Megachurch pastors of the Carolina’s, Steven Furtick and Perry Noble, are the successors of Church Growth for this generation, following in the footsteps of Purpose Driven pastor Rick Warren and Seeker-Sensitive pastor Bill Hybels. And they want your money! To further establish the Warren connection, Furtick was welcomed at Saddleback earlier this year (source) and Noble was brought by Warren to speak at the Radicalis conference (source).
This article will look at a recent video from Noble on tithing and the new story NBC Charlotte obtains confidential Elevation report.
In this video, Noble requests the first ten percent of the financial income of his megachurch. To Christians like myself who believe that tithing is a sad parody of an Old Testament ordinance for the Levites who ministered in the Temple, Perry says, “You’re stupid,” and, “You don’t read your Bible.” Noble goes on to teach “the principle of the first fruits” by citing Genesis 4 of Abel’s sacrifice, Genesis 14 of Abraham’s tithe to Milchizedek, Genesis 28 of Jacob’s giving a tenth of all, which by the way do demonstrate giving sacrifice to God, but cannot outweigh the fact that the New Testament does not teach tithing at all. Genesis 14 and 28 are often used in support of tithing but both occasions were one-time instances and were not ongoing practices for either man.
Noble then tries to apply Matthew 6:33 to tithing by suggesting that “seeking first” is the giving of the tithe. Jesus said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Seeking first the kingdom of God is doing the things pleasing to God, and has nothing to do with tithing. “All of these things” does refer our clothing, our food, daily needs, including finances (as Noble says), and these will be provided by God for us if we seek to please Him. This verse has nothing to do with tithing! Noble continues his reaching in trying to establish tithing from a New Testament standpoint by citing Matthew 23:23 (which applies to Pharisees under the Law of Moses who Jesus rebuked for meticulously observing the tithe while neglecting weightier matters of the law).
1 Corinthians 16:1,2 are often cited to support tithing but Paul said no such thing. Paul did encourage sacrificial giving to those in need in all his epistles: “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” Noble says the first ten percent off of our income belongs to God (or New Spring Church). Noble then threatens his hearers by saying that God will take their first 10 percent by breaking down their vehicles and putting their children in the hospital if they refuse to give it up.
Jesus did say, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). There is certainly a principle of charitable and sacrificial giving in the New Testament. Christianity actually demands more than the 10 percent of Judaism. Everything that the Christian owns belongs to God and we should give to those ministers who labor in the Word and doctrine (1 Corinthians 9:14), and to the poor and needy (Matthew 10:8; Galatians 2:10), especially of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10). But there is no obligatory 10 percent tithing law for Christians. “For if there be first a willing mind, [it is] accepted according to that a man hath, [and] not according to that he hath not” (2 Corinthians 8:12). There is nothing wrong with giving 90 percent to the church if it really needed it, but New Spring and Elevation, like many other megachurches, exemplify poor stewardship with their large buildings and excessive spending.
Paul the Apostle instructed the church to financially support God’s ministers in 1 Corinthians 9. In the same chapter, Paul described God’s ministers as those like himself who lived a life characterized by a pattern of self-denial. This hardly lines up with the pattern of Steven Furtick and his $1.7 million home on more than 19 acres near Weddington. And this abuse is the problem. Elevation Church and New Spring do not fit the biblical model of the local churches in the New Testament, nor do the lives of these pastors demonstrate the self-denial taught by Jesus and Paul.
NBC Charlotte reports of Elevation’s financial empire, secrecy and confidentiality agreements:
Elevation Church, led by pastor Steven Furtick, has doubled its average weekly offering in the last two years to more than a half-million dollars a week, and plans to open up to five new locations costing up to $86 million in the Charlotte area, three of which it has not made public. . . .
Elevation is the largest megachurch in North Carolina, and one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States. The church has kept its finances secret even from donors, asking staff and some volunteers to sign a confidentiality agreement which threatens to sue them if they disclose internal numbers. . . .
Elevation’s founding principles called “The Code” state “we are all about the numbers”, and emphasize a reliance on numbers as metrics for growth and success. In one promotional film for Elevation, congregation members identify themselves by the “number” of the order in which they joined the church.
Elevation proudly shares some numbers while keeping others a closely guarded secret. For instance, it totals the number of salvations as 3,785 this year through the first of September, and the number of baptisms as 3,519. It systematically counts the number of people at each service in its eight locations, now regularly totaling more than 14,000 a week.
But when it comes to money, Elevation and its pastor, Steven Furtick, refuse to disclose audited financial statements, salaries, tax-free housing allowances and contracts with for-profit publishers. The confidential report shows that for the first 35 weeks of 2013, Elevation’s average combined operating and expansion offerings, excluding its Toronto location, stood at $550,775.50.
Furtick told the congregation on Sunday, October 27, that Elevation discloses finances “through external audits, as well as audited income and balance statements we make available to everyone who is a part of Elevation Church”.
“That’s not even close to full disclosure,” said Rusty Leonard, founder of MinistryWatch, a watchdog for church donors, “First of all, it’s not the full audited financial statement. It’s just some pretty pictures and a portion of the audited financial statements.”
A full audited financial statement contains formal notes from outside auditors. It discloses what are known as “related party transactions” which can reveal potential conflicts of interest. . . .
Elevation does not disclose its audited financial statement, even to donors and members. Instead it releases a glossy, full-color annual report. The report counts the number of breath mints one “campus pastor” eats, the number of minutes of music from the rock band AC/DC played at the church, and whether the pastor wears a V-neck shirt. It does not reveal the pastor’s salary or benefits. . . .
While non-profit religious ministries are required to make their IRS form 990 tax returns public, churches and other houses of worship can keep their finances secret. . . .
So it’s a fair question not just for Elevation donors but for all of us as taxpayers: What are we getting in exchange for these tax breaks? And what is Pastor Steven getting? The law does not require him to tell you – and he’s not going to. (source)
Obviously I cannot judge the hearts of Furtick or Noble. I can boldly say that this megachurch model and these CEO-pastor salaries are a blatant departure from the biblical model of local church assemblies. I’m not accusing them of secretly and deliberately bringing false doctrines into the church. Buying a $1.7 million dollar home certainly seems covetous, an uncharitable use of $1.7 million dollars. So I cannot help but think of 2 Peter 2:1-3 in relation to these reports, especially because I first saw the Noble video on an atheist blog which demonstrates what Peter was talking about when he said the conduct of false teachers would cause the way of truth to be blasphemed:
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. (2 Peter 2:1-3)
SEE ALSO:
Steven Furtick’s Multi-Million Dollar Home
Special Needs Child Removed From Steven Furtick’s Elevation Church
Elevation Church and Steven Furtick: Volunteer to Be Sued! by Wartburg Watch 2013