new day dawns...

so i am going to look at this (probably as most bloggers do) as an online journal...

today i am prepping for anchor point's gathering this evening... oh, back up... anchor point is a small 'church plant' endeavor/experiment that 'launched' last september... meeting in homes, trying to simply figure out what it means to live in the way of jesus... all of us having our own issues with 'church at large', but not thinking that anchor point is the definitive answer to church problems... its just our own expression of 'church'...

okay, that being said, so i am prepping for this evenings's gathering... some round table discussion guided by your's truly... this evening's topic: tithing.

i came upon an article several weeks ago when i was looking for 'heretical' information regarding the book of revelation and our gross presumptions in our modern-dispensationalist-escapist interpretations of it. anyways, on this guy's website, there was another interesting article on tithing and the christian church. the article is here. interesting stuff really. take it for what it's worth.

here's the deal. i have seen way too much abuse in the church system's regarding money. everyone educated on civil religion puts money and religion together, do they not? i mean it seems like 'money-grubbers' or whatever is a thought that quickly comes to mind regarding pastors... at least of flashy churches... maybe not, maybe it's my own cynicism. hmm.

so, i have been re-evaluating my part-time pastoral salary. here i am telling people to live in rhythm with god in the 'real world' while i myself stay at home on my computer writing things like this or prepping for things like tonight. a little bit of a chasm between, no? so, perhaps i go off payroll, then no money goes to me from the church and we would be freed to do things that seemed important to the early church... ie. helping other jesus communities, meeting the needs of the poor and marginalized, etc. you know?

so, my plan is by fall to go off salary, but i want to 'increase giving' in our community. not to anchor point though.

you see, i think that in the history of the church, being a 'cheerful giver' has been used to manipulate many people into 'getting into heaven' or if not that then to 'win god's favor'... i disagree with this.

i think that giving is part of the abrahamic covenent. check out this article by brian mclaren. it reminds us that if we just seek to be 'blessed by god' and do not 'bless others through that' than we are in great danger of heresy (one that even i would not want to commit).

so, sure giving is important, but the money cannot stay 'in the church'... you know? it's not for us just to bless ourselves in this nice little tax shelter called 501c3. so the journey continues in trying to discover what a church living in the way of christ looks like... or at least looks like in oceanside, california with the people of anchor point. hmm.

okay, i gotta take a shower. its already noon.