The Tithing “Money-Back Guarantee”
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Wed, April 06, 2005
- Viewed 115
- (55) comments so far
"I can remember when my children were little and my husband had just gone into business, and we had four children to feed," Smith said. "I went ahead and gave the money I could."
To encourage their congregation to tithe a full 10 percent, leaders at Gardendale Baptist Church recently challenged their members, including Smith, to tithe for a three-month period and in return, God would bless them. If not, a full refund would be provided.
Gardendale, on South Staples Street, is not the first church to offer a tithing challenge. Bay Area Fellowship on South Padre Island Drive also has offered a guaranteed tithing program during the past six years but plans to discontinue the money-back guarantee after one congregation member recently became disgruntled, said Bay Area Fellowship Pastor Bil Cornelius.
Cheryl Brooks, Bay Area Fellowship member and former employee, said the church owes her a refund of $21,000 for her contributions made during the past three years, the duration of her membership at the church.
Cornelius said his tithing challenge was only for three months, and the church never promised to return contributions spanning years. Despite the three-month time frame, he did offer Brooks a refund of her 2004 contributions totaling $2,694 to settle the dispute, which Brooks refused.
At Gardendale, administrative pastor John Gilbert said members accepting the challenge must fill out a commitment form, which acts as a contract requiring them to tithe a full 10 percent for three months. It is not until after the three-month period that one can request a refund.
Gilbert said the church has such strong faith in God's promise to bestow blessings that they are confident their members will not ask for refunds.
"God will bless you if you do what he asks you to do," Gilbert said. "At the end of the three months, if they don't feel they've been blessed, and they want their money back, they can have it. What we're trying to do here is not raise money, but what we're trying to do is grow people."
Texas Christian University religion professor Jim Atwood said that although he is not aware of churches offering money-back guarantees, churches are becoming more creative with their fund-raising efforts.
"There have been campaigns forever in religions," Atwood said. "One of the things churches are doing is looking for new ways to raise money to fund their ministries because they have more ministries now than in the past. The more services you have, the more money you need."
Churches have offered variations of tithing challenges with refund guarantees for years, but usually it's always accompanied with a requirement that members also adopt responsible financial principles, said pastor John Smith at First Family Church in Calallen.
"Most pastors will say if you will take all financial principles into place, then if you're not financially better off, they will refund your money," Smith said.
Smith, of Gardendale, who now plans to tithe 10 percent, knows that life is never certain, but she said tithing and her faith are constant.
"I think we grow as a Christian whenever we tithe," Smith said. "That's one of the things God wants you to do, and if you're obedient to him he will bless you."
Brooks said she will never again donate such a large portion of money to a single organization, but does plan to spread donations among several charities in smaller portions.
Any thoughts?
We thought it was a good idea” department… check out this article from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. It seems that Bay Area Fellowship decided to offer a ‘money back guarantee’ on tithing to show that God WILL bless you when you tithe. It worked well, until a disgruntled member asked for her $21,000 back!
Comments
if you want a Globally Recognized Avatar (the images next to your profile) get them here. Once you sign up, they will displayed on any website that supports them.
bernie on Mon, April 11, 2005
Rev Jay-
How does this verse apply to your critique?
Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Also, I earlier mentioned a great book about tithing. I talked to the author, and am able to offer a free pdf download of it. Check it out (read all about Malachi and how it is interpreted by a scholar):
http://www.freegoodnews.com/REK-Tithing2.pdf
...Bernie
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/247/
Karen on Mon, April 11, 2005
Bay Area Fellowship is the polar opposite of a crystal cathedral. The facility is a metal building which was formerly a Moose Lodge. It took a lot of elbow grease and paint to get rid of the smell of beer and cigarettes. Much of the labor involved in the renovation was volunteered by members. The only thing large about our church is the number of people who have come to know the Lord there. Pastor Bil does not preach “give to get” but rather preaches about the concept that all we have is from God, and in tithing we are simply being obedient in returning a portion back to God.
