Chervonenko 1 STEWARDSHIP IN THE CHURCH: THE THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE OF TITHING, OFFERINGS, AND STEWARDSHIP IN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES OF RUSSIA by Sergey Chervonenko Many pastors and church leaders in Russia are doing ministry without any payment from their church. Even with a degree in Christian ministry, the person is often not serving in a church full-time, but rather prefers to have a job outside the church. Churches in Russia are struggling financially, and they do not have the necessary number of ministers. The purpose of the dissertation is to explore the main beliefs and practices about tithing, offerings, and stewardship in churches of Russia. There are very few resources in Russia about stewardship in Russian contexts; most of these resources are translated from another language and background. Therefore, this dissertation has been focused of the current situation with stewardship in churches of Russia. The chosen group of churches is Evangelical churches that include denominations Baptists, Pentecostals, and Evangelical Christians. The main group of participants were bishops, pastors, deacons, lay leaders—people who have an impact on a congregation. Also, a group of Christian businessmen participated because they are know how money works in the business world and can compare it with church stewardship. Churches in Russia have a “theology of nongiving.” The main findings have been done: (1) wrong understanding of ownership; (2) wrong understanding of tithes and offerings; (3) holy poverty and prosperity gospel beliefs; and (4) bad examples of stewardship. Chervonenko 2 DISSERTATION APPROVAL Stewardship in the Church: The Theology and Practice of Tithing, Offerings, and Stewardship in Evangelical Churches of Russia presented by Sergey Chervonenko has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the DOCTOR OF MINISTRY degree at Asbury Theological Seminary Dissertation Coach Date Director, Doctor of Ministry Program Date Dean of the Beeson Center Date Chervonenko 3 STEWARDSHIP IN THE CHURCH: THE THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE OF TITHING, OFFERINGS, AND STEWARDSHIP IN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES OF RUSSIA A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Sergey Chervonenko May 2107 Chervonenko 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................... 1 Overview of the Chapter............................................................................................. 1 Personal Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................... 4 Historical Background .................................................................................... 4 Purpose of the Project ............................................................................................... 11 Research Questions .................................................................................................. 11 Rationale for the Project ........................................................................................... 11 Definition of Key Terms........................................................................................... 20 Delimitations ............................................................................................................ 25 Review of Relevant Literature .................................................................................. 25 Research Methodology ............................................................................................. 30 Type of Research .......................................................................................... 30 Participants ................................................................................................... 30 Data Collection ............................................................................................. 31 Generalizability ............................................................................................ 32 Project Overview ...................................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................. 33 Biblical Theology of Stewardship ............................................................................ 33 Tithe and Offerings in the Bible ............................................................................... 33 To Give, or Not To Give? ............................................................................. 38 The Purpose of Giving .............................................................................................. 42 Chervonenko 5 Giving the Tithe ............................................................................................ 45 Was the Tithe Canceled in the New Testament? .......................................... 47 Did Jesus Tithe? ........................................................................................... 51 The Purpose of Offerings ............................................................................. 60 Beyond Tithing ............................................................................................. 64 Regular Giving is Discipline ........................................................................ 65 Giving to a Church ................................................................................................... 69 Motivation to Give ....................................................................................... 72 Stewardship—Using Tithes and Offerings ............................................................... 78 Why Do Churches Have a Stewardship Problem? ....................................... 86 Holy Poverty, Prosperity Gospel, and Stewardship ..................................... 90 Research Design Literature ...................................................................................... 94 Summary of Literature.............................................................................................. 94 CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................. 96 Overview of the Chapter........................................................................................... 96 Nature and Purpose of the Project ............................................................................ 96 Research Questions .................................................................................................. 97 Research Question #1 ................................................................................... 97 Research Question #2 ................................................................................... 97 Research Question #3 ................................................................................... 97 Ministry Context ....................................................................................................... 97 Participants ............................................................................................................... 97 Criteria for Selection .................................................................................... 97 Description of Participants ........................................................................... 98 Chervonenko 6 Ethical Considerations .......................................................................................................... 98 Instrumentation ......................................................................................................... 98 Reliability and Validity ........................................................................................................ 99 Data Collection ....................................................................................................... 100 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 100 Research Question #1 ................................................................................. 100 Biblical Foundation for Beliefs .................................................................. 100 Tithes and Offerings ................................................................................... 108 Research Question #2 ................................................................................. 110 Teaching Problem ....................................................................................... 111 Stewardship Problem .................................................................................. 111 Trust in God Problem ................................................................................. 113 Research Question #3 ................................................................................. 114 CHAPTER 4 ........................................................................................................... 116 Overview of the Chapter......................................................................................... 116 Participants ............................................................................................................. 116 Research Question #1 ............................................................................................