Holy $moke! Whatever Happened to Tithing?

Currents in Theology and Mission, Oct, 2009 by Linda R. Wimmer

Holy $moke! Whatever Happened to Tithing? By J. Clif Christopher, and Herb Mather. Nashville, TN: Discipleship Resources, 1999; reprint 2002. 112 pages. $9.99.

J. Clif Christopher is a church growth consultant and an elder in the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church. Herb Mather, also a Methodist elder, is former director of stewardship for the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church in Nashville.

The authors begin with a brief overview of several studies of tithing. They note trends of decreased giving throughout Christian congregations. According to the authors, under five percent of Christians tithe and, in the late 1990s, Christians gave an average of two percent of their incomes. They continue with brief surveys of tithing in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the early church. They discuss three models of giving: haphazard giving, tithing, and stewardship giving, in which everything not needed for necessities is invested in Christian ministry.

The authors call for the tradition of tithing to be renewed. Arguing the necessity of benchmarks, they advocate giving ten percent of net income to the church. Additional giving may go to other agencies or causes. The authors approve of donating time to the church, but not as a substitution for tithing. The percentages tithed may increase over time.

Christopher and Mather provide a practical guide for recruiting a core group in a congregation to tithe. It involves an initial thirty-day commitment of meeting, reading Scripture, and discussing stewardship. This is followed by a ten-week period during which group members continue considering their finances and draw up goals for which group members will hold them accountable. This phase is followed up by three monthly meetings that continue the process. Christopher and Mather conclude their book with how to encourage planned giving and with practical advice and cautions regarding capital campaigns. They view the latter as drawing not on annual income, as tithing does, but on accumulated income and estates. They encourage it so that the congregation can avoid excessive debt.

Money is in service to mission. "The truth is, it is more important for the church to have a mission than for it to have money. Money without a God-given mission is destructive. Nevertheless, mission without money is impossible" (42).

This book offers a guide for Scripture reading and discussion of tithing. Pastors and stewardship leaders may find in this text a useful process for inviting core groups in congregations to explore holy giving.