Simpler Living
Lynne Twist for Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday
Oprah’s “Super Soul Sunday” this April 23 will include Lynne Twist, inspiring blogger and author of The Soul of Money. I was so moved by her blog, “Super Soul Sunday with Oprah” that I made the following comment: “Lynne, I was thrilled to read your response to being interviewed by Oprah for this April’s Super…
Read MoreTechnology Then and Now
Here are some stunning facts about the explosion of technology and our usage of it in recent years. Your partner in ministry, Betsy Schwarzentraub
Read MoreSmartphone Addictions
Technology has made so many things possible, with literally global access to knowledge and information. I was stunned years ago, when I first had the chance to go on the Internet. At that time I was working on my doctoral thesis – and got into thirteen libraries around the world in a half-hour’s time, all…
Read More“Stewardship and Culture” course
I’m excited to teach an online course on “Stewardship and Culture: Building Contagious Generosity” this next Jan. 9 through Feb. 11. Registration will be open beginning in December at transformingthechurch.org. The class will feature four audio-video presentations, an interactive online Class Forum, and four weekly live conference calls on Saturdays, Jan. 21 and 28 and…
Read MoreWhat Stuff Means
In The Power of Enough: Finding Contentment by Putting Stuff in Its Place, Lynn Miller has a great exercise for our personal reflection. It goes like this (my paraphrases): For each word on this list, write down what it means to you. There are no wrong answers. House Car Salary Food Clothes Cash Savings Retirement…
Read MoreImpact Investing
“Impact investing” was a new phrase to me until I saw a piece on YouTube. The term refers to microfinancing: loaning very small amounts of money to individuals to help solve economic and social problems. Microfinancing is a market of about 100 billion dollars today, serving roughly 100 million people by giving loans of 50…
Read MoreGiving Simply
“I never carry my checkbook to church. Ninety percent of the time I make financial giving decisions, it’s in front of the computer monitor. How can I even participate in supporting the church financially when you don’t have online giving or even automatic transfer?” The young woman looked around at the room filled with stewardship…
Read MoreMoney Sanity Solutions
Written for “Live Free,” the 2015 issue of Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation, by the Ecumenical Stewardship Center When it comes to money, families often go silent out of fear or taboo, or else yell in rancor, born of financial anxiety and family conflict. So how do children learn healthy money habits from…
Read MoreGiving Tuesday
What a beautiful gift some anonymous donor has made for the United Methodist “#GivingTuesday”! For the one day of December 2, every gift made online to The Advance at www.umcmission.org/give will be matched, up to $1 million. “The Advance” is a collective term for hundreds of grassroots United Methodist mission projects in the U.S. and…
Read More‘Tis the Season
By now, those of us who attend worship somewhere most likely have noticed that ‘tis the season for financial commitment programs – what many church leaders call “stewardship campaigns.” It’s when we think about God’s overwhelming generosity of blessings in our lives, and respond by financially supporting God’s work right here on earth, primarily through…
Read MoreDealing with Possessions
“Too much stuff” can be a challenge at any point in life. I read a terrific article by two newlyweds who discovered a way to “navigate the jungle of wedding gifts,” offered an alternative giving site for their wedding, and worked out some powerful “slow living practices” that they are instigating in their young-adult lives.…
Read MoreThe Power of Enough
As we enter Thanksgiving and the gift-buying days leading up to Christmas, now is a great time to talk about what is enough. According to the consumer version of this season (in the U.S., at least), excess becomes our expectation, even our norm: excess food, excess buying, excess entertainment and activity. “Enough” is a word…
Read MoreScripture Texts in “Enough” Program Guide
6 Key Financial Principles: 1. 2 Cor. 9:6-7 – Pay tithe and offerings first 2. Prov. 27:23f – Create budget & track expenses 3. Mt. 6:19-33 – simplify your lifestyle / live below your means 4. 1 Tim. 6:9-12 – Set up an emergency fund now 5. Prov. 22:7 – Pay off credit cards; use…
Read MoreTwo Resources for Family Finances
What might you do if you wanted to help members of your congregation hone their personal or family financial planning? Here are three resources that would encourage them and also help them with practical financial issues: 1. Freed-Up Financial Living is a terrific plug-and-play resource that gives both foundational biblical financial principles and all the…
Read MoreTeaching First Fruits Living
Teaching First Fruits Living helps people put God first in their daily lives. Christian educators not only get to share the priceless knowledge about God’s presence, but also can guide people to respond to God through an essential pattern of “first fruits living.” What is “first fruits living?” It is giving to God the first…
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