Nuggets #34

An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus
More Than Money
Calling believers to a minimum standard of tithing and into exploring the joy of generosity is not a call to legalism but an invitation to freedom.

The sacrifice of time and energy, of unique skills and talents, is the overflow of a spirit of generosity. If people are selfish with money, you'll never get their real contributions.

Because generosity is a genuine expression of the heart of God; it is part of God's radical minimum standard.

When we are afraid that the minimum is an unreasonable maximum, we limit the Spirit of Christ from working in the hearts of those who genuinely desire to be used by him. I am convinced that in every believer, there's a generous heart waiting to be born, and generosity can never be expressed without sacrifice.

Short but sweet today. It grieves my heart to hear Pastors say that they have been asking their congregation to give too often, and pull back from giving them opportunities to give. There are two ways to look at this situation. One is that the Pastor feels his influence is forcing the congregation to give against their will. This sounds more like the lies of the enemy. The other way to look at is that the Pastor has a responsibility to provide opportunities for the Holy Spirit to tug on people's hearts and give them the a wide variety of giving opportunities. Some will feel drawn to give to help the poor, some to missions, others to give generously to the general budget. Where would the church be without generous, obedient givers? It is true that about 20% of the congregation gives about 80% of the funds needed to run the church. This is a sad statistic. You might think mega churches survive so well and do so many great things because they have generous givers. I believe it is because those Pastors are making it normal for the congregation to understand this has to do more with obedience and worship than it does with choice. It's a matter of teaching.