Under the new AC funding plan we would turn from a system of voluntary giving, which is the true Presbyterian model. Christ asks us to give out of our abundance, and encourages our heart to do so. We give our tithe to the church because God encourages us to be a cheerful giver. Each gives according to his ability cheerfully.

In an article on byFaith the question was asked, “Will the AC Funding Plan Make the PCA Liberal?”
(http://byfaithonline.com/page/pca-news/the-current-debate-will-the-ac-funding-plan-make-the-pca-more-liberal). In response to this question RE Larry Plating offers this answer.

I don’t see the fee structure causing the denomination to go more liberal except in the context of a growing bureaucracy. I may be mixing metaphors here but once the camel has its nose in the tent, it may transform into a pig, feeding at a liberal trough, and grow out of proportion to its need. Who places the checks and balances on the AC? We have a model here in federal civil government. Also, once we have set the new precedent what is to keep the other committees from demanding a place at the feed trough?

Secondarily and more importantly, under the new funding plan we would turn from a system of voluntary giving, which is the true Presbyterian model. Christ asks us to give out of our abundance, and encourages our heart to do so. We give our tithe to the church because God encourages us to be a cheerful giver. Each gives according to his ability cheerfully. A head tax (it may be called a fee but it is a mandatory tax) may not be a burden to anything but our heart and conscience (because it is a tax) at the $7.00 per person per year, but should all of the committees throw their askings into the trough, because precedent is now set, that number increases dramatically. This number will surely grow from year to year. “This will never happen,” you say. I am not so sanguine as to believe that, as I used to be a federal worker, and have seen and managed top-down systems.

Thirdly, have you ever considered the possibility that God is limiting the AC by discouraging voluntary askings on the part of individual and wealthy churches and preventing it from implementing some of its more grandiose schemes? I think this worthy of pondering. I am sure that there are individualsin the PCA who could fund the entire AC budget, should God put that on their heart.

Another thing to ponder and consider: God’s model for government is decentralized, bottom-up (read grass roots here), internal to external. Satan’s model for government is centralized, top-down, external to internal (read here manipulation and control). As I look at these two models and see what is happening with regard to the AC going from an askings budget to a demand budget, I can see a slippery slope towards manipulation and control. Are we emulating Satan’s approach or God’s?

I have heard the comment that this new system is fair. I submit to you the system is not fair. We have wealthy churches in wealthy communities, we have moderately wealthy churches in moderately wealthy communities, and we have small and poor churches. The administrative overhead in the individual churches is disproportionately high in the smaller and poorer churches causing a greater burden to be placed upon them. To them this is not fair.
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Larry Plating is a ruling elder in New Life in Christ PCA in Fredericksburg, Va.

[Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced in this article is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]