Congregational Stewardship
Why would we want to do estate planning? For a start, we may have questions like these: + How can I be sure who will care for my children if a tragedy strikes me? + How could I best care financially for my aging parents? + Is there a way to give a gift to…
Read MoreI was excited this week to meet with the Resource Editorial Team for the Ecumenical Stewardship Center (ESC), which provides outstanding materials for cultivating stewardship and generosity in the local church. As a pastor and then as a consultant over the years, I’ve used almost all of their material resources for annual financial commitment programs…
Read MoreMost things in life are not rocket science. They’re more a matter of persistence and consistent behavior. That doesn’t make living a good life easy, but it does make it possible. Health habits are a good example, including food and exercise. I’m a Lifetime Weight Watcher. That means I weigh in at least once a…
Read MoreMany people are enjoying a Christmas tree in their homes this time of year, often a pine or fir in the European tradition. That’s true of our family, as well. But Christmas aside, I have been partial to the redwood tree for years now, not only because of its beauty but also because you can…
Read More“Discipline” can be a scary word. Even when we hear it in churches, as in “spiritual disciplines,” our first instinct might be that it’s punishment or obligation. When that unconscious reaction happens, it’s hard to respond out of a place of gratitude and joy. So maybe it’s better to say “framework” or means of grace.…
Read MoreWhat motivates affluent people to make major planned gifts to nonprofit organizations like your church? In The Seven Faces of Philanthropy: A New Approach to Cultivating Major Donors (Jossey-Bass, 1994), Russ Prince and Karen File lay out the results of a sophisticated sampling of wealthy givers across the United States. What did they learn? Plenty!…
Read MoreExtravagant generosity is based upon our extravagantly generous God, the Giver of every good gift, the Source of life and love! From Robert Schnase’s book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations: A Congregation that Practices Extravagant Generosity: 1. Thrives with the joy of abundance instead of the fear of scarcity 2. Encourages members to grow in…
Read MoreGod loves all creation. God delights in creation and cares for the well-being of all creatures (Gen. 1). Creation reveals God’s character. Through creation itself, God’s character can be seen (Rom. 1:19-20) and all things created give praise to God (Ps. 19:1-6; Ps. 148). Wilderness places facilitate close encounters with God (Exod. 3:1-2) and provide…
Read MoreOne-Liners About Your Shared Mission for Your Church Bulletin, Website, or Newsletter 1 Shared Mission is our coordinated connectional ministries a way to reach out to transform lives beyond the reach of any single congregation. 2 Not a tax but real, live ministry! Through our shared mission, we sustain vital work through hundreds of channels…
Read MoreA major trend among our denominational leaders these days is to look for measurable outcomes for our life together. That’s easy to do for some quantitative measures – what some people call “bodies and bucks” – but how can we measure our ministries qualitatively – for example, in our stewardship and generosity as a congregation?…
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