Do you use checks? Do you even know where your checkbook is? (I don’t) Studies suggest that check writing is in rapid decline as people have begun to use them only for large purchases. Mark Brooks shares these stats: Paper check usage declined from 61% of all payments in 2000 to just 26% by 2010. In 2011, the number of checks processed by the Federal Reserve fell at its steepest rate yet, down 17, a [...]

With April 15th just a few weeks away, I asked Bill O’Connell from Wisdom Over Wealth to share some thoughts with us about the tax season, and how we should be preparing. It is tax season again.  The season we love to hate. But I want to offer a reminder of a couple of things that will make tax season a little brighter for you and your church. Personal Tax Returns Some denominations require that [...]

My friend Alan Wildes has been sharing some thoughts lately that have people thinking that he bumped his head. Alan is a Generosity Strategist at Generis, and has spent the last twelve years helping churches think through how they do Generosity. Alan recently started to take a look at how churches operate on Easter Sunday, and how many times the attendance on Easter Sunday is higher than any other week of the year… the offering [...]

Atlas of Giving, a Texas based firm that specializes in forecasting financial trends for non-profit organizations, is predicting that 2013 will be a “gloomy” year for the religious community. This morning, Todd and I discuss the Atlas of Giving report, and how to handle church financial decisions for the coming year. Check out the video, and let us know how YOUR church is making financial decisions this year:

John Maxwell is known for saying everything rises and falls on leadership. If this is true, how should we be screening potential leaders in our churches? This morning, Todd and I discuss a recent post from T.J. Addington on how to guard your church’s leadership gate. What do YOU look for when seeking out leaders? Click the link, hear our thoughts, and share the lessons you’ve learned:

Several years ago I was visiting the fish market where I once worked and bumped into Tony, an old acquaintance who sells fish and seafood to restaurants throughout Maryland. I used to enjoy my conversations with Tony, he had a humorous way about him and was very clear about how he felt on things. On this day he was picking through bags of top neck clams, trying to find the best ones for his customers, and he [...]

When it comes to marriage, I am a fortunate man. Seriously, anyone who has met Theresa knows that I outdid myself when I married her. Besides the depth of her faith, her intelligence, and her beauty, she is also a CPA… anyone who knows me, knows that this is a good thing for me. When we began planting the church in Baltimore, there was a natural assumption that Theresa, the CPA, would be handling the [...]

A recent blog post from Eric Geiger shared a great story about aligning a church’s budget with its stated goals.  Serving at a church in Florida, the church found that it was spending an astronomical amount on air conditioning costs… instead of its mission.  Here is what Eric did: In one sense we could articulate that the AC served the whole mission of the church. But in another sense, we wrestled with the possibility of [...]

Recently a Francis Chan video has been making its way across the internet.  I came across the video on Todd Rhoades’ site, but it has been making it way through Facebook, Twitter, and all the other sites out there.  The video starts out with Chan speaking over a back drop of Braveheart music and the picture of an old dude walking to the beach: And I just want to respectfully say I meet very few [...]

I stumbled across a video on the Generous Church site the other day that has been running through my head ever since.  The video features Francis Chan talking about the importance of financial generosity within the Christian community.  Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to speak with churches, and church leaders, from across the country about how they handle money conversations in the church.  While some churches handle the money conversations [...]