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Rockford Register Star Column: Learn from the Ladies of the Red Brick Church

February 22, 2013 in Finances with 0 Comments

I was recently reminded of this guest column I wrote for the Rockford Register Star:

Government leaders who face the brutal task of making decisions about budget cuts are looking for answers. In this column, my proposal is that they receive counsel from a group of ladies right here in northern Illinois.

Many Sundays at the Red Brick Church in Stillman Valley, I have noticed how classy the ladies from my parents’ generation look.

I’m more than a little biased, and our men may be a different story, but where the ladies are concerned, there isn’t a better looking group around. Often, as I shake hands at the front door as people leave, my wife and I comment about how nice we think the ladies look.

When my wife and I do directly compliment one of these ladies, perhaps on a particular dress or jacket, there is a typical response we often receive. The lady who received the kind word will say quietly, “Pastor, I got this on sale for 40 percent off.” Or, “Pastor, would you believe that this dress is over 10 years old?”

The reason, of course, that the ladies from my parents’ generation respond to a compliment about an outfit in this way is because being frugal is deeply ingrained in their value system. Granted, they like the minister noticing that they look nice. But it wouldn’t do for him to think they are throwing money around like sailors on shore leave.

So, there you have my recommendation. I think that Rockford’s leaders should drive down to Stillman Valley . . .

Read the whole thing here.

What Should Excite You About Going to Church

February 19, 2013 in Church, Finances, Giving with 0 Comments

John MacArthur with an excellent thought about what should excite us about going to church.

When you think about coming to church, what aspect do you look forward to the most?

For the sake of this discussion, let’s assume your answer is something spiritually noble—nothing vain or selfish like wanting people to see you dressed in your finest clothes, showing off a new car, or trying to sell goods or services to friends at church. Instead, let’s assume the best—that whatever it is you look forward to most is somehow related to ministry.

Some people might say the teaching keeps them coming back each week. Others would say the music. For some believers, it might be the deep relationships with other Christians they find through their churches—relationships that they can’t cultivate elsewhere. Others might just appreciate the temporary relief from the pressures of life, work, and the world.

But let me suggest something to you: If we really understand Scripture—particularly some specific promises from Jesus—the thing you should look forward to the most is the offering.

God’s Word clearly teaches that our giving is actually a direct pipeline to His blessings. In fact, two simple statements from the Lord ought to make every Christian eager and thrilled for opportunities to give.

Read the rest here.

Student Debt is Unsustainable

July 3, 2012 in Finances, Parenting with 5 Comments

With a daughter going to college, and 3 more children right behind her, this video is very relevant. So far, our approach has been to (1) Save, save, save. (2) Take AP classes. (3) Take community college classes in the summer. (4) Work hard for scholarships.

Whether or not you have decisions to make about college debt, you can glean wisdom from this video.


HT: Denny Burk

 

The Coming Meltdown in College Education

May 24, 2012 in Family, Finances, Parenting with 0 Comments

Mark Cuban:

Remember the housing meltdown ? Tough to forget isn’t it. The formula for the housing boom and bust was simple. A lot of easy money being lent to buyers who couldn’t afford the money they were borrowing. That money was then spent on homes with the expectation that the price of the home would go up and it could easily be flipped or refinanced at a profit.  Who cares if you couldn’t afford the loan. As long as prices kept on going up, everyone was happy. And prices kept on going up. And as long as pricing kept on going up real estate agents kept on selling homes and finding money for buyers.

Until the easy money stopped.  When easy money stopped, buyers couldn’t sell. They couldn’t refinance.  First sales slowed, then prices started falling and then the housing bubble burst. Housing prices crashed. We know the rest of the story. We are still mired in the consequences.

Can someone please explain to me how what is happening in higher education is any different ? . . .

Read the rest here.

HT: Z

Should Christians tithe?

February 18, 2011 in Church, Finances, Giving with 0 Comments

Andy Naselli summarizes an answer to this question from theologian Thomas Schreiner.

Hoping to win the lottery?

October 17, 2009 in Finances, Materialism with 7 Comments

If you dream of picking the right Powerball, read about Jack Whittaker and the chapter of his life that began on a December morning a few years ago.

The next morning, as always, he rose at 4:30 to get to work. Jack, 55, had been working construction since he was a poor 14-year-old in the hills. He’d built himself a nice life in this patch of West Virginia hard by the Kentucky and Ohio borders. He had a wife and a granddaughter who basked in his attentions, a brick house in a nice subdivision in neighboring Scott Depot, and a water and sewer pipe-laying business that employed more than 100 people. At 5:15 a.m., Jack snapped on the television and heard, to his surprise, that the winning ticket had been sold at the C&L Super Serve. What are the odds, Jack later said he was thinking, that one little convenience store would sell two lucky tickets? Just then the winning numbers flashed. The numbers broadcast the night before had been wrong. He had a match on all five numbers, not four.

Jack Whittaker had just won $314 million, the largest undivided lottery jackpot in history.

A few hours later, he ambled into the C&L Super Serve and calmly handed Brenda a bill, saying he’d been meaning to give it to her before Christmas. Brenda figured it was a $1 tip for helping him diet, taking care to pinch a little dough out of his bacon biscuits so the cowboy-man’s big burly wouldn’t go soft.

"He handed me a $100 bill!" Brenda recalls. "I looked at it, and I’m, like, ‘Oh, no, no, no. I’m not taking this from you.’ And he’s, like, ‘Oh, yes, you are.’"

Then it hit her.

"Did you win?" Brenda whispered.

Jack nodded and grinned.

The day would come when many West Virginians recalled the story of Jack’s Powerball Christmas with a shudder at the magnitude of ruination: families asunder, precious lambs six feet under, folks undone by the lure of all that easy money.

But for now, Jack’s big win was viewed as one of the greatest Christmas gifts in his poor state’s history, a holiday miracle to be heralded around the globe.

Read the whole thing here.

6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 1 Timothy 6:1-10.

HT: Z

The Need for a Moral Economic Awakening

October 1, 2009 in Finances with 0 Comments

Owen Strachan:

NYT columnist David Brooks has a thoughtful column out today called “The Next Culture War” that suggests that the shameful levels of debt our country is now carrying are a moral issue.  He’s got a great point, I think, though I disagree with him on a number of matters (the “culture wars” and the issues raised in them are actually of great importance, easy as they are to skewer intellectually).

Here’s the bottom line of his argument:

In 1960, Americans’ personal debt amounted to about 55 percent of national income. By 2007, Americans’ personal debt had surged to 133 percent of national income.

Over the past few months, those debt levels have begun to come down. But that doesn’t mean we’ve re-established standards of personal restraint.

Read the whole thing here.

Chuck Colson on the Financial Crisis and the Bailout Plan

October 3, 2008 in Finances, Politics with 0 Comments

Chuck Colson writes an insightful article on how we should process the current economic chaos.

Most of us have been badly shaken by the tumultuous events on Wall Street in recent weeks. If you have an IRA or some kind of retirement plan, no doubt you are licking your wounds. You may even be fearful. I understand. I have experienced those apprehensions myself.

But we need to remember that fear is always the enemy of faith. The financial markets are his. The world is his.

Here is something else to remember: God often uses adversity for his greatest blessings – in several ways in this case. Christians are called to do the best things in the worst of times.

Read it all here.

Sound Financial Advice from Seth Godin

June 9, 2008 in Finances with 1 Comment

I can’t say that I’ve always followed this perfectly.  But, it’s good advice.  Click here.