Drunken Mystic

A popular doctrine can be heard and learned just about every time you turn the dial past certain channels on cable. While it is pervasive among our more charismatic brothers and sisters, I would argue that it also finds its way on the more evangelical side of the fence, as well.

In this teaching, we are told that if we are not financially wealthy, then the problem is somehow connected to our faith. And if we have enough faith, then we have a sure promise of nice houses or cars or large amounts of money in bank accounts or investments. This, in the more charismatic camp, is called our “blessing,” which we need to go to God and get.

The problem is, I can’t find this particular interpretation of faith or prosperity in the scripture.

Before I discuss this further, let me explain that I do believe that faith works for us in miraculous ways. Our faith makes it possible to please God, to be healed, and (among other things) ensure a life of provision.

But the biblical promise is not to make us worldly rich. The material promises are to have food and clothing and to be content with that … no mention of even shelter there. Jesus said He had no place to lay His head. In other words, God promises to feed and clothe you like the birds and the lilies but not to give you a house.

So we are promised prosperity in the sense that all of our needs will be met and He will always take care of His children, no matter what He asks of us. Sadly, many Christians don’t fully believe this, which is why many struggle with their finances in unhealthy ways.

And the common struggle based on our lack of faith that God will provide for us has led to a number of leaders who have overcompensated with a “prosperity gospel” that is out of line with scripture. Hebrews makes this clear as some by faith conquered nations, closed the mouths of lions and the like while others suffered horribly by faith. In fact, it was those who suffered by faith that have a greater reward, of whom the world was not worthy. So the richest faith is actually in suffering, not in plenty or a worldly victory. Which one do we hear preached so often?
A common verse quoted is where Paul wishes for us to “prosper as your soul prospers.” This verse seems to imply material provision, even more than we need. I will grant, both from scripture and my own experience, that god blesses even beyond His promises, even beyond what we need! But the scripture also says other things.

First of all, in the story of the rich young ruler, Jesus says that it is more difficult for a RICH man to enter the Kingdom than a camel through the eye of a needle. Why does He single out this rich man for his riches? Why didn’t Jesus ever rebuke the poor for their lack of faith? On the contrary, the poor widow was commended for her sacrificial giving while the rich men who gave before her were dismissed and mentioned only to commend her. You never read of a poor or crippled person rejecting Christ. They cried out to Him with abandon, and they were healed and followed Christ desperately. But the rich and educated rejected Him, persecuted Him and ended up crucifying Him. Why? Judas kept the money, remember …

The love of money is the root of all evil.

Worldly material wealth tends to corrupt. There are several reasons for this. We begin to trust more in our wealth and the things of this world than God. We decieve ourselves into thinking we earned or deserve certain comforts. Then we begin to count on those comforts and fear the absence of them more than we fear God. Or we enjoy the comforts so much we work harder to attain those worldly comforts than the blessings of the Kingdom. All of this and more leads to a selfish mentality that is against the Spirit of God.

What was Job tested with? The thing he feared the most, which was the loss of his riches. Of course, to be balanced, after he passed that test he did become even wealthier …

Has anyone ever watched an episode of VH1′s Behind the Music? I used to watch it every chance I got. The story was always the same. Artist begins with nothing, strives for years, catches a break, hits it big, begins to abuse everything around them, then loses everything and is now much healthier after rehab.

I believe in the provision of God, but I fear that many in modern Christianity are using “godliness for selfish gain,” which is abominable to God.

To look at it from a couple different angles: when I was in India, I saw precious brothers and sisters give to and worship God with more sincerity than I see in most Christians in the US, but they do it with MUCH less material wealth. Some of them are barely able to eat and feed their families. Their hunger for God, however, was insatiable, and it humbled me.

Should I question their faith based on their material lack? God forbid! The Bible would say to us that the poor are rich in faith. It is precisely because of their lack that they are free to exercise their faith.

Becca and I arrived in Korea with fives suitcases between us and ate PBJ sandwiches for a month while we figured out how to buy groceries we could use. Through the community there and God’s provision (which are one and the same), we never lacked. We owned very little and felt more free and peaceful than ever before.

We get back to the US and I can feel the spirit of materialism all over me like a sweaty shirt.

Now, I believe that evangelicals are just as guilty as their charismatic brothers and sisters. Its just more unspoken. Among many evangelicals, there is an undercurrent of belief that to be Christian is to be middle class or better. To have a good job, live in a nice house, send your kids to nice schools, wear nice clothes, drive nice family cars and live a nice middle class life. Someone who can’t at least fake it really doesn’t belong in our church. Giving to the poor happens through an organization, not through personal contact. If those poor people start attending our church, then that’s our cue to sell our house and move a little farther out so we don’t watch our property values decline.

