I had a conversation with a friend the other day about her
experiences exploring various Christian churches, and in listening to her I was
reminded of many similar experiences of my own. This woman believes in God, and
in Jesus; yet she has chosen to avoid Christian churches for the same reason
that many other people I know have decided to do so as well. Our discussion
confirmed for me many things I have perceived over time about the modern day
American Church but have been afraid to fully admit to myself or come out and
say until now.
For most Christian churches in America, especially in the NYC
area, church has become a business. It seems to have been invaded by the false values of
those more interested in self gain than serving those in need. Many people turn to churches and pastors during times
of crisis, seeking help from Christian leaders and teachers only to be turned
away or simply ignored. Many people go to churches open-mindedly, seeking
guidance for getting close to God, only to be told that they must give 10% of
their income to the church leadership in order please God or be socially
included in Christian fellowship. Many have obliged these demands despite their
financial limitations, only to find that they are left to suffer the
destructive consequences of over-giving alone by a church community that
abandons them in their time of material and/or emotional need.
Meanwhile, many church leaders put a great deal more energy into
promoting tithing during “service” than into giving financial support or
emotional support towards those who came to them for help when they were in need.
Their repeated use of church service time to advertise the importance of
tithing, their use of the tithe for things it was not originally appointed for
in the Bible, their poor treatment of the poor and oppressed among their own
community, and their posturing to care for the oppressed outside the community
in ways that don’t cost them much in the way of money or social approval among
their financial supporters- all of it points to an agenda to use the
activity of church as an income-generating business for themselves and their
friends. It’s enough to disillusion anyone, and many people have been
disillusioned out of even believing in God because of this gradual but glaring
corruption of values in this culture’s Christian churches.
Some might say this is too harsh. Actually, the writings of the
prophets of Ancient Israel demonstrate previous instances in church history
where faulty priorities among religious leaders misled the community; in these
instances, the prophets of Israel were vigilant and upfront about communicating
God’s lack of tolerance for pastors or leaders using their position for
monetary self gain and prestige while neglecting the needs of the oppressed
within the religious community:
“The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and
leaders of God’s people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the
plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by
crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?”declares the Lord,
the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 3:14-15
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit
all your workers. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your
voice to be heard on high.” Isaiah 58:3-4
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the
sheep of my pasture!”declares the Lord. Therefore this is what
the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people:
“Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not
bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you
have done,” declares the Lord. , Jeremiah 23:1-2
“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy
for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the
wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when
there is no peace.” Jeremiah 6:13-15
Not to mention what Jesus had to say about the
proneness of leaders to this problem and the seriousness of its consequences:
“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of
your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and
the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the
former undone. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important
seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.“Woe to
you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without
knowing it.” Luke 11:42-44
“Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you,
because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you
yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. Luke 11:46
“Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away
the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered
those who were entering.” Luke 11:52
“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against
the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:6
Although small business start ups and their marketing
strategies may work well for the economy, there are many reasons why such a
model is inappropriate for “planting churches” or populating Christian
communities. For one, Jesus himself tells us “My kingdom is not of this world”1,
and “you cannot serve both God and money” 2.
One of the negative effects of bringing business practices into
what was originally the practice of Christian discipleship has been an
over-dependence on tithe offerings as a source of income due to a misuse of
these offerings for what they were not originally appointed for. Many church
leaders apply the principle of “tithing”, which can be interpreted as requiring
10% of a believer’s financial income, to the practice that non-profit organizations
have of requesting donations from supporters, which are then used to pay all
church leaders’ salaries and maintain overhead costs.
However, there is a vast difference between requesting donations,
or “freewill offerings”, from supporters, and claiming that all “members” owe
the organization the full amount of the “tithe offering”; a freewill offering
can be any amount and is based on people’s disposable income, whereas the
“tithe” is set at 10% of people’s entire income, an amount that is usually much
more than people’s extra monthly spending money. Furthermore, the tithe
offering is meant to be given specifically by those who can afford it to
relieve financial hardship for others in the community; it is not meant to be
extracted from members of the community who are already at risk of hardship to
the effect of causing financial hardship for the givers. (See BibleGateway's commentary on 2 Corinthians 8)
The tithe was designed to
prevent poverty and financial hardship among
the most vulnerable of the community, not
cause financial hardship among
disciples in order to support religious leaders.
