Leadership is not a title, a performance, or mere occupation. It is a sacred relationship creating ripple effects, for both good and bad. This book is about stewardship leaders, who are both the humblest and stubbornest people on the planet. Today in our “pro-choice” environment freedom is about choosing, the more choices the better. For stewards, freedom is about being chosen, knowing who you are, with assigned roles and tasks.  Thus, healthy results radiate outward into your community, church, or workplace. Life becomes more gracious, business more successful, and the church more effective when you follow a call.

Central Concept: We are in a leadership crisis today. Without proper grounding, self-appointed leaders are harming basic community building from the family to the nation. The thesis of this handbook is that healthy leaders have the hearts of stewards. Properly understanding our unique LUTHERAN HERITAGE releases incredible spiritual and relational power which in turn builds healthy followers.

Takeaway Values:

• Readers will learn why leadership is harder today, yet be motivated to hear God’s call.
• Readers will understand that leadership is not a title. It is not even an occupation. Leadership is more an art than a science, less a performance than a sacred relationship. When we face a problem, we almost always start looking for a program, some method with which to attack the crisis. But when God sets out to solve issues, he always starts with a person. The Holy Spirit calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
• Readers will discover that there is a rich LUTHERAN theology of leadership, underutilized yet critically needed, which puts individual character at the forefront.
• Readers will gain insights and encouragement to grow in vision, courage, integrity, as they build their team and understand the riddle of power.

Unique Features:

• Each Chapter focuses on biblical characters, discovering healthy and unhealthy models of stewardship.
• This handbook is complete, in that all major issues of leadership are included.
• Personal experiences of the author, his friends, and historical figures, illustrate every point.
• Rather than focusing on gimmicks for success, each chapter focuses on the theology which produces long-term healthy results.
• Each section concludes with Reflection Questions for personal or small group discussion

Organization: The book is divided into an introduction followed by six chapters. The first chapter is foundational, sharing the surprising power and freedom God’s calling gives us. The succeeding chapters address the stewardship of vision (two), heart (three), community (four), opportunities (five), and finally power (six).

Click here to purchase the book, published by Pinnacle House Press, and available on Amazon.

Monday, October 2, 2017 Devotion

‘Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased; For when he dies he will carry nothing away; His glory will not descend after him.”  (Psalm 49:16-17)

How many in our day look to wealth as the answer to their problems.  It is not, for look to the rich and you will see that they are no better off than the poor.  More comfortable perhaps, but their families have just as many problems.  Everything belongs to the Lord, so what He gives in stewardship is only temporarily ours.  Let your wealth be the relationship you have with the Lord.

Lord, I do see this principle, but this world is so steeped in greed and avarice that I do not see when it grabs hold of me.  Guide me O Lord to look to You knowing that only in You is there hope and an eternal future.  Lead me according to Your never-failing Word to walk with You all the days of this life in preparation for all that is to come.  Guide me by Your Word to walk with You now and always.

Lord Jesus, You have come that we may have life and have it eternally.  Through You and by Your grace, You enable all who walk with You to live into the life to come.  You are the way, truth and life and only in You is there hope.  Lead me Lord Jesus in Your way that I would walk with You every moment of every day as You do what needs to be done in and through me.  Amen.

WHY DO WE GIVE?

Devotional for October 22, 2017 based upon Matthew 22: 15-22

A young boy wanted a hundred dollars, so he prayed to God for an entire week, but nothing happened.  Finally he decided to write God a letter, requesting the hundred dollars.  When the Post Office got the letter addressed to God, they forwarded it to the White House.  The President was very impressed and touched, so he instructed an aide to send the boy five dollars.  He figured that five dollars would mean a lot to the boy.  Which it did.  So the young boy sat down and wrote a note, which read, “Dear God, Thank you very much for sending me the money.  However, I noticed that for some reason you sent it through Washington.  As always, they kept most of it.”  

In our Gospel reading for this morning Jesus said, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (verse 21)  Most of us accept the fact that we do have to give to Caesar.  What Caesar wants, Caesar gets.  And most of us just kind of accept that.

Giving to Caesar is not a problem for most of us.  But for many, giving to God is a huge problem.   So I would like to ask the question, WHY DO WE GIVE?  Many churches hold their annual stewardship campaign during this time of the year.  Why would we want to tell God in writing what we plan to do in providing financial support for and being involved in the ministry of the Church this next year?

First, we give to God the things that belong to God in RESPONSE to all that He has done for us.  Times are tough.  Money is short.  Maybe financially times are tougher for you than they were a few years ago.  But do you still have your health?  Do you have people who love you?  Do you have food to eat and a warm place to sleep?  Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins?  Do you have a home in heaven?  The truth is that we all have much to be thankful for.  And so we give to God the things that belong to God, first of all, in RESPONSE to all that God has done for us.

