Evangelism, Tithing Crucial, EC Leader Boto Tells SBC
Personal evangelism and tithing are imperative for reversing declines in key Southern Baptist Convention metrics, SBC Executive Committee Interim President D. August Boto told messengers June 12.
Dave Ramsey urges pastors to lead people out of debt
DALLAS (BP) -- Personal finance speaker and author Dave Ramsey, addressing the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 12, urged pastors to lead people out of debt by teaching them what the Bible says about money. "When you stand up in front of your congregation, you're looking at a large number of people who do not have the ability to handle their money," Ramsey, CEO of Ramsey Solutions and author of "Financial Peace University," told messengers.
Churchgoers say they tithe, but not always to church
NASHVILLE (BP) -- Most churchgoers say the Bible commands them to give. But their tithes don't always go in the offering plate. Half of Protestant churchgoers say their tithes can go to a Christian ministry rather than a church, compared to what is often taught by pastors and Bible study aids. A third say tithes can go to help an individual in need and nearly one in five say tithes can even go a secular charity, according to a new study by Nashville-based LifeWay Research.
‘That His glory may be known’ is Va. church’s goal
HAMILTON, Va. (BP) -- "When I came here we had a lot of money in the bank, and we needed to fix that," said Steven Carne, pastor of Hamilton Baptist Church for five years. He challenged the congregation regarding financial stewardship. "God entrusts us with His resources; not to save them for a rainy day, nor to bury them in the ground, but to utilize them to make disciples," Carne told Hamilton Baptist. "I don't want Jesus to return and say to us, 'What have you done with what I have entrusted to you?'
Creating a Stewardship Culture in Your Congregation
Real change can happen in the lives of the people in your congregation when a stewardship culture takes hold of your church.
Page: Churches & stewardship key to SBC honoring God
NASHVILLE (BP) -- God wants "everything we do to bring Him glory," Frank S. Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, noted. The church must be a focal point where God's glory is evident, Page stated during the opening session of the EC's Feb. 19-20 meeting in Nashville. Page read two verses from the apostle Paul in Scripture, Ephesians 3:20-21, to open his message:
FIRST-PERSON: You don’t reap what you sow; you reap more
There's more to the old adage, "You reap what you sow," J.D. Greear points out, noting that "what comes back to you is always greater than what you sowed" -- for good or bad.
FIRST-PERSON: Raising debt-free children
In teaching children about money, Elizabeth Owens notes it is better "to let them make some bad choices with a few dollars -- and learn from it -- than to make bad choices later on with many more dollars."
FIRST-PERSON: Our double-edged smartphones
Smartphones, Art Rainer writes, have both positive and negative effects, from mobile giving to impulse purchases. Don't "waste precious time" using them "on insignificant comforts," he counsels.
Solar power: church to aid community & lower costs
CAMPTON, Ky. (BP) -- A Kentucky church is embracing solar power as a means to help the community and reduce their carbon footprint. Campton Baptist Church, part of the Red River Baptist Association, has installed 80 solar panels on the roof of the church, a project sponsored and installed by SonLight Power, an Ohio-based nonprofit that provides renewable electricity to communities worldwide. This was their first project in the United States. Campton's pastor, Gary Conner, sees the project as a "way to invest in the community."
