Recently, an acquaintance of mine questioned my regard for Word of Faith teaching due to my stance on living a generous toward others, but tithing-free lifestyle. It’s not surprising since it seems that late-comers to Word of Faith have had a gluttonous affinity for NT tithing. So, not following the pack on this one has been interesting to say the least. The question was whether I still agreed with two prominent figures (The late Kenneth E. Hagin and Kenneth Copeland) commonly thought of to be leaders of the Word of Faith pack. I’ll get back to that in a minute, but first, I thought it would be fun to show just how much these two preachers actually agree with one another on the subject of giving.
Hagin
I personally don’t “name my seed,” saying that I’m giving my offering in order to reap such and such… Because “naming your seed” is not a Bible-based practice, I would urge preachers to be careful not to use this as a gimmick to persuade people to give. (Kenneth Hagin The Midas Touch, 144)
Copeland
So whatever the need is in your life, name the seed. I call this seed – debt free. I call this seed – visa card paid. I call this seed – healing of my son, my daughter, whatever. I call this seed . . . you understand the process? (Kenneth Copeland Believers Voice of Victory Broadcast, Aired Friday November 27th 2009)
It’s not hard to see that there are two distinctly different messages concerning giving coming from these two men. Yet, for whatever reason most Word of Faith folks are either unaware of it or feel compelled to simply turn a blind eye.
Even on the subject of tithing, they are not in full agreement. While Hagin takes a much milder approach as tithing being more or less a Christian duty, Copeland’s harsh view leaves the believer buying his way out from under the curse – the one Christ bore upon Himself for us.
The scripture says that a man who does not tithe is robbing God and is operating under a curse because of it. Start tithing now… There is no faster or surer way to break the curse. (Kenneth Copeland The Laws of Prosperity, 70)
In response to my friend’s question on if I still agree with Word of Faith teaching, the answer is a resounding YES. But that is not to say that I explicitly agree with these two men in every area of the Word. The reality is, they don’t even agree with each other when it comes to giving.
Word of Faith is not, at least in my mind, personality driven. So, whether or not I agree with these two men has no bearing on my position when it comes to Word of Faith. No one has a monopoly on the Word of God.
By the way, although I think Hagin is marginally more in line with the Word on tithing than Copeland, I still do not agree with either one of them on this one. (Click here to see why)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Many Word of Faith folks don’t realize that Kenneth Copeland’s teachings diverge from Hagin’s in a number of areas, e.g., sin in the flesh, confession, and Jesus as sin. Personally, I believe that Hagin, once hearing it, would have agreed with your teaching on NT tithing because he was teachable and understood the fullness of redemption in Christ. Copeland, on the other hand, I don’t believe would ever move off the teaching that the NT Christian stands cursed for failing to tithe his income.
It is so refreshing to finally see that a few people are understanding the true WOF message without following “wrong” teachings. We need a “New Kind of Faith Teacher” who is separating the “wheat from the chaff” teaching. Kudos to you…
Right is right and wrong is wrong.
Stand for what is right and you’ll never go wrong!
(even if you’re the only one standing!)