Questions that come to my mind include, How important is it to give regularly? Does giving regularly mean I’m giving faithfully? Is it important that I have a sense or feeling of sacrifice when I give? If so, how will I feel that sacrifice most deeply? (Adam Shields suggests cash, which is probably right. But why not a physical object that you’ve purchased with that money? Money is merely representative.) Is it important to be seen or unseen in your giving? Will you be setting an example or puffing up your pride? What is the purpose of giving? Is it to support the church? Is it to discipline myself and prioritize God’s purposes above my own?

All these questions need to be worked out by each giver as they decide how to give. That can be a lot of work and full of confusion and even uncertainty. Paul keeps it simple, which I appreciate, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Paul seems concerned with the how of our hearts, not the practice of our payment.

forgive the long reply, but I have several anecdotes for consideration:

1) while in Mozambique a few years back, I worshipped with a local church. the offering time was one of the most worshipful, jubilant elements of the entire service. they placed a box up front, began playing wildly joyful music, and then commenced with clapping and dancing as everyone formed a single line and worked their way forward to place their gift in the box. it was stunning. these brothers and sisters could not wait to give back to their Lord.

2) periodically I have the privilege of leading worship at my church. one Sunday, we skipped the passing of the plates and simply placed offering baskets at the entrance/exits, and noted this in the bulletin. we received the same amount of giving that Sunday as any other, and it forced people out of the ordinary to “experience” giving.

3) there is now a Haiti relief fund on the dts.edu site. my wife and I wanted a way to participate tangibly, and quickly. we were able to do so by giving online. this brought us great joy, and we were so grateful that dts made the concerted effort to provide this chance.

4) @ jennifer – we are with you. we have consciously chosen to send checks (or manually deduct drafts) from our accounts each month as a visible and physical reminder to pray for those we support. same as with our church giving. I am such a pathetic prayer “warrior” that unless I have a rhythm, I will fail to pray for them. it’s something that helps keep me faithful.

this area is dear to my heart. thanks for raising our awareness, John. If Christ is who he says he is, and he did what the Bible said he did, then he deserves no less than my very life…

@john – it sound to me like it is better for you to give electronically for another good reason… you don’t get the pleasure of people seeing you do it.

at our church we do not pass the plate – and we do it for many of these reasons, and our on-line giving is now approaching 30% of our total. with our system you get an email every time your weekly giving happens, and it includes a link that lets you change the amount yourself, on-line, without having to tell anyone you are doing it.

for me it’s a much more committed “act of worship” to schedule a regular cycle of giving – it means that i don’t care how impressed with the speaker or the music i am that week, my gift is already on the way.