Thursday, October 12, 2006

Ramsey, Total Money Makeover

I have been getting lots of comments lately, time to blog about a couple books - surefire comment killers!

Giving to churches is on a definitely downward slope and the financial health of young people in churches is doing the same. Many think we need to teach theological principles to stem the tide. I think a more holistic approach would be to help young christians develop financial health. Most efforts of christian organizations in this drection look more like amway than John 10:10 - so it is up to pastors to teach financial health and freedom to their people.

Here's some notes of interest:

1. I didn't underline a single thing. It would be more beneficial to read this book and make a list of the steps that Ramsey is suggesting.

2. The book has tons of stories of other people who were successful using the program - see the amway note above. I don't get cranked by others' stories - but if you do, there's some here.

3. Ramsey points out that many in our congregations/society who look rich are actually drowning in debt. In a society were image is everything, it is an ugly image that we are presenting when the exterior is shiny and white and the interior is a rotting pit of bondage debt.

4. What happens if the christians stop incurring debt? Including home mortgages? Impossible? perhaps. Would it be a revolutionary witness? for sure.

4 comments:

Mike said...

Here's a comment:

What is amway, and how does it relate to how Christian organizations look? By John 10:10, I'm assuming you mean living life to the full, not about stealing, killing, and destroying :)

James said...

amway is an organization that sold stuff that had reps going home to home and were way too excited about their company - and yes, I did mean the living part, not the destroying part - that made me smile!

DEBTective said...

Bub, you ain't kidding. The quicker people learn to deep-six their debt, the quicker they can give more for The Man Upstairs. Dave Ramsey's plan makes big-time sense, doesn't it? Thanks for spreading the word about Dave and debt freedom, baby! www.debtective.com

James said...

umm... thank you for calling me "bub"?