Wednesday, October 13, 2004
October 04 E-News
Logic? The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans….The French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans….The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans…The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans. CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you!
Just a Thought
“Last Sunday, my pastor preached on hell. It has been a long time since I have heard a sermon on hell. Part of his rationale for preaching on hell was that it was a favorite subject of Jesus. In fact, he said, the majority of Jesus’ parables dealt with hell. He also said that Jesus spoke about money a great deal. I wonder if there is any connection.” [Terry Austin in the Baptist Convention of Texas Stewardship News Letter: September 22, 2004 (www.churchstewardship.org)]
Great website for statistics of all kinds!!! http://www.fedstats.gov/
We have ordered a quantity of CDs that contain a good--collection of sermons, PowerPoint presentations, etc., on stewardship and mission support. The CD is entitled “Found Faithful” and is being produced by the Florida Baptist Convention. Get your order in now. Contact me at rgtallent@Concast.net or Bonnie Bosley at the state office, 1-800-451-6599.
The Sabbath Leave Program provides pastors with opportunities for spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual renewal while spending time on Samford University's campus. Participating ministers work with resource center staff to craft regenerative, self-directed programs of Sabbath leave. Academic resources include undergraduate, liberal arts, business and physical and teacher education programs, as well as courses offered by Beeson Divinity School. Check it out at www.samford.edu/groups/rcpe .
Have you ever wondered where some of the more innovative churches obtain those video clips that they use as sermon starters and in other ways in worship. Well, Erwin McManus has prepared a set of 24 clips for $100. See samples and lots of other neat stuff at bluefishtv.com
The Thanksgiving season is a wonderful time to teach principles and attitudes that are conducive to good stewardship. In fact Thanksgiving is a good time to hold your Annual Stewardship Dinner. Christian giving ought to grow out of a thankful spirit.
My mistake! Last month I ran a blurb about the free printers offered to churches by Xerox. I said the commitment to buy ink cartridges from them might make the deal uneconomic. Then a brother sent me a note saying that a couple of our associations had used the deal advantageously. The first time in my life that I have ever been wrong! But check it out for your self. It might be advantageous for you.
Our Giving System: Someone has pointed out that some people may not understand the Pennsylvania/South Jersey way of supporting missions. So I want to outline here the basics of our system of mission support.
I. The basic component of mission giving is the Cooperative Program. This is a percentage of the undesignated offerings to the church determined by the church which goes to support the Pennsylvania/South Jersey Convention, Home Missions (USA and Canada), World Missions, seminaries, and other national missions.
II. The Christmas Offering for World Missions (named for “Lottie Moon”) goes 100% to support about 6000 missionaries around the world.
III. The Easter Offering for Home Missions ( Named for Annie Armstrong) goes 100% to support about 6000 home missionaries in the US and Canada.
IV. The Pennsylvania/South Jersey Fall State Offering supports special emphases and provides emergency funding of local churches.
V. The World Hunger Fund is usually collected in the Fall and divided 80%-20% between the International Mission Board and the north American Mission Board. 100% of this money goes to provide food for the hungry. It is administrated by our missionaries.
Check out the Stewardship Page on BRNONLINE.info and my blog at bobbybaptist@blogspot.com.
Friday, October 08, 2004
Stewardship E-Newsletter 2 September
Stewardship E-News
September, 2004
Seen on Bumper Stickers:
“I am for the separation of church and hate!”…“I considered atheism but there weren’t enough holidays.”…“Lord, help me to be the person my dog thinks I am.”…“A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.”…“The best things in life aren’t things!”…“Never give the devil a ride. He always wants to drive.”…[>Christianity Today, Aug. 04. p. 53]
Free Printer NOT! Xerox is advertising free printers for churches in many Christian publications. But the catch is you must buy ink cartridges from them only and you must accurately estimate your usage in advance. And ink costs seem rather high.
Churches have a tendency to buy equipment they do not need. I have seen very small churches with very expensive copiers with capacities far beyond what they need. It may be cheaper for a small church to take their copying to shops like Kinko’s or Staples—especially for any larger jobs you have.
Famous Preachers Preach on the Internet: http://www.sermonindex.net/ has over 4000 downloadable sermons by some of the very greatest: D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Vance Havner, etc. as well as more modern: Ray Stedman, Martin-Lloyd Jones, J. Edwin Orr, and even contemporary, Jim Cymbala. These can be downloaded as MP3 players or burned onto CDs. Some are video clips. There is also a trove of printed materials. The service is free but donations are accepted.
