Dollar, tithe and Pentecostal confusion

By Uche Chris

A video of American preacher, Pastor Creflo Dollar, emerged last week in the social media, shame-faced and abashedly apologising to his 30,000 strong member World Changers Church for misleading them on the doctrine of tithing. He said that his understanding and teaching of the subject in the past 30 years had been mistaken and biblically inaccurate. He was, therefore, asking for their forgiveness.

Relying on Romans 6:14, which says that “for ye are not under the law, but under the grace”, for sudden ‘revelation’ on tithe, he asked his congregation to throw away every book, video and tape he had taught in support of tithing over the years, adding that if one is under grace, Jesus took away the curse of not paying tithe”.

As expected, some Nigerian pastors quickly joined the fray with some, like Sam Adeyemi of Daystar and Sunday Adelaja of Ukraine, in support, while others, such as David Ibiyomie of Salvation Ministries, vowed to continue paying tithe till death.

The debate or controversy on tithe is not new in Nigeria but it is one that continues to divide the church, particularly, Pentecostals. The immediate challenge in the debate is not whether tithing is right or wrong, but why the controversy in the first place and what the Bible says about it.

There is agreement among Pentecostals on virtually every biblical concept or doctrine except tithe and offering, which suggests that the problem is not the Bible but the subject, which is money; and because tithe is a most convenient way of exploitation in the name of God, we turn a blind eye to the biblical truth for personal gain.

As a disclaimer, I pay tithe; so this is not a campaign against tithing. However, for several years now I pay it not out of conviction, but conscience, because you will be heartless and unconscionable not to in the present church where not paying tithe is made to look worse than the original sin of Adam. The lack of sound biblical teaching on tithe is deliberate to keep people ignorant and confused about the purpose and package of salvation.

For some time, I had thought and believed that the Nigerian Pentecostal church was ignorant and is incapable of deep and independent thinking; now I revise my position: Pentecostals generally are not only ignorant but selfish and materialistic, and nothing proves that more than the present subject. Some may be quick to align my position to that of radio host, Daddy Freaze, or whatever he is called. That is nonsense, simply because he too is a blind man leading the blind…

It is heartbreaking that such .a global preacher, who has been on the business for 30 years could produce such a fraudulent spin, which is astounding in its absurdity and vexation, to the church. See why people of the other religion regard us with disdain and contempt.

What are we then to believe? If what he has taught as holy grail for three decades is wrong, what other things that he had made us believe, and is still teaching, fall into such category? He is a man I know well by association and have sat severally under his teaching ministry, so I am also one of his victims.

He had made so much profit teaching tithing that mere confession to his congregation is not good enough. He built his mega church called the Dome with $2m in 2002 from tithe proceeds. He is flying a private jet from the payment of tithe.

What is he supposed to do to set the right example and prove that his ‘conversion’ is true and real? Coming out to tell the world that he had ‘seen the light,’ while keeping the gains therefrom is hypocrisy. He has simply made his situation worse.

His next course of action is clear in the Bible and even tax collectors knew better. In Luke 19:8, Zacheaus, a tax collector, gave a biblical perspective: “If I have taken anything from anyone by false accusations, or pretense, I will restore fourfold…” Now how could a teacher of the Bible, who is making a confession of wrong teaching not know this elementary prescription? He had enriched himself by false teaching and it would be morally dubious and duplicitous to keep the ill-gotten wealth.

Many church leaders are silent because they are equally in complicity. Some challatants would hastely rally to defend the practice and condemn those who raise issues, as agents of darkness sent to stop the growth of the kingdom.

But they miss the point: We deceive people to tithe and give in the guise of spreading the gospel. Was it the way the gospel got to us? Men are using God’s name to pursue their own ambitions, otherwise, they won’t be appropriating the same work of God for only their families when other people gave their time, money and labour to build it.

How can we want to help God? If God gives the assignment He will pay for it. The missionaries who brought Christianity to us were not tithe prayers; yet some people committed their resources to sponsor them. Tithe is not the issue; we are focused on tithe because of our failure to teach people to become kingdom builders.

For 1800 years of church history, tithe was never a part of our biblical heritage. However, Pentecostals, or should I say, “social entrepreneurs”, as former U.S. president Obama called them in the book of his political philosophy, The Audacity of Hope, suddenly understood without biblical knowledge that those, who marytred themselves to give us this faith, were wrong? It is a joke, which liberal theology foisted on the world and it spread like cancer. Now, we all have to eat our words like Creflo Dollar.

The task before us as Pentecostals is to look in the mirror and tell ourselves the home truth: The days of ignorance are over; time has come to obey God and teach the Bible without simulation or disguise, because there will be judgment here and hereafter. And pastors will be first partakers.