One of the best things to come out of the economic downturn of the last four years is that consumers are working hard to get out of debt.  The Federal Reserve reported that last year the amount of debt held by the average household in this country shrunk to its lowest level since 1993. And […]

It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that the lowest birth rates in our country in the 20th Century happened in the 1930s, as a result of the Great Depression. But why should you care? Because the folks were born in those years are now in their 70s and 80s. These are the ages when we […]

Last winter I was asked to meet with a group of leaders from a United Methodist church that is facing some all too-common issues:  sliding attendance, less money in the offering plate and a general malaise.  As I discussed a number of ways to help members shift from giving out of obligation to giving out of […]

Yesterday my wife Chris wrapped up her participation in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.  From early Friday morning until yesterday afternoon she and about 1,000 others walked 60 miles around western Cuyahoga County. Many of you are familiar with the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a 5k (3.1 mile) walk […]

For nearly half a century the good folks from Mayfield UMC have been going to Camp Aldersgate near Carrollton, one of our three Conference camps.  The church fills up the camp, spending a week together swimming and hiking, lugging each other up that huge hill and eating together in the dining hall.  For a generation […]

I have a hunch that there are lots of churches in our Conference that have put off capital campaigns in the last four years or so.  With a struggling economy and plate income a challenge, it just did not seem like the right time to take on a major campaign. But those churches still have […]

In his Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Bishop Robert Schnase made the term “Extravagant Generosity” mainstream in the lexicons of many of our churches.  This summer Michael Reeves and Jennifer Tyler release Extravagant Generosity:  Heart of Giving.  I am grateful to have received an advance copy from Abingdon Press and I wanted to share my […]

Last week I heard a business guru give his tool to assess the success of small businesses given the difficult economy the last few years. “If you’re still open, you’re a success.”  But then he admonished them to get out of survival mode and plan for the future. I think that’s where we are with […]

It has become a key phrase in our society:  “You can’t be too safe.”  This notion when it comes to raising children prompted Lenore Skenazy to write Free Range Kids, a book and now a blog.  In it, she reminds us that kids need to go out and play and have fun.  If they end […]

Mastercard’s “Priceless” ad campaign is world-famous and fairly well satirized at this point.  In those ads you might expect to see Friendship identified as “Priceless.”  But a survey by the Gallup folks in 1998 puts a definite value on friendship, $118.  That is, that for every friend a church member has in his or her congregation, […]