Each member of the team had a role to play and it was only when they worked together that they were able to prevail. But equally important throughout the tournament was their coaching. The kids had practiced for months and were ready, but as each game unfolded there were always slight adjustments that had to be made in strategies and positioning. And at times, the team could lose their focus or a player make a mistake and the team would struggle for a short while. But the coach was always there with a word of encouragement or bit of advice after a bad play to help the kids learn and stay focused on the task at hand.

Managing people is much the same. Good managers hire the best staff, train them, and then give them the resources they need to do their jobs. But it doesn't end there. Good managers know that things will always come up threatening their team's ability to accomplish their work. When they do, good managers are ready to help the team work through the issue, resolve the problem, or sometimes run the "interference" needed to remove the obstacle threatening the team efforts. Keep that in mind as you work with your staff and volunteers. You can train and prepare people for the job ahead, but often you are most valuable to them when you can help them work through the tough times and overcome the problem at hand.

Recently the tax courts disallowed the losses a minister claimed on his income tax return for ministry and book writing expenses. The Court ruled that because the minister did not engage in his ministry and book writing activities primarily for profit, the deductions attributable to the activities were limited to the gross income he derived from those activities. Further, because he admitted at trial that he "did not charge" for the services he performed as a minister and he did not provide any evidence of income from his writing activities, the Court ruled he was not entitled to deduct any of the expenses related to those activities. And finally, ( read more)

Borrowing money has become a way of life for many. And credit use raises more than a few questions: what does the Bible say about money? Does church financing have a place in building the kingdom?