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The Truth about Giving
from Dave Ramsey’s Momentum
 For years, financial discipleship has been completely left out of church fundraising efforts. In most churches, money is a topic that is all-too-often unaddressed, leaving Christians without practical biblical teaching on resource management. The result is a congregation that may seem financially secure, and yet is filled with struggling families living paycheck to paycheck. While many pastors are uncomfortable talking about finances from the pulpit, it's one thing that affects everybody.
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Financial Advice from the Bible a Growing Trend
from the Chicago Tribune
Discussing money and religion can be dicey, even as it's more common. As people turn to a faith-based view of personal finance, the number of sources speaking to them is growing. Whether a person is religious or not, biblical notions about money and spending provides guidance. More
Hard Times
from the Christian Century
How should Christians understand--and what should they learn from—the worst economic downturn since the Depression? Does the crisis raise fundamental moral or theological questions about our economic system? Four scholars offer their reflections. More
Gen-X Rising: Fresh Perspective on Youth Ministry
from the UM Portal
Youth ministry is more prone than most other forms of ministry to mimicking pop cultural trends. Its mission is to reach teenagers, after all. But considering the market-driven superficiality of most pop culture, that’s a problem. More
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Product Showcase:
Answers To Your Data Security Questions
 Church data is invaluable and issues that arise from loss, theft, or corruption affect everyone. To help churches keep data as safe as possible, we’ve written the ACS ministry guide How Secure Is Your Vital Information, which discusses simplified data security strategies and answers churches’ most frequently asked data security questions.
Download now
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Study: Blacks More Likely to be Christian
from the Baptist Press
African Americans are more likely to exhibit evidence of being Christian when compared to three other race categories and to the general population, according to a new study by The Barna Group. The study, released this week, found that faith continues to be important in the lives of African Americans, an ethnic group that comprises about 15 percent of the national population. More
IRS Withdraws Audit on Pastor Who Preached Politics
from The Christian Post
The Internal Revenue Service closed its investigation of a Minnesota pastor who advised congregants in a sermon last year not to vote for Barack Obama. The examination was closed due to a procedural problem. Pastor Gus Booth of Warroad Community Church was among dozens of pastors across the country who boldly preached on social and political issues and endorsed presidential candidates from the pulpit last September. More
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Grounds For Play:
NACBA Conference
 Wow! What a conference. Did you have fun…we did? Thank you for allowing us to exhibit and be a part of your Association. Are your children having fun AND learning on your playground? Can children pursue their individual passions? If not, let us help…call us today (800) 552-PLAY (7529). More info
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Faith-based Mutual Insurers Worry about Health Care Reform
from the Religion News Service
As Congress debates whether to mandate health insurance for all Americans, several Christian ministries whose members share each other’s medical costs are hoping the final version of health care reform doesn’t put them out of business. Officials of three major “health sharing” organizations say they are watching the Capitol Hill discussions closely, and suggesting legislative language to ensure they qualify if Congress requires a “mandate” that all Americans carry health insurance. More
Photo Directories Encourage Personal Connection
from Church Executive Magazine
In the age of social networking, face-to-face connections are more important than ever to America’s churches. One way congregations seek to preserve personal relationships among members is through the creation or maintenance of a photo directory. More
Online Pastoral Inspiration Increasing
from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Ministers moving to a new church have a long tradition of dusting off some of their favorite homilies from the past. But in these electronic days, that's just where the recycling begins. The arrival of downloadable sermons throws religious leaders into the debate that has bedeviled college campuses since the first term paper went online. But where taking a term paper is clearly cheating, the sharing of sermons apparently isn't. Some preachers see it as a compliment. Even seminaries have a love-hate relationship with it. More
Take a Byte Out of Sermon Preparation
from Preaching.com
If the software innovations keep coming, it's only a matter of time until Sunday morning will find parishioners using their personal computers and modems to access their worship service electronically. The pastors, of course, will be at the keyboard, transmitting the sermon (displayed onscreen and by voice -- take your choice), and collecting the offerings (debiting your VISA, MasterCard, or American Express).
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How to Get Your First-Time Guests to Come Back
from LifeWay
As a pastor or church leader, you need to be aware of five significant facts about first-time guests looking for a church home and five vital actions you can take to make them want to return. More
Airport Chapels Offer Haven to More Faiths
from The Associated Press
Across the country, chapels designed to offer passengers refuge and reflection in bustling airports are making changes: Removing denomination-specific decor, adding special accommodations and hosting services geared to accommodate an increasingly diverse group of travelers flying with faith.
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Church Bulletin Humor Makes News in Pews
from the Crescent-News
It's hard to believe that God would bless people with the ability to laugh except in church. Perhaps that's why he inspired his followers to invent church bulletins. So, for your reading pleasure, here are a few more well-meaning announcements that actually appeared in a church bulletin.
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