In the midst of the recession, we've seen plenty of innovative ideas from churches to get congregants out of the "woe is me" mindset and minister to others. Some churches have passed out $20 "stimulus" bills with the condition that members invest the money in others more needy than themselves. Other churches have created community buzz by providing cars, covering utility bills or stocking food pantries for a month. But here's an idea we think deserves major attention from both the media and pastors alike.
At Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle, Texas, passing the offering plate has become an open-source event. Earlier this year the church's pastor, Toby Slough, went out on a ledge by inviting people to take whatever they needed from the collection plate—this during a season in which giving had dipped significantly. The church responded with its largest offering ever. Later that week, Slough had what he considers a divine encounter with a jobless man on his last dime. "In that moment, I just knew this is what our church has to be about," he said. "In these economic times, we can't be so into church business that we forget what our business is, and that is to help people."
Cross Timbers hasn't been the same since and to date has given away more than $500,000 to both regular attendees and complete strangers. Each week seems to present a new opportunity to uniquely bless the unsuspecting yet financially struggling—from single moms and widows to local ministries to entire families. (In one month the church spread out $200,000 among six organizations.)
Slough shrugs off skeptics waiting for the church's unique approach to backfire by pointing to the model of selflessness: Jesus Christ. "The ministry I'm trying to follow, a lot of people came to see the greatest man to ever walk the face of the Earth because of what He could do for them," he said. "I told my church a couple weeks ago, if I'm not being taken advantage of, I'm not being like Jesus." [the33tv.com, 5/17/09]
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