I’m gathering thoughts, ideas, insights and stories on contextualization in ministry. Nelson Searcy shared some thoughts in THIS article recently. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what this means to you where you serve. Please comment!
The following blog post was written by Brian Kluth and posted on ChurchCentral.com. I’m starting to work with churches as a financial consultant through The Change Group and thought this article was worth reposting. Check it out:
In our national www.STATEofthePLATE.info survey research among churches, we discovered that giving is declining in 37% of the churches and is flat-lined in another 24% of churches. In this new economic climate, here are 10 ways that a church pastor and leaders can inspire generosity and increase giving so their church can focus on thriving instead of just surviving.
1 – INTENTIONALLY focus on stewardship as a matter of Christian discipleship
If we do not teach our people that Christ is Lord of ALL, is He really someone’s Lord at all? While a Christian cannot serve God AND money, that must be taught to serve God WITH their money. Don’t preach and teach on finances and giving for institutional survival, aim for transformed lives. No one is born generous. Generosity is something that must be taught and caught. I don’t believe the heresy that God wants everyone to be rich, but I do believe that God wants everyone to LEARN to become more generous with whatever God has given them.
2 – INSPIRE people’s generosity through true stories
The Bible is filled with stories of people’s generosity – - the little boy with the 5 loaves and 2 fish, the Macedonians who gave in the midst of their poverty, the former slaves who gave their riches to build the tabernacle, David who shared his wealth to build the temple, the widow that fed Elijah from the little she had, the widow’s mite, and many more. But also share true generosity stories from your own life and the lives of those you know. If you need ideas for true stories, check out the 40 true stories in the free eDevotional at www.GiveWithJoy.org or search google for “stewardship stories, tithing testimonies, generosity illustrations.”
3 – INCLUDE financial/generosity teaching opportunities in the church worship service and annual calendar
In the worship service share an offertory verse or video. In your church calendar, consider sending out a 40 day generosity devotional that couples and families can go through together. Offer financial classes, Sunday school, and/or seminars throughout the year. Put generosity and financial literature/pamphlets/articles in the lobby literature racks, bulletin, newsletters, and giving statement mailings.
4 – IGNORE the doom and gloom the-sky-is-falling media headlines
Yes, we live in the midst of some challenging times. But when the headlines says unemployment hits 10% that means that 90% of our people are working! When the headlines indicate the stock market stumbles, the reality is that many of our people aren’t dependent on the stock market for their weekly or monthly income. We are not to operate in fear, but in faith in a God who is bigger than the latest media headlines of our day. The reality is that if someone makes more than a $1000/year, they are richer than 80% of the world’s population. We need to teach our people to be faithful stewards and generous givers with whatever they have.
5 – INVESTIGATE best practices and materials that can be adopted or adapted for use in your church
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. There are a lot of proven resources available for your church to use. Start by downloading the free national report on the“50 Best Practices and 80 Best Websites to Increase Giving” at www.annualstewardshipprogram.org.
6 – INCREASE the number of ways you allow people to give
For a number of years the debate has been should a church pass the plate or have a box in the back for offerings. Today, the answer is both and more! Pass the plate, have a box in the back, offer online giving, electronic check processing, stock transfers through a brokerage account, gifts-in-kind, and estate gifts.
7 – INSTRUCT people from the Scriptures about finances and generosity
We need to teach people to be faithful givers, not because the budget says so, but because the Bible says so. Our focus needs to be to teach people to be faithful givers to God, not to the church budget. Our goal is that our people please God, not the church finance committee. Church budgets are spending plans, not the giving goal. It is the Scriptures (all 2350 verses on finances, generosity, and material possessions) that will help people become faithful stewards and givers.
8- IGNITE people’s faith in God as their Provider
I like to ask people, “What would you rather have – - what your company can pay you or what God can provide for you?” God is bigger than a paycheck or a pension. We need to teach people that their company may be their employer, but God is their Provider. He is bigger than stock markets, housing markets, and job markets. Too many people have had a Tom Cruise theology of “show me the money” attitude. In the www.GodsProvisions.org website, there is a list of over 40 ways God provides for His people. He can use paychecks and pensions as part of His provisions, but He is not dependent on them.
9 – INVOLVE people in giving opportunities beyond the general operating budget
In addition to people’s regular giving, churches can mobilize resources for benevolence needs, building projects, mission projects, crisis/relief ministry, camp scholarships, and special designated needs. Different people are motivated by different things. Wise churches know how to invite people’s “over and above” giving to tap into the God-given desires people have to feel they are meeting a specific need. The www.STATEofthePLATE.info View from the Pew personal surveys identified 14 different areas at church and beyond the church where people give their donations.
