I was raised as a child in the Churches of Christ (non instrumental) and they taught the type of giving known as free-will giving, as the following quote from http://church-of-christ.org/who.html says:
Each first day of the week the members of the church "lay by in store as they have been prospered" (1 Corinthians 16:2). The amount of any individual gift is generally known only to the one who gave it and to the Lord. This free-will offering is the only call which the church makes. NO assessments or other levies are made. No money-making activities, such as bazaars or suppers, are engaged in. A total if approximately $200,000,000 is given on this basis each year.
This was my early influence with what someone said the Bible teaches about how and how much we are to give.
It wasn't until my early 20's that I first heard mention in church on tithing. This was in an Assembly of God church where the staff member who spoke before the tithe and offering prayer would say "For those of you writing out your checks, remember, thousand is spelled t h o u s a n d" this was done with a straight face. So while I had heard tithing mentioned at offering time, I can't recall ever hearing anything else about it, nor was I interested in investigating it.
I next heard about tithing in a Church of God (Cleveland, TN.) but just didn't feel right about it, and questioned the teaching, but never got any answers that I recall.
After this, for several years the only reference I had seen on tithing was on offering envelopes. I do not recall hearing any form of the word mentioned until my family and I started going to an Independent Baptist Church in Denver, CO. We left this church for several reasons and landed at an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church I have known since this church was started. Here I heard more mention on tithing during the sermons and still, something wasn't sitting right. To be fair, eternal security didn't sit right (remember my church upbringing?) until I studied it for myself. Now I embrace it as the Bible truth it is.
it was at Cornerstone Baptist where I first began asking questions and while being told I would get answers, I never did. The "rules for discussion" kept being changed on me, to where instead of honest questions from a member being answered, it was for me to explain what I believe first. I believe, now and then, that we are to give. As I had never had any teaching or instruction on tithing, and had been through a religion where you are expected to accept every teaching even if it's wrong, I was not, and still am not, prepared to just accept tithing as it is taught today as truth just because someone says it is.
At the suggestion of the Associate Pastor (who was/is the son of the Pastor) I wrote out what my conclusions were at that point after reading the book Storehouse Tithing by H. Wayne Williams which instead of answering anything for me gave me more questions. I also at this time became acquainted with Dr. Russell Earl Kelly who has written a book against tithing. I had quoted from Dr. Kelly's book, and had taken the refusal to sit down and share with me why CBC taught tithing as all the evidence I needed that today's tithing doctrine is false.
Since then I felt uneasy with my hasty jump to a conclusion and felt like I should begin my study anew. This I have done, and am doing. It is from here, the beginning, where we will pick up my journey, and follow the roadmap of the Bible to what it does teach. I welcome any questions, comments, suggestions and answers to questions posted.
I am not undertaking this journey lightly. God does command that we give to the work of the local church. My questions are, "Does the Bible specify a set amount that a Christian is supposed to give?", and "If so, how much is the minimum that is required?"
With much prayer and my Bible (KJV) at the ready, let us begin this glorious journey into the word of God.............
