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    Cheerfully
    Cheerfully
    Cheerfully
    Ebook103 pages1 hour

    Cheerfully

    By B. Gerard Fite

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Cheerfully: a way that displays happiness or optimism; a way that inspires feelings of happiness; readily and willingly (Oxford Dictionary). Worship is intended to be a cheerful experience. Every form of worship is expressed through some form of giving therefore it is reasonable to conclude giving must be done cheerfully. This book will birth Cheerful givers. We all must strive to be cheerful givers. This book will evaluate scripture and offer strategies for giving to be led by the Holy Spirit. If you are tired of talking and hearing about giving in worship this is a necessary resource for you. If you have questions about giving as an expression of love in worship this resource will bring clarity. God wants giving to be executed CHEERFULLY.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherB. Gerard Fite
    Release dateJul 15, 2016
    ISBN9781310512087
    Cheerfully
    Author

    B. Gerard Fite

    Founding Pastor of Blessed Harvest Nation. Graduate of Howard University (Bachelors of Business Administration - Information Systems) and Hood Theological Seminary (Masters of Divinity). I married Barbara Foster in 1990, we have 2 children, Jerret (Andrea) and Jeanay (Torey), 5 grandchildren (Jeremiah, Hezekiah, Elijah, Aaron and Mya) I have been serving God in ministry since 1987. I enjoy writing to share my experiences and sharing in the experiences of others.

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      Book preview

      Cheerfully - B. Gerard Fite

      CHEERFULLY

      Dr. B. Gerard Fite

      Copyright © 2015 Dr. B. Gerard Fite

      All rights reserved.

      ISBN-10: 1515193667

      ISBN-13:978-1515193661

      DEDICATION

      This book is dedicated to my first pastor, Alphonso and Constance Whitfield (Hope Chapel AME Zion Church – Utica, NY), for showing me an example of ministry not focused on money. They focused on stewardship. I do not recall him preaching about it but he lived and led by these principles every day. I thank God for allowing me to experience your Godly relationship and example.

      EXPLANATORY NOTES:

      All scripture references are from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994) unless otherwise noted.

      The name of the Christ is traditionally transliterated to be Jesus based on the Latin translation that was used as a source text for the King James Version. There are a few accepted spellings for the name of the Christ; Jehoshua, Yashua, and Yeshua. In light of the fact that the letter J is not Hebrew I lean towards Yeshua. The meaning is the same regardless to the spelling Yahweh means salvation or The LORD is salvation. The name of the Christ comes from the same root as Joshua. While the New Testament was written primarily in Greek, the Christ was born and raised in a Hebrew speaking community therefore He was given a Hebrew name that has no Greek equivalent. And although we can refer to the Christ using either name in this book the Christ will be referred to by Yeshua so that believers become aware of the Hebrew pronunciation of the name.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      DEDICATION

      EXPLANATORY NOTES

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      FOREWORD by Dr. Guy Sayles

      INTRODUCTION

      Chapter 1: Condition of Giving in The Church

      Chapter 2: Giving as an Expression of Worship

      Chapter 3: Agrarian vs. Monetary

      Chapter 4: Old Testament Focus

      Chapter 5: Tithing – Malachi Focus

      Chapter 6: New Testament Focus

      Chapter 7: God Loves a Cheerful Giver

      Chapter 8: Changing the Giving Paradigm

      Chapter 9: Establish a Giving Strategy

      Chapter 10: Let’s Talk

      ENDNOTES

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      I thank God for the liberty birthed in me through this journey. While my journey is far from over I welcome this path I have been set on. God, you know how to respond to my confusion in such profound ways. I always felt something was out of order now I know your will.

      I thank my wife and pastor, Barbara J. Fite, for correction and motivation; for loving God more than she loves me and praying for me without ceasing. You continue to invest in me to be greater for God. I love you and thank God for maintaining our love relationship.

      To Jerret, Jeanay, Torey and Andrea – I love you and thank God for the adults you have become. You encourage me to be a healthy Godly man. I am striving to be an example that you can build upon.

