If you’ve been a Christian for a minute, you’ve been exposed to messages on giving to the church or requests to give to a capital campaign. There’s nothing wrong with messages on giving or fundraising for worthwhile ministry projects. The danger comes when giving is portrayed and communicated as a duty we Christians have to perform instead of a loving response to a God who’s been extravagantly generous to us.

Remember when you learned to drive? You had to concentrate constantly on your steering, the foot pressure on the accelerator, and how much pressure to apply when breaking while constantly scanning your mirrors. It took intense focus, and having a drivers-ed teacher, or worse, a parent continually watching and judging your performance, it's a miracle you got through it! But you did get through it. After years of learning and gaining experience, you've developed a routine, a habit, that makes driving easy. The same can be true about developing good money habits.

Christianity doesn’t insulate you from worldly problems. Most Christians, if asked, would say they agree with that statement. Yet, when faced with difficult situations, we act as if something bizarre and unexpected is happening to us. Some of us even go as far as questioning God’s faithfulness towards them, especially when faced with financial hardships.

We live in a fast-changing world. Those changes also impact churches. For instance, we have levels of inflation not seen in the last 40 years. Things ebb and flow, and what’s different today is unpredictability. It comes from rapid cultural change, shifting demographics, rapidly evolving technology, and an interdependent global economic climate.

There's little doubt that the past two years have significantly impacted The Church. Phrases like "pre-pandemic and post-pandemic" indicate new realities and how we're all trying to deal with them. Most noteworthy is the increase in apathy toward God and the relevance of The Church.

Time and time again, we read in the Scriptures that wealth and riches are deceptive and dangerous. Jesus even goes as far as to say, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The Bible overwhelmingly conveys that this pursuit is dangerous, yet most of the world, including many Christians, is fixated on becoming rich.

At some point in our Christian walk, many of us come to a fork in the spiritual road where the Lord makes us aware that we’ve been asking Him to join us in what we are doing, rather than us joining Him in what He is doing. That’s often the uncomfortable bottom-line of the choice we have as Christians when making decisions.

A friend recently asked me if she and her husband should buy an electric vehicle because the cost of driving his truck has risen to $700 per month due to higher gas prices. The recent rise in inflation is having a significant effect on American households, and everyone is scrambling to find ways to make their money go further.

One of the biggest challenges any stewardship ministry faces is the need to address the entire congregation regardless of financial standing. Some programs assume that all their participants struggle with debt; others assume that everyone has surplus to give. And likely, there are people in both of these camps in your congregation, as well as people between the extremes.

Jesus's story of the widow's mite in Luke 21 shows us we can't classify generosity or faithfulness by the amount people give. However, historical giving patterns can serve as a remarkably accurate ministry health check. Giving data can provide cues to your givers' well-being and the challenges in their lives and, thus, how you can best serve them. In fact, this is the most ethical use of your giver's historical data.

Perhaps you've heard the tale of the three bricklayers working on a project. When asked what they were making, the first said, "$18 an hour." The next replied, "We're making a wall to help support the roof." But the third said, "We're building a cathedral for worshipping God!" They were all engaged in the same task, but only one caught the bigger vision.

Interestingly, the bible does not have much to say about retirement. This is not a bad thing. After all, the bible doesn’t say anything about vacations, birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, or honeymoons either. And all those things are good. There is only one reference in the book of Numbers, chapter 8, where retirement is loosely mentioned. In this passage, God instructs the Levites for men over the age of 50 to withdraw from a specific duty of service and then assist and serve their fellow Levites and guard the Tabernacle, where the younger rotated into their work position. If the Bible says so little about retirement how are we to interpret it and what are we to do about it?

Parenting is one of the most demanding and most rewarding endeavors a person can engage in. Trying to influence, shape, and mold another human being to grow up and be a good, productive, and responsible person is difficult. One day you’re the hero, and the next, you’re the villain because kids want to do their own thing like the rest of us. When it comes to teaching kids about money, it’s essential to know when, what, and how to do it because so many major life decisions hinge on it.

Money is an integral part of our lives, and we spend a significant amount of time earning, planning, and spending money daily. Because of this, it stands to reason that being educated and well equipped in managing money would be of benefit to everyone. Unfortunately, financial education is sorely lacking today. Though possessing the best financial information available, God's Word, the Church isn't doing much to help people learn God's principles for managing money.

Here at the Christian Stewardship Network, we believe that God is the provider of all things, and it is He who gives us the power to create wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) and the direction and wisdom we are to manage that wealth. Because the world's ways of handling money are contrary to God's ways, causing people to fall into financial and spiritual bondage, our mission is to train church leaders in God's financial principles and equip them to teach them to their congregations.

In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus begins by talking about wealth and where we should and should not store it. He then says something strange about the eye being the lamp of the body and its connection to light and darkness, which seems to be a shift away from the original topic of wealth. He then returns to the subject and says that you cannot serve God and mammon. Did Jesus veer off-topic, or is there an important connection we need to understand in this text?

The measure of good stewardship boils down to how well someone manages what they have. It's not really about the numbers, but it certainly doesn't exclude them. If you had to give an account to God of how you're managing your money, how confident would you be standing before Him?

Most of us, if asked, would admit that we want more than we already have. Whether money, relationships, career, or possessions, we're wired to "reach" for more. This isn't always a bad thing. Considering the innovation we've experienced over the past 100 years, and how it's improved life for so many, I'm grateful that we keep reaching forward and upward. But, when it comes to finances, how can we know when reaching for more is not good?

Those who have adopted a Biblical worldview should understand that work is not as the world defines it. We don't work just to make money, though earning an income is one of the benefits of our work. We don't do it just to achieve a more significant position in a company, though hard and diligent work may result in promotions. Many outcomes occur while we work, especially if we do a good job, but the purpose of work for the believer has a deeper and more significant meaning.

Every couple enters into a marriage believing and hoping for the best, and why shouldn't they? Marriage is a beautiful union created by God through which He intends to bless and grow his people. Unfortunately, many challenges come with blending two people together, and finances is certainly one of those challenges.