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…
Generous Resolutions
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? As we argue in Giving Up, generosity is at the heart of the gospel. To…
Giving Even When You Receive
Last week, I talked about how to encourage generosity at the end of the year by making growing generosity 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…
Make a Christmas Wish List for Your Church
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…
House Calls: A Pastor’s Guide to Talking to Donors
It’s the time of year when church leaders start to see lots of red—and it isn’t always early Christmas decorations! Many 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…
Is Fundraising Really That Hard? #GivingTuesday
In 2012, in response to the 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 in Giving…
Hack Next Year’s Budget
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 of these tips, tricks, and rules of…
Giving Up Excerpt in Christianity Today
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.
Sneak Peek: An Excerpt from Giving Up
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…
Announcement: Giving Up is Coming Soon!
It’s Ready 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 hope…to you!…
