Will Your Tithe be Credit or Debit?

I just ran across an article which describes a new phenomenon in church giving - accepting credit and debit cards instead of traditional checks and cash:

At the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Dallas, more and more parishioners have signed up to give tithes and offerings by automatic assessment of their Visa or American Express accounts.

"They want to get the points, and that's fine," said Bobby Brown, the church's business manager.

But is it really Christian to collect frequent flier points on the way to heaven? Are churches that take plastic contributing to the nation's credit card debt crisis? Does automatic assessment rob from the thoughtfulness and spirituality of giving?

And is the latest innovation, the ATM-like "Giving Kiosk" that lets people swipe a credit or debit card as they're entering or leaving worship, simply too suggestive of money-changers in the temple to work for most congregations?

Across Dallas and elsewhere, church leaders are grappling with such issues, trying to find their way in a brave new world of stewardship.

"It's a constant hot topic," said Phill Martin, deputy CEO of the Richardson-based National Association of Church Business Administration. "They're asking questions about the process and the theology."

Clearly, the offering plate and envelope are in trouble as payment by cash and check declines.

For many years I paid my tithe through my church's website using a service they had that would generate a bank draft and take it out of my checking account. I hated writing checks and trying to keep track of giving envelopes, so this system worked well for me. Taking plastic is a little different. Accepting debit cards is not that big of a deal since they work just like checks and take money from checking accounts, but if I were a church administrator, I'd be very hesitant to accept credit cards for donations. By definition, a credit card represents money the person doesn't actually have, and though he may intend to pay that bill in full when the statement comes, if he doesn't, he's building debt, and I'm not sure the church should be in the position of increasing the debt loads on its members.

Credit cards can also be pretty dangerous in situations where somebody is convinved to give because of an emotional appeal, and when that appeal wears off, the giver may suddenly find themselve in financial peril with little or no recourse. You can cancel many credit card payments if the merchanise you receive is defective, but will they allow you to cancel a payment because God didn't bless you like the televangelist promised?

I would hope that churches would stay out of the credit card game for tithes and offerings. I just don't think that's a healthy use of those financial tools.