Confession #1: I didn't want to plant a church ... or to become a pastor ... or to be involved in full-time ministry. Nope. I had my own plans to fly below the radar of God's eyes and make it through life without having to go through the painful circumstances a "called" leader had to endure. I fit within the camp of every reluctant leader that God placed his hands upon and said, "Go, lead and serve."

Thirty years I've lived in this struggle of wrestling with God's call in my life. I've read the stories of similar reluctant leaders who tried to run from God. My thoughts of trying to merrily float away without notice reminds me that God could easily toss me off, have me swallowed by a giant something, and then vomited out onto the place He has called me to serve.

I've been tempted to choose that option often (in hopes that maybe our Lord could get someone else a LOT better, smarter and talented than myself to be His messenger). Everyday I have to face the reality that God is calling me to trust HIM more than myself. It's something the Apostle Paul had to learn the hard way too:

"Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential .... But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong .... For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."

Our God makes a habit of calling reluctant leaders into a life of surrendered obedience in order to get His message across in a powerful way. I've discovered my weakness is the way to His strength.

The IRA charitable rollover allows individual taxpayers older than 70½ years to donate up to $100,000 to charities and ministries directly from their Traditional or ROTH IRA. It is set to expire Dec. 31, 2013.

Traditional IRA owners age 70½ and older can use this provision to satisfy their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). Because the money goes directly from the IRA to the charity, distributions made in this manner are not considered taxable income. Thus, by transferring part or all of your RMD to a Covenant ministry like The Northwest Conference, you can effectively reduce your income tax while supporting your favorite ministries.

Traditional IRA owners under 70½ and ROTH IRA owners do not have to take an RMD, but can still make a direct donation from their IRA to a charity without raising their taxable income.

IRAs are meant to be a source of income for retirement, but that doesn't mean it can only be used to pay bills; they can help you achieve your charitable goals, too. For more information on IRAs and the IRA Charitable Rollover provision, contact one of our local Financial Service Representatives:

Kevin Lawson, CFP®, 1-877-222-3960 or kelawson@CovenantTrust.com 

Steve Allison, ChFC, 1-877-768-1766 or srallison@CovenantTrust.com 

Please visit http://www.covenanttrust.com/news/  to read more.

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