Pastor's book on giving reverberates nationwide

The Reverend Brian Kluth of First Evangelical Free Church of Colorado Springs is a nationally recognized expert on separating people from their money and making them feel good about it.

The former president of the Christian Stewardship Association, he often speaks to church leaders around the country about how they can increase contributions to their churches. He’s put serious thought into biblical teachings on money management — turning around his own financial life and finding that more generosity yielded more spiritual fulfillment.

So it made sense for Kluth to synthesize these ideas in a short book, “A 40-day Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life.”

But there was one thing this money whiz didn’t count on: the book’s success.

“Originally we printed 15,000 copies and we thought that would take years to get rid of,” said Kluth, who was named the Christian Stewardship Association’s Outstanding Stewardship Educator for 2006.

Instead, he has printed more than 100,000 copies in nine months; the book is being translated into nine languages, and he’s sent orders to such farflung places as Mongolia.

“I used to be in debt and had lots of financial problems,” Kluth said. “As I learned what the Bible teaches about finances, God helped me completely turn around my finances and gave me the freedom to live more generously.”

Kluth is certainly not alone in teaching about money and generosity. In an age of credit card debt, negative savings rates and rabid consumerism, many parachurch organizations such as Crown Financial Ministries (crown.org) have stepped forward to teach money smarts, self-control and the joys of generosity.

It’s not that Kluth’s teachings are a radical departure from organizations such as Crown, but he’s created an easily digestible package, which might explain why the book has done so well. His book is an easy-to-use 40-day study, centering on 40 financial principles and 400 Bible verses designed to take people on a journey toward more generosity.

He said he’s sold the book en masse to churches, which then give one to every family, and to denominations that give one to every pastor.

“We’re doing our best to keep up with how this book is being used across the country and around the world,” said Kluth, who now takes Fridays off from his church to handle the responsibilities of the book.

Find out more about “A 40-day Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life” at maxi mumgenerosity.org or by calling 1-866-935-5884.