At this point , no church leader is unaware of ( or immune to ) the threat of child sexual abuse on their campus . But what about sexual abuse allegations related to abusive behavior occurring at the hands of staff members or volunteers from the past ?
For many pastors , this is unchartered territory — especially if the alleged bad actor is no longer involved in the church , has passed away , or if records are minimal or nonexistent .
In this article , the author introduces readers to several apps :
• One that helps you stop living from paycheck to paycheck , pay down debt , and “ roll with the punches ” if something unexpected comes up
• Another that connects all your bank accounts , credit cards and investments in one place , giving you a complete overview of your financial life
“ Many ministry leaders do not understand sexual abuse , sexual abusers , or what an appropriate response to an allegation looks like ,” advise authors Gregory Love and Kimberlee Norris , partners in the Fort Worth , Texas law firm of Love & Norris and founders of MinistrySafe . “ Consequently ,” they add , “ wrong responses to historical allegations abound .” First , as Love and Norris assert , the church ’ s response must be victimcentric , not ministry- or abuser-centric . But what does that look like ? “ Keep in mind : when an allegation is received , there are very few ‘ neutral ’ statements or positions ,” the authors explain . “ The ministry ’ s response will be either victim-centric or other-centric : actions and statements that clearly demonstrate a priority for something or someone other than the victim .” That ’ s some very good advice , and there ’ s a lot more where that came from . For instance , did you know that false allegations are rare ? Or how to create a pre-existing plan ... or even what that entails ? What about community with the congregation in the aftermath of an allegation ? Or more difficult yet , the abuse survivors and their families ? To find out how to best respond when an allegation of child sexual abuse that stems from behavior occurring in the distant past — and how to help prevent new occurrences — be sure to read this crucial article .
# 3 : USING TECHNOLOGY TO MANAGE YOUR FINANCES
By Angela Park
• A tool developed by financial expert Dave Ramsey providing a straight-forward , no-nonsense solution for tracking and reducing debt , emphasizing planning by assigning each dollar a purpose
• One that makes tracking bills , savings goals and cash flow simple — and lets you add as many people as you want to your budget , including your spouse or financial planner
• A handy tool for couples who want to manage their money together , offering transparency , easy budgeting and helpful reminders , all while promoting financial communication and collaboration .
If any of these sound like something you could use yourself , go check out this helpful article .
# 4 : MEETING OF THE MINDS
By Jeremy Moore
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For The Church of Eleven22 in Jacksonville , Fla ., many lessons have been learned ‘ on the fly ’ as the church enjoys faster-thanexpected growth in the 13 years since it was founded with a single campus .
With busy church executives ’ time at premium , it ’ s no surprise that an article spotlighting technology to help manage personal finances would be so popular . But with so many apps and programs out there , guidance from an expert — like Angela Park , who leads a team of Member Service Specialists within MMBB ’ s Service Center — is welcome .
“ Choosing the right financial app can feel like finding the perfect pair of shoes : it needs to fit just right ,” Park advises . Part of ensuring that fit is examining your unique financial management needs .
Today , in-person attendance averages more than 21,000 weekend across 11 campuses and three prison campuses — including one located 100 miles away . This is not to mention Eleven22 ’ s online footprint , of 40,000 viewers per weekend .
From a financial perspective , such monumental , quick growth has created some challenges — including what Chief Financial Officer Paul Williams describes as a “ series of one-off mortgages .”
“ We now had a ministry that was going to be here for the long term ,” Williams explains . “ We needed an institution that could refinance all of our campuses into one loan and extend it out to 10 years , so that we had a longer maturity base for our business plan .” He and his team found what the church was looking for in BMO Commercial Bank ’ s dedicated Religious Institution Banking group . churchexecutive . com CHURCH EXECUTIVE 3