      To the G4 (Jeremiah, Hezekiah, Elijah and Aaron) – every book I write is to offer liberty to you as you grow in God. I want you to know God through love not obligation. Granddaddy (and Grandma) is laying a foundation for you to excel. Remember: Don’t just do great, be great!

      To Dr. Craig Keener for revealing exegesis to me. You opened the word of God to me in a fresh way. I will never be the same because of the opportunity to learn from you. Your humility and anointing are sincere and obvious.

      To Dr. Larry George for maintaining a standard of excellence which required that I did not ignore the elephant in the room. You pushed me to this path and made sure I did not avoid it. I thank God for positioning you to advise me. It was all in God’s plan.

      To Dr. Guy Sayles for being an honest Godly example for me. You gave me focus to see that I am always a son before a servant. God does not love me for what I do; God loves me for who I am. I am spiritually healed due to all you have revealed to me.

      To my brother and friend, John Michael Jones, you have listened and shared with me to keep me focused to challenge my understanding and stay focused on God every step of the way. Thank you for investing in this journey with me by sharing your truth.

      Thank you God for Prophetess Yvonne Nesbit. God sent you to bless me. I cannot wait until you put your name on a book. You are my friend and that means so much to me. Thank you for every sacrifice you have made along the way. Here we go – now the fun part…

      To Blessed Harvest Institute – the best church in the world: you have struggled with me and supported me. You have asked questions and pressed with me to prove God’s word in our church. We will impact the world with Christ if we stay focused on unity and ministry. Our journey continues with great things ahead.

      A special "Thank You" to the participants of my doctoral project focus group. Your diligence, honesty and faithfulness to openly discuss giving and offer insight and information have helped to shape what has become an instrument to impact the paradigm.

      Calvin Adair

      Rose Adair

      Rochelle Alexander

      Lola Barrows

      Ricky Beatty

      Phil Bowens

      John Burrell

      Samuel Byrd

      Sherri Byrd

      Jacqueline Carter

      Deanna Cosby

      Regina Devers

      Yusef Fite

      Tony McCain

      Andrea McCain

      Angela Moss

      Hassan Rasheed

      Rheda Richmond

      Carolyn Robbins

      Curby Swindell

      Priscilla Williams

      Regina Williams

      FOREWORD

      This book grows from and has as its center a crucial and powerful question: Do I love God enough to be a cheerful giver?

      The question took shape in Dr. Fite’s mind and heart when he was pursuing doctoral studies at Gardner Webb University’s School of Divinity. It was in that context that I had the privilege of getting to know Brian, first as one of my best students and now as a respected colleague and valued friend. When the question came to him, it was, in many ways, the result of Brian’s long-standing study, prayer, and pastoral experience. This book, which is an overview of his response to that question, brings together in a creative synthesis his theological, biblical, spiritual, and practical reflections on giving.

      Cheerfully consistently affirms that giving is an expression of worship, especially worship as the surrendering of our wills to God’s will and as an offering of thanks and praise to the Source of all things.

      He distinguishes giving from sharing, noting that giving releases control to someone else, while sharing leaves control with the sharer. Cheerfully explores fundraising, because it is too frequently disconnected from the heart and soul of worship. This book is also prophetic in the critique of the manner in which church leaders can manipulate people in ways that benefit the leaders themselves.

      Not everyone will agree with everything in this book, but what it asks (and what I urge) you to do is to read this book with an open mind and receptive heart. Cheerfully will challenge you to think and feel differently about what The Church has traditionally called stewardship. Most importantly, this book will relentlessly and compassionately keep raising the central question: Do I love God enough to be a cheerful giver?

      Cheerfully shows us how to answer yes.

      ~ Guy Sayles

      INTRODUCTION

      I have spent my life in church. My mother, Mary Louise Fite, was a Godly woman who raised us to be actively involved in church, sports and community. My dad, Robert Louis Fite, was a very logical person who would always challenge us to think through things in order to understand. I am the product of their strengths and some of their weaknesses.

      In church I would always evaluate the information and behavior of the people to understand what they were doing and why. As I stated in the

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