When they made the announcement in church, I said, “I’ll take care of it when I get it in the mail.” When they sent me the easy reply card with the self-addressed stamped envelope, I said, “I’ll do it in a few days.” But when a member of the church finance committee e-mailed me the other day to say that I was on that list of church members that had not yet indicated a pledge for 2006, I knew that procrastination was no longer an option.

As most of you who have read this blog for any length of time know, I am legendary for my frugality. When traveling for the church, I pride myself for being able to do a two-week long trip in which I spend less than $1000 of God’s money. On my own, well… if you have any questions, go back and read the post about the demise of the fruit flies on November 18.

That doesn’t mean that I haven’t given to the church—after all, I heard the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Sunday School (Acts 5—and yes, I know that they were struck dead not because of how much they gave, but because they lied to the church about it. Regardless, you don’t want to take chances). But I’ve never tithed, per se. Back in the day, I always said that since Whitworth was a Presbyterian college, my tuition dollars were kind of like a tithe... and that was definitely more than 10%. Since then, I’ve basically given when I’ve been in Sunday worship. Of course, I travel so much that I usually miss at least two Sundays per month. So my giving has been spotty at best.

Then I went and joined a church. Yes, my friends, after all these years as a pseudo-Presbyterian, my name is now officially in the Frozen Chosen Book of Life. And now that I’m a member of Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church, I want to feel like I’m contributing to its ministry. Of course, I also have the friendly, no-pressure reminder asking whether I plan on giving.

So what is this tithing thing all about? Well, I opened up quite a theological can of worms, it seems, when I Googled the topic. Enter “Tithing to churches” in your search, and you will find a raging debate as to whether tithing is required of Christians. As many justly point out, many con artists promise economic blessings to those who faithfully give ten percent of their income to the church. These people often use Old Testament Scripture to justify this practice (OT tithing is referred to in passages such as Numbers 18 and Chronicles 31:4-5). Yet the web writers remind us that the New Testament, as a covenant of grace, places no set requirements on how believers should give to the church except to give out of love.

Yet the same New Testament also points us in Acts 2:45 to a church in which the believers pooled all their resources, to give as each had need. “Resources” can be interpreted loosely, and includes the time you spend teaching Sunday School, working on NNPCW projects (hint hint), or serving on the church session. In a world where so much wealth is concentrated in so few, though, it helps to remember that financial resources actually are still part of what we give to the church.

So I did the math, looked at what a rough ten percent of my take-home pay (no Ananias and Sapphira action for me—I didn’t calculate from gross, I’ll confess), and gulped. It did seem like a lot of money. Part of me didn’t really feel comfortable giving that much. And yet I think about all the material wealth I have compared to so much of the rest of the world. I’m not Bill Gates, but I have enough to hit J Crew on the weekend and buy that sweater if I really want it.

Yes, I give of my time and talents to the church. But if I really believe in the mission and ministry of the church, if I buy into the way it brings the Good News to all people of God’s abundant love, shouldn’t I be giving what I can financially to make that happen? Isn’t this an expression of gratitude to God? And in such a materialistic, self-centered world, isn’t tithing away my possessions a radically subversive act? I bit the bullet and e-mailed Jack back with my pledge for ’06.

Presbyterians, whose membership are the wealthiest per capita of any Protestant denomination in the United States, gave on average 1.5 percent of their annual income to the church back in 1997. Now, our theology doesn’t call us to give a set 10%. But it does call us to live simply and give abundantly, as Jesus Christ gave for us.

“Those who follow the discipline of Christian stewardship will find themselves called to lives of simplicity, generosity, honesty, hospitality, compassion, receptivity, and concern for the earth and God's creatures.” --Presbyterian Book of Order, W-5.5005

Kelsey