Were tithes ever required by Jesus or the Apostles?

[Rico]

Originally Posted by OP_Carl

There is more bible in support of the concept of the preacher taking all of the funds designated as tithe into his personal control than there is for the practice of making the preacher a salaried employee of the church.

But if the preacher is keeping all the tithes, and the offerings don't cover the light bill, I would only want to follow a preacher who led by example toward the resolution of the problem, i.e., giving some of it back into the general fund.

Very little of the pure principle is practicable in 2007 America. Our tax and business codes are overly complex. Besides, many churches are preserved from the hands of scoundrels, malcontents, and incompetents only by business aspects of the church being run by a board of faithful lay leaders.

I don't think there's really any scripture in favor of the preacher taking all the tithes. I don't have a problem with it, however, in smaller churches, because I believe the pastor needs to focus on pastoring and not have to get outside work. I know that sometimes the church is just too small to support the pastor just on tithes, so I can understand when they have to go work outside of the pastorate.

What sends up red flags for me is when the pastor is so flush with cash from the tithes that he's out buying up property after property, and whatever the latest version of a $50,000 Suburban is, and the church they've been trying to build for 5 years sits half completed.

[OP_Carl]

Originally Posted by Rico

I don't think there's really any scripture in favor of the preacher taking all the tithes.

Originally Posted by OP_Carl
There is more bible in support of the concept of the preacher taking all of the funds designated as tithe into his personal control than there is for the practice of making the preacher a salaried employee of the church.

There isn't a scripture. But the principle is scriptural. People will have difficulty discerning it if they are fresh from being bruised by excessive offering-taking, real or perceived.

There also is no scripture opposed to the consumption of tobacco.

What sends up red flags for me is when the pastor is so flush with cash from the tithes that he's out buying up property after property, and whatever the latest version of a $50,000 Suburban is, and the church they've been trying to build for 5 years sits half completed.

By their fruits ye shall know them. You have fleshed out a splendid example of a pastor whose kingdom-mindedness is fair game for questioning.

[Rico]

Originally Posted by OP_Carl

There isn't a scripture. But the principle is scriptural. People will have difficulty discerning it if they are fresh from being bruised by excessive offering-taking, real or perceived.

There also is no scripture opposed to the consumption of tobacco.

By their fruits ye shall know them. You have fleshed out a splendid example of a pastor whose kingdom-mindedness is fair game for questioning.

Brother, there is no principle in the Bible for the pastor to keep all the tithes. The Levites were commaned to collect the tithe, but not to keep it. This is something I looked for. There was one offering, called the free will offering, that the Lord said the priests could keep all to themselves, but the tithes never fell into that category.