Guardrails & Rumble Strips

Our pastor, Mark gave a brilliant message this last weekend about parenting. In the message, he made a great analogy about guardrails and rumble strips. On the road, they keep us in our lane and from veering off course or over the edge. When applied to our lives, they are boundaries that keep us well on our path and keep us from dancing on the edge of disaster.

Although Mark was talking about parenting, I thought about some of the guardrails and rumble strips that we have in our financial lives that keep us from going over the financial cliff. Here are a few that crossed my mind:

1. Emergency or Rainy Day Fund - This fund is money that is saved for emergencies. $1,000 is a great starting point, but it should grow to several months worth of expenses. This fund provides payment for car repairs or for roof repairs or for expenses in the case of lost income. It guards against using debt to fund emergency expenses.
2. Insurance - Auto, home, health and life insurance guard against catastrophic loss caused by events that can't be predicted or controlled. These are important safeguards.
3. A will - An important safeguard against the inappropriate and unwanted treatement of children, life insurance, and other assets when someone dies. Parents have a responsibility to their children to have a will in place. My wife and I don't have a lot of money, but we do have children, life insurance, and a will. We want to control what happens to those things if something happens to us.
4. A Budget or Spending Plan - Guards against ending up in a financial crisis by requiring a plan for each dollar that is earned and disallowing expenses to be greater than income. Helps to safeguard against using debt to fund expenses.
5. Long Term Financial Plan and Investing - Another safeguard against using debt to fund future expenses. Guards against a future with no plan and no money to fund it. It is each individual's responsibility to plan for and fund his or her future - no one else's.
6. Debit Cards - Help Guard against using credit card debt while providing the ease of use and convenience of a credit card.

Giving Kiosk Update

I was finally able to determine how many people gave for the first time on our giving kiosks.

During the 4 months we used the kiosks in 2009, we had 69 people give for the first time on the kiosks. In total, those 69 people subsequently gave $15,225 through the end of 2009.

Self Control & Financial Peace

This past weekend at GCC was a Financial Freedom weekend. We had the opportunity to hear from one of the great Personal Finance Professors of our time - Dave Ramsey. I love Dave. He has an incredible talent for teaching about personal finance in a clear, concise, and entertaining way. Dave said these things that stuck with me:

1. All of our money is God's. We're managers or stewards.
2. The Borrower is Slave to the Lender (Prov. 22:7) We've got to reduce and eliminate debt in our lives. I believe this is becoming increasingly more urgent. What if the people of God had no payments? Would the Kingdom of God blossom in a different way?
3. Have a written plan. Develop a budget and stick to it. This is essential to success.
4. "Act your Wage." Live within your means. Spend less than you earn. Prov. 21:20 A foolish man devours all he has. 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. There is no margin.
5. "Save for a rainy day." "I'm positive it's going to rain." There is going to be trouble in your life. Save up an emergency fund to prepare for that trouble in advance.
6. Give. The tithe is the minimum. Givers ROCK. Giving changes your life. Giving is a natural by-product of 1-5 above. It really gets fun when you become an awsome, lavish, luxurious giver.

So, why doesn't everyone do this? Why isn't everyone physically fit? Dave said that if he could get control of the person in the mirror, he could be skinny and rich. Mark said it starts with self-control. He cited 2 Peter 1:2-12 and specifically verse 6. Add to knowledge self-control.

We're offering an opportunity here at GCC to get knowledge and to encourage self-control through the Financial Peace University course that starts Monday, Feb. 22. Find out more here.

Super Bowl XLIV

Well, it was a disappointing loss for my Colts last night. Both teams played a great game, but in the end, the Saints were the better team last night.

I wasn't that impressed with the commercials. I liked a couple of them. The e-trade baby commercial was pretty funny. This one was my favorite:



For the life of me, I can't figure out why this one caused so much controversy.



Anyhow, good night and good game. Congratulations to the Saints!

GO COLTS! WIN SUPERBOWL XLIV!

Should Churches Accept Credit Cards for Offerings?

I've had a lot of conversations recently about our giving kiosks and online giving. It seems like every conversation turns to: "As a church, we're wrestling with whether or not we should accept credit cards for giving? We teach Financial Peace University. Should we offer the credit card option?" I always offer an extemely helpful answer: I don't know.

The fact is that this is a question every church has to answer on its own. A strict Dave Ramsey Fundamentalist would say absolutely not. I respect that. However, a more "flexible" Dave Ramsey follower might say that there are those in the congregation who use their credit card regularly, for budgeted expenses, and it off every month. Those folks who use their credit card responsibly might appreciate being able to use their credit card to make their contribution so that they can benefit from the points or air miles. Also a valid argument. In fact, I've never talked to anyone who told me that they got themselves into deep credit card debt by over giving to their church on their credit card. Most folks seem to be very "responsible" when it comes to giving to their church.

At GCC, we take the flexible approach. We know that there are donors who are responsible with their credit card and we give them the opportunity to give with their credit card. For those who are prone to getting in trouble with a credit card, we strongly discourage the use of a credit card to make donations. For them, cash, check, or debit card is a more responsible choice.

No matter how a church lands on this issue, there are ways to accept electronic giving that will help to boost giving with or without credit cards. Our giving kiosks by SecureGive have the option to only accept debit cards. Fellowship One, our online giving tool provides the option to give using debit card or electronic check. Both solutions provide the opportunity to accept credit cards.