Tag: stewardship

Bækur sem vert er að lesa

Ég er stundum spurður um hvaða bækur ég hef lesið nýlega sem vert er að glugga í. Á næstu vikum og mánuðum hyggst ég birta nokkra bókaumfjallanir hér á vefnum um misspennandi bækur sem ég hef rekist á. En þangað til er e.t.v. vert að benda á nokkrar bækur á sviði starfsháttafræði sem er vert að lesa fyrir áhugafólk og sérfræðinga um kirkjustarf.

Israel Galindo gaf nýlega út bókina “Perspectives on Congregational Leadership: Applying systems thinking for effective leadership” sem tekur á því sama og “The Hidden Lives of Congregations” nema í styttra formi. Ég hef hins vegar ekki gefið mér tíma til að lesa þá bók.

Neysluviðmiðið

Ég ákvað í dag að gefa mér tíma og skoða reiknivél Velferðarráðuneytisins. Þar fékk ég út með hjálp rsk.is að sameiginlegar tekjur hjóna með tvö börn á grunnskólaaldri þurfi að vera 900 þúsund krónur á mánuði fyrir skatta til að endar nái saman. Hér tek ég reyndar ekki tillit til barna- og vaxta-/húsaleigubóta, og veit ekki hvort það sé gert í reiknivélinni. Ég efa það reyndar. Continue reading Neysluviðmiðið

Recruiting Volunteers

Recruiting volunteers still requires work, but the context has changed. Now there is awareness and pride where before was obligation. And that makes all the difference both for those who recruit and those who say "yes" to this opportunity for ministry.

From Leading Ideas: A Resource for Church Leaders.

Sparnaðarleiðin “sjálfboðin þjónusta”

Á liðnu aukakirkjuþingi var bent á mikilvægi sjálfboðinnar þjónustu á lista yfir mögulegar leiðir til sparnaðar í þjóðkirkjunni í ljósi breyttra fjárhagsforsenda. Ég hef tvívegis síðan þá skrifað langlokur í svarhala Facebook um málið, en ákvað að taka saman þanka mína hér.

Í upphafi er mjög mikilvægt að taka fram að ég held að það sé öllum ljóst að safnaðarstarf framtíðarinnar í íslensku kirkjunni verður að byggja meira á sjálfboðinni þjónustu. Það er hins vegar ekki sama hvernig það er gert. Það að fá einhvern til að gera eitthvað frítt í sparnaðarskini er ekki það sama og að virkja fólk til sjálfboðinnar þjónustu. Continue reading Sparnaðarleiðin “sjálfboðin þjónusta”

The Self Interests of Congregations

A paper called “Church Based Organizing: A Strategy for Ministry” presented be the Gamaliel Foundation, makes an interesting claim about the new focus of congregations:

Fifty years ago, the self interest of the church was to respond to the problems of poverty, poor schools, lack of health care etc. affecting its people. Today the self interest is still there; but a more powerful self interest is the very survival of the congregation.

Here is more about Gamaliel Foundation.

Ríki, samfélag, þjóð og þjóðkirkja

Óformleg samfélagshlutverk hennar eru aftur á móti mörg, þau standa öllum til boða og eru endurgjaldslaus: Þjóðkirkjan rekur öflugt barna- og unglingastarf með tvímælalaust forvarnargildi. Með sálgæslu býður hún upp á stuðningsþjónustu fyrir þau sem glíma við lífsvanda af ýmsu tagi. Með kærleiksþjónustu (díakóníu) hefur hún á síðustu áratugum veitt þeim sem standa höllum fæti aukinn félagslegan stuðning. Með innanlandsaðstoð Hjálparstarfs kirkjunnar hefur hún byggt upp vaxandi efnahagsaðstoð við þau sem búa við skort. Í helgihaldi býður hún öllum sem þiggja vilja griðarstað og griðarstund í stríðum straumi áreita og krafna daglegs lífs. Þetta eru allt gild rök fyrir þjóðkirkjuskipan. #

Í annars góðri grein Hjalta Hugasonar um Ríki, samfélag, þjóð og þjóðkirkju bendir hann á ofangreint sem helstu rökin fyrir þjóðkirkjuskipaninni. Þessi rök eru hins vegar meingölluð, því það sem hann nefnir er einfaldlega það sem trúfélög um allan heim (og ekki einvörðungu kristin) bjóða náunga sínum, og það án stjórnarskrárverndar. Reyndar er þessi þjónusta alls ekki bundin við trúfélög.

Þess utan er það fremur vondur vitnisburður um kirkjuna ef hugmyndin um þjónustu við náungann þarf að tengjast á einhvern hátt stöðu kirkjunnar gagnvart ríkinu.

“Power” is Not a Bad Word

Some people are put off by the blatant appeal to power, which is an integral part of congrega tion-centered organizing. We tend to think of power as manipulative, as domineering, as too political, as “power over” someone else, and we suspect such power is out of keeping with our Christian values. We recall Lord Acton’s famous dictum: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely.”

More recently, however, we have come to recognize that power in and of itself is neither good nor bad. Power is nothing more than the ability to accomplish something.

Whether the goal is to accomplish something helpful or harmful is another question, but power itself is a necessary ingredient for any action. Power is constitutive of life. (Mark I. Wegener)

from  Congregation-Centered Organizing: A Strategy for Growing Stronger Communities via The Gamaliel Foundation an organizing institute.

