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Why Every Church Should Honor Stewardship with Rylee Meek

Why Every Church Should Honor Stewardship with Rylee Meek

For your church to thrive and grow, it must be rooted in strong roots of good stewardship. This means establishing systems in place that allow for accountability and transparency across all levels of leadership. We really can't stress enough how valuable this conversation is, and we hope you'll tune in!

CHURCH TECH PODCAST
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Modern Church leader
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Publish date
August 16, 2022
Author
Tithely

Listen on your favorite podcast app:

Why Every Church Should Honor Stewardship

Stewardship is a biblical concept that's been around since the beginning of time. It's a way of thinking about how we make decisions and use our resources, and it's at the heart of what we believe as Christians.

When it comes to churches, stewardship is crucial. A church can't survive if it doesn't have the resources to care for its congregation and staff members.

That means every decision about how the church spends its money must consider whether or not this particular choice will help us fulfill the church’s mission.

In the book of Acts, we see that the church was able to spread throughout the world because of the generous contributions of the believers. They were willing to give their money, time, and resources; in return, God used them to accomplish His mission.

As a church, it's our responsibility to think through the same questions: what does it mean to be generous with our resources, and how can we accomplish our mission while doing so? 

One of the best ways to do that is by taking a closer look at the concept of stewardship.

Maybe you're already familiar with the concept of stewardship, but to hear it from an entrepreneur's perspective is one thing. 

Our guest, Rylee Meek, an entrepreneur, author, and speaker, will share his experience building a thriving business while following God's calling on his life. He will also lay out the four kingdom money principles that churches can use to find their true source of financial strength.

“God owns everything, including the businesses that we own. And then, ultimately, we are stewarding that in. And the number one thing that we should do as an act of worship is tithing.”
-Rylee Meek

For your church to thrive and grow, it must be rooted in strong roots of good stewardship. This means establishing systems in place that allow for accountability and transparency across all levels of leadership. We really can't stress enough how valuable this conversation is, and we hope you'll tune in!

By the end of this episode, you will learn:

  • The King’s Council’s mission
  • Why giving is an act of worship
  • Stewardship in the church
  • A biblical view of wealth and riches
  • Tips for pursuing excellence in your life

Resources Mentioned:

Follow Rylee on Instagram: @theryleemeek
Like Rylee on Facebook: Rylee Meek
Follow King’s Council on Instagram: @kingscouncilcoaching
Subscribe to King’s Council YouTube Channel: King's Council Coaching

Other Episodes You May be Interested In:

How to Impact the Community with Ministry Resources with John Craft
The Role Marketing Plays in Church Growth with Kelvin Co
Planting a Church in 2022 with Sam Collier

Here’s a glance at this episode…

[7:02] The number one thing that we should do as an act of worship is tithing.

[13:17] If you want to go fast, go alone, right? Usually, that's probably the easiest to go alone. But if you want to go far, and you want to build something foundationally strong, you got to take people with you; you've got to go together.

[20:51] Unfortunately, the Christian community, I believe, has been blinded by just understanding and living in this idea; that is, it is more virtuous to be in poverty than it is actually to have money. 

[27:34] Oftentimes, our passion becomes something that we now dread and we hate because we have to do it. Right. Right. So as an entrepreneur, we stand back, look for opportunities, and always bring our passion with us. 

[29:19] We can truly be fruitful, we can truly multiply, we can truly subdue, replenish distributed, and actually have dominion on this earth if the church is operating the way that I believe it actually should be.

AUTHOR

Tithely provides the tools you need to engage with your church online, stay connected, increase generosity, and simplify the lives of your staff.

With tools like text and email messaging, custom church apps and websites, church management software, digital giving, and so much more… it’s no wonder why over 37,000 churches in 50 countries trust Tithely to help run their church. 

Listen on your favorite podcast app:

Why Every Church Should Honor Stewardship

Stewardship is a biblical concept that's been around since the beginning of time. It's a way of thinking about how we make decisions and use our resources, and it's at the heart of what we believe as Christians.

When it comes to churches, stewardship is crucial. A church can't survive if it doesn't have the resources to care for its congregation and staff members.

That means every decision about how the church spends its money must consider whether or not this particular choice will help us fulfill the church’s mission.

In the book of Acts, we see that the church was able to spread throughout the world because of the generous contributions of the believers. They were willing to give their money, time, and resources; in return, God used them to accomplish His mission.

As a church, it's our responsibility to think through the same questions: what does it mean to be generous with our resources, and how can we accomplish our mission while doing so? 

One of the best ways to do that is by taking a closer look at the concept of stewardship.

Maybe you're already familiar with the concept of stewardship, but to hear it from an entrepreneur's perspective is one thing. 

Our guest, Rylee Meek, an entrepreneur, author, and speaker, will share his experience building a thriving business while following God's calling on his life. He will also lay out the four kingdom money principles that churches can use to find their true source of financial strength.

