At the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Dallas, Texas, more and more parishioners have signed up to give tithes and offerings automatically through their Visa or American Express cards.<\/p>\n
“They want to get the points, and that’s fine,” said Bobby Brown, the church’s business manager.<\/p>\n
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 tithing by automatic assessment rob from the thoughtfulness and spirituality of giving?<\/p>\n
And is the latest innovation, the ATM-like “Giving Kiosk” – which 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?<\/p>\n