I am reading the book "God So loved, He Gave" and reflecting on the well known passage out of I Timothy 6: 9 – "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." I've both read and spoken about this verse many times and tend to shrug it off with my Western mindset. Getting rich is part of the American dream; surely ... read full post

A few years ago, I felt convicted to do a six-month shopping fast. It was an extremely humbling experience, and I continue to learn much from it. Basically, I fasted from the purchasing of essentially all items for six months – clothes, shoes, household goods, specialty food items, electronics, movies, etc. I made a list of 12 household staples (milk, cheese, cereal, fuel, etc.), and that is all I could spend ... read full post

As you teach your congregation about giving, what motives do you appeal to? How do you inspire, encourage, or inadvertently discourage your people? In the following video, Scott Ridout, lead pastor at Sun Valley Community Church in Gilbert, Arizona, offers the five most common giving motivations of churchgoers and distinguishes between lower-level motivations (which are short-term) and higher-level motivations (which ... read full post  |  3 comments

If God used your preaching to motivate one of your members to give a $500,000 gift to provide clean drinking water to a third-world orphanage, instead of your church, could you celebrate the gift?

Starting your sermon series off with a concerted focus on Kingdom giving (assuming you've got a sincere heart), rather than just giving to your church alone, will help people relax and engage with your preaching. ... read full post