A friend of mine asked me a question the other day: “ Why should our tithe ever go to paying a person’s salary? Or… why should there ever be paid staff for a “church” organization. The following is the response I gave to him after a couple of days of thought and discourse with my wife.
Response
Good question… Kat and I discussed it at length the other day. I will try and summarize where our conversation went. I came to realize through the conversations over the past couple of days how vast my views have transitioned in this arena. I was going to try and present arguments based on my understanding of scripture from a tithing mindset and non-tithing mindset but realized that would be too much unnecessary work. I have a non-tithing belief system and that directly effects my position in this area. I will try to outline my current distaste for the traditional system, Kat’s love of the current system, and then my actual support of the current system as long as it runs parallel with other options.
To Tithe or Not To Tithe
I know there is much debate about this and I think ya’ll have heard my stance on it, but I will reiterate here. I do not believe there is a tithe commanded in the New testament. The tithe was part of the Law and the Law does not exist anymore. The only commandments we have are to Love God and man. Jesus did pass commands on to the Apostles through His Spirit and they all can be understood as a breakdown of what it means to be like God, what it means to practically love God and what It means to love mankind in different situations. Everything is character based not ritual based. I will quote a Church Father Irenaeus here to back my point:
“And for this reason did the Lord, instead of that [commandment], "Thou shalt not commit adultery," forbid even concupiscence; and instead of that which runs thus, "Thou shalt not kill," He prohibited anger; and instead of the law enjoining the giving of tithes, [He told us] to share all our possessions with the poor; and not to love our neighbours only, but even our enemies;” Chapter 13 section 3
There are many different view points on this and many different arguments. But to me the law is over and everything that came with it. In the New Agreement in Christ we are called to give and to help those in need. In fact, many of the early church fathers believed in sharing all things and having all things in common with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Early leaders of the church, I mean A.D. 100, early had two major problems with the Tithe. It was based in the Law, and beyond that, it was not enough giving. They believed we were supposed to give ALL. If this belief is accurate, that leaves about 90 % of the entire present church system obsolete.
Our Idealistic Viewpoints
I do not believe in a commanded tithe therefore I do not have a biblical structure I believe that we should or should not be giving the tithe to. The easy answer to the initial question would be no. I will approach the proposed question with a slight twist. Should I support a preacher and church staff? This is now a question I can answer with some elaboration. Kat and I find our desires for church life going in two different directions. I for one am tired of the Sunday grind and get very little out of it. Does God do stuff through it, yes. Do I learn things, absolutely. There is, however, a nagging thought that tells me this is shallow water we are wading in and there is so much more. Oftentimes, I am bored out of my mind and find the sermons nothing but regurgitations from a man that just read a book. Basically, clip notes from a book so I don’t have to read it. Plus, it is 2018 I can listen to podcast at home and get the same thing. I do not think our current Sunday routine is anti-biblical; it is very similar to the Jewish synagogues. I just do not think it is anything close to what is presented in scripture as the possibility of the New testament church. So, I am all for home groups, house churches, Holy Ghost parties, and close intimate relationships, where we push ourselves into more of God. Kat, however, loves the Sunday Church idea. She loves coming together once a week and hearing a short message. She loves seeing everyone and meeting new people. We have childcare so that we can worship in peace. Then there is the awesomeness of Corporate worship. Great worship leaders drawing 100’s of people into the presence together. So, we discussed this issue from two different stances. Kat who loves it, and me who is tired of it. I came to a few conclusions.