“God owns everything, including the businesses that we own. And then, ultimately, we are stewarding that in. And the number one thing that we should do as an act of worship is tithing.”
-Rylee Meek

For your church to thrive and grow, it must be rooted in strong roots of good stewardship. This means establishing systems in place that allow for accountability and transparency across all levels of leadership. We really can't stress enough how valuable this conversation is, and we hope you'll tune in!

By the end of this episode, you will learn:

  • The King’s Council’s mission
  • Why giving is an act of worship
  • Stewardship in the church
  • A biblical view of wealth and riches
  • Tips for pursuing excellence in your life

Resources Mentioned:

Follow Rylee on Instagram: @theryleemeek
Like Rylee on Facebook: Rylee Meek
Follow King’s Council on Instagram: @kingscouncilcoaching
Subscribe to King’s Council YouTube Channel: King's Council Coaching

Other Episodes You May be Interested In:

How to Impact the Community with Ministry Resources with John Craft
The Role Marketing Plays in Church Growth with Kelvin Co
Planting a Church in 2022 with Sam Collier

Here’s a glance at this episode…

[7:02] The number one thing that we should do as an act of worship is tithing.

[13:17] If you want to go fast, go alone, right? Usually, that's probably the easiest to go alone. But if you want to go far, and you want to build something foundationally strong, you got to take people with you; you've got to go together.

[20:51] Unfortunately, the Christian community, I believe, has been blinded by just understanding and living in this idea; that is, it is more virtuous to be in poverty than it is actually to have money. 

[27:34] Oftentimes, our passion becomes something that we now dread and we hate because we have to do it. Right. Right. So as an entrepreneur, we stand back, look for opportunities, and always bring our passion with us. 

[29:19] We can truly be fruitful, we can truly multiply, we can truly subdue, replenish distributed, and actually have dominion on this earth if the church is operating the way that I believe it actually should be.

podcast transcript

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Rylee Meek (00:00):

God owns everything, including the businesses that we own. And then ultimately, we are stewarding that and managers for him. And the number one thing that we should do as an act of worship is tithing. And so we talk a ton on tithing and the importance of that, and really how that opens up the windows of heavens for additional blessings to be poured out. And then from there, our concept of kingship, which is really the law of sewing and reaping and so many examples within the Bible that we're able to coach on and how to operate money. Truly how we serve God and make money serve us. And that's really the heart of King's Council.

Narrator (00:44):

Welcome to the Modern Church Leader, where you'll hear executive pastors share practical tactics and strategies that churches are using right now to thrive in our digital world in advance the Kingdom of God. Here's your host, Frank Barry.

Frank Barry (00:58):

Hey guys. Welcome to another episode of Modern Church Leader. Pumped about today's episode, we're actually not talking to a pastor or church leader. But a leader in the church that's helping entrepreneurs in some pretty cool ways. So I am joined by the founder and CEO of King's Council, Rylee Meek, welcome to the show.

Rylee Meek (01:16):

Hey Frank, happy to be here, man. This is going to be fun.

Frank Barry (01:19):

Yeah, yeah. It should be fun. And you're a fellow podcaster, so, you know the ropes and how to do this. You got a cool setup over there.

Rylee Meek (01:27):

Yes. I'm the like super non-techy. So I'm just glad when I turned the thing on, it actually worked today.

Frank Barry (01:36):

Somebody else had it set up for you, you got it all dialed in and then you just show up and-

Rylee Meek (01:39):

Yes, exactly. Absolutely

Frank Barry (01:41):

Sit down and record.

Frank Barry (01:46):

This was probably a week ago, I interviewed Andy Stanley and he had like ... I didn't talk to him until the actual like recording of the show. So he had the IT guy was setting it all up and had it all dialed in and he just like shows up and hits record. It was fantastic. And then I thought we had a problem with the recording and the IT guy's like, "No, no, no, no, no. We have a recording on our side, too. We have backups. All the things." I was like, man, that's the way to go.

Rylee Meek (02:14):

He's got it dialed in, man. I love that.

Frank Barry (02:16):

Yeah. He's got it set up.

Frank Barry (02:20):

Well, man, this will be fun. Like I said, when we were talking before, mostly I interview like pastors and church leaders on this show. So this is a little bit outside of the norm in terms of what you do for churches and how you're kind of helping in the larger church. So why don't you tell us a little bit about kind of yourself and how you got into this ministry or this business?

Rylee Meek (02:42):

Yeah, absolutely, man. So the Kings Council, we are a coaching community in which we serve entrepreneurs. And the real reason or heart behind it is I am an entrepreneur at heart and I've experienced a lot of highs and lows, ups and downs within my entrepreneurial journey. And through that process, I found myself either running to the church or fleeing from the church, just at different stages in my life. And I realized that, a few years ago I was sitting in my basement here. And for anybody that's had that feeling of like unfulfillment, like you know what that feeling is like. And as successful, we'll call it, depending upon what your definition of success is, financially, we had done pretty well. We've done nine figures in business, in multiple different industries. I realized you could be successful at a lot of things and still feel like a failure.

Rylee Meek (03:45):

And if you're not operating for the God given intended purpose of why you were created. Like a treadmill is also a great clothes hanger, but it's not operating as its intended purpose. And so that's how I felt. And-

Frank Barry (04:01):

My kids hang Transformers off of them.

