Paul Clark

Wow!  That was fun.  I just presented my first-ever webinar, sponsored by the National Association of Church Business Administrators (NACBA).  The topic was, "Financial Management in Tough Economic Time." If you are a member of the NACBA, I think you can access it on their website (or maybe you have to have paid for it to have access to it).  Anyway, I appreciate the 100+ folks who gave 90 minutes to talk about best practices in budgeting, increasing congregational ownership of finances, ways to reduce your budget, maintaining high staff morale during budget pressure, alternatives to reducing staff, and ways to increase your leadership value to the organization. In hindsight, I had too much to cover in the allotted time, but I did my best. As I stated in the webinar, if you have specific questions from the material, I'd welcome you to contact me and we can discuss. One thing I mentioned in response to a question about Dashboard Reports is that I have an example of one here on my blog under Conference Resources. There are lots of examples of stuff in that section that you might find helpful. In the days ahead, I want to write in more detail about that last section of the webinar: ways to increase your leadership value to the organization.  I think it's something to think about, not only in light of staff reductions, but just because it's good stuff to consider.  Thanks Phill Martin and the NACBA! If you're not a member, you need to join--they are a great resource for all of us!

Financial U coming to Fairhaven!

At Fairhaven, we're committed to teaching regularly and transparently about money and it's effect on people.  We do it every year--not for a Sunday or two, but usually for 4-6 weeks.  We want to teach God's perspective on money, including the broad spectrum of issues people in our pews are facing today.  Understanding money and the pull of the culture on our checking accounts is vital if we are to live for the values of Christ.  This year, we are launching what we're calling, "Financial U."  It's a coordinated series of workshops, classes and sermons dealing with a range of topics that people are talking about today: investments, retirement, budgets, debt, giving, saving, and the cord of faith that we want to run throughout each.  Studies show that the churches who are least impacted by changes in the economy are the ones that are the most up-front in their presentation of biblical truth about money.  Check out what we're doing at www.fairhavenchurch.org/financial-u

Seeing with the Eyes of God

This past weekend I had the privilege of giving the final message for 2008.  I tried to tailor it to the situation we face as Christians looking at a very uncertain future in our nation and in our world. Without seeming trite or overly simplistic, I tried to help us see that life is as much about perspective as it is anything else. If you're interested, you can hear the audio on our website, or if you'd like, download an edited print version.  Perhaps it might be helpful as a staff devotional or something.  Anyway, may God give eyes to see and understand his vision for life and ministry in the New Year. God bless you.

Download Seeing with the Eyes of God