Taking Up the Collection in Church
Taking Up the Collection I can still vividly remember sitting in church as a teenager during the 60s. The time would come for the offering. A very worthy elder (normally the same one) would start and somberly intone, ‘Your frugal offering will now be received’. Frugal! Seriously! Did he really say that? Actually he didn’t […]
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the UglyOn holidays some years ago I attended a church service at a church I had never previously visited. Afterwards in the foyer I was chatting to the minister and it emerged in conversation that I was a fellow clergyman. He asked for my frank assessment of the service. ‘Tell […]
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The Essence of Running a Commitment Day
The Essence of Running a Commitment DayIn my book Giving Generously: Resourcing Local Church Ministry, I advocate running an annual commitment day, where the minister asks the people to do two things: First to sign a card indicating how much the person intends to give to the church over the next year. The second, was […]
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How to overcome the end of year financial crisis
How to overcome the end of year Financial CrisisIf you have been around churches long enough you will have seen or experienced a scenario something like the following. At the end of the year either the treasurer or the senior minister stands before the congregation and tells them that the church is behind budget and […]
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Midyear Appeal
Midyear Appeal.A church that my wife and I attend is having its annual midyear appeal. Yes we are asked for money. If fact the congregation was asked for an eye watering amount of $1.7 million. But as far as I know people do not seem to be aggravated, offended or annoyed. In fact there is […]
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No Regrets
No Regrets: In 1987 I received the invitation to become the senior minister (Rector) of Figtree Anglican Church in Wollongong. At that time, we were living in an old Queenslander in a very good street in Brisbane very close to where we had both grown up. My wife and I had bought this property as […]
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Commitment Series on Love
LoveOne key feature in raising resources for ministry is to celebrate an annual Commitment Day. This is the time where the minister askes the congregation to do two things. First to make a financial pledge indicating how much the person will give to the church in the next year. This is often expressed as a […]
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CHEERFUL GIVING
Cheerful Giving For the follower of Jesus generosity is not a burden that is laid on an unwilling follower. The attitude can never be, ‘I am a Christian now and while it is a pain I find I must be generous’. Generosity is not something to be adopted through gritted teeth. Generosity is a virtue […]
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Surprised by Joy
Surprised by Joy: Some years ago I read C.S. Lewis’s autobiographical work Surprised by Joy, detailing his journey from atheism to Christian faith. I discovered the title was inspired by a poem by that name written by William Wordsworth, the master of Romanticism, lamenting the fact that he experienced a moment of joy but had […]
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Thanksgiving Day 2021
Thanksgiving Day 2021 Sometimes ministers are cautious about asking the congregation for resources because they are worried the people will be irritated and the request will do more harm than good. I have always felt that if the request is made properly there will be excitement and joy rather than push-back. I reflected on this […]
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