Rylee Meek (04:03):

Perfect.

Frank Barry (04:04):

Whole different world. Yeah.

Rylee Meek (04:06):

But that's really how I felt. And I was like, "Man, God, is this really it? Is this all I'm supposed to do in life, is just to do business." And I just felt as I was a part of a number of different masterminds, in groups of entrepreneurs, I thought, "Man, there's got to be something." I thought back to one of the most intentional, incredible times in my life was in college when I was a part of a group called Inner Varsity Christian Fellowship. Shout out to, IVCF if any of them are listening there, but it was a great time. I had some incredible relationships.

Frank Barry (04:37):

Yeah.

Rylee Meek (04:37):

So strong that I could call any of those guys today and they would be here in an instant. And I hardly even talk to them now. But that was just a bond that we created. And so I thought, "Man, there's got to be something like that in the business world." And as I scanned the culture, just the internet searching and searching, is there anything like that? I didn't really see it. There's a lot of masterminds out there on how to grow their business, which is great. But foundationally, none of it was based upon truth.

Rylee Meek (05:08):

I was a prime example in my life of, I really believe money exposes a lot of things. It's a great magnifier. And it's like, it only makes us more of who we already are. And when I started to make a lot of it, those are those times where I either had the group around me that would keep me accountable or I didn't. And I found myself running from God and what I should have been actually doing in life. And went through a lot of issues in my life. And part of my heart was like, "Man, I know there's entrepreneurs out there that are for the Kingdom, that have this heart." But maybe either they're not a part of a church or they feel kind of the oddball within their church. Because as an entrepreneur, we think differently. And it's like, we can sometimes feel out of place if we're in a certain setting or just attending a number of churches that I've visited and been a part of.

Rylee Meek (06:06):

And so I thought, "Man, could there be a community that we can all still feel like we're operating for the God-given intended purpose to create wealth, to run businesses appropriately, steward that money appropriately? But not feel like shunned by the church. Or we're greedy or making money is evil. And that's really, when I scanned the internet and I didn't find anything, I thought, "Man, we got to create this thing." And that was really the birthing of the King's Council.

Frank Barry (06:36):

Yeah.

Rylee Meek (06:37):

Which as I mentioned, man, it is a community in which we really come alongside the church as an extension of their existing ministries to help serve entrepreneurs. And then we teach kingdom money principles on how to, number one, God owns everything, including the businesses that we own. And then ultimately we are stewarding that and managers for him.

Rylee Meek (07:02):

And the number one thing that we should do as an act of worship is tithing. And so we talk a ton on tithing and the importance of that. And really how that opens up the windows of heavens for additional blessings to be poured out. And then from there, our concept of kingship, which is really the law of sewing and reaping and so many examples within the Bible that we're able to coach on and how to operate money, truly how we serve God and make money serve us. And that's really the heart of King's Council and how we come alongside the existing church to help their ministries increase the tithe and then ultimately give above and beyond. We're about the Kingdom, man, Kingdom growth.

Frank Barry (07:40):

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Why do you think ... I mean, I love helping entrepreneurs. Like I understand that personally, just in my own experience with church. Like why do you think churches ... or why do you think ... and I don't know if it's just entrepreneurs. I kind of don't love framing it that way. I think it's like in some sense, like successful business people. Maybe there's just a little car out there, like, but sometimes people that are highly successful in churches that want to bring some of what they have experienced and stuff that they've learned along the way, and some of their success into helping their church, that they're a part of. Like have a hard time in that world, like something doesn't click, it doesn't really work. And then, they're almost left like frustrated a little bit.

Rylee Meek (08:31):

Yeah.

Frank Barry (08:31):

This is my home, this is my church, but I'm not really able to have the same kind of impact that I'd love to have here, as I do maybe in my business kind of thing. So, why do you think that is?

Rylee Meek (08:42):

Yeah. Number of reasons but incredible question. And to even start this off, I want to understand, what I believe an entrepreneur is, it doesn't mean that you own your own business or you're running a Fortune 500 company or that you're like starting your business. Entrepreneurship, I believe, is a mindset that we have. And I believe every person on the planet essentially is an entrepreneur, as we are creators, we are created to create and co-create with God. So it's a mindset that I believe the school systems and I can go on and on about this, on how I believe we're just told not ... we're indoctrinated on not how to think creatively and how to think outside of the box. It's do this, this, this. And it's very a methodical process of teaching people to be employee minded. And I don't say that in necessarily a negative way, but it's just, we work for a period of time and then we check out. And I'm no longer doing that. And I think-

Frank Barry (09:46):

I fight hard against that and I make my kids watch every episode of Shark Tank. That's like-

Rylee Meek (09:50):

I love it. I love it, man.

Frank Barry (09:52):

And we make our own little business plans and whatever-

Rylee Meek (09:54):

Incredible.

Frank Barry (09:55):

Because like you got to learn how to like think, you know-

Rylee Meek (09:57):

Yeah. Incredible.

