MONEY AND THE CHURCH

One would like to suggest that a copy of this book be made available as ""must"" reading for every modern church-goer who complains that his minister is always talking about, or asking for, money. He would learn, among other things, that it was even so in Jesus' day, when references to money outnumbered all other references in His sayings. He would learn how the Church, through the ages, has grappled with an amazing variety of ways to support the Lord's work, -- not all of them exactly honorable, even if necessary. It says what tithing is, and is not, how fees were used and abused, and how the state got into the acts. Two thirds of the book deals with the growth of stewardship in the American Churches, and the concept of voluntary giving, (along with lotteries and pew-rentals). But it all ends on a note of hope and encouragement as the practice of proportionate giving gains ground, and new progress is made toward the recovery of a new and dynamic practice of modern Christian tithing. The author, Dr. Luther P. Powell, has been both a teacher and preacher, and knows a great deal about stewardship in theory and in practice. Every minister who resents having to speak about money needs this book to inspire and inform his appeal, and to disarm his fondest critics.