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Creation Care in Motion

Maybe your congregation has been looking for ways to join the “green revolution” and do your part for the environment. But maybe you don’t know where to start? This article will get you off square one and moving in the right direction. (Photo © Keller, Fotolia.com)

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Stewardship ‘Suffering a Sea Change’

Younger church members don’t respond to stewardship appeals the same way that that older members do. That’s why grandparents heed your time-honored calls for increased giving while their grandchildren don’t.  What to do? The Alban Institute has some ideas. (Photo by Caitlinator, used by Creative Commons license. Thanks!)

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The church budget really isn’t that important

Not important? It sounds preposterous, to say the least. But when it comes to the annual pledge drive and motivating congregation members to support the church, the budget is the last thing that should come into play, argues this Alban Institute writer.  (Photo by WellfordT, via Bigstockphoto.com)

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The Trouble with Money and Faith

Here’s a conversation from the Alban Institute between Wayne Floyd and John Clark about what it looks like when faith and money start talking to each other. Have you made it easy for folks to talk about money in your congregational setting?  Click here to go to the Alban website. (Photo by Mike Knell used… Read more»

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Blog Citing: Bob Sitze, ‘Simple Enough’

Stewards, you need check out this blog by Bob Sitze, longtime church worker, prolific writer and Alban Institute consultant. His blog entries deal with the important issues of life — small and grand — and always from a faithful Mainline perspective.  Hosted by The Lutheran magazine.

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Simplicity Itself

At this moment in history, the world God loves is groaning under the weight of injustice and slowly being robbed of its capacity to sustain life. All around you, the people God loves are increasingly burdened by lifestyles they can’t keep up for very much longer. You and your congregation are called to help turn that around. (Photo by Nemosdad, via Big Stock Photo)

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Finding Your Fundraising Voice

“How can we persuade people to give more?” Not surprisingly, this is one of the most frequent questions I encounter in my work as a congregational consultant. One way to respond to such questions is by teaching better fundraising techniques. (Photo by iqoncept, via Bigstockphoto)

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10 Ways to Reduce Anxiety in your Congregation

Peter Steinke, in his book  Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times, notes three kinds of effects anxiety has on an organization: repressive, infectious, and reactive.  Rather than let this trident of tumult fork your congregation, check out this list of 10 things you can do to reduce anxiety’s impact. Written by Susan Beaumont and posted on… Read more»

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The Simplicity/ Stewardship Connection

Church leaders can find themselves in a “doing” mode much more often than a “being” mode. Multiple demands on one’s time and overstuffed schedules pull a leader away from the simplicity that Jesus preached and modeled. Bruce G. Epperly and Katherine Gould Epperly address this reality in “The Path to Simplicity.” Photo by iandeth used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!

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Faith and Money: A Resource for Congregations

Looking for a solid and well-written congregational resource to help make the connection between one’s faith and one’s money? Here’s a downloadable guide written by Dan Hotchkiss and provided by Congregational Resource Guides, a project of the Alban Institute. Photo by Goldemberg Fonseca used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!