Tithe Stewardship & Church Tithing

Remember that old song that used to be sung, “Give me that old time religion”? I’m kind of curious as to why that person wrote that song. Did that person like old way of things or was ministry much simpler than it had been before. There’s one thing for certain is that its much more complicated now.

I keep myself involved in forums, blogs, groups and debates about the tithing subject. So I come across many questions about tithing here and there. I came across this challenge. Someone asked me to support my reasons for freewill, spirit-led giving. They said that much of the support that they’ve heard came from verses that talked about giving offerings to foreign lands for missions, and that this had nothing to do with support for local ministry. They believed tithing should be in place to support the local ministry. They disagreed with my stance that spirit-led giving to lead the way for church support not tithing.

I’ve been realizing more and more that i have to use the old testament in order to proclaim what is right for the new testament. I have much to learn, but i’m starting to wonder if you can’t support a new testament thought without old testament proof, then you ought to question your thoughts. For instance if i can’t prove from the OT that the tithe is not relevant to the church then i ought to reconsider my thoughts.

There are three areas in the old testament that i use to support freewill, spirit-led offerings for the new testament. One of them digs into the conditional tithing covenant of Jacob, the other deals with the freewill gifts given on the OT day of Pentecost. Finally the one i am going to get into below is the passage in Exodus 35:20-35. I used this passage below to answer how freewill, spirit-led offerings can support local ministry. The passage below is about 15 verses, but you only need to read a couple to see what i’m referrring to:

Exodus 35:20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD. Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or hides of sea cows brought them. Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the LORD, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD freewill offerings for all the work the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.

Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers.

To me, this is a beautiful picture of how God intends his Church to function. Israel was not commanded to tithe until they settled in the promised land, so this passage is prior to the tithe requirement. How many times is willing in there? How many times is freewill mentioned? How many times does it mention that God has filled his people with gifts and skills and abilities? This passage proves that God is capable of equipping his people to finance and support the local ministry of God without incorporating the structure of the law to do it. We act as if the church’s hands will be tied behind our back if we don’t require tithing. Can it get any more plain than this? Can we stop whining about how people need to tithe, when actually we just have people that are not willing to listen to the Spirit of God.

I don’t know about you, but I want this old time religion. The question is are you and i willing? So what about you? Do you think this passage portrays a good example for us to follow today?

I am not a scholar, nor am i a pastor. I don’t have a PhD nor do i have experience as a teacher.  I don’t know the “theological big word” definitions of hermeneutics, homiletics, or exegesis. I couldn’t even tell you if i just spelled them right. I am the normal, every day joe schmoe when it comes to theology. Most would put me in the category of laymen. I don’t think my opinion matters more than a man who has a PhD and has 30 years experience as a senior pastor, but i don’t think that my opinion matters less either. At this point i don’t know why i’m sharing my thoughts here about this, but it’s just something that came to my mind, so here we go.

I don’t know how many others out there feel left out when the Christian conversations start progressing towards the “theological big words”. I don’t think i get in many conversations with those words as much as i read these big words from the pages of scholars who write them. I’m not saying that there is no relevancy to understanding these definitions, but i think i appreciate the more practical communication. i like parables. i like applications. Its very simple, and very practical.

I couldn’t tell you that Jesus sat down with his pupils during a course study and spoke a lesson to his disciples about homiletics (is that even a word?).  There were no university’s offering a masters of divinity. There was no doctorate of theology. You were either a disciple or follower of Jesus, or you were not.

Right now, many random thoughts are just coming to my mind. Like why spend 10 years in college? Why spend many thousands of dollars on these degrees? How is all this practical? How does all this help? Well, if life is just a vapor, what’s your opinion? I realize that these questions have very legitimate answers, and i don’t want to belittle any of the causes here. I don’t know, maybe i’m just trying to comfort some self doubt in my mind right now, because i am just the average joe schmoe. My vast use of vocabulary comes from just a small little town in eastern Pennsylvania. It doesn’t come from any dictionary’s or theology courses.  I did graduate with a bachelor’s degree, and i consider myself more fortunate than most.

I didn’t feel like writing about finances, stewardship, or tithing in this post. I just wanted to share some of my personal thoughts that have been running through my mind recently.

How practical do you think theology is these days? i’m not necessarily talking about what your pastor thinks of practical theology, but i’m asking you about your personal life. What is your own definition of practical theology in perspective of your own experience and own knowledge? Do you think the majority of theology out there today is practical?

