The tithe (1/10 or 10%) was designed to support the priests, the Tribe of Levi, which was (1/12 or 8%) of the population. The tithe offerings were designed to fully support the priests and their families so that they didn't have to work in the fields, with 1/10th of the main tithe actually going to the inner temple sacrifices.
In the modern church, we don't have 1 out of 12 people working in the ministry, so the tithe (if members were actually paying all of it) is out of alignment. We need more people in full time ministry.
My own feeling is that a church should pay it's pastor a salary that is a slight bit more than the average income of his flock. Not so little that the pastor has to have a 2nd job to support himself, but also not so much that he can live in excess. There does need to be an consideration for the fact that he's expected to host larger gatherings in his home than the average church member might, but homes that are 5-10 times more posh than his average flock member... that's not right either.
(1 Timothy 6:10, KJV): "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
That verse doesn't say that money is evil.. I think the words "love of money" there should actually be translated better as "attention to/desire of money"... too little or too much.. are both incorrect.My father started churches. He never had a formal organization behind him to provide funds. He would go into a neighborhood, find a group of believers that didn't have a church to attend, and start holding Sunday School and worship time, often within our home. By the time the gathering of believers was ready to call a full time pastor and start paying him.. Dad was off to seek the next group of believers that needed a church. To my knowledge, our family tithe was ALWAYS more than what the church could afford to pay my father as a salary. But that was his calling, and remarkably, Mom felt it part of her calling to participate.