were to take all of the money and run to Aruba (truth be told, most of our church’s budgets only permit the treasurer to run away to Hahira) my gift was not squandered as it was given to God through the church. The treasurer will have to answer to our Lord, but I will not.

There is the saying, “Don’t tell me what you believe. Give me your wallet and your calendar and I will tell you what you believe.” How we spend our time, use our abilities, and give of the first fruits of our income (rather than what is left) speaks powerfully of what we really believe.

Best Practices for Stewardship Campaigns
Over the next few weeks, I want to share some best practices for stewardship campaigns. But before I got to that nuts and bolts approach, I wanted to begin with a theology of stewardship. This is grounded in the fact that everything I am and everything I have is God’s. Whatever I put in the offering plate is just a sign that I know this is true.

The Rev. Canon Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary

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