Money and the Church

You can view our financial goals for 2007-2008 here >>

Money and how we manage it is a core part of living generously. Virtually every decision you and I make is influenced by how we manage money. How we manage the money at our disposal is a key gauge to how we relate to God – and how God relates to us.

2 Corinthians 8:1-9
1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. 7 Since you excel in so many waysÃ³in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from usÃ³I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.
8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
New Living Translation

That letter is over 2000 years old. Apparently the idea that followers of Christ are borrowers is not new and the same principle and truths apply today.

Living as a borrower starts with giving ourselves completely to God. If we commit our skill, our creativity, our time, and our money but do not give our spirit to God we miss the point.

Here’s an interesting thought – We usually think in terms of how much we should give after we filled our other needs and wants. What if the idea is not how much we will give to Christ but rather how much we will keep for ourselves?
What if God had to say “Stop it, enough already, keep something for yourself”?

How do we begin the life of the generous borrower?

If you and I wait until we have enough money to give we will never begin. There is never enough to go around.

My earnings in 2006 were scary they were so low. It is the least I have earned personally in many years.
Still Cheryl and I enjoyed being able to give a good chunk of our earnings. We were able to live and give generously.

Our wealth should not dictate the measure of our generosity. Approaching life as a generous borrower, not an owner reinforces the need to be accountable, to be accurate, and to be good managers.

Whenever you and I are passionate about something, whenever we wish to excel at our passion we are committed, we are organized, we are deliberate, we are systematic and we often sacrifice. If anything we over-commit our lives to our passion. It needs to be the same with managing money. How much we keep and how much we give needs to be committed, well thought out, and proportional with the passions of our life.

The generous borrower applies principles of excellence and generosity in all matters of life – including money. How does this relate to the church – to Urban Bridge Church? It would be simpler for me and for you if I could say this is how much the bible says you should give. But it doesn’t. We have often been taught that we should give 10%. As far as I can see Christ never taught that and nor did the Apostle Paul his main teacher. Christ taught that we are borrowers and everything belongs to him and we are to be generous with what he has given us to manage.

The teaching of 10% comes out of old covenant/Old Testament which had rules for giving, but today we live under new teaching/ the new Covenant. However some important principles come out of the Old Covenant /Old Testament teaching.
Old Testament followers were required to give 23.3 % of their income: 10 % to support Levites who provided spiritual community nurturing and: 10% to God as an act of worship and 10% to the poor every three years (3.3% per year)

What truths and principles can we apply to our lives today?

The number matters: it is important to commit to a number.
The first portion of our income should be given to the place that provides spiritual community and nurture.
It is important to commit to a benchmark/minimum which is generous, challenging, and proportional to the passions of our lives.
We should give as a form of worship.
We should give to support the poor.

If you receive spiritual nurturing and community from Urban Bridge and feel that you belong to Urban Bridge, if your passions line up with the passions of this community, then your commitment to being a generous borrower should begin here.

Together, our combined passion and commitment will far exceed anything we can accomplish alone.

How would I run my life if I discovered it really wasn’t mine? Borrowed time, borrowed money … borrowed everything?

What if the secret to the fulfilled life is not how much we get, rather how much we give?

Urban Bridge Church – Bridging Christ and Culture – generously