Christian Book Notes

This week, we are privileged to talk with Kevin Cross, author of Embezzlement and Building Your Financial Fortress is 52 Days both published by Bridge-Logos.

CBN: Could you please share your testimony of how you came to know Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior? Please address in your answer your statement in Embezzlement that you came to know Jesus over a long period of time—when did you know that you were a child of God.

Kevin Cross:  I was raised in a strong Christian household, and I accepted Christ as my savior at a very young age, but soon fell victim to the same apathy that effects many who adopt religion because of their parents, wearing it like a hand-me-down shirt. I had my ticket to heaven, I could recite all the platitudes verbatim, shuffle through the requisite motions and wax eloquently, but I felt no connection to the Christian faith outside of the position it held as a backdrop for my social life. This indifference continued to fester inside me, until God took my twisted frame and shook it to its foundation at the age of 20.

In my hubris, I was stealing hundreds of thousands from my employer (the Sheriff of Broward County) and living a lifestyle of debauchery when the mafia and the FBI decided to come looking for me. Luckily, the FBI got to me before the mafia had a chance to do anything worse than extortion to me. I spent several days in jail sharing a cell with a killer. More importantly, I was sharing a cell with myself and I hated what I saw. I started reading my Bible again, this time as a seeker, and God’s words washed over me and gave me a peace amidst the chaos of my life. I rededicated myself to Him and embarked on a personal, intimate relationship that continues to change and grow as I strive to align myself with His desire. This is why I say in the book that I came to know Him over a long period of time – I was always his child and he was always my savior, but I feel making Him the true Lord of my life was, and is, an everyday endeavor.

CBN: You say in your book that you do not know who turned you in to the police.  Can you explain how and why you are grateful for that?

Kevin:  C.S. Lewis famously said in The Problem of Pain, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” God had been whispering to me as I used my ill-gotten gains for my own pleasures, he even spoke up a few times in my conscience, but that anonymous tipper was God shouting in his megaphone to finally wake me from my egotistical stupor. Who knows what would have happened had I continued down that impoverished path undisturbed?

CBN:  How has God used your past experiences to aid you in your ministry today?

Kevin:  Before the book, I treated my story as a sort of “scarlet letter”. I would tell people when they asked, but I did so with my head hung in shame. Now I use it as a “red badge of courage”. God has turned it into a powerful tool to talk to people who would normally write me off.

I once heard a story about two brothers who lived in a small town in the country. The story goes that both of these brothers were caught stealing sheep. For their punishment they were branded on the forehead with the letters “ST,” for “Sheep Thief.”

One brother was so ashamed that he left the community. Everywhere he went he had to constantly explain the letters on his forehead. He remained bitter about the whole thing and always felt he had been treated unfairly. He eventually died a lonely man and was buried in an unknown grave.

His brother, on the other hand, stayed in the community and tried to win back his neighbors’ trust. He did everything he could to show the people of the town that he was a changed man. He volunteered for community service projects, helped his neighbors when he saw the need, and did all he could to become the kind of man that he knew he ought to be.
Many years later a visitor came to town. He asked a local resident about the strange letters on the old man’s forehead. The resident replied that he had forgotten exactly why the letters were there, but that he thought “ST” most likely was an abbreviation for the word “Saint.”

I’m not claiming to be a saint, but God has allowed me to use my story of “sheep thievery” (or “sheriff thievery”), something I was ashamed of for many years, as a way to reach others and change my “ST” to “Stewardship Teacher”.

CBN:  Could you describe your ministry today?

My personal ministry is Account417, a non-profit dedicated to teaching others, using God’s word, how to have more at the end of the month and, more importantly, what God wants us to do with it to get the most satisfaction and true riches. We do that through our website, books, videos, counseling, and our event, Margin & Meaning. People can get more info at account417.com.

CBN: What is your role with Crown Financial Ministries?

Kevin:  I have a long history with Crown Financial Ministries and the incredible work they do. It started, of course, when I turned the dial in Dwight Lauderdale’s Jaguar and heard the voice of Larry Burkett. For those first years after my release, I was on a first-name basis with all of the customer service people there. I would call everyday to get advice and see what free pamphlet they were offering, eventually amassing a small library of Crown materials. When I became debt free, I joined Crown as a Counselor and Seminar Instructor, a calling which I followed for 18 years until I started my own non-profit, Account417.

CBN:  You have written a book entitled, Building your Financial Fortress in 52 Days, based upon your study of the book of Nehemiah. Why should we read this book? (I ask this because there are a ton of Christian financial books available).

Kevin:  A lot of books have been written about the leadership skills of my man Nehi, but as I read it with my usual financially-tinted glasses, I started seeing all this Biblical wisdom that could be applied to our finances. So I delved into studying Nehemiah and all the ways he inspires us to do money God’s way. The book is easily digestible and is meant to be read a chapter a day and reflected upon. There’s no heavy philosophy or yawn-inducing formulas and budgets. We tried to just make it an inspirational jumping-off point to let people know it is possible (and even liberating) to see ourselves simply as managers of what God has entrusted to us.

CBN:  Steven White is your co-author in both of your books, could you tell us who he is?

Kevin:  Steve is my main man, AV/IT guru, and partner in Account417. He does the behind the scenes stuff – websites, graphics, videos, etc.

When we were doing our Margin & Meaning Tour in a church in Londrina, Brazil, Steve met a Brazilian girl and fell head over heels in love with her. We came back and he immediately set to learning Portuguese so he could talk to her. When we were sitting in a room together writing Building your Financial Fortress in 52 Days, I would think he was editing a chapter, but I would peer around his computer screen, see this big grin on his face, and know he was really chatting with his babe! After 6 months, he decided he had to move to Brazil to see if it was the real deal, so he packed up everything he owned (which was not much – it all fit in two suitcases!) and moved to Brazil. During the year he was down there, he wrote what would become Embezzlement. I would send him hours upon hours (30-40 to be exact) of video telling my story and he would turn it into prose.

I was the best man at their wedding in December and they now live right down the street from me in Atlanta.

CBN:  Do you see any more books in your future?

Kevin:  Absolutely! Steve and I have a number of ideas in the air and have actually started one – Margin & Meaning. It will be a more practical how-to manual to building margin in every area of your life and using the margin to find true meaning. Stay tuned.

CBN:  How can we pray for you and your ministry?

Kevin:  We pray that the world will be receptive to the message that God wants to take the pain and heartache out of money and give us all joy and peace as we trust in Him (Romans 15:13). We never ask for donations for our ministry, so we always pray for provision. He always provides, but prayer is a part of that.