Technically, the tithe prevented hardship for the Levites (those in full-time physical labor for spiritual ministry) and also for orphans, widows and immigrants in the community (the financially vulnerable). One third of all tithes went to the financially vulnerable in the community 3. It effectively redistributed wealth by taking the financial profits of Israelites -that is the money outside of housing expenses, since they were given free ownership of the land as their inheritance to live and farm on - and giving two-thirds of it to Levites who had no other means of housing or feeding themselves because their work demanded heavy physical labor and all their time, preventing them from farming for food or income 4. The money tithe offerings came out of did not include money for property to live on, or money for government taxes. It would be equivalent today to a person’s net income, minus their rent costs.
Technically, the tithe prevented hardship for the Levites (those in full-time physical labor for spiritual ministry) and also for orphans, widows and immigrants in the community (the financially vulnerable). One third of all tithes went to the financially vulnerable in the community 3. It effectively redistributed wealth by taking the financial profits of Israelites -that is the money outside of housing expenses, since they were given free ownership of the land as their inheritance to live and farm on - and giving two-thirds of it to Levites who had no other means of housing or feeding themselves because their work demanded heavy physical labor and all their time, preventing them from farming for food or income 4. The money tithe offerings came out of did not include money for property to live on, or money for government taxes. It would be equivalent today to a person’s net income, minus their rent costs.
There is also a vast difference between the way the tithe was used
in Ancient Israel and the way it is often used now. In Ancient Israel, the
tithe did not fund the incomes of all religious leaders, such as prophets or judges,
whose positions allowed them time for regular employment. It also did not fund
the construction, overhead costs, or decoration of the Temple.
Despite these technical details, many church leaders define the
tithe as 10% of believers’ gross income. Because this amount is not always
possible for many working-class people to come up with on top of paying for
basic housing costs, many church leaders resort to encouraging believers to
give beyond their financial means and trust God to make up for the risk factor
inherent in that, usually citing one Bible verse, and that out of context 5. This contradicts the Bible’s teaching to not give money
imprudently or endanger oneself financially 6.
It is essentially hijacking the Bible to support practices that
cause or risk exploitation of those who are already socially and financially
vulnerable in the community.
Besides this practice of encouraging people to give money beyond
their means to the operation of the ministry or church, church leaders also
“put the pressure on” by denying church membership, and even pastoral services,
to those who do not tithe to their church. Similarly profit-minded behaviors
among church leaders include encouraging people to stay in relationships with
abusive husbands who financially support the church, as well as simply turning
a blind eye to people in the community who are in circumstantial crisis or
financial need. When Christian leaders use Christian gatherings to provide
entertainment driven worship experiences for people, then advertise the
donation of money towards their income and activity regardless of Biblical
prohibitions on financial self-jeopardy, they demonstrate the kind of self
interest evident in businesses that invest all their money in appearances while
skimping on services and using their customers as a contracted income base and
marketing tool.
Another
negative effect of making a business out of Christian gatherings is the
potential favoritism of those who are wealthy and socially prestigious within
the community. This can take the form of unwillingness to hold certain people
in the community accountable for their behaviors towards others in the
community simply because they bring in more money for the leadership. There
continue to be certain forms of oppression and discrimination that many in church
leadership refuse to examine and publicly confront for such reasons.
These include the pervasive problem of domestic violence committed by some male
believers, the traditional exclusion of women from pastoral leadership
positions by many church leaders, and the illogical but pervasive use of
androcentric language in Christian worship and teaching. Although there is a
growing group of Christians and Christian leaders who are addressing these
problems and providing abundant Biblical evidence that they conflict with God’s
will as expressed in Scripture, there is a level of resistance to addressing
these issues among other Christian leaders which cannot be attributed to lack
of understanding alone.
The End Does Not Justify the Means
However, following Scripture’s definition of social justice
requires us to not manipulate or exploit other believers, or anyone else for
that matter; instead, it calls us to use the money we have to eliminate the
economic injustices that isolate community members from the rest of the group.
“To do what is right and just is more acceptable to
the Lord than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:3
The books of the Bible consistently oppose favoritism and prohibit
the exploitation of the socially and financially vulnerable in the community.
In fact, multiple passages throughout the Bible clearly state that one of the
main purposes of the Law and the spiritual community that upholds it is to relieve and prevent oppression and suffering from
injustice, and that this is God’s idea of
being worshiped by people:
Mosaic Law:
“At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of
that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who
have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the
foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come
and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may
bless you in all the work of your hands.” Deuteronomy 14:28-29
“If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the
land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or
tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them
whatever they need…. Give generously to them and do so without a
grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will
bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand
to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I
command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and
needy in your land.” Deuteronomy 15:7-8, 10-11
The Prophet Isaiah:
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the
chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the
oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food
with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own
flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your
healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of
the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry
for help, and God will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing
finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs
of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like
the noonday.” Isaiah 58:6-10
The Prophet Jeremiah: “This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:
“‘Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the
oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and
burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to
quench it. I am against you, Jerusalem, you who live above this
valley on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—you who say, “Who can come
against us? Who can enter our refuge?” I will punish you as your
deeds deserve, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 12:12-14
Jesus: “ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and
on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood
up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.
Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the
Lord is on me, because God has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. God
has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the
blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor.”
The Apostle Paul: “For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according
to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire
is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there
might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what
they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The
goal is equality,” 2 Corinthians 8:13-14
The Apostle John: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life
for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and
sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or
sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that
person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with
actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:16
Paul, the
first leader of the Gentile Christian Church, made clear that the tithe was for
establishing equality of welfare among the entire community7. That
cannot be accomplished unless church leaders make financially addressing the
needs and hardships of believers in the community a priority in their spending
of the tithe to the same degree that they make their own salaries a financial
priority. Paul in fact went beyond this and put the hardships of believers in
the community before his own interests and income8 .
How to Support Christian Ministries Without Misusing the Principle of Tithing
There are other means of supporting ministries and facilities. In
the First Covenant, Ancient Israel relied on freewill offerings to fund the
Temple and its decorations. In the Early Church, Christians eliminated overhead
costs by meeting in people’s homes, and Paul relied on his own income from
employment to fund his church planting and ministry. However, when church
leaders rely on the tithe for their income and the salaries of
all leadership positions, as well as for all material things pertaining to the
church that potentially increase their income by attracting new members, they
put themselves in a position of conflict of interest with the agendas
demonstrated by Jesus and God for such things.
Jesus understood this. Paul and the Early Church apostles
understood this. That’s why they avoided overhead expenses in their ministries
by gathering in people’s homes or outside. That’s why Paul worked a regular job
to fund his own ministry to not financially burden those he was ministering to,
and why he indicated that offerings should go to the community members who were
financially in need 9 :
“I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or
clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied
my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I
showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering
the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to
receive.’ ” Acts 20:33-35
His attitude is protective of believers’ welfare and
confidence in his trustworthiness:
”Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will
not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you.
After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but
parents for their children. So I will very gladly spend for you everything
I have and expend myself as well…. Did I exploit you through any of the
men I sent to you? … Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not walk in
the same footsteps by the same Spirit?” 2 Corinthians 12:14-18
That’s also why the Church in Acts shared their belongings with
each other and invested all donated money back into the needs of those
believers who had unmet needs 10 . That’s why caring for
orphans, widows and the poor was considered by James, the brother of
Jesus and a major authority figure in the Early Church, to be the hallmark of
someone with genuine faith in God and Jesus11. As Julian the
Apostate, a Roman Emperor who opposed Christianity, said:
“there is not a single Jew who is a beggar… the [Christians] care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help we should render them."
Obviously, somewhere along the way, the Christian Church lost this priority.
“there is not a single Jew who is a beggar… the [Christians] care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help we should render them."
Obviously, somewhere along the way, the Christian Church lost this priority.
God’s Priorities: Social Justice Before Marketing Tactics
Just because so many churches utilize small business
start-up methods to grow their church doesn't mean God co-signed
doing so. God is the God of justice and righteousness first and foremost,
before any concerns with popularity among the business leaders of this world,
attracting unbelievers with signs of prosperity, or supporting any one person’s
creative expression of spiritual “vision” 12.
How about this: A Christian
community gathering to worship God and support people’s faith through Biblical
instruction and sharing of testimony in which the “leaders” who house and
facilitate the service do so voluntarily, without income from it. They would
have regular full-time jobs to support themselves, but do the service of facilitating and leading Christian
gatherings in their spare time, out of the shear love and passion for the work
itself. There could even be many church leaders, taking turns and
rotating responsibilities so that the burden would not be too time consuming
for any one person. They would teach Christians to tithe up to 10% of their
income, without self-endangerment - not
to the church leaders themselves, but to the charity of their choice that ministers
to the poor and oppressed; and they
would assist Christians in doing so by
coordinating very affordable apartment-sharing living situations and discounted
food prices through a group food cooperative. They would also support
Christians in the goal of freeing up their income for tithing by offering free
(volunteered) debt counseling and consolidation-process assistance by others in
the community with debt elimination experience of their own.
