The Chumscrubber & Giving

Published Thursday, November 17, 2005 by J-Wild | E-mail this post

This morning before I headed out to work I caught a segment on the Today Show about an upcoming movie called The Chumscrubber.

The move is from first time director Arie Posin and it looks at the indifference adults have towards parenting their teens. It falls right in line with Chap Clark's book "Hurt" and looks to be a pretty powerful commentary on current family dynamics. It hasn't gotten the best reviews, but it still looks interesting

You can see the trailer here.

On another topic. Our small group has been having this discussion regarding money and poverty. We came to a point in our discussions where we each revealed what percentage of our income was spent where and on what. We looked at things like housing, bills, entertainment, giving, eating out, parking tickets, savings, and other kinds of life expenses.

As we went around the room sharing our stats it I became increasingly uncomfortable because my financial giving percentage was much lower than others in the room. When this fact was finally revealed it sparked an interesting discussion centered on what God's expectations of His "Levites" are for financial giving. I then realized that I have never heard a sermon directed towards pastors with regard to the topic of giving.

In light of some of the struggles we have talked about that are inherint with being a youth minister, or a minister period, how does that effect your outlook on financial giving? Do you give to the church, and if so do you feel conflicted about that? If you don't give to the church where do you give? Should we give at all, or can we consider the use of our skills in the religious context instead of the secular context as being sacrificial and therefore adaquate?

For us, we tend to give to specific kids depending on their situations. We have given money to a couple of teens who were trying to make it in college. We over pay (by a lot) our babysitter who really needs the money (she is a teen), and we have purchased numerous clothes and jackets for teens who have been in need. But we don't write a check to the church...and we feel conflicted about that.

1 Responses to “The Chumscrubber & Giving”

Anonymous on 11/18/2005 10:03 AM

Good post!

My family gives to the church. We give at least 10% of our income to the church. Do we tithe because we think that is all God wants? No. I believe a tithe is just a starting point. We need to realize that ALL belongs to God. He wants everything. Giving in such a way causes us to remember this important truth.

We also give to the church because it is through our giving that the church is sustained. Most importantly we give because it is worship.

The act of giving, finances or otherwise, is an act of worship. The act of returning to Him that which He has given is I believe a wonderful act of worship. It also puts us in a place of faith and trust in the Lord, to meet our needs.

We also sponsor a child through Compassion International.

For what it's worth that is what we do.

The Chumscrubber & Giving

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