Church Based Credit Unions: Around the country about 500 faith-based credir unions with a combined $2.9 billion in deposits make loans and teach financial literacy. Pa/SJ affiliate, Sharon Baptist church in West Philadelphia opened a branch of its New Life Credit Union under a federal rul that allows credit unions to serve non-members of their organizations in low income neighborhoods. About 50 members have signed up. Faith-based credit unions come under community-based credit unions which are designed for low-income areas. Their default rate is no higher than those in traditional credit unions. Many church credit unions offer classes in budgeting, buying a first home and other financial topics. [Burlington County Times, 6/14/04]
Direct Debit Tithing: a new organization has been set up to allow church members to have their and offerings deducted from their bank accounts and directly deposited into the church’s account. In addition, a confidential on line accounting is available to the contributor at all times. Benefits of this method include a 20 to 30% increase in contributions and a reduction in bookkeeping and the cost on offering envelops. About 1100 churches, and 10,000 contributors are signed up. For more info, visit http://www.directtithing.com/ or phone 1-866-344-8464.
Here’s Help: Our state convention can provide consultants for churches and Associations on Money Matters and conferences on church finance, stewardship, capital fund campaigns and Christian Money Management. We have posters, pamphlets, CD’s and books to help you promote stewardship, missions and the Cooperative Program. Contact Stan Smith at 1-800-451-6599; StanKSmith@aol.com or Bob Tallent at 856-778-6117; rgtallent@Comcast.net. See BRNONLINE.info for a list of available material. For articles and comments see my blog at bobbybaptist.blogspot.com
rBob Tallent, 21 Sumac Ct. Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054
September, 2004
Seen on Bumper Stickers:
“I am for the separation of church and hate!”…“I considered atheism but there weren’t enough holidays.”…“Lord, help me to be the person my dog thinks I am.”…“A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.”…“The best things in life aren’t things!”…“Never give the devil a ride. He always wants to drive.”…[>Christianity Today, Aug. 04. p. 53]
Free Printer NOT! Xerox is advertising free printers for churches in many Christian publications. But the catch is you must buy ink cartridges from them only and you must accurately estimate your usage in advance. And ink costs seem rather high.
Churches have a tendency to buy equipment they do not need. I have seen very small churches with very expensive copiers with capacities far beyond what they need. It may be cheaper for a small church to take their copying to shops like Kinko’s or Staples—especially for any larger jobs you have.
Famous Preachers Preach on the Internet: http://www.sermonindex.net/ has over 4000 downloadable sermons by some of the very greatest: D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Vance Havner, etc. as well as more modern: Ray Stedman, Martin-Lloyd Jones, J. Edwin Orr, and even contemporary, Jim Cymbala. These can be downloaded as MP3 players or burned onto CDs. Some are video clips. There is also a trove of printed materials. The service is free but donations are accepted.
Church Based Credit Unions: Around the country about 500 faith-based credir unions with a combined $2.9 billion in deposits make loans and teach financial literacy. Pa/SJ affiliate, Sharon Baptist church in West Philadelphia opened a branch of its New Life Credit Union under a federal rul that allows credit unions to serve non-members of their organizations in low income neighborhoods. About 50 members have signed up. Faith-based credit unions come under community-based credit unions which are designed for low-income areas. Their default rate is no higher than those in traditional credit unions. Many church credit unions offer classes in budgeting, buying a first home and other financial topics. [Burlington County Times, 6/14/04]
Direct Debit Tithing: a new organization has been set up to allow church members to have their and offerings deducted from their bank accounts and directly deposited into the church’s account. In addition, a confidential on line accounting is available to the contributor at all times. Benefits of this method include a 20 to 30% increase in contributions and a reduction in bookkeeping and the cost on offering envelops. About 1100 churches, and 10,000 contributors are signed up. For more info, visit http://www.directtithing.com/ or phone 1-866-344-8464.
Here’s Help: Our state convention can provide consultants for churches and Associations on Money Matters and conferences on church finance, stewardship, capital fund campaigns and Christian Money Management. We have posters, pamphlets, CD’s and books to help you promote stewardship, missions and the Cooperative Program. Contact Stan Smith at 1-800-451-6599; StanKSmith@aol.com or Bob Tallent at 856-778-6117; rgtallent@Comcast.net. See BRNONLINE.info for a list of available material. For articles and comments see my blog at bobbybaptist.blogspot.com
rBob Tallent, 21 Sumac Ct. Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054
