Revitalize Your Church

Out of Ur reported on a sobering Wall Street Journal article on pastoral unemployment: Unemployed pastors in 2005: 2000 Unemployed pastors in 2007: 3000 Unemployed pastors in 2009: 5000 WSJ article here

From Crosswalk: Christian News Wire reports that a recent survey of almost 1,100 church leaders revealed an increasing gap between income and projected expenses for churches. According to the survey results from Your Church magazine, tithes and offerings, which comprise an average of 87 percent of the average church's budget, have declined for 40 percent of the churches surveyed within the past six months. At the same time, 32 percent say budgets have increased between 2 to 10 percent over last year's expenses. "Historically, evangelical Protestant churches tend to be tithe-driven," says Ed Stetzer, president of Lifeway Research. "Effects of unemployment tend to lag a bit for churches that emphasize tithing, but as the unemployment rate continues to increase, more congregations will get hit financially. Churches need to be ready for this impact."

We’ve sure heard a lot about the economy lately, haven’t we? It seems like every time we turn around, there are more challenges on the horizon. Several of my friends are out of work right now, and many local businesses are struggling. Retirement and savings accounts, although beginning to climb again, have taken a severe beating. Auto dealers are barely surviving. The housing industry has been hammered relentlessly. There has been a substantial rise in requests for assistance from agencies such as Salvation Army and community food shelves, and at the same time, donations to these charities have been faltering. I have a good friend who is an astute businessman. His company has suffered greatly during this recession. Recently, I asked him how business is going, and he made a very insightful observation. “This whole economy thing has played havoc in many ways. However, I tell people that when you say "the economy” has caused businesses to go under and people to lose their jobs...

Patrick Morley is offering a free online version of his latest book, How to Survive the Economic Meltdown. Get your copy here

Yikes!! From a Pioneer Press article (March 20, 209) by Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann: A study by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy found that. . . every time the stock market declines by 100 points, charitable giving declines by $1.8 billion.

When You Are Down to Nothing, God is Up to Something!

From a memo recently issued by Rupert Murdoch to his staff: "We are in the midst of a phase of history in which nations will be redefined and their futures fundamentally altered." "Let me be very clear about our company: where others might step back from their commitment to their viewers, their users, readers and customers – we will renew ours."The direction of the business now and over the next few years will define the character of our company for decades." Applying this to church: 1) How will churches be "redefined" in coming days? 2) How will our "futures be altered?" 3) What commitments must be renewed in the economic downturn? 4) What choices, made now, will define our church for decades?

GM Shares Hit 74 Year Low My 95 Yukon with the golden steering wheel (affectionately dubbed "The God-mobile") is shuddering!! Then, again, this might be a good time to buy GM Stock.

The Economy is Hurting U.S. Families Requests for therapists have soared and domestic-violence and suicide hotlines are reporting increased calls. The demand for therapists surged 40% from June to December at ComPsych. Calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline have also increased. For example, there were 21% more calls in September than in September 2007. In October, there were 18% more calls than in October 2007. (HT Church Relevance )

My friend, Famous Dave, sent me an insightful and thought provoking e-mail yesterday. It's a brief essay written by Art Erickson, co-founder and CEO of Urban Ventures . With Art's gracious permission, I am sharing it with you: " 'Be careful that no one misleads you,' returned Jesus, 'for many will come in my name saying, "I am Christ",and they will mislead many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars - do not be alarmed. Such things must indeed happen, but that is not the end. For one nation will rise in arms against another, and one kingdom against and other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in different parts of the world. But all that is only the beginning of the birth-pangs." Matthew 24:4-8 You hear people ask today, "How long will it take before we get back to normal?" Wrong question! We will never go back to normal! There are only "new normals" ahead, and no one knows what they look like. In fact, in this...

How would you like to have more money available to you -- even if your income doesn't increase? Ellie Kay has written a fabulous book, Living Rich for Less , which gives practical, common-sense, advice for handling your finances. (Order here) In a humorous and easy to read style, Ellie maps out how to get the most BANG for your buck. She follows the 10-10-80 Principle: Give the First 10% -- The Sweetest Dollar You'll Ever Make Save the Next 10% -- The Safest Dollar You'll Ever Make Spend Smart on the Remaining 80% -- The Smartest Dollar You'll Ever Make Reminds me of John Wesley's adage: Earn All You Can Save All You Can Give All You Can It's particularly refreshing, during the current economic downturn, to discover creative ways to cut spending, save wisely and give generously. I'd like to provide a copy for all the members of our church.

