Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Buzzsprout, online, or search ‘The Stewardology Podcast’ in your favorite podcast app.

 

Many churches really appreciate using Financial Peace University (FPU).  Last week, we talked about our experiences with FPU, specifically what we think is praiseworthy and good, as well as our own concerns for the course.

We are not here to tell you to stop using FPU. But we do believe that our stewardship ministry, Life Institute, actually has a very valuable Gospel centered component to augment what churches are already doing in the area of financial stewardship. 

So whether you bring us in before you run FPU, or after, or you use some of our resources to help instruct in the Biblical Financial foundation, we would like for you to understand what makes our approach different from FPU and other stewardship ministries.

 

What Makes Life Institute different from other Stewardship ministries?

Gospel Focused

First and foremost, Life Institute preaches and teaches the big picture of financial stewardship from a Biblical worldview. 

From debt elimination and budgeting, all the way to wealth management, tax planning and estate planning, we pull our principles and application points out of the Scriptures, rather than trying to match Scripture with our principles. Therefore, we can be sure that what we are teaching is both Biblical and true.

 

Professional, Hands-On Experience

Our team has the practical experience of being Christian financial professionals, as well as Pastors and ministry leaders, which allows us to take what we’ve learned in the field and/or ministry and share it with the church.  Our passion is to serve Christians in a way that is Biblical, accurate, holistic, and practical. Not only does our team have experience, but we are willing to help you directly through Personal Stewardship Reviews with the same people that actually teach the content. When we serve a local church with the Stewardship Lifestyle Seminar, we bring the experts with us. You don’t have to go outside of your church. We can meet together on-site when the questions, concerns and issues are fresh on your mind! 

 

The Heart of a Teacher, Not a Salesman

Our Stewardship Advisors know what it’s like to feel overwhelmed by complex financial decisions. Our goal is to counsel, train and equip your church in stewardship, not to sell them a product…and that is our promise to the church leadership!

 

No Judgment Zone

We do not bring about judgment for financial mistakes in the past or present!  We bring hope!  We know when to probe deep with questions, and when to pray with the one overwhelmed with fear due to potential outcomes.  No judgment at all, just grace filled encouragement to move to the next level of true Biblical stewardship in their lives.

 

What if your church hates FPU?

If your church hates Ramsey’s FPU, it’s probably because of his teaching on debt, his personality, some form of Gospel concern(s), or the fear of talking about money too much. We at the Stewardology Podcast and Life Institute are very glad that you care about those things, for these are things that we care about also.

However, you still need to instruct people in the ways of Stewardship! You cannot ignore it. Because many people do not like to talk about money and finances, we have seen that one of the last frontiers in personal and corporate discipleship is financial stewardship. A good question to ask yourself, or your church leadership is this:  What are you doing to help your church members grow in their personal financial stewardship? 

As you read the Bible, you find that money is often the thing that is the biggest adversary in competition with God in the heart of his people. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21, NKJV).  Life Institute is unapologetically Gospel centered! Our approach to stewardship is Biblical so we can help you do the work of laying the groundwork of Scripture-centered stewardship, while avoiding some of the negative aspects that your church perceives, or has, concerning Dave Ramsey. 

Let’s take a moment and look at budgeting:

We also focus on budgeting and debt elimination, yet it is only a 1.5 hour presentation. Whereas Ramsey builds out and spends more time on this topic, motivating you to really tackle debt. However, as we have mentioned previously, everyone that is part of Life Institute’s Stewardship Lifestyle Seminar is offered a free, onsite (or zoom connect after the conference) one-on-one budget coaching. 

Because this is a live seminar, onsite at your church preaching and teaching for 3 days, we only spend 1.5 hours on budgeting so that we can spend the rest of our time talking about the enormously wide range of stewardship topics. Being a good steward is more than being able to budget and be debt free.  This is a good place to start, but it is not the final action step in one’s stewardship journey.

 

What if your church LOVES FPU?

If your church loves FPU, wonderful! Don’t stop! 

But be soberly aware of the dangers that FPU unintentionally can cause in the heart. (See last week’s episode for more of our thoughts on that.)

We believe that churches that use FPU would be very wise to consider offering Life Institute’s Stewardship Lifestyle Seminar to augment, expand and even provide a solid Biblical framework of financial stewardship which will honor God while meeting the needs of the steward and their families.

 

What are some things to be aware of as you consider bringing Life Institute into your church with FPU?

