Why Service is Important

After some feedback from a friend about my tithing post I decided to write one about service before bed. This will probably have massive grammatical errors, so I apologize in advance.

If you are unable to tithe, one way to do so is by tithing your service. What do I mean by this? You serve. Period. You can mop the floors of the church, sweep, clean the bathrooms, dust, help with communion, etc. There are so many ways you can help.

One thing that bothers me the most is when the pastor is asked to do everything. And yes, I have seen this more often than I would like. It happened to my dad in a church he pastored. This was the mentality, "we pay you X amount of money. You are the pastor, you do this."  That literally meant my dad was taking out the trash, mowing the lawn, shoveling the driveway. A pastor should be able to focus on his family and the church. Don't force your pastor to do these things if you're perfectly capable of doing them yourself.

Just remember: Sometimes people won't know you served. Some of the best people I know have served in the background. Scrubbed toilets, taken out the trash, vacuumed, etc. Even just baking cookies for our fellowship meals, that is all serving. Not all service has to be public and noticed. It's nice, yes, but that's not the goal of service.

Freeing up your pastor's time to read and study the bible while taking care of his family is the best kind of service you can give. 

Why Tithing is Important

I know, I'm a pastor's kid. Of course, I'd be all about tithing. Not really true, actually. Here is my standpoint: My dad is a church planter. He started our church around six years ago starting from my family. Our church is small, but we were able to stay active for almost 5-6 years. And now we've hit financial troubles.

Why? Where does the money come from? Mostly tithes, and it seems people have started to give less and less while others have stopped completely. Why? Why are we more willing to tip or waiters/waitresses than a tithe to a man who works 6 days a week to bring you a gospel message on the 7th? Also, most church planters/pastors work two jobs. The pastor also tithes to the church, by the way.

By the way, I'm not saying don't tip your waitress/waiter. Please tip them, they are doing you a service.

We are having church on a month by month basis. If we have enough money to continue, we keep going. But since that announcement some members have stopped tithing altogether. As a pastor's kid, this feels like a slap in the face. It is exactly like saying, "Well, this is going to fail anyway, might as well give up." 

Listen. No. You don't get to do that. Don't punish other people because of your pessimism. There are good reasons not to tithe, but if you've been tithing all along and you stop right after the announcement...it just feels like you don't really care.

As a single adult working a minimum wage job...I make $200 every two weeks. I tithe more than 10%. Really. Last time I gave $50 and then I gave $100 because I had enough in my savings. I am at college to learn a trade that will help my church. If the church is no longer there, it will feel like a waste of money to me. I want that church to keep going and if it means sacrificing I will do it.

I don't understand why other's don't have the same mentality. "We are doing such good for the community."  Then tithe so we can keep up the good work. So we can keep giving Thanksgiving meals to people who need it, Christmas presents to those who need it, general meals to those in need. We can't do any of that without tithes and donations.

Some church's bad day of tithes means $100. Ours can mean loose change in the bottom of the offering plate. (Before I found a job I would look for at least $2 worth of change in my purse just so that way I was giving something)

Please, please tithe to your church. The only reason you have one is because of tithes.