By ANNA CLAIRE O’CAIN
From left: Neal, Max, Miles and Aubrey Broome.
Bassfield native Neal Broome is a nearly 20-year resident of Brandon, a proud husband and father, a deacon and stewardship leader at his church, and has developed a career as an equity partner at Power Financial Group, LLC. Now he has released his first book, “Surrendering to Win: Finding Victory through Biblical Stewardship.” MCL Contributing Writer Anna Claire O’Cain spoke with Neal about how the book can help readers biblically navigate financial victory.
Anna Claire O’Cain: What is the idea behind your book?
Neal Broome: There’s really two themes. One is surrender, as evident by the title, and the other is stewardship. The way those two tie together is when we acknowledge that God is the owner of all things, and He created all things and He created us. He entrusts to us different things like our time and our resources and our talents that He gives us. When we acknowledge Him as owner, then we just become managers of those things. We don’t have to feel like we’re in as much control and have to determine outcomes. So that’s where surrender comes in.
If we can acknowledge that God is the Creator of all things and the owner of all things that He entrusts to us, these resources, then our natural response should be just surrendering to His will for what it is we are supposed to do with those things. That’s where God’s Word comes in, where it teaches us how to live according to His principles and just surrender to that and not be control freaks and not feel like we must manage the entire universe … I think some of us unnecessarily place that burden on our own shoulders.
ACO: Many people feel defeated when it comes to managing their finances. What encouragement can you offer them?
NB: I think if I could offer advice and just what it takes to win with money, it does start with an acknowledgement of God’s ownership over that money, and then it becomes a matter of, what does His Word say about how to manage that money. I think many families, because they compare themselves and their lifestyle to others’, end up spending money unnecessarily and maybe getting themselves into financial difficulty. So that is where contentment comes in. If someone can truly be content and just manage well the resources entrusted to them, the money that comes into their household, and not feel like they have to keep up with the Smiths and the Joneses, I think it makes a huge difference.
I also think generosity is a big part of that. There are so many families that are living paycheck to paycheck because they have stretched themselves very thin financially and they don’t feel like they have any room to give, and I believe that should be the first priority of managing money. I think when we give, it releases the grip that money has on our life. So if we can be generous, that not only helps with defeating some of those temptations of spending money, but I think it also helps to release that grip of comparison and helps us be more content. Debt is a big part of that. If you look at statistics, debt can get a family down very quickly because it’s money that we are borrowing against our future to buy things that we feel like (having) today, and if we are not careful, we’ll get ourselves in a position where it can take a huge toll on the family, the marriage, the entire financial picture.
ACO: How has your faith played a role in your financial journey?
NB: In 2004, I really felt God calling me to what I call the ministry of money … The first part of that is, it led me to a complete career change. I believe it was 2006, and I literally walked into a financial firm and just told them I wanted to come to work there, and I really didn’t know how much money I would be making, I didn’t really know what I was going to be doing — I just knew that God was calling me to help people in the area of personal finance.
So from that step of obedience, He has really blessed me and blessed my career and allowed me to be able to help a lot of people.
“Surrendering to Win: Finding Victory through Biblical Stewardship” can be purchased via Amazon, KingdomLifePublishing.com and Impression Books in Flowood.