10 – INFORM people of how their gifts are being used and helpful financial websites
When you send out giving statements, include some type of financial newsletters that highlights church giving, special projects, missionaries being supported, and financial websites that can be of help to them.
About the author: BRIAN KLUTH is a pastor, speaker, radio teacher, and bestselling author. He is the founder of www.MAXIMUMgenerosity.org website and free eNewsetter for pastors and leaders. His www.GenerousLife.org 40 Day Bible devotional has been ordered by 1300 churches to give to every family in their congregation to inspire generosity and increase giving. Kluth’s annual www.STATEofthePLATE.info research surveys monitors church giving, budget, and generosity trends.
What could God accomplish through us if we were all pulling together? What kind of change could we see in the world? What if we were…
UNSTOPPABLE
That’s what we’ll be exploring as this year’s One Prayer teaching theme:
When the Church unites, it’s unstoppable.
Think about it… unstoppable grace, unstoppable compassion, unstoppable evangelism, unstoppable love, unstoppable generosity , unstoppable truth , unstoppable hope…
“Unstoppable” will be the common thread that runs through this year’s teaching. If you’re thinking about contributing a message this year (and you should), now is a great time to gather your creative team and see where God leads your teaching. You’ll have until early May to submit your messages. Video resources and important deadlines will be added to www.oneprayer.com soon.
And while you’re thinking of One Prayer, don’t forget to sign up your church if you haven’t already. Registration only takes a few minutes, and is your key to resources and updates: http://2010.oneprayer.com/join
During One Prayer, we get to learn about Jesus in unison with thousands of people around the globe—thanks for making that possible!
Thanks,
The One Prayer Team
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/oneprayer
Questions? Email: info@oneprayer.com
I met with a church leader yesterday and we were discussing ideas for this year’s Easter service at his church. I’m curious about you and your church. Please share what you guys are working on for Easter.
Greg Atkinson is a consultant, friend and partner with a select group of strategic partnerships. Greg works with these partner companies (listed in alphabetical order) and encourages you to contact him at greg@gregatkinson.com for more information on how we can be a resource to your church. Click on the logos to go to the company website.
Recently, I spoke with my friend (and Center for Church Communications Executive Director) Cynthia Ware. She asked me to be a Regional Network Coordinator for the Center for Church Communications and I agreed. Last week she announced this on the CFCC website. Below is what she said:
Building a Team
In my own personal ministry experience I have found that I’m happiest when building and launching a team. It’s always fulfilling for me to gather a group of like-minds and harness their collective resource. The greatest thrill comes from discovering the distinctive talents of each individual—while all working together towards one common goal.
That’s why I’ve decided to establish a collective of Regional Network Coordinators for CFCC. These are simply friends and colleagues who we feel have something to offer as we identify, celebrate, inspire and resource a growing contingency of church communicators. They are diverse, some are well-known voices, others offer a unique perspective, etc.
What They Do
Our network of coordinators will simply function as eyes and ears on the ground in their respective areas of the country. They will help CFCC with behind the scenes projects and will point us to their favorite/most inspiring communicators and campaigns.
We have carefully selected these 18 individuals to act as local resources so that if anyone in their area needs communication resources they can point to CFCC. Likewise, we can learn from them what’s happening in their area and share those lessons, resources and ideas with the broader community. The goal is to offer some back and forth and ensure that CFCC is better plugged into the church communications community. This isn’t an exclusive club—we hope it will grow (especially in areas where we lack representation) and benefit the entire community.
As we all continue to improve our communication skills, we hope these coordinators will inspire us by pointing us to that which is good, true and beautiful in church communication.
Here is the list of Regional Network Coordinators:
CFCC 2010 Regional Network Coordinators
We hope you know some of these people and can be a support to us by directing them to examples you may know of that reflect excellence in church communications. If you’re part of our community, please visit their sites, familiarize yourself with their work and welcome them with comments.
*** So, like they asked, if you would: please feel free to direct me to examples you may know of that reflect excellence in church communications. Thanks!
Yesterday, with the announcement of ProPresenter 4 (for Mac) – my friends at Renewed Vision threw in one other big announcement: they’re making a Windows version. I knew this, but couldn’t blog about it before. Here’s the announcement that came in their email:
For 10 years, we’ve developed ProPresenter for Mac only, and have been asked repeatedly if there was going to be a version for Windows. Our answers were always the same:
• The tools that enable us to do what we do on the Mac aren’t as robust on the Windows platform.
