By Ron Dorner
If you are a gardener, you are probably picking the fruits of your labor. If you don’t garden, you may never have given much thought to being a successful gardener. Gardening and planning for retirement have much in common.

Perhaps you are afraid of the work it takes to have a productive garden. Successful gardeners prepare the soil, faithfully pull weeds, and the result is an abundance of food.

Retirement planning has many parallels. Accumulating funds for retirement requires looking ahead and creating a step-by-step plan to move you closer to your goal. In learning to garden, it is helpful to find an experienced gardener for advice. It is the same in setting goals for retirement. Find a good financial planner.

A recent survey of 2,500 people between ages 45 to 64 found that 59 percent had not done formal retirement preparation. Are you in that category?

Lack of Vision
Every gardener has vision. He or she puts specific plants in the ground and visualizes picking ripe juicy tomatoes, delicious berries, and six-inch long string beans. Now imagine your retirement. How will you spend your time? Where will you live? What kind of car will you drive? Can you see the details?

The first barrier to successful retirement is a lack of a clear vision. Creating a comprehensive picture will help you determine what assets you need and will motivate you to plan effectively.

Multiple Priorities
Dreaming of a nice garden and actually preparing the soil are two very different things. One of the biggest stumbling blocks for any endeavor can be setting a goal and making it a priority. This holds true in preparing for retirement, too.

No matter what your age, there will always be demands on your money. As a believer, you have learned that giving to the Lord is as much a priority as it is a blessing. Likewise, you must realize retirement saving must take priority over many other things, which when looked at objectively, are really much less important.

Lack of Discipline
Setting a goal isn’t enough. In gardening, you have to prepare the ground, test the soil, add nutrients, plant and even water occasionally. Looking ahead to retirement requires similar action.

Lack of discipline in spending, as well as in saving, during your life journey may leave you with a retirement not nearly as beautiful as you imagined. Establish a budget and learn to stick to it.

Automatic saving by payroll deduction works well. The earlier you start, the better you will be. Begin with small amounts if you must; but start. A little now will have a huge impact on your later life.

Success will depend upon good planning and having someone hold you accountable for the decisions you make. Why not seek out a financial planner today?

Ron Dorner is director of Biblical Money Management. BMM has been helping believers handle their finances and estate planning since 1984. Online counseling is available at www.BiblicalMoneyManagement.com.

Dead Sea Scrolls by Dr. John J. Davis is a short treatise that was created as a series of newspaper articles. Originally published in 1991, the text and photos have been updated.

The text traces events following the discovery of the scrolls in 1947. It examines the history and debate that has surrounded the scrolls and discusses the contents of the manuscripts, which were found at Qumran.

Dr. John J. Davis is president/professor emeritus of Grace College and Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Ind. He holds a B.A. degree from Trinity College (Florida); an M.Div. (cum laude), Th.M. and Th.D. degrees from Grace Seminary, and the D.D. from Trinity College. He has also done graduate study at the Near East School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and at Indiana University.

Davis has frequently participated in archaeological expeditions to the Holy Land, serving as academic dean for the Wheaton Summer Institute of Archaeology in Jerusalem in 1968; executive dean of the Near East School of Archaeology in 1970 and 1971; a field supervisor for the Tekoa Expedition in 1968 and 1970; staff member of the Raddana expedition in Israel in 1974; and senior staff member of the Heshbon Expedition (Jordan) in 1976.

He has authored a number of books and has pastored churches in Florida and Indiana.

Recently published by BMH Books, Dead Sea Scrolls is a 20-page paperback that sells for $3.99 and is available in bookstores, online at bmhbooks.com, or by calling 1-800-348-2756. The ISBN is 978-0-88469-254-6.
 

Glimpses of the past from the pages of The Brethren Missionary Herald magazine.

Twenty Years Ago - 1987
Tom Julien was moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches conference in Winona Lake. Speakers and workshop leaders included Elmer Towns, Bill and Lynne Hybels, Bob Thompson, Margie Devan, Roy Roberts, and other fellowship leaders.

David Manges, new pastor of the Chambersburg, Pa., Grace Brethren Church, was ordained to the ministry.

Tom Avey joined the staff of the Lititz, Pa., Grace Brethren Church as administrator.

Speakers at the Hawaii District Conference were U.S. Navy Chaplain Dayne Nix and Grace Brethren Home Missions western director Dave Marksbury.

Twenty-five Years Ago - 1982
Sixteen missionaries left for service with Grace Brethren Foreign Missionary Society: Gary and Jean Austin, Paul and Berta Kuns, Dr. Bill and Donna Walker, Central African Republic (CAR); Dan and Nancy Green, Brazil; Dave and Cindy Kowalke and Phil and Elinor Steele, Great Britain; Dan and Denise Ramsey, Germany; Tom and Susan Sharp, Mexico.

Among the graduates of Grace Theological Seminary were Margaret Hull, M.A.; Gary Austin, Jeff Gill, Dan Ramsey, Mark Saunders, Ron Smals, M.Div.; Ben Collins, Th.M; Ron Manahan, Th.D.