Frank Barry (09:58):

Even if you want to go work. Like some of my kids, I have three boys and one of them loves like building and robots and Legos and all that kind of stuff. And another one's like super like artsy, drawing, all that kind of stuff. So they're like, "No, I want to go work for Lego or I want to go work for Disney." And I'm like, "That's cool. Like do that. But don't like stay stuck there. Like you can do other stuff too." Kind of thing. So.

Rylee Meek (10:21):

Absolutely.

Frank Barry (10:22):

Yeah. I'm with you on the school stuff.

Rylee Meek (10:23):

Yes. And man, so I have a 10 year old daughter and we're creating a program for kiddos called the Kings Academy. Which is that exactly. We're teaching leadership development and that entrepreneurship mindset that will just be additional teachings, not replacing school or if you homeschool. But it's going to be kind of that in extension of, just like the King's Council is. Because that's my heart.

Rylee Meek (10:50):

Because really a lot of this started, man, when back in March of 2020, when the pandemic and everything was going down, I remember my daughter was eight at the time and I just looked down at her and I just thought, "Man, this world, we're going through some stuff right now." And I just immediately was like, "I cannot leave this world the way it is to her. Like I have to take responsibility for what I can do." Immediately, I was like, "But who am I?" And so quickly, I just felt God say, "If not you, then who?" And I was like, "All right, let's do this."

Rylee Meek (11:26):

And so that's just when we started to initially form the King's Council. But at the heart of it, a lot of it was the King's Academy and what we're going to be able to teach the next generation to how to lead appropriately. And how to walk in the God-given authority that they've been given versus being just ... again, back to that kind of indoctrinated of do what I say, not what I do, type. Which I think is a bunch of Malarky.

Rylee Meek (11:56):

But back to your original question, Frank. I think as entrepreneurs, even when we talked about the employee, like I'm going to go to my job, I'm going to do what I do and then I'm going to step out and I'm going to be another person. I think that's what happens with entrepreneurs in which when they come into church on Sunday morning, they're operating as another person to fit in. Versus being the person that can creatively think. Because if they're an entrepreneur, if we have that mindset, we all have different gifts, talents, and abilities and strengths. Like that truly is the body of Christ, if we can actually operate within those. I mean, you even mentioned Andy Stanley's got his tech guy that's setting everything up. Like that guy is excellent at setting tech up, he should do that. Andy Stanley is excellent at teaching and delivering a message, he should do that. And we should operate in excellence. And if we're able to instill that, like as entrepreneurs, some of us have been given the gifting and the ability to create wealth, we should do that.

Rylee Meek (12:57):

And for pastors, you've been given the ability to pastor, you should do that in excellence. If you know that's the God-given calling, the intended purpose of why you were created. Then do it with excellence. And if we can all operate in that role and more so, because oftentimes in the King's Council, we talk a lot about, if you want to go fast, go alone. Usually that's probably the easiest to go alone. But if you want to go far and you want to build something foundationally strong, you got to take people with you. You've got to go together.

Rylee Meek (13:29):

And that's really what I believe where entrepreneurs can help the church and grow the church, fund the church. By simply understanding the power of the tithe and then the power of giving above and beyond versus ... and this isn't every pastor. But I think a lot of pastors might not like to talk about that because we've just been like, I don't want to talk about money. And they think that the members don't want to hear about money, which is probably true. But it's because they don't understand the reason behind it. And understanding the foundational truth of how we are created to actually serve God and truly make money serve us. But a lot of us don't know how, because we weren't taught that way.

Rylee Meek (14:18):

And you even mentioned Legos, Frank. Like the Lego company, it's so interesting. The Lego company was on the verge of bankruptcy back in like the early eighties. Because if you remember Legos back when you and I were a kid, it was like-

Frank Barry (14:34):

Yeah.

Rylee Meek (14:34):

You just got a bunch of Legos and you had to creatively build something.

Frank Barry (14:38):

Yeah.

Rylee Meek (14:38):

And through the early 1900s, as we're teaching people to be entrepreneurs, just to follow the directions, do this step, this step, this step. Lego ... I don't know who in the Lego world had this thought, but they're like, let's create like the pirate ship.

Frank Barry (14:57):

Right.

Rylee Meek (14:57):

Here was one of the first step by steps. Now Lego went from struggling, verge of bankruptcy to a billion dollar organization because they started to sell products that was falling in line with what was being taught on how to follow directions. And again, nothing wrong with following directions. But we're following step by step procedures without creatively even thinking of like, "Why is that?" Versus getting a tub of Legos and thinking, "I'm going to build a city here."

Frank Barry (15:29):

[crosstalk 00:15:29].

Rylee Meek (15:29):

And I believe that's ... exactly. And that's where I think we're being ... I don't want to say, oppressed. But we're just taught not to think outside the box and just do your job, don't ruffle any feathers, don't bring new ideas. And I think that's where the entrepreneur maybe feels out of place because we want to grow. That's just something that we want to ... if we're going to do it, let's do it. Let's do it well. Let's actually operate by biblical principles, but let's do this thing well, let's grow the church. Because at the end of the day, if Christ ain't returning until everybody has heard the word of God. Like I feel like that's a challenge. And I want to grow the church here in America and worldwide. And I know it's going to take an incredible amount of money to make that happen. And that's where the vision of King's Council has been established. Like let's rally the troops and the soldiers, let's create wealth, let's fund the church. Let's take some territory to be the catalyst for the second coming of Christ.

