Pastor and Money?
I hesitate to say this because I am a pastor, but I love teaching God’s principles for managing money. Before I was a pastor, I was skeptical of pastors talking about money because of the scandal, mishandling of money and prosperity theology (plus there has been a lot of weirdness and bad teaching on it). But as a new follower of Jesus, I had to decide if I was either all in with following Jesus or not, and that included following what the Bible said about tithing.
I decided that I wasn’t going to pick and choose what I wanted to follow. I decided I was all in and I have never looked back.
I love teaching on money because:
- Spiritual growth and giving are connected. I am not one who said. Jesus did. It makes sense- why do some people get so upset when money and the church is brought up. It’s a heart issue, not a giving issue.
- Personally, I have more stories of God TANGIBLY working not only in my life, but also in other peoples’ lives when they tithe then any other area BY FAR. I’m not sure why but my guess is because we are so tied to money that when we give that part of our life to God, He lets us know that He knows it, and blesses us for it.
- Generosity is contagious. When the church is generous, God moves. The church is resourced to fulfill the mission of Jesus. It’s able to meet the needs of its community. It’s able to reproduce and start more churches and campuses. God not only blesses us individually, but He blesses us corporately as well. Generous churches are high impact churches.
- Our giving makes an eternal difference. When we give any money to an organization, we want to know it’s making a difference. What’s better then seeing people make decisions to follow Jesus and see their forever changed. I believe with all my heart that heaven and hell are real places and real people go to both (I hate the thought of anyone being separated from God). Our giving allows the church to advance the mission of Jesus forward in our community and world. The return is eternity. There is no greater return in my opinion then that for my money.
I pray that you would follow Jesus completely and that includes financially. That is one thing you will never regret. That’s why as a pastor I like teaching on money.
