Thank you to all of you who commented on the post about pastor's wives. I learned that I am not the only one interested in this, and I wonder if maybe there's a need for more communication between pastor's wives and church workers in general about life in the fishbowl. One comment from Megan said she gets to talk about her frustrations with other pastor's wives in the area. I don't have many of those. We don't live in Lutheran land or even Christian land. Only 5% of our community here in the Bay Area even knows of Jesus Christ as their savior. So, these conversations are definitely good for me.
So here are a few more things to discuss. And feel free to ask your own questions. There are probably other issues out there that I am not hitting on.
Finances--It's sometimes hard for me that everyone in our congregation has the opportunity to know how much we make (if they happen to be at the voters' meeting). I've had someone offer to pay for our dinner while we were out with them "because they know how much we make." (It's one thing to do it and another to say it!) Most people our age out here don't own a home because it is crazy expensive. It's almost impossible unless you make a ton of money. We are able to own our home because the church recognized the fact that if they don't help with housing, they would have a hard time getting any pastor to stay here. We are blessed to be in the house that we are, but I often feel weird about it. I guess I feel a little strange that we have a house and so many of our friends and church members are dealing with the crazy cost of both real estate and rent. That is my own issue though.
Tithing. I fully believe that God wants us to put Him before everything else. He wants us to trust him and he wants to take care of us. I am a big believer in tithing--not only because we've seen the blessings that come from it, but most importantly because God tells us to do it and through our giving, others know Christ. But finances are often an issue for all kinds of church workers. We come out of Concordia with more debt than we make in an entire year--and that's usually only school debt. Let's face it, we did not get into this profession to make money, and falling into the debt trap is so easy to do.
My question is--is it okay for a church worker's family not to tithe? That's a hard question to answer, but all I know is that I'm not sure Nate could preach a sermon on tithing, tell his church members to obey God in that area, and not be doing it himself.
Have at it!
4 comments:
Tricky question...
Matt and I try out best to tithe. That being said, there are some months where I let my "financial mind" take over my heart and rather than tithe, I do something else to be "prepared" for an emergency (I.e...having a baby..we stashed some cash). However, when we do tithe, we ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have enough money. God has blessed us with all that we need (yes, many wants are left undelivered, but we have ALL our needs)
I think it is not necessarily important that Pastor's tithe. What I DO think is important is that they are working toward a tithe and setting goals. For example: Pledge to give 5% this year, knowing each year you are going to *bump it up* until you reach the 10%, and beyond. What you give is no one's business, it is between you and God. God knows your heart in giving.
Another thing to think about that popped into my head . . . if you knew that your pastor wasn't tithing, how would that affect how you view tithing? (And if you are a pastor reading this, pretend you aren't for a second:)
Okay, I am a devoted follower of Dave Ramsey and I believe in getting out of debt. God does not want us to be in debt. That is a stress and burden that we put on ourselves.
I also know that God wants us to tithe. We have not always been the best at it. We are, however, working our way out of debt with the goal of being able to tithe joyfully. "Joyfully" is the key word. If you are giving begrudgingly, God doesn't want it. It's not about the money, it's about the heart.
I agree with Misty through experience though. We have never tithed and done without. God always, always, always provides. Yet we still don't trust!!!
A lot of people know what I make as a church worker and I don't like that knowledge being out there. I am fortunate that I am not the bread winner for the family and that Chuck makes the majority of our money. Not that I don't make a nice wage, it's just that he is the main provider. I used to get a lot of flack from people saying that a church worker shouldn't have this or that. That's when I usually throw in that "Big Oil" is paying for my house and cars. Then the judgement comes from a completely different place. I'm okay with that though.
Great question...
I know you don't know me, but I'm a pastor's wife and have found your blog while blog-hopping. I think my husband was at the Sem around the same time as yours, and we currently live in the OC, so we know the pastor that was at your church...that's a very long introduction, but, to answer the real question...
I would have to agree with the "always having enough money" statement. When my husband (who is a pastor) and I tithe, we always seem to be okay, even when my husband was without a real job and working at Target and I was on disablity (that is a story for another day).
However, money is a struggle and an issue. School dept is big, as well as mortages (by the way, it looks like I will be moving to the East Bay area in June)as some months I'm not sure how it is all going to work out, but it always does!
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