Relational participatory church like commanded in the New Testament?

Be discerning!

Some will take advantage of what God is doing by trying to use it to peddle their own influence, “programs,” courses or agendas.

Often, they lack any real history of successfully starting, sustaining or even being part of an actual local church back home – or lack having done it for any meaningful length of time needed to prove their abilities and their concepts – like they now want to sell to others.

Unlike them, Paul never asked those God sent him to help …

To pay for his help, cover his expenses, or provide for his income.

Rather, he appealed to those he previously helped and were now viably established by asking them to contribute to his costs and expenses so he wouldn’t be a burden on new churches and believers to whom God was sending him.

Which begs the question:

If these modern day house church marketers – and what they’re peddling – are so successful, then where are the established, viable churches and believers they previously helped bring forth …

Who should be able to now help cover their ongoing costs and expenses so they don’t need to seek payment and contributions from new or emerging believers and churches to whom they keep promoting themselves and their wares?

Typically, there are none …

Or their past endeavors have not yet become truly viable and thus proven.

I’ve seen it all too often:

What they’re peddling and their own lack of verifiable, tested experience over time …

Plus their own failure to ever develop the ability to actually support themselves through their own skills and labor (even if they legitimately need temporary support while going on mission to help others, and thus are away from their own successful careers back home) …

Inevitably leads to failure among themselves and those they’ve promised to help.

Maybe not right away, but over time it never turns out well.

I’ve seen it time and again, and again, and again …

I’m not saying they are necessarily insincere. Some, but not all, have good intentions.

But they lack experience, proven over sufficient time, to confirm their gifting and abilities through established churches that are able to now help them – without financially burdening or trying to monetize those they’re proposing to help.

So before turning to anyone for assistance or advice – or paying for resources like books, courses, and conferences – on viable discipleship and how to start or sustain a relational participatory church like the New Testament actually teaches, ask and verify:

Because you can’t get to viable discipleship and churches with those needing to sell themselves and their wares …

Nor get to authentic from phony.

Apostle Who??? 

Don’t fall prey to those who pervert legitimate God-ordained functions and giftings …

By turning them into illegitimate man-ordained titles and “offices” to feed their need for hierarchy, recognition and positions over others in the Body of Christ.

Frankly, I’m done with those calling themselves “Apostle” this and “Apostle” that …

And those strutting about calling themselves “Prophet” this and “Prophet” that …

Along with those calling themselves “Senior Pastor” this and “Senior Pastor” that.

They’re clearly disobeying Jesus, who said:

“But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called instructors; for One is your Instructor, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” Matt. 23:8-12

By turning function into title and gifting into ego, they bring dishonor to Christ …

And harm to His people.

Why?

Why are there no “Senior” or “Lead Pastors” in the New Testament?

Why are monopolizing, one-man “sermons” prohibited in the New Testament?

Why is “preaching” never in church to believers, but only to unbelievers, in the New Testament?

Why are obligatory church tithes contrary to the actual standard of giving for Christians in the New Testament?

And why is the idea of building large “church” buildings utterly missing from the New Testament?

The idea that Christians should tithe to churches isn’t found anywhere in Scripture.

Rather, the New Testament command for believers is much different:

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Cor. 9:7

In fact, the idea that we must tithe to churches didn’t arise until the 6th Century – many hundreds of years after the New Testament was written.

Does that surprise you?

It emerged only after the “church” became something far different than a functional, multi-gifted, local community of believers who gathered in homes and other places where life naturally happened, to mutually encourage and minister one to another like the New Testament commands.

Instead, the church morphed over hundreds of years into more of a temple model and away from its simple New Testament roots.

As it became increasingly self-focused, self-interested, and “institutional,” the tithe became necessary to pay for:

– A growing clergy/laity divide with increasingly hierarchical leadership which displaced the New Testament model of multiple, unassuming elders who emerge within local assemblies to serve among God’s people;

– “Worship” and ritualistic “sacraments” that evolved into staged, scripted “services” that required a new professional class of Christians to “mediate” and “officiate;” and

– The migration towards dedicated buildings that became centralized seats of authority for the new, professional leadership class – and ever larger, expensive, and more elaborate monuments to their own positions of power and control.

So of course, as authentic New Testament churches receded in lieu of post-Biblical institutional “churches,” the “tithe” arose …

Because it costs a lot of mula to feed that beast.

Have you been deceived with modern day myths about tithing?

Here are the facts:

Tithing didn’t come into the Church until many centuries after the New Testament was written.

Why? Because by the 6th century, an increasingly self-serving ecclesiastical hierarchy began needing to fund a host of unbiblical prerogatives they had started assuming for themselves.

For those, however, who nonetheless insist on shoehorning this Old Testament practice – which was part of God’s provision for funding the nation of Israel under the Old Covenant – into New Testament life, I only ask that you be consistent.

In the Old Testament, the tithe was limited to 10% of a farmer’s or herder’s produce from the land, such as fruits, crops and livestock. See Leviticus 27:30-33.

It was never, ever instituted anywhere in the Old Testament on monetary income, or non-agricultural products and tradesmen …

Such as carpenters, metal workers, stone masons, and the like.

Furthermore, only 1/3 of 1% of the agricultural produce – rather than 10% – was tithed to the temple and the temple priests. Yet today, pastors and churches want to claim a full 10% tithe!

In fact, under the Old Testament, the tithe was given over a three year cycle.

In one of the three years, the tithe went to a local Levite, who was forbidden under the Mosaic law from owning land. Instead, they served – as we see throughout the Old Testament – as a local community adviser, judge, peacemaker, teacher, charity administrator and civic leader. See Numbers 18:23-24 & Deut. 33:10, among many other verses.

And even then, there was no absolute right to the tithe by any particular Levite. Rather, the tithing farmer or herdsman gave 10% of his produce in year one only to those Levites who were actually doing their jobs well.

Thus, there was no entitlement.

Nope, not, nada, just ain’t there.

Interestingly, in the various census counts in the Old Testament, the Levites were always about one-thirtieth of the total population in Israel. So getting, in effect, one-thirtieth of the produce of the land (10% every third year) came out just about right.

Sorry if the math is confusing, but in essence, this meant that the tithe given to the Levites equaled the average income of the people they served – no more and no less.

No one got wealthy or lived above the average income level from the tithe!

Nope, not, nada, just ain’t there.

The Levite, in turn, was required to give 10% of his 10% to the temple storehouse to fund temple operations and to support the temple priests. See Numbers 18:35-28.

Again, sorry if the math is confusing. But this meant that the temple and the temple priests got only 1% of the farmer’s produce every third year.

Or, to put it another way, only 1/3 of 1% of the total tithe went to the priest and the temple.

I bet you never heard about that in any sermon telling you to tithe!

So what about the other two years out of the three year tithing cycle?

In the second year, the farmer was to tithe 10% of his produce to support the poor, the landless, widows, orphans and destitute aliens. See Deut. 14:28-29 & 26:12-13.

In the third year of the tithing cycle, the farmer was required to spend his 10% tithe on partying.

Yes, you read that right!

He was to use the tithe to take his family on a vacation, where they would go to Jerusalem for a week of eating, drinking. and partying. See Deut. 14:22-26.

So next time some preacher tries to guilt you into tithing, tell him “yes, sir!” …

Then take a vacation! 😎

In summary, should we now give cheerfully as God directs based on actual ability?

Yes! That’s the new standard for giving in the New Testament, which says:

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Cor. 9:7

But require God’s people to pay 10% of their non-agricultural income to a church or pastor???

Nope, not, nada, just ain’t there!