Nepotism, The Family Run Church

NEPOTISM in the CHURCH?
Who "runs" your church"?

-by rory moore

The topic of "nepotism" was observed firsthand so often in the "church" world we left behind.
 A bit of research from Wikipedia regarding the term "nepotism" yields the astounding revelation that the practice itself was begun in "Christianity"!

What is "nepotism ?
Nepotism is the showing of favoritism toward relatives, based upon that relationship, rather than on an objective evaluation of ability or suitability."

Where did nepotism originate?
From Wikipedia: "Nepotism gained its name after the church practice in the Middle Ages, when some Catholic popes and bishops — who had taken vows of chastity, and therefore usually had no children of their own — gave their nephews positions of preference such as were often accorded by fathers to sons[1]. Several popes are known to have elevated nephews and other relatives to the cardinalate."

Nepotism is one of the meeting places where historical practices from Catholicism and the modern denominational/ institutional church world shake hands.

 Having what scripture calls "respect of persons", position and title seeking are exactly the opposite of what Jesus taught His followers, as illustrated in Matthew 20 when the mother of "the sons of Zebedee" lobbied for some special position for her two sons:
"And he said to her, What would you? She said to him, Command that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom."
She wanted her sons elevated in the eyes of men, in God's kingdom.

Again in Matthew 23 Jesus strictly admonished His disciples in regard to title seeking as He pointed out the religious leaders of Israel:
 But all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
6  and love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
7 and the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called of men, Rabbi.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and ALL YE are brethren.
9 And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, even he who is in heaven.
10 Neither be ye called masters (leaders) : for one is your master, even the Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.

In looking back at our church-world sojourn, we now realize how thoroughly the Institutional Church is permeated with nepotism and gives the common folk yet one more reason to examine the lack of difference between the church and the world.
And one more reason to leave when they realize the difference between a man's organization and God's kingdom .



 It is common practice, especially in the church world for a family to run a "church" and pass it along to their children like any other family business. We observed this many, many times. Family members and favored persons are put in postions, given titles, and treated in a manner suggesting they have special status. Churches are referred to as "Pastor So and So's church" and the "successful ones noted for more people, more buildings, more money.

Many "preacher's kids" are ruined by this practice.
They are marked for special and extra attention by reason of their family's role in the oversight of a church;  many are groomed for the professional ministry and many become jaded by what they witness behind the scenes of "church" life.

It is typical of church members to give special treatment (favoritism) and consideration to the children of church leaders, sometimes in an effort to gain favor from those leaders. There are also more than a few "owners" that take lingering offense when their children are corrected or admonished by someone in the church.

Rather than following the scriptural teaching of Jesus in regard to true servanthood, a pastors' family becomes "king, queen, prince, and princess" as they serve themselves of the people. This is exactly what the apostate kings of Israel did and indeed they are the scriptural role models for the kingdom of pastor-run churches today.  (The majority of "Godly" kings of Israel transferred their kingdom to their children who usually fell away from following the LORD).

In denominational circles with families that have generational "roots" in the organization, it is common for these families to take on an air of royalty within their denomination.  One may gain access to position and status within denominations when marrying with "name brand" families, and the majority of denominations, Bible Colleges, and Big Name ministries are filled with this SOP. (standard operating procedure).

Many times a lucrative church (one that has great people and cash-flow) are looked upon and desired as inheritable assets. We saw and heard of many examples of this while we were in the institutional church system and we knew many people that thought nothing of doing things this way. "Their" churches, populated by loving, trusted people, were as much family run enterprises as they were "churches".

New converts are the innocent fair game for their ministries. The typical new convert is usually more interested in spiritual matters and easily manipulated by the professionals behind the pulpit who wrestle Bible verses to justify their unscriptural practices.  For 24 years, as loyal, loving,  members we also accepted these practices without careful scriptural scrutiny.

We remember two particular examples where a pastor died or retired and intended to pass the mantle of his office and administration to his son or daughter and son-in-law. But those churches did not cooperate with the pastor's desire to pass along the family-run church and the children felt great rejection and robbed of their inheritance.