Yeah, I know. That’s pretty harsh, but its there. Remember my little tirade, though, the next time you want to go off on your charismatic brother’s “prosperity gospel.” Remember the plank and the speck? Remember which one should be removed first?

Jesus came in this world with nothing but animal dung all around him. He was poor growing up, maybe because of the loss of Joseph sometime. Jesus did recieve nice gifts both as a child and during His ministry, but do we really think He used those things to bless Himself? Giving to the poor was such a regular occasion that they assumed that’s what Judas was going to do when he betrayed Christ. If Christ were worldly wealthy in His ministry, why did Judas feel the need to steal from the treasury? I’m sure they collected lots of cash, but they gave it all away. Jesus would have practiced what He preached, I think.

Jesus also left this world with nothing but condemnation, suffering and death. But in so doing, he was given the name above all names and eternal glory that we will share.

So rest in His provision, both spiritual and material. But remember that the material blessings are only temporary. The spiritual blessings affect our eternal conditions. Let’s be sure to focus on the true riches. Seek the Kingdom and His righteousness alone and all things will be added to you.

Peace.

Per a comment from good friend Adam Walker on the last post, I got to thinking about a couple things. Then a good friend from Korea asked me a question about his tithe (I don’t think he read the last post) and some of my counsel to him has prompted me to clarify some issues.

I will have to stick with the position that the scripture does not support paid staff positions in the Body of Christ. Now, that does not mean that those positions are unbiblical, but to assume that they are necessary or even positive seems dangerous to me for a couple different reasons.

First of all, I do believe that paid positions do not facilitate growth in the Body of Christ. I know many people who have paid positions as ministers in their respective fellowships, and I have a great amount of respect for them. But I also know their struggles to get people involved and to step up to a mature position in their fellowship. Of course, they don’t generally appreciate my suggestions, but what they’re doing doesn’t seem to be working a whole heck of a lot either. Paid positions, in my experience, tend to put a line of demarcation between “full-time” ministers and “lay” people, and does not encourage the whole of the Body to be the expression of Christ they were meant to be.

The Bible seems to have the standard that we all are “full-time” ministers in the Church. All are pastors, teachers, apostles, evangelists or prophets. Not some … but all. Now, I do believe that some are given more responsibility in certain areas, and I’ll come to that later.

Which leads me to the second reason. Not only does it fail to facilitate real growth in the lives of the majority of Christians (which is the heart of most paid ministers I know and respect), it gives more credence to the priest class idea that I’ve mentioned before. It assumes that some people are not held to the same standard, and that leads to pride which leads to a fall. If it doesn’t lead to pride, then general frustration and “burn out” are common.

Paid ministers don’t generally feel a part of the Body. They feel very outside of it, in fact, like a hired hand who will one day move on when a better position opens up. Therefore, because the congregation PAYS them, they expect more work and ministry from them.

So, to be brief, my two main reasons against paid positions are these: they generally retard the growth of those being ministered to and it leads to either pride or discouragement among those attempting to do the ministry.

Now, here is the ideal, which needs to be stated. The Bible is clear that those who minister in the Word should recieve a material blessing. This goes hand in hand with the sowing and reaping idea I previously discussed. If someone sows ministry into your life, then they will reap a reward. A portion of that reward should come in a material gift.

If we put this together with the biblical idea that one of the main avenues of giving is to the poor or needy among us, why would we need paid positions? If the mentality is that everyone is to be taken care of, regardless, why the need to designate some as “priests” among us? We are all priests and kings.

I also believe that most ministers would greatly benefit from working a forty hour week job. I believe that those they minister to would also greatly benefit from it. It puts life in its proper perspective and puts the leader in the position where he must teach the Body how to minister to itself, and since he CAN’T do it all because he’s got a job, too, necessity is the mother of invention … people find a way to be a part of something and the Body ends up ministering to itself and other leaders naturally rise to the forefront and it stirs up the gift that is within people.

This is not just idealism talking here. I’ve done it. I took over a “full-time” ministry in Korea called the Hospitality House. But I was also still teaching five days a week. Now, some might consider that not a “full-time” position, but believe me, it was.

Becca cooked dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. On Wednesday night, I led a Bible study. On Friday night after dinner we just hung out or watched a video or something. On Saturday night there was a time of singing and teaching after eating together. We also attended the chapel service on Sunday evening on base and then we all ate together at the food court after service.

Becca and I also took care of all the administrative duties of the ministry. We collected the offereings and decided where the money would go and we paid the bills and cleaned the facility.

All this while having Micah and I worked forty hours a week.

How did we do it? you might ask. Well, we didn’t do it. We made it clear that others would have to step up and contribute if there would be a fellowship there at that ministry. And people did. People cooked and led worship and taught Bible studies and cleaned the House and took money to the bank and did dishes and put up tables and set up chairs and a host of other things that we didn’t have the time to do.

