Financial Responsibility

Scrooge and the Cratchit Family


What is the best way to encourage Believers, both Seasoned and Beginners, to use wisdom about how they make, spend, donate and save money? There are many approaches, and some work well and others do not. More importantly, some violate the basic principles of the scripture and others are very consistent with the Bible.


The Bible does not talk about how to live in a wealthy Capitalistic Society like the USA because no such thing existed then. Poverty was rampant and common people used bartering and farming as the primary means of surviving. Now, we in the West have the opposite problems that existed in the days of Abram, David and Jesus.

We have too much and they had too little. Solomon was one of the wealthiest men on earth but even poor people have more today than he had then. Most of us have in door toilets, running water, heat in winter and air conditioners in summer.

So, how do we approach the matters of money in a culture of too much? Our problems are obesity and more things than we can store in our homes.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer some 30 churches in Cincinnati are doing a series on "Materialism" to combat people who have too much.

The program is called "Consumed," an intense sermon series and accompanying Bible study created by Crossroads Community Church in Oakley.

"We tried to identify what are the spiritual needs of our community, and we felt that it's being on this treadmill of buying things and judging and being judged by what we have and how much money we make," said Crossroads Pastor Brian Tome. "We're not even American people anymore; we're American consumers. It's a dominant influence in our lives, and it's hurting people."

More than 30 other churches have joined with Crossroads to follow the journey simultaneously. The pastors are meeting to discuss each week's theme, and then each will deliver his own message to congregations and incorporate it into additional church activities.

"We, as pastors, really want to make a difference in the city, and by linking arms with other churches and taking this journey together, we can do that," said Pastor Matt Massey of North Star Vineyard. The church meets Sundays at 9 and 10:30 a.m. at Loveland Junior High School.

What do you think about this? Will it be effective?


Will Christan's consume less as a result? (I assume that is one goal although the article does not say.)





Will people love God and neighbor more?





Will they lose weight?





Are folks going to put more in savings? (A huge need in America.)





Will giving rates rise? (The percentage of giving is pretty small now.)





I would love to hear your take on this!


PS Perhaps the most famous Christian attempt to motivate people to share their money is the book, The Christmas Carol. Scrooge was converted and opened his heart to others. The drawing above illustrates his changed heart.

Politicians

The debate among five Republican pols tonight was pretty good. At least they are not promising every citizen and illegal immigrant on earth a free education and free unlimited medical care forever. The Democrats are seemingly trying to out do each other in false promises.

But, still, it does not appear that the debators are taking seriously the huge number of people who are hitting sixty every day and what that will do to Medicare, Medicaid and taxes. Can you say, "Break the bank?"

I need to examine more closely the statements of these men. I know what the Dem's are saying and, since I can count, know it cannot work. So, let's just elect a nice person who will lie to us because we demand it instead of an adult who will tell us the truth.

Debt and Poverty

Last week a group of Christian leaders got together to share what is happening in our lives. The issue of financial freedom came up and I was happy to hear that several of them have both a weekly emphasis upon financial issues along with semi annual or quarterly video sessions about the need for Believers to use their financial resources wisely.

Some have a "Creed" about financial and practical resources they ask the congregation to read each week. This emphasizes that finances are important not only as a tithe but as resources for living.

Rex Schrolucke, Pastor of Trinity Christian Fellowship, is using a 13 week DVD series by Dave Ramsey to teach his, Financial Peace University materials. Rex was very positive about the practical ways his people have benefitted from the training.

I recommend Dr. Ruby Payne's book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty as a great resource. It has helped me understand how background and culture influence our approach to financial issues.

Many churches and Christian groups give money and resources to the chronically poor without realizing they might be making the problem worse for the current and future generations.

City Cure of Cincinnati uses Dr. Payne's approach in an ongoing ministry to help people break the cycle of generational poverty. Contact them at:

Roger Howell
rhowell@cityministries.com
http://citycure.org/
(513) 345-1023

What have you found helpful to get people out of debt and poverty? Let us know.

