Last night after bible study we ended up having a discussion about tithing (giving 10% of your income to the church) and whether Christians should do it or not. It came about after one of the guys talked to a friend who came from a church that pushed tithing. Hard.

My view on the subject is this: We don’t have to do it, but it is an appropriate response to God providing us with a church. The church (locally in this instance) needs money to run, to pay the ministers, to help fund missionaries and charities, and it can’t get this money without asking for it (well, some churches I know of buy properties and rent them out, but that only acts as a supplement, not a primary income).

If everyone at pretty much any church in Australia gave 10% of their income (net income, I don’t count the money that is taken from my pay in tax – it was never my money ) to their local church, I think we would see a major shift in the view of the church. There would be huge amounts of money for charity work, probably enough to make a real dent in poverty and homelessness. We could pay for our pastors (and not just them, anyone who needs it) to get further training. We could make sure that everyone who wanted a bible could have one. For free.

It would make a huge difference.

But most christians just give what’s left in their wallets at the end of the week. It’s not wrong, but it’s sad. I think that your church should be an extension of your family, and we don’t/shouldn’t treat our families stingily. I think it is often a lack of trust that convinces people that they shouldn’t give large sums of money away. They need it for themselves and their families. Which could be true, but usually isn’t.

²²Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁶Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

²⁷“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

-Luke 12:22-31

If you haven’t guessed, Jen and I tithe what we earn. It was something my parents taught me to do from a young age. Mum always said that if I couldn’t afford to tithe now, and I said I would do it when I earned more money, that I would never do it. I think my mum is very wise. If we can trust God with what little we have, he will give us plenty more (that we should then use for his benefit).

I guess what prompted this little sermon is that in the mail today we got a letter from the Australian Government telling us they had underpayed us our family tax benefit for this year, and so they were giving us a further $1,300. Which is pretty much exactly how much it will cost for us to pay for registration and insurance on the car, which we weren’t sure if we would be able to afford without dipping into our savings this year. God always seems to drop money on us when we need it, hopefully we will be good stewards when we get more money too.

RodeoClown: doesn’t have to stress over where the money will come from.

Update: I have bumped this up after posting it on 10,000 words

I used to hate playing in front of other people, and I never used to improve my skills. I played the piano for about 10 years before getting a bass guitar. I’m not the best bass player in the world (by a long, long way), but these things I’ve learned let me play well enough that I’m not asked to leave the bass at home. Hopefully they will help you too.

1) Play with (and for) others: Playing by (and for) yourself will never get you performing well. You can always stop if you make a mistake and keep practicing until you get it perfect. But it’s better to play middlingly well and entertain and uplift people than it is to play perfectly for no-one but yourself. Join a band, or jam with some friends, it doesn’t need to be in front of thousands, but playing with others gives you someone to be encouraged by and to encourage with your music.

2) Turn up the volume: Your volume knob goes to 11 for a reason – so people can hear you. When I first started playing, I used to turn myself right down and hide in the background. If I hit a wrong note, I played even softer. You’ll never improve until you turn yourself up, when you play loud, you have to learn quickly to cover your mistakes. And just because you don’t play exactly what’s written doesn’t matter. Getting thrown in the deep end here will help – it’ll also help you learn when you need to play to get the biggest impact.

3) Don’t worry (be happy!): This is actually two tips in one. Unless you are playing in front of a group consisting entirely of professional music critics, the only people who will know when you make a mistake are you and (only maybe) the people you are playing with. Don’t stop. That lets everyone know that you’ve mucked something up. If you can’t keep up with that fancy riff, just play the notes you can. Keep it moving and pick it up when you can.

A smile always helps too, if you enjoy yourself you’ll find it easier to get into a state of flow that will help you hit your rhythm right, and really make a joyful noise.

4) Turn down the volume: Music with all instruments all the time has a special term: a mess. If you want to play better, listen and figure out when not to play – gaps in the noise can actually make a bigger splash than constant noise. Walls of noise don’t give the mind a chance to think. Play softly when you’d normally play loud, let another instrument take charge. The other musicians will thank you for the opportunity and your sensitivity in playing. Don’t turn yourself down until after you’ve turned yourself up first though.

5) The bass guitar is a rhythm instrument. A bass player can get as fancy as they want, playing the melody and bringing harmonies, but their primary purpose is to act as the spine for the music. The drums set the beat, and the guitar and piano play the tune, but the bass is what drives everything along. If you are a bass player and spend too much time fiddling around and bringing the melody, cut back and make sure the rhythm is right. You shouldn’t be in the foreground, people should not even notice you are playing if you are doing it right. You emphasise the beat, and pull the rest of the music together, but the bass isn’t a lead instrument (well, there are exceptions, but I’m talking in general here). If you don’t play the bass, help your bassist by not sitting in his range (play low occasionally, but don’t remain down there all the time), and don’t fight him, but let him drive the rhythm of the song.

RodeoClown: Bassist Extra-ordinary (or not).

Better musicianship also comes with having a really good musical instrument to play. Electric guitars as well as acoustic guitars are very popular musical instruments to have and maybe even a set of drums would work too.

I’ve been invited to be a member of the Annandale Anglican/Christians in the Media team weblog.

Despite the fact that I don’t live in Annandale.
I don’t attend an Anglican church.
I don’t work in the media (except under very stretched definitions of media.

I am a Christian though. I guess that counts for something.
And I listen to their sermon podcast.
And I guess I’m exposed to the media occasionally.

Anyway, I’ll be posting stuff there too occasionally (I know I haven’t posted here for a while – small kids and busy and tired, blah blah blah).

There are some interesting people posting there, and hopefully soon it will be full of interesting posts. The comments are often very in-depth there, so don’t forget to check them out.

RodeoClown: Honourary Annandale Anglican