Another area church pastor retired and installed his son-in-law into the Senior Pastor position and thus protected his retirement benefits and continued to pull strings from behind the scenes while he and his wife led a comfortable life of travel as retirees. 

These are shepherds who do not know what it is to live the faith they say they proclaim, instead relying on their own ability to provide themselves security through "bigger barns", medical insurance, life insurance, and a slice of the church financial pie.

BTW, the church is given the loving instruction to care for it's members and have "equality" and NOT through mandated, corporate contractural arrangements which are now SOP for the privileged clergy.

In the business world of the local church (many of which are yoked to the government through 501c3 IRS law), pastors appoint yes men, business people, and relatives to their *church boards in order to maintain control.  (just google 501c3 churches for an eye-opener!) This insures and facilitates that the "ministry" staff is benefitted by perks such as housing, education expense, travel, conferences, insurance, and retirement packages. These become un-scriptural binding contractural obligations levied upon the body of Christ.  BTW, Paul admonished the overseers of the churches he ministered in to work and support the weak and needy.
Jer. 50:6 My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; ...

Here are a few Nepotistic examples:
1. A pastor's wife is appointed either co-pastor or has a title  such as "Pastor Betty".
2. A pastor's son is appointed as a Youth Pastor, Music Director, or similar.
3. The pastor gives postions and titles to family, financial supporters, or other favored folk. Novices, young converts, and naturally gifted people are put in ministerial offices which is directly contrary to the teaching of the Bible. 
4. Church finances are closely controlled, guarded, and administrated by the pastor's family.
5. The management of the "church" is kept within a family and their children are groomed to take over their church when they are old enough and trained. (This may or may not include Bible College where numerous classes are offered on church financial and business management).  
6. When the "senior" pastor retires, his son or son-in-law takes over the church.  
    Retirement "benefits" are usually part of the package as they seek the security of temporal provision.
7. A senior pastor appoints a family member, relative, or a hand-picked "yes-man" to a church board or other position of church oversight.  (the recent financial house-cleaning at ORU illustrates this) 

The list above are all symptoms of an apostate church that has no example for such in the New Testament.  No pastor has any God-given authority to name his wife "Pastor" or treat God's people like a family business. Yet when the mask comes off, this is what we find despite the protestations, justification, and affirmations of love and loyalty. 

This is simply the sad truth of what we observed in 24 years of church life as we observed this in our own assembly's, those in the fellowship we were part of, and the system blinded both them and us.

These are practices that breed "respect of persons", create carnal authority, sustain the hated "Nicolaitane error", and corrupt the majority of those that God has called to serve.

The story of "Eli" in 1Samuel 2:22 aptly illustrates Old Testament nepotism. Eli, out of favoritism and his position with God's people, allowed his two sons to take privileges. Like the blind, apostate ministers of our day, blind Eli was acting contrary to God's command and respected his family relationships more than he did the Word of the Lord. (1Sam 2).

What we saw and heard over the course of 24 years as we sat in on board and staff meetings, as we listened to conversations of church leaders, and observed the lives of church leadership is now, frankly, astonishing to us. In the name of Christianity, the churches we were part of were in reality family owned business' and/or denominational franchises.

 As outsiders we now look back and recognize that the church world we left is exactly what Jesus observed when He said:
"For this people`s heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them." 

The glory of God departed from the apostate leadership of Israel for departing from God's Word, so history repeats as God's glory and power has, and is departing from Christianity's apostate leadership in our day.

*church boards: an unscriptural term and practice that is a common part of many churches corporate business structure that conforms them to IRS rule, regulation and reporting.  This is a literal "married to the world" practice common in the Institutional Church of today. If you attend a church with a board, you are supporting an apostate institution.


© Rory Moore, all rights reserved 

Church Walls Got You Down?

Out of church but not out of God, Christianity Outside The Box

Churches without names, buildings, or a hired pastor?  Ideas that once sounded "out there" are rapidly becoming one of the largest spiritual movements in the world.
The George Barna Research Group in a startling survey found that the fastest growing segment of Christianity is among  Christians leaving the institutionally organized churches and finding fellowship and support as they gather in homes and other places.  (Google "Barna organic Home Church"

Approximately 7% of adults surveyed were participating in an "organic church", typically, one where people gathered in a home for worship, sharing of faith, and study of the Bible.
In his article, Barna stated "

71% say they are “more likely to develop my religious beliefs on my own, rather than to accept an entire set of beliefs that a particular church teaches.”  And he found, "Levels of distrust toward churches, church leaders and organized Christianity have been growing over the past two decades. 