Better Relationships

The central focus of Sweeten Life Systems is to enhance the relationships of individuals and organizations. It is impossible to have healthy relationships in the office and factory is they are dysfunctional at home.

The Families at Work Institute and has a lot to say to the situation we face today in America. To read the entire report go to: http://familiesandwork.org/site/research/reports/3wbooklet.pdf

Today’s U.S. workforce and workplace are in transition. In Families and Work Institute’s (FWI) nationally representative study of the U.S. workforce, the National Study of the Changing Workforce, we find dramatic changes over the past 25 years.

To begin, the workforce is aging.

In 1977, just over a third of the workforce (38%) was over 40-years-old; today, more than half (56%) is (over 40).

Women today play an increasingly vital role, making up nearly half of thewage and salaried workforce. In addition, work hours for many employees are climbing and jobs have become more hectic and demanding.

Life at home has also changed with an increase in the number of dual earner couples in the workplace (from 66% of couples in 1977 to 78% today), which has created pressure among working families.

55 percent of employees feel they don’t have enough time for themselves,

63 percent feel they don’t have enough time for their spouses

67 percent feel they don’t have enough time for their children.

Repercussions of these trends are being experienced by employers as well. FWI data reveal that

39 percent of employees are not fully engaged in their jobs,

54 percent are less than fully satisfied with their jobs

38 percent are somewhat or very likely to make a concerted effort to find a new job in the coming year.

Employers are challenged to recruit talent, engage and retain workers, and maximize productivity.

How can employers accomplish their goals and continue the high productivity if families are so stressed that individuals cannot function well? What can we do? It is clear that additional family counseling alone is not enough.

I am a Family Therapist who has spent a great deal of his adult life counseling couples and families. I also founded two counseling centers and one in-patient psychiatric hospital to treat distressed people. Crisis counseling is not nearly enough!

The only answer is for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to establish centers that will actually teach people how to develop healthy relationships. We need hundreds of churches in each city that are so concerned about individual children that they equip adults how to be good parents.

I am happy to see "Divorce Recovery" groups springing up in a few of the 5,000 or so congregations in Greater Cincinnati, but that is too late. We know the major causes of divorce and we know how to teach people to avoid one. Why do so few churches and community organizations do anything to prevent divorce?

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It is possible to prevent problems. It is also less expensive and less traumatizing to everyone concerned. Why not do it???

Survival Skills for Wives in Ministry

Support and Training for Wives in Ministry

Over the past 30 years we have ministered to dozens of ministers and their wives on issues of burn out, church conflict, dealing with aggressive members, gossip, rearing children, etc. Leading a ministry is perhaps the most daunting career in life. Now, help is on the way.

Steve Griebling, Family Therapist and international training expert, will provide four Mondays for “Survival Skills for Wives in Ministry”. February 11, 18, 25 and March 3.

The sessions will be from 7:00-8:15 at the Life Way Counseling Center Conference Room in Blue Ash. Directions after sign up.

The enrollment is limited to ten women so each can receive personal attention.

Cost $20.00 per session.

Topics
1. How to love people without taking their problems
2. How to minister to distressed minds without losing your own
3. Boundaries as a Minister’s wife
4. Leisure, fun and be relaxation
5. Developing a support system that you can trust
6.

Each attendee will get a copy of Dr. Gary Sweeten’s DVD on the importance of becoming a “Committed Couple”. It can be used as a guide for personal growth or teaching small groups or classes. For questions, contact Steve @ 984-827 or stevegriebling@hotmail.com

Steve is a senior trainer with Sweeten Life Systems. He has taught leaders in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, China, Russia, Zimbabwe and Singapore. Steve has been a Pastor, a Clinical Counselor and head of a Counseling Program so he is well qualified to train wives how to overcome the problems of ministry.

So Many People Retiring!!

And what about these soon-to-retire workers?

The Social Security Administration reports that 52 percent of Americans has no private pension coverage.

This evidently means that these folks think that the small income they receive from Social Security will be adequate for them to live on. However, because the politicians in Washington, D. C. have refused to improve Social Security, it will be insolvent by 2012.

Even more shocking, 31 percent of the workforce has no savings set aside specifically for retirement.

