Accountability

By: Barry G. Allen - President and CEO

     Among the important qualities of a mature steward is accountability.  A mature steward is accountable.

     A mature steward knows by nature what Jesus meant in the parable found in Luke 12:48, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

     A mature steward lives each day knowing the end of the story is what Jesus taught in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:19, “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.”

     A mature steward enjoys a sense of security in knowing someone is overseeing him or her, and his or her efforts in behalf of the overseer, or master, matter.  This encourages initiative and quality in the mature steward’s efforts, which pleases the master. 

     On the other hand, a too cautious, do-nothing-for-fear-of-the-consequences attitude is totally unpleasant and distasteful to the master as revealed in that part of the parable found in Matthew 25:24-28.  “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.  See, here is what belongs to you.’ His master replied, ‘you wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents.  For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.  Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.  And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

     May we be faithful and accountable in our stewardship in 2011.

Partner Profile- Mission Dignity

By: Barry G. Allen- President and CEO

What an opportunity you have to assist a generation of God called servants, who loved their churches, and their churches loved them, but for whom planning for the future was not emphasized when they began serving. They went into the ministry with no turning back. They trusted the Lord to provide, and they put the needs of their churches first. Now they need and deserve our help.

Most people do not realize how many men and women there are, who served God’s people faithfully across the years, and now find themselves struggling to meet even their basic needs. Most of these served as pastors and pastors’ wives in small, rural churches that paid them very modest salaries and could not afford to contribute toward their retirement. In many instances these men and women had to work extra jobs just to make ends meet.

Mission:Dignity™ is the name GuideStone Financial Resources, formerly the Annuity Board, SBC, has given that part of its mission which provides “relief” assistance to these needy retired ministers and their widows. This ministry was previously called the Adopt-An-Annuitant program. Although the name is new, the need is greater than ever.

Currently GuideStone pays out $6M per year to assist 2,000 retired ministers and spouses across the nation with money for housing, food and medications while seeking to ensure a well-deserved dignity and independence for these faithful servants of the Lord.

You will be pleased to know the Kentucky Baptist Foundation partners with GuideStone in supplementing those Mission:Dignity recipients living in Kentucky. This supplement is provided from the earnings of the Baptist Minister’s Aid Endowment Fund, which was established 122 years ago. Currently we are providing $275,000 per year to 91 Kentucky recipients ranging from $200 to $530 per month.

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting by telephone with several of the Kentucky recipients. These are some of the comments they shared with me about the impact of this financial assistance on their lives. The widow of a pastor said “I don’t know what I would have done without this blessing from the Lord.” Another widow shared, “It helps to pay for the supplement insurance so I can see the special doctor I need for my health condition. I thank God for those who make this possible.” A retired pastor stated “When I accepted the call to preach I lost my teacher’s retirement, did not have any social security and the churches I served only contributed the minimum toward my retirement. I guess I could have made it without this help, but it would have been difficult.”

Don Spencer, Director of the KBC Church Financial Benefits Department, affirmed this ministry like this: “For the folks receiving this assistance each month it often means the difference in having basic necessities like food on the table or paying the utility bills, and they get quite emotional when they express appreciation for the difference these dollars make in their lives.”

When you think about the ministry of the KBF you would not think it included financial assistance to needy retired pastors and their widows. And yet, across the years there have been those who have demonstrated their admiration, appreciation and affection for these soldiers of the cross by making gifts into endowment funds administered by the KBF that provide “relief funds” for their well-being.

You, too, can participate in this important ministry by sending a designated gift directly to GuideStone and/or to the KBF. Your gift can be in the form of a check, appreciated assets, a beneficiary designation of life insurance or retirement account and/or a bequest in your will.

For more information about this ministry and how you can support it click on www.missiondignitysbc.org, call toll free 1.888.984.8433 or call me toll free at 1.866.489.3421.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

  

          When it comes to financial stewardship too many churches operate under a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.  It’s what I call the financial stewardship paradox.  Jesus had more to say about our relationship to money than any other spiritual discipline, and yet, church members and church leaders do not want to discuss it at all.  Both the pastor and the people dread the annual stewardship sermon (mutual intimidation).

