Excerpt from: A Burning Bush
July 03, 2006
Eric Blauer is a pastor with a transformational ministry. He posts some challenging - out of the box - material. His article of money is biblical and no doubt, controversial. It needs to be heard.
Coming across his blog is my first introduction to Eric and I hope, not the last. He has several blogs - all worth a look-see.
A Burning Bush: "
We
want to be a blessing to our community but not a bank or loan officer
and that means we have to teach the truth that sets people free and
empowers them to own their lives, and become people that have dominion
over their finances and are not slaves to money, debt, materialism or
greed."
How we see money, think about it, master it, or are moved by it is a function of our how much transformation has taken place in our own lives.
The fact that urban ministries, such as the one I pastor, desparately need money, is not justification for manipulating theology or people into a temple-based teaching mode or guilt-oriented appeals.
Giving is a biblical standard and it is bigger than church offering envelopes. I agree with Eric that the idea of the tithe is a carry-over from the Old Testament. That makes it a shadow designed to teach a principle. Biblical giving is "to God" and that can mean to a widow or an an orphan.
It is also biblical to make money, empower other people to make money, and spend and pay bills responsibly.
It goes to the issue of how highly resourced, often suburban churches distribute their wealth in kingdom causes.
Copublished in Transformational Communities.
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