In the Winter of 2008, Republicans and Democrats are running for President. Yet none of them is talking about these issues. That is, unless you count the fact that they lie spending even more money the Federal Government does no have on free universal health insurance.

The life expectancy for a 65-year-old has grown from 12 1/2 years in 1935 to 17 years today. So as this generation moves into its retirement years, it will stay around longer than past generations.

DEEE-Nial ain't a river in Egypt!

Are You Ready to Retire?

Plant seeds for the future!

If you read this blog much you know that one of my little sayings is:

Don't Retire

Refire!

However, by using this proverb I am not suggesting that you refuse to save money and prepare for a time when your earning power has been reduced. In fact, those of us who "REFIRE" will need more financial resources than those who continue to work for money.

Because so many Boomers and Silents are retiring and leaving the work force, a crisis looms on the horizon for churches, companies and schools. Now is the time for Christians to down size their appetites and slow their spending to build a good nest egg that will allow you to REFIRE with freedom.

Find a financial planner and let them guide you so that whatever you have will be put to work for you.

Intergenerational Ministry and Worship

Planning worship, preaching and programs for the modern church is a huge and growing challenge. Very few people seem to be writing or talking about it. That is unfortunate because the health and vitality of every church and business in the world rests on successfully navigating the waters of inter generational groups.

The Alban Institute is a resource organization for leaders and churches. It is a group that usually covers cutting edge or rapidly changing topics of interest. They have recently published three books on the topic of healthy planning for inter generational ministries.

http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=5544

The books seems to tackle the major issues facing us all as we try to lead in the 21st Century. Planning is the key to success.

Planning for the Financial Future

This money belonged to crooks. It would be much better if it belonged to Christians.

I am a strong believer in helping people avoid or escape poverty. God has a lot to say about poverty and most of it is bad. He is consistent in demanding that His people help the truly poor.


To me, this is a matter of common sense as well as biblical mandate. If churches want to thrive spiritually, they must have temporal resources as well as spiritual ones. If all churches helped their people do a better job of financial planning they would also reap the benefits from the tithes and offerings they receive from the congregation.


Every church needs resources. Nobody can evangelize, hire staff or support missions if there is no money. One of the reasons we support ministry in Russia is because they have so little. However, we are doing everything we can to enhance their economic condition.


Every church could and should have classes and regular preaching on ways to save money, get good jobs and make a bigger salary. I wish every church had several millionaires in them so their tithes and offerings would bless others.


Go to the Willow Creek Association and look for the materials by Dick Towner. Buy them and use them in your church.

Ready to Retire?

Probably not! Very few of us are ready to retire.

Many of the people in the Boomer and Silent/Pioneer Demographic Groups are definitely not ready to retire. One of the many crises of our nation's so called Social Security plan is the fact that it seems to lull most people into thinking that they do nto have to have a personal savings plan to provide the greater part of their retirement.

Look at these data:

The Ohio Department of Development projects an 8.5 pe rcent growth in population between 2000 and 2030. Consider this: Between 2012 and
2030, more than 3 million Ohioans will reach retirement age!

And what about these soon-to-retire workers? Social Security reports that 52 percent of Americans has no private pension coverage and 31 percent of the workforce has no savings set aside specifically for retirement.

Additionally, the life expectancy for a 65-year-old has grown from 12 1/2 years in 1935 to 17 years today. So as this generation moves into its retirement years, it will stay around longer than past generations.

Alarming!
U.S. Controller General David Walker was quoted as saying,“The most serious threat to the United States is not hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan but (is) our own fiscal responsibility.”

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told lawmakers earlier this year, The rising costs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, “will drive government spending to unprecedented levels, consume nearly all projected federal revenues and threaten America’s future prosperity!

Gadgets for Seasoned Citizens

I received an e mail from Michael Cristiani. Take a look.

Check out all 6 pages/mini-stories. For me the challenge is how to put all this stuff to the service of the Gospel and the loving/caring/relationships/healing stuff you have been blogging about.

