From: Eric S. Weiss (eweiss@gte.net)
Date: Thu Apr 06 2000 - 23:33:50 EDT
Maybe those who aren't "being biblical" and "tithing" as they are "supposed
to do" ... actually understand the Scriptures better than those who hold
the tithing doctrine over their heads!!
Yeah, if you want to hear a "wailing and gnashing of teeth," speak out in
the IC/OR against the sacred (golden?) cow of tithing!!
- EW
FROM CHARISMA NEWS SERVICE
Money Management 'One of Biggest Challenges Facing American Churches'
'Surprising' study finds only 1 in 10 Christians tithe--and 1 in 15 give
nothing
by Andy Butcher
Financial stewardship is one of the biggest challenges facing American
churches, according to
the man behind a nationwide study of charitable giving. While church income
grew last year over
the previous 12 months, individual giving generally declined. And many
Christians are ignoring
or shortchanging the collection plate.
Only 8 percent of those identified as born-again Christians followed the
Bible's teaching on
tithing in 1999, while 6 percent gave no money at all to their church, a
survey by the Barna
Research Group (BRG) reveals.
Those who did tithe were more commonly those with less money. Eight percent
of those making
$20,000 or less gave at least 10 percent of their income to the church.
That proportion dropped
steadily as the income level increased.
It was 5 percent for those with incomes between $20,000 and $39,999; 4
percent for the $40,000
to $59,999 range; 2 percent in the $60,000 to $74,999 group; and just 1
percent for those
making between $75,000 and $99,999. Five percent of those making $100,000
or more tithed.
While Christians are "much more generous than the norm...relatively few
people proved to be
substantial givers," said BRG President George Barna, whose
California-based research team
interviewed 1,002 adults for the financial study.
"On the one hand, evangelicals and born-again Christians should be
commended for modeling
generosity within a culture that esteems giving a helping hand more than it
actually gives such
a hand," he commented.
"At the same time, however, the vast majority of those individuals attend
churches that teach a
biblical responsibility to tithe. The fact that fewer than 1 out of every
10 born-again
believers does so suggests that financial stewardship is undoubtedly one of
the greatest
challenges facing the Christian church in America today," Barna said.
The small number of tithers was one of the "most surprising findings" of
the study, researchers
said. They also found that 84 of those surveyed gave money to a church or
nonprofit group last
year, with evangelicals being the group most likely to share their
wealth--at 93 percent. Those
least likely to make a contribution were nonchurchgoers--at 27 percent.
Mean giving overall dropped 24 percent during 1998. That statistic--which
includes a 13 percent
mean drop among born-again Christians--prompted concern from Barna.
He said that if there was shrinking generosity during one of the best
financial years in a long
time, then "what should we expect when the economy hits a downturn?"
Although government
leaders are encouraging more faith-based social programs he questioned how
churches can
"realistically take on such responsibilities."
"Churches cannot solve all the nation's problems," Barna said. "But if they
are to handle a
significant share of the needs experienced in their communities, the
typical Christian
household will have to ante up more than 2 percent of their income to
finance life-changing
ministry activities--especially if they recognize tithing as one of God's
requirements for
their life."
The average total gift amount last year of those questioned was $1,045 per
adult, the BRG
report said. The subgroup with the highest average giving was evangelical
Christians, with
$2,476. Born-again Christians, as classified by the researchers, gave an
average $1,651.
--- B-Greek home page: http://sunsite.unc.edu/bgreek You are currently subscribed to b-greek as: [cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu] To unsubscribe, forward this message to leave-b-greek-329W@franklin.oit.unc.edu To subscribe, send a message to subscribe-b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:41:04 EDT