Grace College graduates included Dave Guiles, B.A.; Tom Abbitt, Rob Barlow, Brenda (Kent) Byers, Barb Wooler, Nathan Zakahi, B.S.

Jeff Gill was licensed to the ministry at the Warsaw, Ind. Community Grace Brethren Church and named pastor of the Delaware, Ohio Grace Brethren Church.

Ron Smals became pastor at the Virginia Beach, Va., Grace Brethren Church.

Thirty Years Ago - 1977
Larry Chamberlain joined the staff of Grace Brethren Home Missions, Winona Lake, Ind.

Phil Teran was ordained to the ministry at the West Covina, Calif., Grace Brethren Church.

Grace College named Ed Lewis the “Alumnus of the Year.”

John and Becky Pappas and Diana Davis began their ministries in Germany and the CAR, respectively, serving with the Grace Brethren Foreign Missionary Society.

Kenn Cosgrove became the pastor of the York, Pa., Grace Brethren Church after having served at the North Riverdale Grace Brethren Church in Dayton, Ohio.

Thirty-Five Years Ago – 1972
Grace College and Grace Seminary named Jim Custer and Wayne Beaver, respectively, “Alumnus of the Year.”

James Marshall resigned as pastor at Dallas Center, Iowa, to become pastor at the Peru, Ind., Grace Brethren Church.

Galen Lingenfelter began his ministry as pastor of the Fort Wayne, Ind., First Brethren Church.

Dr. Don DeYoung was appointed to the Grace College faculty as assistant professor of physics.

Forty Years Ago - 1967
Two new churches have been organized: Tustin, Calif. (now in Orange), Dr. L.L. Grubb, pastor; Atlanta, Ga. (now in Marietta), Bill Byers, pastor.

The Brethren Board of Evangelism appointed Jim Custer staff evangelist.

Jesse Deloe was installed as pastor at the North Riverdale Grace Brethren Church in Dayton, Ohio.

Forty-Five Years Ago – 1962
Herman Hoyt was inaugurated as the second president of Grace College and Seminary in a service at the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches National Conference.

Don Rough was ordained to the ministry at the Kittanning, Pa., Grace Brethren Church.

Fifty Years Ago - 1957
Warren Tamkin became pastor of the Hagerstown, Md. Grace Brethren Church.

Robert Clouse, a recent Grace Seminary graduate, assumed the pastorate of the Grace Brethren Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Tom Julien was ordained to the ministry at the Fort Wayne, Ind., Grace Brethren Church.

Sixty Years Ago – 1947
Lester Pifer was ordained to the Grace Brethren ministry at Rittman, Ohio.

The new church facility in Kittanning, Pa., was dedicated.

A Grace Brethren Church was organized in Leesburg, Ind., with 34 charter members. Clyde Landrum was the pastor.

Roy and Ruth (Crocker) Snyder, Grace Seminary students, were married in Philadelphia.
 

Diagrammatical Analysis by Dr. Lee L. Kantenwein is designed to facilitate the student’s understanding of syntactical relationships in grammar. Parts of speech are defined and examples are given in English, Greek, and Hebrew.

The text was developed for a course in “Greek Exegetical Methods” and helps teach an individual follow the grammatical flow in preparing his or her sermon.

When this book was originally published in 1979, the examples were hand written. Now, 28 years later, it is being republished by BMH Books, Winona Lake, Ind. with all the examples typeset electronically, making them more readable.

Dr. Kantenwein was the dean of student affairs and an associate professor of homiletics at Grace Theological Seminary for 15 years. He holds a Th.B. from Baptist Bible College, and B.D., Th.M., and Th.D degrees from Grace Theological Seminary. He has participated in the Grace Seminary Holy Lands Seminar, has taught in the Evangelische Theological Society Faculteit, the graduate division of the Belgian Bible Institute, andat the Guyana Bible College in Georgetown, Guyana, South America.

With nearly 30 years of pastoral experience in Pennsylvania and Indiana, Dr. Kantenwein also has taught Hebrew, hermeneutics, and homiletics and has been a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Biblical Archaeological Society. He taught in the Bible department at Cedarville University, Cedarville, Ohio, and has taught systematic theology in Grace College’s prison extension ministry since 2000.

This 111-page paperback edition retails for $12.99 and is available in bookstores, online at www.bmhbooks.com, or by calling 1-800-48-2756. The ISBN number is 978-0-88469-150-1.

The third annual Leadership Summit for women in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches will be held near Reading, Pa. from October 26 to 28. The summit offers those who minister to women and girls an opportunity to network, provide encouragement, and exchange ideas for effective women’s ministry in their local churches.

The theme for the weekend is “Though it cost all you have…get understanding.” Donna Seyfert, of Warsaw, Ind. will be the main speaker and there will be breakout sessions to allow those with similar ministries to discuss their unique challenges.

For more information, contact Janet Minnix at (540) 774-4078 or see the Events link at www.wgusa.org.