Many people misunderstand my anti-tithe position many times. I would like to clarify my position a little more. I believe sacrificial, spirit-led giving is still commanded to continue to support God’s work. After all, the Spirit is the one that ordains each ministry, so why can’t others listen to the Spirit’s calling to support those ministries? For those that beckon to the Spirit’s call to serve in ministry, there are the same amount that beckon to the Spirit’s call to give financially to that ministry. I don’t know the exact amount that the Spirit of God tells each person to give, but don’t be quick to criticize the unknown. This is why it is called walking by faith when you are controlled by the Spirit.

There is no difference between the Spirit calling pastor Bob into the unknown to start a church, and then calling us into the same unknown to support it. The spiritual calling of pastor Bob is no more of a vague command then the spiritual calling is for us to give.As each day goes along, the Spirit is constantly revealing our next steps. Each step of faith we take, the Spirit begins to illuminate the next one. If we decide to go off path, well, that is our decision. That’s why It is called freewill giving. Whether you obey the Old Testament law of tithing or you obey in the giving commands of the Spirit, we each have a freewill to obey or disobey. Pastor Bob cannot neglect his ministry without disobeying the Spirit, just as much as i can’t neglect my financial support without disobeying the Spirit. I do not like to use the term “freewill giving” to describe how i give, because whether or not you believe in the tithing mandate, you have a freewill to obey or disobey. As our pastors are called by the Spirit to lead the ministry in each direction, we are also called in the same way to financially support it.

Spirit-led giving provides an invaluable system for checks and balances. Have you ever heard the phrase, “if God ordains it, He’ll sustain it”? What it means is If the Spirit of God provides the gifts to ordain a ministry then doesn’t He have the capability to provide the gifts to sustain it? Let’s think back to the nation of Israel, and how their system of checks and balances worked. The Mosaic law guided the Levites and priests during the operation of religious faculties, so in turn God also included within the law a means to support the ministry. The Levites operated under the law, and the people gave a tenth under the law. Both Israel and the Levites were under the restrictions of the same guide.

What we’ve done today is guide our Church by the Spirit but support it by the law. We now have created 2 guides that contradict one another. The Spirit of God no longer has the sole authority to confirm Godly ministry through financial support. Why should the law have the right to come in and demand that others give to a ministry that the law never ordained? If a pastor knew that financial support came from the Spirit of God instead of a required law, he would think twice before initiating a building project. What is the incentive for a pastor to seek the counsel of the Spirit if the finances are dependant on the tithing law? All he has to do is make sure the numbers work out in the accounting books.

God’s system of checks and balances is still the same today. Of course the Church is no longer led by the Mosaic law, instead the Church is guided by the Spirit with our serving and in turn we are guided by the Spirit with our giving. For we walk by faith and not by sight.

It looks like Creflo Dollar is refusing to turn in some of his financial records to the Senate Finance Committee. You can read about the CNN article here. 5 of the 6 ministries have already turned over their documents or have asked Senator Grassley for more time. It looks like Dollar is willing to be subpoenaed from the committee if they don’t accept what he’s given them. I understand the concerns that these ministries have with the government meddling in the Church. But at the same time, what do you expect? I mean, if you consider your organization a charity with a non-profit status, but you are living in a multi-million dollar mansion and are driving around in a rolls royce, what do you think they’ll do?

I just recently posted a funny blog post about these televangelists. I made up the game from Monopoly and called it Televangoly and made up a board game and game pieces with pictures of these televangelists on it. It’s definitely worth a laugh.

I just read a news article written by Ken Walker on ChurchCentral.com. The title of the article is Rebellion Against Tithing: Lashing Out at Legalism? This article comes in response to the news article on Wall Street Journal - Backlash Against Tithing.

Here’s a quote from the article on Church Central:

“While there may be criticism of tithing, I have a feeling that it stems from a desire to throw the legalistic baby out with the generous bathwater.

In other words, those who teach tithing as an ironclad law reap the fruits of rebellion against something that wasn’t meant to be a barometer of our spirituality or salvation. Generous giving is a spiritual principle, not a Pharasitical law intent on binding people’s hearts.

After all, points out financial author and pastor Brian Kluth—whose materials are distributed in more than 100 nations—the idea of tithing to God’s work is accepted historically, across denominations, and around the world.”

My response is, “you bet were throwing the legalistic baby out with the bath water.” Their baby is tithing, and i’m sorry it is not adorable and not cute. Also, if my rebellion is in response to wrong, then that means i am doing what’s right. There is no rebellion my friend. If rebellion is part of proclaiming the truth then i’ll be the first claim myself guilty.

