November 3, 1999
Burkett will talk money at BGCT
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___If you look at their pocketbooks, you can't tell Christians from the rest of the world, according to financial manager Larry Burkett.
___"We're almost identical," said Burkett, founder of Christian Financial Concepts, a ministry dedicated to teaching biblical principles for financial management.
___"We owe as much as others," he reported. "We don't give any more (to charities) than non-Christians. Thirty-seven percent of Southern Baptist Christians who attend church three times a month give nothing to the church. The average level of giving is only 2.4 percent of income. Only 3 percent of Southern Baptists actually give a tithe."
___Churches must help members learn to handle money if they're going to impact members' lives, Burkett insisted.
___"The way you handle money is the way you handle all things," he said. "Jesus said in Luke 16, 'If you are not faithful in the smallest things, you will not be faithful with the larger things.' If people are not faithful with money, they won't be faithful with spiritual things."
___By not helping members with money matters, churches are short-changing them spiritually, he added. "We, as the body of Christ, are not answering questions that are relevant--not to the unsaved, but to the families in our churches."
___Burkett, whose advice is carried on 1,100 radio stations, recently wrote "How Much is Enough?" It is a 30-day devotional workbook to help Christians learn and use biblical financial principles.
___"How Much is Enough?" is produced by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
___Burkett will discuss the "How Much is Enough?" project with pastors at a breakfast meeting during the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual session in El Paso, Tuesday, Nov. 9. For information about the meeting, call (800) 231-5096.
___The project is vital for churches and the kingdom of God, Burkett said.
___"If a giver over 60 years old dies or moves on, it takes two people under 40 to replace them. We haven't done a good job of teaching our people the purpose of giving."
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