When Good Budgeting Can Lead to Bad Discipleship

The American church has gotten so good at budgeting based on the resources we receive that we might actually be skipping discipleship efforts with our people in the area of generosity.

Why would I say such a thing? Survey after survey states that of Christians who give to their local church, it is typically less than 4% of their income despite most believers hearing the principle of the tithe. From my perspective, this isn’t a money issue. It’s a discipleship problem. And it's a problem that we can solve.

But first …

How did we get here?

My thinking is that it might be easier to manage budgets than it is for us to get comfortable and confident in discipling people in their relationship between God and money. After all, budgets and spreadsheets are easy to control while people are a completely different work.

We might have a discipleship problem wearing a budget problem’s clothes.

Somewhere along the way, stewardship shifted from a discipleship category to a function of the finance department. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t be the best possible stewards of the resources God has entrusted to our care, but rather that we shouldn’t become so good at budgeting that we don't prioritize formation in the area of generosity.

Paul Wasn’t Just Raising Money

In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul is raising a significant offering for believers in Jerusalem. He could have simply gone over the logistics of how and when the money was to be collected but instead, he spends two chapters shaping hearts. He points to the Macedonian churches who gave ‘beyond their ability out of ‘abundant joy.’ These two chapters written by Paul are about God forming people into his own generous character, not simply funding the mission.

The Work We Cannot Abdicate

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians that God loves a ‘cheerful giver’ and he says nothing about an efficient one. Formation may be the harder path, but we can’t abdicate it. If we don’t own this area of growth for believers, who will?

Most answers I can think of are very concerning.

What intentional efforts is your church making in discipling the people of God to thrive in the area of generosity?

If you'd like more leadership content, here's more for you: Why Staff Giving is NOT Optional on The Next Sunday Podcast, and New Wine, Old Wineskins, and the Giving Culture You Actually Have