And at the end of the weekend, I did not feel exhausted because I had worked my butt off. I felt completely at peace and encouraged because I just witnessed the Body ministering and discipling itself for a whole weekend. But they all still saw me as their leader. Many even called me their “pastor.” Like I said, I still have people emailing me and asking me counsel on serious issues in their life. They knew it was my responsibility, but they also felt a great deal of ownership in the ministry and, more importantly, each other. I was not a burden to them, and they were not a burden to me. We were free to bless one another. What a wonderful experience.

Periodically, a new person would come around, start to get involved and then balk at the amount of stuff we asked of others, or stuff that we just would not do. I would let things die before I allowed myself or my wife to suffer burnout. Burnout is an ugly thing. So after their balking, someone would tell them, “oh, she just had a baby and he works forty hours a week.” Then they would understand and begin to pitch in a little as well.

Its amazing how much gets done when everyone pitches in just a little.

When we left at the beginning of July, there was no one to replace us. We were not told this was the case until late May (after being assured for months that someone would be there). We were told we would have to hand it over to some type of “leadership team” that would take over in the interim.

No problem. We already had one, quite unofficiallly, and it took us a couple weeks to make it official. It was pretty seamless and the ministry still went on. In fact, they still do not have an official director for the ministry, and attendance is just as high or higher than it ever was while we ran it. Its going strong. So strong, in fact, that when the new directors get there, they can just take on what they can when they can and ease into what God has called them to do and be at peace about the rest.

The Body is meant to minister to itself at the direction of their spiritual Head. True leadership facilitates this and works itself out of a job in order to ensure it. I kept saying that in Korea and then I actually had to put my spiritual money where my big mouth was. But I relished in it because I have faith that God can lead through His Spirit and doesn’t need a one man show, “full-time” paid minister to do it. And God has shown Himself faithful, as I knew He would.

At this point, Micah needs me to change his diaper and provide for his every need. But one day he will wipe his own butt and get a job and leave my house and live on his own. I need to teach him with that end in mind to be a good father. I will always be his father and I will always be able to give him wisdom, but one day he will be his own father and the leader of his own family and I cannot do that for him. But I can teach him with that goal in mind.

What motivation does a “full-time” paid minister have to work himself out of a job? If his congregation didn’t need him anymore, he would lose his income and health insurance and a host of other trappings of wordly security.

Jesus and Paul both worked themselves out of a job, in a sense, knowing that it was better for those they led to be led by something else, the Holy Spirit Himself.

So, to sum up, I believe in giving money or other material things to those who minister Truth to you. It is a principle, not an obligation. It has been my experience that if you give money to those who have blessed you in Word, then God reveals even more of Himself to you. Its called sowing and reaping. But we are called to take care of one another, regardless of positions. If we all give our fishes and loaves, no one will lack. The early Church experienced this. We just don’t have faith that God is faithful enough to do that.

Ironically, you would think that those mature enough to be considered “full-time” among us wouldn’t need worldly security of income and benefits from the Body. Jesus didn’t. Paul didn’t. I don’t read of anyone in the New Testament who did. Although they didn’t always work a job, they didn’t get a regular salary, either. They trusted the Father with all and taught those who believed to take care of one another in light of that faith.

So that’s the example that I choose to follow and that’s the example I will teach. I believe it is the best. And while paid positions are not unbiblical and I am in no way intending to dishonor those in paid “full-time” positions in the Body (many that I have met have a real heart for people), sometimes the good is the enemy of the best. I choose the best.

Peace.

As a young man, I truly believed in God. My mother never had to drag me to church. She made it clear by her example and teaching that tithing was a requirement of Christian life. Even while my father was not as committed to the fellowship, my mother would manipulate the finances to honor God through her tithe. The money she gave went to support the salaries and other financial obligations of the church we attended. I always believed that tithing was essential. Why wouldn’t you give your tithe to support the fellowship you love?

Once someone becomes a Christian or begins to attend a fellowship, they will invariably hear a sermon, message or other teaching on the requirement of tithing. This is not always true, but many times it is discussed when someone becomes a “member.”

As I’ve continued to study the scripture, God has revealed an uncomfortable truth to me.

I don’t believe tithing is a requirement for Christians.

Now, you are hearing this from someone who has tithed consistently over the past 10 years or so. As I got married, Becca and I both felt the need, possibly conviction, to tithe from our salaries. But as I’ve experienced more of the freedom in Christ over the years, I’ve realized that tithing is a form of legalism, based in the Old Covenant, and not at all a part of the New.

Hear me out before you call me a heretic …

I know all the scriptures. I’ve probably used them. I know how the prophet tells us to test the Lord in our tithe, how He will bless us. I even know the scripture in the Gospel where Jesus admonishes the Jews that their tithing was something they were doing right.

