In a non-denominational church how does the Pastor tithe?

[dies-l]

So what is it that you propose that we are funding with a tenth of our income? If it is just the building and it's steward, I'm not on board with that. If it is to minister to the needs of the body of Christ, then I am all for that. There's a difference between the two, and giving to God in my humble opinion is about giving to God's people, not the church's person and building.

The church is not about a building and its steward. The church is about the people working together to love another and to share the love of Christ with those outside of the body. The building and the steward are very important aspects of this (and so we should financially support them), but they are not the church. If you attend a church where you feel that what you place in the offering plate on Sunday morning is only going towards maintaining a building and compensating your pastor than either your church is dysfunctional or you have an incomplete understanding of what your church is doing. The purpose of your tithes and offerings is to assist the church in spreading the good news, in loving others as Christ loved us, and to participate with God in restoring our communities and our world. If you are in a church that is not doing these kinds of things, then you really need to ask yourself why you are a part of it. If your church is doing this, then there is no reason not to support it with your finances, your prayers, your words, and your actions.

One thing that occurred to me as we are discussing this is that in our church, our pastor is by far the most generous giver. His salary is modest, and he contributes more than anyone out of his own pockets to the financial needs of the church. When there is not enough money to meet our budgetary needs, the pastor is the first to go without a paycheck, followed by the associate pastor, followed by the rest of the paid staff. Our pastor would never allow us to cut missions or outreach just so that he can get paid. To me, this is how it should be, and it shows exceptional leadership and faith. This is why I feel so strongly about contributing financially to my church.

But, ultimately, I believe that we are to give our tithe to the church authorities rather than to the causes and people that we personally would like to support. In a well-run church, the leadership has a much better idea of where the needs are and how best to help. Also, as a general rule, more can be accomplished when we act in unity. By pooling our funds together, we can accomplish more than we can when each of us just gives to whomever or whatever we wish. And, as I keep repeating, if you feel you cannot trust your church leadership to invest your tithes wisely, you really need to ask yourself why you would trust them to offer you spiritual training and direction.

 

[pastortimothy]

Those who say Christians don't have to tithe are looking for an excuse not to, in my opinion.

I have known some believers of this variety.


Tithes and offerings are essential to church survival. On that, I think we can all agree. We are all admonished to be cheerful givers. This transcends the confines of a legalistic 10% obligation. We should be chomping at the bit to give more. In my opinion, it is not the congregation that should be blamed for poor tithing.

As pastors, we need to encourage people to make sacrificial choices in every aspect of their lives...not just finances. We must correct those who give just to receive. We must break people out of the mindset that the satisfaction of an automatic token 10% tithe, without any further thought or prayer does not mean that they have honored the spirit of being a cheerful giver. If we are doing our jobs, people will be ridiculously generous without prompting. Here's the caveat: guilt doesn't work as a motivator for very long. This is where pastors fail. Pastors, being human, feel the pressures of finances. So, they try to convict people to give. Not the way to go.

However, if the financial needs of the church are openly and honestly discussed with the congregation,(many times they aren't) people will fill those needs. We must allow people to make their own decisions about tithes and offerings. People should give as they feel led by God. If the church is struggling, well then ask for help, but I don't think that trying to convict people on this issue will serve to address the long-term problem.

Desperation is a powerful motivator. It is the engine that drives us to do things we said we would never do. The higher the pressure, the more desperate we become. Financial pressure causes desperation. Money, although essential to living, isn't always the entire answer.

It is when we turn our desperation for relief into desperation for God, that our true needs are met. God will put the money in the mailbox; as long as we look to Him and not to the mailbox to provide it.

If we teach our Brothers and Sisters to tarry for the Lord; to seek his will for their finances, then we, as pastors, must believe that God will create a willing spirit within their hearts to support their spiritual family and God's house. It is God alone that creates an environment within a believer's heart that spurs cheerful giving, not a pastor's sermon.

If a believer is unsure of what, when or how much to give, simply offer to pray with them about it, right then, no matter what else is going on. This shows them that you are more passionate about that person's relationship with God than you are with paying your bills. Let God be a part of the solution: He likes that.
​

 

[MaidforHim]

I think we are free from the "requirement" and 10% is just a guide. Some are able to give more some less, some more of their time, some more financial support. Regardless of how or what you tithe I believe it is to be spirit led not pastor mandated. In other words if the Holy Spirit is leading you to support a missionary for a year instead of your church then who should you listen to? I believe the answer is the Holy Spirit. I don't think any pastor on earth has the right to over ride the Holy Spirits guidance.

I too have a problem with pastors being left to themselves. Recently I've seen some sexual corruption creep into our church and my pastor look the other way because he's related to the individual. I think this would not be the case if we actually had elders because there would be someone holding the pastor accountable to God's word.

I truly believe that God provides for the ministries He approves of. So if God calls a pastor to open a school and blesses them through it then that is God's will. However, if a pastor is just opening a school for the purpose of lining his personal pockets and not because God called him to do so then that seems wrong. I wonder though how would or could we tell the difference between the two situations especially without elders?

The whole church as a corporation thing is bother some. But to be fair I've seen churches with elders that all seem to be on the same "make a buck" page with each other too. Water seeks it's own level and a pastor will choose elders who he feels comfortable with.

So what is one to do? Change churches or no? My family is struggling with this too and I think the only right answer is to seek God on where He is calling you to be and where/how He wants to use you and wait on His reply.

