Pledge Cards

Perhaps, but don't we have an obligation to meet the physical needs of those who come to church on any given Sunday/Wednesday? In those cases, I don't believe that providing heat or A/C is an unreasonable expectation. Consider that when Jesus preached to the multitudes, he made sure their physical needs, the need for food, were taken care of as a part of his ministry.

 

We have never attended a Baptist church that uses pledge cards for general giving/tithing. We have attended Baptist churches that use pledge cards for Faith Promise giving to Missions (again, a topic for another thread), but in each church that used these, we were told to just pledge an amount WITHOUT signing our names. The church just wanted a general idea for the Faith Promise amount and wanted the individual's situation to remain between him and God.

 

Johnv wrote,

If the church that I pastored had a budget, we would never have signed the papers to expand into a facility four times as large as the one we had. We saw the need, asked God for His direction, received His direction from the Holy Spirit, and signed the papers without a single pledge card and without any visible means to pay for the expenses. Indeed, we were barely able to pay the expenses for our small facility.

If the church that I pastored had a budget, we would never have hired the people that we hired, because when we hired them, we did not have the money to pay them. God did not provide the money until we trusted Him for it and hired the people, and then He did provide the money!

A church is not a Wal-Mart store!

 

PTL! OTOH, if most of us lived our lives that way, we'd be in debt. I fail to see why a church that budgets is to be considered less in tune or obedience to God that you.

A church that wisely budgets is hardly a Walmart store. That inference is ridiculous.

 

I don't do pledge cards because you don't know when your circumstances will change and make a liar out of you.Since 2002 I have had about 12 operations,staph infection and then it came back,kidney stones,pnuemonia, and a bunch of other stuff.I have worked every day I have been able but the way things have worked out I can't keep a job long enough to even get medical benefits let alone make a pledge.I'm not saying this to whine or cry,I'm just saying sometimes you lose control over your circunstances.You may have it in your heart to make a pledge but sometimes it just don't work out.This is commong from a guy who had 57 pretty healthy years.

 

And that's the problem with pledge cards. When they fall through the pledger has lied about a sort of oath.

"But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation." James 5:12

The leadership of the church should know this going in.

My last church had a Faith Promise program for a while, but then they realized their error and withdrew it because of the possible condemnation that toward some that couldn't fulfill their "promise". What if you pledge (an oath) a certain amount and then you lose your job before fulfilling your pledge. Are you still not bound to the Lord to give that amount?

And I would argue that any pledge to the church is a direct pledge to the Lord, the Head of the church.

Faith promise advocates site 2 Cor. 8 & 9 as being a biblical model for this program. But nowhere does it say there that they first pledged an amount in advance. They merely gave.

 

It's that time again. At our church we are going to have a time in our services next Sunday for people to bring their "commitment cards" and place them on the 'altar.' Perhaps adding a little dramatics to it will encourage a few more to do it. They are careful to call them "commitment cards," instead of "pledge cards," and to make that day the last of a sermon series called "the joy of belonging"... Being part of a church family, have a prayer support group, a safe place to bring the kids, a 'base' to provide for missions and benevolence... now with all that covered, here's the chance to do yourself a favor and make a vow to give x dollars during the next year.

And there were tithing testimonies today to try to thaw more pocketbooks in preparation for next week's freezing of more dollars. Either tithing testimonies have changed in recent years, or it's just that the church I now attend, having more learned people, knows it can't get away with the old ones, like "I pledged to start tithing and suddenly I had more money every month than when I didn't." These new 'testmonies' try to actually avoid '10% of my income' and use more words in saying "give of your time," "give of your talents," always ending with a facsimile of "it all belongs to God." But of course money will be thrown in there before they're finished, both before and after all the "blessings" have been brought attention to.

And, of course, the signer is committing to a lot of things; being a teacher, greeter, outreach worker, shut-in visitor, "prayer warrior" (we have a prayer room in which confidential requests are listed and some commit to coming to that room at certain times to pray about them). But all this is about disguising pledge cards for $$$. It's budget approval time too, so it's hardly a coincidence that card time if simultaneous with it.

I don't blame anyone else for going along wit this Madison Avenue style of promoting a church. I just wish churches could be honest enough to show the printed budget and say, "This is how we plan to spend our expected funds; if you approve, help us do it-- if not, forget it."

 

Alcott,

why do you go to a church that you don't like?

 

I thought most Baptist Churches vote on each years budget. Every SBC I've ever attended brings the budget to the floor of business meeting.

I also ask the same question as bapmom?

 

Phillip,

I thought most did too. We've always seen having a church-approved budget as being good stewards of God's money. It certainly helps answers those who feel that all we are about is the money, and it leaves less room for people to be critical of how or where the money is being spent.

Pledge cards, though, Ive always seen used for only special occasions. We've always based our budgets on last year's giving records, what actually came in. We wouldnt base a budget on pledge cards.

 

What gives you the idea I don't like it? Maybe Paul didn't "like" the Corinthians, as he was critical of things going on?

 

well Alcott, Paul was writing TO the Corinthians as an authority over them, with the purpose of having them change things for their own good.

You just sounded like you were complaining about the "stupidity" of what is going on in your church. I know you didn't say the word "stupid", but your post came across as if you certainly were thinking of it as being such.

ps, what you described sounds very much like a church I used to go to when we lived in Southern California. Perhaps I know which church you are talking about, not sure.
Either way, I just didn't understand why you still go there, if you have such disdain for the way they do things there.

 

. . . Oh well, back to the thread.

I have only signed a pledge card one time. I was transferred away from that church by my job. The resulting feeling of 'sin' was not enjoyable.

I personally think that pledge cards are a method to get modern people to feel obligated to tithe. Or, a fancy method of marketing.

Having said that, making people feel obligated was NEVER the purpose of the tithe. Nor was it the biblical purpose of the offering. All (monies) were to be freely given.

Because of the constraints that pledge cards place upon the giver, I feel that they should be avoided. However, a church is hard pressed to compete financially with those para-church organizations that suck money from God's churches. Sadly, some parachurch groups hire 'professionals' to solicit the funds away from the churches. (Or, use telethons . . .)

 

As churches should strive to be perfect, and none of them are going to make it, looking at whichever one I am involved with through my half-empty glass, I am likely to have some "disdain" for that one or any other.

 

Thats not a very fun way to live life, is it Alcott?

 

but El Guero,

a pledge card isn't forced on anyone. And do you really think its all that common for churches to use them for tithe? Ive only seen them used in cases of big projects....like buildings or a missions trip.

Arent the people filling them out doing so of their own free will? Then how would it be not freely given?

 

Nope, but show me the verse of scripture that says life, let alone church procedures, is supposed to be fun.

 

Alcott,

We are supposed to "Rejoice evermore", let the fullness of God's joy be a part of our life, theres all sorts of verses about looking at life optimistically.

If you don't want, Im really not trying to argue with you about it.

 

I wish you would try to argue, just I could see the difference.