that was not the point i was making..to pass the offering basket is one thing but passing it multiple times is another

I think you miss the point. There is no tithe, as in give 10 percent or you are a bad Christian. We left a church once for the same reason. I had crushed a few disk in my back, was in terrible pain but made it to church anyway, and two weeks in a row the whole service was about making a financial commitment to raising $500,000 for restoration of some stained glass windows. The constant bombardment with "i need money" is not Biblical and not doing the Lord's work.

I completely agree with 2 Corinthians 9:7, and I honestly believe it leads to more giving. Much like a cafe that automatically assigns a 15% tip as their requirement. That screws the wait staff and the customers. The wait staff puts out less effort because they know they are covered, the patrons are forced to tip that amount no matter how bad the service. My minimum tip is 15% and normally it's closer to 25% because I spent many years making a living thru waiting tables and managing the front side of the flagship Bennigans in the Dallas Galleria Mall, yes I realize this shows my age. But when they make it mandatory, that's all they get, period.

I would financially support our church much more if it would grow the balls to lose their tax free status and unchain themselves from the beast. When we give we do it because we're called to, we don't want a receipt so we can claim it against our taxes and we don't want our names mentioned when we give big chunks towards building projects and so forth. We shouldn't let our right hand know what our left hand is doing, and I'm pretty sure if it's announced, celebrated, and reported to the IRS for a "reward" then that is your reward...here on earth, and will not be recognized in heaven.