I am often asked in my work with Externally Focused Churches if there are any good teaching tools that help individuals in a congregation or small groups develop a heart for serving others. I believe that there will be many resources coming, but not many to date. I would like to recommend one, though, that is near and dear to me personally.
Living a Life on Loan is the newest release from Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson (co-authors of The Externally Focused Church). Living a Life on Loan (LLoL) is basically Externally Focused Church for the average person. Where EFC was for pastors and church leaders, LLoL is for anyone...at any place on the spiritual journey. True to their style, this newest book by Rick and Eric is full of true stories and illustrations about what it means to live your life beyond yourself--serving and loving others at the everyday intersections in life.
I had the privilege of working with Eric and Rick on this book as well as EFC. I hope the stories in this book will inspire you as much as they did each of us during the writing and editing of the book. You will find a great number of people, just like the people sitting in the pews of your church, that have found purpose and passion in serving their communities. It's easy to read and even a good book for those who may be spiritually seeking. It looks at what the Bible has to say about the choices we make and the resources we invest in either serving ourselves or serving others.
The book has a question section at the end of each chapter, making it a very good study for small groups, book clubs (even non-faith based ones) or individual study. Standard Publishing has even put together a church kit of supplemental materials so that a church can do a Life on Loan Campaign--with sermon series, small group studies, as well as children and student lessons. If you would like more information about this campaign or the book Living a Life on Loan, visit the publisher's web site at: http://www.standardpub.com/Church_Ministry/Adult%20Ministry/LifeonLoan.asp
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