Second, we give to God the things that belong to God as a REMEDY to the enslaving power of wealth.  There comes a time for all of us when we have to decide what role money is going to play in our lives.  Will we have money, or will money have us?  It’s really interesting – and tellingly significant – that as people’s income grows, the percentage of their income that they give to charities declines.  The more people earn, the less proportionately they give.  You would think it would work the other way around.  The more I earn, the more discretionary income I have, so the more I should be able to give.  But that’s not the way it works.  

A wealthy TV evangelist was dying in his mansion.  He gathered his followers all around him to hear his one last wish.  “Before I die,” he said, “I would like to take one last ride.”  They asked him what he would need for that one last ride before entering into the Kingdom of Heaven.  He replied, “I would like a very small camel and a very large needle.”

It’s happening to people all around us.  No one of us is immune.  People who used to worship God now worship money. And so we give to God the things that belong to God as a REMEDY to the enslaving power of wealth.

And then third, we give to God the things that belong to God as a REMINDER of who is number one in our lives.  According to Deuteronomy 14, the whole purpose of the tithe is to teach us to always put God first.  It’s simply a matter of priorities.  It is simply a matter of doing what Jesus said – “Give back to God the things that belong to God.”  Seek first His Kingdom, and then trust Him to provide and to take care of you.  

This coming week ask yourself, “Am I truly giving back to God the things that belong to God?”

May the Holy Spirit so live in your life that you will find giving back to God easier, more important, and certainly more enjoyable than giving back to Caesar.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE  

WHAT KIND OF TENANT ARE YOU?

Devotional for October 8, 2017 based upon Matthew 21: 33-46

We’ve all heard of Murphy’s Laws. Here are some of Murphy’s Laws for Landlords.

That sweet young girl with the baby you rented to will start dating the motorcyclist from hell the very next week.

Tenants always have at least one relative get sick or die each month – so they will always be late with the rent.

If a tenant attempts to replace the washer in the faucet, plan on having to replace the whole faucet, if not all the plumbing in the entire building.

Tenants will only lock themselves out in the middle of the night – or on Christmas.

At least one tenant’s check will be “lost in the mail” every month.

Every pet that gets lost will find its way to your rental.

The hardware store always closes five minutes before you get there.

A tenant’s ability to see dirt and damage is much greater when they move in than when they move out.

Everything in your rental will break 100 times faster than in your own home.

And whenever a tenant calls and says, “Hello, how are you?” something is drastically wrong.

There are three things that I find Jesus telling us in the parable of the landowner who planted a vineyard, leased it to tenants, and then went to another country. The first one is this – GOD HAS CALLED US TO DO HIS WORK. God created the world and He created the church. And now He has called us to take care of that world and to be a part of the work of that church. It is a task we must take most seriously.

Second, GOD HAS EQUIPPED US TO DO HIS WORK. The vineyard in Jesus’ parable has everything necessary to do the work of a vineyard. The landowner did not just leave his tenants a patch of dirt and tell them, “Turn this patch of dirt into a prosperous vineyard.” Rather he gave them everything they would need to succeed. Just like God gave your church everything your church would need to do the work God wants your church to do.

The tenants never had it so good. Their landlord was no slumlord. Rather this was a prime piece of property. Not a fixer-upper in a run-down area that would require regular repair or much renovation. Rather the facilities included a surrounding wall, which would protect the property and give them some privacy; an on-site winepress, so the tenants would not have to outsource the work of distilling the wine; and a watchtower. The renters knew they had a real bargain. It was almost too good to be true. Just like the blessings that God has given to each one of us individually, as well as to our congregations, are almost too good to be true. All they would have to do would be to farm the land, reap the harvest, process the product, sell the wine, and uphold the agreement. But there’s the rub. Like so many other bad tenants, they did not want to uphold the agreement. They did not want to pay the rent.

The landowner sent servant after servant to give them one chance after another to pay the rent. But fists, sticks, and rocks kept raining down on the servants. Finally, Jesus tells us, the owner of the vineyard sent his son, thinking, certainly they will respect my son.

Now how the farmers got to the point of thinking they could be owners is beyond me. They were not just late in making payments. They were refusing to make payments. They were debtors, trespassers, and squatters, who wanted to be owners. They did not just want to not pay the rent. They wanted to keep the whole estate – land, fence, fruit, and tower. They wanted to keep the whole nine yards, and did not want to have to pay anything for it.

Eventually the landowner no longer put up with them. He came and put them to a miserable death and leased the vineyard to other tenants who would recognize the owner and pay the rent. And so the third thing that Jesus is telling us is this – GOD HOLDS US RESPONSIBLE TO DO HIS WORK.

Now Jesus originally told this parable to illustrate how Israel would reject Him. But this parable also has a message for us today. God is looking for people who will work His vineyard. Don’t try to usurp the place of God as the rightful owner of this world and of your life. Many churches around this time of the year hold their annual stewardship emphasis. As you consider what you want to do next year to support financially the work of His church and be involved in ministry, don’t forget whose vineyard this really is. Don’t forget whose work we are called to do. Don’t forget who owns it all.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE