6/9/2025

Far too often, when faced with the enormous challenges of life and faith, we approach our Sunday through Saturday through a theology of scarcity. Rather than asking ourselves what we do have and what we have been blessed with, we ruminate and lament what we don’t have.

5/16/2025

In our fast-paced world of social media, families and neighbors, church committees and school events, it’s easy to assume that everyone knows what’s going on.

It’s just the opposite.

5/15/2025

When I was in my role with insurance companies before joining the Presbyterian Foundation, I was often called to join conversations with agents and clients about their estate plans. Most of these conversations were protecting business interests, providing income for families, utilizing insurance for estate taxes but rarely was their discussion about what their legacy will be.

5/14/2025

You’ve heard of “Christmas in July,” well how about “Christian Witness in June?” In June of 2025, the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) provides preachers a dynamic series of Sundays to celebrate and witness to core theological events and principles. Tying these Sundays together into a series could be a compelling way to invite people to reflect on foundational aspects of our faith that are often overlooked, minimized, or forgotten in many Protestant churches in the United States.

4/22/2025

As a Senior Ministry Relations Officer serving the East Region, one of my favorite topics to speak on is the effective utilization of a narrative budget. I enjoy this subject mostly because a narrative budget is an excellent way to transform a traditional line item budget into a graphic, pictorial representation of resources at work in the areas of mission and ministry. Additionally, the narrative budget is just one of the many ways a congregation can encourage a shift from budget-balancing based stewardship programming to faith-based giving in all areas — time, talent, and treasures. Most would agree that congregants do not give to simply balance the annual budget; rather they give through faith as a response to gratitude, to support the mission of the church, and to provide for the future.

4/16/2025

Emphasizing wills makes the legal instrument of legacy building the focus instead of a much more comprehensive question: how do we want to contribute to the world beyond our lifetimes?

That’s from Karl Mattison, Vice President of Planned Giving Resources at the Presbyterian Foundation, and he’s so right. May 4 is Legacy Giving Sunday in the PC(USA) and while it sounds like something we all need to consider, to many it’s not very exciting, and it’s hard to engage people by that title alone, Karl says.

4/15/2025

The bridge was out.

The year was 1998 and I was in the middle of a six-day backpacking trip on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park. My companions were now friends but none of us had known each other just a few days before, and we were led by two experienced backpackers. It was a demanding trip that took us into the backcountry. Two years into parish ministry this was exactly what my heart desired: a pilgrimage on foot without access to a phone or a computer. Everything we needed was carried on our backs.

3/24/2025

It was raining the first time my wife and I celebrated Easter together. We were visiting friends a few hours away for an Orthodox Easter Vigil—Amanda is Antiochian Orthodox and our friends are Greek.

We got to the church a little before 10 p.m. I remember that it was raining because there were two buckets stationed at the front of the sanctuary. Someone had placed them there to catch the drops of rain that were falling through the ceiling.

3/20/2025

Creating an endowment for your church is like funding a scholarship – your money helps people grow and learn in a future where you may be long gone, but still have lasting impact.

The Presbyterian Foundation helps individuals endow their pledges and also provides advice and help to churches. In short, endowing your pledge means that you set up a permanent fund that will continue to provide the same amount as your annual stewardship pledge (or annual gift) in perpetuity.

3/18/2025

But not John: “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb.”  

Still dark. Really dark.

Darkness in John’s gospel has little to do with the time of day. Darkness has everything to do with all that is opposite to the mighty works of God. All the powers and principalities that work to destroy life; life in all fullness as Jesus said in John. Darkness is the symbol, the sum, the prototype, the theme, the weight, the rallying cry in John for all that works against God, God’s reign, God’s kingdom. Mary came to the tomb when it was still dark. In John’s gospel, darkness IS death. Tomb. Dark. That’s death squared.

2/13/2025

Building a strong stewardship program is a lot like old-fashioned courting – it takes lots of small steps before you pop the question.

In this case, the question is “Will you share your gifts with the church,” and positive answers are important to the financial standing of your church. But just as we don’t like to be rushed when we are shopping, by the salesperson who constantly asks if they can ring us up, we also don’t like to be approached only when it’s time to turn in our annual pledge card.

2/12/2025

As with improv, the most important skill we need to be faithful today is listening. Sometimes that is listening to our colleagues, our family, our friends, or simply those we encounter who are hurting and seeking hope. Most importantly, we must listen to God, and where God is leading us. It’s not an easy task today, but with trust and hope, we can make our way through challenging times and conversations.