That concern – along with the heightened independence of Americans and the profound access to information that has characterized the past decade – may have led to the emergence of a large majority of adults feeling responsible for their own theological and spiritual development." There are many authors such as Frank Viola, Andrew Strom, and A.J. Kiesling to name a few.

There are also Christians choosing to gather as the early Christians did in the book of Acts.
In fact, a quick word search for "church house" in a Bible Search Program (http://www.htmlbible.com/ )
yielded numerous references such as 1st Corinthians 16:19 The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
Colossians 4:15 Salute the brethren that are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church that is in their house",  -and more.

Reasons for leaving institutional are greatly varied.
Some leave church because they are bitter over spiritual and/ or clergy abuse.
Some leave because they cannot live up to expectations. Either their own, others, or even God's expectations as they are perceived.
Some leave because they experience emptiness in routines, programs, financial manipulation, and performance-oriented services.
Some leave the assurance and affirmation of church in order to find a more meaningful relationship to God.
Some leave because they began to read the Bible and saw how the words of Christian church scripture disagree with commonly accepted practices such as tithing, controlling leaders, spiritual covering, and more.
Some leave because God told them to.

Usually the establishment church views them with labels such as "lone-rangers", "disgruntled" "discord sowers", "false prophet", "heretic", "lone wolf", "murmurer", "discord sowers", and all the labels we ourselves once used to put on people when they left OUR church.

However in church history, a surprising perspective is found when we realize many of God's people separated themselves from the "mainstream" faith around them.

Jesus Himself was labeled, castigated, and persecuted by the establishment religious order.
Paul was converted but did not go to "church" for three years. He later suffered outside the camp of Judaistic Israel after Christ revealed Himself to him.
And of course, ALL of the followers of Jesus came out from among the mainstream sects and denominations of the Jewish religion. For this, they were persecuted, labeled, and spoken evil of by the religious establishment of the day.

Jesus Himself said He came to bring division in Luke 12:51 Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division, and that the first followers of Jesus Christ ALL came out from the divisions and sects of Judaistic Israel.
It is an astonishing parallel to our day in which there are countless sects, denominations, and divisions under the banner of "Christian". Anyone looking at the "church directory" in the Yellow Pages will quickly become overwhelmed by the Smorgasbord of church ads.   

Yet it is an amazing discovery to find that the overwhelming majority of early Christians met in homes with no overhead, hired minister, or the typical furnishings found in the typical church building. It comes as a further shock to realize the pastors of that day were told by the apostle Paul himself, that they (the bishops) should be "so working that you ought to support the weak" (Acts 20:35)

The New Testament knows nothing of a professional clergy.
In the typical home church "assembling", families and individuals will gather together for a meal, fellowship, worship, and open sharing.
In this atmosphere, everyone participates or is welcome to; the body of Christ functions as a loving, caring, and sharing spiritual family.

In our own home gatherings, which are rotated among several families, meetings tend to last 6-8 hours in a very enjoyable atmosphere in which most of the people stay well into the night.
One typical Saturday we assembled with spiritual "family" as the Body of Christ from around 2:30 to 11 pm.  We talked, ate, prayed, discussed the Bible, testified, and shared what the Lord is doing in our lives.

Several experienced physical healings including a migraine headache and a back condition. 
The intimacy of a home meeting is more conducive to personal ministry, confession of struggles, and ministry one to another which the typical church service does not have time or room for.
Without the formal structure of a programmed church "service", the home meetings facilitate openness and frank expression of needs, problems, and personal giftings each member may have opportunity to exercise. 

