I’m On a Jury!

Dear friends,

I have been on jury duty for the last week-and-a-half. During this time I still have all of my duties at the church (Saturday and Sunday are going to come around whether I want them to or not!). Postings to this blog have been sporadic due to time constraints. That is going to continue through next week (at least). You see, I have been selected for a jury. The judge has instructed us to not talk about the case with anyone. I will post as often as possible. Please pray that God will give me wisdom as I serve on the jury.

You are all appreciated!

Lance

Stewardship Seminar—Waste of Time or Good Use of Time?

I hate meetings that waste my time. My Presbytery sponsored a stewardship workshop this past Saturday. I protect my Saturday morning and early afternoon. With a full slate of Saturday night worship and activities I keep the morning and early afternoon for “family” and personal stuff. So, I went to Saturday’s workshop intending to leave if it was just the same old stuff and a waste of my time.

The Rev. Bob Sheldon, Director of Funds Development, Synod of the Rocky Mountains (SRM), lead the seminar. I was pleasantly surprised by the seminar! SRM’s web site has a very useful section on development and stewardship. All items are there for churches to modify and use! Check it out!

Here are some startling stewardship statistics. In the past there was the 3-3 principle. The 3-3 principle said that when one long time member leaves a church it takes three new members three years to get back to the giving level of that one member. Today we are at the 7-7 level—when one long time member of the church leaves/dies it takes seven new members seven years to get back to the giving level of that one member! These figures should scare the living daylights out of denominational and church leaders! Every church needs to reexamine how it goes about training its people about stewardship.

Once again I have to report for jury duty. I will discuss the ideas put forth in the stewardship workshop on those days when I do not have to report for jury duty.