I am starting my NEW 9-month stewardship coaching network on May 8th and to help everyone prepare for it, we are looking at some of the assumptions that need to be made. Today we are looking at the role the Teaching Pastor plays in Corporate Stewardship.

Assumption 2: The pastor’s personal stewardship often hinders them from talking about church stewardship.

In working with thousands of church leaders over the last decade, I have seen that as a pastor learns to become a good steward of their personal resources, the church begins to experience increase in their finances  as well. Part of this upcoming network will be to help pastors become good stewards to be able to experience healthy finances in their church.

We are called to be Godly managers of our households, but most of us focus the bulk of that management energy on being good spouses and good parents. We conveniently ignore truths such as, “the borrower is servant to the lender,” (Proverbs 22:7).

We don’t like to dissect how we are managing our houses financially, even though our actions have direct impact on our churches. If we aren’t careful, our personal stewardship habits can be the lid on our church’s stewardship potential.

I learned this lesson first hand when I moved to New York to start The Journey. Working my way along the ministry track over the preceding few years, I had accumulated some debt. Just after Kelley and I got to New York and began preparing for The Journey’s launch, I felt God telling me that I should get rid of that debt. I had this unshakable sense that I couldn’t start and lead a new church with zeal if I was enslaved to creditors.

I wasn’t excited by this revelation. Remember, I had just moved to the most expensive place in the country, and I had sacrificed all of my savings and most of my possessions for the privilege. But God was insistent. So I put together a 36-month plan for getting my financial house in order.

God blessed my humble effort so greatly that Kelley and I were out of debt within 18 months. (For the full audio teaching on my 36-month plan, listen to the “Debt Free Pastor” download.)

In sharing my story with other pastor-friends, I realized I wasn’t the only one who had dealt with debt. The truth is that most pastors could use some help in this area. So, I challenge you to take a hard look at your financial health.

Here’s one thing I know: Until we have our own finances under control, we won’t be able to shepherd our people into biblical stewardship with any conviction or integrity. 

Keep your eye on this blog for the next several weeks for even more on proper biblical stewardship.

Also, if you are not yet signed up for my Stewardship Coaching Network, it only takes a few minutes. Click HERE to register. But you must hurry, the Early Bird rate ends THIS Sunday, April 15th.

Nelson

PS – Join other Pastors like yourself who are truly concerned with seeing their people discipled in the area of Stewardship by joinging my upcoming 9-month Stewardship Coaching Network where I will walk you through the steps to systematically help your people advance in the area of giving. Join now to get the Early Bird Price.

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.