Quote:
Originally Posted by mizpeh
MOW,
I respect your practice of accountability to the flock you oversee, but you have yet to prove what you do is Biblical. I commend Rick Warren also. You are doing what you believe is right, that's great.
If the people of God were blessed materially then the priests of God were blessed as well. There were some priests who abused their position (the sons of Eli). Despite their wicked ways, they still received the tithe, but God judged them for their sin.
But what does the Bible say to do? Who does the tithe belong to?
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I don' think that the "tithes belonging to the pastor" the way most do it today is what the Lord desires for His servants. Once again, the pastors are the chief servants, not the "kings." The Kings were rich, the priests, it seems, were not to be. There was a dividing line between kings and priests and it was not to be crossed by the other.
It is very convenient for those who feel that they deserve the tithe to interpret the OT the way they want for their purposes and sometimes selfish desires.
In both churches I have pastored, I worked a full time job to be able to afford to preach until I could receive a sufficient salary. i.e, when the income of the church AFTER expenses could pay me. I have NEVER placed my lifestyle on the backs of the people who give faithfully. I have loaned the church money from my personal credit cards when the offerings were short of what we needed. I RARELY take up special offerings and when I share a need before the church, they know it is a need and it is always met.
I believe it is completely wrong and immoral for a pastor, say, of a 5000 member church to believe that he is entitled to ALL of the tithes. Biblically, the tithes would go to ALL those on staff to take care of the "Levites." It is NOT that the entire tithe belongs to the senior pastor and everyone else, including the church, must fend for themselves. This philosophy is so self serving, that to me, it is sickening.
Our church board has repeatedly come to me over the years and almost demanded that I take a pay raise. I have tried very hard to not drain our finances with my salary.
If more pastors would exercise self control and keep their personal debt under control, they wouldn't have to tap so heavily into the church's finances. My wife and I have 1 house payment and 1 car payment. We own three cars and have a very nice home. We are bargain shoppers and if something is not a "deal" we don't buy it.
If pastors take ALL the tithes in their churches, they should be the TOP givers of their entire congregations. I would not be ashamed to publish my personal giving since I have pastored this church and I wouldn't DARE publish anyone else's. The more people see a pastor's example of giving (not taking) the more they will follow that example and will also trust the man of God as well. This is not rocket science.
The lack of understanding of this simple "serve" principle is one of the things that is crippling the Apostolic movement. Far too many "lord" their leadership over the people.
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