Frank Barry (16:27):

Yeah, yeah. I love that. I mean, you mentioned ... let's maybe dig into the kingdom money principles that you mentioned. So they're going through courses and mastermind type groups and all that. I'm sure there's like meetups and all this stuff.

Rylee Meek (16:41):

You bet.

Frank Barry (16:41):

But you mentioned kingdom money principles. How do you help entrepreneurs think about money?

Rylee Meek (16:47):

Yeah. So, when we talk about the kingdom money principles, I've broken it down into really four principles. The principle of ownership, as I mentioned, God owns everything, we're simply managers. So the principal of stewardship. Knowing that as stewardship, you can go back to the parable of talents. Like when we manage something, like when you give your money to a money manager, you give that to them with the expectation of a return on your investment. So, the three servants in that parable of the talents, it's like, yeah, well which one was called wicked and lazy? It was the one that actually did nothing with it. They buried it for fear out of their perception of the master, which I think that's a big component of that.

Rylee Meek (17:37):

Because I think our thought process and our relationship to money is directly in correlation to how we view God and our relationship with God. Because if you read that parable, it clearly says, I knew you to be a hard man. And it's like, man, that was his perception, it was that he's going to come back. I better not lose anything. So it was operating out of fear, not putting money to use. In which the other two actually doubled the money that they had been given. So, they used it, they went to the marketplace, they traded it or whatever they did to acquire more to actually provide that when the master actually returned.

Rylee Meek (18:21):

And so I think there's three things that come down to that is, God gives to us according to our ability, that's what that parable says. And I believe our ability is based upon three things. The availability that we make ourselves. Are we going to make ourselves available to God? The second thing would be, the responsibility that we're willing to take on. Are we going to be responsible with what we've been given? And we've all heard this and read it, like, if we're responsible with the little that we have, God will bless us with more.

Frank Barry (18:51):

Yeah.

Rylee Meek (18:51):

And then ultimately, the accountability that we're willing to endure. Because we know the master's returning at some point, and I want to make sure that what I've been given that I've stewarded it well, I've grown it, I've multiplied it. So I can have him look down at me one day and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." And so that's the understanding of what that management or stewardship is.

Rylee Meek (19:14):

And then the last two principles that we coach on would be the principle of worship. Which essentially is tithing. I believe first off, anything that we do in our work is a form of worship. Hey, work is not a curse, work was created before the fall of man. It was still when we did sin, now it was like because of that, we are going to toil by the sweat of our brow. But work was created before that took place. So I believe the original intent that God had for work was to be a form of worship. And so if we have that heart's disposition, thankfully Christ redeemed us in that we can still come to that. If we've given our life to Christ, that we can now have that approach of that, I'm working for the Lord in everything that I do.

Rylee Meek (20:03):

And part of that then is going to be, I'm working too tithe. I'd never have an income goal without first having a giving goal. And I think if entrepreneurs took that and to stride and understood what that actually meant, it's like, I'm not just acquiring wealth to acquire wealth or to provide a better life for my family. Sure, that could be a byproduct, but it's only because of what I'm able to give and what I'm able to do above and beyond. Which is that fourth principle, which we consider kingship and just understanding the law of sewing and reaping. And yes, it is a law.

Rylee Meek (20:39):

There's so many principles within the word of God that if we were just get under them and operate within them, they work every single time. They work. And it's just unfortunately the Christian community, I believe, has been blinded by just understanding and living in this idea that it is more virtuous to be in poverty than it is to actually have money. It's God that gives us that ability to create that wealth, no doubt about it. But from there then obviously it's what we do with it, that is the defining factor. And whether that money actually has us, or we have money. And everything obviously comes down to that heart's disposition towards it. And that's really the accountability factor that we coach and teach on within the King's Council to make sure that people are stewarding it appropriately.

Frank Barry (21:35):

Like, what have you seen as you've been doing this for the last couple years, what's the biggest challenge that you see people struggling with? Like which part of it-

Rylee Meek (21:47):

Mindset.

Frank Barry (21:48):

Yeah. Like, which part of it is like the biggest struggle for folks to kind of overcome when it comes to giving?

Rylee Meek (21:54):

Yeah. It's a hundred percent mindset, no doubt about it. Because at the end of the day, most of us are the products, unsolicited products of the environment that we grew up in. I didn't grow up in the church. I mean, I grew up in South Dakota and it was a town of like 900 people.

Frank Barry (22:16):

Yeah, yeah.

Rylee Meek (22:17):

So church is like right across the street from the bar. Like I didn't understand that you could have a relationship. That was a completely ... it was foreign to me, I had no idea what that actually meant. But through that too, I realized that the mindset that I had was based upon what I learned and observed growing up. And so when I realized that I didn't want any of the fruit that people had in their life, that I was around. I looked for people that had the fruit that I wanted.

