In a comment to my previous post on Church Ownership, Derek asks, “I grant you this: an "ownership model" is definitely "contrarian." But is it Biblical?” Derek’s question is similar to the challenge posed by Hammer in an earlier comment, when he wrote, ”Clearly, there are some in the church whose job can be to manage the "big pot".
I would never, ever, want to write or advocate anything that conflicted with the will of God or the word of God. I can’t even express how much it means to me to have Derek, Jennifer, Teresa, Hammer, Buz, Pete, and a few others who read what I write and compare my thoughts to what each of you know about the word of God. I don’t take different positions to be different, I just have a different way of looking at most issues. I pray often that my blog doesn’t become anything that would not be approved by God.
I try to stay away from broad generalizations. My opinions, views, and proposals are not for everyone. They are not even for most believers most of the time. I want to offer an alternative view and an alternative proposal to what everyone else is advocating. For the most part, I don’t see the point in advocating what the majority is advocating even if I agree with the majority.
If the Bible has a clear teaching on any matter, I would never advocate against what it teaches. If the Bible is not clear, I would still give the Bible the benefit of the doubt based on our best understanding of what it teaches. However, I will not automatically afirm traditions that are based on the Bible but not taught in the Bible. I don’t see where the big pot model is taught in Scripture.
I will address some of Jennifer’s and Derek’s concerns in a later post. But for now, I ask Derek and others, is anything I have advocated unBiblical?
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David, I do not believe you have ever advocated anything that is unbiblical.
Derek, you said:
While it is surely Biblical to say that God created humans with free will, I am not sure it is Biblical to say that my choices succeed or fail because God rewards some and punishes other choices I make; nor am I sure that when God does punish or reward human actions that He limits His rewards and punishments to individuals qua individuals as opposed to individuals as part of a group, eg. "a nation", "a tribe", a "people", a "culture", etc.
There are many scriptures that state each individual will be rewarded according to his or her own works. Here are two:
Psalm 18:20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
Matthew 16:27 he will reward each person according to what he has done.
In regards to Bill Gates and Mother Theresa, the Bible never says our reward will be an earthly one, but rather a heavenly one.
You said:
While I agree with you that as an economic system nothing has or will successfully compete with capitalism, I don't see that the "sharing" involved in the church can be truly analogized to "socialism."
I remind you of Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1-9:
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' 7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' 9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.”
And I direct you to Paul’s words in I Corinthians 9: 7-9:
“For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
In both of these instances, the Bible makes it clear that each of us – as individuals – is responsible for providing for ourselves. It is not Biblical to expect the group to feed us and clothe us, even when that group is the church.
“Is the tithe theft?”
Of course not. The Bible commands us to give a tenth of our first fruits back to God. It does not command that the tithe be given to the church to be spent as a handful of church leaders see fit. If you know of verses in the Bible which command this, please point them out to me.
“I think a sound Biblical argument can be made that competition is part of the fallen nature of man.”
I implore you to make it, then, because I see nothing of the kind in the Bible. On the contrary, I do see scriptural evidence for benefits of competition:
I Corinthians 9:24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."
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