Another common objection aimed at non-institutional church goers, is that there is no denominational or spiritual covering, or accountability.
While this may be partly true, especially with those "leaders" who desire to build their own "church kingdom" and seek to be supported by others, many have networked and have learned to make themselves accountable to God and those they gather with.
In fact, there is no such thing as the phrase "spiritual covering" given in the scriptures. Nor is there a titled clergy, structured church hierarchy, or even the position of one man called "pastor" put in charge of an assembly.
Again, it comes as a shock to find a multiplicity of elders were given oversight of the churches.  One or several men were exercising the gift of a pastor alongside the other unpaid, ministerial gifts of service to the church.

Giving and tithing according to the tradition of the offering plate is another area where many home churches depart from church traditon.
Although we personally found no scriptures instructing churches or saints to pay a tithe of 10% from income, giving is an important part of our fellowship. 

Since a home group has no paid minister or church overhead, 100% of giving  goes directly to meet the needs of others, as opposed to typical church overhead and salaries which take 95% of the typical churches income. Some ministries may be supported by choice "as a man purposes in his heart" but not by the subtle manipulation of a weekly offering plate being passed.

  Home churchers tend to eschew "tax deductible" offerings in favor of private, that is, secret giving without any desire for record keeping by a church secretary or pastor. Jesus appeared to encourage self-less, secret giving also, (Matthew 6:4 that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee),  and Saint Paul testified how that he "I was careful to remember the poor"  in Galatians  2:10

That is how the home churches tend to function, once they are free from the typical church-mindset.  More of the people become involved in caring and ministering one to another and those around them.
We were personally amazed at the first home church meeting we visited in another city. The simplicity and lack of formal orchestration was like a culture shock but we quickly adapted and came to love it, and we would never want to exchange the close fellowship for a large building and watching others "lead church" up in front.

Admittedly, "home church" is not for everyone, but for many, it fills the need for closer, more intimate Christian fellowship than does the Institutional, program-driven setting of the formal church.

Jesus said simply "where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst". -That also is church.
-rory moore

Unwrapping The Parable of Hierlings and Sheep

 

Unwrapping a parable,

 -rory moore

There are Two ways to answer a call to serve God:
Here is some revelation in John 10 you may have never seen before.

1   Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that enters not by the door
     into the fold of the sheep,
    but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a
     robber.
2   But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3   To him the porter opens; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
4   When he has put forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5   And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
6   This parable spoke Jesus unto them: but they understood not
      what things they were which he spoke unto them.

The revelation of the parable:

1.  WHO was Jesus speaking to?
2.  WHO is the "he that enters.. into the fold of the sheep"

3.  WHAT  is the sheepfold?

4.  WHO is the thief and the robber?

5.  WHO is the door?

1.    Who was He speaking to? "they understood not" vs. 6
        It was:

Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said to him, Are we also blind? Jesus was speaking to those who were over the people in leadership. (Jn 9:40)

2.    Let's next see what the "sheepfold" is:
       In the Jewish temple, the house of God, were little "houses" for the sheep, -"the uncovered courtyard of the house. In the O.T. particularly of the courts of the tabernacle and of the temple in Jerusalem." -From the Greek Lexicon definition.  
In the New Testament, the temple of God is people, not a building.
The little houses symbolic for what would become the churches, i.e. the "sheepfolds".

3.   WHO is the "he that enters.. into the fold of the sheep...NOT through the DOOR,  but climbs up" ?
    
Let's consider this "he". Why would Jesus use "climbs up"?
Remember, He was speaking to those that had themselves climbed up in taking the "uppermost rooms" and "chief seats" at the feasts!

Look at the definition of "chief seats": "a sitting first, preeminence in council: - chief (highest, uppermost) seat."

How did the pharisees "climb up" in that day? 
     They did so by the same means that men do today. They climb "up" into those "uppermost seats" through denominations, Bible College Certificates, Doctorates, and even through family personal connections to others in positions with access to placement or education..

      If they go up the "doctorate" or College Degree route, it involves buying their way into ministry, the cost of tuition, accreditation, licenses, and man-made approval devices..

  Luke 11:43  Woe to you Pharisees! for ye love the chief seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the marketplaces. 

 What salutations?  "to be called by men, Rabbi." 
  Note: "To be called by men.."  

You see they were called by men "Rabbi", not God. And they climbed up by way of men, Titles, and education in their Bible schools of their day.
       