Seems there must be some ministry/church-healing/unifying opportunities here somewhere, or even just some business ideas.
http://www.news.com/2300-1041_3-6212355-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg

What About Your Region?

Most of the people who read this blog are from places far removed from Ohio. We have many readers from California, Massachusetts, Great Britain, Spain, Russia and Asia. Welcome to my world.

I wrote earlier today about the dramatic and ominous changes that are occurring in Ohio. I think these are similar if not worse in other regions of the USA and the world.

Europe is in worse shape than the US. The nations in Europe have a much lower birth rate and are not replacing the deaths. This means more immigrants.

People there retire earlier than we and have greater social security. But, there are fewer workers meaning that the retirements cannot be sustained. And, unlike the USA, very few Europeans have private retirement plans.

The crisis there is even worse than here and it is horrible here.

Storm Warnings

I have been talking about the ominous and potentially dangerous tidal wave of aging people for some time. It is an "Age Wave" that is more threatening to us than Al Qada or Iran. It might destroy the USA.

Despite that fact, only one Republican candidate, Ron Paul, even mentioned it last night in the debate. The Democrats are even worse if that is possible. They mention seniors but recommend worse solutions than passive acceptance. They want to throw more money away and a lack of money is the crisis.

Despite the implication for every church and Christian organization in the Western Democracies almost no Christian leader is addressing it. Talk about an ostrich mentality!

The church's answer is to drive hard to recruit more kids and abandon ministries that appeal to Seasoned Believers.

The Cincinnati Enquirer has a headlined story about the crisis in the paper today. In the article is a web link to The OHIO PUBLIC EXPENDITURE COUNCIL that put out the report mentioned by the paper. Read the report at: http://news.enquirer.com/assets/AB96286110.PDF

Here are a few facts:

1. Today, Ohio experiences a daily net increase of 14 people age 65 or older.


2. By 2012, that number grows to 119 per day.
3. A half-million more Ohioans will leave the work force than enter it between 2011 and 2020!


4. OPEC President Rick Yocum called it a disaster for state and local budgets, with no obvious solution. "You're never going to be able to pass a school levy," Yocum said. He called the numbers "ominous."

More on this later.

Good Book

One of the great challenges we all face today is how to relate to workers, churches and families with folks from several different generations. It is hard when we see the world through different glasses. In fact, we may even believe that younger people have very different and, therefore, faulty values.

Jennifer J. Deal, research scientist at the Center for Creative Leadership, says, "Don't give up! There is hope for leaders and managers." Her very interesting book, Retiring the Generation Gap lays out the results from several thousand studies about various generational age groups and suggests that almost all of us have similar values.

What, then is the problem? Why do we have so much difficulty understanding each other? Jennifer suggests it is because we communicate our values in very different ways.

Dr. Deal researches people by a different set of age cohorts than we usually see. She separates the age groups into:

Name------------Born------Type

Silents-----------1925-45---Quieter but with great influence

Early Boomers--1946-54---Right after WWII-Huge

Late Boomers--1955-63----Second Half of Boomers

Early Xers------1964-76---Boom is over-Bad rap from a novel

Late Xers-------1977-86---Younger Gen X

The Silents and Early Boomers have enormous clout. Clout is what separates the generations and attitudes. Many Silents are invisible since the group is smaller than Boomers. However, they are often influential, wealthy and successful. The Silents plus the Early Boomers do not identify themselves as "Seniors" or as "Over the Hill" so they are often left out of our plans.

When Dr. Deal, her PhD. is from Ohio State, sorts out her data she concludes that there are several myths about different generational attitudes. The myth: "Young people are flexible and open to change while Boomers fear change". Ms. Deal says, "That is wrong! Neither group likes change if it threatens their jobs and reduces their resources. The issue of threat is who has the CLOUT!

The book has a subtitle that says it all: "How Employees Young and Old Can Find Common Ground". I suggest that leaders carefully read this and other books about the best ways to understand and influence different age groups.

