Welcome to the Jesus Image podcast.

I've been praying a lot about this series on Holy Generosity.

To be honest and transparent as a pastor, I was a bit hesitant to do it just because I know

that people misunderstand it and I didn't want, just that my humanity, I think, got in

the way and I didn't want people to be upset. My job is not to make you, my preeminent job

is not to make you super happy. It's to see you conformed into the

image of Jesus. So I actually need to repent for not teaching on this earlier. And I think part of

the reason is, is because all of us, if you came up in charismatic circles a generation prior,

there was so much excess in this area so much improper

sinful teaching that it actually had a negative effect long term while people might give a big

amount in the moment they felt manipulated and so they just stopped giving all together in many

cases and trust was broken.

I actually had an interaction with a preacher one time who talked to me about offerings,

and I confronted the way he did them.

And I actually told him, Jesse remembers right there

in my near where we used to live in California.

I said, you are smashing the people's seed before they ever get it out of their hand.

Because you're calling them to place attention on themselves when they give.

Some of the gimmicks, some of the methods are just absolutely unbiblical so i want to be very

clear about that and you've never seen that here you never will uh not if i'm in the room um it's

it's absolutely not the scripture. But conversely, selfishness is absolutely not the scripture.

So having a tight hand cannot be the remedy.

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