Nelson Searcy - Maximize: How to Develop Extravagant Givers in Your Church

Nelson Searcy: Its an honor to present this revised and updated edition of Maximize to you. I had no idea when this book first hit the shelves and online retail sites that God would use it in such a powerful way. This update adapts to all the technological changes from the last decade while continuing to focus on helping you build a stewardship system that is sustainable and scalable for Gods work in your church, with the goal of building fully developing disciples of Jesus Christ. May God use this revised, updated, and expanded edition for his glory.

On a personal note, my journey to become a fully developing steward is certainly ongoing, and many people have greatly influenced me along the way. This book is one expression of my journey so far. My eternal gratitude to Jesus Christ for calling me to salvation and later to ministry. While dozens, if not hundreds, of pastors have influenced my thinking on stewardship, two stand above the rest: Ralph Carpenter and Steve Stroope.

Shortly after entering ministry in 1990, I met Preacher Carpenter. He has since gone on to his reward, yet I am grateful for the dozens of hours he invested in me by the fireplace of his book-filled home in North Carolina. I dont think anyone loved preaching on stewardship more than he did. Im thankful to him for igniting a passion for stewardship in me.

On my way to start The Journey in New York City in 2001, I met Steve Stroope, senior pastor of Lakepointe Church in Rockwall, Texas. No one has impacted my understanding of local church stewardship and local church leadership more than Steve. From our monthly phone calls to his ready wisdom, he has gently guided me to lead a maximized church for the glory of God. Steve, I hope you will continue to take my calls for a long time!

In addition, I would like to thank the following pastors and church leaders for influencing my views and shaping my thoughts on stewardship: Randy Alcorn, Elmer Towns, Rick Warren, B. H. Carroll, John Maxwell, Larry Burkett, and Steve Merrimen of Clergy Advantage. If the theology and applications in this book are correct, you can thank the pastors listed above. If there are mistakes, they are solely mine.

I must also express a huge thanks to my colleagues at The Journey Church, both past and present staff members. Since 2001 I have had the privilege of being the dumbest person on an extremely smart team. Kerrick Thomas and Jason Hatley have especially shaped the thoughts in this book. To the current staff, I love doing church with you! To those God will call to our staff in the future, Im waiting to hear from you!

My sincere appreciation goes to the team that makes Church Leader Insights happen every day and every week. You have no idea of the impact you are having on pastors around the world. Thank you, Sandra Oliveri, Raelyn Garriga, Joseph Garriga, Dustin Suarez, and Jimmy Britt!

I must also express my thanks to the more than three thousand pastors who have completed one of my Senior Pastors Coaching Networks. Many of the ideas shared in this book were first beta tested on you. Your feedback, improvements, and insights have made this a much stronger book. Thank you for living out the learn-and-return principle. A special thanks to those alumni who shared their testimonies in this book.

Jennifer Dykes Henson has been an incredible partner on more than a dozen books, and to my ongoing amazement, she continues to reach new levels with each book. Her skills as a writer, editor, and interpreter are difficult to overstate. I cannot say thank you enough! And I must confess that Jon, Liz, and Pastor Tim (characters you will encounter in the following pages) would not exist without Jens creative mind. As followers of Jesus and models of generosity, Jennifer and her husband, Brian, serve as models of all I discuss in this book.

A huge thank you to the great teamand fine folksat Baker Books. There are too many wonderful people to name, but a special shout-out must be given to Brian Vos for shepherding this book into existence. My thank you also to the sales team for their commitment to this book over the past decade.

Finally, I must thank the love of my life, Kelley, and my young son, Alexander. Kelley and I celebrated twenty-five years of marriage while I was completing this book. Kelley, I love you now more than ever! Alexander, who will turn fourteen years old just prior to the release of this book and complete his first black belt in karate, continues to grow in his faith in Jesus Christ and in wisdom, stature, and favor with God (especially in stature as he just crossed 61). Both Kelley and Alexander stretch me to model the generosity written about here and in my other financially focused books. Like all families, we face good times and tough times, but God has been faithful and more than generous to us. We live each day in celebration of Gods grace. Kelley and Alexander, thank you both for your commitment to this book and your continual support.