The statistics on Americans and retirement planning are staggering. More than half of us do not know how much we will need to live a comfortable retirement, and 60 percent have saved less than $25,000. For clergy, the economics of retirement can be even more challenging.
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For most of my professional career, I have been anti-performance and payment bond-oriented. To me, they seem like such a waste of money. In short, they’re just an insurance policy (although the Surety industry would say they are not “insurance” but rather a “guarantee” — semantics!) in the unlikely event the general contractor on a job is unable to complete the project (usually due to a bankruptcy or other major catastrophe related to the contractor). In theory, that sounds great. It almost feels like the proverbial “Get Out Of Jail” card. But is it really?
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Televangelist Creflo Dollar recently came under fire for asking that 200,000 of his followers donate $300 each to buy a $60-million luxury jet for his use. In the wake of bad publicity associated with the request, it appears that he may have cancelled the campaign before reaching his goal. The problem is: What happens to money already collected?
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In this series installment, Paul Gage spotlights the public phase of the process: the Campaign itself. It’s a critical time — and it requires plenty of prep work to get right.
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Banks are in the business of risk management — so, who better to help your ministry manage fraud and the onslaught of cybercrime making news almost every day?
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People are already abandoning cash and checks in favor of debit and credit cards. And, the tools they’re using now could be obsolete in 10 years. So, choosing a ChMS that stays current with giving technology is crucial. By Mark Kitts Churches that employ alternative giving methods collect more contributions more consistently than those limited […]
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Frankly, many churches have some form of online giving software already in place. So, the point isn’t just about having online giving or donation tools — it’s about maximizing all the benefits online giving can provide.
Read More >The Bible has a clear definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1 — “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Simply put, the biblical definition of faith is “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.” As church leaders, we walk every day in faith. So, how do we marry faith and facts? The church has been put in our care, and we must be good stewards of what God has given us. So how do we care for the church?
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We wanted to dig more into the connection between faith, relevance and technology. So, we put together a short three-question study. We then administered this study to some of the 2,500 attendees of the Nazarene M15 Conference, held in Kansas City, MO, in February.
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As March and April roll around each year, a collective sigh can be heard as Americans prepare to file their taxes. Much of the groaning comes in response to the complexity of figuring out what regulations apply. The clergy housing allowance is a perfect example.
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