Barnabas File

When I was almost in my teens, my parents had a life-changing experience and recommitted themselves to Christ by becoming deeply involved in church. We became one of those “three times a week” Baptist families--Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night (I fought against that one).  My Mom and Dad began teaching young adults in Sunday School, and they began to tithe to the church (that means give ten percent of your income if you are not familiar with the term).  In fact, they had regular discussion about whether to tithe their gross income--the total--or net income--take home pay. They settled on gross amount because they believed that was the biblical approach." I mention this because I rarely hear people talk about the tithe in church any longer.  Pastors don’t mention it, perhaps out of fear that it might seem legalistic.  In fact, I would say that most of us who are regular church attenders may only hear a sermon about financial contributions onc...

Theological education is a good thing.  Few would argue that becoming a more fully formed and equipped minister is a bad thing.   Like most good things, however, a seminary education is not cheap.  Central Baptist Theological Seminary recently released its annual report which includes the sources of tuition and gifts that fund the seminary’s budget of over $3 million dollars. Students provide 31 percent through the payment of tuition.  Basically, they are paying one-third of the cost of their education. Thirty-four percent comes from foundations like the Lilly Foundation, the Arcus Foundation, and the Luce Foundation.  Much of this funding goes to special programs and initiatives.  Individuals provide 30 percent of the seminary budget.  These gifts—both large and small—come from people who believe that theological education is important and are passionate about the mission of the seminary. Two percent comes from the Americ...

Several years ago, someone contacted me about auditing a class at our seminary site.  She was upset when I quoted her the fee to do this even though the fee was only a third of the cost for taking the class for full credit.  I was surprised because I knew she did not seem to mind paying a much larger amount for a session ticket for her favorite college basketball team. Good theological education is not cheap.  Of course, you can find unaccredited schools that will give you a degree with a minimum amount of effort or cost, but I don’t consider that theological education, much less good theological education.  The result of this relationship is a piece of paper rather than an education. Most of us, including theological students, don’t realize that the individual student does not carry the full cost of his or her education.  Even though students may borrow money to go to seminary, the total cost would be prohibitive if the student had to bear it complet...

A friend recently told me that when he came to his new church, a member who is an attorney asked, “How can you use a guy like me in church?”   This gave birth to a new legal aid group made up of almost 30 attorneys to help people in the community. The mindset of many established churches is to maintain the most visible of their assets—people, property, and programs—without digging deeper to discover the rich resources that may be available just below the surface.  There are people in every congregation whose abilities are not being used.  In Growing an Engaged Church , Albert Winseman suggests that disengaged church members may just be seeking the right place to serve. He writes, “If you want to grow a spiritually healthy, vibrant, dynamic congregation, focus on increasing the engagement level of your members.” To engage such people, however, we need to a new mindset.  Rather than thinking about how we can “use” them (a rather selfish approach) in the es...

A friend told me recently that he and his wife have chosen to participate in a bank account deduction giving option that their church offered.  The offering is deducted from their bank account on a regular basis and placed in the church account, all done electronically.  Not writing checks or having to remember to take them to church to put in the offering plate seemed like a good idea.  He realizes now that there are drawbacks. One concern is that his children no longer see him putting anything into the offering plate, so they are probably wondering, “Why don’t Mom and Dad support the church any more?” Of course, other members may be thinking the same thing!  What kind of example is he setting? As important to my friend is that he feels that he is missing out on an act of worship.  Offering something back to God in a tactile way can be a very satisfying act of worship. I understand how my friend feels.  I have often said that offering is an ...

In The Legend of the Merchant and the Monk , writer Terry Felber suggests twelve keys to successful living that can guide a Christian in his or her personal, business and family life.  Setting his parable in 15 th century Italy, Felber uses Antonio, a successful Venetian merchant, as the spokesperson who communicates these principles to his grandson. The historical approach is interesting and provides a good setting to discuss the complementary roles of the secular and the sacred in society.  Antonio is a man of faith but he struggles to know the best way to use the resources that God has placed in his hands. He is helped along the way by Allesio, a merchant who becomes his mentor. The principles themselves deal with all areas of a person’s life.  They encourage one to make the most of one’s gifts and to be a good steward of the blessings that result.  Although they are common sense principles, Felber presents them in such a way that they seem fresh and c...

Let me tell you a story about some friends of mine.  This Christian couple are longtime church members. The husband’s family practiced the tithe (ten percent of one’s income BEFORE taxes, of course), believed that the church was the “storehouse” of God’s tithe, and taught him the same. The wife’s family were church donors but not tithers, but when they married, the couple decided to be regular contributors to the church, always giving ten percent of their income. The church they have attended for years was a generous supporter of the denominational missions program at one time, usually sending more than ten percent of its undesignated gifts to the denomination for “missions” (that included not only domestic and foreign field personnel, but seminary support, benevolences, etc.).  In fact, their church was one of the largest supporters of the denominational work in the state. Something interesting happened several years ago, however. The church found that it needed mo...