by Mary Kinney Branson
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Product Description
What's Happened to Our Contributions? A hundred years ago, collective giving seemed the perfect solution. What one individual or church couldn't do, combined efforts accomplished with ease. National agencies sprung up, offering to spend on our behalf. And we embraced them. Flash forward to days crammed with emails, overtime, and endless commuting. Time is often more valuable than money, and the desire to delegate spiritual privileges and responsibilities is even stronger. Surely national agencies and the professionals who oversee them can carry out the Great Commission faster and more effectively than harried homemakers and stressed executives. But as our time shrinks, national ministries grow larger. What started as lean groups of roll-up-your-sleeves workers have become Paul Bunyan-sized agencies, with excess fat and an overload of middle men draining a big chunk of the money intended for spreading the gospel. Elaborate national headquarters have shot up across America, with presidential office suites rivaling those of top CEOs. And giving isn't the same. Sending a check to a faceless organization doesn't generate the same fulfillment as pressing money into the hand of a young person heading for the mission field. Now the only smiling faces are those of mega leaders. And recently, their smiles have been fading as disenchanted givers voice their displeasure with irresponsible spending. The author of this on-the-edge book proposes an answer. After opening readers' eyes to the tremendous waste of their hard-earned dollars, she offers ways to bring joy and effectiveness back into giving.
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Average Customer Review:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The money in the collection plate is supposed to help the church, right?, 2008-07-11
The money in the collection plate is supposed to help the church, right? Now in its fourth edition, "Spending God's Money: Extravagance and Misuse in the Name of the Ministry" is a look at the scandal and misspending of the faithful and other 'charities' gone wrong, focusing especially on churches that have grown in size over the years, with the heads of these 'non-profit' organizations living as well as heads of multi-billion dollar corporations. An in-depth look to where the charity money all goes, "Spending God's Money: Extravagance and Misuse in the Name of the Ministry"is highly recommended for community library religious studies collections.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Spending God's Money, 2007-09-30
"Spending God's Money" is an honest review of how mega mission organiations can splug on the "widow's mite" they are commissioned to manage. Mary indicates the best use of mission dollars come when the giver is closest to the user of the funds.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
A must read for the sheep in the SBC, 2007-05-26
Ministry has become a path to wealth. Too much money with no accountability is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. We give to the cooperative program for missions...not for private dining rooms and catered lunches for VP's at NAMB. Not to mention the extra money they make writing books on the job and collecting royalties. Has sin been so dumbed down that these people do not even notice that they are using the tithe dollars of brothers and sisters in Christ for personal gain? Shameful.
It has become a monolithe with no REAL spiritual oversight. What is the answer? Send your money to a missionary personally.
My view is if these types of jobs paid less than six figures they may attract more shepherd like men. Take away the celebrity status and no writing books. After all, our Savior had no where to lay His head and Paul made tents.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Spending God's Money, 2007-03-25
Mary Branson has wriiten a couageous report of her experience working for leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention who have been corupted by power. It is an indictment of those who abused and defrauded the laity, but is also an indictment of the laity who failed to monitor and exercise prudent stuardship over God's money. Appropriate auditing and involement by people in the pew might have prevented this dreadful happening. It is a must read for anyone connected with the Southern Baptist Convention.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Spending God's Money, 2007-03-05
Branson shares her first hand knowledge of how these people spent money sent by well-meaning believers for their own indulgent lifestyles. The book is fair and impartial, and lets the reader be the judge. This is a book that needed to be written!
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