• We have nothing against Windows, but felt we could make a more powerful and reliable product on the Mac.
• We’d rather focus on making the best software for any platform, rather than divide our efforts by supporting two platforms.
All of these answers were valid, and as the marketshare of the Mac has increased over the last several years, the question has become a lot less frequent. At the same time, however, we’ve been troubled by some things:
• There are a lot of churches that don’t have Macs, particularly overseas
• There is a great variety of Windows-based machines on the market that are seemingly very capable.
• A new computer purchase is often difficult in today’s economy.
• Many PC users get excited about our product only to be let down when learning it’s Mac only.
• Some organizations will not purchase a Mac just to run ProPresenter.
• If we can improve the worship experience on the Mac, why not use our expertise to do the same for Windows?
Through the years, a lot has changed. Computers have become far more powerful and technologies have evolved. We’ve kept our eye on Windows technologies that would enable us to create a quality ProPresenter experience for Windows users, and we now believe we have found the right tool set, and assembled the right team of people to make ProPresenter for Windows a reality!
So, the cat’s out of the bag. We’ll be keeping you updated via our website as this story unfolds. Until then, here are answers to some questions we thought you might have:
WHAT WILL PROPRESENTER 4 WINDOWS LOOK LIKE?
We have put a great deal of thought into the user interface of ProPresenter 4 on the Mac, so why ruin a good thing? We are building the Windows version to look and function identically. If you know how to run ProPresenter 4 Mac, you will know instantly how to run ProPresenter 4 Windows.
WILL IT HAVE ALL THE FEATURES OF THE MAC VERSION?
We are working hard to make sure that every feature of the Mac version is implemented in Windows. In some cases, a feature may be less robust on the Windows platform while others may work even better. Some technical realities beyond the scope of ProPresenter may have an impact (video codecs, shared storage, etc.), but we’re going to make sure these are minimal.
WILL I BE ABLE TO USE BOTH IN MY ORGANIZATION?
From the ground up, we have worked to ensure interoperability between ProPresenter 4 Mac and ProPresenter 4 Windows. This means you will be able to move files back and forth, and they will run largely the same way on either platform.
WHAT ABOUT THE ADVANCED AND ALPHA KEYER MODULES, OR THE PROPRESENTER REMOTE FOR IPHONE?
We’re not planning our initial release of ProPresenter 4 Windows to include any modules or iPhone remote functionality. Depending on market acceptance and customer demand, however, we may consider developing them in the future. Be sure to let us know your interest in these additional features.
WHAT IS THE PRICING OF PROPRESENTER FOR WINDOWS?
ProPresenter for Windows has the same pricing structure as its Mac counterpart. Single user licenses will be platform specific and sold for $399. However, a Site License for ProPresenter 4 will work on either platform, allowing unlimited use on any platform for a single campus, making our site license an even better value add. This means for a $799 site license purchase, you can run ProPresenter 4 on either a Mac or a Windows machine. Existing ProPresenter 4 site license owners will be able to download and unlock the Windows version immediately after it becomes available.
WHY ARE WE ANNOUNCING IT NOW?
Because site licenses of ProPresenter 4 will work on both the Mac and Windows versions, we want people to know these benefits before placing their upgrade orders.
WHEN WILL PROPRESENTER 4 WINDOWS BE RELEASED?
We don’t have a specific date for release quite yet, but are working towards Summer 2010. We will certainly have a public beta test for registered ProPresenter users prior to the wide release. Stay tuned for such an announcement in the coming months.
So – BAM – yesterday Google Buzz dropped. There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not people like it. I’m still not sure myself. I’m such a huge fan of Twitter. I did just do my first “buzz” though. So, what do you think about it? Will it survive?
This demo of what Sports Illustrated will look like and act on the new Apple iPad leaves me speechless. The future is happening right before our eyes. Check it!
Named one of the best science images of 2008 by the National Geographic News, Visualizing the Bible “… brings to light the interconnected nature of one of the world’s most familiar books.” The bar graph that runs along the bottom represents all of the chapters in the Bible. Books alternate in color between white and light gray. The length of each bar denotes the number of verses in the chapter. Each of the 63,779 cross references found in the Bible is depicted by a single arc – the color corresponds to the distance between the two chapters, creating a rainbow-like effect.
This chart was created by Chris Harrison, a Ph.D. student in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with Christoph Römhild, a Lutheran Pastor. Chris won the Honorable Mention in the NSF’s Science & Engineering 2008 Visualization Challenge.
This graphic is a registered trademark of Chris Harrison. All rights reserved.
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