Friday, September 10, 2021

I's Friday: 'Church Budgets in Crisis' and More


Church Budgets in Crisis
Does you church adhere to its budget? Does it adopt a budget out of the belief that it should have one but then ignores it?

Facing the Truth about Poor Giving and Its Devastating Consequences
Are we making excuses for our congregation's poor giving and lackluster stewardship?

7 Ways to Be a Community Pastor
Ron Edmondson offers some suggestions on how pastors and ministry leaders can make their communities a better place to live and in the process take their light as disciples of Jesus into the world as Jesus taught. From what I have seen churches that take no interest in their communities do not thrive. They ignore their community and their community ignores them.

Overcoming Your Fear of Praying in Public
Jesus did not prohibit his disciples from praying in front of others but warned them against putting on an outard show like the Pharisees who desired the admiration of their fellow Jews or rattling off long prayers like the pagans who believed thay they could impress God with a lot of words. One of the first hurdles that I had to cross in learning to pray in public was comparings my own struggling efforts with the eloquent language of the prayers in The Book of Common Prayer. We do not need to match their language. It is best to keep our prayers simple, straightforward, and to the point. The collect form used in the Prayer Book can be very helpful here.

Church in Wales Approves Same-Sex Blessings
The Church in Wales has authorized the blessing of secular unions of same sex couples, taking a position between the Scottish Episcopal Church that permits same sex weddings and the Church of England which prohibits same sex blessings.

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