This kind of Christian community would carry out the agenda of
Jesus to disciple believers in the spirit of the Law of love, as well as the
discipline of tithing, while demonstrating the absence of self gain from its
motives. It is completely possible, as there are people who do at least this
much to maintain community groups and services of other kinds that are
non-religious in nature. If the Apostle Paul was willing to go to any lengths
to serve the needs and gain the spiritual trust of newborn Christians even
among the hostile and very anti-Christian environments he ventured into, then
why aren't we willing to do at least as much for those seeking God today?
Carrying out social justice in Christian community in the form of eliminating economic and other social injustices is the prerequisite for any kind of spiritual revival featuring the miraculous acts of God seen in Jesus’ ministry or that of the Early Church.
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.” Psalm 89:14
How We Can Emulate God’s Priorities in Christian Community
We can start doing this by examining what scripture repeatedly
teaches us about God’s priorities and values; we can then reevaluate our use of
tithed money and teaching efforts so that they are deliberately used to
effectively relieve oppression, injustice, and hardship for “the least of
these” among us, (Matthew
25:40-45). In doing so, we can identify and choose to actively support those
Christian churches, charities and organizations that are demonstrating consistent commitment to
carrying out social justice for all, first and foremost within the Christian
community and, as an eventual outgrowth of that, beyond.
If we do not care for our own who are in need and are currently
oppressed, how can a church’s offers to do so for those outside the community
be anything but a marketing tactic to grow the church’s popularity and tithing
income base?
Let’s hold leaders accountable for such inconsistencies and look
to establish a Christian community that places God’s scriptural definition of
social justice ahead of marketing tactics. When we do, there will be no need to
market such a community for it to grow. The benefits of such a community will
do all the talking, so that we can stay focused on spending our time and money
ministering directly to those in need. That was, in fact, God’s original
design:
“See, I have taught you decrees and laws as
the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow
them….. Observe them carefully, for this will show your
wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these
decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
people.” … what other nation is so great as to have such
righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?”
Deuteronomy 4:5-8
Endnotes:
1 “Jesus said,
“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my
servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now
my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36
2 “No
one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the
other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24
3 Numbers 18:23-24.
4 “At the end of every
three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in
your towns, so that the Levites (who have no
allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the
fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be
satisfied, and so that the Lord your
God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” Deuteronomy
14:28-29
In addition, God demonstrates in Leviticus 22:1-16 that the
tithe offering was very restrictive in use and that there were penalties
associated with its misuse.
5 The passage often
quoted out of context is 2 Corinthians 9:6-12:
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap
sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of
you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or
under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And
God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times,
having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it
is written:“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now God who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will
also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of
your righteousness. You will be enriched in every
way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your
generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is
not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing
in many expressions of thanks to God.”
This passage was written regarding a freewill offering, conducted
by Paul to relieve another community from financial crisis; it was not a tithe
offering. Paul also emphasizes that it is not to be given out of compulsion or
guilt, but that believers are to use their judgment to give what they deem is
safe to give, although he encourages them to give as much as they can, in good
conscience. This passage occurs right after Paul has finished explaining, in
the previous chapter, that the purpose of this offering is not to cause the
givers financial hardship, or to go into debt, but to equalize financial
welfare among all believers:
“For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable
according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved
while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the
present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their
plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality,…” 2
Corinthians 8:12-14
6 Passages prohibiting
giving under certain circumstances:
“One who oppresses the poor to increase their wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to
poverty.” Proverbs 22:16
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7
“ It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows.” Proverbs 20:25
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5
“Whoever strays from the path of prudence comes to rest in the company of the dead.” Proverbs 21:16
“For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality,…” 2 Corinthians 8:12-14
Rather, it is giving to the poor that God rewards:
“The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.” Proverbs 22:9
“Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” Proverbs 14:31
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7
“ It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows.” Proverbs 20:25
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5
“Whoever strays from the path of prudence comes to rest in the company of the dead.” Proverbs 21:16
“For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality,…” 2 Corinthians 8:12-14
Rather, it is giving to the poor that God rewards:
“The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.” Proverbs 22:9
“Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” Proverbs 14:31
7 2 Corinthians 8:13-14
8 Acts 20:
33-35, 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:8; 1 Corinthians 9:12; 2
Corinthians 12:14-18.
9 1 Thessalonians 2:9;
2 Thessalonians 3:8; 1 Corinthians 9:12; 2 Corinthians 12:14-18.
10 Acts 4:32-35.
11 James 1:27
12 Psalm 89:13-15.
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