Here’s an interesting article concerning giving trends in American churches from USA Today. You can read the article here.
Month: March 2011
Bitter Ingredients Make Beautiful Things
Last week I Googled a recipe for a chocolate cake, made from scratch. The recipe was surprisingly simple: 3/4 cup shortening 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk 2 cups flour 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla After these ingredients are blended together, the recipe calls for an additional…
Asking Better Questions
Yesterday I posted the first observation from Joseph’s life regarding how to have a “can do” spirit in a “no you can’t” world which was to count your blessings. The second observation is to ask better questions concerning life’s interuptions. When adversity strikes, our first natural line of questioning is along the lines of… …”How…
Counting Your Blessings
In his book, The Good and Beautiful God, James Bryan Smith tells the story of a business leader who used an illustration to teach his team a valuable lesson. The leader went to the white board and drew a big, black circle. He asked his team what they saw. To the person, they replied, “A…
The Final Word
My first full time ministry position required me to wear a white shirt and tie each day I was in the office or whenever the church gathered in worship. That wasn’t too big of a deal, other than the fact I had a bad habit: I’d put my pen in my shirt pocket without the…
The New Metrics (part 2)
The other compelling byte from The New Metrics article written by Lois Swagerty (Leadership Network) is the suggestion that success in today’s church is ultimately measured by stories that are being told. Here’s an excerpt: “For many leaders, the new scorecarding all comes down to the stories. For John Seybert it’s simple. ‘The way you…
The New Metrics
One of the hottest topics among church consultants and those who coach church health is the question “How do we measure success in the church during the 21st century?” The last century’s measuring stick was pretty simple: attendance, baptisms, and cash. Those quantifiable standards could quickly assess whether or not a church was growing, but…
The Power of the Spoken Blessing 3
What are the characteristics of a spoken blessing? First, I believe a spoken blessing should instill faith. The person who blesses is able to see the work of God in another person’s life and point it out. He or she observes Christ-likeness and the marks of the image of God and blesses the faith within….
The Power of the Spoken Blessing 2
Spoken blessings have the power to enhance, enrich, and empower the life of another person. In the Old Testament, blessings had three characteristics: (1) They were conveyed from the greater to the lesser, such as a parent to a child or a king to a nation. (2) The blessing spoke of divine favor that resulted…
The Power of the Spoken Blessing
Jacob knew the power of the spoken blessing. After all, think of all he did to obtain his father’s blessing! (cf. Genesis 25:27-34; Genesis 27:1-40) When Jacob became aware that his time on earth was coming to a close, he called his family together to bless them. In Genesis 48 he blessed Joseph’s sons, and…
