“Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you” (Deuteronomy 16:17). The Joy of Giving Up will introduce one single idea to the people of your church. It is not my original idea. I have not heard it from anyone that I have ever met…
Money Well Spent: Why Your Church Should Consider the Joy of Giving Up
The first sermon I ever heard on stewardship was called “The Sermon on the Amount”. It was classic. And bad! It was spoken by a young layperson who had been commissioned by the Sr. Warden to “say a few words.” It was mercifully short. It was truly apologetic, in the bad sense of the word….
All Should, Some Must, Few Do: A Letter to ACNA Rectors
The Evergreen Project is a fresh approach to addressing one of the most difficult questions in ministry: How can pastors talk about stewardship, generosity, and money with the people they are trying to serve and lead? The subject fills pastors with dread and congregations with skepticism. Isn’t the priest supposed to feed the sheep, not…
Want to Help Your Church Grow in Generosity? Check Out The Evergreen Project
The Evergreen Project site is live! Go there now to see what awaits you and your congregation. We are just getting started, but there are plenty of things to help you grow your congregation’s understanding of the vision and values of generosity and stewardship. What is The Evergreen Project? The Evergreen Project is going to…
Webinar: Building a Generous Church through the Slow Summer Months (March 13, 11AM CST)
Springing Forward? The pastor began the service with an appeal to some of the people in the back of the church to voluntarily “re-seat” themselves. The opening line was pleasant enough: “Would the people in the back of the room please move up into the seats up front…” Dutifully, a few people complied. The picked…
How Much Should We Pay the Pastor? (Awkward Church Questions, pt. 2)
These are the awkward questions during any board or Vestry meeting. You can feel a quiet come over the room. Everyone is hoping the subject will pass. But there are five awkward questions that your church needs to be able to discuss. Previously, we tackled the question of access to giving records. Hopefully, I’ve given…
Who Should Have Access to the Giving Records? The Senior Pastor (Awkward Church Questions, pt. 1)
They are not easy at first. They are ‘off-putting’, to use a colloquium. Or tacky. When the subjects come up, you can see everyone squirm in their seats. We wish we could just avoid them. But there are five of them that need to happen pretty routinely. What I am talking about? Awkward questions like…
4 Ways to Help 4 Different Generations Give Generously
Talking about generosity in the church is always a balancing act between faithful theological and pastoral instruction on the one hand and practical, applied communication on the other. You’ve got to look at the subject from 40,000 feet while keeping your boots firmly planted on the ground. In Giving Up, I’ve tried to walk this…
10 Ways to End the Year on a Generous Note at Your Church
On this blog, I try to provide tactical advice on growing generosity in the church. Every church leader knows that giving is especially vital as the year winds to a close. (To learn 3 things from your yearly church budget shortfall, click here.) The end may be nigh upon us, but there is no need…
Three Thoughts About That Church Budget Shortfall
I regularly visit churches around the country and about this time of year, a new, semi-liturgical ceremony begins around the church budget. (I participated in it myself during my three decades in ministry. It became something totally normal for me; it’s only now that I’m in the pews most Sundays that I’ve realized how odd this…
