Sure, you may draw closer to God when you pray, but are there other ways that prayer is good for you? Yes, say scientists have who have studied the physical, mental and emotional health of people who engage in regular prayer. They have found it to be beneficial in tangible ways. This informative article from […]
If your congregation is interested in getting more actively involved in the creation care movement, consider forming a group to align with environmental author and theologian Bill McKibben’s 350.org. The organization is dedicated to grassroots campaigns to organize, educate and advocate for policies to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Great idea for a youth or […]
Many parents give their children an allowance for doing chores because it helps to build discipline. Allowance money can go numerous places, some spiritually rewarding and others detrimental. It is important for the church to help teach stewardship to children. One fun way to do this is to use “Bible Bucks.” This article from the […]
What is behind Christian stewardship? What does God expect? Why should we give? Questions like these arise all the time in the life of congregations that struggle for money, although the answers is hardly obscure. The Bible gives clear teaching on issues of financial giving and discipleship, as this concise article from biblestudytools.com makes clear. […]
3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, June 25, 2017: What’s a preacher supposed to do with these “hard” lessons for this week? If we set the discipleship bar too high, won’t that alienate the folks who want an easy life? Easy is not always the answer. In fact, most things truly worth having require expenditures of time, effort, and energy. Why should we expect the journey of faith to be any different? If Jesus’ life and ministry and the paths of his early followers are our model, most of us are in real trouble! (Photo: Barbara Kruger, Modern Art Oxford Creative Commons)
Every congregation has its own attitudes, ideas, understandings and suppositions about how church money should be gathered, counted and spent. You could call it their money style. Knowing their money style will enable a wise leader to set effective policies and procedures to keep tabs on the finances. This article from ChistianityToday looks at four typical church […]
Vacationing with the family is a wonderful — and necessary — summer tradition. But if you’re not careful the cost can be astronomical. The key to planning an affordable family vacation this summer, and every summer, is making common-sense choices that keep costs under control. This article from tripsavvy.com provides lots of great ideas and strategies […]
Serving God’s people reaps many joys, but it’s also a highly stressful vocation. And for too many ministers that stress results in extra weight, according to a United Methodist Study. It showed that clergy suffer from obesity, high cholesterol, borderline hypertension, borderline diabetes, asthma and depression at significantly higher rates than do other demographically comparable […]
American culture is intensely individualistic. Given this context, it’s no surprise that a lot of talk about money and stewardship is focused on the individual. Scripture, on the other hand, tends towards a more communal culture. How might we make stewardship more communal? What might communal stewardship look like in congregations? Adam J. Copeland of […]
Benchmarks are useful for measuring progress or setting standards in lots of fields of endeavor, including athletics, work and education. Yet many Sunday schools and faith formation programs do not have benchmarks. For example, what can one expect a 12-year-old to know about the Bible? What about a 6-year-old? A 30-year-old? This article from buildingfaith.com explores […]