Jesus taught his disciples not to take Titles.  Not "Rabbi", not "Master", not  "Leader", and I don't think He approves of the ones men use today to climb up into the sheepfolds in taking authority over the people of God. 

He said "BE NOT CALLED..." and He used the Titles of the day. Mat 23:8
Is it amazing how many teachings of Jesus we ignored, by-passed, or did not apply to church as we knew it?
    

4.  WHO is the thief and the robber?

     10: 12 He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not

               Why would they be called a "hireling", "thief", and "robber"?

Are you connecting the verses here?
The folks that climbed up into the chief seats rather than the Door do so in order for the reward of a hireling.  They are known as salaries, special provision, and benefit packages for a hired clergy.
 Can you find any of the apostles taking tithes or a church salary?
 If you are taking that which God has not told you to take, might that be "robbing God"?

5.  WHO is the DOOR?
     Jesus... said to them again, Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

By now you may be thinking, wait, he  is "the man of God". Or he is the pastor. Or some other title.

Men are called of the Lord to serve Him but most find themselves in the house of the harlot where they learn to exchange their ministry for the reward of a hireling and a position over Gods sheepfolds.

If we take away their un-scriptural tithes, salaries, and benefits and you will see which ones really serve the Lord and trust Him to supply their needs.
Look, it is simple, serve God and He will supply your needs either through work or through willing brethren He speaks to on your behalf.

-As Peter and Jon did in Acts chapter 3 when they gave themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word.  What is confusing is we see the professional clergy, and many good men are clergy, but the majority have climbed up through man made institutions into a ministry.

Those who come through the Jesus door, do so through humility and serving others,
not as kings and "not as lords over God's heritage".  They simply answer to the Lord's call and serve others.

WHO was that thief and a robber?
          -"he that CLIMBS UP some other way, is he who goes UP through man made means
            such as Bible College or denominational promotion.
            (none of the apostles used these means, except Paul, and he renounced it)

Who goes into the sheep to rob and steal?
10: 12 He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not

God did not call men to go through man-made institutions in order to shepherd Gods flocks.
Most of those that do become professional clergy and exchange their ministerial call for a tithe or salary, which God never gave them permission to take.
If you take what God never gave you permission to take from His people, what does that make you?

That is a pretty hard word...
Now should we make excuses and justify ourselves or should we walk in the steps of Jesus and His apostles?
It is time for the true servants of the Lord to lay down the desire for glamour preaching, the television cameras, the mega churches, the hired staff, the salaried and tithe-plundering corrupt church system, and follow Jesus outside the camp and learn of Him.

This is the harlot church *system*...  and now you understand the parable Jesus taught.
 Let Him make a minister and servant of you and He will.

Nicolaitane Errors as Their Mystery is Revealed

Overcoming The End-Time Nicolaitanes

"neither as lords over God's heritage" ???
-rory moore

disclaimer: At times it may sound as if I am anti-pastor. This is not so, I am a teacher-pastor.
 We love the overseers whom God has graciously put in our lives.
 The truth is for exposing the harlot system and her institutions, and not at any individual.

JESUS said:
 "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate

   So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner.

   Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them with
   the sword of my mouth.

VERY few Christians recognize the Nicolaitane error and fewer "hate" that which they do not understand.
     Not only are the Nicolaitanes singled out in that passage, but upon examination we can find them
     throughout the scriptures!

Revelation 2: (To the church at Ephesus)
6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate;
15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Here is the truth:
 What He detests happens to be the most common form of church government .

"Nicolaitane"  is from two Greek words "Nike" and Laos", and means:
The word "nike" means "to conquer"…to dominate/ intimidate/ manipulate.
The word "laos"  means  "the people", the laity.

Therefore hidden within the word itself is the answer.
By definition the deeds and teaching are of those who conquer, dominate, manipulate, and "lord it" over the people.
Today they are known as "Reverend", "Bishop", "Pastor", "Apostle", etc., (note the Capitalized Titles) because they are part of an institutional church system God never created.

The difficulty in identifying the Nicolaitane error is because the labels have changed,
thus the illusion that something is not what it is.
Most of us who were part of that system had no clue as we followed the church culture.

Why does Jesus "HATE" their deeds and doctrines?

