Financial Growth Strategies
When it comes to Christian living, there are two areas that each believer must revisit regularly: financial growth and church growth. These things are hard to get right and require constant monitoring.
We weren’t born with a fully developed strategy for financial growth and we weren’t born AGAIN with a healthy concept of church growth and we don’t readily recognize the connection between the two. But they do connect.
- One measures the health of your secular life; the other measures the health of your spiritual life.
- Financial growth provides resources to fuel church growth and growing churches teach people principles for managing finances properly.
We must not neglect these two issues. This post will focus on financial health. Read more
“The Future of Management” by Gary Hamel
Normally, “management” wouldn’t be listed as one of the top ten most exciting topics to discuss on a blog but it deserves a hearing here because Gary Hamel does something revolutionary with the subject. He dismantles everything we have been taught on the issue and begins building again from the ground up (a perspective that really comes alive in the text).
His book, “The Future of Management
Gary’s writing is aimed mostly at commercial organizations but the principles are universal. They can be applied to any group of organized individuals: schools, government or even church, and the truth is, they all need to rethink how they operate.
Today’s world will be obsolete in a couple of years, at most, and for businesses to successfully survive the change – or anyone else for that matter - they will need to develop processes that are highly tuned to grass roots developments, in real time, and have the agility to respond as required. If these ideas leave you incredulous watch the video. Read more
The Meek Inherit the Earth?
Jesus never used the word success. Rather He referred to the emotional outcome of success, which was blessed or happy, and He mentioned several things that would produce this result.
Being poor in spirit
Mourning
Being merciful
Being pure in heart
Making peace,
Thirsting and hungering for righteousness
And enduring persecution.
He also mentioned Meekness, which is what I would like to discuss here. Read more
Tithing Is No Quick Fix
Often tithing proponents promise all kinds of blessings to anyone who gives a tithe: prosperity, health, happiness, success and who knows what else. They also make a scene when anyone receives an unexpected monetary increase after giving their first tithe payment. They sound more like travelling salesmen offering cure-all elixirs. When someone suggests they may not be right they become bombastic pronouncing curses on those who fail to give. These extreme methods provide a lot of fuel to those who oppose tithing. Read more
One Way To Put God First
God will have no other place in your life other than first. If He isn’t first He isn’t on the list. Jesus was focusing on this very matter in the Sermon on the Mount and He said,
Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these (material) things shall be added unto you. (Matt. 6:33)
In this part of the sermon (Matt. 6:19-34) the one thing Jesus said would compete with God for first place is money. He referred to our material resources, or money, as mammon and in His words, either God or mammon is on top. If God is first, money will be our servant. If money is first God is pushed out. Read more
Tim Pepper - Beautiful Frustration