Our pastor says we required to pay our entire tithe to the local church and then let the leaders decide how to distribute the money. His support for this view was based on what Paul did when he took the money given in Corinth to help the church in Jerusalem. It he correct in this?
Paul’s request for a special offering to help the Church in Jerusalem was an extraordinary circumstance that doesn’t really support your pastor’s opinion. There’s no Biblical requirement for tithing exclusively to one’s own church, but members of a local congregation should be supportive of their leader’s program and be happy to contribute a major portion of their tithes and offerings to it. If they’re not, maybe they’re in the wrong place.
But if they are happy where they are and the Lord leads them to also give to a particular ministry, that’s between them and Him. We should also remember that we’re not limited on how much we can give. 10% of our income is not the maximum allowable contribution. In Luke 6:38 the Lord said He would use our generosity toward others to determine His generosity toward us. And Paul said whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2 Cor. 9:6).