Let me pose a question to

you about your church? Is it a "law church" or a "grace

church?" A "law church" would be one that majors on keeping

all the laws both of the Old Testament and New Testament with a heavy

judgment for not keeping the laws. Right standing with God is constantly

in jeopardy on the basis of how well you are keeping the laws. To make

sure what I am talking about, let me include laws related to staying current

on attendance, giving, making confession, and even taking Holy Communion.

The "law church" says, in effect, you must stay up-to-date on

the laws of the Bible and the church or you are in jeopardy. Your eternal

soul stands in limbo.

"Law churches" come

in all different packages. Some are new on the scene and some are as old

as the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul asked some early Christians,

"Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being

perfected by the flesh"(Galatians 3:3)? It seems that even though

these early Christians had become followers of Christ "by grace through

faith," they had now reverted to sustaining their faith by keeping

the bare minimum of the old law.

Let me differentiate between

law churches and grace churches. Jesus did it in his ministry. The law

church says, "You shall not commit murder." The grace church

says that you don't even have to have hatred in your heart that would

lead to such a crime as murder. The law church says you give 10 percent

of your income to the church, God's storehouse. The grace church

says you can give 20, 30, and even 40 percent to the work of the Lord.

The law church says you must not commit adultery. The grace church says

you don't even have to have lust in your heart that leads to adultery.

Get the idea because I am setting up why I really wrote this column in

keeping with my theme for the month: giving of tithes and offerings.

I encouraged pastors and other

church leaders to get a book only a couple years ago. It is An Unstoppable

Force by Erwin Raphael McManus. McManus is a pastor of a church in Los

Angeles and dares churches to become the church God had in mind. He unfolds

the concept of the "radical minimum," contending that what we

consider to be the ultimate in modern day spiritual and church commitment

was considered merely the entry point for followers of Jesus in the first

century. You will recall Jesus saying, "If anyone will come after

me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."

Yet, in our watered-downed

churches, by not talking about the most important thing in Fayette County

- money - we have taught people that you can be deeply spiritual

and not be generous. We have totally discounted the correlation between

money and genuine spirituality. Jesus did not. He said, in a humorous

sort of way, that it was easier for a camel to crawl through the eye of

a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. Know why? Because most

rich man idolize their money.

Give you an example: I was

pastor of one of the largest and richest churches in Fayetteville more

than a decade ago. The church needed some beautifying of the landscape.

No funds were available in the budget. So I called one of the richest

men in all of south Atlanta and asked for some funds to cover the small

cost. His response floored me and yet taught me, "I'll do my

part." His part was to give $200 and expect others to do their part.

So that put one to make three or four other phone calls to other rich

people to ask them to do their part. And yet, we uphold these guys and

gals as great spiritual giants in our communities - just as they

think they are.

With all the money in Fayette

County, no church should lacking in funds to do whatever God put in their

minds and hearts to do. Yet, we remain as "law churches" and

set as a goal for every believer/member to give 10 percent to the church.

We must somehow - if we are to witness to the hurting and hungry

people around the world - develop a grace church mentality by which

people give 20 percent and more to the cause of Christ. J. C. Penney,

when he died, was giving 90 percent of his income to the cause of Christ

and living on 10 percent.

McManus made a point in his

book. He said that if people were selfish with their money, they would

never make significant contributions to the cause of Christ. Could it

be that because of the money factor lacking we fail to be able to recruit

enough workers with our children and youth? We struggle to cover the bases

in the nursery. That every nursery director - sooner or later -

burns out and quits. It all goes