Following is a second sample from Chapter 1 (Identifying the Problem) of my final doctor of ministry project. Any comments are appreciated, as I refine the project and submit for an anticipated May graduation.
If the amount of money that Christian households give to the local church is any indication of how well we confront consumerism through intentional spiritual disciplines, then Christian households in America are not doing a very good job. According to Ron Sider, in The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, only 6 percent of evangelical Christians tithe. This is a startling statistic, because in our nation, this subset of the church is persistent in preaching the importance of financial tithing but apparently poor in modeling this discipline.
In short, we profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ and yet have abandoned the simple lifestyle that Jesus taught. As Sider writes, "Scandalous behavior is destroying American Christianity. By their daily activity, most 'Christians' regularly commit treason. With their mouths they claim that Jesus is Lord but with their actions they demonstrate allegiance to money, sex, and self-fulfillment." Every day, Sider concludes, the Church is becoming more like the world it allegedly seeks to change.
Many of us do not engage in disciplines like tithing that could help us to find contentment with less, to seek after the wellbeing of others, and to consume in ways that are more conscientious of creation. Most troubling of all are the hectic family lifestyles that leave families with little to no time or energy for the practice of shared, intentional disciplines ..."
Questions: Is Sider's assessment of evangelical Christianity too harsh, or is it right on target? What keeps us from participating in disciplines like tithing?
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