It’s so obvious how people are blinded by tithing. For instance Walker goes on to say that “generous giving is a spiritual principle not a Pharisaical law”. I say they are blinded by tithing because they can’t see that the backlash against tithing is not a backlash against generous giving. Generous giving is not about tithing. How much more plain can i say it? Just because i don’t believe in the tithing mandate does not mean that i am throwing out the generous giving baby out with the tithing bathwater. I just want to throw the tithing bath water out. I don’t want to throw the generous giving baby out.

Is tithing the bath water or is it the baby? This is another misconception in Walker’s analogy. He thinks that tithing is the baby! Is tithing the part that you are suppose to keep, while you throw out generosity with the bath water No! you are suppose to keep the baby, which analogously is the generosity, and throw out the water, which is tithing.

Why can’t people like Walker see the this picture clearly? It’s because they think my response to the tithing mandate is in rebellion against generosity. But his vision fails when he doesn’t see that my response to the tithing mandate is actually in response to what’s wrong. I am an advocate for sacrifice and generosity.

First, Choose your Edition

Moyce Jeyer Edition

Cope Kenland Edition

Dreflo Collar Edition

Henny Binn Edition

Now, Choose your game pieces

Finally, Start Playing

(+) Click the Board to See Details (+)

Official Rules of Televangoly
Object of the game televangoly of course is to gain as much money and property as possible. Players must choose their favorite game piece and roll the dice to go around the board. If you are caught for tax fraud, go directly to jail, do not pass go do not collect your million dollars. The first person to monopolize the game and take everyone’s money is the winner. Now remember that your opponents are just sowing their seed to you, so make sure you give them a 1-800 number to call and pledge.

If you land on community plate, this is an opportunity for you to capitalize on all of the gifts that have been pouring into your ministry. So pick a community plate card off the board, and cross your fingers. If you land on chance, you have an opportunity to pick a card from the “chance” pile. Remember these can be good and bad cards. But if you get a bad and owe some money, you can always hold a pimp-a-thon on the Total Baloney Network and make others pay for your misfortune.

One of the best spots to land on the whole board is the “tithing tax”. If you land on this spot collect 10% of all your opponents earnings. They do not have the option of giving freely or else a curse will come upon their finances and they will be forced into poverty.

The next spot on the board is the $10 Church parking. If you happen to land on this spot you are very fortunate. You get to collect all the money that’s been collected for all of those who have paid for parking. So grab that money out of that pot, and don’t forget to stop and smell the aroma of cold hard cash in the palm of your hand.

Last but not least. One of the most coveted places on the board are the private jets. What would a televangelist do without their jet? It’s almost like a circuit riding preacher without a horse. So go around the board and collect them all! These jets have been chose by many of the world famous televangelists around the world.

Well, that’s the end of the official rules. The number one rule is have fun and put on that smile even though you are robbing all of your opponents of their money.

Deception: The New Testament always requires more than the Old Testament, so we should at least give 10%.
Reason why:God never required less from Israel than He requires from us.

Deception: How can we support the Church without tithing?
Reason why:The Church’s pocket books afraid of freewill. They love the security blanket that a minimum requirement in giving does for their bank accounts. The Church says it wants to be led by the Spirit, but the Church doesn’t trust God enough to be sustained by the Spirit.

Deception: Careful application of God’s word will always be subject to the criticism of legalism
Reason why:Sounds like a Pharisaical excuse after Jesus rebuked them. This is extremely assumptive that they have the right application of God’s word. Havn’t you heard that careful application of God’s word will always be subject to the criticism of conformism.

Deception: We are under grace so we should be more than willing to give at least 10%
Reason why: We are under grace so that we don’t have to be under the law.

Deception: Jesus came to fulfill the law not to destroy it
Reason why: Who gets to pick and choose which laws are fulfilled and which ones are destroyed?

I read a news article from the author, Bridgett Williams-NBC Augusta titled, “Faith First: Translating The Tithe”. You can view the article here. There was a video on there interviewing two pastors, and i want to quote one of the pastors. He said,

“Those that feel that they can’t afford to tithe are those that will remain in poverty for the rest of their lives.”

I guess there’s two ways to take that. Does he mean that they’ll be in spiritual poverty or does he mean that physically, you’ll be in poverty? I’m guessing he’s one of those people who have been suckered into the health and wealth gospel, so he probably meant physical poverty. So for those of you who are making over $130,000 a year, and you feel that you can’t afford to tithe just remember that you’ll remain in that poverty until you start tithing. I don’t think most people could live on $130,000. Do you?

There’s been some big time media coverage lately especially with the article just written by the Wall Street Journal, “Posted in news, video | No Comments »