I’ll address that one first, since I used to consider it evidence that Jesus supported tithing. Jesus was actually rebuking the Jews for what they had left undone, which was justice and mercy, while still adhering to the tithe in order to collect money. He was speaking in past tense of their adherence to the Law, which included a balance of mercy of justice. He was, in effect, rebuking them for keeping outward traditions but forsaking the foundational principles.

Which is the weakness of the Law and exactly what many do in the New Covenant when we tithe.

I’m going to point to a few important scriptures. The first is from Matthew 17 where the Jews are giving Jesus and His disciples a hard time for not paying the temple tax. Jesus asks Peter an important question. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect taxes, from their own sons or from strangers?” Peter of course responds that strangers pay taxes to the king. Jesus then says something very profound. “The sons are free.”

Then, of course, is the cool story where, in order not to offend the Jews, Jesus tells Peter to go fishing and get the coin out of the first fish he catches … which just happens to be the exact temple tax for Peter and Jesus combined, teaching the very statement he just made. As the King, all things belong to Him.

In other words, sons and daughters of the King should feel no need to pay a tax, since they are heirs of the Kingdom. And yet the exact opposite is the attitude we have in modern tithing.

The next scripture in 2 Corinthians 9. I’ll quote it for you so we can examine it. “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

So we see that our giving is guided by the degree to which we want to reap. There is a sowing and reaping aspect here. Because we are free, we are not to give out of necessity or obligation. That is for common citizens. We are sons and daughters of the King and everything He has is ours. But sons still have to obey. When we are led to give and purpose to obey, there will be sufficient resources to complete it (believe me, I’ve done it) and when we give money or time or material goods to those in need we are actually sowing into the Kingdom and will recieve an eternal reward.

Nowhere in the New Testament is 10% given as a standard. You want to know what is? 100%.

Jesus said several times to different groups of people, “sell all that you have and give it to the poor.” Give it all away. This was not just to the Rich Young Ruler or those with a greed problem. Who doesn’t have a greed problem? And the direction is not to just acknowledge that all your money belongs to God, but it is to physically express it by giving it to the poor. Why aren’t we legalistic about that?

That is the giving standard set up by Christ and followed in the inception of the Church in Acts. Ananias and Sapphira were killed because they said they gave it all but had kept some for themselves. This goes right along with giving as you purpose in your heart, not out of some legalistic tradition or feeling of obligation.

We don’t really use the tithe for the main reasons the Bible tells us to give, anyway. Giving in the New Testament was for one of three reasons: 1) to the poor 2) to other needy Christians and 3) to mission work. Not once do we see money given to assure a minister’s salary or a place to meet. The only other New Testament directive on money is to work and support your family.

The principle I’m describing is wholly New Covenant. The New Covenant is not about adhering to a checklist but listening to the Spirit and obeying. Tithing generally requires no communication with God to specifically understand what He wants from you. In fact, it almost directs you to NOT talk to God about it because a doctrine or organization says to do it, so you gotta do it.

Perhaps God will tell you to give 10% or allow you to be babysat by the Law until you are mature enough to handle true giving. Either way, that’s up to Him. But be careful. Don’t say that he has directed you to tithe when He really hasn’t and you’re just trying to justify a tradition. Seek Him out and hear from Him.

The danger of our modern idea of a tithe is that very little of it goes to the type of giving I describe earlier. A vast majority of it is to used to support ministry positions that aren’t even mentioned or described in the scripture and a building that we hold too dear. Very little of it is used to be the actual salt of the Earth, which is giving to the poor and those within the Church who are in need, like widows and orphans. When is the last time you saw a fellowship support a widow and her family? The early Church did it often. They even had rules about it. Missions giving is also a small portion of what we do.

To be clear, the Spirit will always be in line with the scripture. I am not advocating doing whatever we want with our money and excusing ourselves with being led by the Spirit. I would be very concerned with someone who told me that God has directed them not to give at all. That is against His nature, and if He has shared His nature with you, giving is a primary call of your life.

If you’re truly seeking Him, I’ll be so bold as to say you might drop less into a passing plate and more into the hands of needy people that cross your path. It will become more personal, spontaneous and less legalistic. You’ll find yourself giving MORE than 10%. Although, you may not even notice it because to understand it in those terms could lead to pride. You will give more than you believe you could and have more than you believe you should. Believe me. I’ve been there.

If you choose to tithe out of a pure heart, then I believe there is a blessing in that, as well. It is an Old Testament promise under an Old Covenant, and ultimately you will have to move past it to follow God under the fullness of the New. The nature of God is relational. Why would financial giving be any different?

In closing, can you imagine what it would look like if every Christian gave more than 10% of their income to the poor, the needy among us, and to those going somewhere else to spread the gospel? It would hasten the Day of the Lord, I can assure you. Organizations might perish, but the Organism of the Body would find new life.

Peace.