It’s all God’s

Giving is a touchy subject in church world. It’s like walking on egg shells when the subject comes up. Perhaps it’s because of all of the abuses we’ve experienced with money and the church in general in the past. Or maybe it’s because we have an incorrect view of money and what God thinks about it. We believe that God is the Creator of the Universe and that he has given us everything that we have. He’s given us the body we live in, the air we breath and the jobs we work. Because of this, the money we make isn’t actually ours. We consider ourselves stewards/managers of God’s money. And when we look at it from this point of view, giving takes on a new light. It’s no longer us giving money that belongs to us, but rather, us accepting the fact that God allows us to be stewards of the rest that we don’t give.

He doesn’t need our money!

We often challenge people to give back to God and that is correct. But at the same time, God doesn’t need our money. He doesn’t have some huge bank account somewhere, just collecting interest over the last few thousand centuries. He asks us to give because he knows that our hearts are intricately connected to our
money. Jesus says in Matthew 6:21 that where your treasure is, that’s where your heart will be found. Many times the only way for God to get our whole heart, is to also have our wallet. Giving a percentage of our money each month to God is challenging at times. But it’s a sign of trust that says we trust God to completely take care of us. By not giving, we are essentially telling God that we can do it on our own and don’t want his involvement in our finances.

Tithing vs. Giving

Tithing is a concept that predates the Old Testament covenants and is first seen when Abraham tithes 10% of his crops to Milchezedek (Gen.14:18-20)
Probably the most famous passage is found in Malachi 3 where God accuses Israel of robbing him of His tithes and offerings. Jesus also references tithing in Mathew 23:23 when he tells the Pharisees that they should still tithe, but not at the expense of justice, mercy and faithfulness. There is still debate in some Christian circles as to whether tithing is still something we should do today. For some, it’s
the term that doesn’t sit right with them. But as seen previously, this isn’t a “covenant” issue. It’s a heart issue and God is still after our hearts. We believe that giving is still very important and we unapologetically challenge everyone who
loves God and is a part of TXC to give generously and joyfully. Tithing was considered to be 10% of your “firstfruits”, that is before any of it was given to anyone else, including the government. We don’t hold fast to 10% as being the law,
but we do use that as a guideline and here is why. When Israel was required to tithe, it was done without there being a personal relationship between them and God. Allcommunication was done between some sort of mediator, such as a
priest. But now, because we have the ability to have full access to God’s grace because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, why wouldn’t we want to give so much more than that! God’s grace shouldn’t lead us to excuse certain things but rather, to participate in them all the more!  2 Corinthians 9 talks about giving generously.  If 10% of their gross income was commanded in the old testament, it only makes sense that generosity starts where the command of 10% left off. We believe that giving is so important that everyone on the lead team also gives generously. We feel that it is our responsibility to go ahead of everyone and lead by example and as we’ve done this, the stories of God’s provision for us and our families keep piling up!

Where does it go?

All the money that is given to TXC goes to fulfilling our mission of “reconnecting people to Jesus.” It doesn’t go towards the mansions or private jet for the members of the lead team! Every year we make a budget that is submitted to the Pastor’s Advisory who are a team of individuals that help with guiding the finances of TXC. This budget is either approved, rejected or revised accordingly. The budget dictates where the money we give is spent and some of those things are community events, planting more churches and operational expenses such as, paying the rent for our Sunday Gatherings in the theatre.  Some don’t realize this, but it costs money to keep a church running and staffed in a way that allows us to keep moving forward. It’s very easy to shrug off giving and think that someone else will give for us. The reality is that if everyone decides to have this attitude, the doors of TXC will shut. Lives are being changed every single week through TXC and we think that, given the opportunity, we all should want to be a part of that continued life change! This is one of those opportunities.

Where do I start?

If you haven’t given on a regular basis in the past, this can be quite a shock. At this point, we just challenge you to start. We use 10% of our gross monthly income as a guideline but if just getting started means giving less than that at the beginning, then by all means start there. Remember, this is about your heart, not the money. As you acclimatize to this new discipline in your life, then take another leap of faith and give more. It’s when giving interrupts our lifestyle that faith in God’s provision is required.  We think it’s important to set a certain amount or percentage of your income aside to give each month because it gets us in the routine of putting God first instead of him just being the tack on at the end when we’ve spent every last penny. You are able to give on Sundays at our giving table outside the auditorium or you can give online on our website via a service called Paypal.

The hidden joy

It’s a hard thing to communicate unless you experience it first hand, but there is an unexplainable joy in giving when it’s done with the right heart. This may seem absolutely insane to you right now and maybe you can’t even imagine why you should give. But if there is even a twinge of curiosity, we challenge you to commit for 3 months to consistent percentage giving and see what happens. In the Old Testament God told Israel to test him and see if he wouldn’t pour open the floodgates of heaven on them. And if that was back then, we believe that today it will be even more so. It’s not that you will get rich or be given tons of nice stuff but just the fact that the God of the universe has been invited into your financial picture is reward enough. Now you can know that God is looking out for you because you’ve told Him that you trust him by giving up control of your wallet. It’s a well known fact that those who give generously are often those who have the least. It’s these people who also understand the provision of God in ways that those who have lots don’t fully understand. So don’t let a lack of resources be your excuse and get in the way of you experiencing the hidden joy of contagious generosity. As the lives of those around you are changed because of your giving you won’t be able to help but be changed yourself!
If you have any questions regarding giving, please don’t hesitate to ask and we will do our best to answer.