I was sitting up at the NPC front desk the other day, talking with Jody Glazner. Probably picking her brain over something (she's wicked smart) when 2 people walked in.
One was a woman, looked mid 30's to me. The other was a 15/16 year old looking boy, probably her son...or at least I assumed. He looked like the normal teenage boy; baggy clothes, hat, a few piercings, etc. Her look kinda mirrored his, as one of the "cool" moms...you know?
Anyway, they walked right up to the counter and as Jody started on her super-upbeat "Can I help you with something?" routine, the woman was swiftly unfolding a $100 bill she just removed from her front pocket.
She put it on the counter with some authority. Not angrily...and not quite "slammed" it...but with some serious intentionality; and at the same time, some nervousness.
Jody was reaching for an envelope and saying "Oh, you're paying your tithe, ok, I'll get that all set for you..." when she was interrupted. The woman very matter-of-factly said "I'm not putting my name on anything, God doesn't want me to."
There wasn't any arrogance, anger, frustration, hostility or anything negative about what she said. But instead she delivered it with such a sense of certainty. You could just tell she was absolutely convinced of what she needed to do, and she was in here doing it.
So Jody responded with some kind of "Ok, cool, you're all set then!" And the pair just kinda nodded their acknowledgement, turned around and walked out.
Once they went through both sets of doors and were back outside, they gave each other a big high-five as they were walking back to the car. Obviously excited about what they just did. And hey, God loves a cheerful giver...right?
NPC just started a 3 Month Tithe Challenge (www.northpointchurch.tv/challenge). It's a way to help relieve some of the fear people have about giving by offering a money back guarantee for new tithers. Granted, people have to sign up, and make sure the money is easily trackable in case they want a refund...but that's only if they think they're going to want a refund. So far over 450 cards have been turned in.
Some people may take the opportunity to start giving with no thoughts about claiming a refund later. May even want to remove any temptation about it by making sure that their money isn't trackable. Donating in cash. In the middle of the week. Without giving a name.
I'm sure that's incredibly scary to do. But I can imagine the joy & excitement on that woman's and that teenager's faces as they were walking back to their car after doing it.
