General Conventions Reaffirm Tithing

At the 2003 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, the Bishops and Deputies concurred on Resolution A135. It resolved, in part, “That in recognition of the church’s tradition of calling us to work, pray, and give for the spread of God’s kingdom, all members of the Episcopal Church be encouraged to develop a personal spiritual discipline that includes, at a minimum, the holy habits of tithing, daily personal prayer and study, Sabbath time, and weekly corporate worship…”

This resolution further reaffirmed Resolution A106 concurred upon at the 2000 General Convention. The following was part of that resolution:

STEWARDSHIP STATEMENT

We believe… We are the children of God, and we need to give. In every aspect of our lives, we are entrusted to be stewards of God’s creation. God invites us to give freely and to exercise joyfully our gifts through mission and ministry.

We commit ourselves… To boldly claim God’s abundant provision in our lives; to offer extravagantly our time, talent, and money to do God’s work; and to practice tithing as a minimum standard of giving.

We challenge members of the Episcopal Church… To confront our fears of scarcity; to embrace a new vision of stewardship through a joyful response to God’s extravagant gifts, and to empower the mission of Christ through generous giving.

We invite… Leadership groups in dioceses and congregations to develop their own stewardship statements in order to promote response to the gospel…

Resolution A106 was triggered in response to Resolution A138s concurred upon at the 1997 General Convention, affirming “the tithe as the minimum standard of individual giving for Episcopalians.”

Obviously, the leadership of the Episcopal Church believes the tithe to be important. But note, in none of the three resolutions cited is there mention of the need to pay the church mortgage, pay the heating bill, or to in other ways support the church budget. Tithing is held up as an important spiritual discipline.

Remember that God can create anything. So his desire for us to give is not because he needs the physical things that we have. But, rather our giving up our valued possessions demonstrates our love for God, putting God first in our lives,  and keeping us mindful of God’s gracious provision.

Tithing reaffirms God as our priority. We speak of “first fruits.” That means giving to God right from the start; giving him our first and our best.

Tithing develops the discipline of giving regularly. Most of us are paid on a periodic basis, not all at once in the year, so giving on a schedule is a practical matter. But it also is a spiritual matter. If each time we receive the blessing we pause to first make a thank offering to God, we are continually reminded of God, the source of all we have and “from whom all blessings flow.”

Tithing strengthens the discipline of giving proportionately. The Old Testament tells us that the tithe is ten percent.  Giving an arbitrary amount less than the tithe takes some of the faith and commitment out of our giving. If we set the tithe, or another percentage, as our standard, we avoid being arbitrary in our decision of what to give.

A pastoral word here. The tithe should not be a matter of guilt for anyone not yet giving at that level. As your faith is strengthened through giving first, regularly, and proportionately, you will feel encouraged to grow towards tithing.

Finally, tithing builds the discipline of risk- giving beyond our very human comfort level in the knowledge that God provides. Our tithing to God is, indeed, a gift from God that builds our spirits.