 

[drstevej]

[SIZE=+1]II. Principles of Giving under Grace [/SIZE]​

Universal Giving
Paul says this giving should be Universal—"each one," and so every Christian's purse is involved, not by command of the Apostle but rather by his advice, that genuine love to Christ may be demonstrated and that abundant joy shall produce from the overflowing heart abundant benevolence, as was the case of the poor Macedonians.
Systematic Giving
Then, giving should be Systematic, not haphazardly, not impulsively, but according to principle. There is need of calculation and care in one’s giving that holiness of life may be expressed in practical conduct. A Scottish congregation whose members were poor, pledged itself to give one penny2 a day for missions on six days of the week, and on the remaining day to go without meat and give sixpence,3 thus contributing one shilling4 a week to missionary work.
Regular Giving
Giving should also be Regular. There must be no forgetting, because to give constantly adds to the value. A member of my congregation in London was in the habit of placing a sovereign5 on the offertory plate every Sunday. When unable to be at church through failing health, for she was past ninety years of age, an envelope containing a sovereign was always left in the vestry to be added to the collection. The dependability of the offering enhanced its worth. The Apostle advises—"On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper." This is regularity.
Proportionate Giving
Then Proportionate giving is advocated. Let there be mathematical calculation. The NT supplies us with three principles:
According to Possession
In 2 Cor 8:12, giving is to be according to Possession—"what one has." If a man has much, he should give plenty and give it gladly and freely. If he has little, there is all the more opportunity for "cheerful" giving.
According to Power
The second principle is according to Power, as we see in 2 Cor 8:3, where it is recorded of the poor Macedonian Church that "beyond their ability, they were freely willing."
According to Prosperity
The third principle of giving is to be in accordance with Prosperity—"as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2). Therefore, the amount can be variable. Yes, if my prosperity has been greater this year I will gladly give more; if prosperity has passed me by I will sadly lessen my gifts, but, when I do this, let me not forget the widow's mites,6 which were "all the livelihood that she had." What did the Jew of old give? He gave a tithe of all, and in addition there were freewill offerings and special gifts. It has been computed that he gave about one-fifth, and frequently one-fourth, out of his prosperity.
Hearty Giving
After considering Universal, Systematic, Regular and Proportionate Giving, we next observe that liberality should be Hearty. It must not be of grief or compulsion or, as the Apostle puts it, "grudgingly or of necessity." What dignity is given to benevolence when we remember that He who owns all cares about our gifts! "God loves a cheerful giver"! The Greek word7 here translated "cheerful" is the one from which our English word "hilarious" is derived, and its use here suggests a spontaneous outburst of sheer joy in the service of giving.
A story is told of a Liverpool merchant upon whom a Christian worker called to solicit money.
Ten shillings was the amount given with the remark, "I am sorry it is so little—I have the heart but not the money."
A year afterwards, hearing that the merchant had fallen heir to half a million, the Christian worker again presented himself to plead for the cause he had in hand. He was met by a refusal to give anything at all, which looked as though the merchant now had the money but not the heart!
Let us each ask himself or herself, "What am I doing to make myself a hearty giver? Am I looking at my accounts to see how much I can give? Still more, am I examining God's Word to see what He expects of me?"
This chapter, a verse of which we have been considering, ends with the words, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift," which reminds us to look at the Cross if we would get even a faint conception of what that "indescribable gift" involved.
"I don't like your way of saying so much about giving," said a member of my congregation to me.
To this I replied, "Why should you be concerned about what I say if you are giving what you ought to give?"

 

[Frisbee]

I'm starting to see a pattern here...

Giving is good, as is a biblical church model and transparent leadership who makes the needs of the local area body of Christ known to the congregation.

I like this conclusion but would add one thing myself:

If we had the aforementioned model firing on all 12 cylinders, wouldn't our involvement with our time and talent (gifts) be a perfect addition to this formula for giving God everything that we possibly could?

 

[pastortimothy]

If we had the aforementioned model firing on all 12 cylinders, wouldn't our involvement with our time and talent (gifts) be a perfect addition to this formula for giving God everything that we possibly could?

You bet. In fact, I think that if anything, personal involvement in the needs of the church and serving others in the body sows eternal seeds more effectively than simply putting cash in the basket. Personal involvement builds relationships.

 

[dies-l]

I'm starting to see a pattern here...

Giving is good, as is a biblical church model and transparent leadership who makes the needs of the local area body of Christ known to the congregation.

I like this conclusion but would add one thing myself:

If we had the aforementioned model firing on all 12 cylinders, wouldn't our involvement with our time and talent (gifts) be a perfect addition to this formula for giving God everything that we possibly could?

I don't know if I am completely sure what you are asking, so forgive me if this is not responding to your question.

Certainly, we should be giving our time and our talents to the church. Really, that is one of the two main purposes of the local church. Ideally, the local church should provide spiritual nourishment and should provide opportunities for people to serve others. I think that these two purposes go hand in hand. We grow spiritually by loving and serving others, and we become more able to serve others as we grow spiritually. But, we should never see our serving as an alternative to giving. The various teaching and outreach activities of the church cost money, which has to come from the individual members of the church. But, more importantly, we grow spiritually by being generous with our finances. Through our generosity, we learn to see money for what it really is: nothing more than a tool to help us to take care of our basic needs and to provide a means of helping others. When we see money as being anything more than this, we run the risk of idolizing money and living for materialism rather than for God.

 

[Frisbee]

I agree. Giving money is addition to the others. Maybe I wasn't clear about that.