This last week I was with a group of pastors from around the US who were meeting as representatives for the Foursquare Church. Our discussions centered around our funding model of the church in order to accomplish our mission, "Raising up leaders to go to the world and make disciples of all nations.". In our conversation regarding funding, we talked alot about tithing. It's a sensitive issue. Some people (really just a few) in our movement are concerned that the word "tithe" may have a negative connotation for the next generation. This word "tithe" has been used at times in the past as a synonym for "obligation" or "requirement". The implication is that the tithe is a tax from God to pay for God's workers.
During the discussion about how we as a denomination fund our movement, one of the pastors presented a view of tithing that was refreshing to me. He shared that the tithe was originally used as an expression of thanks to God (ex: Abraham and Jacob) and that the tithe is a form of worship. There are certainly other good dynamics about the tithe, ie. covenental promises, laws of reciprocity. But this one dynamic of worship got my attention. Romans 12:1,2 tells us to present our bodies as living sacrifices which is our reasonable act of worship. It seems very reasonable to me to give God the firstfruits of all my increase as an act of thankfulness to Him for all he has done for me.
During the discussion about how we as a denomination fund our movement, one of the pastors presented a view of tithing that was refreshing to me. He shared that the tithe was originally used as an expression of thanks to God (ex: Abraham and Jacob) and that the tithe is a form of worship. There are certainly other good dynamics about the tithe, ie. covenental promises, laws of reciprocity. But this one dynamic of worship got my attention. Romans 12:1,2 tells us to present our bodies as living sacrifices which is our reasonable act of worship. It seems very reasonable to me to give God the firstfruits of all my increase as an act of thankfulness to Him for all he has done for me.