Stewardship. Leadership. Faith.
Choosing life insurance is not as simple as many make it out to be. While the general rule of 7-10x your income is a convenient rule of thumb, gaining proper protection requires a more thoughtful approach. In this article we’ll discuss what important questions and conversations must take place and use a data driven approach to determine what coverage you need and for how long. We even have a free Excel calculator to help with the process!
I’ve heard many excuses as to why people don’t give a 10% tithe to their local church.
“They don’t spend the money right.”
“I can make sure it is used better if I give it to charities myself.”
“10% is too much money to give to one place. It’ll do more good if I spread it out.”
While all of these may have aspects of validity that could be debated, that is not the purpose of this article. Rather, we want to discuss the central issue that most anti-tithing messages are rooted in: the giver’s heart isn’t invested in their local church.
Continue reading “How To Unlock God’s Blessing in Your Church”
In my last two posts, on the “Poverty” and “Prosperity” gospels, we took an honest look at each teaching. We studied why each group honestly believes they have Biblical backing, but also addressed how each gets it wrong. On the narrow road, each stray to one side and the other…
While we touched on the appropriate response to each false argument on those posts, I wanted to write an article that summarizes the truth about how we are to handle our finances in the Kingdom. My hope is to give solid Biblical balance to a confusing debate and leave you with some actions to consider and pray about. While the post may not be comprehensive, given the broad range of financial topics, this will give you a solid foundation to build “Kingdom Finances” upon a bedrock of the Provision Gospel. Continue reading “The Provision Gospel”
In our last post, we dealt with the “Poverty Gospel”. This is a term not often used and rarely taught on. By contrast, the “Prosperity Gospel” is a term that likely every Christian has heard and experienced. Even secular media outlets love to point out leaders of Faith who live in the lap of luxury while conservative churches shake their head in dismay at the twisted teachings of the “health and wealth” gospel.
Yet, despite its common discussion, just what exactly the “Prosperity Gospel” is, why people believe it, and what is wrong about it is rarely discussed. Many who are labeled as “Prosperity Teachers” may not be upon on closer examination, as it sometimes appears that any Christian with financial wealth is considered a prosperity proponent. It is a label easily applied but much harder to actually describe.
The purpose of this post is to define what the Prosperity Gospel is, why it’s often believed, and what is wrong about it. We’ll also discuss some signs that you’ve believed the lie and talk about what to do if you have. Continue reading “The Prosperity “Gospel””
Turn on Christian TV today and you’ll likely see well-dressed tele-evangelists begging for money and promising that if you give you’ll be given more in return. This “Prosperity Gospel” is false, but it is largely obvious. The ostentatious display of selfish love of money makes the mature believer able to easily spot the lie and avoid it (we’ll still be discussing “The Prosperity Gospel” in more detail in my next post).
By contrast, there is an equally false gospel that has been preached for centuries. It is more dangerous by “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:5). It embraces asceticism and extreme giving. It relishes the doctrine of suffering as something to be pursued, not endured, and equates being poor with being holy. This is what I’m calling the “Poverty Gospel”.
This post is designed to confront the Spirit of Poverty and Pride behind the Poverty Gospel head on. We’ll define what it is, why people believe it (all good lies have an element of truth), and signs you may have it. We’ll also discuss what the Bible really says about Poverty and what you can do to move forward if you’ve believed the Poverty Gospel.
Imagine having access to a near limitless fortune and being tasked to dispense it for the good of humanity. Billions of dollars are at your fingertips to start universities, cure diseases, and whatever else your heart desires. Whatever you can dream can be accomplished. Sounds incredible, right?
When we think of someone with this capability, perhaps none is more prominent than Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft who’s personally worth is nearly $90 Billion dollars. He’s pledged to give away half of this fortune and is making strides toward his goal with astounding progress.
But this article isn’t about Bill Gates.
While I titled this article “Should Christians Buy Bitcoin?”, the fundamentals we’ll discuss will apply to other cryptocurrencies (Litecoin, Ethereum, Monero, etc.) as well as high risk/high return, volatile, and speculative investments in general.
Also, I realize there is a movement afoot that suspects cryptocurrencies are somehow part of the end-times “one world currency” or “mark of the beast”. I am not covering this theory as to a reason Christians should or shouldn’t buy Bitcoin, but focusing on the question of how a good Christian financial steward deals with high-risk and/or speculative investments.
Today we are exploring a question that I often get asked (or ask myself) from those who have a heart for Biblical Stewardship.
It is a difficult question, but an honorable one. In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25), we see that each servant was given “in accordance with his ability). I once wrote on how this ability was perhaps largely a measure of their faith, but I have little doubt that even the “5 talent servant” still had to wrestle with questions of what to do with the resources entrusted to him. The balance of giving vs. saving is one that all Christians will eventually have ponder.
This article is not for those who at the beginning of their financial stewardship journey. This is for the “5 talent servants” who have moved beyond the basics and are exploring deep, hard questions about the balance between generosity and saving. If you are following Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps, you will find the most value here if you are already at Baby Step 4, “Invest 15% of Household Income Into Retirement” or above. Continue reading “Balancing Giving and Saving: A Biblical Rule of Thumb”
I haven’t posted much here lately as I’ve been working a lot on preparing Propsee for launch. However, today I felt prompted through to take a break from all the other things I’m working on to write about what I feel is an impending crisis for the housing market and US Economy that may begin in 2017. Please take the time to prayerfully read this and take time to consider your own personal situation in preparation. Continue reading “The Coming Crisis: Will 2017 See Another Housing Crash?”
Growing up in rural Western NY where the average income was less than $40k a year was a great place to start my life. In this beautiful country of backroads and family farms, a BMW 3-series turns head. Here, a 7-series won’t get a second glance. Going to college isn’t a given back there, and those that do often end up leaving to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
By contrast, Texas is a veritable sea of comparison! Looks seem to be everything and the parade of big homes and expensive cars never end. You can be an up and coming manager with a 6-figure salary, slightly used car, and decent home and still feel like a failure as soon as you step out the door. The bar is set so high that it can feel like a constant struggle just trying to keep up. Continue reading “Pursuing Less, Stewarding More”