Contract or Covenant

In When Moses Meets Aaron: Staffing and Supervision in Large Congregations one of the many issues that are addressed is the difference between contract and covenant. The difference between the two can be helpful in addressing employment in the church.
In the book the focus is on employment contract as an utilitarian in orientation, while covenant attempts to protect the least of these. The covenant focuses on protection by the more powerful and cocreation, rather then maximization.

Various Religious Views about Organ Donations

One common concern people have regarding organ and tissue donation is how their individual religion feels about donation and transplantation. Most religions support donation as an act of giving and caring. Outlined below are brief descriptions of the viewpoints from various denominations.

via Lifeline of Ohio » Religious Views.

Baby Spared Mother’s Fate By Genetic Tests as Embryo – NYTimes.com

A 30-year-old woman who is very likely to develop a rare form of Alzheimer’s disease before she turns 40 has had a baby girl who will be spared that fate because she was genetically screened as an embryo before being implanted in her mother’s womb, doctors are reporting.

via Baby Spared Mother’s Fate By Genetic Tests as Embryo – NYTimes.com.

Who Spends the Church’s Money?

In terms of spending, the more control the board exerts, the less a ministry can respond immediately to current needs. The more freedom ministries have, the harder it is for the board to monitor exactly what’s going on. Each church has to find the middle ground.

via Who Spends the Church’s Money? | Free Article Funds Budget Pay Income Expense.

Sizing Up a Congregation

Arlin Rothauge’s “Sizing Up a Congregation” (pdf) is a great overview of the dynamics found in different sized churches.

It addresses the Family Church (0-50), The Pastoral Church (50-150), The Program Church (150-350), and The Corporation Church (350-500+). From the perspective of the pastor, the issues are different in each of those. The smallest one calls the pastor to be innovative and finding things to do, but at the same time be available. The Family church is all about being reactive, there is not a lot of room for innovation, the pastor often seems to have favorites (those that have initiative to be in contact). When we move into the program church, the root of complaints towards the pastor is that he is not available for all groups, and does not participate in all programs. The issues in the largest church group are seldom about the pastor, more about lack of space for various tasks (lets build something together).

Rothauge does not address what we might call mega churches or multisite variations.

Restructuring UMC

The United Methodist Church or, more specifically, its U.S. component, often continues to be entangled in U.S. political and economic ideologies and desires. … we must clearly grasp that the so-called “American Way of Life” requires critique. Capitalism and consumerism are not practices taken straight from the gospel.

Elaine A Robinson has an interesting article about the need to restructure UMC in an Age of Empire (PDF). Asking questions about the unbalanced relationship between north and south.

The cost of short-term missions

While on the phone, I asked her what she thought of those groups. Her answer might surprise you: “Everyone knows,” she said, “That short term missions benefit the people who come, not the people here.”

Is that true? If so, then thousands of people are raising millions of dollars each year to do something not for others, but for themselves. Are we fooling ourselves by pretending these trips help people when they are really just an excuse to see a foreign country? If our good works are not doing good, why do them?

via catapult magazine The cost of short-term missions. The original article is to be found on pdf at www.ajshonduras.org/joannsarticle.pdf.

The Theology of the Crumbs

The second symptom of the illness of man’s faith stems from relationship among fellow human beings: The Politics of Marginalization; more forcefully, Ang Politika ng Pagkamanhid.   The Rich Man did not mind Lazarus, covered with wounds and praying for mere crumbs that fall from his table.  There was a great chasm between them, even,though Lazarus was just at the Rich Man’s door.  Because the Rich Man was already comfortable, his world no longer accounted for Lazarus.  Farther and farther, every single day, araw-araw, until every single day reached forever at death, and the chasm became permanently unbridgeable.  Man responds to a similar situation every single day; a tap on the car window for every street children begging for coins; an absent nodding of the head for a lola on the umpteenth retelling of the story of her life; bribing for one’s convenience.  In a sense, this politics of marginalization is necessary to the economics of affluence.  Once man starts serving mammon, one can no longer be present to the people around him.

via THE THEOLOGY OF THE CRUMBS.

Why give?

First, worshipers want to know how their contributions make a difference. Congregational leaders should highlight the specific ways that worshipers financial gifts are changing lives in the congregation and the community. The emphasis should be on ministry rather than on supporting programs.

via Leading Ideas: A Resource for Church Leaders.

About half of American worshipers regularly give 5% or more of their net income to their congregation. However, this statistic obsures important differences by denomination and faith group. Two out of three worshipers in conservative Protestant churches give at this level. Only half (52%) of mainline Protestant worshipers give at the 5%-or-more level. Worshipers in Catholic parishes are the least likely to regularly give 5% or more (only 36% do). An astounding 44% of conservative Protestant worshipers give 10% or more to their local church.

via Ten reasons why we give

Experience in Haiti

I have made almost 8 minutes video with pictures and sounds to describe my experience and feelings in Haiti. In it I use pictures from my travel partners, music and sounds. It is no longer  accessible on the web. If you like to help there are many great organizations doing wonderful work in Haiti. One of them is Haiti Timoun Foundation.

idealist.org

Idealist is a project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with offices in the United States and Argentina. Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives.

via idealist.org – Welcome to Idealist.org – Imagine. Connect. Act..