Simply put, when men take authority by means of a Title, hierling, or Bible College Degree, they often take the place of God, through the process known as "having respect of persons", in which a mans titled position elevates him as a "lord over God's heritage".
This has become modern idolatry in the New Testament. (see Two Ways to Answer God's Call )

Clergy over the laity virtually guarantees the majority of God's people never mature into faith as Christians and walk in the steps of Jesus or do what His disciples did in the book of Acts.

People follow their "leadership", rather than Jesus Christ, as men make "disciples after themselves" as Paul warned in Acts 20: 30
-In other words, the local church is conformed to the man with the title, who usually gets his position from his denomination or group.

The church or ministry is then conformed to that mans image, which is an incomplete image of Christ.

Denominational, factious, competitive Christianity has given the church a hierarchial, professionalized, titled,
church governmental system foreign to scripture, i.e., "the error of the Nicolaitanes". For example:

• There is no senior pastor, pope, cardinal, Arch Bishop, General Superintendent, priest, or denominational structure in scripture
• There is no scripture giving any pastor-priest sole rulership, headship, or authority over God's people.
• There are no formal titles or labels attached to any New Testament disciples including the obvious ones like the apostles. 
• There are no church boards, assistant pastors, co-pastor, associate pastors, or senior officials. 

• There are no presidents, superintendents, youth pastors ; there are no capitalized Apostles, Prophets, Bishops, Pastors, deacons, Elders. Anyone wearing a formal title is well on the way to becoming a Nicolaitane.  
• The word "pastor" is used only once in the New Testament, and not even one Titled pastor is named!  

.  The practice of one man being used in all of the 5 fold offices is unbiblical and a way to avoid accounability to  scripture. 

-How easy it is for a leader to use a hierarchial structure and authority against people,
 but how hard it is for the people to use it with a leader.
Jesus said He hates the Nicolaitane error and the Nicolaitane error usually prevents leaders from being held accountable for either sin or error.

 Overcoming the Nicolaitane error and deeds

 In Revelation 2, this is for the people of God who have "eyes" and "ears" to overcome.
  To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it.

-that mysterious verse is understood by those that DO overcome and are taught of the Lord Himself, which is the Spirit-revealed truth of the Word.  
As opposed to those that only learn to repeat what they hear in church from the doctrines of men, especially  the teaching (doctrines) of the Nicolaitans .

Several strong admonitions are given in scripture in regard to what Jesus said was the relationship among the brethren and what correct church government is: (we have a series on this www.preparehisway.com)

Here is what Peter said in 1Peter 5:
1 The elders (plural)  among you (the church) I exhort, who am a fellow-elder, and a witness of the
   sufferings of Christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2 Tend (feed) the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint (force) ,
   but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre (not for reward) ,but of a ready mind;
3 neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to the flock.

In this passage, note the elders (plural) are among us, Peter includes himself as an elder, and there is no specific mention of "pastors".
Why not? Because God gave elders to have oversight and "tend" the flock. The "elders" were to do so not from duty, obligation, or money.
- "neither as lording..."?
   "neither":    "as in not even, no, not once".
   Lording is  "to control, subjugate: - exercise dominion over (lordship), be lord over, overcome"

But this is exactly what the Nicolaitane error does and Peter said not even once was the flock to be carnally subjugated, controlled, or have someone exercise dominion over the flock.   When the Christian sees the truth of scripture, he will need to realign his thinking in terms of what the New Testament ministry truly is, not from what we have seen all around us.

1Corinthians 11:3   But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ;
                               (not a pastor, Bishop, apostle, or Senior Church official)

The ministry is given to serve, edify, and stewardship the faith.
They are to comfort, correct, and contend for the faith. The faith they are to condend for is THE faith of scripture, not the fragmented, conflicting, sectarian confusion of faith found in the church world.

The ministry is not to become the head of every man and woman. There is no "spiritual covering" as such, in scripture.
Friends, Jesus gave, taught, and lived THE FAITH to His disciples, who in turn gave the same gospel and the same faith to the churches they established.

