St. Maximos' Hut

Money, particularly the giving of it to the church, is the third rail of discourse in parishes and congregations. While earnest folks can be perfectly civil in coffee-hour conversations on issues such as the role of faith in economics (indeed, the heart of this very blog), attempts to introduce the topic of sharing one's personal wealth to further the work of the church is a "can't touch this" moment.

Generally, those faced with preaching on the topic of tithing offer up a tepid homily on "stewardship Sunday" and point out the pledge cards in the pew racks, noting that "putting them in the collection plate this morning will obviate a visit from the 'stewardship committee.'" Just don't mention the "T-word" again for another year.

Yet, as Patrick Allit points out in The Art of Tithing

In America today, a few churches are growing, mainly those with strong, charismatic leaders. Most have reached a plateau of wealth and membership, or find themselves in gradual decline, anxious for money to maintain their ministries and missions. They all depend on members’ voluntary contributions, even those churches with endowments and a tradition of bequests.

In this piece which appears in the Spring 2006 issue of InCharacter magazine , Allit points to an economic reality that seems to escape the faithful: "Churches need money, perhaps now more than ever..." He goes on to note that the need has increased because of the loss of "what used to be a reliable source of unpaid labor – female volunteers." As this source of free workers has dried up, financial support to the churches has become even more critical.

The article appears with a companion "Generosity Survey" conducted by the magazine and the Harris organization. The survey suggests that, while most Americans (87%) agree that giving time is just as generous as giving money, what counts as generosity is not as clear.

What is clear, though, is that

Tithing, with all its problems and pitfalls, is surely the most potent form of fund-raising and will guarantee a secure and vigorous future for those churches that can stimulate the generosity of their members.