More Great Information

Boomers Knocking on SS and on Church Doors

My friend Ron Tate is reading about everything there is about Boomers and Pioneers. He then summarizes it and posts it on his blog. "The Boomer Wave" http://theboomerwave.blogspot.com/

I do enjoy reading his stuff because he has done the hard work of filtering out the fluff so I don't have to. Anyone interested in Christian ministry, church growth and how to be a "missional church" needs to look at Ron's blog and start thinking seriously about the implications of the facts he presents.

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The Federal Government has been planning ways to meet the needs of the enormously large number of maturing, seasoned citizens for decades. Is your church thinking about how to wisely integrate these huge groups into its life?

Sign Up

If you are a Seasoned Believer, send me your name and email address so we can add you to our growing list of contacts.

Just place it on the Comments Page.

Books and Such Things

Our Latest Book: good for Coaches, Mentors and Counselors

Solomon wrote that, "Of the making of books there is no end" and that is just one of many reasons he was considered to be a very wise man. I have produced several books, usually in conjunction with other colleagues and friends.

In every case my books have arisen out of the research I did on my Doctorate at the University of Cincinnati way back in 1974 and 75. During my course work in Counselor Education I saw research that growth and healing are mostly the result of the relationship between a Helper-Counselor and a Seeker-Client than the knowledge and theories of the Helper-Counselor.

This research was shocking because most of our classes emphasized the theories and styles of the Counselor who was supposed to be an expert on diagnosing and treating Clients. Students were paying thousands of dollars to learn things that really did not work.

My dissertation looked at how the Bible and outcome research on counselors and not their theories, could be correlated. There is a very high correlation between the fruit of the Holy Spirit found in Galatians 5:22ff and healing. The Bible was written two thousand years before counseling texts but already indicated what really works in care and counsel.

So, what did I do? I began to write books that trained people how to relate in the skills most closely related to the fruit of the Spirit. We called the first book, Apples of Gold and the rest is history. Some 300,000 people have taken the Apples' Courses and read the books in over 50 countries from Norway to Russia to Cuba to South Africa to Taiwan to Australia to New Zealand.

These three remain; faith, hope and love, but the greatest is love.

See http://www.amazon.com/ and type in my name, Gary Sweeten to order my books.

Relationships

Tomorrow morning I get to speak at Horizon Community Church about the importance of relationships. I am going to focus on Jesus' teaching in MT 18:15-21. I only have about 30 minutes and it is hard to diagnose and treat this topic in such a short amount of time.

MT 18:15 If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

It is very difficult to go to a person that has wounded us and be reconciled. Going may not be the problem but doing it in a loving way certainly can be. I am usually hurt, emotional and wanting revenge.

But Jesus, that most brilliant of all ministers to the soul, gives wise and healing counsel. Go alone and win your brother back.

The tendency for a lot of us is to go to someone else and tell them all about it. It seems so powerful if we can just go and destroy the person's reputation that attacked me. But Jesus says, "No revenge. Go and win your brother back.

Relationships are important to Jesus. He created us to relate with one another in love. In fact, He said, "Everything in the entire Bible comes down to loving God and your neighbor."

The older we get the more people we know and have in our families. This gives us more people to love and enjoy. It also gives us more time to be reconciled. Isn't that great?

Faith, Hope and Love, but the Greatest is Love

Jesus Washes the Feet of His Disciples
Recently I heard from a rather famous researcher on the powerful affects of agape or biblical love. Dr. Stephen Post heads The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love. Dr. Post had evidently heard of my writing and work in the area of healing love and sent me some of his research.

Over the next few months I intend to report on some of his findings, especially as it relates to Seasoned Citizens and health. They define Agape Love as altruism or Gift Love. It is observed in people who give to others with no demand of anything in return. And, just as scripture promises, when we give in love we also receive.

More on this later. See the web of Dr. Post

http://www.unlimitedloveinstitute.com/

Effective Groups-Stop Global Time Wasting

We humans spend an awful lot of time in groups. Sometimes it is called a committee, sometimes a task force, sometimes a leadership team and sometimes a Bible or book study. All of these are groups and all groups have a tendency to wobble off the tracks and become dysfunctional.