People like different things so churches should feel free to meet in different ways. There are benefits to both and disadvantages to both. I no longer think that there is a universal outline in the scriptures to how a “Church” is supposed to be structured. I do not feel obligated to Tithe, and so, I do not feel an obligation to know what is the scripturally authorized church system to which I am to give my tithe. I am free to support whatever system I feel brings benefit to my family, community, and personal relationship to God. It can change as well. It can be different dependent on time and place, on the need it is filling, or the service to the Kingdom it is providing. Large groups have greater resources and can accomplish much. Smaller groups have greater relationships and intimacy. Because I do not believe in the obligation of Tithe I find myself not accepting or needing a universal one size fits all biblical structure. I support The Church, my family, my brothers and sisters in Christ and whatever endeavor we find ourselves participating in as we our compelled by love to change the world. If I choose to be a part of a big organization or a small organization it’s the people and their work I am supporting.
Now what about all this money we are giving to staff? This is where Kat goes in a totally different direction. She believes that the staff should be paid MORE!!! She wants people to be making a full time salary and having their giftings honored in the church more than in the world. She would rather an IT tech person only have to work in the church instead of having a normal job and a church job. She wants to be able to pay those staffed in the Church more than they could make in the world. She wants them to be able to focus all their time on the Kingdom. She has no problem paying money to people on staff because she believes they deserve it! She would rather talented people come to the Church than the World. Kat, by the way, believes in the Tithe.
There is however, a recognition to be drawn. Kat has only ever been a part of big well-organized churches. She would not attend most small local churches. I think it is important to draw attention to a perspective issue here. We do not attend the average local church institution. In fact, we moved to another city just to attend a certain church. So, I think it is important for all of us to realize that when discussing whether we should give our Tithe/money to support a church we have to ask what church are you talking about? Most churches suck organizationally! And the people running them have no business running them. So, should we give money to support some pastor and staff simply out of Tradition? I think Kat and I both would agree that this is nonsense. Not all people have the benefit of just up and moving to attend a different church and most do not want too. So, I asked Kat what she would do if she faced this situation. Her response was that although she believes in an obligated tithe she does necessarily believe it has to be given to a specified church structure. She said if I was a part of a church that was not organized the best I would use my Tithe to contribute to the resources I was using and then I would give anything else to others she believed in.
Should we be paying for staff? Well in my view it depends on the type of group we are apart of. If you separate the Church (people) from the type of organizational structures we create to support our activities and I think the answer would be clear. Different structures need different internal components. What large enterprise does not need staff. None that I know of. What small 10 person home church needs a full time preacher? Once again, none that I know of. Why should we treat them the same? Maybe we are looking at the Church with the wrong operating system. Normal charities are able to pool large resources and focus them in strategic areas. This is a great strength! This is where the large church organization is a power house and is able to do things the local house church would be unable to do. The large church organization is able to fund millions to missions, tv programs, schools, feeding the poor and much more. If you were to change your view of the large church organization and see it similar to a community charity you may not feel too bad about giving or tithing to it. Large organizations need staff, and that staff, if good at what they do, should make a decent wage. The pastor is simply the president of the community charity organization and the staff support its endeavors. House churches have their strengths as well. They are able to minister to the individual in a way the larger group is unable, support the local community, and many other things. Also, the small church brings up another discrepancy. Where does all your tithe money go when you have no overhead? What if we saw the church as a city or a nation. Would that change the way we approached our beliefs about different church structures. Prayer houses, healing rooms, large, small. All of them would make up our town and would be appreciated for the functions and services they provided. It would then be perfectly acceptable for them to design themselves in a way that provided the best possible service to the community.
What Does Scripture Say
Scripturally, I no longer believe the Word is for our average church or against it! I think it is a mixture of feeling obligated to support it, and having a wrong view of what it is, that causes the issue. There is nowhere in scripture that says you have to support an Apostle, teacher, deacons, or anyone ministering with Tithe. You could argue that it is Scripture to tithe! But you would be hard pressed to come up with any scripture that says I have to give it to a Specific Structure or minister. Show me one scripture in the New testament that tells you WHO to tithe too. The only direction proposed by the religious traditional church is that it should go to the Ministers and Priest just like in the Old testament; and they erroneously set a difference between the laymen and the clergy. I do not think I need to speak on that issue; I believe we all agree that we are called to be Kings and Priest unto our God. Revelation 1:6 and 1 Peter2:9.
