Blogs and Articles
To encourage worshipful, generous-hearted living
For the most recent blog or to see articles by dates, look down the list on the right.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! On this Easter Day, I was thrilled to read today’s meditation from www.generositymonk.com. He cited Franklin Brookhart about “Resurrection Gratitude and Generosity.” Brookhart says: The resurrection of our Lord is the paradigm of the way God works. Resurrection means fullness and abundance of life – all of life.…
Read MoreIt was an amazing way to enter into Holy Week, recalling Christ’s last week here on earth as Jesus of Nazareth. I joined about 300 people – writers, agents and editors – for the Christian Writers Conference in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. Mount Hermon is a glorious site filled with both young and ancient coastal…
Read MoreEarth Day is coming up soon this month, so now is a perfect time to decide as a congregation what you can do to encourage good stewardship of this earth. Here is a response I sent to Adam Hamilton, United Methodist minister and author, in reply to his 2015 blog about Earth Day at adamhamilton.org:…
Read MoreThere I was with the Urgent Care doctor, someone I’d never met before, as he looked at my hand, overused after recent surgery. “I’m a writer,” I explained. “I’m writing a book.” “What are you writing about?” he asked. “Stewardship and generosity: generous-hearted living.” “That’s great!” he immediately replied, looking me square in the eye.…
Read MoreStewardship professionals and bloggers can be a great help to a lot of folks on the front lines of ministry – not only sharing their knowledge, but also giving courage and inspiration for our daily work. Rebekah Basinger is one of those people for me, through her site, www.generousmatters.com. For example, she wrote a piece…
Read MoreContagious Generosity: Creating a Culture of Giving in Your Church is a treasure chest of ideas that get us out of the old assumptions and expectations related to giving to church. It’s filled with high-impact examples of actual practices by top congregations in The Leadership Network. Written by Chris Willard and Jim Sheppard, it addresses…
Read MoreEver since first learning about the “Commitment Circle” from the Center for Parish Development,1 I’ve been delighted to present it to local church leaders. It helps us understand different levels of involvement in the church at different points of people’s lives, without laying guilt on other people or ourselves for not getting everyone involved. Based…
Read MoreRank upon rank of torrential rains has pummeled Northern California this winter — this latest with wailing winds, thunder, and sheet lightning covering the entire night sky. When the Oroville Dam spillway broke up, 200,000 people were evacuated in all the towns downriver. The break in its lip was fixed, but the storms still are…
Read MoreDeveloping a Strategic Plan — Notes from a presentation by Michael Reeves What are the components of creating a culture of generosity? 1. Clear statement of what you believe – This includes both your mission statement and your financial support [See “Attributes of a Biblically Generous Church”] 2. Leadership – Lay and professional; Boards; Wealth + Wisdom + Work; Define reality and…
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