From LeaderWorks: helping leaders do their work.
Normally, you wouldn’t find a blog post on humor mentioned in a series on Stewardship, Giving, and Generosity. The topic of stewardship and giving is not an easy one to speak about. It makes some people feel very uncomfortable. Both speaker and listener share long moments of angst when the topic is raised […]
From LeaderWorks: helping leaders do their work.
As I wrote in part one of this series, a church without adequate resources will soon see their visions become vapors. Money feeds momentum. It is a sign of commitment, involvement, trust, hope, and even worship unto the Lord! It is good to talk about!
That is why developing a culture […]
From LeaderWorks: helping leaders do their work.
A third rail is the high voltage power line that runs along a subway train. It is the one you are warned NOT to touch. It powers the train. But don’t touch it. It makes everything go, but if you touch it, it might kill you. Zap! Shock!
For some congregations, the topics of stewardship […]
In trying to help leaders do their work, we are often talking about how to work smarter, not harder. When it comes to leading a church, this can often be misleading. After all, much of ministry work is only possible through careful, difficult effort. Whether it’s pastoral care or sermon prep, shortcuts or hacks would only lead to diminished work. […]
Don’t put them to sleep.
Here they come! Support letters asking for prayer and/or financial support. For over 30 years I encouraged would-be missionaries to write them. But now I am starting to receive them. Heck! We all receive them…sometimes one a week. They seem to come in endless supply […]
Some of you may know the acryonm KISS. I did not when it was first whispered in my ear by an unknown man about five minutes before my first sermon many years ago. He was a robed lay reader and was seated next to me. The church was filled with the good people of my first curacy in Arizona. Ken […]
The awkward questions are easy to ignore, but leaders can’t shy away from topics that have the potential to cripple ministry if left unaddressed. What goes unspoken can create divisions and spread distrust.
Read Part Two
If you haven’t caught up, here’s what we’ve discussed:
In Giving Up, I relate a moment from a particularly memorable Ash Wednesday. Other memories of this solemn service have been more somber, but none more soberly illustrates our ‘selfie culture’ or the need we have for this Lenten season that can draw us out of ourselves—if only we will let it.
Lent begins with a necessary reminder: you are dust and to dust you shall return.
In Ash Wednesday, we speak these difficult words so that we might resist the influential fictions that our daily lives impress upon us. The fiction that we are in control. That we can fix ourselves. That we were designed first and foremost to love and care for […]
by David Roseberry
I have been so grateful for the many people who have responded to the vision of Giving Up. Several rectors have texted me and told me that the book made a difference in their thinking and in their planning for the last three months of the year. And, thankfully, in the way their church responded.
One […]
Our church year begins with Advent, but self-reflection and goal-setting are good for all of us and the turning of the calendar is as good a time as any to start.
This year, why not resolve to be more generous?
Lots more ideas here!
As we argue in […]
Last week, I talked about how to encourage generosity at the end of the year by making Growing generosity is a part of your teaching ministry, and teachers need to be creative. We’ve talked about getting creative by making a Christmas Wish List for your church. It’s a way to engage the people directly with the needs […]
We’ve talked a lot about increasing generosity at the end of the year. As we’ve posted elsewhere, the end of the year brings challenges. You’ve got this year’s budget gaps, next year’s budget planning, end-of-the-year appeal letters—it’s a lot. On top of that, Christmas is fast approaching.
There are two temptations during seasons like this in ministry.
I’ve seen […]
It’s the time of year when church leaders are starting to see lots of red—and it isn’t always early Christmas decorations! Lots of churches have deficits they need to close by year’s end. I have been there many (MANY) times.
Sometimes, these gaps are relatively small. All you need is to remember to ‘double December’ and take a breath. (If you […]
In 2012, in response to so-called consumer holidays ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’, New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation partnered to create Giving Tuesday. This November 28, organizations, influencers, and individuals will reach out across their platforms to encourage people to give generously to worthy causes.
As I wrote […]
Here’s a round-up of the latest news and resources from LeaderWorks:
Writing an Appeal Letter is about saying “will you” and then “thank you”.
A few years ago I had to do what every Rector or Sr. Pastor should do about this time of year: write a year-end appeal letter. (If you need convincing that you should, read here.)
My church was […]
It is that time of year again. Budget time! As pastors, leaders, vestries, and boards are wringing their hands about the close of this year, plans for next year are being drawn up.
Over the years I developed a few ‘hacks’ for church leaders. I’ve collected a few […]
You can see the latest sneak peek at Giving Up: How Giving to God Renews Hearts, Changes Minds, and Empowers Ministry on CT Pastors. This excerpt reveals five big ideas that church leaders can use to jumpstart generosity in your church. Check out the whole book on Amazon.
David Roseberry’s book, Giving Up, provides concrete ways to jumpstart financial giving in churches. His wisdom, gleaned from decades in ministry, gives church leaders applicable tools to do the work they need to do, which requires members of churches to be generous with their resources.
Here’s another sneak peek at my new book, Giving Up: How Giving to God Renews Hearts, Changes Minds, and Empowers Ministry, available now. This excerpt is from the second chapter, titled “The Hidden Virtue of the Early Church.” I want to give the church corrective lenses to see that the ministry of Jesus, Paul, and the very first Christians was inextricably […]
It’s been a little while since we highlighted what’s happening over at LeaderWorks. Here’s a round-up of all the news and resources:
After years of gathering ideas, studying Scripture, preaching “The Money Talk”, collecting three decades worth of wisdom…and months of writing and re-writing, the book is finished.
We took our final pass at it with our red pens and now it lives with the publisher and then onto the printer…and then I […]
Last week I posted some thoughts about the cost of church planting. I also included a You Tube video interview with Alex Wilgus, of the Greenhouse Movement. Alex helped us see how the funding of a church plant can be ‘raised’ through deputation; praying for support and asking friends and family […]
In 2012, in response to so-called consumer holidays ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’, New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation partnered to create 
