Articles to help you develop and lead your stewardship ministry, and stewardship tips you can pass on to your congregation.
The world leads us to extremes when it comes to how we handle money. And sometimes, the church reinforces those extremes with an unbalanced approach to Scripture. God calls some people to extremes, but he leads most of us to balanced, Biblical stewardship.
As a pastor, how do you disciple believers in stewardship? Christians need more than money management tips or exhortations to give; stewardship is all about honoring God with our finances and lives. Believers living on the edge financially need both Biblical principles and practical tools. Podcast host James Lenhoff helps pastors address both of these needs.
Stewardship. It feels like an awkward topic. As a result, most pastors hold back from teaching it. But our congregations are learning about money, and if they’re not learning about it in church, then their values will be shaped by the world. Learn how to teach stewardship holistically and effectively – without conflict of interest.
Fear of missing out. Fear of rejection, of not fitting in. Fear of not having enough. These and other worries drive much of our behavior, and often lead us to bad financial decisions. But perfect faith drives out fear. Learn a process for submitting our fears to the One who takes care of us.
Retirement brings change – lots of it. More time, less money. Often, it means rejoining two lives that have developed somewhat separate paths during the working years. New opportunities and new challenges. Starting retirement well requires an intentional transition period; continuing it well means balancing purpose and pleasure.
Saving isn’t exciting. In fact, our culture would say it isn’t even a thing. But the Bible encourages us to save wisely for the future. The first step in this process is building an Emergency Fund – and it’s a key step toward financial freedom.
Most of us who haven’t reached retirement yet are looking forward to getting there. But how much have we thought about what retirement actually looks like? If all we’re thinking about is what we’re retiring from, we’re not ready to maximize what we’re retiring to.
We all want financial freedom. But the pursuit of it can actually enslave us to money; it all depends on how we define financial freedom. Podcast host James Lenhoff contrasts the world’s definition of financial freedom with the freedom found in Biblical stewardship and shows us how to pursue real freedom.
Most of us have some goals in mind for our stewardship – they might be vague ideals or more specific objectives. But many of us struggle to achieve those stewardship goals. Learn some important practices and habits to help you pursue and achieve your financial stewardship goals!
Quarterly stewardship reviews are important, and the mid-year review is a great time to evaluate and adjust as needed for the remainder of the year. But sometimes we find that year after year, we fall short of meeting our goals. Identifying repeat patterns can help us break the cycle. Podcast host James Lenhoff helps us look at the bigger picture.
This final episode of our three-part Enneagram and Stewardship series, reviews the “gut” types (8-9-1). We see how each of these types deals with anger and discuss how striving for collaboration can move people in this triad to healthier stewardship.
Giving is important. But not all giving is pleasing to God. From the rejected offerings of Cain to the fatal deception of Ananias and Sapphira, Scripture gives many examples of giving that doesn’t please God. What can we learn from these examples and how can we ensure that our giving is a “fragrant offering”?
