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October 28, 2008
Current Economic Crisis How Should the Church Respond
The church is challenged by our current economic crisis to respond. We will respond whether we realize this or not. We must resist the temptation to join in the panic.
I would like to suggest that our response should be theologically and biblically grounded. First of all Jesus spoke more about our money than any other issue. Jesus saw money as not ours but a gift from God. We are thus called upon to see ourselves as stewards of God's gifts and not the owners to decide to do with our monies as we choose. The biblical standard of the tithe i.e. the giving of 1/10th of what God has blessed us with is where we must begin our conversation. This is far different than beginning with the resources we have as being ours. If God is the source of all our gifts then do we not have a responsibility to use our monies in ways that glorify and bless God's plan for the world.
Even before our current crisis began we were only giving somewhere around 2% of our income to our churches.
In addition this current economic upheaval is a call for us to remind our congregants and others that our real strength does not come from ourselves but from a Generous God. I want to encourage pastors and laity to begin having conversations around the topic..."Whose Money Is It Anyway?"
Posted by Bishop at October 28, 2008 04:58 PM