Rylee Meek (22:49):

And early on, it had zero to do with God and zero to do with the Kingdom. Because again, that was all foreign to me. It was like, I wanted money. That's just what I wanted. And it wasn't until I'd actually given my life to Christ, was exposed to what a true relationship was. And then God started to really transform my mind in understanding that, it is him that gives us that ability to create wealth. But at the end of the day, whether you own your own business or not, it's so important for us to start to audit our thoughts. And understand why we think the way we think. And then relate everything back to the word of God. And understand like, is that actually backed by truth? Am I thinking that way because I was told to think that way? Or because scripture actually tells me that?

Rylee Meek (23:38):

And if we can actually get back to that and understand that God's given us the mind to be able to ... and he tells us to actually be transformed by the renewing of our mind on a continual basis. Like we need to continually be seeking him and rooting ourselves within him. But then understanding that the way we've been taught certain things may not necessarily be accurate. And I think that's where the Christian community has gone. It's either ... I mean, there's either the prosperity gospel or the poverty gospel. Like I feel like there's not a whole lot in between. There's a few that get it right. What I'm saying is like, it shouldn't be either. It is the gospel. The truth is truth is truth is truth. And you don't get to cherry pick some scriptures to back up what you're trying to prove, while the others completely would contradict that.

Rylee Meek (24:33):

And so that's where if we can really understand that and take a step back and go, "Okay, if I believe that this is the invaluable word of God, that everything in here is true. Then I got to believe everything is true." And so, I'm going to start to operate in that manner and be renewed by that transformation of my mind. And then ultimately, just start to spend time with God and ask God to really reveal that truth to you. And that's really what I've done as I've continued this path and diving into like, what does scripture actually say regarding this?

Rylee Meek (25:10):

And I think that's just the biggest thing, whether people come to us and want to start a business. Or they're crushing the game in business and they're like, I just feel like there's more, there's got to be more. No matter what, we always come back to a mindset shift and an understanding of why they think the way they think. And really getting back to their core values and what their mission is, their vision is, then ultimately their purpose in order to step into that. To fulfill that God-given purpose of why they're on this earth.

Frank Barry (25:43):

Yeah. Do you do anything to help pastors? Like-

Rylee Meek (25:46):

Yes.

Frank Barry (25:47):

Like I think there's my ... this probably isn't accurate. But just my own kind of observing lots of pastors and lots of different denominations and types of churches and networks and all the things. Like, I feel like there's this ... churches that seem to be like up to something, like you feel the energy and you see some growth and you see all that. Like, I don't know what it is, but when you talk to those pastors, you get the sense that they're entrepreneurs, like they have that kind of spirit in them. And you can't like write it down, but it's like, there's that vibe of like entrepreneurship. And then you see other pastors, they're much more ... they're shepherds and that's their strength and skillset. But I don't know. I think there's something in pastors and pastors being entrepreneurs.

Rylee Meek (26:46):

Yeah.

Frank Barry (26:47):

That's a big deal.

Rylee Meek (26:47):

Yes. Man, Frank, this gets me so excited. Like I literally got goosebumps here. Because this is what ... back to the body of Christ. Pastors are pastors, pastors aren't necessarily entrepreneur.

Frank Barry (26:58):

Right.

Rylee Meek (26:59):

And if you look what went down during COVID and what's happened over the past two and a half years, if you look at the churches out there that actually grew. And I can think of a couple right off hand, and you look at the pastors that are in place, they're entrepreneurs.

Frank Barry (27:16):

Right.

Rylee Meek (27:17):

Because an entrepreneur, what we're trained to do, what we're God given intended, this is how we think differently. Is we look for opportunities where a lot of people say, "Just follow your passion and you'll never work a day in your life."

Frank Barry (27:31):

Right.

Rylee Meek (27:32):

Bologna. Because oftentimes our passion becomes something that we now dread and we hate because we have to do it.

Frank Barry (27:41):

Right.

Rylee Meek (27:41):

Right? So as an entrepreneur, we stand back and we look for opportunities and we always bring our passion with us. So, if you feel like your calling is to pastor, then what I believe, get alongside of modern day entrepreneurs. Or apostles that have maybe a vision to actually grow the church and how we can actually affect communities and actually go about things from an opportunity standpoint of growth. And you do what you're great at, pastoring the church. Or if it's evangelism, you evangelize. If you're gifting is a prophet, be prophetic. Like whatever that gifting is, let's surround ourselves, let's operate as the church actually should be operating. And that's how we take territory. That's how we grow is each person has that specific role.

Rylee Meek (28:37):

And that truly, I believe is how the church will continually take territory, the way it's happening right now. I don't think is ... I think it's broken. Which maybe what a lot of pastors don't like to hear. But unfortunately I think what we know as church here in America with one person leading from the pulpit operating as like a CEO executive, I don't see that anywhere in scripture. And so I think if we are operating truly as a community, as the body of Christ, everybody's put in that role specifically. We started to run a company the way businesses ran even, there's different departments. And we actually started to run that, everybody operates in excellence. Man, alive. We can truly be fruitful. We can truly multiply. We can truly subdue, replenish, distribute it and actually have dominion on this earth. If the church is operating the way that I believe it actually should be.

