Helping Churches & Pastors Become More Effective And Joyful
About This Session
In the Bible, we learn that how we understand money is more important than amount. Consider your 21st century look at money to consider our stewardship.
Preparing For The Session
The final resource that we're looking at is Treasure. We'd likely all agree that this is the most difficult one to discuss in a group. Why? Our approach toward money is a look into our hearts (1 Timothy 6; Mark 10; Matthew 25). This week, let's go into our hearts and consider how money is affecting our lives. The graph below shows that we have a lot of varied places that we're approaching this topic today.
We are going to look at a book that came out about three years ago, The Psychology of Money. While this book is not written from a faith perspective, I found it to resonate with my own heart and line up in some key ideals with both Scripture and popular Christian thought regarding money. A copy was given to me (Derek) by Frank Helm, a local businessman. As we unpack Morgan Houser's research on this topic, meld his ideas into your understanding of money and the Bible's teaching on it as well to learn something about yourself.
Big Disclaimer: Since this video is making the assumption that the viewer considers being wealthy to be a virtue, you may need to decide what wealth means to you. People don't choose a career in ministry with the hope of becoming wealthy. Here's the lens I suggest to consider "wealth." Having enough to meet your needs, provide for your family, be generous to others and have some left to save for our later years.
Prepare:
Read the first chapter of PsyOf$ (free).
Watch this Intro to PsyOf$
Optional: Listen to this looooong podcast with Housel.
Optional: Pick up his book/audiobook. Only $7.99 for Kindle.
For Consideration:
Starting at the beginnning of the video (and the PDF of the first chapter), Housel describes how our outlook about saving and spending can partially be explained by the era during which we came of age. Housel suggests that stock market performance and inflation are the two key indicators here. How did your experience with money during your teens and early 20s affect your perception of money since that time?
At 5:56 in the video, the video discusses optimism and pessimism. What is the balance between optimism and pessimism and how can one use both of these feelings to shape stewardship?
Beginning at 15:03 (and notably at 16:10), what is wealth and, more importantly, what does Housel suggest are the ways to create it?
Beginning at 19:14, Housel describes the "Hedonic Treadmill." How do you understand this principal in light of Scripture? What is a verse that you would apply to this concept?
For Introspection:
What values about money did you learn in your family of origin? How have these values paid off for you (positively and negatively)?
Do money concerns keep you awake sometimes? Why?
If money concerns DON'T keep you awake, is it because you ignore the money concerns that you should have?
What money verse(s) in the Bible (here's a list to jog our memory) are you most troubled with?
What is a next step that you could take in your personal or church finances to move your family or church forward?
Next Steps:
If you need to improve your personal financial situation, I recommend that you (and spouse) do a personal finance course. Also, my friend Jerry Woodward ( you can text him at (209) 272-2864‬) is a Financial Peace coach and has told me that he's willing to coach any of you in this cohort.
If you need to improve your church financial situation, here's two resources: (1) Simplify Church has a course in organizational finance for pastors that I have watched and would recommend. Also, here's some questions to ask yourselves and those in the church you would depend on to manage the church finances.
Agenda
Connect
Reflections on today's content
Reflections on our life and ministry