Budgeting is a great time to develop a plan, with the right leaders, for spending. I prefer approaching budgeting with a growth mentality. If you do so, your budget will be bigger than it was the previous year. A growth budget is a step of faith, but wisdom will require you to have a plan…
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Budgeting Blunders
There are some common budgeting blunders that plague many ministries, and these blunders are often associated with well-meaning individuals who unintentionally bring some bad budgeting practices to the table. Let me introduce you to Calculator Charlie, Sneaky Steve, and Sandbagging Sally. Calculator Charlie: Calculator Charlie appears to be really organized when he comes to the…
Church Finances 101: Strategic Budgeting
Often budgeting can digress into a time of mindless regurgitation of last year’s budgeted amount, when a pastor/director simply slides the amount in each line item over to a new budget or does some slight rearranging. However, it instead can be a time for robust discussion around mission and strategy. After all, your budget is…
Church Finances 101
We are in budgeting season at LifeWay for our next fiscal year, which begins in October. This is my first time going through the budgeting process at LifeWay. And while there are more zeros involved, I am finding many of the same principles I learned in church ministry to be true in this environment. I…
God of the Ordinary and the Extraordinary
We love when God reveals Himself in extraordinary ways, when He shows up in the miraculous. But often He chooses to care for His own in the ordinary of life. Two Jewish celebrations are beautiful reminders that God is the King of both the extraordinary and the ordinary. Passover is the Jewish time of remembrance…
Two Common Hiring Mistakes
Every hire is a risk. Every time I have hired someone or have been hired, there was a risk involved. Some argue that proven track records eliminate the risk, but in reality a great history only minimizes the risk. Even when hiring someone who has a proven track record, it is hard to separate the…
Choices and Your Announcements
Earlier this week I referenced Barry Schwartz’s work The Paradox of Choice, which advocates that too many choices leads to regret because we are never confident we made the right choice. While I pointed out that this regret is really a result of our sinful hearts seeking satisfaction in things other than Christ, I do…
Choices and Unsatisfied Souls
Barry Schwartz is a psychologist and a compelling speaker. In his book The Paradox of Choice, he draws from research that for most people “more” really is “less”. He reasons that the more choices someone has, the more the person is set up for unmet expectations and regret. For example, imagine that you take your…
Culture and Your Church
A church’s philosophy of mission is greatly influenced by how she views the culture around her. How a church views the culture around her will deeply impact how she responds to the community in which she is placed. For centuries, Christians have debated what our response to the world around us should be. During the…
Theology of Staffing
The great folks at The Gospel Coalition asked me to write a few articles on staffing. Here is the first one I wrote that is also posted on their website. Pastor David is perpetually frustrated, and he is self-aware enough to know it. As his church is growing, it seems he is always overwhelmed with…