Tag Archive - economy

Sam & Esther

January 30, 2009 in Confessional, GOD, Pop-Culture with 3 Comments

We worry about the economy a lot right now. All kinds of “what ifs” go through our mind. Yeah, its bad right now. But maybe we need a perspective check.

Watch this video if you are man enough. Or, choose the easy route and live in ignorance. I cried. A lot.

THIS is why we sponsor a Compassion child. We can’t do a lot, but we can make a big difference in Emmanuel Sikuku’s life. Emmanuel is our Compassion child and though I’ve never met him in person, I love him to death. You might not feel like there is much you can do either. But something tells me that you can make a difference for at least one, somehow, somewhere.

Go for it.

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The $$$ Crunch

December 11, 2008 in GOD, Pop-Culture with Comments Off

This week in the office is INSANE. I am preaching on Sunday, we are trying to get ready for this awesome event, and we are doing our 2009 1st quarter budgeting. The most insane part is the budgeting. I’ve been taking lots of tylenol, eating a lot of bananas and drinking way too much sweet tea.

Budgeting for 2009 is especially tough. With the economy being so bad, the announcement of a recession, and people just freaking out, most Churches I know are feeling the $$$ crunch.

There have been 16 recessions in our country since 1919. Historically the average length of recessions in the U.S. has been 13 months, although the recent recessions have been shorter. That means that if the 2008 recession is an average one, the downturn in the stock market should have bottomed out around November of 2008. However some economists fear that this recession may last longer.

Its not just the economists that are worried…a lot of people are fearful and freaking out.

I’m confident because of what I know.

I know the church is resilient. It know it has survived persecution, terrorism, war, poverty, and more. A recession isn’t going to stop God. I know that these uncertain times will help people turn to Christ because in our country people haven’t had to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread…” in a long time because our refrigerators have been plenty ful.

Its nice to not have to freak out. Thanks to God using Dave Ramsey in my life, I am going to keep doing what I’ve been doing with my personal finances. Giving to God first, saving second, and living on the rest last is still my plan. No credit. Period. You can listen to more on that here. I’m going to keep trying my best to keep my eyes on the needs of others. As I do that, God will keep His eyes on my needs.

But, I’m wondering, what are you doing? Are you freaking out? Is your church cutting back on expenses? How are you adjusting?

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Brilliant Blogs (and Links!)

November 19, 2008 in Blogging with 1 Comment

Sorry. My buddy Clayton Bell pointed out that it has been a while since I shared some good links. Here ya go!

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The Third F-Word: Finances

October 30, 2008 in GOD, Leadership with Comments Off

Read about the first F-Word here and the second F-Word here!

The reason we are in the middle of some financial crisis right now here in America is because we have made bad financial decisions as leaders AND as consumers.

Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” We don’t believe that verse…if we did, we’d be more concerned with giving. The Bible is a book about generosity but many of us cant really be generous b/c weve gotten ourselves into such a financial mess.

The best leadership decision Nehemiah ever made was when he walked in to Jerusalem and said Im not going to take my fair shareIm going to be generous.

Let me ask you this question. Lets say that today on the way home you hear the audible voice of God. He tells you exactly what He wants you to do and its something that requires a lot of sacrifice.

Could you do it? Most likely it will require a pay cut. Or, would you be unable to act in faith, b/c you are:

  • Owe more on a car than it is worth?
  • Chilling on financed furniture?
  • Paying off credit cards with credit cards?
  • Making those $15 minimum payments on credit cards?
  • Constantly getting bank charges because you have negative balances in your checkbook?

At The Connection Church, our take on the economy is that we will respond but never back down. You wont see us retreating at all from our mission of connecting with God, connecting with others, and connecting others with God.

I want to encourage you to do the same thing; respond wisely to the current economic situation but don’t back down one bit because that’s what Christ followers do.

Some of us may even need to take serious action. You might need to sell your new car and buy a used one, cut up your credit cards, or stop eating out so much. I have done all of those things and I would never go back to any of them. It’s time to get our finances in order and BITE BACK.

In January we’ll be starting some new Financial Peace University classes. I want to encourage you to sign up if you are feeling hammered in the area of finances right now. Watch for your chance to get in on this incredible opportunity coming in the next few weeks.

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