From My Desk to Yours

How long has it been since you last preached on stewardship? Welcome to another edition of the Stewardship Journal! In this week’s Journal, we have a focus on preaching on stewardship. If you can’t remember the last time you preached on stewardship, then this Journal is for you. At the same time, every preacher will benefit from the articles in this week’s Journal. Let me give you a preview of this edition.

Mark Brooks, The Stewardship Coach, starts off the conversation on preaching with his post entitled The Importance of Preaching on Stewardship. Here is a compelling sentence Mark makes, “We are raising the next generation without teaching them a key component of discipleship: being good stewards of what God entrusts us with. This lack of biblical teaching will affect both them and the church they attend.” Mark then shares how preaching can help.

In Mark’s Bonus Section, he gives practical advice on how to preach on giving with a post entitled Six Thoughts on How to Preach on Giving. Mark sums up his advice by saying, “Making time for this crucial aspect of ministry will mean that your church’s missions and ministry are fully funded.” Let’s get your church fully funded to do all God has in store for you.

Dr. Wendell Lang, the Director of Ministry Resources for Oklahoma Baptist’s WatersEdge, writes our final post entitled Stewardship Matters. Dr. Lang states “Having pastored for over 43 years, I know the tension of talking about money.” He then shares key points on how to preach on stewardship in a way to avoid that tension. All three of our posts will help you better preach on stewardship.

Would you like additional resources on preaching? We have provided access for you to the Stewardship Journal’s vault of additional material. Here is how to access this material:

• First, go to the Stewardship Journal site at https://stewardshipjournal.com/
• Look in the upper right corner of the site for the link that says ‘Resources’ and click on it.
• Fill out the ‘Create an Account’ information. Your Username can be your email or any other name you assign. Create your own password and be sure to write it down for the future.
• Where it asks for an invite code, use this code: SBCSJ2024!
• In the final box, select our state convention.

Pastor, our prayer is that this edition will help you craft a series on stewardship and generosity that will result in your church becoming a generous church today and in the future. Let’s preach and teach the value of a lifetime of stewardship!

In Jesus’ name!

Dr. Shawn Parker