Graham Old of Leaving Munster has an article on Revolutionary Generosity that also appeared in Next Wave. He puts forth the idea of Jubilee, of the kind of generosity Jesus modeled to the people of Israel. Jesus, in a sense, was re-interpreting (restoring?) Torah for the people of God, encouraging a radical generosity. I'm quite challenged by this perspective. Emerging Churches focus on the life of Christ, i.e. that the actual way Jesus lived was exemplary for us -- that what we receive from Jesus is more than simply his death and resurrection.
For those communities with a strong tithing tradition, I would encourage them to maintain those same practices. However, I would buttress these practices with teachings of the radical generosity of the life of Christ that goes way beyond the tithe. Thanks Graham for keeping this in front of us. The words of John Howard Yoder never cease to challenge me.
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