The real value to giving.

W. E. Vine, The Church and the Churches:

Love and devotion to God! That imparts the real value to giving. And this perhaps serves to explain why no command as to the amount is laid down for believers. To obey a command stating the amount or proportion would be easy, but what exercise of heart would there be? Where would the motive lie? Loyalty would be superseded by mechanical religion. Love would be replaced by formalism. Both individuals and local churches would lose their sense of the high motive which should inspire in the offering a loving response to the love of the great Giver Himself. (Fincastle, VA: Scripture Truth Book Company, n.d. .)

Vine was born in 1873. Plymouth Brethren

Worldly Church… drive in tithing?

Digital dollars in the church. Has the church become an enterprise where convenience is all important? It’s so clear that the church as a whole is working towards making our experience as convenient as possible in order to extract as much coin (figuratively) as possible.

This is why I formed Indie Church. Nobody is expected to give to Indie Church. It’s our goal to give to others, individually. You have the choice to give. And who to give to. You can do it and find a need to help others aside from these organizations who make the church an enterprise.

Here’s what prompted me to post this…

From:

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/09/atms_automatic.html

ATMs: Automatic Tithing Machines

How can you pass the plate to people who don’t carry cash? You can’t. So the next big wave may be the “Giving Kiosk” in your church’s lobby.

“A lot of people no longer carry cash or a checkbook,” says Marty Baker, pastor of Stevens Creek Church in Augusta, Georgia. So he installed two ATMs in 2005. The experiment has been a success.”

Are we being ridiculous? Are our churches giving to the community or hoarding up wealth for their operations, overhead and whimsical entertainment? People have real needs and there are too few churches being about the Master’s business of feeding the hungry and caring for the poor.

We need to repent people. Give to your family. Give to your neighbor. Feed the poor. Heal the sick. Love one another. Store up treasure in heaven.