More Good $ense — January, 2010
The monthly e-publication of the Good $ense Ministry Movement
In This Issue:
Dick's Column | Transforming Truths | News You Can Use | Your Point of View
Spotlight | Market Indicators | Ministry Builders | Resources  Dear G$ Friends and Colleagues,
I saw an article recently in which the author listed the things he thinks about all the time but about which he had learned nothing in school. They were:
What struck me was that stewardship ministry speaks into all four of those key life topics.
It’s another way of pointing out that financial stewardship cuts across all areas of life just as stewardship ministry cuts across all ministry areas within the church. And since folks aren’t going to learn in school what we have to offer, our role is all the more important.
So be encouraged by the multiple ways in which your ministry impacts those it serves!
Sincerely in Christ,
Dick Towner
Executive Director
Good $ense Stewardship Movement
[ top of page ] GARY MOORE & THE FINANCIAL SEMINARY
Here’s the first few lines of Gary’s article this month:
"You’ve finally listened to the wisdom of ministries telling you to pay off your credit cards. You’re giving more. Like the typical American, your savings rate has increased from 2% to 6%. You read The Automatic Millionaire, as suggested by a major ministry a couple years ago and have even prayed for the stocks in your IRA to go up, as suggested by The Prayer of Jabez."
Click here for the full article.
[ top of page ] G$ MOVEMENT UPDATES & INFORMATION
Freed-Up Financial Living Users: Be sure to check out the FREE additional resources here. Includes Facilitator’s Guide, Pre-work, Implementation Guide, Downloadable promotional materials and lots more.
Still Using the Budget Course? We are continuing to support users of the Budget Course. Need a replacement copy of the Leader’s Guides? Download it FREE here. If you’re using the Budget Course, watch the Freed-Up DVD and check out the Freed-Up Workbook for updated and new material and incorporate it into your Budget Course teaching.
Additional Training Dates: 2010 Training dates for Freed-Up facilitators and Good $ense Counselors are now set for April, August and December. Check them out on the home page.
Promoting your stewardship classes/workshops: Here are a couple brief thoughts in response to questions we receive regarding how to promote stewardship events:
[ top of page ] YOUR LIFE IS AN OPEN BOOK*
It sounds like a horrific scene out of some sci-fi movie set decades down the road - lots of computer databases filled with lots of information about...you! But it's not some fictionalized account of the future; it's today's reality. As described in Consumer Reports, information about your use of credit, insurance claims, medical history, and even merchandise returns is all maintained electronically and may be available to organizations such as banks, insurance companies, and employers. The article emphasized the importance of making sure the information is accurate and explained how you can gain access.
There is some especially helpful guidance at the very end of the Consumer Reports article, including the non-intuitive advice to stay off the U.S. Postal Service's national change of address database.
*Thanks to Matt Bell (info@mattaboutmoney.com) for this article.
[ top of page ] ONE-STOP DEAL SHOPPING
An ever-expanding number of web sites offer coupons, coupons codes, and other ways to get the best deals. Now, the company behind the Ask.com search engine has rolled out a deal aggregator called Ask Deals. The one-stop shop for deal seekers taps 40 coupon sites, online promotions, store circulars, message boards, blogs, and more. Once you have a coupon you might also go over to Ebates.com to see if a rebate is available as well.
[ top of page ] DO WE HAVE TO LIMIT GROWTH TO SAVE THE PLANET?
The very first act of stewardship to which we were called by God was to steward God’s creation (Gen.2:15). Our rather poor job of doing so is a topic of major concern today. Author Frances Lappé calls for us to reshape the arguments. She challenges, for example, the assumption that today’s economy is in fact defined by “growth” — ever-expanding abundance. Focusing on limiting growth keeps us blind to the truth that our current path is much more about waste and scarcity than abundance. She suggests that’s true for many now and will be for many more in the future.
Bolstering her argument is energy analyst Amory Lovins and his co-authors who argue in Natural Capitalism that 6% or less of the vast “flow of materials” that go into production to make our goods actually end up in products we use. Fifty-six percent, on average, of all energy in the US economy is wasted. Read her article and some comments here.
Dick’s Comment: Even is the stats are off by some magnitude, (how do you measure such things?) there’s a huge point to be made that while growth may be part of the problem, there’s more to it than just that.
[ top of page ] CONCERNED ABOUT BANKS BEING TOO BIG TO FAIL?
Regional Associate Jeff Herron is an advocate of the "Move Your Money" campaign that calls for pulling your money out of the large mega-banks and putting it into smaller, community-oriented financial institutions. Purported benefits include more personalized service and the fact that funds get invested locally by institutions that avoided the high risk ventures that created the financial crisis. Jeff would be glad to have your comments.
[ top of page ] GENEROSITY RESOLUTIONS FOR 2010
Good $ense friend Ruben Swint (Ruben@generis.com) listed the following New Year’s “generosity resolutions” in his monthly The Generosity Newsletter. We thought they were worth sharing.
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