The Bible record bears no resemblance whatsoever to the practices and structure of the modern church and one-man ministries around us.
No pews, pulpits, choirs, worship leaders, assistant pastors, co-pastors, boards, orchestrated services, voted-in  or hired pastors, etc... see what the Nicolaitanes have wrought: "NOT in Scripture?"

Does our "offering" Stink?

Back to Malachi.
It was not just a matter of tithes God was addressing in the passage from Malachi so often quoted and used as a fear tactic to extract the 10% from our gross or net.
    God gave equal emphasis to the "offerings" He required under the Law. 








The church kind of skips over that part of the verse, just like they don't connect the "ordinances" in verse 7 with what God abolished in the new Testament.
"From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from mine ordinances"...

Let's look at what God required in those "offerings". 

The required  OFFERINGS…… will still be cursed EVEN IF YOU TITHE 

Malachi 3:8-10 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me!  
                   But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?'  In tithes and offerings.       

GOD defined the "offerings" that the Levite priests (not regular people) were robbing from God in Malachi 3. Mal. 2:1   And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.

Those "offerings" were just as lawful as the tithes.

When we see how God defined what the offerings were, we will see Christians do not give correct "offerings" as required in the Law from which Malachi was referring in 3: 7            

"From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from mine ordinances"...
 (ordinances which were not given to the church)

Here is a list that includes most of them:

Ex 13:12 First offspring of every womb every firstling which thou hast that cometh of a beast; the males
Ex 29:14 Sin offering   the flesh of the bullock, and its skin, and it dung
Ex 29:18 Burnt offering  thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar
Ex 29:40 Drink offering   according to the drink-offering
Ex 29:41 Grain offering  the meal-offering of the morning

Ex 30:10 -16 Annual atonement (vs 13The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, ...the offering of The LORD, to make atonement for your souls)

Lev 3:1 Fellowship offering  a sacrifice of peace-offerings; if he offer of the herd
Lev 5:15 Guilt offering his trespass-offering unto Jehovah, a ram without blemish, the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass-offering
Lev. 7:11 Thanksgiving offering    offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes
Lev. 7:13 Peace offering   cakes of leavened bread he shall offer his oblation with the sacrifice of his peace-offerings

Lev 7:12  Thank offering  offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes
Lev. 7:32  Heave offering       the right thigh shall ye give unto the priest for a heave-offering 
Lev 7:37   Ordination offering  he law of the burnt-offering, of the meal-offering, and of the sin-offering, and of the trespass-offering, and of the consecration, and of the sacrifice of peace-offerings;
Lev 19:24  Praise offering for new fruit trees   in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise unto Jehovah
Lev 22:18  Freewill offering  Whosoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the sojourners in Israel, that offereth his oblation, whether it be any of their vows, or any of their freewill-offerings, which they offer unto Jehovah for a burnt-offering

Num 5:15 Grain offering for jealousy      meal-offering of jealousy,
Num 5:15 Reminder offering  a meal-offering of memorial
Num 5:26 Memorial offering for discovering sin the priest shall take a handful of the meal-offering, as the memorial thereof
Num 19:17 Purification offering   for the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin-offering
Num 28:14 Monthly burnt offering  in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt-offering unto the LORD

Deuteronomy 16:10     ...shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD
      thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering .... according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
Deuteronomy 12:11... Then there (in Jerusalem)  shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; there shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:
Those that insist on trying to "tithe" to avoid the curse and earn the blessings, their failure to keep the rest of Malachi 3:8

"Offerings" very seldom get proper attention.
This is primarily because most church spokesman focus on that 10% to fund the church.
To add insult to injury, tithing puts you under a curse because it is adding a practice to the New Testament scripture that neither God nor the apostles ever commanded Christians to do. 


Have you ever heard of a tither getting sick, having problems with his children, borrowing money, losing their home, suffering pain or affliction?

Those are some of the things mentioned in the "curse" that Malachi wrote about, and also Paul in Galatians.

Luke 18:12-14
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'
 14) I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; NKJV

We have considered Malachi's tithes, now let's turn on the truth-spotlight on Malachi's offerings.

We did a search of the New Testament (our Covenant) for "offering" and "offerings".

In church, the weekly tithes, offering plate and envelopes are distributed every service, as if God set it up that way in the Bible.

