FRANKLIN — The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board recently has released a new stewardship resource entitled Lordship Generosity: Giving All to the One Who Gave All.
The book, co-written by Matt Tullos of the TBMB staff along with G.B. Howell Jr. and Tod Tanner, is the first published under the TBMB’s “We Serve Publishing” imprint.
“I am extremely excited about Lordship Generosity being the flagship and first book for We Serve Publishing,” said Chris Turner, director of communications for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
“It is certainly an appropriate book with which to launch the imprint. The reason for creating We Serve Publishing is because there are a number of resources that we hear pastors and churches asking for that are unique and niche.
“While Matt’s book certainly is a valuable book for any church and any Christian, we also know that there are some unique resources that we can develop to serve Tennessee Baptists and Tennessee Baptist churches,” he continued.
The best way to do that was to create a resource imprint and make those resources available through churches and offer a broad range of resources ranging from free distribution to for purchase, he added.
Turner said he does not “foresee We Serve Publishing ever becoming more than a boutique or niche publisher, but that’s OK. As with the mission of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, we desire the resources that flow from the publishing arm to be resources that make Christ known by serving churches.”
Tullos observed what would happen if Tennessee Baptist churches were filled with radical followers supremely devoted to the Lordship of Jesus.
“The effects would be seismic. Lordship Generosity is all about Lordship. When Jesus is lord, it changes our time, our money, our story, our emotional health, our legacy and our spiritual gifts. All six of these areas are covered in Lordship Generosity,” he said.
“If you aren’t mindful of your life, you’ll be amazed at how swiftly it can pass through your fingers,” Tullos said.
“Maybe you’ve had the experience before. You go to the grocery store to get the gallon of milk, but once you walk in you are bombarded by a million other items: dog food, apples, bread, cinnamon, chicken, pudding cups, juice boxes, etc.
“After 15 minutes, you have a full cart and step up to the register. Only then do you realize you forgot what you came in for — the milk!”
It is so easy to be “transfixed by all the shiny objects we encounter that we forget the most important thing — living a life of total surrender under the Lordship of Christ,” Tullos said.
Tullos asked, “Can you imagine being in a church that is filled with emotionally healthy people? Can you imagine a church where believers all give 10 percent of their income to God?
“Research shows us that if that happened it would quadruple your church’s budget for missions and ministry since the average family gives 2.5 percent. Can you imagine, what would happen if we actually went after Jesus more than anything else in our lives? Like those early believers, we’d turn the world upside-down.”
The book addresses six biblical concepts of Lordship in the lives of people: time, spiritual gifts, financial wisdom, emotional health, personal story and legacy.
Tullos encouraged Christians to look at Lordship as an investment in eternity.
“You are making investments as you follow Jesus by the influence you have on others, your generosity for the Kingdom and how you live your life as an offering to God. Those deposits on a consistent basis are a statement of trust and faith in the Father,” he said.
Tullos said Lordship Generosity can be used for a full church series, new members/new believers class, Sunday School unit devotional book, Lordship revival, retreat, men’s or women’s events, Disciple Now, or a marriage retreat.
In the back of the book, there is a small group discussion guide with questions. Each chapter also has a personal inventory.
In collaboration with the Tennessee Baptist Foundation, Tod Tanner has developed Sunday School lessons that also can be used. Additional resources can be found at LordshipGenerosity.com.
“The concept of Lordship Generosity has impacted my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined,” observed Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of TBMB.
“As an 18-year-old freshman college student at William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Miss., with no family resources to fund for my education, I remember receiving an unexpected scholarship from First Baptist Church, Laurel, Miss., for ministerial students. I didn’t know those people, nor was I affiliated with anyone from that church. I wasn’t even a student from Mississippi, but those generous people that I didn’t even know, invested in me.
“It’s our hope that as you read this book and consider the trajectory of your life, that God will bring you into a crystal-clear understanding of life lived to the fullest, once you surrender everything to the Lordship of Christ,” Davis said.
Books are available from Amazon: $9.99 paperback; $19.99 hardback; and $4.99 on Kindle. Churches also can order bulk copies (10 or more) from TBMB at $6 each.
All proceeds from the purchases will go to the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions. B&R