Tithing is the story of 11 different people or couples who find that ancient practice to be an important part of their spiritual lives. The strength of this book lies in the diversity of its subjects. You’ll find everyone from fundamentalists to liberals between these covers, which only lends strength to the book’s main point: tithing is an important practice today. One of the chapters even centers on the tithing practices of a Jewish Rabbi. Since this book series emphasizes the seven practices that Christianity picked up from Judaism, his perspective is particularly valuable.

LeBlanc’s prose is effortless—it takes no time at all to dissolve into the situations you’re reading about. In fact, each chapter reads like a well written magazine article. I just wished there was more to tie the articles together. A survey of the scriptures that speak of tithing, stewardship, and generosity would have been a nice addition. Hearing how the saints throughout history practiced would have been helpful as well.

Unfortunately, the message became repetitive after a while. You can only hear so much, “I was poor, but God convicted me to tithe, and now I’m better,” before you crave something a little more substantial. Does this message work, worldwide? How does the persecuted church, or the third-world church practice tithing?

All that said, this book is a good motivational tool to start people on their tithing journey.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free as a member of Thomas Nelson’s Booksneeze program.

Leblanc, Douglas. Tithing: Test Me in This. Thomas Nelson, 2010. The Ancient Practices Series.