MIM Ezine, December 8, 2006

-- Book Review: "Pastor Driven Stewardship: 10 Steps to Lead Your Church to Biblical Giving," by Rod Rogers, reviewed by Tom Hanover.

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In my last column I talked about how God has been working on me to develop my “giving muscle.” Giving doesn’t come naturally to me. God continues to refine me in that area. I must continually think about what I am doing with my time and resources, and make deliberate efforts to give away what I have to keep from being self-absorbed.

An offshoot of this giving is the concept of mentoring. He has both called on me to mentor others and has provided me with mentors to help move me to the next level of maturity. As a recipient of mentoring, I must say the results have been amazing.

Me a Mentor? Many of us are afraid to consider ourselves mentors. So many other people are more talented and gifted than we are. What could we possibly have to offer? Such thinking often prevents us from seeing the difference we can make in someone else’s life.

It has been increasingly evident to me that people need and desire this one-on-one coaching. Christ recognized it too. When he saw the crowds he was touched by their plight. They were like sheep without a shepherd. (Matt. 9:36).

A story I know illustrates the point. A storm washed countless starfish on the beach so that the beach was covered with them. A man who stumbled upon this scene began throwing the starfish back out in to the water. A man walking down the beach looked at the daunting task the man faced.

“Man, you are not going to make any difference. You’ll never manage to rescue them all.”

The man reached down and threw out another starfish that landed with a splash in the ocean. He looked at the stranger. “It made a difference to that one.”

We may not be able to change the world but we can change a part of it, one person at a time.

One Life at a Time: Having felt God revealing some of my work areas over the past year or so, I took measures to work on growing myself as a leader. Part of this included helping someone else who might need assistance.

Recently my husband and I signed up to become mentors to foster children through a local charitable organization called Foster a Dream. For some time I have felt a tugging at my heart for these kids. They are shuffled from home to home. Many never graduate high school. Often at age 18 they are abandoned by their foster parents to make their own way in the world. Few go on to college.

The Foster a Dream Bridges program pairs people up one-on-one with kids (after careful screening). Participants become a Big Brother or Big Sister of sorts. It’s all about relationship-building. The mentor invests his/her time which can be something a simple as playing mini-golf or taking the foster child out for ice cream. The foster mentor helps the kid develop life skills.

The mentor may have the opportunity to help them learn to manage money, fill out college apps or discover what they are good at for a possible future career. It’s too early to say how this turn out. I am both excited and a bit nervous. But I will do my best to share what I have with even this one life.

You many not be called to be a foster mentor. But consider these other options, (all needs I have seen crop up in ministry). Young believers often need a spiritual discipler to help them grow. Sometimes the needs are very basic such as choosing a Bible, learning how to pray, finding a Bible study group, or even being shown how to read the Bible.

Others may need coaching when it comes to leading a small group, or figuring out how to recruit volunteers, or with managing their ministry. A young single mom may need help developing job skills or managing finances. Everyone has expertise in some area.

If you have been married for 20 years, you are a marriage expert. Perhaps you are supposed to mentor married couples.

If you are adept at organizing perhaps you are supposed to assist and mentor someone who doesn’t do this well. (Make sure you ask them first.)

Often people are right on the brink of success but simply lack the insight or tools to make a breakthrough. Mentoring provides that insight. Remember the story of the Ethiopian and how Philip helped him understand the scriptures he was reading? (See Acts 8:26—39.)

Mentoring involves giving your time, resources, and expertise acting in a coaching capacity. Imagine the difference you can make by touching just one life. Take a step of faith. The Holy Spirit will step in and do the rest.

Teena Stewart is a published writer, a ministry consultant and coach, and a product developer for Ministry in Motion. To learn more about Teena, her writing, coaching and consulting services, click here. Email Teena at smartwords@sbcglobal.net

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I was five years old when I found a tiny baby doll in my Christmas stocking. To make matters worse, Santa had given my sister a toy fire truck that I intuitively knew should’ve been mine. It took years of therapy to get over the trauma.

How could Santa make such a colossal blunder? What else might he be messing up? Was he just flying around dispensing toys higgly-piggly in heaven only knows whose stockings? A kid in Zambia gets an ice fishing kit? An Eskimo child gets an elephant saddle?

