How many of you have been out to see the documentary on intelligent design by Ben Stein? I went to see it last week. It was very practical and i enjoyed it. Anyways, that’s not the point of the post here. The point i want to bring here is how the Church amid their tithing rants, and obligatory giving has expelled grace giving. They allow no opportunity for the children of God to use any discernment or spiritual intelligence when it’s time to give. Instead, many pastors preach on Sunday morning, that 10% of your overall income belongs to this organization. No discernment allowed. No Spirit guidance. No and’s, if’s, or but’s about it.
The children of God who are reborn in his Spirit are not allowed to exercise the gift of giving. Churches say that we are allowed to practice Spirit-led giving with offerings, but first we must meet the tithing obligation. Is there any spiritual gift like the gift of giving where we have a minimum requirement before the Spiritual gift takes effect?
Many pastors think that if we were left up to grace giving without a standard to uphold, then everyone would would stop giving. This is not just a judgment on human kind, it is also a judgment on the Spirit of God. Isn’t the Spirit capable of calling and equipping people to perform ministry? There is no command to feed a certain amount of poor people. Also there is no command to witness to a certain amount of unsaved. Neither of these endeavors have ceased just because there is no minimum requirement that we had to meet.
From a science and evolution/creation standpoint it takes an insurmountable amount of faith for scientists to take their reasoning and allow an intelligent being to initiate creation. In the same light it takes faith on behalf of churches and pastors to allow the Holy Spirit to direct people in giving rather than rely on a law that enables a predictable amount of income each week. With grace giving, the amount is unpredictable, and it shows how tithing has been the security blanket for church budgets and pastoral salaries for ages.
Grace giving has been expelled because it makes pastoral salaries, and church budgets nervous. Pastors, if you truly want your congregation to be led by the Spirit, then let’s begin with your pocket book. Church accountant, . . . same thing.
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Everytime an American pastor lives by faith without trust in the tithe that pastor is the eception to the rule. This is no small issue. Pastors are leaders and if they cannot examine the scriptures to find things that might cause them to move out into greater faith then their congregations will also be hindered. Many pastor in the world today are living under a cloud of percicution and these pastors do not expect to be finacially secure as a result from ministry. If pastors let their congregations live by faith and released them from the cumpulary 10% of money belongs to the local church or you are in sin doctrine, more ministry would occur outside of the box. I too have experienced the extreem cold shoulder given by pastors when one even questions the tithe. I tell pastors I believe in offering not tithing. This kind of talk is treated like insubordination. Tithing is not even open to debate. Ask a pastor can I give to starving children in Africa, or can I go to visit my sick mother in another state and consider the money I speant as tithes? Many will still respond with “the money tithe belongs to the local church” as if ministry can only occur with a paid pastor and a building. Are not all Christians called to be ministers? What about our responcibilities to our Parents and the poor? Freewillgiving is what is taught in the New Testement. If debate were allowed more would become convinced that the current popular tithing doctrine is leagalistic and hinders Christians from their own ministries.