STOP giving the church money now!

[ericmedem]

I was thinking the other day at one of the church functions where they have been talking about building the super church. Dont get me wrong, im all for god and christianity but I dont know that we need the new and improved super church.

It got me thinking about taking the money that I usually contribute to the offering plate, and investing that money. Then when the church is doing something that I agree with, or if I find another christian related cause, I could give the money to them.

Not only would I be following my heart, but I would be able give more.

What are your thougts?

[crazymom]

If you have an opportunity to give more than you are currently, then I think that would be a good thing! You don't have to put something in the offering plate every Sunday. God knows your heart, and your intentions.

[LuxLiving]

Eric, Investing money now and being able to make grants out of each year and hopefully leave a much bigger pie than if you just doled it out in small dribs and drabs each Sunday?

Is that what you're looking for?

You may be interested in checking out funding a charitable trust or starting a family foundation. The major thing you have to be careful with is 'double dealing'...you can put the money into these vehicles and then you need to step outside yourself and remember not to cut into the pie for yourself anymore. I do believe such vehichles can buy real estate as an investment.

[Hot dog]

I think that if tithing is a value that you have you should do it. If you believe God has commanded us to tithe than that is what we are to do and that is all you can worry about. You can not worry about what the church does with the money you give them. I f that is your home church than you should tithe to your church I know I go to a church that has a lot going on They have a school and a good youth program and it has kept my children participating in good healthy recreation

[baking23]

I belong to a church were the services are lead by the congregation. We don't have a minister or staff, however I do feel my money's going to something important because it helps maintain the building, pay for heat, plumbing, etc.

[nanamom]

I also believe in giving as the Bible instructs us. I would love to set up a trust fund that would grow where the proceeds would go to the church I belong to but don't have the money so I leave that to someone else. I can give enough to buy curriculum or pay a gas bill or whatever the current everyday need they may have is and do. I also make a point to find out what Sunday school supplies are running low and keep an eye out for sales on them.

[DebbieL]

Enjoy the huge real estate market crash Eric. Do you pay attention to what's happening in the mortgage industry, etc? Don't expect that money to keep doubling every 6 months. That's ridiculous.

[fairy74]

I also believe in tithing, but I think that is 10% of your income to any endevour that is of your religious belief. I don't believe that has to go to a specific church. If you don't agree with your church's current plans, I wouldn't endorse them with your money, give it somewhere else that is doing something you agree with.

[disneysteve]

What are your thougts?

I think that your post is thinly veiled spam for the real estate flipping course you sell at the site linked in your sig.

Ignoring that, my wife and I are very involved at our temple and we donate both time and money regularly. When a particular fund drive is occurring that we don't support, we don't donate. When we do donate, we direct the donation toward causes within the temple that we support.

Does your church have separate funds you can donate to or does all the incoming money go into one pot? If it all gets lumped together, you may want to get more involved with the leadership so that your voice is heard as to how the money should be spent. I sit on the executive board of our temple so I am involved in the conversations about where incoming money should go.

[Gruntina]

If you are all for God and Christianity... then are you tithing for God or for the people at Church? There is a difference there.

[thekid]

Oh boy, I wish I was making 200% a year returns on my investments like the OP. That would be super neato.

[Coleroo]

I wonder about the sincerity of this question to a point.

A church isn't there to cater to what you agree with. No one is ever going to agree with 100% of what any denomination says. If you truly believe in the higher supreme diety of the christian Bible (in which God commands a 10% first fruit tithe), then the point of giving is to obey - not to show you "believe" in a specific church, denomination, or cause, but to fully obey the entity you feel is God over your life. In my opinion its not your responsibility to worry about multiplying that money - it's God's money and given properly at the correct time (due to an act of obedience) God himself could use that money and triple.. quadruple or multioople (is that a word? ) that money faster than you ever could.

[Aleta]

When you give money to your place of worship, it's for alot of things going on. First of all, the pastor is only paid by money that comes into the congregation. The church itself has outreach programs that need to be funded. The building you visit costs money as does the AC you enjoy while listening to an (uplifting) sermon. So many in the church volunteer their time as well maybe doing the yard maintenance work or painting of the buildings, but the paint still has to be bought. Plus, they normally have some pretty great programs for young people to keep them off the streets. Then there are those in the congregation that have had some misfortune. It's like a hospital with a lot of different hands in there helping one another out.

[pearlieq]

I wonder about the sincerity of this question to a point.

I'm past the point of wondering about this guy.

I don't appreciate the thread title. It's either a silly attempt at being salacious or an incredibly inappropriate and presumptuous command. Either way it bugs.

OP, do what you've got to do. If Flipping for Jesus floats your boat, so be it.

Personally I think most of your posts are thisclose to spam and while I guess I can give you points for creativity in spamming, I really can't take anything you say seriously.

[DayByDay]

If you truly believe in the higher supreme diety of the christian Bible (in which God commands a 10% first fruit tithe), then the point of giving is to obey

While I know it's true that most churches preach this today, I just thought I'd point out that many Christians and well-known, well-respected Christian scholars do not believe the Bible teaches that Christians should tithe. The early Christian church did not operate on tithes/10% requirements.