Frank Barry (29:34):

Yeah. Yeah. Love that, man. Well, Rylee, this has been fantastic. We could keep chatting, but I want to be respectful of your time. I'm going to ask you three quick questions though, to close this out.

Rylee Meek (29:43):

Cool.

Frank Barry (29:44):

Give us a book that you've read that had just a major impact on your life that everyone else should read.

Rylee Meek (29:52):

Oh man, I'm going to go with the Science of Success. You got to chew ... what is it? Eat the meat and spit out the bones on that book.

Frank Barry (30:05):

Yeah.

Rylee Meek (30:05):

But I do like that book because it was one of the first things that really got me to look at my mindset and why I think the way I think. And started me to audit my thoughts. The guy who wrote it was maybe a little out there. Spiritually, he's not dialed in by any means. So that's what I mean. Chew the meat, spit out the bones. But there's definitely some good content within there.

Frank Barry (30:26):

Love that. Love that. And do you have like a podcast that you're listening to right now?

Rylee Meek (30:31):

Well, man, I got to say the King's Council Podcast is fantastic.

Frank Barry (30:35):

Naturally, naturally.

Rylee Meek (30:39):

What other podcast is really great? Because of just how I think, I'm a geek to Craig Groeschel's podcast. So, anything leadership, I love. He keeps it simple with his teachings. But it's foundationally based ... it's on truth. And that's what I love.

Frank Barry (30:59):

Yeah, yeah. That's a great one. All right, last one. This is the lay of where should people go to check out the King's Council?

Rylee Meek (31:05):

Well, I would just say, go check out the King's Council Podcast. If they're listening to this, they obviously listen to podcast. A ton of content, a lot of it is solo episodes by myself. I actually just did an eight part series that we're going to be releasing here over the next couple months on the God given blueprint, the seven days of creation blueprint on how to create. So if you're looking to create a business, heck if you're looking to start a church, walk through this blueprint and it works every time.

Frank Barry (31:35):

Yeah.

Rylee Meek (31:35):

We're following the blueprint of the original creator on how we can co-create on this earth. Which is back to what I believe is our calling is to be fruitful, multiply that, subdue the earth, and then have actual dominion. We can do that if we follow those, there's actually blueprints. So, check that out on the King's Council Podcast.

Frank Barry (31:56):

All right. King's Council Podcast, check it out.

Rylee Meek (31:58):

Yes.

Frank Barry (31:58):

Well, Rylee, this has been great, man. Thanks for coming on the show.

Rylee Meek (32:01):

Thanks, Frank.

Frank Barry (32:02):

Yep, appreciate it. And thanks guys for listening or watching. We'll catch you next week on another episode of Modern Church Leader. See you.

Narrator (32:09):

If you enjoyed this episode of the Modern Church Leader, consider sharing it with a pastor or minister you think would benefit the most from listening to this conversation. You can send them to ModernChurchLeader.com or share this episode directly from your podcast app. Be sure to subscribe for free on YouTube, Apple Podcast or Spotify, so you never miss an episode. And we'll see you again next week with another conversation here on the Modern Church Leader.

AUTHOR

Tithely provides the tools you need to engage with your church online, stay connected, increase generosity, and simplify the lives of your staff.

With tools like text and email messaging, custom church apps and websites, church management software, digital giving, and so much more… it’s no wonder why over 37,000 churches in 50 countries trust Tithely to help run their church. 

Listen on your favorite podcast app:

Why Every Church Should Honor Stewardship

Stewardship is a biblical concept that's been around since the beginning of time. It's a way of thinking about how we make decisions and use our resources, and it's at the heart of what we believe as Christians.

When it comes to churches, stewardship is crucial. A church can't survive if it doesn't have the resources to care for its congregation and staff members.

That means every decision about how the church spends its money must consider whether or not this particular choice will help us fulfill the church’s mission.

In the book of Acts, we see that the church was able to spread throughout the world because of the generous contributions of the believers. They were willing to give their money, time, and resources; in return, God used them to accomplish His mission.

As a church, it's our responsibility to think through the same questions: what does it mean to be generous with our resources, and how can we accomplish our mission while doing so? 

One of the best ways to do that is by taking a closer look at the concept of stewardship.

Maybe you're already familiar with the concept of stewardship, but to hear it from an entrepreneur's perspective is one thing. 

Our guest, Rylee Meek, an entrepreneur, author, and speaker, will share his experience building a thriving business while following God's calling on his life. He will also lay out the four kingdom money principles that churches can use to find their true source of financial strength.

“God owns everything, including the businesses that we own. And then, ultimately, we are stewarding that in. And the number one thing that we should do as an act of worship is tithing.”
-Rylee Meek

For your church to thrive and grow, it must be rooted in strong roots of good stewardship. This means establishing systems in place that allow for accountability and transparency across all levels of leadership. We really can't stress enough how valuable this conversation is, and we hope you'll tune in!

