Best Financial Tools for Church Planters (And Pastors)

Every week over the next few months I am going to feature a different "financial tool" that can be a great help to church planters as they lead and establish a new church. Here's a sneak peak at some of the categories I'll be covering. Though these are some of the most helpful areas I could think of, feel free to share your own tools in the comment section or suggest topics I may have forgotten. In the mean time, stay tuned as I work through each of these areas in more detail through upcoming posts.

• A Financial Oversight Strategy
• Digital Tracking of Expenses
• Online Book Keeping 
• Online Giving
• Digital Filing System
• Shared Spreadsheets
• Payroll Services
• A Good Lawyer
• A Good Book Keeper
• A Good Personal Budget System 

Resurrecting the Blog

Over the course of the next month I will be taking on a new role with the Forest Lakes District of the Evangelical Free Church of America as the Director of Church Multiplication. My role as co-lead Pastor at The Vine Church will continue, but I will be shutting down my photography studio in order to accommodate the new role. In line with this change, I will be resurrecting Deo Gloria as a place where I will share information as a resource to church planters and pastors. Though I'll be spending my first few months with the district getting my feet wet, I would expect a somewhat regular stream of information flowing from this blog as I focus more efforts on studying and communicating resources for planters and pastors.

The Hard Work Behind Creativity

This is a very encouraging video for those who long to see their creative vision come to life. Stick with it, never stop learning, growing, creating. I can so relate to this as a photographer.


Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

How Love for God Increases All Other Love

Great C.S. Lewis quote on how love for God increases earthly love.

When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. Insofar as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards the state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased.

(HT: JT)

The Jury System

As I prepare to serve on a jury tomorrow at the Dane County Courthouse, I reflect on the following thought provoking quote by G.K. Chesterton.

"Whenever our civilization wants a library to be catalogued, or a solar system to be discovered, or any other trifle of this kind, it uses its specialists. But when it wishes anything done which is really serious, it collects twelve ordinary men standing around. Jesus did exactly this."

Racism and the Gospel

John Piper's new book Bloodlines deals with racism in light of the Gospel. Here is a fantastic 20 minute documentary giving some background on John's racist childhood and how the Gospel changed him and his view of race forever. I'm excited about the significance of this book and the potential influence it can have in God's church.


Bloodlines Documentary with John Piper from Crossway on Vimeo.

Pop or Soda?

A hilarious look at what people call soft drinks in various parts of the US. (HT: Boing)

My Photography Website

Oculus Photo Studio is finally online. To check out my new website you can go here. To join the Oculus Facebook page, go here.

Evernote, A Truly Great App

I am not quick to convert to a new app, but I've got to say this is a great app (thanks Derek). I now use Evernote to take notes, keep task lists, log photo shoot locations, catalog sermon illustrations, etc.... It has almost completely eliminated my use of word processing programs and has given me the ability to access all of these documents from any device (web, phone, laptop, etc..). See here why "Webby" named Evernote the best productivity app of the year in 2011.

Erasing Hell by Francis Chan

A good video by Francis Chan on a recent controversy and new book.

Risk Averse Christianity

In this video Alan Hirsch challenges us to consider how the gospel calls us to risk and how middle class American Christianity resists this very calling. This is definitely a thought provoking video.

Alan Hirsch - Are You Stuck In A Rut? from Verge Network on Vimeo.

Teenage Boys

From Mark Driscoll's Facebook today. It is so true that this explains jr. high boys. Not sure if some guy's brains ever fully develop in this regard.

G.O.S.P.E.L.

One of the clearest 5 minute explanations of the Christian Gospel I've ever seen. Great art.


G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.

(HT: Z)

Protests Intensify in Madison

Crazy times here in Madison as 16 schools are now closed tomorrow because teachers are all "walking out" so they can go and protest against Governor Scott Walker's proposal to end collective bargaining with teacher's unions. This and his budget, which will greatly cut government employee benefits, have sparked a lot of controversy. This video reflects tonight's protest in the capital which will be followed by an even greater wave of protest tomorrow.



It would not be appropriate for me to express my personal views on this issue in this medium, but two things have troubled me as I've reflected on the last two days...

1. Are people willing to pray for and honor those who are their appointed government leaders? Even ones with which they disagree? Romans 13:1 and 1 Peter 2:13-17 definitely admonishes us in this regard. Certainly it is acceptable and healthy for people to protest, but I am concerned that the tone of these protests is becoming increasingly hostile and is representative of a growing lack of respect in our nation for those in authority.

2. The holocaust of babies being killed every day through abortion in our nation is unthinkable, yet where are the masses of people gathering in our courthouses and capitals protesting these horrors? One could call such a rally, yet the response would pale in comparison. I am not suggesting these kinds of rallies would be the most fruitful means by which to save the lives of the unborn, but I am deeply saddened by the contrast.

Packer Nation: A Win for the Economy

One thing a Packer win did for Wisconsin was to insure a boost in the economy. One of my employers Dick's Sports has seen a significant increase in sales compared to last year at this time. Here is a pic from my shift at 1 pm on Monday. By 3 pm we were packing up the tables with shirts and hats completely sold out. No worries.... NFC Champion supplies are still available online and Superbowl apparel is quickly on its way! Now's a great time to be a Packer fan!

Rebelling Against the American Dream

David Platt tells CNN why his church rebelled against the American dream. A worthwhile read.

