‘Stop Paying Tithes’ By Author Paula Brooks

“As Christians, we should be able to give freely and pay from our increases, as Abraham did. A large number of Christians, especially in these times, are struggling financially and most pastors have no mercy. They continue to pimp from the pulpit. They pressure us into paying ten percent of our income when that is not biblically supported by the Old or New Testament.” – Author Paula Brooks on Silky Slim’s Hour of Power radio show

The Heat Magazine recently had occasion to speak with Paula Brooks, co-founder of Urban Life Books, LLC and author of “Stop Paying Tithes”, a book that has become the center of controversy, simply because of its title.

We had an opportunity to hash out the real message Ms. Brooks intended to send out when she penned the book – a message that contains wisdom and love and is tempered with a bit of common sense – three very important things that messages from the leaders of our society often lack.

The Heat Magazine is no stranger to controversy and we find, more often than not, that where there is controversy, there is usually a lot of real speak that caused the negative attention to begin. And so it is with “Stop Paying Tithes”. This is a book that contains a great deal of positive, usable information, and one that contains a lot of truths as well. After reading less than a chapter, one realizes the author is speaking straight from her heart.

Ms. Brooks is a New Orleans, Louisiana native, currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia. She works hard for the world around her and is an outspoken critic of those who sit on the sidelines. She is known for telling it like it is – and she has a lot to tell!

“Stop Paying Tithes” contains all sorts of analogies and stories that Ms. Brooks uses to illustrate different scenarios concerning tithing and churchgoing as a whole. In one excerpt, she writes, “Because God is love, we should never misunderstand that God is sitting on His throne waiting for us to a tithe or mess up spiritually in order to punish us or show us His wrath.” This book definitely sends a message that bears reading.

The Heat Magazine had an opportunity to speak with Ms. Brooks and she gave an excellent explanation of everything she attempts to convey with “Stop Paying Tithes”. Here’s what she had to say:

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: We understand that one of the aims of your book, “Stop Paying Tithes”, is to help quell the violent crime that we are seeing in society, particularly among our youth.

PAULA BROOKS: Yes, in the past there was always somewhere for kids to go – something positive for them to do. It was not like it is now. These kids don’t have anything other than to kill one another. There’s just nothing to do.

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: You are so right about that. There are just not enough positive places for our youth to go, especially during the summer months.

PAULA BROOKS: My thing is that, if these pastors would donate some of the money or invest it in services for the kids, they would see the tithes grow. They would see the offerings grow. Then you would have a future of churchgoers. After their parents are gone – the ones donating the money – who will be left? They’re simply killing each other.

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Yes, you are right. We are seeing large number of young people, literally dropping in their tracks. Now we’ve had a conversation about people’s reaction to the title of the book when you’re out and about promoting it. Tell us about that. I know you’ve explained to me that the point you’re trying to get across is so much deeper than what some people think about when they see the title. I know you have a genuine desire to get the word out about what your book is really about – and mainly, how much a blessing it can be to people, once they give it a chance.

PAULA BROOKS: Yes, when I’m out promoting the book, some people do say, “Oh, no. You’re trying to stop me from being blessed.” According to the Bible, God says he’ll pour you out a blessing bigger than you can handle, if we just listen to Him. My book explains that, if people study the Bible, they will know what is to be done. Malachi 3:10 was not even talking to the lay people. God was talking to the priests. At that particular time in the Old Testament, the priests in the pulpit only could enter the temple, so the people had to bring their tithes to them in order for them to bring them to the temple. They would take the best from the tithes and bring God what was left – and God told them he required all of the tithes. God told them, “You’re being blessed by what the people bring you, but if you bring me what I’m due, you’ll be blessed even more.” And so some of the religious leaders of today have turned that around and make people think that God is talking to them. I can’t tell that to just anybody, but if they read my book, they’ll understand the point I am trying to get across.

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Where do you think we go from here?

PAULA BROOKS: Well, I’m anxious to get the word out. My message is so important and so synonymous with stopping the violence. If we stop focusing on giving, giving, giving, and focus on taking care of our neighborhoods, the love and servantship will be there. Let me explain giving – if you are in a relationship, a spouse is going to give automatically, because they love you. If religious leaders teach their congregation to love, they’re going to give automatically, because they love God. It’s not necessary to tell anyone about money all of the time – we know the church has to be taken care of, God’s children have to be taken care of, and these children who are killing one another, need some wisdom and knowledge. Let me give according to what I can give and stop telling me, “Money, money, money.” God is not looking at just our money. People are so afraid that if they don’t give that ten percent, God is going to curse them. I feel like some of these people are already cursed – some are even crying about how their utility bills aren’t paid.

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: You must run into situations all the time where you are able to talk to people about these issues.

PAULA BROOKS: I do. I ran into one lady who told me, “I have to pay my tithes. God blesses me when I do. My light bill was due and my lights were about to get cut off, when my neighbor knocked on my door and gave me $300. You tell me that ain’t God.” I said, “If you believe that was your blessing from your tithing, that is so contrary to the Bible. If you’re being blessed from your tithes, you’re going to pay your neighbor’s light bill – or their neighbor’s light bill. That’s because God is going to bless you with more than enough.” The blessing is truly in the giving and God is not a bill collector, so we don’t have to pay him to bless us. The Bible says Jesus paid it all when he died on the cross. To pay God for blessings, is just not biblical.

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: What else would you add for our readers’ edification?

PAULA BROOKS: God loves you in spite of your money. It’s like the woman who had the one talent. God recognized that and still blessed her.

EDITORS’ NOTE: Whatever you do, please don’t let the title of this amazing read, cause you to shy away from it. Ms. Brooks has laid out an excellent plan for not only creating an end to the violence that has become so commonplace among our youth and society as a whole, but she specifies suggestions for making our world a better place overall. The Heat Magazine strongly recommends “Stop Paying Tithes”. It is an excellent book, written by an amazing woman. We salute Ms. Brooks and wish her well in all of her endeavors.

To order “Stop Paying Tithes”, please visit www.stoppayingtithes.com or contact 678.446.4961.