            This unspoken attitude is a self-serving attitude in that stewardship in churches has been narrowed to institutional fundraising, concentrating solely on the church’s immediate needs and the task of raising so much money for the church budget to the neglect of the larger meaning of money in our lives and how this reality should be regarded in an overall philosophy of life. 

            Author Randy Alcorn has observed we regularly witness the gifts of teaching and prayer, but we rarely hear stories of church members exercising the gift of giving money.  So, how do young people in the church learn to give?  Where can they go to witness what giving looks like in the life of the believer captivated by Christ?  Why are we surprised when, seeing no other example, they take their cues from a materialistic society?

            Somewhere between Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:1 and Matthew 5:16 is the appropriate place for stewardship testimonies.  In Matthew 6:1 Jesus teaches us not to give in order to be seen by men; in 5:16 Jesus teaches us to let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

            Also, be instructed and encouraged by the Apostle Paul’s words to the Macedonian Christians recorded in 2 Corinthians 8:7: “But just as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”  Remember, the grace “of” giving is also the grace “for” giving.

Are We There Yet?

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO    

        Christmas means different things to different people, but to us Kentucky Baptists it means the Lottie Moon Offering for international missions. It’s a special opportunity during a special season of the year to demonstrate in a special way our desire to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the nations, those beyond where we can go and what we see.

            How fortunate we are to have more than 5,000 self sacrificing international missionaries scattered to the ends of the earth telling the good news of Jesus 24/7.  To undergird and facilitate their boldly going, we at home must boldly pray and boldly give.  Did you know contributions through the Lottie Moon Offering provide more than half the support for international missions through the International Mission Board, SBC?  As a result, it is critical we as individuals continue to enhance our giving through this Great Commission giving channel even as our churches enhance their giving through the Cooperative Program, which is the other major Great Commission giving channel of support for international missions.

            The question, “are we there yet?” is the theme for this year’s week of prayer for international missions.  The answer to the question is “no,” we are not there yet in reaching the world for Christ.  However, the IMB has identified the 6,426 people groups that still need to be reached.  So, let’s get busy and start reaching more and more of them before it’s too late.

            This year I want to encourage you to consider moving from a transactional to a more comprehensive approach to giving. This will result in you more boldly giving to reach all peoples with the gospel.  This would be consistent with the KBC’s More for Christ emphasis.  What I mean by a more comprehensive approach is this: in addition to your annual contribution through the Lottie Moon Offering, you consider including in your estate plan a provision(s) to perpetuate your contribution beyond your lifetime. 

            Call Laurie Valentine or me for assistance in accomplishing such a life-changing legacy. (502) 489-3533 or toll free-1-866-489-3533 (KY only)

Fulfilling A Vital Mission

By: Barry G. Allen- President and CEO

When you consider your involvement in accomplishing the Great Commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you likely do not consider involvement through the Kentucky Baptist Foundation to be a part of that effort. And yet, at the heart of the Foundation’s mission is teaching disciples of Jesus Christ to obey the biblical mandates of financial stewardship to the end more financial resources will be available for accomplishing the Great Commission.

Reaching the world for Christ takes money. And, it will take more in the future than it has in the past and present. Every component of our cooperative missionary, educational and benevolent enterprise will require more money to fulfill its part of the Great Commission effort. Churches and associations will need more money; Baptist colleges, academies, schools and seminaries will need more money; Baptist children’s and other benevolent ministries will need more money; mission boards and missions support organizations will need more money.