Madison #1 for Men

The purpose of this blog is not to just post stats on our new home in Madison, but my friend Nile who lives in one of the worst cities for men (Saint Louis) just brought it to my attention that Madison just ranked as the #1 best city for men based on 30 measurable categories by Men's Health Magazine. Not sure I feel like any more of a man living here, but I certainly appreciate Madison as a great place to live and strategic place for a Gospel movement of churches, which of course, is the reason we are here.

BEST CITIES:

1 Madison, Wis.
2 Fargo, N.D.
3 Plano, Texas
4 Burlington, VT
5 San Jose, Calif.
6 Lincoln, Neb.
7 Austin, Texas
8 Aurora, Colo.
9 Virginia Beach, Va.
10 Seattle

WORST CITIES:

91 Toledo, Ohio
92 New Orleans
93 Charleston, WV
94 Baltimore
95 St. Petersburg, Fla.
96 Memphis, Tenn.
97 Detroit
98 Birmingham, Ala.
99 Philadelphia
100 St. Louis

Madison Ranked #2 at Rock

Madison was recently ranked by Songkick as the #2 place in the nation to see a rock concert. The calculation is based on the number of rock concerts per capita. The only city higher was Austin, which further substantiates claim that Madison is the Austin of the north. So, if you want to rock, come to Madison.

Using the Family Dashboard

On the Resurgence website Dustin Neeley posted the following tool for families. It was written to a group of guys who are Pastors in the A29 movement, but it is a helpful tool for anyone trying to keep family life in check.

Our Family Gauges

1. The speedometer. This is the “pacing” question: are we moving at a healthy pace that we can sustain, or are we running in the red? We can’t just monitor the things from ministry that directly include us, but we must also factor in the other things that make life what it is: soccer, gymnastics, the kids’ school, health, marriage, money, and home repairs. Never make this pace assessment alone. Men are not typically emotionally intuitive and can be blind to the relational redlining occurring. If you don’t believe me, just ask your wife. She will tell you the real truth.

2. The RPMs. This is the stress question. How hard are we pushing to make this thing go? Are we shifting gears smoothly in our relationships or are we “grinding the gears” like a 16-year-old driving a stick shift for the first time with a critical Dad in the passenger seat? Do Mom and Dad need more time together—alone? Is more time or energy needed with a particular child? You can usually “listen to the engine” through the tone of the conversations taking place at home to monitor the stress level.

3. The gas gauge. This is the margin question. Every ministry family I know is strapped for time and often other resources. The families that go the distance are the ones that have enough gas in their tank for the long haul. They are consciously and consistently refueling through weekly days off: “Date Nights,” “Daddy Dates,” vacations, and daily spiritual tune-ups to keep the engine running more efficiently. Again, if you want to know exactly how much gas is really in the family or marriage tank, ask your wife. She knows.

New Nielsen Jazz Release

Zach Nielsen, one of the guys on the team I am planting The Vine Church with, recently released the jazz trio CD, "Songs in a Minor Key". It is a fantastic recording of both jazz standards as well as several original tunes. Zach is already making a splash in the music community here in Madison and will undoubtedly grow in his popularity within the Madison jazz scene. Below is some background by Zach on this new project. Be sure to click the iTunes and Amazon link to hear samples of all his songs.

I am pleased to announce my first official jazz release. It's a five song EP called “Songs in a Minor Key”. This recording took place this past spring in Albuquerque, NM with some of the best musicians the city has to offer. It is far from perfect (what jazz recording is?) but I think you’ll find some rich moments throughout that will peek your interest and engage your ear.

Recording jazz is a very different process than my pop/rock recording experience in the past. In jazz, all the musicians play together and we do a few takes and simply choose the best one of three or fours takes. With a rock recording you usually analyze every square inch of the recording and slave over all the minutiae. Not so with jazz. We attempt to capture a performance that is rich with energy and life but perfection is not the goal. Communication, interaction, and artistic expression are the goals and I think those goals were met in these short recording sessions.

For some, jazz is esoteric and obtuse. To the unacclimated, it can sound like random noise that is challenging to listen to for extended periods of time. For that reason I recorded a couple songs that most people will recognize. The recording kicks off with my arrangement of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” and later on you'll find The Police’s famous hit, “Message In A Bottle”. In my experience, if people hear a simple melody that they recognize it greatly increases their enjoyment and overall listening experience. I hope that is the case for you as you encounter this recording.

The remaining three tracks are jazz standards from many decades ago. First, “Nardis” is a Miles Davis tune made famous by one of my piano heros, Bill Evans. Second, there is a lesser known Wayne Shorter tune that I learned back in college called, “Black Nile” and finally another jazz standard called, “Beautiful Love”.

I am excited to release this recording today and if you would be willing, please pass this info along to anyone you might think would appreciate it.

It can be purchased exclusively on iTunes and AmazonMP3. Take a moment and click over to either site and listen to some clips. If you would be willing, pass the links along via the various mediums of social media (Facebook, Email, Twitter, Blogs, etc). Here are the links you would need to share:

AmazonMP3

iTunes

Recording Credits:
Zach Nielsen - Piano
Michael Glynn - Bass
Ian Byrd - Drums on Come As You Are and Message in a Bottle
Arnoldo Acosta - Drums on Black Nile, Nardis, and Beautiful Love
Chris Saiers - Audio Engineer
Mike Mulliniks - Mixing Engineer
Bryan Lopez - Cover Design
Ben Moore - Photography

Thanks to Fernando Ortega for letting me use his piano!