meditatio at the water's edge

What to read something that will mess with your paradigm? Did you know that (as far as I can tell from my study) money was never given as an offering in the Bible? Boy that's really going to screw up some people's building campaigns... And the tithe was NEVER associated with money. It really screws up your whole approach to increasing the profit margin (church budget) to take away the whole idea of tithing ten percent of your paycheck..."What do you mean it's not in the Bible?"
Well, maybe our approach to money in the church has been wrong-headed. Think about all the money we invest into buildings and programs and other things (not evil in themselves). I just wonder if we might be more effective if we invested our resources in people rather than institutions? I look at what Jesus' earliest apprentices gave their money and possessions for, and I see that they just gave where people were in need so that nobody would be in need. That sounds pretty simple. But of course, you have to watch out for people who take advantage of that... Well, maybe, but I kind of remember reading that Jesus said something about giving without expecting to be repaid. And I remember Paul writing something about wealthy people needing to be rich in good deeds.

Just something for us to think about before we get into budgets, buildings, and (oh, what's another 'b'-word?)... whatever.