Yesterday my wife Chris wrapped up her participation in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. From early Friday morning until yesterday afternoon she and about 1,000 others walked 60 miles around western Cuyahoga County. Many of you are…
Read MoreI have a hunch that there are lots of churches in our Conference that have put off capital campaigns in the last four years or so. With a struggling economy and plate income a challenge, it just did not seem…
Read MoreLast week I heard a business guru give his tool to assess the success of small businesses given the difficult economy the last few years. “If you’re still open, you’re a success.” But then he admonished them to get out…
Read MoreIt has become a key phrase in our society: “You can’t be too safe.” This notion when it comes to raising children prompted Lenore Skenazy to write Free Range Kids, a book and now a blog. In it, she reminds…
Read MoreMastercard’s “Priceless” ad campaign is world-famous and fairly well satirized at this point. In those ads you might expect to see Friendship identified as “Priceless.” But a survey by the Gallup folks in 1998 puts a definite value on friendship, $118. …
Read MoreLast week’s stock market fluctuations aside, the economy seems to be on the upswing. Economists point to statistics like orders for durable goods and slowly easing unemployment rates as their proof. I knew it was better in late December by the…
Read MoreI was blessed to be able to preach yesterday at Orchard Path UMC, one of our new church starts. Reverend David Rittgers is leading a great group in suburban Cleveland and asked if I would talk stewardship with his people….
Read MoreIf you started the year with a new financial secretary he or she is probably pretty depressed seven Sundays into the new year. He or she may have taken the total amount pledged, divided it by 52 and figured that…
Read MoreWhen I was growing up you didn’t get braces until your teeth had all come in. But today the approach is to do braces much younger, often at age 8 or so. That way they come in straight rather than…
Read MoreThere is no doubt that church committee work is cyclical and this is absolutely true for Stewardship Committees. After Labor Day they start to get organized, are busy in October and November, are done by Thanksgiving or so and are…
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