As I said yesterday, the majority of the people attending our church are seekers or new Christians. Many of these people have grown up in churches where you put your “tip” in the offering plate as it is passed. Making a conscious decision to tithe on your income puts God as a priority, and having God as your priority keeps you in close fellowship with Him. This is certainly storing up treasures in Heaven. Monetary blessings are just the icing on the cake.
David on Tue, April 12, 2005
Karen, I think you hit the nail square on the head for everyone - whether we are supposed to give 10% or whatever God lays on our heart when you said “making a conscious decision to tithe on your imcome puts God as a priority…”
Those who advocate “giving to get an increase,” and in my opinion, offering a money back guarantee on tithing put the priority in the wrong place - on ourselves. The priority is God. If we have any other priority in our giving, God will not recognize it - and that’s what it’s all about. Excellent point, Karen.
bernie dehler on Fri, April 15, 2005
Hi Karen-
I hope you know I was never talking about Bay Area Felloowship. I was talking about Tithing, in general.
...Bernie
http://freegoodnews.blogspot.com
bernie dehler on Mon, April 18, 2005
About tithing, from a Pastor friend ministering in Africa:
“Some pastors tell unbelievers that if they tithe then God will bless them, too. In Kenya, there was a street preacher who was telling people that if they would give him money, God would give it back with some extra. One passerby believed him and gave him everything he had which meant money for food and his kids schools fees. He lost it all.”
J. R. Miller on Fri, April 22, 2005
I am fairly certain that this is the way God wants us to approach the practice of our faith. I suggest folks try this for their alter calls as well. “Come and accept Jesus, and if in 90 days you are not completely satisfied, we will give you back your soul.”
I may try it this week!
Becky on Thu, April 28, 2005
To my understanding, tithing is not only an act of obedience, but an act of faith. So if you tithe based on a risk-free challenge, where’s the faith? On that note, where’s the obedience? We can’t obey God’s commandments ONLY IF someone can guarantee our well-being. God’s guarantee should be enough. He tells us He will supply all of our needs according to His riches. He tells us that He knows what we need before we even ask Him. He clothes the lillies of the valley and feeds the birds and tells us that we are much more important to Him than they are. Is that not good enough?
Bryan on Wed, May 11, 2005
Honestly…Do all of you tithe? How does a church operate if not from the people’s tithes and offerings?
Russell E Kelly on Tue, July 05, 2005
Churches operate by free-will offerings like we are taught in the New Testament after Calvary (i.e. Moody Bible Institute and MacArthur’s Masters College). Since all 15 Bible texts which define tithing say that it was only food, then carpenters (Jesus), tentmakers (Paul)and fishermen (Peter) did not tithe at all. Unless blessed by Holy Spirit inspiration, no doctrine has any glory and that includes tithing (2 Cor 3:10; Heb 7:5, 12, 18). There is absolutely no proof that early church leaders for over 200 years even tried to add tithing to their extreme asceticism. According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, they did not succeed until AD 777. Why do we insist that everything the church teaches must be found after Calvary—except tithing?? This is hypocrisy and a lack of faith.
Joe on Wed, April 04, 2007
You know it’s not by mistake that the tax code provides benefits to those who Give 10% to qualified non-profits. And it is the IRS that will take away the non-profit status of an organization that breaks the IRS rules about what is spoken from the pulpit.
I believe that when Jesus was asked about giving tribute to Caesar He made an important point about how to stay free from compromise.
The clear requirement for the Christian is to give as he purposed in his heart, not grudgingly nor of necessity for God loves a cheerful giver.
You know that Jesus never broke the law, He fulfilled it.
I’m glad that He gave his all for us and not just 10%.
If you belong to God then you are required to give your all to Him.
You can choose to cheerfully give 10%, your just can’t require it. Unless of course you intend on clarifying the need to fulfill all of the rest of the law for justification.
Page 4 of 4 pages « First < 2 3 4
Post a Comment