Year-end giving can have a big impact on annual budgets. Between the joyous spirit of the holiday season and the December 31st deadline for tax-deductible contributions, this time of year is the most popular time for giving to the church. I have heard it said that churches may receive an average of 30% of their annual donations in…
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For Lori and I, November is the month with a number of birthdays. Lori’s late father and her youngest brother have the same date of birth in November. Lori has two cousins that have a birthday in November and I have one whose birthday is in November. Finally, our two daughter’s oldest children were each…
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Ha! I know it is October, and yet I am writing a column entitled Thankfulness! Shouldn’t that wait till November, when we actually celebrate Thanksgiving??? Well, actually, we can be thankful anytime, can’t we? I have been reading through the Psalms lately and this past weekend the words of a Psalm I have read over many, many times,…
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Recently I saw a headline that came from a U.S. Department of Labor report that said the average man in America will hold 12.7 jobs in his lifetime. The average woman will have about 12.1. Diving into the report a bit, you find things like the statistics drawn from later-era baby boomers born from 1957-1964.…
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I love to collect sayings! That’s not a misprint, I literally meant, sayings. This goes back about 35 years, to when I first heard John Maxwell speak at a Stewardship Seminar in Sioux Falls, SD. I was a young 25-year-old newly minted lead pastor of a small 60-person rural Minnesota church in a town of 300.…
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Settle down folks, this is not a politically based column! Actually, this is a column reminding you about our pastor and wife retreat called IGNITE which is held each fall. (Yes, we even met in 2020 in Cody, WY!). Ignite provides a more relaxed atmosphere in which to learn from some great preachers, teachers, and skilled professionals. Last year we had Ken…
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When it comes to ministry, there are many things that the Lord has left for us to navigate using wisdom principles and the Holy Spirit. For example, should you live stream or podcast your services? Or both? Or neither? How much of discipleship should be multi-generational, and how much should be age- and stage-specific? These…
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Monday, May 29th – Friday, June 2nd was the most recent biennial General Council for The Alliance! Held in Spokane, WA, it was great to see so many of our district pastors, wives, and laypeople present! Below is a brief report regarding that gathering that included some good services, the state of The Alliance via…
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Ever since I was a little boy, I have loved music! Originally it was the hymns we’d sing every Sunday morning, evening, and Wednesday night at church — from the old red Alliance hymnal copyrighted I believe in 1962. From there I learned about a whole new kind of music to my ear — usually…
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Jesus’ sinless life, death, and resurrection is THE greatest victory, ever! When Christ went to the cross, voluntarily, after enduring multiple beatings that would have killed most people AND THEN had the sins of all the world — past, present, and future — placed upon Him, died and then rose again on the third day,…
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