When rethinking church budgets in a post-pandemic world, one old-fashioned rule still applies: Every situation is unique. While some church leaders may be tempted to seek ready-made formulas to guide their new-world budgeting, that’s never been a great idea, according…
Five reasons your church probably isn’t spending too much on personnel
If you buy into the popular myth – and faulty metric – that a church should devote no more than 50 percent of its budget to personnel costs, you may risk starving your congregation of its energy or life force.
Four reasons Ronnie Floyd is both right and wrong
By Mark Wingfield Here’s a sentence I never thought I would write: I agree with Ronnie Floyd. The outspoken Arkansas pastor currently serves as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and he dropped a bombshell at a recent event when…
Cultivating generous giving
By Molly T. Marshall Since my vocation as a seminary president requires travel and presence in varied congregations, which means irregular attendance at my home church, I volunteered to be a member of the stewardship committee. It meets at times…
On megachurches, Millennials and modernism
In my hometown there is a church. This church has a sanctuary. A steeple. A large staff of religious professionals. A jet. A hashtag campaign for each sermon series. A fleet of boats. A “membership” of over 8,000. And at…
This kind of denomination is dead
By George Bullard Anyone who has followed my lifelong trek through the maze of denominational staff service and consulting and coaching with denominational organizations knows that I believe in denominations. I also believe they have a future that respects their…
The shocking un-truth about church budgets
By Amy Butler This is, hands down, the least favorite time of year for pastors everywhere: church budget planning season. Nobody likes budget planning, from the tedious work it entails to the way in which money necessarily informs the work…