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Pastor Larry Bjorklund – Joplin, MO
Leaders need to set the standard. Are you willing to lose this person by challenging (questioning) them about the issue? I believe the Bible is clear on the issue.
We had a leader get caught up in gambling and the wife would write their tithe check and after service he would go and make an excuse to get it back and said that he would give it to the secretary. He never did. Pastor found out, approached in love, wife was furious, yet followed him out the church as he left. Now, we teach, but it is between them and God.
Keep such a person away from all finances.
Pastor Edwin Anderson – High Springs, FL
Our church policies require that everyone in a leadership or ministry position, other than entry-level or mid entry-level helps, be a tither. That goes for volunteer as well as paid staff. The question as to how involved the pastor should be in setting and monitoring these types of policies make me wonder what type of church government is in place. My situation is such that as pastor, I am the head of the local church and have the last word on all policies and practices. I have a system of monitoring the tithing of all leaders, and insist they all maintain consistent tithing habits.
Pastor David Emigh – Sand Springs, OK
I want to take this opportunity to say that all pastors and churches should be involved in tithing. I am amazed at how many churches, ministries and ministers do not personally tithe. My wife and I have always been one of the most faithful tithers in our church. From the very start of our church ten percent was set aside to feed the poor and for world missions.
I personally will not have any employee on staff who does not tithe. It is a part of our employee policy handbook. When we do our Welcome to the Family class, which is our membership class, we clearly share that tithing is a part of being a member of our church.
I articulate this in all of our leaders meetings from time to time. Our leaders know this is expected of them. If I found out a high profile leader was not tithing and giving I would prayerfully find a way to approach them. I know this can be a sensitive thing, but if a person is a leader in my church they must financially support the church. I share quite often that we are a faith organization and we operate by tithes and offerings and people know this is something they must be involved in to be a part of our leadership team.
If there are circumstances that have affected people’s lives and therefore their giving, I take that into consideration. But if you want to be a leader, you must be involved in tithing. I trust this will help someone.
Pastor Doug Foutty – Parkersburg, WV
Obviously, anyone who has served God for any length of time and has been a tither and giver knows the benefits of having your finances in the Lord’s system vs. the world’s system. I want all of the people who attend my church to be tithers. I don’t have any selfish motive for this. God’s Word is true! He rebukes the devourer from our finances and we can speak the Word in faith over our finances when we haven’t robbed Him. People don’t understand that they are giving up a benefit when they don’t tithe. I would not want this world’s system to be the hope for my financial future. If a person is having doubts and feeling guilt because they haven’t tithed, then they can’t get into faith anyway. They will completely miss God’s blessing. If it is a case of a leader or anyone else in the church not understanding and having never been taught about tithing, then we, as pastors need to live up to the responsibility of teaching on this subject from time to time.
I pray about whom to install as leaders in our church. I do my best to give the Spirit of God plenty of time to instruct me before approaching someone. If I were told that a leader was no longer tithing or had never tithed, I would be concerned for them and wonder what stumbling block had tripped them up in their thinking. I might have a general meeting with them first and talk about a variety of subjects. During this, I would listen to the Holy Spirit and listen to them for clues of what was in the abundance of their heart. I might throw in a recent testimony concerning a financial blessing and link it back to tithing and giving offerings and share the goodness of God. I would give God every chance to be God. I don’t want to be God or the Holy Spirit. I do want to continue to be a Spirit-led pastor. I want to trust God to work this out in His timing so that it will benefit the leader and his family and when that happens, then and only then will it benefit the church.
I would have to know that God spoke to me specifically to ask the person directly about their finances. If I were led to do that, then I would be obedient and trust the spirit of God to give me the correct words. I want to encourage you to pray for your leaders. Ask God to bless them and give them harvests for their efforts for the kingdom of God. Ministry of helps is only successful when it actually HELPS!
As far as in church policies, I would have in writing that tithing and financial support for our church was expected of anyone who would like to serve in our church.
Pastor Michael Steward – Powell, OH
This is a great question. We too had this exact situation arise. From the onset of the church, we have always communicated our expectations to leaders and that included that they be faithful in tithing. Our number one priority when it comes to leadership in the church is that we want their heart to be connected to our church. The Bible declares that where your money is your heart will be also (Matt 6:21, Luke 12:34). For us, it isn't a money issue rather a heart issue. So with that in mind, we launched into the following steps.
First, we wanted to find out if they were just operating out of ignorance. The only way we could address this clearly was to meet with them. We started the meeting talking extensively about the heart of the issue and why we were addressing it and not the technical aspects of tithing. We wanted their heart. They communicated to us that their heart was with us and they were not in a good financial situation. They wanted to start tithing and we talked about a plan to get them up to bringing the full tithe. To make a long story short, not surprisingly, the Scripture proved to be true...where your money is so is your heart. They were not with us and ended up leaving the church.
I think it is very important that you talk to them about this, especially since they are a leader. We have a policy in place for our leaders and we include it in a manual for them to keep. We also talk about this in membership. Even though we are not dogmatic about it with members, at least everyone knows our culture. This subject is included in all helps ministry manuals, from ushers to children's workers etc., always being addressed from the heart perspective. I personally do not monitor who gives or does not give. This helps me look at people objectively. However, when it comes to leadership I want to know their tithing history...once again, heart issue. If they are not tithing, then they are not ready for our leadership team. What we have found out is that people will rise to standards if they have a true understanding of this issue.
