The financial hardships many Americans faced during the COVID-19 pandemic did not result in the predicted revenue declines for U.S. churches, according to new research into congregational giving trends. In fact, the study conducted by the Lake Institute on Faith…
Dear whoever you are:
Dear Whoever You Are, Who Gave Me an Anonymous Gift Ten Years Ago: As you know, back in 2012, during the national economic Great Recession — and what was to be found to be the localized Great Coverup of the…
A Christmas lesson at BubbaDoo’s
To understand Christmas at BubbaDoo’s, you’d have to understand the setting for BubbaDoo’s itself. This large, old general store sits at a key crossroads in a small rural community. There isn’t much to the little community these days, save a…
Lessons from Coach Ted Lasso
I benefit from working with folks whose bulbs are brighter than my own. Initially, I thought that grades, test scores or advanced degrees from impressive institutions measured intellectual prowess. But as years pass, I learn that there are additional ways…
10 reasons we are giving a little extra to the church this year
Every year, my wife and I give a few gifts at the end of the year to nonprofits, mission centers and ministry groups with whom we have a close connection. And although we give regularly to our church throughout the…
The best way to finish this dreadful year is with lavish generosity
Thirty-six years ago this month, I learned a lesson in generosity that inspires me to this day. I was 23 years old, had just completed a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of New Mexico and was heading to…
Making wise and courageous choices amid the best and worst of times | #intimeslikethese
While we are in no way beset by all that Dickens’ time portended, we have some choices about how to live in our own time.
Sowing an enduring legacy
I pray declining and fragile congregations that are evaluating their future will make unselfish decisions about the kind of enduring legacy they want to sow. Only God is eternal – not particular congregations, their leaders or even their former missions.
Five tips from the dead about living life in the new year
What troubles me most about the people I meet for the first time at the cemetery is how many of them failed to live life beyond basic expectations.