Book Reviews by Betsy
Remember the story of King Midas, who wished that everything he touched would turn to gold? It was a blessing – until his daughter greeted him with a hug, and turned to gold, as well. In Beating the Midas Curse, two planned-giving professionals, Perry Cochell and Rodney Zeeb, say that the most important legacy people…
Read MoreWith all the political and economic threats to the environment these days, Baptized into Wilderness: A Christian Perspective on John Muir is an important reminder of why we care for God’s creation. This book of environmental theology by Richard Austin is a classic, using the life and thoughts of John Muir, supreme naturalist and activist,…
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 MoreBook Review by The Rev. Rosanna Anderson From http://www.umcdiscipleship.org, July 3, 2016 Generosity Rising: Lead a Stewardship Revolution in Your Church by Scott McKenzie (Abingdon Press, 2016) What is a “stewardship revolution”? A revolution in giving comes from renewed stewardship commitment by a leadership team filled with people whose hearts and lives reflect financially-dedicated discipleship.…
Read MoreI just wrote a book review for next year’s Giving magazine on Clayton Smith’s new book, Propel: Good Stewardship, Greater Generosity. The theme of that issue of Giving is “Living Generously,” and I hope you’ll order it online at www.stewardshipresources.org this fall. But there are a lot more ideas from Propel than I could pack…
Read MoreJames A. Harnish, Abingdon Press, 2009 Written for the “Live Simply” (2016) issue of Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation published with permission In Simple Rules for Money, James Harnish offers Methodist founder John Wesley’s guidelines for financial living, still strikingly appropriate for us today. “Wesley’s rules are not about fund-raising for the church,”…
Read MoreWith the New Year upon us, now is an excellent time to look at the overall strategies of your congregation to encourage generous giving. Thankfully we can build on learnings from the Spirituality and Giving Project, 1 which studied 1,157 churches of more than two dozen denominations about what motivates members to give, and what influences…
Read MoreThis fall is an excellent time to acknowledge and affirm individuals’ spiritual gifts, with church leaders in new positions preparing to serve next year in ministry roles. When it comes to spiritual-gifts resources, the best book I’ve found is Patricia D. Brown’s SpiritGifts. The practical part is that it’s about not only gifts discovery, but…
Read MoreWritten for the CA-NV United Methodist Conference Instant Connection, 7/30/2015 Live Free, the 2015 issue of Giving magazine from the Ecumenical Stewardship Center (ESC), is now available. The center section, written by California-Nevada Conference minister, the Rev. Betsy Schwarzentraub, is the leader’s guide for a four-week worship emphasis on holistic stewardship that also helps fund…
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