Hi Jake,
You asked about tithing, now that you "have a church."
Please share this with Sherrie, and talk about it together!
1. Theology of tithing
- Scripture
Deuteronomy 14:22-27
2 Corinthians 9
- Required?
Those who make more of a contrast between Old and New testaments, usually assert that 2 Cor. 9 overrides the requirement of a tithe. Give what you are led to give, without any mandated percentage.
Reformed theology, which holds OT and NT more closely together, tends to say the tithe requirement is still applicable. My view is the latter, but I don't press it with those who genuinely read the Bible the other way.
- to church?
Your podcast friend is right. Your tithe should go to the priest/temple (in the Old Testament) - now to the place where you are pastored and taught and fed (1 Cor 9:13-14). Not to a parachurch ministry. Again, you don't have to be over-scrupulous about this. There have been times we've given about 8-9% to church, and 1% to some other missionary or ministry. But the goal - achievable in the near-term! - is "Tithes and offerings:" 10% to church for sure, then whatever more you can and want to give to church or other places. Lots of people give lip service to how important the church is, but the vast majority of their giving goes elsewhere.
2. Cool liturgy connections
It is from the Deuteronomy 14 passage above that we derive our offering practice.
The offerings are given to the priest, and transformed by him/Jesus/God, through a sacrifice not our own, into a feast that God gives us to eat. So we bring the offering forward, while singing "Lamb of God," put it on the communion table, and then proceed to the feast of Communion. In the OT, the animal was divided up among the worshiper, the priest, and the poor. Our offerings are the same: some goes to pay for the communion supplies, some to the benevolence fund, some to missionaries, and some to the pastor! Our yearly budget is coming out soon, where we plan this out.
3. Starting, practically
I would not feel the need to tithe on past income received, as you wondered. Just start now, with the next checks you receive. Make it cash flow based. If you get a direct deposit or check, write a check for 10% of it right away to church. This is the "firstfruits" principle. God gets the first 10%, not whatever is left. Giving each time you come to church is a good practice - see Psalm 96:8 and 1 Cor. 16:2. I get paid monthly, so we divide by 4/5 Sundays in the week, to give weekly. Others give as often as they get paid.
4. Starting smaller?
Many people have a really tight budget that would make it a burden to go from zero to tithing 10% immediately. It's okay to start smaller until you can find more room. 5%, 3%? The amount isn't important at first, so much as just to get in the practice of giving. But I would urge getting to 10% as quickly as feasible, without breaking important financial commitments.
5. Direct Deposit mechanics
Many people prefer to give online today. I mildly lean against this. As we should worship in person, physically, so we probably should give physically, too. "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable service/worship" (Rom 12:1-2). So, if you're making the effort to get to church on time and present your bodies, it's a bit incongruous to try to be ultra convenient regarding the offering online. But, then again, many people don't bother with checks at all anymore. Cash is an option, but then there is no record of giving, for a tax deduction, which I find very reasonable to claim (the deduction increased substantially for 2021). And you ARE presenting your bodies before the Lord, and the offering is happening corporately, so it's not a huge deal. It can be a burden on small churches without the online giving capacity, but members can usually set up payment with their own bank, too, I understand.
6. Tithe on net or gross income?
This is a perennial stickler of a question. Many are exasperated by it - such a minor question. But you do want to be clear in your conscience that you are meeting God's standard in this (Malachi 3:8!).
I would advise starting with net, to keep it simple. You might be of a mind just to stay there, as delving further into details may be "straining out gnats."
But some of those details would be:
1 - I wouldn't tithe on retirement contributions. Plan to tithe on those when you receive them. Or tithe on them now, and don't when you receive them. No need to tithe both times.
2 - Taxes:
a. The argument to tithe on net income.
Your "increase" is what the gov't lets you keep.
Tithe on net throughout the year, and if you get a refund, tithe on that, since you didn't before.
b. The argument to tithe on gross income
God gets his tithe before the government gets their cut (even though they scheme to get their cut first, via withholdings!).
Tithe on gross throughout the year, checking your pay stubs.
If you get a refund, tithe nothing, as you've already paid on it.
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