Thread: Should Elders use individual giving as metric of faith?
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Old 03-29-2008, 11:53 PM
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DMcFadden DMcFadden is offline.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JBaldwin View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad View Post
Well, it appears we now have a new avenue of ministry... we can spot a spiritual or financial crisis in a brother's life today by totalling the checks we find he has placed in the offering basket! This is a wonderful thing! Imagine how hard it must have been in the olden days, when cash was the currency of the land, to have the knowledge of a man's level of giving. How could they know when a brother needed some attention? I mean, a profession of faith, attendance (we do keep attendance records, right?), involvement in the fellowship of the Church, visible behaviour, and reputation are never really enough evidence for admittance to the table, are they?
Good point. We often give cash for that very reason.
Brad, the sarcasm is unnecessary. As a matter of fact, some people on this forum are willing to separate and form a new denomination for reasons of fairly minor differences in belief or practice. Are you seriously telling me that not contributing financially to one's church is such a matter of privacy and indifference that it does not matter when selecting an elder or deacon?

I never framed the issue in terms of fencing the table, but did suggest that finance is as reliable a barometer of obedience as many other things. And, yes, unresolved issues of anger at someone in the church, a gambling problem, and many other sin issues do often manifest themselves in a discontinuation of giving.

Again, remember, my comment was that I would be informed (as a pastor) IFF a person quit giving or was not giving, NOT how much they gave. And, yes, I have known people who attended regularly, taught Sunday school and boasted of "freedom in the Lord" to give nothing to the church so that they could pour it into their home improvement projects.
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