A few years ago some consulting group or another estimated that the time lost in inefficient and ineffective groups costs businesses and industries many billions of dollars. Their suggested answer was, "Train people how to organize and run effective groups."

I have been very fortunate that some of the best mentors and coaches in the world taught me how to effectively lead groups. Not that I always accomplish my goals because I may get lazy or rushed, but I have been well trained.

Ken Shull, an Elder at College Hill Church, was on key my mentor/coach on how to keep groups on track. He was low key, gentle but very effective and I was amazed at how much he could accomplish in half the time that we usually spent wrestling over inane and useless ideas in other groups.

The most important things in life are time and people. Wasting time and people in bad meetings is a terrible waste to churches, businesses and community groups. Especially when people could learn in a few hours how to stop Global Time Wasting!

I wish Al Gore would do a movie about it.

Boredom and Love: Are they Compatible?

In Ron Tate's latest blog, the Boomer Blogger, he writes tellingly about why people leave or drop out of church. He read a book about "Exit Interviews" and quotes why so many people are fed up with their churches.

Is it too much love? Too much respect? Too much support and caring? Too much action and excitement?

Read Ron's stuff. You may be surprised.

What is Important?

Starting the new year I am trying to keep the main thing the main thing. That probably needs to be on a big sign hanging over my desk so I don't forget it.

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It seems as though it is easy to get distracted from the "Main Thing" and go off on various "Rabbit Trails" that waste time, energy and lots of money.

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Ever since I started studying psychology and counseling in Grad School I have been amazed by how consistently the research reveals the same or very similar things about what is important to healing, growth and change. It is not how much education we have nor is it what theories we follow and the advice we give.

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The same is true of evangelism and church growth. Almost everyone who comes to faith in Christ does so though a caring friend. Rarely does an agnostic decide to follow Christ after meeting an angry fundamentalist.
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Nope, most of it comes down to the same stuff I read about in Sunday school. Loving and caring for one another is the core of being helpful to people. Love covers a multitude of problems and sins.

As the old saying goes, "People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Insights in 2007?

Many groups publish "The Top Ten Stories of 2007" but I would like to know your top ten, or top five or top two, insights or events or 07.

1. We launched a new name and new board for our ministry. We changed the name and focus from Life Way Inc to Sweeten Life Systems.

2. I heard the Lord call us to launch a new ministry to Seasoned Believers under the umbrella of Sweeten Life Systems.

3. I visited the Czech Republic to support Craig and Sarah Springer as they launched a new church in Prague.

4. A new slogan Soul Seasonings-A life time of great relationships(SM)

5. I got to watch the Lord bring healing and growth to several believers.

Great Bosses Over Age 80

If you think you are over the hill at 50, 60 or even 70 just read this article. It has a list of active, alert, wise and dynamic men and women who are still head and shoulders above their organizations.

If you like what you do, why stop it? I love golf but I would be bored to tears if I did not get to help people through coaching and consulting with them.

I was born to be a helper and an educator. I love what I do and have no plans to stop. If I won the lottery I would still work because the work keeps me going.

I hope you Seasoned Believers find this article interesting. I hope it inspires you to discover your passion and follow that star to joy. Joy is allowing yourself to do what God created you to do.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/CoolestBossesOver80.aspx

The Start of Something Big

Above is a modern revival.

On the left is George Whitfield, perhaps the greatest revivalist and preacher who ever spoke in English .

Christianity Today reports that a huge revival is occurring on many college campuses today. The last great revival of the Sixties and Seventies that broke out in America also began on college campuses and spread quickly to churches and home around the world.

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The article is located at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/december/32.46.html

I hope you will be encouraged by this turn of events and join in the activities of the Holy Spirit at any event you can attend. There is a one day gathering on January 12 in Cincinnati that many thousands are expected to attend. See you there.

Maybe this is the start of something big.

Many of us Seasoned Believers received our big bang start in revival meetings thirty or forty years ago and could use another burst of Holy Spirit energy to keep us fired up.

Go to http://www.thecall.com/Group/Group.aspx?id=1000019217

for more information on this day of fasting and prayer at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati. The event is free but registration is necessary.