By the end of this episode, you will learn:

  • The King’s Council’s mission
  • Why giving is an act of worship
  • Stewardship in the church
  • A biblical view of wealth and riches
  • Tips for pursuing excellence in your life

Resources Mentioned:

Follow Rylee on Instagram: @theryleemeek
Like Rylee on Facebook: Rylee Meek
Follow King’s Council on Instagram: @kingscouncilcoaching
Subscribe to King’s Council YouTube Channel: King's Council Coaching

Other Episodes You May be Interested In:

How to Impact the Community with Ministry Resources with John Craft
The Role Marketing Plays in Church Growth with Kelvin Co
Planting a Church in 2022 with Sam Collier

Here’s a glance at this episode…

[7:02] The number one thing that we should do as an act of worship is tithing.

[13:17] If you want to go fast, go alone, right? Usually, that's probably the easiest to go alone. But if you want to go far, and you want to build something foundationally strong, you got to take people with you; you've got to go together.

[20:51] Unfortunately, the Christian community, I believe, has been blinded by just understanding and living in this idea; that is, it is more virtuous to be in poverty than it is actually to have money. 

[27:34] Oftentimes, our passion becomes something that we now dread and we hate because we have to do it. Right. Right. So as an entrepreneur, we stand back, look for opportunities, and always bring our passion with us. 

[29:19] We can truly be fruitful, we can truly multiply, we can truly subdue, replenish distributed, and actually have dominion on this earth if the church is operating the way that I believe it actually should be.

VIDEO transcript

(Scroll for more)

Listen on your favorite podcast app:

Why Every Church Should Honor Stewardship

Stewardship is a biblical concept that's been around since the beginning of time. It's a way of thinking about how we make decisions and use our resources, and it's at the heart of what we believe as Christians.

When it comes to churches, stewardship is crucial. A church can't survive if it doesn't have the resources to care for its congregation and staff members.

That means every decision about how the church spends its money must consider whether or not this particular choice will help us fulfill the church’s mission.

In the book of Acts, we see that the church was able to spread throughout the world because of the generous contributions of the believers. They were willing to give their money, time, and resources; in return, God used them to accomplish His mission.

As a church, it's our responsibility to think through the same questions: what does it mean to be generous with our resources, and how can we accomplish our mission while doing so? 

One of the best ways to do that is by taking a closer look at the concept of stewardship.

Maybe you're already familiar with the concept of stewardship, but to hear it from an entrepreneur's perspective is one thing. 

Our guest, Rylee Meek, an entrepreneur, author, and speaker, will share his experience building a thriving business while following God's calling on his life. He will also lay out the four kingdom money principles that churches can use to find their true source of financial strength.

“God owns everything, including the businesses that we own. And then, ultimately, we are stewarding that in. And the number one thing that we should do as an act of worship is tithing.”
-Rylee Meek

For your church to thrive and grow, it must be rooted in strong roots of good stewardship. This means establishing systems in place that allow for accountability and transparency across all levels of leadership. We really can't stress enough how valuable this conversation is, and we hope you'll tune in!

By the end of this episode, you will learn:

  • The King’s Council’s mission
  • Why giving is an act of worship
  • Stewardship in the church
  • A biblical view of wealth and riches
  • Tips for pursuing excellence in your life

Resources Mentioned:

Follow Rylee on Instagram: @theryleemeek
Like Rylee on Facebook: Rylee Meek
Follow King’s Council on Instagram: @kingscouncilcoaching
Subscribe to King’s Council YouTube Channel: King's Council Coaching

Other Episodes You May be Interested In:

How to Impact the Community with Ministry Resources with John Craft
The Role Marketing Plays in Church Growth with Kelvin Co
Planting a Church in 2022 with Sam Collier

Here’s a glance at this episode…

[7:02] The number one thing that we should do as an act of worship is tithing.

[13:17] If you want to go fast, go alone, right? Usually, that's probably the easiest to go alone. But if you want to go far, and you want to build something foundationally strong, you got to take people with you; you've got to go together.

[20:51] Unfortunately, the Christian community, I believe, has been blinded by just understanding and living in this idea; that is, it is more virtuous to be in poverty than it is actually to have money. 

[27:34] Oftentimes, our passion becomes something that we now dread and we hate because we have to do it. Right. Right. So as an entrepreneur, we stand back, look for opportunities, and always bring our passion with us. 

[29:19] We can truly be fruitful, we can truly multiply, we can truly subdue, replenish distributed, and actually have dominion on this earth if the church is operating the way that I believe it actually should be.

AUTHOR

Tithely provides the tools you need to engage with your church online, stay connected, increase generosity, and simplify the lives of your staff.

With tools like text and email messaging, custom church apps and websites, church management software, digital giving, and so much more… it’s no wonder why over 37,000 churches in 50 countries trust Tithely to help run their church. 

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August 16, 2022
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Tithely
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Why Every Church Should Honor Stewardship with Rylee Meek

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