There are two scriptures that come to mind when it speaks of supporting those who minister to us and that is
1 Corinthians 9:3-14 “ 3My defense to those who examine me is this: 4Do we not have a right to eat and drink? 5Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? 7Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? 8I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? 9For it is written in the Law of Moses, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He? 10Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. 11If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. 13Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? 14So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.
and Galatians 6:6 “ 6The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him
There is more than enough there to know we are to support those who minister to us and even so on a full time basis; But there was no mention of a tithe or money at all! Not that it is against money, but there seems to be a reason that they are supported. They are supported because they spend all their time ministering and have no way to provide for themselves. Besides missionaries and Todd White, it is hard for me to even think of someone local that is literally ministering all day. I can’t think of one pastor local that I see out in the street preaching the Gospel. Not one! And it does not say that we are to tithe to them, but to simply share with them all good things. So we should definitely give to those who give to us. Which is what I do. If I go to a church I give to that church in whatever way I can.
This is another reason why I do not believe in the traditional Tithe. If you take away the traditional church organization you have no one to tithe too. This is where the argument breaks down for me. Once you let go of this hold over from the Old contract which, existed to support the priest in their sacrificial duties at the temple; then you are no longer burdened by your question. It is no longer a problem you have to solve. If you like having your preacher give you a sermon every Sunday in a building, then by all means pay the man. If you do not, then do something else with your money. Who cares!
To be clear, I believe in a Tithe. I just believe it is something entirely different then what is has been turned into. Cain and Able both gave sacrifices to God. Why? Abraham gave tithe to Melchizedek. Why? I believe it was a form of respect and honor. An offering. It was the traditional way to give thanks. Even pagans did this in many cultures, especially military victories. Here is a short list of other cultures that practiced this tradition Before the mosaic law.
The payment of tithes was no novel practice, having been performed for centuries by both biblical figures and pagans alike. It is well attested that the tithe2 was present in the very earliest of cultures_-Roman, Greek, Carthaginian, Cretan, Silician, Phoenician, Chinese, Babylonian, Akkadian, and Egyptian--stretching back to the earliest written records of the human race
The author intends the term in its technical sense--a tenth. As John E. Simpson notes of the nearly universal pagan practice of tithing, "the amount so given was almost invariably one-tenth" (This World’s Goods [New York: Revell, 1939], p. 88). Cf., however, Joseph M. Baumgarten, "On the Non-literal Use of ma'aser/dekate," Journal of Biblical Literature 103 (June 1984): 245-51. 3 Landsell, Sacred Tenth, 1: 1-38; Arthur Babbs, The Law of the Tithe As Set Forth in the Old Testament (New York: Revell, 1912), pp. 13-24; E. B. Stewart, The Tithe (Chicago: Winona Publishing Co., 1903), pp. 7-13.
You got blessed then you gave a portion back; and a tenth was a good place to start. You should give out of the abundance of your heart. It is a good way to love. As far as I can see lots of the early church was a socialist society. They were communal and believed in giving and sharing what hey earned with one another. I don’t think this jives with our capitalist mindset. They worked to provide for each other. If they would have tithed then it would have been distributed throughout the community to those who were in need. At the same time, they believed that if you did not work you did not eat. When was the last time one of our churches took up the tithe and offering and then divided it back among its members. I have never seen this. Yet that to me would me more in line with the early church than anything we do with the tithe right now. And even that would have been voluntary!
Act 4:32 “ 32And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. 33And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. 34For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.
I do not think that this happened in every church but it seemed that it was definitely something the Lord approved of. To me it proves we have a greater goal. Become so closely connected and intimate in relationship that we share all things. Lets face it, we as a Christian western culture are far from this lifestyle.
In short. Save your money and give to the Lord by putting it in places that you believe in.