Rainy Days

Rainy Days

Many years ago, I was meeting with a small church which was struggling to add $20 per month to the pastor’s health insurance payment.  Granted, there were only about 10-12 in attendance at the church.  They lamented over and over how they didn’t have any money.  Then...
Budgeting for Mistakes

Budgeting for Mistakes

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist.  He has spent much of his life studying highly successful people and their habits.  In a recent article he shared 11 successful habits he has observed.  One of the most interesting was something he called, “setting a...
Recency Bias

Recency Bias

Just a little over a year ago the stock of Facebook was being sold relentlessly and people were advised to avoid it. Now, if you have bought $5,000 of stock about 12 months ago it would be worth over $15,000 today. The stock had a decline, but the overall trend has...
Chess

Chess

A couple of weeks ago I was watching some family members play a game of chess. I used to play well, but these days I am not much competition for a good player. As I was watching it struck me how a good game of chess is similar to a good life of stewardship. First of...
Communication is a Two-Way Street

Communication is a Two-Way Street

All churches struggle with communication.  I remember, as a pastor, when our church changed our worship time for a special event.  Four weeks in a row I announced it.  Five weeks in a row it was in the bulletin.  It was in the newsletter twice in the same month. ...
The Word Comes Home

The Word Comes Home

The good book is finally back on the shelf.  Many years ago, when I was ordained by Bishop Hodapp, I received my ordination Bible, signed by the bishop himself.  As with a lot of keepsakes, I seldom used it, but always kept it on the shelf.  That Bible was a symbol of...