Greetings in Jesus’ Name!

Those of us who seek to lead within the Christian community pursue a high calling indeed! Part of that calling is to have our lives in order so that our actions – as well as our Bible studies and sermons - honor God’s purposes.  But living in America and not buying into its messages of entitlement now/no responsibility later is not an easy effort, especially when it comes to managing our personal finances. Consider three short statements among the dozens possible that speak to money issues today: 

• If we have one, many of us do not adhere to a weekly or monthly spending plan,

• Many of us do not understand compound interest or basic investing and,

• The average number of personal credit cards carried in the average purse or wallet is five, none of which are routinely paid off in full at the end of each month (most of us opt to pay only the minimum balance due).

      When we add to these statements the amount of debt many of us (especially those of us under forty) have assumed in completing our preparation for ministry at our seminaries and universities, debt seems to have become as natural a part of our profession as it is in our culture. As Jesus mentioned more than once, when debt gets the upper hand it has the tendency to affect our personal relationships and hamper our effectiveness in ministry.  To help our PCWs continue to teach and live well, the NOW District:

• Will conduct regional financial planning workshops
  (Thrivent, LCEF and others will present) around the district,

• Has developed a No Frills© Self Study on line resource,

• Has posted a series of financial resources on line.

Follow the links below. It is my prayer that these resources will prompt personal study, prayer and action as God prompts. As you use or share them with a colleague, please let me know if they have been helpful and if there are other aspects of this issue we might help to address.

• Money Savvy Survey

• No Frills Personal Finance Self Study Power Point

• Resources