Supporting God’s Work with Our Money

Giving is at the heart of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. We have all probably heard the adage that “you cannot out-give God.” But are Southern Baptists giving 10 percent or more of their income in the offering plate, online, etc.?

At the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention in Houston, a resolution was approved by the messengers that supported tithing. One part of that resolution stated that “according to the Great Commission Task Force, Southern Baptists give just 2.5 percent of their annual income to the local church, demonstrating the need for Southern Baptists to teach and faithfully obey the biblical command to tithe.” The 2.5 percent is the average when all Southern Baptists are figured into the equation.

Joe McKeever, a retired pastor, director of missions, and Christian cartoonist from New Orleans, said that Southern Baptists no longer teach tithing. “I don’t know of one SBC pastor who does not believe in tithing and mention it occasionally in his messages. But it is a rare pastor who will devote more than one or two sermons a year exclusively to tithing.”

The 2016 “State of the Plate” survey reported that 59 percent of churches and ministries showed flat or decreased offerings, while 41 percent of the churches and ministries surveyed had an increase of 5 percent or more.

While Southern Baptists as a whole are not very committed to tithing, there are many of us who faithfully give at least a tithe of our income. Ann Wilson of Anderson learned to tithe early in life through the influence of a GA leader. When she tithed for the first time on the 50 cents she had earned, it was “a special day in my life. I got hooked on tithing. It has followed me into adulthood and, at the age of 79, I can truthfully say that I am my happiest when I bring my tithe and offering to church each Sunday.”

When James Wiles was saved in 1995, he and his wife, Wanda, began to tithe. She said, “We began by giving a tenth of a large bonus check he received from BI-LO. That same year we got a tax refund that was within a few cents of the amount we tithed.” (Today James is a bivocational pastor in Pickens and was featured on the cover of the November 2016 issue of The Courier.)

Ken Jernigan and his wife had been unfaithful church members for years when he began to sense that God was calling him into pastoral ministry. “One of the first areas I was convicted about was my unfaithfulness in tithing. Thirty-six years later, God is still faithfully giving me the privilege of being a steward of everything He has given me,” he said. “Our missions and ministry efforts as a denomination would be greatly advanced if more pastors preached on and practiced tithing.”

William Westafer, pastor of Cowpens First Baptist Church, grew up with a pastor father and facing financial hardships. He had hoped to go to college, but after selling the family farm and paying for his sister’s college, there was little money left for him to attend college. His mother said, “If you are going to college, God is going to have to supply the money.” His parents were tithers, he was taught to tithe, and he was also a tither. When he applied for financial aid, he was surprised when he was awarded two four-year scholarships. One was declared honorary, as he already had a “full ride.” Once in college, he was again surprised when a lady in the church sent him $100 each semester, which paid for his books for four years!

McKeever emphasized that Christians must be taught that “tithing is a matter of faith.” Luke 16:14 says the Pharisees were lovers of money, and 1 Timothy 6:10 reminds us that “the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.” We love God, our highest calling, when we obey His Word — even in giving a tithe or more of our earnings.

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus teaches that where our treasure is, our heart will be also. What we value the most is reflected in how we manage our money. Tithing is emphasized in Malachi 3:10, and 2 Corinthians 9:7 says that “God loves a cheerful giver.” Imagine what good our churches and denomination could accomplish if more of us were committed to give 10 percent of our income or more!