Barbeque Chickens Do Not Fly Over Jerusalem

Do churches, as a whole, conduct too many fund raisers during the course of a year? Does contributing to fund raisers create in non-tither’s minds the feeling that they have tithed? Regrettably, all too many times it does. While fund raisers, in the beginning, may have been created to supplement some little added monies here and there, today they have gotten out of hand to the point that unless you have a cause, most members won’t give. Fund raisers have taken the faith out of giving and the leadership out of those whose hands God has chosen.

Malachi chapter three, verse eight, talks about how God’s people are robbing God by not bringing their tithes and offerings. Then in verse ten, Malachi says, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in My Temple.” The financial responsibility of believers is to honor God by giving tithes to their local churches. In doing so, the church is able to support the many ministries which God has anointed for that local body. They can provide the Bread of Life to their designated Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the Earth. The author of Malachi never intended for the priests to take the offerings given them, such as birds, put barbeque sauce on them, sell them for consumption, in order to provide their needs. Giving our tithes to the storehouse is given in faith on the Word of God, not because we have been sold on a particular cause.

Acts chapter four, verses thirty four and thirty five talks of believers selling lands and houses and bringing the proceeds of the sales and laying them at the apostles’ feet for distribution. These apostles, who were God’s anointed, were chosen and respected as the leaders of their community to be able to distribute these funds to those who were in need. They were leaders who walked with God. God has called out today those whom He has chosen to lead our churches. The responsibility of the congregation is not to decide where funds go, but to be obedient in giving. The responsibility of distribution lies upon those leaders who are called of God. By the congregation giving to fund raisers, we have taken the responsibility away from our leaders and laid that burden upon ourselves.       

In doing so, Christians are creating churches of strife and bankruptcy.

Churches are spending too much time in planning and conducting fund raisers. Modern-day Christians have created a system of giving, known as fund raisers, which has taken away what God has intended. The time is now for congregations to go back to what God had intended. The congregations need to depend on tithing as its source of food, so that our faith is in Him who provides, not in us and our scheming ways, and back into the leadership that God has anointed. We need to do what best glorifies Him!