29 March, 2024

Learning the ABC”s

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by | 1 June, 2008 | 0 comments

By Brad Dupray

Everyone”s heard the complaint: “All the church ever talks about is money.” That perception has gotten the best of many preachers. As a result they have shied away from talking about money because they don”t want to be guilty of overplaying the issue. How does a preacher face a congregation and encourage them to give money to the church without at least a little concern that it seems self-serving?

Greg Nettle, senior pastor of RiverTree Christian Church in Massillon, Ohio, wrestled with that conflict. Nettle felt when he preached about “stewardship” there was too much focus on the church”s need for income. “I don”t think I approached it with a good conscience. It always felt manipulative to me.” At the same time, Nettle knew the issue needed to be addressed since it is dealt with so broadly in Scripture.

In his search for ways to preach about giving, Nettle came across a book entitled The ABC”s of Financial Freedom. The author, Barry Cameron (senior pastor of Crossroads Christian Church, Grand Prairie, Texas), tells the story of how his deeply indebted family paid off all of their bills (including their home mortgage). He shares biblical principles that point toward a debt-free lifestyle.

Nettle had just started reading the book when he met up with Cameron at a conference. Nettle pointedly asked him, “You”re not really debt-free, are you?”

Cameron responded, “Yes, I really am!” and he went on to share that it”s possible for virtually anyone to become debt-free if he will simply look at what the Bible says about managing money.

Preaching the ABC”s

Now, preachers across America have discovered that these biblical principles, encapsulated by Cameron in his book, are addressing something much bigger than a church”s need for income; they”re speaking to fundamental issues in people”s lives.

Southeast Christian Church in Parker, Colorado, was recently listed in Outreach magazine as one of the 100 fastest-growing churches in the United States. But as recently as 2005, though it had constructed a beautiful new worship facility and was reaching its community effectively, the church was struggling financially. Southeast had an annual stewardship emphasis each January, and while the teaching came from the Bible, it didn”t address some of the core issues people were facing in their personal finances.

Senior pastor Todd Hudson ventured to plan something the church had never done before””two stewardship months in the same year. The second emphasis had a different twist, however.

“We had just been in our building for about six months and had a lot of new people coming in. We saw that people were hurting financially, and the book gives practical help. It hits giving hard, but people are hurting because they”re in debt up to their eyeballs. We wanted to help them handle that.”

Despite Southeast”s need to increase income, the teaching focus shifted from the church”s need to the individual”s need to manage his or her own personal finances.

With six years of experience in developing The ABC”s of Financial Freedom, Barry Cameron and his team have put together a comprehensive program that is seeing remarkable results nationwide. Not only are churches experiencing extraordinary increases in income, individuals in those churches are having life-changing encounters that are drawing them closer to God.

Heritage Christian Church in Fayetteville, Georgia, is one of more than 40 churches across the U.S. that has experienced The ABC”s. Senior pastor Greg Marksberry preached a series of sermons on The ABC”s and then invited Cameron to close the series by preaching the greatest financial secrets he has learned, gleaned from his personal experience and study of Scripture.

“I wondered about this beforehand, but it was really well received because it was so frank and candid and powerfully stated,” Marksberry said.

Cameron now provides his message on DVD so any church that teaches The ABC”s can hear his message on the final Sunday of the program. What makes this final week of The ABC”s so effective is that Cameron and his family have “walked the walk” that others have merely talked about.

More Than a Sermon

The effectiveness of The ABC”s comes from much more than preaching, however. Like all of the churches that have carried out The ABC”s under Cameron”s direction, RiverTree, Southeast, and Heritage tied the sermon series to small-group studies in the church and provided every family in the church with a free copy of the book. Each family was encouraged to read the book before the series to prepare for the church”s teaching times.

According to Nettle, “The book is relatively easy for anyone to read in a couple of hours. For me it was life-changing””in my personal life and in the life of the church. Any book like that I want to recommend to RiverTree.”

Marksberry said, “The fact that Barry has synced up the sermons in tandem with the small groups and book is a powerful one-two-three punch.”

The ABC”s is not merely a “self-help,” infomercial-style fad. A strong emphasis on tithing is the cornerstone of the plan. As Cameron says in his testimony, “Growing up in a pastor”s home, while still a young child, I somehow thought my dad came up with the idea of tithing as a way of paying for the bills at the church. I had no idea it was a supernatural transaction with Almighty God.” With tithing as the foundation, a key to The ABC”s is the importance of a commitment card, indicating an ongoing promise, to God, and to one”s self, to be faithful in giving to the local church.

A Blessing to the Church

The results of The ABC”s have been an unusual outpouring of blessings on the church as a whole and its individual members. Todd Hudson said the people at Southeast thanked him for this program. He said the church came close to doubling giving and has sustained that level of giving for the three years since conducting the program.

Greg Marksberry noted that Heritage saw a 40 percent increase in offerings””even though it did the program entering the summer””and had about 60 families commit to tithe for the very first time.

Hudson said, “There”s definitely a lot more emphasis on the person”s need to give than on the church”s need to receive, and that”s what strikes a chord with people.”

The ABC”s had a profound effect on Donna Toigo, a single mother of four, when West Side Christian Church in Springfield, Illinois, conducted the program. “I struggled often, juggled often, made poor choices, and last””instead of first””I asked God for help. Because of the teachings in The ABC”s of Financial Freedom, I have paid cash for a car and paid off a credit card. Most importantly, I have started giving back to God because his blessings in my life have been bountiful.”

Another West Side member, Norma Hale, said, “After realizing I was sinning by not tithing and truly not trusting God, I immediately started tithing. Since then, my mind-set has completely changed. It is really all his anyway. I”d tried it my way, and life just got deeper and harder no matter what I did. Since trying life God”s way, God has blessed me more than I could ever have imagined.”

Ken and Cathy Haskins wrote an e-mail to Barry Cameron from Carson City, Nevada: “We wanted to tell you we have one more house payment and it is all done. Praise God! It doesn”t seem possible that this blessing is happening to us.”




Brad Dupray, senior vice president at Church Development Fund, writes our regular “CHRISTIAN STANDARD Interview” column. After completing this article, he added, “Since its initial publishing, none of the proceeds from The ABC”s of Financial Freedom (formerly The ABC”s of Financial Success) have gone to the author. All of Barry Cameron”s proceeds from the book have been donated to a fund that helps provide financial support to ministers and widows of ministers who need special assistance.”




The ABC”s of Financial Freedom

Attitude: God determines how much money you have. Giving to God is the only way out of your financial problems.

Bondage: God”s will is for us to be debt free.

Choice: No one needs to live his life in financial trouble. The solution is to adopt the centrality of the tithe.

Decision: Accept God”s plan and enjoy the security of obedience.

Encouragement: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” God will bless you when you put your treasure with him.

Funding: God has already provided the money for every ministry dedicated to him. It”s in the hands of his followers.





Stewardship Teaching Resources

www.TheABCs.org: Home page of The ABC”s of Financial Freedom.

www.TheDiscipleShop.com and (888) 360-7648: Books and sermons on personal financial management from Barry Cameron (discounted from the publisher”s price), including his new series, Contagious Generosity.

Money Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn (www.epm.org/bookmpe.html): Scriptural guidelines for the use of money and possessions and how their use impacts God”s kingdom.

Financial Peace University (www.FPU.com): Thirteen interactive video sessions by Dave Ramsey on money management, suitable for individuals or groups.

Crown Financial Ministries (www.crown.org): Tools and resources to learn, apply, and teach biblical financial principles.

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