I'm not Counting on Social Security

Read this article today. It reminded me why I'm not counting on any mismanaged government program like Social Security to provide for me. I'm planning to take responsibility for my own retirement. I'll invest my money in separate retirement funds to cover my entire retirement period. If, by some miracle, I get some social security benefits when I retire, it will be gravy. Unfortunately, it appears that the government intends to continue taxing me more and more to keep this failed program on life support. Hopefully, they'll let me keep enough of my money to fund my own retirement. It's my responsibility, not the government's.

Gearing Up for a Plastic Economy

I just checked my wallet. I have exactly $0. That's not atypical for me either. I just don't carry much cash with me anymore. I also don't carry a checkbook around with me either. I assume that most places I go, I'll be able to use my debit or credit card.

I think that the reality is that most people are moving toward plastic or electronic means to pay for goods and service or to pay their bills. Given this shift, what is the church doing to acknowledge and embrace this shift in the way people handle transactions? How do we give our members and guests opportunities to give electronically or with plastic? Well, at GCC we currently offer online giving at http://www.gccwired.com/. However, in the very near future, we'll be offering this:


These are giving kiosks from SecureGive. They will allow us to offer our guests an option to give on our campus using their debit or credit card. I'm excited about this. I think it will allow people who normally wouldn't give an opportunity to give. We'll soon see.

The Future U.S. Economy

How are you preparing for the future based on the current U.S. Ecomony? This article has some predictions for the future economy and action steps for today.

As a Church Finance Director I'm considering how these predictions might affect our future resources.