Each year I have listened to the budget committee and council debate pay increases for the staff with a heavy heart knowing I would soon be trying to validate my own worth. Due to my experience, I have long struggled with the role of the pastor in setting budgets as well as the privacy, or lack thereof, regarding the amount of money donated. However, Christopher’s four reasons, as outlined by Jeff above, offer a strong case for the pastoral awareness of individual tithes and offerings. The thought of deliberately ignoring the tithes and offerings as the equivalent to “clergy malpractice” encouraged my change in opinion (loc. 466, Chapter 2)! Perhaps what I find most compelling in regards to giving is the definition of the “business” of the