Providing the financial resources to accomplish the Great Commission by putting checks and cash in the offering plates on Sunday mornings will not be sufficient. Only when Christians in mass begin to practice what we proclaim we believe will significant progress be made in accomplishing the Great Commission. We proclaim we believe God is the owner of all things, and He has entrusted us to be His managers (stewards) for His purposes. However, there a huge disconnect between what we proclaim and what we do.
We believe the single most important act of financial stewardship a Christian likely will ever make is how we plan our estate. Furthermore, we believe through faithful estate stewardship more resources will be available to accomplish the Great Commission.

So, I invite you to get involved in the Foundation’s vital mission by becoming a friend. Since our traditional sources of support will no longer provide the financial resources necessary to fulfill the mission, we need friends who believe in what we do to begin to provide financial support. Call us to learn how to become a friend.

Giving During Life To Provide Perpetual Support

By: Laurie Valentine-Trust Counsel & Chief Operating Officer

You do not have to be a millionaire to be able to provide financial resources that will change peoples’ lives in the Lord’s name.

 Providing support that will continue to give until the Lord returns for your church; state, national and/or international missions; ministries to hurting children and their families; disaster relief; and/or other causes important to you can be accomplished through the creation of a new endowment fund or by making gifts to an existing endowment fund.

An endowment fund is a permanent, perpetual fund managed either by the cause benefited by your gift or another entity such as the Kentucky Baptist Foundation. Only the earnings from the endowment fund are distributed for use by the cause(s) you have designated; the original value of what you give is never spent.

A large gift is not required to establish an endowment fund with the Kentucky Baptist Foundation. It can be started with any amount, to which you may add from time to time over your lifetime. This permits even those of modest means to do much more than they ever dreamed possible. As the endowment fund grows, more lives will be touched and blessed through the support provided.

Endowment fund giving does not have to be an all or nothing proposition. You may want to use a life income gift to fund an endowment fund. Life income gifts allow you to make a gift now that will provide an income stream to you and/or others for life with the endowment fund funded with the remainder of your original gift at your death.

Establishing (or adding to) an endowment fund during your lifetime may provide income tax savings if you itemize deductions and capital gains tax savings if you use appreciated assets to fund your gift.

All with which we have been blessed comes from God. Establishing an endowment fund, whether through a single large gift or a lifetime of more modest levels of giving, permits you to demonstrate your gratitude for God’s blessings and your desire to be involved in touching lives in His name.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

More For Christ

By: Barry G. Allen- President and CEO

Messengers to the recent annual meeting of the Kentucky Baptist Convention approved the 4 recommendations of the Great Commission Task Force one of which was for a 3 year emphasis called “More for Christ.”  This is intended to be an intentional time of personal repentance, renewal and redirection for the future as well as a personal and corporate commitment to Christ and to the Great Commission.

More for Christ is intended to mean for each of us Kentucky Baptists: (a) more of myself in personal surrender, personal witness and personal sacrifice; (b) more of my family; (c) more for the lost; (d) more for the needs; and (e) more for the nations.
 

Alongside the approval of the 4 recommendations, the messengers also approved a resolution on “Giving More for Christ.”  This resolution calls upon each of us to examine closely our hearts and lives to determine how we can give more sacrificially of our time, talents and the financial resources the Lord has entrusted to us to further His kingdom through service in our local churches and church-related ministries. 

 The resolution also calls upon each of us to consider making legacy gifts for the support of our churches and the Cooperative Program, which is a recognition that advancing the Kingdom in the future cannot be funded solely by us Christians writing checks and placing them in the offering plates on Sunday morning.  Advancing the Kingdom in the future will require us Christians to steward out of our income as well as out of our assets, which includes estate stewardship.  The characteristics of a legacy gift are: it can’t be put in the offering plate; it’s a gift of a cash or non-cash asset; it’s a gift normally made in light of one’s overall estate and financial plans; it uses tax-advantaged methods to achieve the giver’s objectives; and it may require the assistance of a professional adviser to complete the gift.

As the Lord leads you “to give more for Christ” via a legacy gift, please give us the privilege of assisting you.  Laurie Valentine and I are just a toll-free call away. 1-866-489-3533. (Kentucky only)