My confidence further eroded as I examined the Santa historical records, otherwise known as Christmas songs. For example, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer states: “Then one foggy Christmas Eve...”

“...Santa came to say, ‘Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?’” I find it astounding that Santa—this amazing problem-solver, who routinely crams toys for all the children of the entire earth into one sleigh and then delivers them in one night and has even figured out a way to make reindeer fly—is stumped by fog. Let a little of it roll in and he’s completely dumbfounded.

“Uh-oh. Looks like we’ve got fog. Never seen this before. Unless I can find a mammal with some sort of luminescent appendage, we’re gonna have to call the whole thing off.” What about a couple of fog lights, Santa? Shouldn’t the song be: “I got me a couple o’

To me, it sounds like Santa is just looking for a reason to goof off. Could it be the reason for his sloppy work of late is that he’s ready to retire? It makes me wonder if Santa is still fit for the job. Maybe it’s time to start a Santa recall petition.

The obvious replacement is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The extra exposure could really benefit him as he advances toward his ultimate goal of controlling the universe.

My recommendation is that we let Santa stay on with the company but transfer him to the Easter Egg Delivery Division. We could then promote the Easter Bunny to Santa’s present job, just as long as he promises not to needle Santa about it.

The best thing about Christmas, though, is also the most dependable—Jesus. In a world of uncertainty, it helps to know that there is a love that is willing to suffer any hardship for my benefit.

I’ve found that love to be the one constant on this planet, and I see it demonstrated nowhere more clearly than God sending his son on a dangerous rescue mission to save mankind from an eternity spent apart from him.

By the way, regarding the Easter Bunny’s promotion, we’ll have to be sure that everyone keeps their dogs locked up on Christmas Eve. It wouldn’t do for the kids to find Santa Bunny lying in front of the tree on Christmas morning. There isn’t enough therapy in the world to treat that kind of trauma.

© 2006 Charles Marshall. Charles Marshall is a nationally-known Christian comedian and author. Visit his Web site at www.charlesmarshallcomedy.com or contact him via e-mail at charles@charlesmarshallcomedy.com.

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Wow! This is a useful book for pastors and ministry leaders who oversee stewardship efforts in congregations. It is practical, easy to follow, and straightforward talk about a topic many fear to discuss.

First, the reader has to get by the hype. The cover includes a promise that following these 10 steps will “increase your church’s giving 10%-60% in 5 weeks or your money back!” The first five pages – even before the title page – are full of testimonials. Can the book live up to its self-promotion?

Rogers is the creator of The Dynamic Giving System, and founder and president of Leaderskills International, a church consulting firm specializing in (you guessed it) helping churches increase their giving. He has almost 30 years of pastoral experience, primarily in the Denver area. He has also served in the mission field in Portugal. Rogers is a visiting professor at New Geneva Theological Seminary in Colorado Springs and publisher of a free E-zine for pastors, Dynamic Giving (www.leaderskillsinc.com).

While the hype was pretty steep and the self-promotion was pretty deep, it is a book worth reading … and reading again. Rogers includes a significant amount of research data that helps the reader to understand the current climate of stewardship in America today. He offers insightful observations as he interprets the data. He often relies on the work of well-known experts such as George Barna, Ron Blue, Larry Burkett, Herb Miller, John Maxwell, and many more.

Rogers also presents sound Biblical teaching. It is not new teaching. It is not a unique perspective. But it is organized in a simple, easy to follow system that even the faint of heart can use. His system is simply that. The system is designed to link with and build on each step. Even the most inexperienced ministry leader can follow his directions.

Rogers challenges myths many pastors and churches have about stewardship. He discredits them with Biblical interpretation, research data, and personal experiences.

He names 10 basic steps that are easy to understand and follow. The steps build on each other effectively. In addition he adds appendices to offer an implementation guide and even sample sermons.

Even though it is only the printed word, one can sense the energy and passion Rogers brings to his teachings. The reader can catch insights through the many examples Rogers cites from his pastoral experience.

Churches and pastors often choose to limit God’s possibilities out of fear or discomfort in providing bold and dynamic leadership for the congregation’s stewardship. Rogers’ book can help any pastor to raise the quality of their leadership in this critical area.

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MIM Ezine-December 8, 2006