Idle Hands Are Never a Problem Here

At the Church Business offices, we’re always working on something new — and the Web offerings we unveiled this month are certainly proof.

Lately, we’ve spent a lot of time and energy producing Web resources, which we make available to you for the taking. It’s all part of a goal we set for our site a few months ago, when we redesigned it: We wanted ChurchBusiness.com to be a destination in itself — a place worth visiting on its own, in addition to reading the magazine.

Well ... I’d say that mission is accomplished.

Our site now has so much useful, Web-exclusive content that it even surprises me sometimes. If you haven’t checked it out in awhile, you should.

I’m always a little surprised it all gets done (and done well), given the fact that we haven’t received any more hours in the day. But then again, maybe it’s not such a mystery after all: I’m eager, excited and motivated to take it all on because I know it will benefit you and your most worthy of causes.

This month, our brand-new offerings include The Financial eBook: A Ministry Resource for Churches, sponsored by Evangelical Christian Credit Union (ECCU). It’s a nice, thick read that’s 100-percent worth the download — and it’s free!

While editing The Financial eBook, I was extremely impressed by the company’s knowledge, and especially by its generosity in sharing it. ECCU is really looking out for you with this eBook, so do yourself a favor and download it.

Another Web “pet project” is our first-ever Praiseworthy Sermons Contest! True, we don’t talk much about preaching in the magazine, but isn’t writing sermons still what you spend a big portion of your time doing as pastors? And isn’t it still where you derive a huge amount of job satisfaction in your days? We believe it is, so we set out to honor you for it.

While we think the contest is an excellent way to recognize pastors for the work they do (with a little help, God knows), we did receive one e-mail from a concerned reader who saw an ad for the contest in our latest issue.

She says: I cannot believe you’re actually sponsoring a contest for sermons. Good sermons are the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the listener, and not the talents of the sermon writer/speaker. This seems like such a crass, worldly thing to do, and I’m embarrassed for you as a Christian publication.

As the editor of the magazine, those kinds of letters are never fun to receive. But people react differently to new programs and ideas, and this is no exception.

For me, however, the overriding intent of the contest remains clear: to honor the work of the Church. As such, I must note that the entire CB staff is proud of what we’re doing with this sermon contest.

Pastors are criticized a lot in today’s world. No one here argues their inspiration, but why not praise — hence the name, “praiseworthy sermons” — their excellent doing of the work of the Holy Spirit? As a magazine for pastors, CB has a unique opportunity to do just that, and on a large scale. Whatever we can do to encourage pastors’ good work, we’ll do.

So, if you’re a pastor and think this contest sounds like a great way to share your best work with your peers, and the church world-at-large, track down your favorite sermon and visit our contest site today at www.churchbusiness.com. We’ll be reviewing the sermons in-house and selecting those that inspired us most. Then we’ll put them on our website, where everyone who visits can listen, be inspired too, and weigh in on which sermons moved them most.

You’ll find complete contest details on the site. We look forward to hearing/reading all the submissions.

I hope you’ll check out our new additions online. Enjoy!