Pastor helps to promote personal good stewardship
McClatchy Newspapers
ORLANDO, Fla. — When the Very Rev. Donald Lyon told his congregation recently that the current economic crisis was a perfect time to “take stock” and reduce “bonds,” he wasn’t talking mutual funds and treasury bills.
The head minister of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in DeLand, Fla., meant it was time to take seriously the biblical duty of being good stewards of all resources — including money — and avoiding the bondage of debt.
“The Bible teaches us that debt becomes almost like bondage in a person’s life. We’ve accumulated debt that is a backbreaker,” Lyon said.
Proverbs, in fact, puts it quite plainly: “The borrower is servant to the lender.”
Religious leaders say today’s recession has created a hunger for guidance on the moral obligation to control spending as well as information about how to lower debt and build wealth using biblical principles. Churches have debuted such programs this year and dozens more report even established courses drawing unprecedented turnouts — ranging from hundreds of attendees at the smaller churches to thousands at the megachurches.
About a third of the families at Lyon’s church have taken its four-week course on personal finance that includes the message about taking care of all of God’s creations. Although the pastor had preached on the subject in past years, he never found such a receptive audience. Indeed, the church plans to offer even more sessions about managing money next year.
“We feel that everything we have is given to us by the Lord—the environment, our health, our money,” Lyon said. “We need to be faithful stewards.”
It’s a message that just about anyone can benefit from. Take Jennifer Quintero, a financial analyst for a health-care company who recently completed a 13-week course on budgeting and getting out of debt.
“I can manage everybody’s finances but my own,” said Quintero, who is concerned about her mounting debt in a declining economy.
“I wanted to understand how God expects you to manage your finances,” said Quintero, who took the course at a Baptist church. “But I didn’t feel like I was being preached at. It was very real-world.”
She recently paid off $8,000 in credit-card debt and learned to control an “emotional attachment” to her money.
She was looking to her paycheck and credit cards for personal, immediate rewards. She would tell herself, “I’m entitled to it. I worked hard for it.”
The courses she took were devised by financial adviser and nationally known radio host Dave Ramsey. Many churches also have been offering courses designed by Crown Financial Ministries, a Gainesville, Ga.-based organization whose mission is “equipping people worldwide to learn, apply, and teach God’s financial principles . . .”
And the requests for help keep growing.
At Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood, Fla., nearly 3,500 members went through its recent financial stewardship study called “Managing Our Finances God’s Way” and co-developed by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren.
The Diocese of Orlando also offers several ways to get similar help. And at First Alliance Church in Orlando, Ed Bock, a former banker, leads personal-finance courses.Bock, who is now finance director for Christian and Missionary Alliance, said he left the banking business because he found himself feeling conflicted about dealing with people who qualified for loans but whose finances were not sound.
“I was selling loans,” Bock said. “And basically I was selling people into slavery.”
He stressed that his courses teach people how to live comfortably within their means.
“We’re frugal,” he said. “But not to the point of not enjoying life.”Bock added that churchgoers who have a better sense of their finances and aren’t weighed down by debt also feel freer to donate to their congregations and charitable causes.
Dave Caskey, a retired bicycle-shop owner who recently took courses at St. Barnabas, was surprised by how much he learned with a thorough review of his household expenses. For instance, he and his wife found they could save significant money by shopping for better deals on their insurance rates. They also are considering selling a time-share unit.
“It caused us to reassess,” Caskey said. “And we were able to up our tithe.”