EDUCATION, EDUCATION? 

Thomas Kane was the “Johnny Appleseed” of the tithing movement that flourished in America from the 1880s to the early 1920s. During those decades, this Chicago business leader sent millions of slender tithing tracts across the continent. Kane seldom used his own name. The “LAYMAN,” as he wanted to be known, was intent upon drawing Protestant layfolk into conversations about tithing. Anyone could write him at the “Layman Company” in Chicago. He then published those exchanges in inexpensive booklets. The “Adventures in Tithing” series offered a sort of “Dear Abby” approach to the problems and worries of aspiring tithers. Here is one such exchange:

A correspondent asks: “What is your opinion of ‘drives?’”

I do not like them. The aftermath is always disappointing. When tithing becomes universal, financial drives and subscriptions of any kind . . . will be unnecessary.

“Universal tithing may be a long time in coming; what do you advise for the immediate future?”

EDUCATION, EDUCATION.

“Would you emphasize the needs of the Church and missionary enterprises as a basic reason for tithing?”

Emphatically no. Emphasize the need of people to tithe because, first, tithing honors God by putting him first in our lives, and, second, because tithing contributes not only to the building of strong, dependable Christian character, but also to our personal happiness, our joy of living and our prosperity - spiritual and temporal.

Like those of us who claim to follow Biblical teachings, Thomas Kane blended his religious commitments with implicit American values. He was both a believer in the tithe (as he understood it) and also a staunch individualist who embraced the cultural imperatives of “personal happiness” and “prosperity.” Would Kane’s message have been as persuasive in late Victorian America if he had relied only on the tithe? Would his appeal make sense in contemporary America?

What kind of “EDUCATION, EDUCATION” about tithing is appropriate today?

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What Are Our Hidden “Ifs”?

“TITHING NOW. Tithing is practiced by many, and their record is remarkable, The practice transforms financial conditions, pays old debts, meets new bills, erects buildings, provides equipment, increases salaries and allowances, multiples benevolences, eliminates begging and merchandizing, and injects new spiritual vigor. These results may be expected when the Lord is given a square deal.”

This excerpt from a 1918 sermon reflects an ebullient portrait of a care-free present and an abundant future for tithers and their churches. No longer, for instance, will congregations be forced into “begging and merchandizing.” But it is all up to us. This future is ours if we are willing to give the Lord a “square deal” – in other words, to be tithers.

It seems so simple and straightforward. Here is a vision of giving that can transform individuals and institutions. But there are certain hidden “ifs” lurking beneath the surface of these claims. If a large and deeply committed majority of tithers is at work in an institution, these predictions might come true. Or if there are enough teachers of giving to help others along the way. Or if there are – well, you fill in the rest of the sentences.

What are the hidden “ifs” in our own expectations about sustainable improvements in our common understandings of giving?