During the Great Depression, church attendance surged as Americans turned to faith in difficult days. The New York Times recently reported that worship attendance is surging as a result of the economic downturn. Yesterday, however, Gallup reported a different conclusion based on their research: Despite some news reports to the contrary, a review of almost 300,000 interviews conducted by Gallup so far in 2008 shows no evidence that church attendance in America has been increasing late this year as a result of bad economic times. In September, October, November, and so far in December, about 42% of Americans reported that they attended church weekly or almost every week, exactly the same as the percentage who reported attending earlier in the year. Ed Stetzer's take on it. Here at Hayward Wesleyan, our worship attendance has declined 5% from last year. We are seeing two things: 1) The econmic struggle has been a catalyst for some new people to come, and some absentees to return. Th...

Young Chuck moved to Texas and bought a Donkey from a farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the Donkey the next day. The next day the farmer drove up and said, 'Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.' Chuck replied, 'Well, then just give me my money back.' The farmer said, 'Can't do that. I went and spent it already.' Chuck said, 'Ok, then, just bring me the dead donkey.' The farmer asked, 'What ya gonna do with him? Chuck said, 'I'm going to raffle him off.' The farmer said, 'You can't raffle off a dead donkey!' Chuck said, 'Sure I can Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead.' A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, 'What happened with that dead donkey?' Chuck said, 'I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made $998.' The farmer said, 'Didn't anyone complain?' Chuck said, 'Just the guy who won. So I gave hi...

I think Jim Wallis is right on with his response to this Public Apology to the Public from GM: While we’re still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you. At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs become lackluster. We proliferated our brands and dealer network to the point where we lost adequate focus on our core U.S. market. We also biased our product mix toward pickup trucks and SUVs. And we made commitments to compensation plans that have proven to be unsustainable in today’s globally competitive industry. We have paid dearly for these decisions, learned from them and are working hard to correct them by restructuring our U.S. business to be viable for the long-term.

Good food for thought from Kimberly Smith, President of Make A Way Partners (a wonderful mission organization dedicated to eliminating human trafficking and modern day slavery): The Upside of Selfishness in a Downturned Market When I am in Sudan, I never find myself thinking about the stock market, 401ks, health insurance and so forth. But, then again, I don’t have access to newspapers or television reports that devote 24 hours a day monitoring those things and warning me that they are losing their value and I’d better not count on them. Instead, while in Sudan, I find myself concerned about whether or not the child next to me has enough to eat and drink to make it through the night

Barna on How Churches are Weathering the Economic Downturn

The Board of General Superintendents of the Wesleyan Church has released a Pastoral Letter on the Economy. I think they did an outstanding job of encouraging the churches to act in faith and wisdom during these troubled times. They are calling us to be. . . • Disciplined because many of us have consumed too much of the world’s resources on ourselves. This can be a time to control our cravings and determine to live more simply. • Generous because there are people who are (or will be) going without some of the necessities of life and we have an obligation to share with them in Jesus’ name. • Prayerful because the problems that plague our world will not be solved by throwing money at them, but by God intervening with justice and grace. • Courageous because fear and panic are not becoming to the people of God. The peace of Christ allows us to approach life’s difficulties with calm, deliberate, confident steps. • Creative because the mind of Christ inspires His followers to think more ...

The recent economic downturn has had a devastating impact on many families in the Hayward area. I've served as a pastor here in the northwoods for nearly 18 years, and have never seen conditions like this before. People are being laid off. Homes are going into foreclosure. Businesses are folding. Families are running out of food. Bad news from Wall Street leads to less business on Main Street. Though we're in hard times, these are the only times we have -- thus, we need to keep a proper perspective. Here are some important reminders as we face adversity: 1. God is far bigger than the problem. If the financial crisis looms like a mountain, remember -- God is the mountain mover! There's no challenge too great for the Almighty. There is not one situation beyond His ability. Instead of telling God how big your problem is, tell your problem how big God is! 2. Hard times teach us wisdom. Difficult days force us to stop and evaluate where we are, what we're doing, and why we...