 

  • The Stewardology Podcast – Any event-based training is going to have a significant impact right away, and the impact will fade over time. Memories fail and life goes on. That is one of the reasons why we started The Stewardology Podcast – for it is a way to help you continue the thought process and journey of Biblical Stewardship. One of our goals in the Stewardology Podcast is the make sure that each episode is nothing short of it being a Gospel centered, grace oriented teaching along with encouragement to help you take your next steps to become an even better Steward. 
  • We provide the Biblical foundation for the conversation on Stewardship. Where other financial ministries fall short, the Biblical foundation is the bedrock of what we teach and how we preach and counsel!
  • We provide warnings against the love of money, and the dangers of wealth and possessions. Scripture has plenty of verses warning about loving money, possessions and things of this world.  We teach a balanced view of possessing things, but not having them possess you!  Love the Lord first…especially above money!
  • Comprehensive Stewardship. You can help disciple the people that actually have financial means and spur them on to greater Biblical stewardship, as well as the people that need help with budgeting and debt elimination. We help Believers understand their role as stewards in the entirety of the Christian life. One thing that is missing in many of the other financial ministries is a way to give someone that has financial blessings to use them…and use them in a way that will honor God both today, and tomorrow!  The landscape of the financial world is changing almost monthly!  With that in mind, our Life Institute team is on top of what is happening in the financial world, along with a solid and working knowledge of what the Word of God states about money, finances and stewardship as a whole! 
  • By hosting a Stewardship Lifestyle Seminar, you can bring the Stewardship conversation to an entire congregation, instead of just a sub-group of people who sign up for a class. This is where many church financial programs fall short.  They cater to a select group, where Life Institute starts on Sunday morning with a message to everyone.  We encourage the participation of the entire church body, simply because it takes all of us to create a healthy, and ongoing stewardship mindset in our churches.
  • We highly encourage church leadership to be actively involved in the seminar, especially pre-seminar, by doing a Personal Stewardship Review. By doing this, most, if not all the Pastors that do this, they see first hand the value of the one-on-one counseling sessions we offer!  Because of this personal stewardship counseling for the Pastor and his wife, he can afterwards communicate that value to his congregation, so that every church member has the opportunity to take advantage of those counseling opportunities. 
  • Practical Application through Personal Stewardship Reviews – Every person in the congregation has the opportunity to meet with an experienced professional (who also teaches the content), so that they can figure out how to move forward in their stewardship journey. It is important to know that this is an elective, and it is not forced upon all the people.  But those that typically take advantage of the PSR, they are almost all very grateful for learning of new and creative ways to become an even better steward.

 

What Churches will appreciate Life Institute’s approach?

  • Churches that get upset at FPU for not including a Gospel-centered approach will really appreciate Life Institute’s passion for the Gospel, and passion for the local Church.
  • Also, churches that love FPU and Dave Ramsey will appreciate Life Institute’s commitment to having a Gospel-centered approach and the fact that we will offer guidance and teaching for those who are financially doing okay, and even to those that are well-off in addition to those who are struggling. We serve the whole church, no matter where your people are economically and financially.

 

What about the other Stewardship Ministries?

There are many stewardship ministries that we are aware of! It is beyond our capacity to critique the pros and cons of all of them. But here are a few that we are aware of…

  • Ron Blue Institute provides simple classes and curriculum for churches in the realm of financial stewardship. Oftentimes, these classes are topical and/or Scriptural. From what we have seen so far, we have been pleased with it!
  • Crown Financial Ministries – Through their courses, workshops, and materials, they empower believers to honor God with their finances.  It is usually driven by a facilitator/instructor in the church (like FPU) or from what we are seeing, they are gravitating toward an online course (for a fee).
  • Compass – Howard Dayton – From what we can gather, they are an online, at your own pace extensive learning/study of money and finances.  Very good in Biblical content, but the loss is getting the whole church involved and excited about becoming as a group, or church, even better stewards

From what we can gather, most, if not all the stewardship ministries that we know of do not conduct an in-person seminar or event. Life Institute’s Stewardship Lifestyle Seminar is designed to do just that, and its impact is not just for a few, but for all that are present, for the purpose of becoming even better stewards for the Glory of God and an increase in His Kingdom.

 

Here are some things to consider as you look at Financial Stewardship Ministries:

  1. Biblical Approach (Scripture first…and it being used correctly).
  2. Gospel centered & grace-filled.
  3. Comprehensive approach to stewardship (more than just budgeting or tithing).
  4. Heart of a teacher, not a salesman.
  5. Practical Application to help you take your next steps.

 

Next Steps

 

Material presented is property of The Stewardology Podcast, a ministry of Life Financial Group and Life Institute. You may not copy, reproduce, modify, create derivative works, or exploit any content without the expressed written permission of The Stewardology Podcast. For more information, contact us at Contact@StewardologyPodcast.com or (800) 688-5800.

The topics discussed in this podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations.Investing and investment strategies involve risk including the potential loss of principal. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Securities and advisory services offered through GWM, Inc Member FINRA/SIPC