Browsing by Rob Blezard

Faith Raising, Not Fund Raising

Saddleback Church, Rick Warren’s amazing congregation, doesn’t have a problem with finances. In fact, they’ve launched plenty of ministries and satellites. How do they do it? As Saddleback’s Forrest Reinhardt explains, the approach is to focus on discipleship, not dollars. (Photo by Chelsea, used by Creative Commons license. Thanks!)

Year-Round Stewardship Calendar

We are accustomed to thinking of stewardship in terms of the annual “pledge drive.” It happens once a year, and mostly we endure it as a necessary evil to raise money to run the church. This calendar takes stewardship out of the “annual occurrence” category and places it where it should be – right in […]

Resolutions for These End Times

In recent years we have been deluged with “end-times” paranoia, ranging from vague and scary apocalyptic prophecy to specific day-and-hour predictions. Even so, I’ve created my own “end of world” prediction – one that is entirely true, based on Scripture and scientific evidence. And based on my prediction, I’ve crafted New Year’s Resolutions for 2013. (Photo © rolffimages – Fotolia.com)

11 Ways to Recreate the Earth

Caring for the environment is a way of respecting our God, the Creator, and loving our neighbor, including the generations who will come after us. Here are 11 great suggestions — you can make one or all of them a New Year’s Goal — on what you and your congregation can do to help improve the environment. Posted on Beliefnet. (Photo by Aussiegall, used by Creative Commons license. Thanks!)

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love

Advent is the time of waiting, but what are we usually waiting for? For presents? Parties? Santa Claus? Winter vacation from school? Travel to Grandma’s house? Dinner with family? The after-Christmas sales? The answer is yes, and no. (Image © Elena Schweitzer – Fotolia.com)

Katherine Hayhoe: Sandy and Climate Change

Is Superstorm Sandy a symptom of climate change? Listen to this interview with Christian climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe who puts the storm into historical and scientific perspective, as well as providing an update on the latest in climate science. Posted on Patheos. (Photo by DVDSHUB, used by Creative Commons License. Thanks. Photo is a house […]

Scientific and Spiritual Dimensions of Climiate Change

Here is a handy study course consisting of nine sessions of two hours each that explores the challenges of climate change from scientific and spiritual dimensions. Leaders will find everything they need to plan and run the course. Written from a Baha’i faith standpoint, the materials are readily adaptable for other contexts. (NASA Photo, public domain)

Characteristics of an Excellent Stewardship Program

The Rev. Terry Parsons served as the Stewardship Director for the Episcopal Church from 1996-2008. She died in October 2012.

Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations

Congregations spend a lot of energy on a lot of different efforts, but here are five concepts to focus what your church does in order to make it more productive and faithful. The Five Practices website contains lots of supporting information and ideas to get your congregation moving. It’s the creation of Robert Schnase, Bishop of the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church. (Photo by AlicePopkorn, used by Creative Commons License. Thanks!)

How Much We Take for Granted!

One moment you’re in your warm house on a blustery October evening, seated at your computer writing emails and listening to storm coverage as your evening cup of tea cools. The next moment your house is as dark and as silent as midnight, oozing heat to the eager cold. There’s nothing like a power outage […]