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Jumpstarter 9 of 10

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Question 9

Bercot traces modern mandatory tithing to post-Constantine church–state taxation and says the church once viewed negotiating salaries like a business as “heresy”; what parts of modern church life feel most shaped by that “corporate/business” mindset, and what would a return to “voluntary” support look like in concrete terms for pastors and ministry needs?

Another way to ask: Bercot says mandatory tithing came later and that treating church support like a business is a big shift. What parts of church life today feel most “business-like,” and what would fully voluntary support look like for paying pastors and meeting ministry needs?

Direct Answer Bercot suggests the corporate mindset shows up in fixed salaries, staff-heavy structures, and program-driven budgets that require guaranteed income—so churches enforce tithing language to keep the system funded. A return to voluntary support would mean giving without compulsion, supporting ministers because Scripture commands it, and aiming spending primarily at the poor and essential ministry rather than institutional expansion.

Support from Transcript:

He says modern tithe teaching “came into being after Constantine,” when the state used tax money to build churches and “pay salaries to the leaders.”
He claims primitive Christians saw it as “heresy” to “negotiate like a business” a set yearly pay, even though supporting ministers was still a duty.
He says after church-state taxation ended (e.g., post–U.S. Constitution), churches had to survive on voluntary giving and then began teaching tithing as “a commandment of God.”
He describes business-like features today: “whole staff on various salaries,” “building programs,” “recreation centers,” “special music programs.”
He insists New Testament support is real: “those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14) and “elders… worthy of double honor” including material support (1 Tim. 5:17–18), but “they didn’t do that by preaching a mandatory tithe.”

Discussion Follow-ups What would change if churches talked about “support” rather than “salary packages”? How could a church structure itself so giving remains voluntary yet pastors are not “entangled… to make a living”?

Jumpstarter 9 of 10