Ken

Ever since I gave my life to Jesus, I’ve wanted to serve him and to help others know him better. I am 47-years old and still learning. One thing I’m still learning is the difference between stewardship and ownership. One thing I do know is this: All I am and all I have is from God – it’s not mine. The same is true for you. As Christians, we were meant to be channels of God’s blessing, but too many of us are content to be reservoirs. I want us to take a short journey through the Bible and see what it says about stewardship. Here’s why … You don’t just need money to live on. You need something to live for. The principle of stewardship emerges early in the Bible. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And…

My first job in high school was making t-shirts at the Heart of Illinois fair. At the time, I didn't understand why the owner paid me cash (I do now!) but I didn't complain. I worked next to two brothers in a giant lemonade stand who whistled at the girls. The unfortunate part about getting paid in cash was that I was working at fair ground … you could find deep fried anything within a five minute walk. My understanding of money at the time was that you made money and then spent money. To be honest, I was better at spending than earning. Financial planners will emphasize five aspects of money management. I was learning about the first two: Earning Spending Saving Investing Giving It’s not only teenagers who struggle with this. Many adults never move past the first two stages. A 2016 GOBankingRates.com survey found that 69% of…

Back in the 1990's, I read every book about church growth that I could get my hands on. As a young pastor, I wanted every church I served to grow and reach more people. I still do, albeit as an "older" pastor now. As we prepared to move from San Diego to Denver in 2009, I gave most of those books away. Some were dated, having been written in the late 1980's and describing a culture that no longer existed -- or at least was in decline. Some had hung their hat on a particular methodology that only fit a shrinking market. Others had questionable roots in scripture; a few had no roots in scripture. The books hadn't changed -- the culture was changing. But even more importantly, I was changing. I had more life experience than when I came out of college. By 1997, I had buried both of my parents.…