The truth is there is neither tithes NOR offerings are given to the church in the New Testament. Have you ever heard the phrase "bring your offering" or similar in church?

Here is every New Testament verse with "offering":

1 Mark 12:33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.
2 Luke 21:5   And as some spake of the temple, adorned with goodly stones and offerings..
3 Acts 24:17  Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings:
4 Hebrews 10:6        In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure:
5 Hebrews 10:8        Saying above, Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (the which are offered according to the law)

1 Matthew 5:23         If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee...
2 Luke 23:36   And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar,
3 Acts 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them went into the temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.
4 Romans 15:16      that I should be a minister of Christ Jesus unto the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
5 Ephesians 5:2       and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell.
6 Hebrews 10:5        Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, But a body didst thou prepare for me;

7 Hebrews 10:10      By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
8 Hebrews 10:11      And every priest indeed standeth day by day ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never take away sins:
9 Hebrews 10:14      For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
10 Hebrews 10:18    Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
11 Hebrews 11:17    By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;
12 Hebrews 13:11    For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned without the camp.

With few exceptions, offerings are mentioned in the New Testament scriptures in reference to the offerings defined by God from back under the Old Testament Law which is done away in Christ.

Let's see what a search of the New Testament church yields in regard to what the church practices. We find  "collection" and "collections" mentioned ONE time in Corinth.

Chapter 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.

The word "giving" is found 26 times in the New Testament and only once in the epistles to the church:
Phillipians 4:15   And ye yourselves also know, ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving but ye only;


This "matter" Paul spoke of was relating to his needs being met. He was in prison and prisoners were supplied by friends and family.
Phillipians 4:17   Not that I seek for the gift; but I seek for the fruit that increaseth to your account.
However, there are many, many exhortations and reminders to meet the needs of others such as illustrated by these passages:
:

"Gift": 2nd Corinthians 1:11           ye also helping together on our behalf by your supplication; that, for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many, thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf. and to the Philippians,

The word "give" is used many, many times (176 times) in the entire NT, but never in a context of a weekly church collection. The one collection mentioned was for giving TO the saints at Jerusalem.

2nd Cor    9:9            as it is written, He hath scattered abroad,
                                    he hath given to the poor; His righteousness abideth for ever.
Galatians 2:10          only they would that we should remember the poor;
                                   which very thing I was also zealous to do.
Romans 15:26          For it hath been the good pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make
                        a certain contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
Acts 2:45        and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according
                        as any man had need.
Acts 4:35        and laid them at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto each,
                        according as any one had need.
Phillipians 4:16        for even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my need.
Ephesians 4:28        Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need.
1st John 3:17   But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?
Acts 20:35     In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

And let's throw in a Proverb:  (28:27)  He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack; But he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

Did Jesus teach His disciples to gather, collect, and take up offerings for themselves?
Mat. 25:35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

To whom was He referring?
40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.

The way it works in church today, the building, organization, and many ministers are taking what the Lord intended for the needs of others, for their own  benefit. And the typical church member participates with a nice, comfortable building to go to once or twice a week for great music and a sermon from a hired messenger. 

This passage caught my attention and is very convicting for us former church-goers that were trained to feed the offering plate instead of God's people. And let's rethink where those offerings are to go while we are at it.:

Jesus said in the strongest of terms: (Please read these and ask yourself, Did HE really mean what he said here?)

Mat.25
37        Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink?

41        Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels:

42        for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink;
43        I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44        Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.
46   And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.: 

Isn't it odd that people enrich famous ministers and for the most part ignore the poor? The comparison to our enrichment of preachers and televangelists is in stark, convicting contrast in our treatment of the poor.

The leaven of tradition has spoiled the definitions and meanings of both tithes and offerings as defined by God.

By tithing and trying to be justified by a law God never yoked the church to, and forgetting about the OFFERINGS the Law requires, the curse of the law has cause to alight.
The Law is ALL or nothing…..ie all 613 Commandments. 


Church leaders have redefined (i.e. perverted) the meanings of both tithes and offerings for many years, right down to that weekly offering plate for which there is no instruction that it was to be an on-going permanent practice.